# List of people from Champaign, Illinois

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

## Business, science, and engineering

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| Max Abramovitz | May 23, 1908 | Sep 12, 2004 | Architect | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Scott Anderson | Jun 26, 1913 | Oct 1, 2006 | Physicist | President of the Rotary Club of Champaign (1963 to 1964); founder of the Urban League of Champaign County |
| Marc Andreessen | Jul 9, 1971 | | Co-author of Mosaic and founder of Netscape | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| John Bardeen | May 23, 1908 | Jan 30, 1991 | Electrical engineer and physicist; two time Nobel Prize winner in Physics | Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Steve Chen | Aug 18, 1978 | | Co-founder of YouTube | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Jawed Karim | Jan 1, 1979 | | Co-founder of YouTube | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Jimmy John Liautaud | Jan 12, 1964 | | Jimmy John's Owner, founder, & chairman | |
| Anthony James Leggett | Mar 26, 1938 | | Physicist; Nobel Prize winner in Physics | Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| W. Dwight Pierce | Nov 16, 1881 | Apr 29, 1967 | Entomologist | Born in Champaign |
| Jerry Sanders | Sep 12, 1936 | | Founder and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Lewis Hastings Sarett | Dec 22, 1917 | Nov 29, 1999 | Inventor of synthetic cortisone | Born in Champaign |
| James Tobin | Mar 5, 1918 | Mar 11, 2002 | Laureate of the Nobel prize in economics (1981) | Born in Champaign |
| Stephen Wolfram | Aug 29, 1959 | | Founder of Wolfram Research, makers of Mathematica | Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Tony Khan | Oct 10, 1982 | | Founder of All Elite Wrestling | Born in Champaign |

## Crime

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| Steven Phillip Kazmierczak | Aug 26, 1980 | Feb 14, 2008 | Perpetrator in the Northern Illinois University shooting | Attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Michael H. Kenyon | | | Convicted criminal; nicknamed the "Enema Bandit" | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Karyn Hearn Slover | | Sep 27, 1996 | 1996 murder victim | |

## Media and arts

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| David Ayer | Jan 18, 1968 | | Filmmaker | Born in Champaign. |
| Irving Azoff | Dec 12, 1947 | | Music promotion | Attended UIUC. Started Blytham Ltd with Bob Nutt |
| Marc Beeson | Dec 20, 1954 | | Country music singer and songwriter | Born in Champaign |
| Ian Blurton | 1965 | | Canadian musician and record producer | Born in Champaign |
| Tom Bodett | Feb 23, 1955 | | Author, voiceover actor, and spokesman | Born in Champaign |
| Harold Bradley Jr. | Oct 13, 1929 | | Former American football player and actor, singer, artist, TV host (WCIA Channel 3, WICD Channel 15) and painter. | Lived 19 years in Champaign |
| Iris Chang | Mar 28, 1968 | Nov 9, 2004 | Author (The Rape of Nanking) | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Amy Chua | Oct 26, 1962 | | Author (Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother) | Born in Champaign |
| Jeremih Felton | Jul 17, 1987 | | R&B singer | Attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Hart D. Fisher | | | Comic book creator and publisher | Born in Champaign |
| Michael Fumento | | | Journalist and author of The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS | Born in Champaign |
| Mike Connolly | 1914 | Nov 19, 1966 | Magazine reporter and Hollywood gossip columnist for The Hollywood Reporter | Attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he was the city editor of the Daily Illini, the independent student-run newspaper, known for his 1937–38 crusade against prostitution in Champaign |
| Bill Geist | May 10, 1945 | | CBS News correspondent and author | Born in Champaign |
| Nathan Gunn | Nov 26, 1970 | | Operatic baritone; one of People magazine's 2008 Sexiest Men Alive | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Steven Hager | May 25, 1951 | | Magazine editor | Born in Champaign |
| Bruce Hall | Mar 5, 1953 | | Bass guitar player (REO Speedwagon) | Born in Champaign |
| Stuart Hamm | Feb 8, 1960 | | Bass guitar player | Grew up in Champaign |
| Laura Kakoma (a.k.a. Somi) | June 6, 1981 | | American singer, songwriter, actor and playwright | Born in Champaign |
| Megyn Kelly | Nov 18, 1970 | | American journalist, political commentator, and former corporate defense attorney | Born in Champaign |
| Alison Krauss | Jul 23, 1971 | | Bluegrass singer | Grew up in Champaign |
| Christopher Bridges (a.k.a. Ludacris) | Sep 11, 1977 | | Rapper | Born in Champaign |
| Marcella Martin | Jun 5, 1916 | Oct 31, 1986 | Actress | Born in Champaign |
| Jack McDuff | Sep 17, 1926 | Jan 23, 2001 | Jazz musician | Born in Champaign |
| Jeff Mondak | Mar 26, 1962 | | Children's poet and songwriter | Lives in Champaign |
| David Foster Wallace | Feb 21, 1962 | Sep 12, 2008 | Author of Infinite Jest | Lived in Champaign |
| George Will | May 4, 1941 | | Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author | Born in Champaign |
| Douglas Wilson | | | Interior designer and television personality (Trading Spaces) | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Louise Woodroofe | Jan 28, 1892 | Feb 15, 1996 | Painter and University of Illinois professor | Born and grew up in Champaign, attended University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |

