# List of people from Madison, Wisconsin

The following notable people are or have been associated with Madison, Wisconsin.

## Artists and architects

* Ruth Ball, sculptor
* Homer Fieldhouse, landscape architect
* Georgia O'Keeffe, artist; born in the suburb of Sun Prairie, she attended high school in Madison at Sacred Heart Academy, now Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart
* Vinnie Ream, sculptor of the statue of Lincoln in the U.S. Capitol rotunda
* Steve Rude, comic book artist
* Maria Schneider, illustrator
* Simon Sparrow, mixed media artist
* Michael Velliquette, artist
* Frank Lloyd Wright, architect

## Athletes and sports figures

* Frank Baker, NFL player
* Jim Bakken, NFL player
* Peter Barrett, Olympic gold medalist
* Ed Barry, MLB player
* Sam Barry, head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team and USC Trojans men's basketball, baseball, and football teams; member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
* Les Bartholomew, MLB player
* Marc Behrend, NHL player
* Henry Benn, baseball player
* Dave Besteman, Olympic athlete
* Sandy Botham, head coach of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panthers women's basketball team
* Jules Boykoff, academic, author, and soccer player
* Gene Brabender, MLB player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles and the Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers
* Art Bramhall, MLB player
* Tyrone Braxton, NFL player
* Alex Brooks, NHL player
* Craig Brown, national champion curler
* Erika Brown, national champion curler
* Bob Bruer, NFL player
* Roman Brumm, NFL player
* Adam Burish, NHL player
* John Byce, NHL player
* Gabe Carimi, All-American football player
* Connie Carpenter-Phinney, road cyclist and ice speed skater; winner of first-ever women's Olympic road race (1984)
* Charlie Chech, MLB player
* Bruce Christensen, MLB player
* Geep Chryst, quarterbacks coach of the San Francisco 49ers
* Paul Chryst, former head coach of the University of Wisconsin football team
* Rick Chryst, commissioner of the Mid-American Conference, 1999–2009
* John Coatta, NFL scout
* Eddie Cochems, "father of the forward pass"
* Bill Cofield, head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team; first African American head coach of a major sport in the Big Ten Conference; 1976–1982
* Casey Cramer, NFL player
* Annabelle Cripps, Olympic athlete
* Kevin Dean, NHL player
* Dorcas Denhartog, Olympic athlete
* Mary Docter, Olympic athlete
* Sarah Docter, Olympic athlete
* Clarence Esser, NFL player
* Paul Feldhausen, professional football player
* Casey FitzRandolph, Olympic gold medalist
* Mary Froning, AAGPBL player
* Steve Furniss, Olympic medalist, Pan American Games gold medalist
* Reece Gaines, NBA player for the Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, and the Milwaukee Bucks
* Vern Geishert, MLB player
* Gale Gillingham, NFL player
* Mike Gosling, professional baseball player
* Carie Graves, Olympic gold medalist, head coach of the Harvard Crimson and Texas Longhorns women's crew teams
* Steve Green, NBA player
* Paul Gruber, NFL player
* Megan Gustafson, WNBA player for the Las Vegas Aces
* Dale Hackbart, NFL player for the Green Bay Packers, Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Denver Broncos
* Donald Hayes, NFL player
* Beth Heiden, Olympic speedskater
* Eric Heiden, Olympic speedskater
* Russell Hellickson, Olympic wrestler
* Phil Hellmuth, professional poker player
* Jack Ikegwuonu, NFL player
* Dan Immerfall, Olympic medalist, head referee for the International Skating Union, member of National Speedskating Hall of Fame
