# List of people from Indianapolis

The following is a list of notable people who have been born or lived in Indianapolis, Indiana. Organized alphabetically by field of study and then by last name.

## Actors

* Abraham Benrubi (1969– ), actor, best known for ER and Parker Lewis Can't Lose
* Monte Blue (1887–1963), silent film/character actor
* Connie Booth (1944– ), actress, screenwriter
* Steve Burton (1970– ), television actor
* Joyce DeWitt (1949– ), actress, best known for Three's Company
* Cullen Douglas (1967– ), actor, producer, director, best known for Grey’s Anatomy and Pure Genius
* Robert Emhardt (1914–1994), Actor
* Mike Epps (1970– ), stand-up comedian, actor, producer, writer, rapper
* Frances Farmer (1913–1970), actress
* Rhett Fisher (1980– ), actor, best known for Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue
* Brendan Fraser (1968– ), film actor
* Ken Foree (1948– ), actor
* Vivica A. Fox (1964– ) actress
* Doug Jones (1960– ), actor
* Brook Kerr (1973– ), actress
* Priscilla Lawson (1914–1958), actress
* Marjorie Main (1890–1975), actress
* Steve McQueen (1930–1980), Academy Award-nominated actor
* Julie McWhirter (1947– ), actress
* Margo Moore (1931–2000), actress
* Dohn Norwood(1974– ) actor, Hell on Wheels (TV series)
* Katy O'Brian (1989– ), actress
* Dayo Okeniyi (1988– ), film actor
* Jake Short (1997– ), actor
* Steve Talley (1981– ), television/film actor
* Harry von Zell (1906–1981), television/film actor and radio announcer, best known for The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
* Clifton Webb (1889–1966), stage/film actor
* Sasheer Zamata (1986– ), comedian, actress, former cast member on Saturday Night Live

## Artists

* Vija Celmins (1938– ), visual artist
* Don Gummer, artist
* John Wesley Hardrick (1891–1968), artist
* Ron McQueeney, photographer
* Wilhelmina Seegmiller (1866–1913), author, illustrator, art teacher
* Sheida Soleimani (1990–), contemporary artist, born in Indianapolis.
* Jeremy Spencer, musician (1973– )

