List of notable people from Oklahoma

The following are people who were either born/raised or have lived for a significant period of time in Oklahoma.

Native Americans
 Bill Anoatubby (born 1945), Governor of the Chickasaw Nation
 Black Kettle (1801/07–1868), Cheyenne Chief killed near Cheyenne, Oklahoma, in Roger Mills County
 Geronimo (1829–1909), Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache
 Wilma Mankiller (born 1945), first woman Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation 
 Quanah Parker (c. late 1840s – 1911), last Comanche chief
 Harvey Pratt (born 1941), Native American forensic artist
 Will Rogers (1879–1935), humorist Actor
 Clarence L. Tinker (1887-1942), member of the Osage tribe, U.S. Army Air Corps general and first American general to die in World War II
 Fred Waite (1853–1895), Native American of the Chickasaw tribe, cowboy, member of Billy the Kid's gang and politician
 Stand Watie (1806–1871), Brigadier General in the Confederate Army, Cherokee chief

Political/Military Figures
 Carl Albert (1908–2000), Speaker of the House from 1971 to 1977, first in line for presidency after Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned during President Nixon's tenure.
 Dewey F. Bartlett, Oklahoma Governor and U.S. Senator
 Dan Boren (born 1973), represents Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional district in the U.S. House
 David Boren (born 1941), former Governor of Oklahoma, U.S. Senator and University of Oklahoma president
 Joseph J. Clark (1893–1971), Admiral U.S. Navy and first Native American to graduate from the United States Naval Academy
 William J. Crowe (1925–2007), Admiral U.S. Navy and former Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
 Drew Edmondson (born 1946), state Attorney General
 General Tommy Franks (born 1927), Commander of US Central Command, US Invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq
 Bo Gritz (born 1939), most decorated Green Beret officer during the Vietnam War
 Jeane Kirkpatrick (born 1926), U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
 Perle Mesta (1889–1975), political hostess, U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg
 Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927–2003), U.S. Senator, ambassador to India, Ambassador to the United Nations, President of the United Nations Security Council
 Donald Lee "Don" Nickles (born 1948) American political leader, U.S. Senator from Oklahoma 1981-2005
 George Nigh (born 1927), two-time Governor of Oklahoma
 Gene Stipe, (born 1926), longest-serving member of the Oklahoma State Senate
 J.C. Watts, U.S. Congressman and OU quarterback

Entertainment
Humorists/Comedians
 Will Rogers (1879–1935), humorist
 Daniel Hale Rowan (1922–1987), comedian and co-host of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Film/Theatre
 Suzy Amis (born 1962), actress
 Gene Autry (1907–1998), actor, musician
 William Boyd (1895–1972), actor (Hopalong Cassidy)
 Gary Busey (born 1944), actor
 Lon Chaney Jr (1906–1973), actor
 Greg Coolidge (born 1969) writer, director, producer, actor
 Joan Crawford (1906–1977), Academy Award winning actress
 Blake Edwards (born 1922), director, writer, producer
 Kay Francis (1905-1968), actress
 James Garner (born 1928), actor
 Van Heflin (1908–1971), Academy Award winning actor
 Clint Howard (born 1959), actor (and Ron's brother)
 Ron Howard (born 1954), director, producer, actor
 Ben Johnson (1918–1996), Academy Award winning actor
 Jennifer Jones (1919-2009), actress
 Rue McClanahan (born 1934), actress
 Vera Miles (born 1929), actress
 Megan Mullally, actress
 Clarence Nash (1904–1985), voice of Donald Duck
 Chuck Norris (born 1940), actor, martial artist
 Cindy Pickett (born 1947), actress
 Brad Pitt (born 1963), actor
 Mary Kay Place (born 1947), actress
 Tony Randall (1920–2004), actor
 Dale Robertson (1920-2013), actor
 Gailard Sartain (born 1946), actor, artist, comedian
 Maria Tallchief (1925-2013), ballerina
 Paula Trickey (born 1966), actress (Pacific Blue)
 Jeanne Tripplehorn (born 1963), actress
 Alfre Woodard (born 1952), actress
 Larry Clark (born 1943), filmmaker ("Kids", "Ken Park"), photographer
 James Marsden (born 1973), actor
 Ted Shackelford (born 1946), actor (Knot's Landing)