* Mark Johnson, 1980 Miracle on Ice USA Olympic hockey team gold medalist, NHL player
* Nicole Joraanstad, national champion curler
* Tim Jordan, NFL player
* Jerry Kelly, professional golfer
* Amanda Kessel, Olympic gold medalist in women's ice hockey and NWHL player for the Metropolitan Riveters
* Phil Kessel, NHL player for the Vegas Golden Knights
* Gordon King, NFL player
* George Kittle, NFL player for the San Francisco 49ers
* Phyllis Koehn, AAGPBL player
* Scott Kooistra, NFL player
* Joe Kurth, NFL player
* Dan Lanphear, professional football player
* Debi Laszewski, IFBB professional bodybuilder
* Mike London, professional football player
* Helene Madison, won three gold medals at the 1932 Olympics in swimming
* Wesley Matthews, basketball player
* Greg Mattison, NFL coach
* Jeronne Maymon (born 1991), basketball player for Hapoel Eilat B.C. of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
* Dave McClain, head coach of the Ball State Cardinals and Wisconsin Badgers football teams
* Debbie McCormick, world champion curler, Olympic athlete
* Milton McPike, NFL player
* Walter Meanwell, former head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team, member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
* Bob Mionske, Olympic athlete
* Jim Montgomery, world champion swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
* Eric Morel, boxer, former WBA Flyweight champion.
* Peter Mueller, Olympic speed skater
* Pat Neshek, MLB player
* Rick Neuheisel, NFL player, former head coach of the UCLA Bruins football team
* Kid Nichols, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
* Andy North, professional golfer
* Jay Norvell, NFL player, head coach of the Nevada Wolf Pack football team
* Jeff Nygaard, Olympic athlete
* Karl Pagel, MLB player
* Bill Reay, NHL player and head coach
* Rick Reichardt, MLB player
* Andrew Rein, Olympic wrestler, winner of a silver medal
* Barry Richter, hockey player
* Pat Richter, NFL player, member of the College Football Hall of Fame, athletic director of the University of Wisconsin–Madison
* Libby Riddles, first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
* Michelle Rohl, Olympic athlete, Pan American Games medalist
* Dan Schachte, former NHL official
* Nick Schmaltz, NHL player
* Pete Schmitt, NFL player
* Jack Skille, right winger for the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL
* Shaka Smart, head coach of the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team
* Craig Smith, NHL player
* Zane Smith, MLB player
* Chris Solinsky, professional runner
* Bill Southworth, MLB player
* Dave Stalls, NFL player
* Derek Stanley, NFL player
* Ken Starch, NFL player
* Sherri Steinhauer, LPGA player
* Lisa Stone, head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers women's basketball team
* Tim Stracka, NFL player
* Steve Stricker, professional golfer
* Eric Studesville, head coach of the Denver Broncos in the NFL
* Bob Suter, 1980 Miracle on Ice USA Olympic hockey team gold medalist
* Gary Suter, retired NHL player
* Ryan Suter, NHL player
* Lindsay Tarpley, WPS player
* Matt Tegenkamp, professional distance runner
* Donnel Thompson, NFL player
* Al Toon, former professional football player
* Stu Voigt, NFL player
* Jack Waite, professional tennis player
* Pete Waite, head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers women's volleyball team
* Lisa Wang, national champion rhythmic gymnast
* Henry Willegale, NFL player
* Brad Winchester, NHL player
* Ari Wolfe, sports announcer
* Tony Yelk, NFL player
* Jackie Zoch, Olympic medalist