## Athletes

* Joe Amico (1995– ), soccer player
* Sarah Bacon (1996– ), Olympic diver
* George Bailey (1900–1940), IndyCar Series driver
* Jalen Brown (1995– ), soccer player
* Kevin Burns (1985– ), soccer player
* Donie Bush (1887–1972), Major League Baseball (MLB) player/manager
* Bryce Campbell (1994– ), plays for the United States national rugby union team
* Rodney Carney (1984– ), National Basketball Association (NBA) player
* Oscar Charleston (1896–1954), baseball player, member of Baseball Hall of Fame
* Mike Conley Jr. (1987– ), NBA player
* Hooks Dauss (1889–1963), MLB player
* Euphrasia Donnelly (1905–1963), swimmer, Olympic gold medalist (1924)
* Stu Douglass (1990– ), American-Israeli basketball player for the Israeli team Maccabi Ashdod
* Jack Doyle (1990– ), National Football League (NFL) tight end
* Daeshon Francis (born 1996), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
* Jeff George (1967– ), NFL quarterback
* Eric Gordon (1988– ), NBA player
* Greg Graham (1970– ), NBA player
* Marcellus Greene (1957– ), NFL player
* Gordon Hayward (1990– ), NBA player
* Alan Henderson (1972– ), NBA player
* John F. Hennessey (1900–1981), tennis player (1920s)
* Oral Hildebrand (1907–1977), MLB All-Star pitcher
* George Hill (1986– ), NBA player
* Cole Hocker (2001– ), distance runner, Olympian
* Lauren Holiday (1987– ), US Women's National Soccer player, Olympic gold medalist, 2015 Women's World Cup champion
* Lester Horton (1906–1953), dancer and choreographer
* Tommy Hunter (1986– ), Major League baseball pitcher for Philadelphia Phillies
* Kenny Irwin (1969–2000), NASCAR driver
* Jack Johnson (1987– ) NHL player
* Mathias Kiwanuka (1983– ), NFL player
* Ken Klee (1971– ), National Hockey League (NHL) player
* Chuck Klein (1904–1958), MLB player
* Kyle Krisiloff (1986– ), NASCAR driver
* Shawn Langdon (2007– ), Current NHRA Funny Car Driver 2013 Top Fuel Champion 2 Time Super Comp Champion
* Brad Leaf (1960–), American-Israeli basketball player for Hapoel Galil Elyon and Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israel Premier League
* Courtney Lee (1985– ), NBA player
* Don Leppert (1931– ), MLB player
* Lori Lindsey (1980– ), U.S. Women's National Soccer player, Olympic gold medalist
* Maicel Malone-Wallace (1969– ), sprinter, Olympic gold medalist (1996)
* Zack Martin (1990– ), NFL player
* George McGinnis (1950– ), NBA player
* Frank McKinney (1938–1992), diver, Olympic gold medalist (1960), banking executive
* Terry McLaurin Ohio State Buckeyes and Washington Redskins wide receiver
* Eric Montross (1971– ), NBA player
* Greg Oden (1988– ), NBA player
* Jaycie Phelps (1979– ), gymnast, Olympic gold medalist (1996), Magnificent Seven (gymnastics) team member
* Austin Price (born 1995), basketball player in the Israeli Premier Basketball League
* Derrick Ransom (1976– ), National Football League (NFL) player defensive tackle
* Matt Reiswerg (born 1980), soccer player, coach, and administrator
* Zion Richardson (2001– ), basketball player
* Oscar Robertson (1938– ), basketball player, member of Basketball Hall of Fame
* Sally Schantz, figure skater, U.S. ice dancing champion (1963)
* Judy Schwomeyer (1950– ), figure skater, U.S. ice dancing champion (1968–72)
* Sandra Spuzich (1937–2015), LPGA pro golfer
* Brad Stevens (1976– ), President of Basketball Operations and former head coach of the Boston Celtics
* Major Taylor (1878–1932), cyclist
* Jeff Teague (1988– ), NBA player
* Johnny Weaver (1935–2008), pro wrestler, first to use the sleeper hold "Weaver Lock"
* Randy Wittman (1959– ), NBA head coach
* Greg Wojciechowski (1951– ), wrestler
* Sean Woods (1970– ), college basketball coach
* T. J. Yates (1987–), former quarterback who is currently the wide receivers coach for the Atlanta Falcons

## Business and philanthropy

* Steve Bellamy, sports media entrepreneur, founder of The Ski Channel and The Tennis Channel
* Steve Ells, founder, CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill
* Scott Flanders, businessman and former CEO of Playboy, Inc.
* John Geisse, businessman, founder of Target Stores
* Bob Glenalvin, first manager of Detroit Tigers
* Sid Grauman, founder of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, former home of the Academy Awards
* Scott A. Jones, co-founder of ChaCha
* Eli Lilly, founder, president of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company
* Josiah K. Lilly Sr., president of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company
* Ruth Lilly, philanthropist
* Kim Ng, Major League Baseball executive
* Freeman Ransom, lawyer, businessman, civic leader
* Willard Ransom, lawyer, businessman, civic leader
* Henry J. Richardson Jr., lawyer and civil rights activist, member of the Indiana House of Representatives (1932–36), and a judge in Marion County, Indiana.
* Madam C.J. Walker, pioneering African-American businesswoman, first female self-made millionaire in America
* Margaret Ray Wickens (1843–1918), organizer and social reformer

