# List of people from Tulsa, Oklahoma

This is a list of well-known persons who were either born in, or lived in, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

## Arts

* Joe Brainard, (1942 - 1994) painter
* Charles Bell (1935–1995), artist
* Ted Berrigan, (1934 - 1983) poet
* Shan Goshorn, (1957–2018), artist
* James Pepper Henry, artist and Gilcrease Museum director (2015–2017)
* Roman Jasinski, (1907- 1991) ballet dancer and teacher
* Ron Padgett, (b. 1942) poet

## Business

* Frank Abagnale (born 1948), fraud expert, former con man, subject of Catch Me If You Can
* Cyrus Avery (1870–1963), businessman and "father of Route 66"
* Bill Bartmann (c. 1949–2016), businessman, named as "One of the Top 100 Entrepreneurs of the Last 100 Years"
* W. Tate Brady (1870–1925), businessman, owner of the Brady Hotel
* James A. Chapman (1881–1966), oilman and philanthropist
* Robert Galbreath Jr. (1863–1955), oilman who moved to Tulsa after he drilled the first oil well in Glenn Pool Field
* J. Paul Getty (1892–1976), oilman founder of Getty Oil Company, who made his first million in Tulsa between 1914 and 1916
* Thomas Gilcrease (1890–1962), oilman, founder of Gilcrease Museum
* Jay Graber (born 1991), software engineer and first CEO of Bluesky
* J. M. Hall (1851–1935), pioneer merchant in Tulsa, organized First Presbyterian Church
* George Kaiser (born 1942), chairman of BOK Financial Corporation
* Henry Kravis (born 1944), co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
* James H. McBirney (1870–1944), co-founder and president National Bank of Commerce in Tulsa
* Sam P. McBirney (1877–1936), football coach and co-founder National Bank of Commerce in Tulsa
* Robert M. McFarlin (1866–1942), oilman and philanthropist
* Waite Phillips (1883–1964), oilman and philanthropist
* Harry Ford Sinclair (1876–1956), founder of Sinclair Oil, co-founder of Exchange National Bank (later part of National Bank of Tulsa and Bank of Oklahoma; convicted of jury tampering during Teapot Dome scandal trial
* Carolyn Mary Skelly (1905–1996), eccentric daughter of William Grove Skelly; oil heiress; dubbed the most robbed woman in the U.S. by the Boston Globe; socialite; hosted fundraisers for President George H.W. Bush, and Texas Governor John Connally
* William G. Skelly (1877–1957), founder of Skelly Oil Company, Spartan Aircraft Company and Spartan School of Aeronautics, philanthropist
* William K. Warren Sr. (1897–1990), founder of Warren Petroleum Corporation; philanthropist
* John Smith Zink (1928–2005), engineer, owner of John Zink Industries, automobile racer