## Business and industry figures

* Noah Dietrich, CEO of the majority of enterprises owned by Howard Hughes, including RKO Pictures, Trans World Airlines, and Hughes Aircraft
* Judith R. Faulkner, CEO and founder of Epic Systems
* John Geisse, founder of Target Corporation
* Burton E. Green, one of the developers of Beverly Hills, California
* Alex Jordan, Jr., businessman, architect
* Peter Koechley, co-founder of Upworthy and former managing editor of The Onion
* Jim Lillie, CEO of Jarden Corporation; spent a part of his childhood there and attended the UW in 1983
* Oscar G. Mayer, Jr., Chairman of Oscar Mayer
* Oscar G. Mayer, Sr., Chairman of Oscar Mayer
* Odessa Piper, chef and co-founder of the restaurant L'Etoile
* Pleasant Rowland, businesswoman, creator of the American Girl product line

## Entertainers
### Actors, radio personalities, and filmmakers

* Andrea Anders, actress, comedian
* Randy Chestnut, comedian, actor, 17-year resident of Madison
* Michael Cole, actor
* Tyne Daly, Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress
* Melvyn Douglas, Academy Award-winning actor
* Chris Farley, actor, comedian, grew up in Madison
* John P. Farley, actor and comedian
* Kevin Farley, actor
* Michael Feldman, radio personality for Public Radio International
* Nick Grinde (1893–1979), film director and screenwriter
* Uta Hagen, actress, recipient of the National Medal of Arts
* Kurt Johnson, radio personality, director for RKO, CBS, Viacom and others
* Nietzchka Keene, filmmaker
* Imran Khan, Bollywood actor
* Russ Lieber, fictitious character from The Colbert Report with a liberal radio talk show supposedly based in Madison
* Rob Marshall, Academy Award-nominated director
* Sandra Nelson, actress
* Chris Noth, actor, born in Madison
* Zorba Paster, radio show host
* Bill Rebane, filmmaker
* Ann Risley, actress
* Gena Rowlands, Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actress
* Matt Sloan, voice actor, comedian
* Mary Sweeney, film editor and producer, partner of director David Lynch
* J.D. Walsh, actor
* Marc Webb, film, television, and music video director
* Bradley Whitford, actor, born in Madison
* Gideon Yago, CBS and MTV News correspondent
* Leigh Zimmerman, actress

### Musicians

* Brother Ali, hip hop musician
* Lou and Peter Berryman, musicians and songwriters
* Jeff Conrad, drummer of Phantom Planet
* Brent Michael Davids, composer for the National Symphony Orchestra
* Richard Davis, bassist and professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
* John DeMain, conductor
* Christine Nielson Dreier, singer
* Ari Herstand, musician, actor, blogger
* Nick Hexum, musician, lead vocalist of 311
* Lee Hoiby, composer
* Zola Jesus, musician; raised in Merrill and got her start in Madison
* Jennifer Korbee, member of Hi-5; contestant on American Idol
* Alicia Lemke, singer, famous for appearing on Matt Harding's Where the Hell is Matt? 2012 video
* Barbara K. MacDonald, musician
* Pat MacDonald, musician
* Joel McNeely, composer
* Tracy Nelson, singer
* Geoff Palmer, musician, singer, and songwriter; member of The Connection, the Kurt Baker band, and The Queers
* Otis Redding, musician, died in Madison
* Art Paul Schlosser, musician
* Jim Schwall, musician, singer-songwriter
* Ben Sidran, musician, jazz pianist
* Catfish Stephenson, blues musician
* Clyde Stubblefield, musician, died in Madison
* Butch Vig, alternative music producer and drummer of Garbage; from Viroqua, got his start in Madison
* Chris Vrenna, musician and producer
* Ben Weasel, lead singer and guitarist of the punk rock band Screeching Weasel.
* Jane Wiedlin, musician and actress
* Glenn Worf, Nashville session bass player
* Yung Gravy, hip hop musician