## Criminals

* Herb Baumeister, suspected serial killer
* Melvin Carr, murderer, rapist, and suspected serial killer
* John Dillinger, bank robber
* Jared Fogle, Subway restaurant endorser, motivational speaker, and convicted child pornographer
* Jim Jones, cult leader and mass murderer who led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978

## Entertainment

* Rupert Boneham, reality show contestant, Survivor: Pearl Islands, Survivor: All-Stars, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, "Survivor: Blood vs. Water; politician
* June Cochran, model, Miss Indiana USA 1960, Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Year 1963
* Ken Hixon, screenwriter
* David Letterman, television personality, former host of The Late Show (1993–2015)
* Ryan Murphy, film and television screenwriter, director, and producer, notably Nip/Tuck, 'American Horror Story and Glee
* Blair St. Clair (Andrew Bryson), drag performer
* Marc Summers, game show host, television personality
* Dan Wakefield, screenwriter, novelist
* Marjorie Wallace, Miss World 1973

## Journalists and media

* Roy Blount Jr., journalist, author
* Scott Evans, television personality
* Louis McHenry Howe, reporter for the New York Herald; political advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt
* Jack Olsen, journalist and author
* Jane Pauley, television personality, journalist
* Myrta Pulliam, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist

## Military

* Timothy Maude, U.S. Army Lieutenant General, the highest ranking military officer killed in the September 11 attacks
* Thomas A. Morris, railroad executive, civil engineer, Union General in the Civil War
* Norris W. Overton, U.S. Air Force Brigadier General
* Raymond A. Spruance, commander of the U.S. Fifth Fleet (1944–1945)

## Musicians

* Mark Battles, rapper-songwriter, founder of record label Fly America
* Scrapper Blackwell, blues musician and songwriter, writer of the earliest version of "Sweet Home Chicago"
* Carl Broemel, multi-instrumentalist, member of My Morning Jacket
* Darrell Clanton, singer
* Dorian, hip-hop recording artist and music producer
* Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, R&B music producer/performer
* Guitar Pete Franklin, blues musician
* Jan Garber, bandleader
* Blind Leroy Garnett, boogie-woogie and ragtime pianist and songwriter
* Thurston Harris, singer, songwriter
* Billy Henderson, singer, member of The Spinners (American group)
* John Hiatt, musician
* Freddie Hubbard, jazz trumpeter
* J. J. Johnson, jazz trombonist
* Josh Kaufman, singer-songwriter, contestant on The Voice (U.S. Season 6)
* Adam Lambert, singer, runner-up of American Idol (Season 8)
* Adrianne Lenker, musician, singer songwriter of the indie band, Big Thief
* Ted Leo, musician
* Charles Scott Leonard, member of the a cappella group Rockapella
* Lily & Madeleine, folk duo
* Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, indie rock band formed in Indianapolis
* Tim McIlrath, musician
* Wes Montgomery, jazz guitarist
* Plumb, singer/songwriter
* Hal Rayle, voice artist
* Larry Ridley, jazz bassist
* June Rochelle, singer/songwriter
* David Michael Schuster, opera singer
* George Shirley, operatic tenor
* Noble Sissle, composer
* Tiara Thomas, singer-songwriter
* Albert Von Tilzer, composer, notably "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"
* Pharez Whitted, jazz trumpeter
* Keke Wyatt, R&B singer