## Music

* Admiral Twin (Mark Carr, Jarrod Gollihare, John Russell, Brad Becker), rock band
* The Agony Scene, metalcore band
* Elvin Bishop (born 1942), blues and rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist and bandleader
* Garth Brooks (born 1962), country music singer
* Broncho, punk rock band with Ryan Lindsey, Johnathon Ford of Roadside Monument, and Nathan Price
* Anita Bryant (born 1940), singer
* J. J. Cale (1938–2013), songwriter and musician, an originator of The Tulsa Sound
* Capital Lights, pop rock band
* Rodney Carrington (born 1968) country music singer and comedian
* Jeff Carson (1963–2022), country musician
* Chuck Cissel (born 1948), singer and dancer
* Annie Clark (St. Vincent) (born 1982)
* Roy Clark (1933–2018), country musician
* David Cook (born 1982), 2008 American Idol winner
* Denny Cordell (1943–1995), record producer, signed Tom Petty as part of Mudcrutch
* Ester Dean (born 1986), singer-songwriter
* Joe Diffie (1958–2020), country musician
* Phil Driscoll (born 1947), trumpet player and singer, Christian and jazz musician
* Ronnie Dunn (born 1953) (Brooks and Dunn)
* Annie Ellicott (born 1984), jazz, swing singer
* Scott Ellison (born 1954), electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter
* Ester Drang, indie band
* Rocky Frisco (1937–2015), pianist for J.J. Cale; 2008 inductee into Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame
* The Gap Band, Charlie, Ronnie and Robert Wilson, R&B, funk, and soul band
* David Gates (born 1940), pop rock musician (Bread)
* Hanson, Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson, Pop rock band
* Gus Hardin (1945–1996), female country musician
* Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, jazz band
* William Johns (born 1936), opera singer
* Jim Keltner (born 1942), drummer for the Traveling Wilburys
* Tosca Kramer (1903–1976), violinist, violist, and music educator
* Fredell Lack (1922–2017), violinist
* Hardie Avenue, Christian alternative rock band
* Lega-C (born 1976), rapper
* Leon McAuliffe (1917–1988), steel guitarist Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
* Little Joe McLerran (born 1983), singer, guitarist, recording artist and winner of 2009 International Blues Challenge
* John Moreland (born 1985), singer-songwriter
* Jamie Oldaker (1951–2020), drummer, Eric Clapton, Bob Seger
* Patti Page (1927–2013), singer
* PDA, rapper
* Pillar, band
* Johnny Polygon (born 1984), rapper
* Carl Radle (1942–1980), musician, bassist for Derek and the Dominos
* Ben Rector (born 1986), singer-songwriter
* Steve Ripley (1950–2019), engineer, producer, singer-songwriter and guitarist for The Tractors and Bob Dylan
* Leon Russell (1942–2016), singer-songwriter, pianist, guitarist, an originator of The Tulsa Sound and founder of The Church Studio
* SafetySuit, pop rock band
* Jacob Sartorius (born 2002), born in Tulsa but adopted and moved to upstate Virginia shortly after his birth
* Natalie Sims (born 1984), musician, songwriter and music executive
* Andy Skib (born 1985), guitarist, keyboardist in David Cook's band
* Clyde Stacy (1936–2013), rockabilly musician
* Ryan Tedder (born 1979), producer, songwriter, lead singer of OneRepublic
* David Teegarden, rock drummer with Teegarden & Van Winkle and with Bob Seger
* Flash Terry (1934–2004), blues musician
* Neal Tiemann (born 1982), lead guitarist in David Cook's band
* Wayman Tisdale (1964–2009), jazz musician and former professional basketball player
* Dwight Twilley (1951–2023), power pop, rock musician
* Jared Tyler (born 1978), singer-songwriter and producer
* Unwed Sailor, instrumental indie rock
* David T. Walker (born 1941), session guitarist, famous for his work with Jackson 5, Bobby Womack, Levert and Stevie Wonder among others
* Johnnie Lee Wills (1912–1984), western music band leader, brother of Bob Wills
* Charlie Wilson (born 1953), R&B singer and lead singer of The Gap Band
* Bob Wootton (1942–2017), lead guitarist for the Tennessee Three
* Tuck Andress, guitarist
* Kristin Chenoweth (born 1968), actress, singer and author
* Dara Tucker (born 1958), singer-songwriter and documentary filmmaker
* AleXa, K-pop Idol

