List of people from Leicester and Leicestershire explained

This is a list of notable people born in Leicester, England, or in the county of Leicestershire, educated there, or otherwise associated with the city or county.

Academia (except scientists)

• Graham Barnfield (sociologist)
• Caroline Ashurst Biggs (suffragette & academic)
• James Densley (sociologist)
• Mark Fisher (21st century cultural theorist and philosopher)
• W. G. Hoskins (landscape historian)
• Jack Simmons (historian esp. of British railways)

Architecture

• John Breedon Everard (architect and civil engineer)
• Ernest Gimson (architect, craftsman)
• Henry Goddard (architect)
• Stockdale Harrison (architect)
• John Johnson (architect)
• William Keay (architect and civil engineer)
• Samuel Perkins Pick (architect)
• Arthur Wakerley (architect)

Arts and entertainment

Acting, film, and comedy

• Richard Armitage (actor, North and South, Robin Hood, The Hobbit)
• Richard Attenborough (actor, Jurassic Park; director, Gandhi)
• Patrick Barlow (actor, comedian and playwright)
• Lydia Rose Bewley (stage and movie actor, The Inbetweeners Movie)
• Norman Bird (actor, The Lord of the Rings, Cash on Demand)^[1]
• Jeremy Bulloch (actor, Star Wars)
• Graham Chapman (comedian, Monty Python)
• Selina Chilton (actress, Doctors)
• Amanda Drew (actress, EastEnders)
• Betty Driver (singer and actress, Coronation Street)
• Terri Dwyer (actress, Hollyoaks)
• Sheila Fearn (actor, The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, George and Mildred)^[2]
• Stephen Frears (film director, Dangerous Liaisons)
• Rosemary Harris (actress, "Spider-Man film trilogy")
• Tom Hopper (actor, Merlin, Doctor Who)
• Colin Hurley (Shakespearean actor)
• Dominic Keating (actor, )
• Alison King (actress, Coronation Street)
• Michael Kitchen (actor, Foyle's War)
• John Leeson (actor, voice of K-9 in Doctor Who and Bungle in Rainbow and narrator for the children's hospital radio series, The Space Gypsy Adventures)
• Barry Letts (actor, television director, writer and producer)
• Bill Maynard (actor, Coronation Street, Heartbeat)
• Parminder Nagra (actor, Bend It Like Beckham, ER)
• David Neilson (actor, Coronation Street)
• Andy Nyman (actor)
• Vincenzo Nicoli (actor)
• Kate O'Mara (actress, Howards' Way)
• Steve Oram (actor, Sightseers, A Dark Song)
• Rachel Parris (actor, comedian, and television presenter)^[3]
• John Payne (Canadian voice actor who was born in town and raised in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire but moved to Vancouver, British Columbia)
• Helen Pearson (actress, Hollyoaks)
• Adrian Scarborough (actor, The Madness of King George, Gosford Park)
• Josette Simon (actress, Blakes 7)
• Una Stubbs (actress, Till Death Us Do Part, Sherlock)
• Rakhee Thakrar (actress, EastEnders)
• Kraig Thornber (actor, The Rocky Horror Show, etc.)
• Mark Wingett (actor, The Bill)

Broadcasting and journalism

• David Attenborough (broadcaster and naturalist)
• Karl Beattie (Living TV presenter, Most Haunted and Most Haunted Live)
• Biddy Baxter (editor, Blue Peter)
• Manish Bhasin (BBC sports presenter, Football Focus)
• O.J. Borg (radio and TV presenter)
• Martine Croxall (TV newsreader, BBC)
• Julie Etchingham (TV newsreader, Sky News, ITN)
• Derrick Evans (TV fitness instructor, Mr Motivator)
• Martin Gillingham (sports commentator and journalist)
• Clare Hollingworth (foreign correspondent)
• David Icke (conspiracy theorist)
• Oliver Kamm (Times leader writer and columnist)
• Kevin Myers (journalist, Irish Independent)
• Sir Henry Norman, 1st Baronet (journalist and politician who revealed the truth about the Dreyfus affair)
• Jon Tickle (Leicester University graduate, presenter)
• Tony Wadsworth (broadcaster, BBC)
• Gok Wan (fashion stylist and presenter of How to Look Good Naked, Channel 4)
• Arlo White (broadcaster, BBC)

