List of personalities of the city of Houston

The list of personalities in the city of Houston includes people who were born in Houston , Texas , as well as those who worked in Houston without being born here. Both sections are sorted chronologically according to the year of birth. The list does not claim to be complete.

Houston-born personalities

To 1900

Edward Mandell House (1858–1938), diplomat and politician
Carl T. Sprague (1895–1979), cowboy and country musician
Florence Vidor (1895–1977), actress
Peck Kelley (1898–1980), jazz pianist
Sippie Wallace (1898–1986), blues singer and pianist
Donald McNutt Douglass (1899–1971), architect

1901 to 1920

Don Robey (1903–1975), songwriter, promoter, and music producer
Hociel Thomas (1904–1952), singer and pianist
Chester Boone (1906–1988), jazz trumpeter
Theresa Harris (1906–1985), actress
Victoria Spivey (1906–1976), blues singer, piano player and composer
Hersal Thomas (1906–1926), jazz and blues pianist and composer
Deane Kincaide (1911–1992), jazz musician and composer
Don Barry (1912–1980), actor
Cedric Haywood (1914-1969), jazz pianist
Leon Selph (1914–1999), western swing musician
Paul Neal Adair (1915-2004), firefighter
Cliff Bruner (1915-2000), country musician
Cecil Isbell (1915–1985), American football player and coach
TV Slim (1916–1969), blues and rhythm and blues singer
Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson (1917–1988), jazz and rhythm and blues saxophonist
David Westheimer (1917-2005), writer
Allen Drury (1918–1998), journalist and writer
Nan Gray (1918–1993), actress
Wild Bill Moore (1918–1983), rhythm and blues and soul jazz saxophonist and composer
Albert George Wilson (1918–2012), astronomer
Valerie Bettis (1919–1982), modern dance dancer and choreographer
Denton Cooley (1920-2016), cardiac surgeon

1921 to 1940

Jack Valenti (1921–2007), film industry lobbyist
Ann Miller (1923-2004), actress and dancer
Audrey Jones Beck (1924–2003), art collector and patron, namesake of Audrey Jones Beck Building of the Museum of Fine Arts
Matthew Gee (1925–1979), jazz trombonist
Charles W. Duncan (* 1926), manager and politician
Lester Randolph Ford junior (1927-2017), mathematician
Amos Milburn (1927–1980), boogie pianist and singer
Ernestine Anderson (1928-2016), jazz and blues singer
William Reynolds Archer junior (born 1928), lawyer and politician
Harold Land (1928–2001), jazz tenor saxophonist and composer
Curtis Amy (1929-2002), tenor and soprano saxophonist
James Baker (* 1930), politician and diplomat
John Edward McCarthy (1930–2018), Roman Catholic Bishop of Austin
Hyman Bass (* 1932), mathematician
Pierre Conner (1932–2018), mathematician
Pauline Oliveros (1932–2016), composer and accordionist
Jewel Akens (1933-2013), singer
John Bradshaw (1933-2016), theologian
Kathryn Grant (born 1933), actress
Michael White (1933-2016), violinist
Sam Giammalva (born 1934), tennis player
Patricia Herd (born 1934), actress
Peter Masterson (1934–2018), actor, director, screenwriter and film producer
Seth Morehead (1934-2006), baseball player
Mal Sondock (1934–2009), disc jockey, radio presenter, music producer and singer
Horace Tapscott (1934–1999), jazz pianist and composer
AJ Foyt (* 1935), automobile racing driver
Johnny Guitar Watson (1935–1996), blues, soul and funk musician
James Lee Burke (born 1936), crime writer
Katie Webster (1936–1999), jazz pianist and singer
Robert Woodrow Wilson (* 1936), physicist and Nobel Prize laureate in physics
Charlie Shoemake (born 1937), musician
Robert Gammage (1938–2012), politician
Basil Harry Hoffman (born 1938), actor
Stix Hooper (* 1938), drummer
Jim Post (* 1938), folk singer, singer-songwriter, author and actor
PJ Proby (born 1938), singer, songwriter and actor
Kenny Rogers (1938-2020), country singer, songwriter, actor, photographer and author
Wayne Henderson (1939–2014), trombonist and music producer
Hubert Laws (* 1939), modern jazz and classical music flautist
Joe Sample (1939–2014), jazz musician, composer and producer
Lance Alworth (born 1940), American football player
Wilton Felder (1940-2015), jazz and fusion musician
Johnny Nash (born 1940), musician and actor
Gilbert Shelton (* 1940), comic artist