## Government officials, politicians, and activists

* Stacey Abrams, Georgia State politician
* Henry Cullen Adams, U.S. Representative
* Rasmus B. Anderson, U.S. diplomat
* Dwight Armstrong (1951–2010), perpetrator of the Sterling Hall bombing
* David Atwood, Mayor of Madison, newspaper publisher/editor, U.S. Representative
* Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Senator
* George V. Borchsenius, first clerk of the court of the Nome judicial division of Alaska
* Dorothy Bradley, Montana state legislator
* John R. Burke, U.S. diplomat
* Michael J. Cantwell, Wisconsin State Assemblyman
* Richard Cates, Wisconsin legislator and lawyer
* William Charlton, Wisconsin State Assemblyman and farmer
* Liz Cheney, U.S. Representative from Wyoming
* Jason Crow, U.S. Representative from Colorado
* Leo Crowley, head of the Foreign Economic Administration
* Dexter Curtis, Wisconsin legislator and inventor
* Joseph E. Davies, U.S. diplomat
* Abiol Lual Deng, South Sudanese-American political scientist
* Brian Detter, Navy official, activist
* Jim Doyle, Governor of Wisconsin 2003–2011
* Scott Evertz, first openly gay director of the Office of National AIDS Policy
* William T. Evjue, Wisconsin State Assemblyman; founder of The Capital Times
* Lucius Fairchild, U.S. diplomat
* Thomas E. Fairchild, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals
* Leonard J. Farwell, Governor of Wisconsin
* Louis E. Gettle, politician
* John D. Gurnee, Wisconsin State Assembly
* Everis A. Hayes, U.S. Representative from California
* Charles N. Herreid, Governor of South Dakota
* Charles W. Heyl, Wisconsin State Assembly
* Benjamin F. Hopkins, U.S. Representative
* Eric Hovde, businessman and politician
* Burr W. Jones, U.S. Representative
* Philip Mayer Kaiser, diplomat
* Scott L. Klug, U.S. Representative 1991–1999
* Randall S. Knox, lawyer, politician, businessman
* Kris Kobach, professor, politician
* Thomas F. Konop, U.S. Representative
* Clifford Krueger, politician
* Julius Albert Krug, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
* Belle Case La Follette, activist
* Bronson La Follette, Wisconsin Attorney General
* Doug La Follette, Wisconsin Secretary of State, environmental activist, writer
* Fola La Follette, activist
* Philip La Follette, Governor of Wisconsin
* Robert M. La Follette, Jr., U.S. Senator
* Robert M. La Follette, Sr., populist, senator, attorney
* Francis Lamb, politician and lawyer
* Richard Lamm, Governor of Colorado
* James B. Loken, Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals
* Willett Main, Wisconsin State Senator
* Cheri Maples, Wisconsin lawyer, police officer, and peace activist
* Ben Masel, original Yippee, hemp and marijuana legalization activist
* Teresa McGovern, daughter of presidential candidate George McGovern
* Wayne L. Morse, U.S. Senator from Oregon
* Earl Mullen, politician and barber
* Herman Natwick, member of the Dakota Territory legislature
* Gaylord Nelson, U.S. Senator, founder of Earth Day
* John M. Nelson, U.S. Representative
* William Proxmire, U.S. Senator
* Charles R. Robertson, U.S. Representative from North Dakota
* Harry Sauthoff, lawyer and politician
* Albert G. Schmedeman, U.S. diplomat
* Stuart Nash Scott, U.S. diplomat
* Ithamar Sloan, U.S. Representative
* Paul Soglin, Mayor 1973–1979, 1989–1997, 2011–2019
* John Coit Spooner, U.S. Senator
* John Mellen Thurston, U.S. Senator from Nebraska; namesake of Thurston County, Nebraska
* Marjorie R. Turnbull, Florida State Representative
* William F. Vilas, U.S. Postmaster General and U.S. Secretary of the Interior
* Floyd E. Wheeler, Wisconsin State Assembly
* William Wheeler, Wisconsin territorial legislator
* Frank E. Wheelock, a founder and first mayor of Lubbock, Texas; reared in Madison
* Rebecca Young, Wisconsin State Assembly

## Military figures

* George E. Bryant, U.S. Army brigadier general
* Joseph Cable, Medal of Honor recipient
* Charles L. Harris, Union Army brigadier general
* Frank A. Haskell, Union Army colonel; author of a noted account of the Battle of Gettysburg
* William Hawley, Union Army brigadier general
* John Higgins, U.S. Navy rear admiral (upper half)
* Donald S. Jones, U.S. Navy Vice Admiral
* William Lorenz, Army Distinguished Service Medal recipient
* John Birdsell Oren, U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral
* Carson Abel Roberts, U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant general
* Clayton K. Slack, Medal of Honor recipient
* Eugene L. Tattini, U.S. Air Force lieutenant general
* Albert Taubert, Navy Cross and Distinguished Service Cross recipient
* Karl G. Taylor, Sr., Medal of Honor recipient
* Ralph Wise Zwicker, U.S. Army major general

