# List of people from Wilmette, Illinois

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Wilmette, Illinois. For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Wilmette, Illinois.

## Academics and scientists

| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
| Ezekiel Emanuel | | 1957 | | Oncologist; developer of The Medical Directive: health policy adviser to the federal government | | |
| Roger Myerson | | March 29, 1951 | | 2007 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics co-winner | | |

## Acting and modeling

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| Ralph Bellamy | June 17, 1904 | November 29, 1991 | Academy Award-nominated actor | Grew up in Wilmette |
| Beck Bennett | October 1, 1984 | | Actor, Saturday Night Live cast member | Born in Wilmette |
| Neal Brennan | October 19, 1973 | | Comedian, writer, director, producer, actor | Lived in Wilmette as a child between 1978 and 1986 |
| Brian Doyle-Murray | October 31, 1945 | | Actor | Grew up in Wilmette |
| Charlton Heston | October 4, 1923 | April 5, 2008 | Academy Award-winning actor | Born in Wilmette |
| Seana Kofoed | August 13, 1970 | | Actress | Born in Wilmette |
| Virginia Madsen | September 11, 1961 | | Academy Award-nominated actress | |
| Crystal McCahill | December 18, 1983 | | Model; Playboy Playmate of the Month | |
| Bill Murray | September 21, 1950 | | Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated actor and comedian. Recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. | Grew up in Wilmette |
| Joel Murray | April 17, 1963 | | Actor | Born in Wilmette |
| Hugh O'Brian | April 19, 1925 | September 5, 2016 | Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actor | Lived in Wilmette |
| Ann-Margret Olsson | April 28, 1941 | | Actress and entertainer, winner of five Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award, nominated for two Academy Awards, two Grammys and a SAG Award | Lived in Wilmette |
| Kevin Quinn | May 21, 1997 | | Actor | Grew up in Wilmette |
| Jeri Ryan | February 22, 1968 | | American actress best known for her role as the Borg drone, Seven of Nine, in Star Trek: Voyager, lived in Wilmette | Lived in Wilmette |
| Frazier Thomas | June 13, 1918 | April 3, 1985 | Chicago children's television personality, best known for Garfield Goose and Friends | Lived in Wilmette |
| Nico Tortorella | July 30, 1988 | | Model and actor | Born in Wilmette |
| Rainn Wilson | January 20, 1966 | | Emmy-nominated and SAG Award-winning actor; best known for role as Dwight Schrute on The Office. | |

## Architects

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| Jens Jensen | September 13, 1860 | October 1, 1951 | Landscape architect. Served as the superintendent of the Chicago Park District | Lived in Wilmette |
| Benjamin Marshall | May 5, 1874 | June 19, 1940 | Designed such buildings as the Drake Hotel | Lived in Wilmette |
| Carol Ross Barney | 1949 | | Principal architect at Ross Barney Architects | Lived in Wilmette |

## Business

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| James Crown | June 25, 1953 | | Businessman, son of Lester Crown and brother of Susan Crown, president of Henry Crown and Company, director of JPMorgan Chase, General Dynamics and Sara Lee Corporation, managing partner of Aspen Skiing Company | Grew up in Wilmette |
| Lester Crown | June 7, 1925 | | Billionaire businessman, son of industrialist Henry Crown, father of James and Susan Crown | Lives in Wilmette |
| Susan Crown | 1958 | | Businesswoman, daughter of Lester Crown and sister of James Crown, chairman and founder of Susan Crown Exchange (SCE), chairman and CEO of Owl Creek Partners, chairman of Crown Family Philanthropies and partner of Henry Crown & Co., executive at Illinois Tool Works, board member of Northern Trust Corporation, vice-chair of Rush University Medical Center, former Fellow of Yale Corporation and board member of Baxter International | Grew up in Wilmette |
| Ari Emanuel | March 29, 1961 | | Co-founder of Endeavor Talent Agency | Grew up in Wilmette |
| Christie Hefner | November 8, 1952 | | Former CEO of Playboy, daughter of Hugh Hefner | Born in Wilmette |
| James L. Kraft | December 11, 1874 | February 16, 1953 | Founder of Kraft Foods Inc | Lived in Wilmette |
| Cary Kochman | April 1965 | | Co-head of Global Mergers and Acquisitions Group at Citigroup, head of Chicago Citi office | Lives in Wilmette |
| Tony Rezko | 1955 | | Restaurateur, political fundraiser convicted of fraud | Lived in Wilmette |
| Laura Ricketts | December 15, 1967 | | Co-owner of Chicago Cubs; board member of Lambda Legal and Housing Opportunities for Women organization; daughter of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts | Lives in Wilmette |
| Thomas S. Ricketts | May 23, 1963 | | Co-owner and chairman of Chicago Cubs; CEO of Incapital; director of TD Ameritrade Holding Company; son of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts | Lives in Wilmette |

## Chefs

| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
| Charlie Trotter | | September 8, 1959 | November 5, 2013 | Chef and restaurant-owner | Born in Wilmette | |

## Music

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| Casey Abrams | February 12, 1991 | | Singer and musician; finalist on American Idol season 10 | Lived in Wilmette; attended McKenzie Elementary School |
| Kristine Flaherty (a.k.a. K.Flay) | June 30, 1985 | | Rapper | Born in Wilmette |
| Robbie Fulks | March 25, 1963 | | Alt-country singer and musician | Moved to Wilmette from Lindenhurst in 2005 |
| Sinéad O'Connor | December 8, 1966 | July 26, 2023 | Singer-songwriter | Lived in Wilmette for several months in 2016 |
| Matt Walker | May 1969 | | Drummer for Filter, The Smashing Pumpkins and Morrissey | |
| Wendy Warner | | | Celloist | Lived in Wilmette |
| Pete Wentz | June 5, 1979 | | Bassist and primary lyricist for the band Fall Out Boy | Grew up in Wilmette |

