41.7994° N, 87.4912° W

MADISON

Most Famous People Born in Madison, United States

Notable people: 567
Peak decade: 1950s
Median birth year: 1950
Most distinctive: Skater 9.5×

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 80 notable births.

What Madison Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Biggest Most distinctive Under-indexed

Politician is Madison's biggest profession — 13% of all notables (73).

Madison over-indexes on skater — 9.5× the global rate.

Madison under-produces writer — only 0.7× the global rate.

Writer130.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

Sports
Politics & Law
Film & TV
Science
Music
Writing
Other

Filtered to 1940s Clear ×

0006 ACTOR

Tyne Daly

Born 1946

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0061 PRIEST

Matthew Fox (priest)

Born 1940

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0075 CARTOONIST

Mike Baron

Born 1949

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0101 COMPOSER

Fred Lerdahl

Born 1943

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0102 ACTOR

Michael Cole (actor)

Born 1945

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0110 BASKET

Donnie Freeman

Born 1944

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0112 FOOTBALL

Jim Bakken

Born 1940

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0114 FOOTBALL

Gale Gillingham

1944 - 2011

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0122 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Drew McDermott

Born 1949

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0129 SCHOLAR

Barbara Lerner Spectre

Born 1942

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0145 ECONOMIST

Frank Ackerman

1946 - 2019

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0154 SCIENTIST

Norman Uphoff

Born 1940

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0161 WRESTLER

Russ Hellickson

Born 1948

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0170 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Janet D. Spector

1944 - 2011

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0173 DIPLOMAT

John F. Tefft

Born 1949

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0187 POLITICIAN

James W. Grant

Born 1943

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0226 PHOTOGRAPHER

Keith Carter (photographer)

Born 1948

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0234 ACADEMIC

Michael Fellman

1943 - 2012

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0257 JUDGE

James B. Loken

Born 1940

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0258 SINGER

Tracy Nelson (singer)

Born 1944

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0262 SPORT

Robert Schneider (cyclist)

Born 1944

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0272 ROWER

Jackie Zoch

Born 1949

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0278 MUSIC

Joe Schermie

1946 - 2002

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0286 BASEBALL

Pat Richter

Born 1941

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0290 FOOTBALL

Stu Voigt

Born 1948

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0294 ACTOR

Sandy Dempsey

1949 - 1975

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0305 PAINTER

Phyllis Bramson

Born 1941

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0318 ECOLOGIST

Marty Crump

Born 1946

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0320 BASEBALL

Gene Brabender

1941 - 1996

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0333 POLITICIAN

Fran Ulmer

Born 1947

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0343 BASEBALL

Ken Frailing

Born 1948

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0345 ACTOR

Ann Risley

Born 1949

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0354 POLITICIAN

Lance Carson

1945 - 2020

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0383 FOOTBALL

Nate Wright

Born 1947

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0403 FOOTBALL

Greg Mattison

Born 1949

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0413 POLITICIAN

Dorothy Bradley

Born 1947

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0419 WRITER

Cheryl Chapman

Born 1948

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0422 POLITICIAN

Kathryn Morrison (legislator)

1942 - 2013

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0440 BASEBALL

Rick Reichardt

Born 1943

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0443 HERPETOLOGIST

Richard Carl Vogt

Born 1949

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0462 POLITICIAN

Jeanne Kohl-Welles

Born 1942

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0478 DRIVER

Don Williams (racing driver)

1947 - 1989

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0486 POLITICIAN

Barbara Notestein

Born 1949

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0492 POLITICIAN

Carol Roessler

Born 1948

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0498 BUSINESS

San W. Orr Jr.

1941 - 2014

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0499 POLITICIAN

Marjorie R. Turnbull

Born 1940

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0526 POLITICIAN

Ed Gaunch

Born 1947

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0531 LAWYER

Margaret J. Vergeront

Born 1946

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0533 POLITICIAN

Royal McCracken

Born 1941

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0536 BASEBALL

Vern Geishert

Born 1946

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0540 BIOLOGIST

Larry Lemanski

Born 1943

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0543 BASEBALL

Bruce Christensen

Born 1948

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0545 BASEBALL

Bill Southworth

Born 1945

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0547 OFFICER

Eugene L. Tattini

Born 1943

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0557 CATCHER

Carl Holden

Born 1941

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0561 FOOTBALL

Paul Feldhausen

Born 1946

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