List of people from Springfield, Missouri explained

This is a list of notable people born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with the city of Springfield, Missouri and its surrounding metropolitan area.

Politics

• John Ashcroft, former United States attorney general
• Matt Blunt, former governor of Missouri
• Melanie Blunt, former first lady of Missouri
• Roy Blunt, former U.S. senator
• Dennis Bonner, Missouri state legislator
• Sempronius H. Boyd, former U.S. representative and minister of the United States to Siam
• Miller Dunckel, former Michigan State Treasurer
• James McBride, former minister of the United States to Hawaii
• Karen L. Williams, current United States Ambassador to Suriname
• Charlie Brown, former U.S. representative
• Mark A. Ediger, former Surgeon General of the United States Air Force
• Johnny Ellis, Alaska state legislator
• Scott Fitzpatrick, State Auditor of Missouri and former State Treasurer of Missouri
• M. Douglas Harpool, United States District Judge
• Gilbert H. Jertberg, United States Circuit Judge
• Jim Keet (born 1949), former member of both houses of the Arkansas legislature; the 2010 Republican gubernatorial nominee in Arkansas
• Margaret Kelly, former Missouri state auditor, Missouri republican gubernatorial nominee
• Billy Long, former U.S. representative
• Dale Long, MLB baseball player, hit a home run in eight consecutive games
• Duard Marshall, painter, lithographer, and student of Thomas Hart Benton
• Roscoe C. Patterson, former U.S. senator and representative
• William C. Price, former Treasurer of the United States
• Crystal Quade, minority leader, Missouri House of Representatives
• Betsy Fogle, member of the Missouri House of Representatives
• Alex Riley, member of the Missouri House of Representatives

Arts, literature, humanities and entertainment

• Lennie Aleshire, vaudeville and country music performer
• Jerry L. Atwood, chemist
• Bob Barker, game show host (The Price is Right)
• Julie Blackmon, photographer
• Aaron Buerge, star of ABC's The Bachelor, season 2
• Kristi Capel Miss Missouri 2006, anchor for WJW in Cleveland
• Kim Crosby, Broadway performer
• Ian Eskelin, lead singer of All Star United
• Ralph D. Foster, broadcasting pioneer
• William Garwood, actor
• John Goodman, actor (born in Affton and attended Missouri State University) numerous award winner including Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award
• Kathleen Turner, actress, two time Golden Globe Award winner
• Brenda Lee, singer, numerous award winner including a Grammy Award
• Ozark Mountain Daredevils, rock band
• Brad Pitt, actor, and attended Kickapoo High School Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award winner
• Lucas Grabeel, actor, singer (High School Musical, High School Musical 2, and)
• Sara Groves, Christian contemporary recording artist
• Tess Harper, actress (graduated from Missouri State University)
• David L. Harrison, children's author and poet
• Speedy Haworth, guitarist and singer
• Grace Hayes, actress
• Joe Haymes, swing era bandleader-arranger (born in Marshfield; grew up and began his band in Springfield)
• Josh Heinrichs, reggae singer
• Juto, singer
• Melissa Hutchison, two time BAFTA nominee
• Virginia Hunter, actress
• Jay Kenneth Johnson, actor (Days of Our Lives)
• The Jordanaires, singing group
• David Kershenbaum, record producer
• King's X, musical group
• Chandler Lawson, beauty pageant titleholder, Miss Tennessee 2012
• Jim Lowe, country music singer
• Robin Luke, musician
• The Marksmen, singing quartet (originally The Foggy River Boys)
• Mariann Mayberry, actress
• Crystal Methyd, drag queen, runner-up on season twelve of RuPaul's Drag Race
• Daya Betty, drag queen, contestant on season fourteen of RuPaul's Drag Race
• Chappell Roan, singer-songwriter
• The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, musical group
• The Philharmonics, singing quintet
• Mary Ellen Ray, actress
• Jake Wesley Rogers, singer
• Artie Romero, cartoonist, animator
• Jah Roots, reggae band
• Ronnie Self, singer/songwriter
• Scott Siman, music producer and executive
• Si Siman, music producer and broadcast executive
• Cailee Spaeny, actress (Vice, On the Basis of Sex)
• Speakeasy, rock and roll band
• Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, musical group
• Heidi Strobel, Survivor contestant
• Terre Thaemlitz, musician, cultural producer
• Marissa Whitley, Miss Teen USA 2001
• Tony Tost, poet
• Speedy West, steel guitarist and record producer
• Robert Westenberg, Broadway performer
• Tom Whitlock, Academy Award winner for Best Original Song, Take My Breath Away
• Adrienne Wilkinson, actress (graduated from Kickapoo High School)
• Slim Wilson, musician, radio and TV personality
• Daniel Woodrell, author
• Percy Grainger, music composer, (lived in Springfield from 1940 to 1943)^[1]

