# List of people from Urbana, Illinois

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Urbana, Illinois. For a similar list, see the category page People from Urbana, Illinois.

## Academics and writing

* Philip W. Anderson, earned the Nobel Prize in Physics (1977)
* John Bardeen, inventor of the transistor; awarded Nobel Prize in Physics (1956 & 1972); winner of IEEE Medal of Honor (1971)
* Iris Chang, author (The Rape of Nanking)
* Ward Churchill, author and political activist
* David Forsyth, computer scientist; co-author of Computer Vision: A Modern Approach
* Eugie Foster, science-fiction writer
* Theodore Gray, co-founder of Wolfram Research and winner of the Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2002)
* José Graziano, Brazilian agronomist; secretary general of the FAO
* Robert W. Holley, earned the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1968); graduate of Urbana High School (1939)
* Braj Kachru, linguist; created the "circle model" of world English varieties
* Edwin G. Krebs, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1994); graduate of Urbana High School (1937)
* Paul Christian Lauterbur, earned the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2003)
* Sir Anthony James Leggett, earned the Nobel Prize in Physics (2003)
* Revilo P. Oliver, professor, writer, University of Illinois (1977)
* Hamilton O. Smith, earned the Nobel Prize in Medicine (1978)
* Thelma Strabel, novelist, grew up in Urbana
* James Tobin, earned the Nobel Prize in Economics (1981)
* David Foster Wallace, author (Infinite Jest); graduate of Urbana High School
* Brian Wansink, author (Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think); professor at Cornell University
* Gregorio Weber, Argentinian spectroscopist and protein chemist, worked in Urbana from 1962
* Carl Woese, microbiologist; identified Archaea as a domain of life

## Fine arts

* Christopher Brown, painter, printmaker, and professor.

## Media and music

* Ken Baumann, actor (The Secret Life of the American Teenager)
* Joseph L Hampton, writer, producer (Mackie (TV Series) Tyler Perry's House of Payne (TV Series), Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns (TV Series), Atlanta Heat (TV Series), Standing Pat (Film))
* Jay Bennett, founding member of Wilco; solo musician; died in May 2009
* Emily Blue, singer-songwriter, Chicago Reader Award winner
* Deborah Blum, journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner, author of The Poisoner's Handbook; graduate of Urbana High School
* Roger Ebert, movie critic; Pulitzer Prize winner
* Jennie Garth, actress (What I Like About You, Beverly Hills, 90210 and 90210)
* Erika Harold, 2002 Miss Illinois and 2003 Miss America; graduate of Urbana High School
* Michael S. Hart, author, inventor of the electronic book; founder of Project Gutenberg, first project to make ebooks freely available via the Internet
* William Slavens McNutt, screenwriter (Huckleberry Finn)
* Nina Paley, cartoonist, animator, and free culture activist
* Mark Roberts, actor, comedian, writer, creator of the TV series Mike and Molly
* Chic Sale, author, actor, and vaudevillian
* Virginia Sale, actress
* Gil Shaham, violinist
* David Ogden Stiers, actor (Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on the TV series M*A*S*H)
* Sasha Velour, drag queen, artist, fashion forward winner of Season 9 of RuPaul's Drag Race
* American Football (band), midwestern emo and math rock band
* Jeff Austin, Founding member and frontman of the bluegrass band Yonder Mountain String Band until his departure in 2014.

### Fictional

* HAL 9000, character in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey; upon "dying" claims he was made operational in Urbana

## Business

* Brady Dougan, CEO of Credit Suisse Group
* Tony Hsieh, former CEO of Zappos
* Shahid Khan, CEO of Flex-N-Gate; owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars

## Military

* Larry Allen Abshier, U.S. soldier who defected to North Korea after the Korean War in 1962
* Charles Carpenter (Lt. Col.), U.S. Army officer and army observation pilot (Second World War); taught history at Urbana High School
* Reginald C. Harmon, first US Air Force Judge Advocate General; Mayor of Urbana

## Politics and law

* Thomas B. Berns, Illinois state legislator, civil engineer, and surveyor
* Bird Sim Coler, Comptroller of Greater New York
* George W. Dilling, mayor of Seattle from 1911 to 1912
* Stanley B. Weaver, Illinois state legislator, funeral director, and Mayor of Urbana
* William B. Webber, Illinois state legislator, lawyer, and mayor of Urbana
* Dennis Yao, member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

## Sports

* LaToya Bond, guard for the Indiana Fever (WNBA)
* Scott Garrelts, pitcher for the San Francisco Giants
* Jonathan Kuck, Olympic speed skater; silver medalist
* Ella Masar, forward for the Chicago Red Stars
* Spencer Patton, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs