21.3043° N, 157.8564° W

HONOLULU

Most Famous People Born in Honolulu, United States

Notable people
910
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1956
Most distinctive
Surfer 50.2×

Honolulu's roster is an economy of the body. The Surfer count runs at better than fifty times the global baseline — essentially Duke Kahanamoku inventing modern surfing at Waikiki and the postwar longboard generations that followed him — while a Martial Art bench more than twenty times the norm grew out of the Kajukenbo gyms and judo dojos that fed Hawaii's action-cinema pipeline. Underneath sit Wrestler and Swimmer cohorts running back through the plantation-era Baseball leagues that sent players to the majors from the 1950s on.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Honolulu during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 114 notable births.

What Honolulu Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is Honolulu's biggest profession — 12% of all notables (113).

Honolulu over-indexes on surfer50.2× the global rate.

Honolulu under-produces writer — only 0.4× the global rate.

  1. Actor113
  2. Football99
  3. Politician79
  4. Player35
  5. Baseball33
  6. Singer27
  7. Music24
  8. Lawyer24
  1. Surfer1250.2×
  2. Martial Art2021.5×
  3. Wrestler227.5×
  4. Swimmer214.8×
  5. Model93.8×
  6. Baseball333.2×
  7. Actor1132.3×
  8. Player352.0×
  1. Writer120.4×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Honolulu's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Politics & Law
  • Music
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Other
All910
Sort By

Showing 94 of 910 notable people

0019 SINGER

Israel Kamakawiwoʻole

1959 - 1997

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0021 SINGER

Yvonne Elliman

Born 1951

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0024 ENTREPRENEUR

Guy Kawasaki

Born 1954

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0025 ACTOR

Erin Gray

Born 1950

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0035 FILM

Michael Hoffman (director)

Born 1956

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0037 FILM

Albert Pyun

Born 1953

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0059 POLITICIAN

Colleen Hanabusa

Born 1951

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0061 CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Steve Case

Born 1958

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0067 SINGER

Anjani

Born 1959

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0072 MUSIC

Brad Gillis

Born 1957

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0088 SCREENWRITER

Dean Pitchford

Born 1951

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0099 ACTOR

Kellye Nakahara

1950 - 2020

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0117 FILM

Kevin S. Tenney

Born 1955

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0145 JOURNALIST

Jeff Chang (journalist)

Born 1950

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0153 ACTOR

James Arthur Ray

Born 1957

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0200 COMPOSER

Dennis Kamakahi

1953 - 2014

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0232 FILM

Kayo Hatta

1958 - 2005

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0233 ACTOR

John Patrick Lowrie

Born 1952

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0259 BASEBALL

Lenn Sakata

Born 1954

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0275 SINGER

Agnes Lum

Born 1956

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0340 ACTOR

Dennis Chun

Born 1952

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0341 POLITICIAN

Mufi Hannemann

Born 1954

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0349 ECONOMIST

Joseph Altonji

Born 1953

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0352 SINGER

George Helm

1950 - 1977

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0359 PHILOSOPHER

Robert Spitzer (priest)

Born 1952

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0362 POLITICIAN

Courtney Rogers

Born 1958

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0368 BASEBALL

Fred Kuhaulua

Born 1953

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0371 PARATROOPER

Bert Mizusawa

Born 1957

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0378 MOUNTAINEER

Francys Arsentiev

1958 - 1998

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0379 HOCKEY

Karen Shelton

Born 1957

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0393 LAWYER

Susan Oki Mollway

Born 1950

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0407 MILITAR

Lon Horiuchi

Born 1954

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0423 DIVER

Rachel Kealaonapua O'Sullivan

Born 1950

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0425 WRITER

Blair Parry-Okeden

Born 1950

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0430 FOOTBALL

David Hughes (American football)

Born 1959

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0434 FILM

Jim Simpson

Born 1956

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0446 RADIO

Helen Glover (radio host)