## Politicians

* James Bingham, Indiana Attorney General (1907–1911)
* Maria Cantwell, U.S. Senator from Washington
* Paul Cantwell, Indiana state representative
* André Carson, member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Indiana, second Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Congress (2008)
* Julia Carson, member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Indiana; grandmother of André Carson
* Harriette Bailey Conn, state representative and the first African American to serve as Indiana's state public defender
* Ray Crowe, basketball coach and politician
* John J. Dillon, Indiana Attorney General (1965-1969)
* Charles W. Fairbanks, 26th Vice President of the United States (1905–1909)
* William T. Francis, United States Ambassador to Liberia (1927–1929)
* Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States (1889–1893); lived and died in Indianapolis
* Thomas A. Hendricks, 21st Vice President of the United States (1863–1869)
* Eric Holcomb, Governor of Indiana
* William A. Ketcham, Indiana Attorney General (1894–1898), Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (1920–1921).
* Jon Krahulik, Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court (1990–1993)
* Daisy Riley Lloyd, first female African American to serve in the Indiana legislature
* Richard Lugar, U.S. Senator from Indiana
* Frank E. McKinney, Democratic Party chairman
* Mike Pence, 48th Vice President of the United States (2017–2021)
* Dan Quayle, 44th Vice President of the United States (1989–1993)
* Charles Ray, Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court (1865–1871)
* Edwin K. Steers, Indiana Attorney General (1953–1965)
* Ted Stevens, former U.S. Senator from Alaska
* Mark Warner, U.S. Senator from Virginia

## Writers

* Georgia Alexander (1868–1928), textbook author and educator
* Grace Alexander (1872–1951), writer, journalist, teacher
* Margaret C. Anderson, critic, editor and publisher
* John David Anderson (1975– ), children's book author of Ms. Bixby's Last Day, 2017 Indiana Authors Award Winner
* Allan Bloom, philosopher and essayist
* A'Lelia Bundles (1952– ), TV producer, journalist, and author of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker
* Jared Carter (1939– ), poet, author of Work, for the Night Is Coming (1981), and winner of the Walt Whitman Award and the Poets' Prize.
* Matt Dellinger (1975– ), author of Interstate 69: The Unfinished History of the Last Great American Highway
* Elliot Engel, writer, lecturer, and dramatist
* Mari Evans (1923–2017), poet, author of I Am a Black Woman (1970), winner of the Black Academy of Arts and Letters poetry award
* Janet Flanner, Paris correspondent of The New Yorker
* Hildegarde Flanner, poet
* John Green, children's book award-winning author of The Fault in Our Stars; vlogger
* Alex Hall, author of Ben Drowned (2010)
* Joseph Hayes, author
* Phillip Hoose (1947– ), award-winning children's book author of Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
* Kathryn Lasky (1944– ), children's book author of Guardians of Ga'Hoole
* Charles Major, author
* Elizabeth Miller (1878–1961), novelist
* Bill Peet (1915–2002), children's book author and illustrator of Pamela Camel,
* Madelyn Pugh, script-writer I Love Lucy television program
* Booth Tarkington, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
* Kurt Vonnegut, author
* James Whitcomb Riley, poet

## Other

* Frank J. Anderson, former Sheriff of Marion County, Indiana (2003–2011)
* Kent Brantly, physician, author, speaker, first American to be treated for the Ebola virus in 2014, TIME Person of the Year 2014
* Emmett I. Brown Jr., professional photographer, documented Indiana Avenue's jazz scene in the 1940s and 50s, editor Sepia magazine
* John P. Donohue, professor, doctor, pioneered treatments for testicular cancer
* Ruth M. Gardiner, first nurse killed in action during World War II
* Michael Graves, architect
* Margaret Yandes Holliday, Presbyterian missionary in Tabriz from 1883 to 1919
* Peter Kassig, aid worker, taken hostage and ultimately beheaded by The Islamic State
* Justin Knapp, Wikipedia editor
* John Morton-Finney, Buffalo soldier, lawyer, educator and civil rights leader
* Irvine Page, physiologist, former president of the American Heart Association (1956–1957)
* Harriet Augusta Prunk (1840-1911), American educator and school founder
* John C. Rule, historian at Ohio State University
* Bill Shirk, escape artist, president of Hoosier Broadcasting Corp.
* Avriel Shull, architect
* William V. Wheeler, founder of Wheeler Mission Ministries of Indianapolis
* David A. Wolf, astronaut
* Evans Woollen III, architect, founder and principal of Woollen, Molzan and Partners