This list is now maintained through the Category People from Kansas City, Missouri. To add to that list, add the tag (in brackets) "Category: People from Kansas City" to the page you wish listed.
This is a list of people who were born or lived a significant part of their lives in Kansas City, Missouri or the Kansas City Metropolitan Area.
Bud Abell - linebacker in the American Football League; born in Kansas City
Oleta Adams – singer
Amy Alcott – professional golfer; born in Kansas City
M.A. Alford - multimedia artist
Henry Wilson Allen - Western author and screenwriter
Robert Altman – film director
Raleigh DeGeer Amyx - collector of Olympic and Presidential memorabilia
Nate Archibald – basketball player with Kansas City Kings
 Stewart Ashby, Jr. - rapper
Brooke Ashley – adult actress and Miss Teen Kansas City runner-up
Edward Asner – actor, born in Kansas City
Ashley Aull – 2006 Miss Kansas USA
Burt Bacharach – pianist and composer
Parrish Baker - cartoonist
Kay Barnes – mayor of Kansas City 1999–2007
H. Roe Bartle – mayor of Kansas City and namesake of Kansas City Chiefs
Count Basie – jazz musician and bandleader
Noah Beery – actor
Wallace Beery – Oscar-winning actor
Thomas Hart Benton – artist
Richard L. Berkley – politician, former mayor
Ken Berry - baseball player
Danni Boatwright - Survivor: Guatemala winner; Miss Kansas
George Brett – Hall of Fame baseball player
Diane Brewster - actress
Walter Brown – blues musician
Sylvia Browne – psychic and medium
 Melvin Calhoun - rapper
John D. Carmack – game programmer
Joe Carter – baseball player with Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays, lives in the city
Don Cheadle – actor, Hotel Rwanda, Ocean's Eleven, Crash
Andrea Ciliberti – 2005 Miss Missouri USA
Anthony Civella - mobster
Emanuel Cleaver – politician, U.S. Representative for Fifth District in Missouri
Jonathan Coachman – ESPN sportscaster, wrestling commentator, college basketball player
Jennifer Jo Cobb –  NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver
Robert Coldsnow - Kansas legislator and lawyer
Evan S. Connell – author
Chris Cooper – Oscar-winning actor
John Coughlin – figure skater, 2011 U.S. pairs champion
Joan Crawford – Oscar-winning actress
Walter Cronkite – CBS television journalist, news anchor
Len Dawson – Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Pro Football Hall of Famer, broadcaster, KMBC sports director
 Marcus Denmon - NBA player
 Bob Dernier - MLB outfielder
Walt Disney – film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, and animator
James T. Draper, Jr. - president of Southern Baptist Convention 1982-1984; pastor of Red Bridge Baptist Church in Kansas City 1965-1970
Carol Duboc – singer, composer, arranger, and actress
 Amelia Earhart - iconic aviator
James E. Edmondson - Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice
Eminem – rapper
Melissa Etheridge – singer
Harris Faulkner - newscaster
Scott Foley – actor
 Lisa Forbes - Miss Kansas and Miss Earth USA 2007
William P. Foster - band director
Thomas Frank – writer, editor
Josh Freeman - NFL quarterback
Matt Freije – NBA player
Friz Freleng – film producer, director, animator, and cartoonist
Caroline Glaser - The Voice contestant
Trent Green – NFL quarterback
Maurice Greene - sprinter, gold-medalist Olympian in track and field
Masten Gregory – auto racing
Eddie Griffin – comedian and actor, Deuce Bigalow, Undercover Brother
Karolyn Grimes – actress, Zu-Zu in the Frank Capra classic It's a Wonderful Life, lived in town for many years
Donald J. Hall, Sr. – businessman
Joyce Hall – businessman, founder of Hallmark Cards
Leon Harden – football player for Green Bay Packers
Jean Harlow – actress
Jessica Harp – country music singer-songwriter, former member of The Wreckers with Michelle Branch
Thomas Hayward - leading tenor of  Metropolitan Opera
Robert A. Heinlein – science fiction author; his stories are frequently set in or reference Kansas City
Ernest Hemingway – iconic novelist and short story author
Shauntay Henderson – FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive, convicted criminal
Paul Henning – writer, producer of The Beverly Hillbillies TV series
Opal Hill - golfer and LPGA co-founder
Jerry Hines – Emmy Award-winning photographer, voted cutest baby of Kansas City 1975
Ralph F. Hirschmann (1922–2009) - biochemist who led synthesis of first enzyme
Mabel Hite - vaudeville and musical comedy performer, father worked at Owl Drug Store
Bob Holden -  53rd Governor of Missouri
Priest Holmes – professional football player for Kansas City Chiefs
Dick Howser – baseball player and manager of Kansas City Royals
Dorothy B. Hughes - novelist
Jim Humphreys – prominent Texas rancher
Lamar Hunt – owner and founder of Kansas City Chiefs
Ub Iwerks – animator and cartoonist
Pete Johnson – blues and jazz pianist
Elaine Joyce - actress
John Kander - composer
Ewing Kauffman – pharmaceutical magnate, philanthropist, and Major League Baseball owner
Ellie Kemper - actress, The Office
Vern Kennedy - baseball pitcher
Bill Kenney – politician, ex-Chiefs player
Edward Kerr – actor, Above Suspicion, Confessions of a Sexist Pig, The Astronaut's Wife
Craig Kilborn – actor, sportscaster, talk show host
Philip Klutznick - U.S. Secretary of Commerce to President Jimmy Carter
Evalyn Knapp - actress