## Miscellaneous

* Tunnel Bob, famous resident
* Dwight Armstrong, took part in the Sterling Hall bombing in 1970
* Carlo Peter Caputo, alleged Italian American gangster and businessman
* Bill Horstmeyer, race car driver
* Awonder Liang, chess prodigy, third youngest Grandmaster in US chess history
* Richard Ragsdale, physician who litigated against excessive abortion regulation

## Religious figures

* Matthew Fox, Episcopal priest
* Alexander Gee Jr
* Jerome J. Hastrich, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup
* Byron C. Nelson, Lutheran minister and apologist for creationism.
* Hans Gerhard Stub, Bishop of the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
* Manfred Swarsensky, rabbi

## Scholars and scientists

* Ann Althouse, law professor, scholar and blogger
* John Bardeen, Nobel laureate, named one of the 20th century's most influential Americans by Life magazine
* Arthur Louis Breslich, President of German Wallace College and Baldwin-Wallace College
* Ernest J. Briskey, creator of the American Meat Science Association
* W. Wallace Cleland, University of Wisconsin–Madison biochemist; inventor of Cleland's reagent
* Scott Cutlip, dean of the University of Georgia College of Journalism and Mass Communication
* Richard Davidson, neuroscientist, director of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds University of Wisconsin–Madison
* Hector DeLuca, biochemist and founder and president of Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals
* Harvey Goldberg, historian and professor
* Harlan Hanson, Director of the Advanced Placement program 1965–1989
* Howard Hibbard, art historian, professor at Columbia University
* John Duer Irving, geologist
* Henry A. Lardy, biochemist
* Aldo Leopold, ecologist
* A. Carl Leopold, Graduate Dean at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
* A. Starker Leopold, Professor of Zoology and Conservation at the University of California, Berkeley
* Luna Leopold, Professor of Geology and Geophysics and of Landscape Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley
* William Shainline Middleton, co-founder and Secretary-Treasurer of American Board of Internal Medicine
* George Mosse, historian, professor
* John Muir, Scottish-born American naturalist, author and early advocate of preservation of U.S. wilderness
* Gerhard Brandt Naeseth, genealogist
* Lorrie Otto, environmentalist
* Leon E. Rosenberg, physician-scientist, geneticist, and educator
* Jay P. Sanford, author of the Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy
* Sumner Slichter, economist, professor at Harvard University
* Kurt Squire, director of the Games, Learning & Society Conference
* Harry Steenbock, biochemist, researcher of Vitamin D
* James Thomson, leading stem cell researcher
* Jan Vansina, historian and anthropologist
* I. Bernard Weinstein, physician
* Ira Loren Wiggins, botanist
* James Wright, president of Dartmouth College

## Writers and journalists

* Carl Thomas Anderson, cartoonist
* Mike Baron, comic book writer famous for creating Nexus
* Lowell Bergman, TV news producer
* Deborah Blum, journalist and professor
* Barbara Fister, author, blogger and librarian
* Jason Gastrow, Videogamedunkey, video game reviewer, humorist, YouTube personality
* Annie Laurie Gaylor, author and activist with Freethought Today
* Jeff Gillan, journalist
* Kevin Henkes, children's book author, graduated from UW–Madison, as of 1996 "makes his home in Madison"
* Ed Janus, journalist
* Gloria Ladson-Billings, professor and author
* David Maraniss, journalist and author, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize
* Karl E. Meyer, journalist
* Jacquelyn Mitchard, author
* Lorrie Moore, prize-winning author of short stories
* Jessica Nelson North, author
* Alice Hobbins Porter, journalist, editor
* Richard Quinney, author and photographer
* Phil Rosenthal, columnist
* Patrick Rothfuss, writer of epic fantasy
* Greg Dean Schmitz, online film journalist, creator of Upcomingmovies.com, columnist for Rotten Tomatoes
* Alice Sebold, author
* Scott Stantis, editorial cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune; creator of the comic strips The Buckets and Prickly City
* John Tuschen, poet
* Connie Wanek, poet
* Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet ("Laugh and the world laughs with you"); grew up in Madison
* Amos Wilder, poet and theologian
* Thornton Wilder, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and playwright