List of people from Indianapolis explained

The following is a list of notable people who have been born or lived in Indianapolis, Indiana. Organized alphabetically by field of study and then by last name.

Actors

• Abraham Benrubi (1969–), actor, best known for ER and Parker Lewis Can't Lose
• Monte Blue (1887–1963), silent film/character actor
• Connie Booth (1944–), actress, screenwriter
• Steve Burton (1970–), television actor
• Joyce DeWitt (1949–), actress, best known for Three's Company
• Cullen Douglas (1967–), actor, producer, director, best known for Grey’s Anatomy and Pure Genius
• Robert Emhardt (1914–1994), Actor
• Mike Epps (1970–), stand-up comedian, actor, producer, writer, rapper
• Frances Farmer (1913–1970), actress
• Rhett Fisher (1980–), actor, best known for
• Brendan Fraser (1968–), film actor
• Ken Foree (1948–), actor
• Vivica A. Fox (1964-) actress
• Doug Jones (1960–), actor
• Brook Kerr (1973–), actress
• Priscilla Lawson (1914–1958), actress
• Marjorie Main (1890–1975), actress
• Steve McQueen (1930–1980), Academy Award-nominated actor
• Julie McWhirter (1947–), actress
• Margo Moore (1931–2000), actress
• Dohn Norwood^[1] (1974–) actor, Hell on Wheels (TV series)^[2]
• Dayo Okeniyi (1988–), film actor
• Jake Short (1997–), actor
• Steve Talley (1981–), television/film actor
• Harry von Zell (1906–1981), television/film actor and radio announcer, best known for The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
• Clifton Webb (1889–1966), stage/film actor
• Sasheer Zamata (1986–), comedian, actress, former cast member on Saturday Night Live

Artists

• Vija Celmins (1938–), visual artist
• Don Gummer, artist
• John Wesley Hardrick (1891–1968), artist
• Ron McQueeney, photographer
• Wilhelmina Seegmiller (1866–1913), author, illustrator, art teacher
• Sheida Soleimani (1990–), contemporary artist, born in Indianapolis.^[3]
• Jeremy Spencer, musician (1973–)

Athletes

• Sarah Bacon (1996–), Olympic diver
• Donie Bush (1887–1972), Major League Baseball (MLB) player/manager
• George Bailey (1900–1940), IndyCar Series driver
• Bryce Campbell (1994–), plays for the United States national rugby union team
• Rodney Carney (1984–), National Basketball Association (NBA) player
• Oscar Charleston (1896–1954), baseball player, member of Baseball Hall of Fame
• Mike Conley Jr. (1987–), NBA player
• Hooks Dauss (1889–1963), MLB player
• Euphrasia Donnelly (1905–1963), swimmer, Olympic gold medalist (1924)
• Stu Douglass (1990–), American-Israeli basketball player for the Israeli team Maccabi Ashdod
• Jack Doyle (1990–), National Football League (NFL) tight end
• Jeff George (1967–), NFL quarterback
• Eric Gordon (1988–), NBA player
• Greg Graham (1970–), NBA player
• Marcellus Greene (1957–), NFL player
• Gordon Hayward (1990–), NBA player
• Alan Henderson (1972–), NBA player
• John F. Hennessey (1900–1981), tennis player (1920s)
• Oral Hildebrand (1907–1977), MLB All-Star pitcher
• George Hill (1986–), NBA player
• Cole Hocker (2001–), distance runner, Olympian
• Lauren Holiday (1987–), US Women's National Soccer player, Olympic gold medalist, 2015 Women's World Cup champion
• Lester Horton (1906–1953), dancer and choreographer
• Tommy Hunter (1986–), Major League baseball pitcher for Philadelphia Phillies
• Kenny Irwin (1969–2000), NASCAR driver
• Jack Johnson (1987–) NHL player
• Mathias Kiwanuka (1983–), NFL player
• Ken Klee (1971–), National Hockey League (NHL) player
• Chuck Klein (1904–1958), MLB player
• Kyle Krisiloff (1986–), NASCAR driver
• Shawn Langdon (2007–), Current NHRA Funny Car Driver 2013 Top Fuel Champion 2 Time Super Comp Champion
  • Brad Leaf (1960–), American-Israeli basketball player for Hapoel Galil Elyon and Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israel Premier League Courtney Lee (1985–), NBA player
• Don Leppert (1931–), MLB player
• Lori Lindsey (1980–), U.S. Women's National Soccer player, Olympic gold medalist
• Maicel Malone-Wallace (1969–), sprinter, Olympic gold medalist (1996)
• Zack Martin (1990–), NFL player
• George McGinnis (1950–), NBA player
• Frank McKinney (1938–1992), diver, Olympic gold medalist (1960), banking executive
• Terry McLaurin Ohio State Buckeyes and Washington Redskins wide receiver
• Eric Montross (1971–), NBA player
• Greg Oden (1988–), NBA player
• Jaycie Phelps (1979–), gymnast, Olympic gold medalist (1996), Magnificent Seven (gymnastics) team member
• Austin Price (born 1995), basketball player in the Israeli Premier Basketball League
• Derrick Ransom (1976–), National Football League (NFL) player defensive tackle
• Matt Reiswerg (born 1980), soccer player, coach, and administrator
  • Oscar Robertson (1938–), basketball player, member of Basketball Hall of Fame Sally Schantz, figure skater, U.S. ice dancing champion (1963)
• Judy Schwomeyer (1950–), figure skater, U.S. ice dancing champion (1968–72)
• Sandra Spuzich (1937–2015), LPGA pro golfer
• Brad Stevens (1976–), President of Basketball Operations and former head coach of the Boston Celtics
• Major Taylor (1878–1932), cyclist
• Jeff Teague (1988–), NBA player
• Johnny Weaver (1935–2008), pro wrestler, first to use the sleeper hold "Weaver Lock"
• Randy Wittman (1959–), NBA head coach
• Greg Wojciechowski (1951–), wrestler
• Sean Woods (1970–), college basketball coach
• T. J. Yates (1987–), former quarterback who is currently the wide receivers coach for the Atlanta Falcons