Music

• Aetherfx (Jacob Tugby, industrial electronic musician)
• Laurel Aitken (singer, the "godfather of ska"; born in Cuba, lived on the St. Mark's Estate 1971–2005)
• Sam Bailey (winner of The X Factor 2013)
• Frank Benbini (drummer, Fun Lovin Criminals)
• Blab Happy (band)
• Black Widow (band)
• Blitzkrieg (band)
• Hannah Boleyn (singer-songwriter)
• The Bomb Party (band)
• Mahalia Burkmar (singer)
• Grace Burrows (English violinist and orchestra conductor)
• Felix Buxton (half of Basement Jaxx)
• Scott Xylo (multi-genre Music Producer & Songwriter)
• Cornershop (band)
• Crazyhead (band)
• Brian Davison (drummer, The Nice, Refugee, Gong)
• John Deacon (bassist, Queen)
• The Deep Freeze Mice (band)
• Diesel Park West (band)
• Disco Zombies (band)
• Easy Life (band)
• Family (band)
• Gaye Bykers on Acid (band)
• Gemini (DJ)
• Robert Gotobed (drummer, Wire)
• Davy Graham (folk musician)
• Ric Grech (violinist, bassist, writer, producer, member of Blind Faith, Traffic)
• H "Two" O (band who produced the 2008 song "What's It Gonna Be?")
• Kevin Hewick (singer)
• Engelbert Humperdinck (singer, Release Me, Misty Blue and 2012 Eurovision entrant.)
• The Hunters Club (band)
• John Illsley (bassist, Dire Straits)
• Kasabian (band)
• KAV (former Happy Mondays guitarist, solo artist, musician, co-launched UK festival Getloaded in the Park)
• Tony Kaye (keyboard player, Yes)
• Sharron Kraus (folk singer)
• Lisa Lashes (DJ)
• Jon Lord (organist, Deep Purple)
• Paul Martinez (bassist, guitarist, writer)
• Tom Meighan (vocalist, Kasabian)
• Mark Morrison (singer, "Return of the Mack")
• Perfume (band)
• Sergio Pizzorno (musician, Kasabian)
• Po! (band)
• Prolapse (band)
• Scum Pups (band)
  • Oliver Sean Showaddywaddy (band)
• Molly Smitten-Downes (2014 Eurovision entrant)
• DJ SS (DJ and producer)
• Stunt (band)
• Nancy Whiskey Folk singer most famous for "Freight Train". Lived in Leicestershire from 1958 and died in Leicester in 2003.
• David Wise (composer)
• Yeah Yeah Noh (band)
• The Young Knives (band)

Painters

• Lemuel Francis Abbott (portrait artist)
• Duncan Fegredo (comic book artist)
• John Flower (artist)
• Edith Gittins (artist and social reformer)
• John T. Kenney (artist and illustrator of The Railway Series)
• Benjamin Marshall (artist)
• Tom Marshall (artist and photo colouriser)
• Jemisha Maadhavji (portrait painter)

Writing (except journalism)

• Lemuel Abbott (clergyman and poet)
• James Allen (author)
• Elizabeth Arnold (children's writer)
• Anna Barbauld (writer and poet)
• Julian Barnes (author)
• David Campton (playwright, actor)
• John Cleveland (poet)
• Thomas Cooper (poet)
• J. T. Edson (author)
• Anne Fine (author)
• Martin Goodman (novelist, biographer and travel writer)
• Hal Iggulden (author)
• E. Phillips Oppenheim (prolific author, inventor of "Rogue Male" genre)
• Joe Orton (playwright)
• Lynda Page (author)
• Jessie Pope (writer and poet)
• Bali Rai (author)
• C. P. Snow (author)
• Nina Stibbe (author)
• Sue Townsend (author, Adrian Mole books)
• Ruth Wills (poet)
• Colin Wilson (author)

Others

• Gothy Kendoll (drag queen, DJ and OnlyFans creator)
• Mary Linwood (needlewoman)
• Danica Taylor (television personality)

Business

• Charles Bennion (shoe machinery manufacturer, philanthropist, bought Bradgate Park for the 'quiet enjoyment of the people of Leicestershire')
• Harold Berridge (civil engineer and mechanical engineer)
• Thomas Cook (travel agent)
• Nathaniel Corah (textile manufacturer)
• Henry Curry (founder of Currys)
• Thomas Fielding Johnson (worsted spinner, philanthropist, founding benefactor of Leicester University)
• William Inman (shipping company owner)
• Frank Jessop (In 1935 founded The Jessop Group Limited, photographic retailers and suppliers. "Jessops of Leicester")
• Harry Peach (furniture manufacturer and social campaigner)
• Henry Walker (founder of Walkers Crisps)
• Thomas White (merchant, philanthropist)
• William Wyggeston (merchant, philanthropist)

Exploration

• Henry Bates (naturalist and explorer)
• Ed Stafford (explorer and author)
• Alfred Russel Wallace (naturalist, explorer, evolutionist and author, who briefly taught at Collegiate school)

Military

• Nicholas Alkemade Lancaster tail gunner who jumped 18000 feet without a parachute and survived.
• General Sir Patrick Howard-Dobson, former Vice-Chief of Defence Staff
• M. E. Clifton James, actor trained to impersonate Bernard Montgomery in World War II
• Johnnie Johnson, World War II's top Allied fighter ace