1941 to 1950

John Carter (* 1941), politician and judge
Robert Foxworth (born 1941), actor
Mickey Jones (1941–2018), musician and actor
Jon Kalb (1941-2017), geologist
Malcolm Pinson (1941-2002), jazz drummer
Mel Renfro (born 1941), American football player
Jesse Summers (born 1941), virologist
Michael Nesmith (* 1942), music producer, author, singer and actor
Henry G. Sanders (born 1942), actor
Frederick Barthelme (* 1943), writer
Tony Campise (1943-2010), jazz alto saxophonist and flutist
Billy Harper (* 1943), jazz saxophonist
Don Mitchell (1943-2013), actor
George Roberts (* 1943), entrepreneur
Michael A. Andrews (born 1944), politician
Michael Carvin (* 1944), jazz drummer, band leader and teacher
Mayo Thompson (* 1944), musician and visual artist
Charles Robinson (born 1945), actor
Jaclyn Smith (born 1945), actress
Leon Spencer (1945–2012), soul jazz musician
Donald Louis Evans (* 1946), businessman and politician
Billy Preston (1946–2006), soul musician, pianist and Hammond organ player
Melvin Sparks (1946–2011), guitarist of soul jazz, hard bop and rhythm and blues
Lois Chiles (born 1947), actress
Cliff Branch (1948-2019), American football player
John Bundrick (* 1948), keyboardist for Who
Barbara Mandrell (born 1948), country singer
Khalid Abdul Muhammad (1948-2001), Muslim leader
Phylicia Rashad (born 1948), actress and singer
JoBeth Williams (born 1948), director
Loretta Devine (born 1949), actress
Shelley Duvall (* 1949), film and television actress
Billy Gibbons (* 1949), guitarist and singer
Melva Houston (* 1949), soul and jazz singer
Eloise Laws (* 1949), soul singer
Dee Mosbacher (* 1949), filmmaker
Brent Spiner (born 1949), actor
Clay Blaker (born 1950), singer, country musician and songwriter
Rodney Crowell (born 1950), country singer, songwriter and producer
Ronnie Laws (* 1950), smooth jazz and fusion musician
Randy Quaid (born 1950), actor
Robert B. Wiringa (* 1950), theoretical nuclear physicist

1951 to 1960

John Gray (* 1951), couple and family therapist
Teri McMinn (* 1951), actress and model
Hugh Ragin (* 1951), trumpeter
Jody Sandhaus (1951–2012), jazz singer
John Cornyn (born 1952), politician
J. Doyne Farmer (* 1952), physicist
Annette O'Toole (* 1952), actress and singer
Harold Robinson (* 1952), double bass player and music teacher
Patrick Swayze (1952–2009), actor, singer and dancer
Marianne Williamson (* 1952), spiritual teacher, writer, entrepreneur and activist
Paul McNulty (* 1953), piano maker
John Shirley (* 1953), science fiction writer, punk musician and lyricist and screenwriter
Ron Kirk (* 1954), politician and lawyer
Tracy Krohn (* 1954), racing car driver and entrepreneur
Terry Moore (* 1954), comic artist
Dennis Quaid (born 1954), actor
Sylvester Turner (born 1954), Mayor of Houston
RC Thielemann (* 1955), football player
Lisa Hartman (* 1956), actress and singer
Ron Henley (* 1956), chess player
Robert Earl Keen (* 1956), songwriter and country musician
Lisa Niemi (* 1956), actress and dancer
Annise Parker (* 1956), politician
Renaldo Snipes (born 1956), boxer
Steve McMichael (born 1957), American football player
William Basinski (* 1958), ambient avant-garde composer
Greg Germann (* 1958), actor
Tony Giammalva (born 1958), tennis player
Frank Lacy (* 1958), trombonist of modern jazz
Joan Severance (* 1958), actress and model
Mike Singletary (born 1958), American football coach
David Koresh (1959–1993), leader and self-proclaimed prophet of the Branch Davidians
Karla Faye Tucker (1959-1998), murderer
David Dowlen (born 1960), tennis player
Richard Linklater (* 1960), film director and screenwriter
Charles Shaw (* 1960), soldier and singer
Doug Supernaw (born 1960), country singer
Chris Whitley (1960–2005), musician and songwriter