Business and philanthropy

• Steve Bellamy, sports media entrepreneur, founder of The Ski Channel and The Tennis Channel
• Steve Ells, founder, CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill
• Scott Flanders, businessman and former CEO of Playboy, Inc.
• John Geisse, businessman, founder of Target Stores
• Bob Glenalvin, first manager of Detroit Tigers
• Sid Grauman, founder of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, former home of the Academy Awards
• Scott A. Jones, co-founder of ChaCha
• Eli Lilly, founder, president of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company
• Josiah K. Lilly Sr., president of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company
• Ruth Lilly, philanthropist
• Kim Ng, Major League Baseball executive
• Freeman Ransom, lawyer, businessman, civic leader^[4]
• Willard Ransom, lawyer, businessman, civic leader^[5]
• Henry J. Richardson Jr., lawyer and civil rights activist, member of the Indiana House of Representatives (1932–36), and a judge in Marion County, Indiana.^[6]
• Madam C.J. Walker, pioneering African-American businesswoman, first female self-made millionaire in America
• Margaret Ray Wickens (1843–1918), organizer and social reformer

Criminals

• Herb Baumeister, suspected serial killer
• Melvin Carr, murderer, rapist, and suspected serial killer
• John Dillinger, bank robber
• Jared Fogle, Subway restaurant endorser, motivational speaker, and convicted child pornographer
• Jim Jones, cult leader and mass murderer who led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978

Entertainment

• Rupert Boneham, reality show contestant, , , , "; politician
• June Cochran, model, Miss Indiana USA 1960, Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Year 1963
• Ken Hixon, screenwriter
• David Letterman, television personality, former host of The Late Show (1993–2015)
• Ryan Murphy, film and television screenwriter, director, and producer, notably Nip/Tuck, American Horror Story and Glee
• Blair St. Clair (Andrew Bryson), drag performer
• Marc Summers, game show host, television personality
• Dan Wakefield, screenwriter, novelist
• Marjorie Wallace, Miss World 1973

Journalists and media

• Roy Blount Jr., journalist, author
• Scott Evans, television personality
• Louis McHenry Howe, reporter for the New York Herald; political advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Jack Olsen, journalist and author
• Jane Pauley, television personality, journalist
• Myrta Pulliam, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist

Military

• Timothy Maude, U.S. Army Lieutenant General, the highest ranking military officer killed in the September 11 attacks
• Thomas A. Morris, railroad executive, civil engineer, Union General in the Civil War
• Norris W. Overton, U.S. Air Force Brigadier General
• Raymond A. Spruance, commander of the U.S. Fifth Fleet (1944–1945)