Politics and royalty

• Alastair Campbell (journalist and political advisor)
• Sir Arthur Haselrig, 2nd Baronet (MP for Leicestershire 1640–1653 & Leicester 1653 – 1659)
• Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (founder of the English Parliament)
• Lady Jane Grey ("Queen for Nine Days")
• Kelvin Hopkins (MP)
• Greg Knight (Former MP)
• Greville Janner (MP and barrister)
• Richard III of England
• Peter Soulsby (Mayor of Leicester, former MP)
• Claudia Webbe (Labour Party MP)^[4]

Religion

• John Brown, famous evangelical preacher^[5]
• William Carey (missionary and translator)
• Charles Henry Carter (Baptist missionary and translator of the first English-Singhalese dictionary)
• George Davys (Bishop and tutor to Queen Victoria)
• George Fox (founder of the Religious Society of Friends, otherwise known as Quakers)
• Robert Hall (Baptist minister and preacher)
• Hugh Latimer (Protestant Bishop and Martyr)
• John Wycliffe (Theologian, Church reformer, translator of the Bible, Rector of Lutterworth)

Science

• Alf Adams (physicist, inventor of the strained quantum-well laser)
• William Henry Bragg (physicist, chemist and mathematician)
• William Lawrence Bragg (physicist)
• Harold Hopkins
• Harold Edwin Hurst (Hydrologist whose study of the Nile led to a better understanding of statistics with applications in dam design and finance.)
• Sir Alec Jeffreys (geneticist and developer of genetic fingerprinting) (DNA)
• Roger Mason
• Benjamin Ward Richardson (physician)
• Cedric Smith (statistician and geneticist)

Sport

Boxing

• George Aldridge (born 1936) (former British middleweight champion; grew up in Market Harborough)
• Pat Butler (1913-2001) (former British welterweight champion; born in Rothley)
• Errol Christie (1963-2017) (former European middleweight champion; born in Leicester)
• Albert Cocksedge (1884-1928, early 20th century English champion at various weights; born in Leicester
• Shaun Cummins (1968-2012) (fought for British and European titles at super-welterweight and middleweight; born in Leicester)
• Jack Gardner (1926–1978) (British, British Empire, and European heavyweight champion)
• Tony McKenzie (born 1963) (former British light welterweight champion; born in Leicester)
• Rendall Munroe (born 1980) (EBU and Commonwealth super bantamweight boxing champion; born in Leicester)
• Louis Norman (born 1993) (British flyweight challenger; lives in Shepshed)
• Chris Pyatt (born 1963) (former World Champion middleweight boxer)
• Tony Sibson (born 1958) (former European and Commonwealth middleweight champion; born in Leicester)
• Len Wickwar (1911-1980) (holds the record for highest number of professional fights, 470; born in Leicester)
• Tim Wood (1951-2010) (former British light heavyweight champion; grew up in Leicester)

Chess

• Henry Ernest Atkins (chess master, nine-time British champion; the H.E. Atkins tournament is run annually in Leicester)
• Mark Hebden (chess grandmaster)
• Glenn Flear (chess grandmaster)

Cricket

• James Barnfather (played first-class cricket for Essex in 1924)
• Samit Patel (England international cricketer)
• M. J. K. Smith (England cricket captain)

Cycling

• Lucy Garner (twice Junior World Champion)
• Bert Harris (first professional cycling champion of England)
• Fred Wood (multi World Cycling Champion, 1880s)^[6]

Football

• Ian Baraclough (football manager)
• Harvey Barnes (English footballer)^[7]
• Ashley Chambers (English footballer)^[8]
• Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (English footballer)
• Dion Dublin (England International footballer)^[9]
• Kevin Friend (football referee)^[10]
• Emile Heskey (England international footballer)^[11]
• Chris Kirkland (England international footballer)^[12]
• Norman Leet (English former footballer)
• Gary Lineker (England international footballer, World Cup 1986 Golden Boot Winner, sports presenter)^[13]
• Joe Mattock (English footballer)^[14]
• Holly Morgan, (English footballer, captain of Leicester City W.F.C.)^[15]
• Norman Plummer (Leicester City footballer, captain 1949 FA Cup Final, decorated World War II veteran)
• Levi Porter (English footballer)^[16]
• Michael Robinson (footballer, Spanish TV presenter)^[17]
• Peter Shilton (England's most capped footballer)^[18]
• Luke Varney (footballer)^[19]