## Politics

* Tom Adelson, member of the Oklahoma State Senate
* Alicia Andrews, chair of the Oklahoma Democratic Party
* Bob Ballinger (born 1974), member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, reared in Tulsa
* Dewey F. Bartlett (1919–1979), former governor of the state of Oklahoma and U.S. Senator
* Dewey F. Bartlett Jr. (born 1947), former mayor of Tulsa (2009–2016)
* G. T. Bynum (born 1977), Mayor of Tulsa (2016–2024)
* Jim R. Caldwell, retired Church of Christ minister and former member of the Arkansas State Senate
* David Duke (born 1950), former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
* David Hall (1930–2016), former governor of the state of Oklahoma
* Linda Hughes O'Leary (born 1950), former member of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council (2003–2007)
* James Inhofe (1934–2024), U.S. Senator
* James R. Jones (born 1939), former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, chairman of the American Stock Exchange
* Frank Keating (born 1944), former governor of the state of Oklahoma
* John Albert Knebel (born 1936), Secretary of Agriculture in the Carter Administration
* Sheila Kuehl (born 1941), former actress, now California state senator
* Joseph A. LaFortune, oilman and mayor
* Steve Largent (born 1954), former member of the U.S. House of Representatives
* Willian F. Martin (born 1950), United States Deputy Secretary of Energy
* Jim McConn (1928–1997), former mayor of Houston, Texas, 1979–1981
* Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927–2003), former Democratic U.S. senator representing New York was born in Tulsa.
* George E. Nowotny (born 1932), retired Tulsa businessman and former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Fort Smith
* John Sullivan (born 1965), member of the U.S. House of Representatives
* Kathy Taylor (born 1955), Mayor of Tulsa (2006–2009)
* John Volz (1935–2011), attorney for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, died in Tulsa in 2011
* R. James Woolsey Jr. (born 1941), former director, Central Intelligence Agency
* Terry Young (born 1948), former mayor of the City of Tulsa

## Print

* Mildred Grosberg Bellin (1908–2008), Jewish cookbook author
* William Bernhardt (born 1960), mystery/suspense fiction author
* Daniel J. Boorstin (1914–2004), historian and writer; former Librarian of Congress
* Cleora Butler (1901–1985), chef, caterer and cookbook writer
* Dorothy Carnegie (1912–1998), author
* P.C. Cast (born 1960), author
* John Hope Franklin (1915–2009), African American historian; namesake of John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park in Tulsa
* Martin Gardner (1914–2010), author of works on philosophy, mathematics and literature
* Sterling Gates (born 1981), comic book writer (Supergirl, Action Comics)
* Joy Harjo (born 1951), poet, musician, and author. First Native American Poet Laureate, and first Poet Laureate from Oklahoma.
* S.E. Hinton (born 1948), author (The Outsiders, That Was Then, This Is Now, Tex)
* Mercedes Lackey (born 1950), science-fiction author
* R.A. Lafferty (1914–2002), science-fiction author
* Billie Letts (1938–2014), author, Where the Heart Is
* Tracy Letts (born 1965), Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and actor (August: Osage County)
* Joe McGuff (1926–2006), journalist and newspaper editor
* Russell Myers (born 1938), cartoonist, Broom-Hilda comic strip
* Denver Nicks, journalist
* Dan Piraro (born 1958), cartoonist of the Bizarro comic strip
* Nancy Speir, children's book illustrator
* Grace Steele Woodward (1899–1987), writer and historian
* William P. Steven (1908–1991), journalist and newspaper editor
* Clifton Taulbert, author, Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored
* Will Thomas (born 1958), mystery fiction author
* Mildred Ladner Thompson (1918–2013), reporter for The Wall Street Journal and Tulsa World
* Michael Wallis (born 1945), author, Route 66, Pretty Boy Floyd, Mankiller, Billy the Kid Voice Of Sheriff in The Cars Series
* K. D. Wentworth (1951–2012), science-fiction author
* Cornel West (born 1953), theologian, author

## Radio

* Paul Harvey (1918–2009), radio personality
* Roy D. Mercer, fictional radio character