Krizz Kaliko (born Samuel Watson, Jr.) - rapper
Sarah Lancaster – actress
Frank Sherman Land - Freemason and founder of Order of DeMolay, international organization for young men
William Least Heat-Moon – author
Muna Lee - 3 time Track and Field Olympic finalist 
Jeff Leiding – football player
Lesa Lewis – IFBB professional bodybuilder
Suzanne Lieurance – freelance writer
Ryan Lilja – NFL player for Indianapolis Colts and Kansas City Chiefs, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School graduate
Bill Maas – NFL player
Arthur Mag – lawyer, legal counsel to Harry S. Truman
Sean Malto - professional skateboarder
Amanda Marsh – first winner of The Bachelor
Denny Matthews – sportscaster, author
John Mayberry, Jr. – baseball outfielder with Philadelphia Phillies
Claire McCaskill – politician and senator
Edie McClurg – actress
Courtney McCool – athlete and Olympian
Glenn McGee – bioethicist and philosopher
Phil McGraw – psychologist and talk show host, lived in the area as a teen
Hal McRae – baseball player and manager with Kansas City Royals
Jay McShann – blues musician
Pat Metheny – jazz guitarist
Frederick H. Michaelis – U.S. Navy Admiral
Janelle Monae – singer
Wendy Moniz – actress
Julia Montgomery - actress in Revenge of the Nerds and One Life to Live
Dennis Moore – Congressman, politician
Logan Morrison - baseball player
Paul Morrison – politician
Tommy Morrison – heavyweight boxer
Bennie Moten – pianist, bandleader
Mancow Muller – radio personality
Richard B. Myers – United States Air Force General and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil – professional baseball player for Negro American League with Kansas City Monarchs
Jesse Clyde Nichols – developer of commercial and residential real estate
William F. Nolan – author
Satchel Paige – baseball pitcher
Charlie Parker -  jazz saxophonist and composer
Gordon Parks – screenwriter, director, actor, photographer
Jamie Paulin-Ramirez – American Muslim convert arrested in Jihad Jane plot to kill a Danish artist
Rodney Peete – NFL quarterback, Fox Sports TV host
Tom Pernice, Jr. – professional golfer
Darrell Porter – professional baseball player, author
Joe Posnanski - sports writer, author
Albert Pujols – baseball player, lives in Kansas City, plays for Los Angeles Angels
Joe Randa – baseball player
Rob Riggle - actor and comedian
Bullet Rogan – baseball player
Ginger Rogers - dancer, Academy Award-winning actress, Broadway performer
Paul Rudd – actor, Clueless, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Karl L. Rundberg (1899–1969) - Los Angeles City Council member
Brandon Rush – NBA player
Kareem Rush – NBA player
Pierre Russell - basketball player
Ray Sadecki - Major League Baseball pitcher
Lori Saunders - actress, Petticoat Junction
Rachel Saunders – 2005 Miss Kansas USA
Melana Scantlin – Miss Missouri USA and Average Joe star, co-host of World Series of Blackjack
Wes Scantlin – lead singer and rhythm guitarist of rock band Puddle of Mudd, cousin of Melana Scantlin
Ted Shawn - modern dance pioneer
Columbus Short - choreographer, actor,  singer
Sam Simmons – former NFL  and Arena Football League player
Crystal Smith – model
Jack Sock - professional tennis player
Kate Spade – fashion designer
Alexis Spight – gospel musician
Darren Sproles - NFL running back
Casey Stengel – baseball player and Hall of Fame manager
Darrell Stuckey - NFL - San Diego Chargers 
Jason Sudeikis - actor, Saturday Night Live
Mike Sweeney – baseball player with Oakland Athletics
Justin Swift – football player with NFL's Detroit Lions
Myra Taylor – blues singer, solo career and member of The Wild Women of Kansas City
Tech N9ne, born Aaron Yates - rapper and record label president
Tony Temple – Cleveland Browns football player, leading rusher (281 yards) in Cotton Bowl Classic for Missouri Tigers
Derrick Thomas – football player for Kansas City Chiefs
Bobb'e J. Thompson – child actor
Virgil Thomson– Pulitzer Prize-winning composer
Calvin Trillin – food writer, journalist, humorist
Marion A. Trozzolo – businessman, River Quay
Harry S. Truman – 33rd President of the United States (from Independence, Missouri)
Lisa Tucker – writer
Big Joe Turner – blues singer
Henry Clay Van Noy – owner of Van Noy Railway News and Hotel Company (today known as HMSHost)
Janie Wagstaff – 1992 olympic swimmer
Dee Wallace – actress,  E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Earl Watson – basketball player
Orla Watson - inventor
Tom Watson – professional golfer, twice Masters champion, five-time British Open winner, World Golf Hall of Fame
Ben Webster – jazz saxophonist
Jason Whitlock – sports journalist
Charles Wheeler - Kansas City Mayor
Frank White – professional baseball player
Dianne Wiest – two-time Oscar-winning actress
Jason Wiles – actor, played Maurice 'Bosco' Boscorelli in TV series Third Watch
Barry Winchell – Private First Class, murdered by a fellow soldier for his sexual orientation
Smoky Joe Wood – a.k.a. The Kansas Cyclone; professional baseball player for Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians
Chely Wright – country music singer
Katie Wright – actress married to Hank Azaria
Jack Wyatt – host of ABC's Confession (1958–1959); Episcopalian priest

Related pages
 List of people from Missouri

References

Kansas City#