### Bands

| Name | Founded | Disbanded | Music | Association |
| The Beauty Shop | 1999 | 2008 | Alt-country band | Formed in Champaign |
| Braid | 1993 | | Rock band | Formed in Champaign |
| Champaign | 1981 | | R&B, soft rock group | Formed in Champaign |
| Headlights | 2004 | 2012 | Indie rock band | Formed in Champaign |
| Hostyle Gospel | 2003 | | Christian hip hop | Formed in Champaign |
| Hum | 1989 | | Alternative rock group | Formed in Champaign |
| Pacifica Quartet | 1994 | | 2008 Grammy-winning string quartet | Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Illinois School of Music, 2003–2012 |
| Poster Children | 1987 | | Rock group | Formed in Champaign |
| REO Speedwagon | 1967 | | Rock group | Formed in Champaign |
| Starcastle | 1969 | 2006 | Rock group | Formed in Champaign |

## Politics

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| Kamala Harris | Oct 20, 1964 | | Vice President of the United States | Lived in Champaign |
| Mark Kirk | Sep 15, 1959 | | United States Senator | Born in Champaign |
| Vashti McCollum | Nov 6, 1912 | Aug 20, 2006 | Plaintiff in the landmark 1948 Supreme Court case McCollum v. Board of Education | Lived and died in Champaign |
| William B. McKinley | Sep 5, 1856 | Dec 7, 1926 | United States Senator, 1912 campaign manager for President William Howard Taft | Lived in Champaign, attended University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |

## Religion

| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
| Henry Herman Meyer | | Nov 21, 1874 | 1951 | American Methodist Episcopal clergyman and editor | Born in Champaign | |

## Sports

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
| Chantal Bailey | May 28, 1965 | | Olympic speed skater | Born in Champaign | |
| Walter "Boom-Boom" Beck | Oct 16, 1904 | May 7, 1987 | Pitcher for six Major League Baseball teams | Lived and died in Champaign | |
| Bonnie Blair | Mar 18, 1964 | | Speed skater, Olympic gold medalist | Grew up in Champaign | |
| Harold Bradley Jr. | Oct 13, 1929 | Apr 13, 2021 | Former American football player and actor, singer, artist, TV host (WCIA Channel 3, WICD Channel 15) and painter. | Lived 19 years in Champaign | |
| Fred Brainard | Feb 17, 1892 | Apr 17, 1959 | Infielder for the New York Giants | Born in Champaign | |
| Don Branson | Jun 2, 1920 | Nov 12, 1966 | Indy-car driver | | |
| Jacob Bushue | May 15, 1992 | | Soccer player | Born in Champaign | |
| Dick Butkus | Dec 9, 1942 | Oct 5, 2023 | | Football linebacker for the Fighting Illini | Attended UIUC |
| Steve Dunn | Apr 18, 1970 | | First baseman for the Minnesota Twins | Born in Champaign | |
| Matt Herges | Apr 1, 1970 | | Pitcher for eight Major League Baseball teams | Born in Champaign | |
| Reggie Hodges | Jan 26, 1982 | | Punter for the Cleveland Browns | Born in Champaign | Raised in Champaign, graduate of Centennial High School |
| Bershawn Jackson | May 8, 1983 | | Olympic 400M hurdler | Lives in Champaign | |
| Rhaka Khan | Dec 25, 1981 | | Wrestler with the WWE | Born in Champaign | |
| Jonathan Kuck | Mar 14, 1990 | | Speed skater and silver medalist in the 2010 Winter Olympics | Attending University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | |
| Don Laz | May 17, 1929 | Feb 21, 1996 | Pole vaulter; Olympic silver medalist | | |
| Jeremy Leman | Mar 1, 1985 | | Linebacker for Illinois Illini and six NFL teams | Born and lives in Champaign | |
| Mikel Leshoure | Mar 30, 1990 | | Running back for the Detroit Lions | Graduated from Centennial High School in Champaign | |
| Troy Mattes | Aug 26, 1975 | | Pitcher for the Montreal Expos | Born in Champaign | |
| Tyler McGill | Aug 18, 1987 | | Swimmer, US Olympic team 2012 | Born in Champaign | |
| Big Jeff Pfeffer | Mar 31, 1882 | Dec 19, 1954 | Pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, Boston Beaneaters/Doves and Boston Rustlers | Born in Champaign | |
| Roy Radebaugh | Feb 22, 1881 | Jan 17, 1945 | Pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals | Born in Champaign | |
| Katherine Reutter | Jul 30, 1988 | | Short track speed skater, Olympic silver medalist | Born in Champaign | |
| Rayvonte Rice | Jul 14, 1992 | | Starting guard for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team | Born in Champaign | |
| Bob Richards | Feb 20, 1926 | Feb 26, 2023 | Pole vaulter; Olympic gold medalist | | |
| Adam Seward | Jun 15, 1982 | | Linebacker for the Carolina Panthers | Born in Champaign | |
| Emily Stevenson | Jul 26, 1925 | Dec 30, 2012 | Backup catcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League | Born in Champaign | |