Rugby Union

• Dan Cole (rugby union footballer for Leicester Tigers and England)
• Martin Corry (former rugby union footballer, former Leicester captain and former England captain)
• Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers captain, England International)
• Martin Johnson (CBE, rugby union footballer, Leicester and England's World-Cup winning captain; grew up in Market Harborough)
• Steve Redfern (rugby union footballer, Leicester Tigers walk of legends)
• Dean Richards (rugby union footballer and coach, Leicester Tigers and England captain)
• Ollie Smith (Rugby Union international)^[20]
• Harry Thacker (Leicester Tigers)
• John Wells (Leicester Tigers captain, head coach and England Forwards coach)

Snooker

• Tom Ford (snooker player)
• Shailesh Jogia (snooker player)
• Joe O'Connor (snooker player)
• Mark Selby (snooker player; the 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021 world snooker champion and eight ball pool world champion 2007)
• Willie Thorne (snooker player and commentator)
• Ben Woollaston (snooker player)

Speedway

• Geoff Bouchard
• Ivor Brown
• Cyril "Squib" Burton
• Bruce Forrester
• David Howe
• Paddy Mills
• Graham Plant
• Fred Wilkinson
• Len Williams (Sheffield, Leicester and England)
• Stan Williams (Sheffield, Coventry and England)

Others

• Chris Adcock (English and Great Britain badminton player)
• Tony Allcock (fourteen-time bowls world champion, now chief executive of Bowls England)
• Andrew Betts (Great Britain basketball player)
• Katie Boulter (professional tennis player)
• Jamie Caven (darts player)
• Roger Clark (rally driving champion)
• Mark Cox (English professional tennis player)^[21]
• Jennie Fletcher (Olympic gold medallist in swimming)
• Bob Gerard (racing driver)
• Jamie Green (race car driver in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters championship)
• Tamsin Greenway, former English netball player and coach
• Phelan Hill (Rowing cox Olympic Gold medalist 2016 and Olympic Bronze medalist 2012)
• John Arthur Jarvis (swimmer, 1900 Olympic medallist)
• Ken Johnson (Olympic athlete)
• Charlie Christina Martin hill climb and Le Mans Cup racing driver
• John Merricks (sailor, 1996 Olympic medallist)
• James Wilks (UFC fighter)
• Roger Williamson (Formula One driver)

Miscellaneous

• Donald Hings (1907–2004), inventor of the Walkie-Talkie
• Daniel Lambert (1770–1809), heaviest man in England
• Sydney Lucas (1900–2008), last soldier to serve in both World Wars
• Ian McAteer, Scottish-born former gangster^[22]
• Kim McLagan, model and cosmetologist
• Joseph Merrick (1862–1890), "The Elephant Man"
• Charles Killick Millard (1870–1952), Medical Officer for Health and founder of the Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society
• Phil Shaw, inventor of extreme ironing
• Anick Soni, intersex activist and creative consultant.

Notes and References

1. News: The Independent. Vallance, Tom . Norman Bird: Actor best at playing under-achievers. 4 June 2005. 6 June 2020.
2. News: Burton, Paul. Whatever happened to Sheila Fearn?. Borhamwood & Elstree Times . 22 June 2009 . 9 December 2018.
3. "Rachel Parris: It's Fun To Pretend", Time Out London, 2 March 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2018
4. Web site: Labour MP Claudia Webbe charged with harassing a woman. 28 September 2020. inews.co.uk.
5. Web site: Eminent Alumni. Queens' College, Cambridge. 8 November 2014.
6. News: Leicestershire's top 100 sporting greats . . 19 February 2011 . 20 April 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150623073833/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Sports-100-final-word/story-12026016-detail/story.html . 23 June 2015 . dead .
7. News: Leicester City starlet Harvey Barnes commits future to club with four-year deal. Leicester Mercury. Jordan. Blackwell. 21 July 2017. 10 July 2019.
8. Web site: Ashley Chambers . Football Heroes . 20 April 2017.
9. Web site: Dion Dublin . Football Heroes . 20 April 2017.
10. Web site: Kevin Friend . Premier League . 7 November 2017.
11. Web site: Emile Heskey . Football Heroes . 20 April 2017.
12. Web site: Chris Kirkland . Football Heroes . 20 April 2017.
13. Web site: Gary Lineker . Football Heroes . 20 April 2017.
14. Web site: Joe Mattock . Football Heroes . 20 April 2017.
15. Web site: The Morgan dynasty: meet the family driving Leicester City Women's rise. times.co.uk. 27 May 2021.
16. Web site: Levi Porter . Football Heroes . 20 April 2017.
17. Web site: Michael Robinson . Football Heroes . 20 April 2017.
18. Web site: Peter Shilton . Football Heroes . 20 April 2017.
19. Web site: Luke Varney . Football Heroes . 20 April 2017.
20. Web site: Ollie Smith . Rugby Heroes . 20 April 2017.
21. Web site: Mark Cox . Tennis Heroes . 20 April 2017.
22. Web site: Three walk free after court is told of motiveless killing. 11 August 1998. The Herald. 12 July 2018.