## Photography

| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
| Vivian Maier | | February 1, 1926 | April 21, 2009 | Street photographer | Lived as a nanny in Wilmette from 1989 until 1993 | |

## Politics

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| Esther Dunshee Bower | September 1879 | October 13, 1962 | lawyer, co-founder of Illinois League of Women Voters; worked almost 20 years for the state's Women's Jury Bill (1939) | Lived in Wilmette from 1880s to 1950s |
| Michael Cabonargi | January 29, 1971 | | Commissioner of Cook County Board of Review from the 2nd district since 2011 | Lives in Wilmette |
| Rahm Emanuel | November 29, 1959 | | 55th mayor of Chicago; White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama; senior advisor to President Bill Clinton, Democratic Caucus Chairman of the House of Representatives; Ambassador to Japan under President Joe Biden | Grew up in Wilmette |
| Roger Keats | August 12, 1948 | | Former member of the Illinois House of Representatives | Lived in Wilmette |
| Dean A. Pinkert | June 5, 1956 | | Served as a member of the International Trade Commission from 2007 until 2015 | Grew up in Wilmette |
| Todd Ricketts | September 23, 1969 | | Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Was originally named by Donald Trump for nomination as the Deputy Secretary of Commerce but withdrew, unable to satisfy the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. Ricketts is a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs; owner of the shuttered Higher Gear Bike Shops chain; CEO of Ending Spending Super PAC; member of the World Bicycle Relief board of directors; son of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts. | Lives in Wilmette |
| Michael S. Rogers | October 31, 1959 | | Former commander of the United States Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency | Grew up in Wilmette |
| Jack Ryan | October 6, 1959 | | Candidate for the United States Senate | Grew up in Wilmette |
| Dan Seals | June 19, 1971 | | Candidate for the United States House of Representatives | Lives in Wilmette |
| Sargent Shriver | November 9, 1915 | January 18, 2011 | General manager of the Merchandise Mart; first head of the Peace Corps; vice presidential nominee for George McGovern's presidential campaign | Lived in Wilmette |

## Sports

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| Jack Brickhouse | January 24, 1917 | August 6, 1998 | Sportscaster for the Chicago Cubs | Lived in Wilmette |
| Grant Golden | August 21, 1929 | December 15, 2018 | Tennis player | Born in Wilmette |
| Barry Horowitz | March 24, 1960 | | Wrestler with WWE | |
| Jamie Schroeder | September 9, 1981 | | Olympic rower | |
| Mike Huff | August 11, 1963 | | Major League Baseball player | Grew up in Wilmette |
| Bob Skelton | June 25, 1903 | June 25, 1977 | Gold medalist Olympic swimmer | Born in Wilmette |
| Charlie Tilson | December 22, 1992 | | Major League Baseball player | Born in Wilmette |
| Alexander K. Whybrow (a.k.a. Larry Sweeney) | February 18, 1981 | April 11, 2011 | Wrestler and manager | |
| Tommy Wingels | April 12, 1988 | | Center in National Hockey League | Grew up in Wilmette |

## Writing and journalism

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| Julia Allison | February 28, 1981 | | Columnist | Born in Wilmette |
| Mal Bellairs | November 9, 1919 | July 12, 2010 | Radio personality | Lived in Wilmette |
| Robert Casey | March 14, 1890 | December 5, 1962 | Newspaper journalist | Lived in Wilmette |
| Jamie Gilson | July 4, 1933 | February 11, 2020 | Author | Lived in Wilmette |
| Edward Gorey | February 22, 1925 | April 15, 2000 | Writer/ illustrator | Grew up in Wilmette |
| Chester Gould | November 20, 1900 | May 11, 1985 | Cartoonist; creator of Dick Tracy | Lived in Wilmette |
| Blair Kamin | | | Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic for Chicago Tribune | Lives in Wilmette |
| Linda MacLennan | May 25, 1956 | | Television news anchor and reporter (longtime personality on WBBM-TV) | Lived in Wilmette |
| Brant Miller | February 8, 1950 | | Chief meteorologist at WMAQ-TV | Lives in Wilmette |
| Marianne Murciano | | | Co-hosted Fox Thing in the Morning on WFLD | Lives in Wilmette |
| Jonathan Nolan | Jun 6, 1976 | | British-American author and screenwriter | |
| Dana Olsen | | | Screenwriter | Lives in Wilmette |
| Ian Punnett | March 3, 1960 | | Radio broadcaster | Born in Wilmette |
| Bob Sirott | August 9, 1949 | | Radio broadcaster on WLS-AM, television news anchor | Lives in Wilmette |
| Clark Weber | Nov 24, 1930 | Mar 7, 2020 | Radio broadcaster | Lives in Wilmette |
| Donovan Webster | January 13, 1959 | | Best-selling and award-winning journalist, author, film-maker, and humanitarian | Grew up in Wilmette |
| Paul O. Zelinsky | 1953 | | Best-selling children's author/illustrator | Grew up in Wilmette |

## Other

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| Stephen Baltz | January 9, 1949 | December 17, 1960 | Sole survivor of the 1960 New York air disaster until dying a day later | Born and lived in Wilmette |
| H. H. Holmes | May 16, 1861 | May 7, 1896 | Serial killer | Lived in Wilmette |
| Antoine Ouilmette | 1760 | December 1, 1841 | Fur trader who was among the earliest settlers of Chicago | Lived in Wilmette and is a member of the town's namesake family |