Musicians

• Mark Battles, rapper-songwriter, founder of record label Fly America
• Scrapper Blackwell, blues musician and songwriter, writer of the earliest version of "Sweet Home Chicago"
• Darrell Clanton, singer^[7]
• Dorian, hip-hop recording artist and music producer
• Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, R&B music producer/performer
• Guitar Pete Franklin, blues musician^[8]
• Jan Garber, bandleader
• Blind Leroy Garnett, boogie-woogie and ragtime pianist and songwriter
• Thurston Harris, singer, songwriter
• Billy Henderson, singer, member of The Spinners (American group)
• John Hiatt, musician
• Freddie Hubbard, jazz trumpeter
• J. J. Johnson, jazz trombonist
• Josh Kaufman, singer-songwriter, contestant on The Voice (U.S. Season 6)
• Adam Lambert, singer, runner-up of American Idol (Season 8)
• Adrianne Lenker, musician, singer songwriter of the indie band, Big Thief
• Ted Leo, musician
• Charles Scott Leonard, member of the a cappella group Rockapella
• Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, indie rock band formed in Indianapolis
• Tim McIlrath, musician
• Wes Montgomery, jazz guitarist
• Plumb, singer/songwriter
• Hal Rayle, voice artist
• Larry Ridley, jazz bassist
• June Rochelle, singer/songwriter
• David Michael Schuster, opera singer
• George Shirley, operatic tenor
• Noble Sissle, composer
• Tiara Thomas, singer-songwriter
• Albert Von Tilzer, composer, notably "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"
• Pharez Whitted, jazz trumpeter
• Keke Wyatt, R&B singer

Politicians

• James Bingham, Indiana Attorney General (1907–1911)
• Maria Cantwell, U.S. Senator from Washington
• Paul Cantwell, Indiana state representative
• André Carson, member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Indiana, second Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Congress (2008)
  • Julia Carson, member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Indiana; grandmother of André Carson Harriette Bailey Conn, state representative and the first African American to serve as Indiana's state public defender
• Ray Crowe, basketball coach and politician
• John J. Dillon, Indiana Attorney General (1965-1969)
• Charles W. Fairbanks, 26th Vice President of the United States (1905–1909)
• William T. Francis, United States Ambassador to Liberia (1927–1929)^[9]
• Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States (1889–1893); lived and died in Indianapolis
• Thomas A. Hendricks, 21st Vice President of the United States (1863–1869)
• Eric Holcomb, Governor of Indiana
• William A. Ketcham, Indiana Attorney General (1894–1898), Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (1920–1921).
• Jon Krahulik, Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court (1990–1993)
• Daisy Riley Lloyd, first female African American to serve in the Indiana legislature
• Richard Lugar, U.S. Senator from Indiana
• Frank E. McKinney, Democratic Party chairman
• Mike Pence, 48th Vice President of the United States (2017–2021)
• Dan Quayle, 44th Vice President of the United States (1989–1993)
• Charles Ray, Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court (1865–1871)
• Edwin K. Steers, Indiana Attorney General (1953–1965)
• Ted Stevens, former U.S. Senator from Alaska
• Mark Warner, U.S. Senator from Virginia

Writers

• Georgia Alexander (1868–1928), textbook author and educator
• Grace Alexander (1872–1951), writer, journalist, teacher
• Margaret C. Anderson, critic, editor and publisher
• John David Anderson^[10] (1975–), children's book author of Ms. Bixby's Last Day, 2017 Indiana Authors Award Winner^[11]
• Allan Bloom, philosopher and essayist
• A'Lelia Bundles (1952–),^[12] TV producer, journalist, and author of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker
• Jared Carter (1939–), poet, author of Work, for the Night Is Coming (1981), and winner of the Walt Whitman Award and the Poets' Prize.
• Matt Dellinger (1975–), author of Interstate 69: The Unfinished History of the Last Great American Highway
• Elliot Engel, writer, lecturer, and dramatist
• Mari Evans (1923–2017), poet, author of I Am a Black Woman (1970), winner of the Black Academy of Arts and Letters poetry award^[13]
• Janet Flanner, Paris correspondent of The New Yorker
• Hildegarde Flanner, poet
• John Green, children's book award-winning author of The Fault in Our Stars; vlogger
• Alex Hall, author of Ben Drowned (2010)
• Joseph Hayes, author
• Phillip Hoose (1947–),^[14] award-winning children's book author of
• Kathryn Lasky (1944–),^[15] children's book author of Guardians of Ga'Hoole
• Charles Major, author
• Elizabeth Miller (1878–1961), novelist
• Bill Peet (1915–2002), children's book author and illustrator of Pamela Camel,
• Madelyn Pugh, script-writer I Love Lucy television program
• Booth Tarkington, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
• Kurt Vonnegut, author
• James Whitcomb Riley, poet