Music
 AleXa (born 1996), K-pop singer and dancer, and winner of the first American Song Contest
 The All-American Rejects
 The Arnold's, Southern Gospel trio based in Tulsa
 Aqueduct (born 1992), indie pop band
 Hoyt Axton (1938–1999), country music singer/songwriter, wrote "I've Never Been to Spain" (but I've been to Oklahoma).
 Chet Baker (1929–1988), jazz trumpeter who helped popularize the 1950s cool jazz style
 Norma Jean (b. Norma Jean Beasler January 30, 1938) is an American country music singer
 Earl Bostic (1913–1965), R&B and jazz musician
 Garth Brooks (born 1962), country music singer/songwriter
 Don Byas (1912-1972) jazz tenor saxophonist and one of the leading saxophonists of the swing and bebop eras
 J. J. Cale (born 1938), country rock (see Tulsa sound)
 Jerry Cantrell, musician, lead guitarist/vocalist, Alice in Chains
 The Chainsaw Kittens, alternative rock band
 Don Cherry (trumpeter)(1936-1935), pioneering free jazz trumpeter
 Charlie Christian (1916–1942), jazz guitarist, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, considered the father of jazz guitar
 Roy Clark (born 1933), country musician
 Eddie Cochrane, rockabilly musician
 Color Me Badd, R&B vocal group
 Ronnie Dunn (born 1953), half of the country music duo Brooks and Dunn
 Gail Farrell (born 1947), singer/songwriter, featured performer from The Lawrence Welk Show
 The Flaming Lips, indie rock band featuring Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd and Michael Ivins
 The Gap Band (born 1967), R&B, funk and soul group
 David Gates (born 1939), singer/songwriter associated with the band Bread
 Vince Gill (born 1957), country musician
 Earl Grant (1933–1970), easy listening pianist
 Woody Guthrie (1912–1967), folk singer
 Hanson (born 1992), pop band
 Glen Hardin (born 1939), musician, piano player
 Roy Harris (1898–1979), classical composer
 Richard Hart (born 1955), Jazz guitarist, composer/arranger, published artist
 Lee Hazlewood (born 1929), singer/songwriter, record producer
 Michael Hedges (December 31,1953 – December 2, 1997) acoustic guitarist born in Enid, Oklahoma
 Hinder, rock band
 Wanda Jackson (born 1938), rockabilly singer
 Toby Keith (1961-2024), country musician
 Merle Kilgore (1934–2005), singer/songwriter, manager
 Mel McDaniel (born 1942), country music singer/songwriter
 Reba McEntire (born 1955), country singer 
 singer/songwriter
 Leona Mitchell (born 1948), famed African American soprano, member Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
 The Nixons, 90's hard rock band
 Patti Page (born 1927), traditional pop music and country music singer
 Sandi Patty (born 1957), Contemporary Christian music singer
 Tom Paxton (1937-), singer, singer-songwriter
 Pillar (born 2001), christian rock band
 Restless Heart band members Paul Gregg and Greg Jennings
 Sam Rivers (born 1923) jazz tenor saxophonist with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie,Herbie Hancock, and Quincy Jones
 Joe Don Rooney (born 1975), country music singer, one-third of the group Rascal Flatts
 Leon Russell (born 1942), singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist
 Neal Schon (born 1954), lead rock guitarist of Journey
 Blake Shelton (born 1976), country musician
 Starlight Mints, indie pop band
 B. J. Thomas (born 1942) singer/songwriter
 Carrie Underwood (born 1983), American Idol winner 2005
 Choya Partridge (born 1990), country music singer-songwriter and actor 
 Jimmy Webb (born 1946), popular music composer
 Claude Williams (musician) (1908–2004), jazz musician with the Count Basie band
 Mason Williams (born 1938), composer (Classical Gas), recording artist, comedy writer (Smothers Brothers)
 Bob Wills (1905–1975), country music singer/songwriter, leader of the band The Texas Playboys
 Sheb Wooley (1921–2003), actor and singer (Purple People Eater)
 Zach Bryan (1996) country music singer-songwriter

Television/Radio
 Kristin Chenoweth (born 1968), actress and singer
 Walter Cronkite (born 1916), television journalist
 Douglas Edwards (1917–1990), radio and television journalist
 Kayne Gillaspie, TV personality and fashion designer
 Paul Harvey (born 1918), radio broadcaster and commentator
 Mary Hart, (born 1950), TV personality, co-host "Entertainment Tonight"
 Glenn Hauser (born 1945), radio broadcaster
 Rex Linn (born 1956), actor (CSI: Miami)
 Phil McGraw (born 1950), television psychologist
 Beverlee McKinsey (1935-2008) television soap opera actress
 Bill Moyers, journalist/national anchor
 Bob Murphy (1924–2004), sports play-by-play announcer (best known as announcer for New York Mets)
 Justin Nimmo, (born September 5, 1974), actor (Power Rangers in Space)
 Dan Rowan, co-host, "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In"
 Ted Shackelford (born 1946), actor (Knot's Landing)

Miss America
 Jennifer Berry (born 1983), Miss America 2006
 Jane Anne Jayroe (born 1946), Miss America 1967
 Lauren Nelson (born 1987), Miss America 2007
 Susan Powell (born 1959), Miss America 1981
 Norma Smallwood (1909–1966), Miss America 1926, first Miss America of Native American Heritage (Cherokee)
 Shawntel Smith (born 1971), Miss America 1996

Business
 Choya Partridge , Owner of S&M Auto Recovery, and a Country music Artist and Song writer 
 Edward K. Gaylord (1873–1974), Founder of the Daily Oklahoman
 Edward L. Gaylord (1919–2003), late Editor of the Daily Oklahoman, founder of TNN & CMT, owner of Grand Ole Opry
 Sylvan Goldman (1898–1984), Businessman and inventor of the shopping cart
 Waite Phillips (1883–1964), oil industry businessman
 T. Boone Pickens, Jr. (1928-2019), oil industry businessman
 Sam Walton (1918–1992), founder of Wal-Mart
 Tom L. Ward, oil industry businessman