1961 to 1970

Yolanda Adams (* 1961), gospel singer
Tom Byron (born 1961), porn actor
Gary Kubiak (born 1961), football player and coach
Joseph Carola (* 1962), religious priest, theologian and university professor
Tyra Ferrell (born 1962), actress
Billy Stritch (born 1962), pianist
Zina Garrison (born 1963), tennis player
Sammy Giammalva (born 1963), tennis player
Alexandra Masterson (born 1963), actress
Isaiah Washington (born 1963), actor
John Letts (born 1964), tennis player
Loren K. Ammerman (* 1965), zoologist and conservationist
Booker T (born 1965), wrestler
Jonathan Breck (born 1965), actor
Michael Dell (* 1965), entrepreneur
Geoff Meed (* 1965), actor, writer, director and martial arts teacher
The Undertaker (born 1965), wrestler
Shannon Walker (* 1965), astronaut
DJ Premier (* 1966), hip-hop DJ and producer
Reggie Johnson (born 1966), boxer
Thurman Thomas (born 1966), American football player
Melora Hardin (born 1967), actress
Anna Nicole Smith (1967–2007), actress and a photo model
Monte Warden (born 1967), country musician
The DOC (* 1968), rapper and songwriter
Carlette Guidry (* 1968), sprinter
Tara Cross-Battle (* 1968), volleyball player
Roland Martin (* 1968), journalist
Wes Anderson (* 1969), film producer, screenwriter and director
Burton C. Bell (* 1969), singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist
Big Hawk (1969-2006), rapper
Meredith Monroe (born 1969), actress
Sarah Morrow (* 1969), trombonist of modern jazz
Bill Perkins (* 1969), hedge fund manager, film producer, film actor and poker player
Chandra Wilson (born 1969), actress
Geof Bradfield (* 1970), jazz musician and university professor
Jack Ingram (born 1970), country musician
OG Style (1970-2008), gangsta rapper

1971 to 1980

Teanna Kai (* 1971/78), porn actress
Matt Stone (born 1971), actor, screenwriter, producer and director
Michael Strahan (born 1971), American football player
Jonathan Caouette (* 1972), independent filmmaker, film actor and auteur filmmaker
Jennifer Garner (born 1972), actress
Nima Arkani-Hamed (* 1972), particle physicist and string theorist
Missi Pyle (born 1972), actress and singer
Chris Dave (* 1973), funk and fusion musician
Shannon Elizabeth (* 1973), actress and poker player
Kimberly Hebert Gregory (born 1973), actress
Jim Parsons (born 1973), actor
Colin Edwards (* 1974), motorcycle racer
Ryan Heckman (* 1974), Nordic combined
Attica Locke (* 1974), writer
Big Moe (1974-2007), rapper
Donald Driver (* 1975), American football player
Mireille Enos (* 1975), actress
Justin Furstenfeld (* 1975), rock musician
Jolie Holland (* 1975), musician
Joshua Leonard (* 1975), actor
Jason Moran (* 1975), jazz pianist
Breaux Greer (* 1976), javelin thrower
Derrick Brew (born 1977), sprinter
Todd Lowe (born 1977), actor
Peter Cambor (born 1978), actor
Jason Michael Carroll (* 1978), country singer and songwriter
Robert Glasper (* 1978), jazz pianist
Andre Gurode (* 1978), football player
Eric Harland (* 1978), jazz drummer
Darrick Vaughn (born 1978), American football player
James Jordan (born 1979), actor
Latonia Moore (* 1979), soprano
Ryan Donowho (born 1980), actor
Rocky Juarez (born 1980), boxer
Bayano Kamani (* 1980), athlete
Lexi Randall (born 1980), actress
Kendrick Scott (* 1980), jazz musician
Walter Smith III (* 1980), jazz musician
Slim Thug (born 1980), rapper
Sommer West (* 1978), Canadian ice hockey and softball player, ice hockey coach