## Screen and stage

* Pamela Bach (born 1962), actress; ex-wife of David Hasselhoff
* Marshall Bell (born 1942), actor
* William Boyd (1895–1972), aka Hopalong Cassidy, western actor (born in Hendrysburg, Belmont County, Ohio)
* Max Burnett (born 1969), TV writer, screenwriter and director
* Gary Busey (born 1944), actor
* Cindy Chupack (born 1965), screenwriter for Sex and the City
* Larry Clark (born 1943), film director and photographer
* Iron Eyes Cody (1904–1999), actor
* Jay Dee (born 1979), comedian
* Larry Drake (1949–2016), actor
* Blake Edwards (1922–2010), film director
* Sue England (1928–2018), actress
* Bill Hader (born 1978), actor, writer and comedian
* Sterlin Harjo (born 1979), filmmaker
* Josh Henderson (born 1981), actor
* John Ingle (1928–2012), actor
* Eva Jinek (born 1978), news anchor
* Jennifer Jones (1919–2009), actress
* Heather Langenkamp (born 1964), actress
* Tommy Morrison (1969–2013), boxer and actor
* Jerry Nelson (1934–2012), actor, puppeteer
* Tim Blake Nelson (born 1964), actor and director
* Mary Kay Place (born 1947), actress
* Tony Randall (1920–2004), actor
* Julián Rebolledo, actor and voice talent
* Jack Roberts, actor
* Gailard Sartain (born 1946), actor
* Mary Stuart (1926–2002), actress
* Wes Studi (born 1947), actor
* Paula Trickey (born 1966), actress
* Jeanne Tripplehorn (born 1963), actress
* Stacy Valentine, porn star
* Amber Valletta (born 1974), actress and supermodel
* Susan Watson (born 1938), Broadway actress
* Alfre Woodard (born 1952), actress
* Judy Woodruff (born 1946), television journalist
* Don Woods (1928–2012), meteorologist

## Sports

* Sam P. McBirney (1877–1936), coach of Tulsa Golden Hurricane football (1914–1916)
* Janice O'Hara (1918–2001), All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
* Marques Haynes (1926–2015), Harlem Globetrotters player, Basketball Hall of Famer
* John Smith Zink (1928–2005), automobile racing
* Ray Murphy, Jr. (1946–2010), collegiate wrestler and 1989 Handicapped Person of the Year
* Wayman Tisdale (1964–2009), professional basketball player and musician
* Jeff Krosnoff (1964–1996), Championship Auto Racing Teams driver
* Tommy Morrison (1969–2013), boxer, heavyweight contender and actor, Rocky V
* Tommy Hanson (1986–2015), baseball pitcher
* Nolan Richardson (born 1941), basketball coach for University of Tulsa and University of Arkansas, coach and general manager WNBA's Tulsa Shock
* Henry Schichtle (born 1941), football player
* Bobby Cox (born 1941), player, manager and Baseball Hall of Famer
* Jim King (born 1941), NBA player and Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball coach
* Reece Morrison (born 1945), NFL player
* Tubby Smith (born 1951), basketball coach
* Reuben Gant (born 1952), football player for Buffalo Bills
* Steve Largent (born 1954), Seattle Seahawks wide receiver, Pro Football Hall of Famer, also politician
* Bill Blankenship (born 1956), football coach, head coach at University of Tulsa
* Dale Cook (born 1956), kickboxer and actor
* James "Quick" Tillis (born 1957), boxer, heavyweight contender and actor
* Randy Heckenkemper (born 1958), golf course designer
* Charlie O'Brien (born 1960), professional baseball catcher
* Kenny Monday (born 1960), Olympic gold medalist and World Champion in freestyle wrestling
* Kevin Lilly(born 1963), NFL player
* Anthony Bowie (born 1963), basketball player
* Todd Graham (born 1964), head coach of Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team (2007–2010)
* John Starks (born 1965), basketball player
* Bill Goldberg (born 1966), professional NFL football player and undefeated wrestler
* Darryl Wren (born 1967), gridiron football player
* Richard Dumas (born 1969), professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns
* Lee Mayberry (born 1970), professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks
* Joe-Max Moore (born 1971), soccer forward, U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame 2013
* Matt Gogel (born 1971), professional golfer
* Kevin Lockett (born 1974), NFL player
* Chris Dade (born 1974), basketball player
* Mikey Burnett (born 1974), mixed martial artist
* R. W. McQuarters (born 1976), professional football cornerback
* David Heath (born 1976), mixed martial artist
* Justin Fuente (born 1976), head football coach, Virginia Tech
* Brent Albright (born 1978), professional wrestler
* Gerald Harris (born 1979), mixed martial artist
* Koyie Hill (born 1979), Major League Baseball catcher
* Kenny Bundy (born 1981), soccer player and coach
* Ebi Ere (born 1981), basketball player for Melbourne Tigers
* Matt Grice (born 1981), mixed martial arts fighter
* Iciss Tillis (born 1981), professional basketball player for WNBA's Washington Mystics
* Peter Ramondetta (born 1982), professional skateboarder
* Matt Wiman (born 1983), mixed martial arts fighter
* Kelenna Azubuike (born 1983), professional basketball player
* Robert Meachem (born 1984), New Orleans Saints wide receiver
* Randy Blake (born 1986), kickboxer
* Zach Loyd (born 1987), soccer player
* Felix Jones (born 1987), Dallas Cowboys Running back
* Dallas Keuchel (born 1988), pitcher for the Chicago White Sox
* Chris Harris Jr. (born 1989), NFL, Cornerback
* Michael Bowie (born 1991), former Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle
* Tyler Lockett (born 1992), NFL player
* Dylan Bundy (born 1992), baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins
* Zach Jackson (born 1994), Major League Baseball, pitcher for the Oakland Athletics
* Thomas Hatch (born 1994), pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays
* Jordan Brailford (born 1995), defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons
* Josh Jacobs (born 1996), NFL, Running back
* Justice Hill (born 1997), NFL, Running back
* Kenny Bednarek (born 1998), American sprinter, olimpic and world championship silver medalist
* Terrance Ferguson (born 1998), basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers
* Patrick Callan (born 1999), competitive swimmer
* Ricky Stromberg (born 2000), American football player
* Daxton Hill (born 2000), NFL, Safety