Sports

• Jaelon Acklin, CFL player, Ottawa Redblacks
• Scott Bailes, MLB pitcher in 1980s and 1990s; color commentator for Springfield Cardinals
• Eddie Carnett, MLB pitcher in 1940s
• Dean Deetz, MLB player, Houston Astros
• Lori Endicott, Atlanta 1996 Olympic volleyball player
• BJ Flores, boxer
• Courtney Frerichs, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 track and field
• Gracie Gold, Sochi 2014 Olympic figure skater, 2014 and 2016 U.S. champion
• Dorial Green-Beckham, NFL player, 2015 Tennessee Titans, 2016 Philadelphia Eagles
• Lucas Harrell, MLB player, Toronto Blue Jays
• John Howard, Mexico City 1968, Munich 1972, Montreal 1976 cycalist
• Ryan Howard, MLB player, 2005 NL Rookie of the Year, 2006 Home Run Derby champion, 2006 NL Most Valuable Player
• Jack Jewsbury, MLS player for Portland Timbers
• Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys owner; worked in Springfield with father Pat Jones at insurance company Modern Security Life in 1960s
• Josh Kinney, first Springfield Cardinal (AA) to make MLB St. Louis Cardinals roster
• Stan Musial, Hall of Fame baseball player for St. Louis Cardinals, played for original Springfield Cardinals in late 1930s
• Larry Nemmers, NFL referee
• Mickey Owen, MLB player
• Robin Partch, Grenoble 1968 luger
• Dave Patterson, MLB player, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Jason Pyrah, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Olympic 1500m runner
• Steve Rogers, MLB starting pitcher, 5-time All-Star; most successful pitcher in Montreal Expos history
• Emily Scott, Sochi 2014 Olympic speed skater
• Horton Smith, golfer, two-time Masters Tournament champion
• Payne Stewart, professional golfer
• Jackie Stiles, NCAA all-time leading scorer in women's basketball
• Jeri Sitzes, boxer
• Anthony Tolliver, NBA player for Minnesota Timberwolves
• Paul Walker, football player

Business

• William F. Austin, CEO of Starkey Hearing Technologies
• Jack Gentry, World War II and Korean War veteran; founder of Positronic
• David Glass, former CEO of Walmart; owner of MLB's Kansas City Royals
• John Morris, founder and majority owner, Bass Pro Shops^[2]
• Jack Stack, founder of SRC Holdings
• Byron Trott, investment banker

Other

• Jimmie Angel, aviator, discoverer of Angel Falls, highest free-falling waterfall in world
• William A. Beiderlinden, U.S. Army major general^[3]
• Oliver Brown, plaintiff in the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, born in Topeka
• James E. Cofer, professor at Missouri State University, president 2010-11
• J. Alan Groves, Biblical Hebrew scholar; editor of Groves-Wheeler Hebrew morphology database
• Edwin P. Hubble, of Hubble Space Telescope fame (born in Marshfield)^[4]
• Virginia E. Johnson, sexologist; junior member of Masters and Johnson sexuality research team
• Janet Kavandi, NASA astronaut
• Curtis Price KBE, warden of New College, Oxford
• Emma J. Ray, activist, suffragist

Notes and References

1. Web site: Percy Grainger Society - Percy Grainger's Residence in Springfield, Missouri. 2021-12-08. percygrainger.org. en.
2. Web site: John Morris. Forbes. 9 January 2015.
3. Book: 1956 . Who's Who In the South and Southwest . 5 . Chicago, IL . Marquis Who's Who . 68 . Google Books.
4. Web site: Edwin Hubble - Biography.