Born 1955

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0453 ACTOR

Benjamin Lum

1953 - 2002

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0455 CHOREOGRAPHER

Tony Meredith

Born 1958

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0457 POLITICIAN

Calvin Say

Born 1952

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0460 NOVELIST

Katy Munger

Born 1956

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0467 ARTIST

Stephen Scott Young

Born 1957

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0491 BASEBALL

Joe DeSa

1959 - 1986

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0497 MODEL

Tanya Wilson

Born 1950

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0500 MODEL

Judi Andersen

Born 1958

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0503 POET

Charles Alexander (poet and book artist)

Born 1957

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0516 BASEBALL

Ryan Kurosaki

Born 1952

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0524 SWIMMER

Chris Woo

Born 1957

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0527 POLITICIAN

Marcus Oshiro

Born 1959

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0529 POLITICIAN

Roy Takumi

Born 1952

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0532 PUPPETEER

Pam Arciero

Born 1954

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0543 CERAMIST

Esther Shimazu

Born 1957

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0544 PHYSICIAN

Terry Shintani

Born 1951

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0546 POLITICIAN

Donna Mercado Kim

Born 1952

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0548 POLITICIAN

Brian Taniguchi

Born 1951

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0563 BASEBALL

Doug Capilla

Born 1952

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0569 POLITICIAN

Malama Solomon

Born 1951

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0579 POLITICIAN

Gregg Takayama

Born 1952

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0590 SAILOR

Michael Rothwell (sailor)

Born 1953

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0603 ACTOR

Denice Kumagai

Born 1956

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0607 POLITICIAN

Brickwood Galuteria

Born 1955

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0610 SURFER

Montgomery Kaluhiokalani

1958 - 2013

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0618 LAWYER

Donna Tanoue

Born 1954

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0622 ACTOR

Matt Knudsen

Born 1957

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0623 WRESTLER

Denny Brown

Born 1956

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0625 SURGEON

Redmond Burke

Born 1958

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0642 ACADEMIC

Brian McAllister Linn

Born 1953

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0645 FOOTBALL

Joe Paopao

Born 1955

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0658 MUSIC

Owana Salazar

Born 1953

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0666 LAWYER

Paula A. Nakayama

Born 1953

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0679 FOOTBALL

Karl Lorch

1950 - 2013

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0687 POLITICIAN

Les Ihara Jr.

Born 1951

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0704 ACTOR

Tim Dang

Born 1950

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0715 BASEBALL

Milt Wilcox

Born 1950

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0716 FOOTBALL

Arnold Morgado

Born 1952

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0721 BASEBALL

Wendell Kim

1950 - 2015

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0725 FOOTBALL

Gary Campbell (American football)

Born 1952

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0729 FOOTBALL

Duane Akina

Born 1958

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0744 RIDER

Sandy Pflueger

Born 1954

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0763 FOOTBALL

Jerry Scanlan

1957 - 2015

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0787 POLITICIAN

Hermina Morita

Born 1954

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0819 MISS

Aloha Dalire

1950 - 2014

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0820 FOOTBALL

Hal Stringert

Born 1952

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0828 LAWYER

Florence T. Nakakuni

Born 1952

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0830 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Greg Nelson (computer scientist)

1953 - 2015

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0836 LAWYER

Craig H. Nakamura

Born 1956

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0868 SWIMMER

Kristina Moir

Born 1951

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0873 WRITER

Suzanne Mathis McQueen

Born 1957

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0882 GOLF

Lenore Muraoka

Born 1955

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0900 JUDGE

Katherine G. Leonard

Born 1959

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0902 JUDGE

Alexa D.M. Fujise

Born 1954

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0903 LAWYER

Derrick H.M. Chan

Born 1955

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0905 LAWYER

Lawrence M. Reifurth

Born 1957

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0910 POLITICIAN

Michael Kahikina

Born 1950

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