## Religion

* Finis Alonzo Crutchfield, Jr., (1916–1986), United Methodist Church bishop, minister of Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, died in Tulsa
* Paul Vernon Galloway (1904–1990), Minister of Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, later Methodist bishop
* Charles William Kerr (1875–1951), first permanent Protestant minister in Tulsa
* Carlton Pearson (1953–2023), evangelist
* Oral Roberts (1918–2009), pioneer televangelist, founder of Oral Roberts University, affiliated with United Methodist church
* Mother Grace Tucker (1919–2012), Evangelical Christian pastor and philanthropist
* John B. Wolf (1925–2017), minister of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church

## Other

* William French Anderson, geneticist, born in Tulsa in 1936
* Bobby Baldwin, professional poker player (1978 world champion) and casino executive; born in Tulsa
* Deborah Barnes, judge of the Oklahoma Appellate Court (1987–present); daughter in law of the late Justice Don Barnes
* Don Barnes (judge) (1924–2011), born in Tulsa, Justice of the Oklahoma State Supreme Court (1972–1985)
* Jennifer Berry (born 1983), Miss America 2006
* Butler, Phillip N. (born 1938), the eighth longest-held US prisoner of war in North Vietnam, president of Veterans for Peace
* Roscoe Cartwright (1919–1974), first black Field Artilleryman promoted to Brigadier General.
* Ponyboy Curtis, main character in S. E. Hinton's novel The Outsiders
* Mike Doonesbury, main character in Garry Trudeau's comic strip Doonesbury
* Stephen Z. Fadem, doctor and scientist
* Viola Fletcher, survivor of the Tulsa race massacre
* John Duncan Forsyth (1887–1963), architect
* W. R. Holway (1893–1981), engineer, designer of Spavinaw water project
* Robert Lawton Jones (1925–2018), architect noted for his contributions to modern architecture
* Olivia Jordan (born 1988), Miss World America 2013, Miss Oklahoma USA 2015, Miss USA 2015
* Joseph R. Koberling, Jr. (1900–1990), architect
* Charles Page (1860–1926), philanthropist and founder of Sand Springs
* Leon B. Senter (1889–1965), architect
* William Angie Smith (1894–1974), Methodist Bishop of Oklahoma
* Mother Grace Tucker (1919–2012), pastor and philanthropist
* Gordon Todd Skinner, drug dealer and convicted kidnapper
* Robert and Michael Bever, American brothers who were convicted of murdering their parents and 3 siblings.