Other

• Frank J. Anderson, former Sheriff of Marion County, Indiana (2003–2011)
• Kent Brantly, physician, author, speaker, first American to be treated for the Ebola virus in 2014, TIME Person of the Year 2014
• Emmett I. Brown Jr., professional photographer, documented Indiana Avenue's jazz scene in the 1940s and 50s, editor Sepia magazine
• John P. Donohue, professor, doctor, pioneered treatments for testicular cancer
• Ruth M. Gardiner, first nurse killed in action during World War II
• Michael Graves, architect
• Margaret Yandes Holliday, Presbyterian missionary in Tabriz from 1883 to 1919
• Peter Kassig, aid worker, taken hostage and ultimately beheaded by The Islamic State^[16]
• Justin Knapp, Wikipedia editor
• John Morton-Finney, Buffalo soldier, lawyer, educator and civil rights leader
• Irvine Page, physiologist, former president of the American Heart Association (1956–1957)
• John C. Rule, historian at Ohio State University
• Bill Shirk, escape artist, president of Hoosier Broadcasting Corp.
• Avriel Shull, architect
• William V. Wheeler, founder of Wheeler Mission Ministries of Indianapolis
• David A. Wolf, astronaut
• Evans Woollen III, architect, founder and principal of Woollen, Molzan and Partners^[17]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Talking Hell on wheels Dohn Norwood returns. BlogTalkRadio. 2018-01-03.
2. News: Q&A – Dohn Norwood (Psalms). AMC. 2018-01-03. en-US.
3. Web site: Sheida Soleimani bio. decordova.org. 2020-01-07.
4. Web site: Notable names in local Black history . The Indianapolis Star . February 10, 2000 . June 11, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120104211223/http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/history/black_history/black_hoosiers.html . January 4, 2012 . mdy-all .
5. Web site: February 5, 2021 . Willard B. (Mike) Ransom . 2023-04-11 . Encyclopedia of Indianapolis . en-US.
6. Charles Latham Jr.. Henry J. Richardson Papers: Historical Sketch . Black History News and Notes . 51 . 1 . Indiana Historical Society . Indianapolis . February 1993.
7. Book: Whitburn, Joel. Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. 2008. 94. 0-89820-177-2.
8. Web site: Guitar Pete Franklin Biography. AllMusic. 2014-09-17.
9. Web site: Chiefs of Mission for Liberia. U.S. Department of State. September 11, 2013.
10. Web site: The Winners - Indiana Authors Award. www.indianaauthorsaward.org. en. 2018-01-02.
11. Web site: Four Top Authors Named as 2017 Indiana Authors Award Winners The Indianapolis Public Library. www.indypl.org. en-US. 2018-01-02.
12. Web site: A'Lelia Bundles. www.aleliabundles.com. en-US. 2018-01-02.
13. Web site: Mari Evans. 2018-01-02. Poetry Foundation. en-us. Poetry Foundation. 2018-01-02.
14. News: Perfect Once Removed. Phillip Hoose, National Book Award Winner. 2018-01-02. en-US.
15. News: Get to know Kathryn Lasky. Lasky. Kathryn. Kathryn Lasky. 2018-01-02. en-US.
16. Web site: Indianapolis native Peter Kassig named next ISIS target. Brian Eason, Stephanie Wang and Michael Anthony Adams. October 3, 2014. Indystar.com. December 21, 2014.
17. Mary Ellen Gadski, "Woollen, Molzan and Partners" in Book: David J. Bodenhamer and Robert G. Barrows. The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis . Indiana University Press . 1994 . Bloomington and Indianapolis . 1453–54 . 0-253-31222-1.