From 1981

Alexis Bledel (* 1981), actress and photo model
Carl Crawford (born 1981), baseball player
Brede Hangeland (* 1981), Norwegian football player
Mike Jones (born 1981), rapper
Beyoncé Knowles (* 1981), R&B and soul singer, actress and songwriter
LeToya Luckett (born 1981), R&B singer
LaTavia Roberson (born 1981), R&B singer
Allison Tolman (born 1981), actress
Paul Wall (born 1981), rapper
Whitney Able (born 1982), actress
Brandon Gay (* 1982), basketball player
Emeka Okafor (* 1982), basketball player
Jay Brannan (* 1982), singer-songwriter and actor
Bennie Brazell (* 1982), hurdler and American football player
David Cook (* 1982), singer-songwriter and musician
Walton Eller (* 1982), marksman
Sean Faris (born 1982), actor
Amanda Felder (* 1982), triathlete
Jer Adrianne Lelliott (* 1982), film actress and theater director
Giulia Steigerwalt (* 1982), actress
Kelly Willie (born 1982), sprinter
Joseph Addai (born 1983), American football player
Jennifer Berry (born 1983), Miss America 2006
Juan Díaz (* 1983), professional boxer
TJ Ford (born 1983), basketball player
Brandon Lee (* 1983), jazz musician and university professor
Jason Rogers (born 1983), fencer
Kim Smith (born 1983), model and actress
Vince Young (born 1983), football player
Nia Abdallah (* 1984), American Taekwondoin
Lauren Bush (* 1984), model and fashion designer
Dan Crenshaw (* 1984), Republican politician
Kelly Frye (born 1984), actress
Alex Jacob (* 1984), poker player
Scott Kazmir (born 1984), baseball player
Lera Lynn (* 1984), singer-songwriter
Matthew Mullenweg (* 1984), web developer
Michael Umeh (* 1984), basketball player
Zak Whitbread (born 1984), soccer player
Arturo Alvarez (* 1985), football player
Dan Cage (born 1985), basketball player
Haylie Duff (born 1985), actress and singer
Rodney Foster (born 1985), basketball player
Teagan Presley (born 1985), porn actress
Taylor Rochestie (born 1985), basketball player
Brooke Valentine (born 1985), singer
Ashley Fink (* 1986), actress and singer
Daniel Gibson (* 1986), basketball player
Gerald Green (born 1986), basketball player
Solange Knowles (* 1986), actress, singer, songwriter and producer
Bree Olson (* 1986), porn actress
Myron Rolle (born 1986), American football player
Melanie Weisner (* 1986), poker player
Stephen Williams (born 1986), American football player
Hilary Duff (* 1987), singer, actress and entrepreneur
Candice King (* 1987), actress and musician
Nic Wise (* 1987), basketball player
Kelley Hurley (* 1988), fencer
DeAndre Jordan (* 1988), basketball player
Cameron Wells (born 1988), basketball player
Jimmy Butler (born 1989), basketball player
Josh LeRibeus (born 1989), American football player
Renee Olstead (* 1989), actress and singer
Derrick Shelby (born 1989), American football player
Katy Taylor (* 1989), figure skater
Justin Tucker (born 1989), American football player
Chelsey Gullickson (born 1990), tennis player
Courtney Hurley (* 1990), fencer
Hailey Niswanger (* 1990), jazz musician
Leven Rambin (* 1990), actress
Michael Sam (born 1990), American football player
Josh Huff (born 1991), American football player
Tony Oller (* 1991), actor and singer
Skye McCole Bartusiak (1992-2014), actress
Dorian Electra (* 1992), gender fluid musician
Jacques Webster (* 1992), rapper and music producer
Quandre Diggs (born 1993), American football player
Xavien Howard (born 1993), American football player
Belinda Owino (born 1993), actress
Nicky Jones (* 1996), voice actor
Chandler Canterbury (born 1998), actor
Davis Cleveland (* 2002), actor

Famous Houston residents

Ilona B. Benda (* 1884), German-American journalist and author
Mance Lipscomb (1895–1976), blues singer and guitarist
Christopher C. Kraft (1924–2019), aerospace engineer and NASA director of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston
John Bonetti (1928-2008), poker player
John Watts Young (1930-2018), astronaut
Margit Korondi (* 1932), Hungarian gymnast
Debra Paget (born 1933), actress
Fred Hansen (born 1940), athlete
Nduka Odizor (* 1958), Nigerian tennis player
Ihsan Farha (* 1959), Lebanese poker player
Sunita Lyn Williams (* 1965), astronaut
Rodney Morris (born 1970), pool player
Corin Nemec (* 1971), actor
Stephen Yip (* 1971), Chinese composer and organist

Web links

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