Art and Literature
 Roger Eric Davis, (1962-2013), Artist of Oil Paintings^ http://www.rogerdavisart.com/home/ 
 Charles Bell (painter), (1935-1995), photorealist painter
 William Bernhardt (born 1960), novelist
 John Berryman (1914–1972), poet
 Jim Thompson (born 1906), novelist
 Ralph Ellison (1914–1994), writer and scholar
 Chester Gould (1900–1985), creator of the Dick Tracy comic strip
 Tony Hillerman (born 1925), journalist, historian, professor, and novelist
 Josh Shipp (born 1981), author and motivational speaker
 S.E. Hinton (born 1948), author and novelist
 Bill Moyers (born 1934), journalist and public commentator
 Jeff Rowland, cartoonist, author of WIGU
 Bill Wallace, author
 Jason Nelson (born 1970), pioneering net artist and digital poet

Athletics

 Troy Aikman, quarterback, OU, UCLA and Dallas Cowboys champion, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
 Johnny Bench (born 1947), MLB catcher Cincinnati Reds, member Baseball Hall of Fame
 Brian Bosworth (born 1965), Oklahoma Sooners football and NFL player
 Josh Brown (born 1979), kicker Seattle Seahawks
 Mikey Burnett UFC fighter
 Joe Carter, Major League Baseball player, right fielder
 Larry Coker (born 1948), former football coach at University of Miami
 Bart Conner, Olympic gold medal gymnast
 Edward C. Gallagher, champion OSU sprinter and football player, winningest wrestling coach in NCAA history, Olympic wrestling coach, National Wrestling Hall of Fame charter member
 Bill Goldberg, professional wrestler
 Kelly Gregg, Oklahoma Sooners football and National Football League player
 Charlie Haas, WWE professional wrestler
 Mat Hoffman, World Champion BMX biker
 Matt Holliday, Outfielder for the Colorado Rockies.
 Henry Iba, OSU basketball coach, NCAA and Olympic champion coach Basketball Hall of Famer
 Bob Kalsu (1945–1970), Oklahoma Sooners football and Buffalo Bills player, only active professional football player killed in the Vietnam War
 Steve Largent, Seattle Seahawks Pro Football Hall of Famer and politician
 Abe Lemons, Oklahoma City University, Pan American University, and Texas Longhorns basketball coach
 Mickey Mantle (1931–1995), New York Yankees Baseball Hall of Famer
 Pepper Martin (1904–1965), St. Louis Cardinals baseball player
 "Jumping Jack" McCracken (1911–1958), Basketball Hall of Famer
 Shannon Miller, Olympic gold medal gymnast
 Ryan Minor, Oklahoma Sooners baseball & basketball player
 Dr. Gil Morgan (born 1959), professional golfer
 Tommy Morrison, Former World Heavyweight Champion boxer
 Bobby Murcer (1946–2008) Professional baseball player and sportscaster
 Lance Norick (born 1968), NASCAR driver.
 Steve Owens, Oklahoma Sooners football player and 1969 Heisman Trophy winner
 Brad Penny, Florida Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers MLB pitcher
 Beth Phoenix, professional wrestler
 Darrell Porter (1952–2002), MLB baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals
 Mark Price (born 1964) basketball player; Enid H.S., Georgia Tech, and Indiana Pacers
 Bryant Reeves attended Gans high school in eastern Oklahoma, attended OSU, and retired from the Vancouver Grizzlies in the NBA.
 Allie Reynolds (1917–1994), Baseball Hall of Famer
 Crystal Robinson, New York Liberty WNBA basketball player
 Bullet Rogan (1893–1967), Baseball Hall of Famer
 Matt Roney (born 1980), MLB baseball player, relief pitcher
 Jim Ross, WWE announcer
 Darrell Royal (born 1924), football coach at University of Texas
 Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State Cowboys Heisman Trophy winner, Football Hall of Famer
 Lee Roy Selmon, Oklahoma Sooners football player and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
 Jeremy Shockey (born 1980), professional football player
 Billy Sims (born 1955), running back Oklahoma Sooners football and Detroit Lions, Heisman Trophy winner
 John Smith (born 1965), Olympic gold medalist and wrestling coach
 Warren Spahn (1921–2003), Baseball Hall of Famer
 Willie Stargell (1940-2001), Baseball Hall of Famer with the Pittsburgh Pirates, known for his ability to hit home runs completely out of stadiums.
 Eddie Sutton, Arkansas Razorbacks and Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball coach
 Barry Switzer (born 1937), football coach, Oklahoma Sooners and Dallas Cowboys
 Jim Thorpe (1887–1953), Olympic gold medalist, played professional football and Major League Baseball
 Spencer Tillman, All-American running back for the Oklahoma Sooners and CBS TV football analyst
 Wayman Tisdale (born 1964), professional basketball player and jazz bass guitarist
 Bob Tway (born 1959), professional golfer and PGA Championship winner in 1986
 Lloyd "Little Poison" Waner (1906–1982), Baseball Hall of Famer
 Paul "Big Poison" Waner (1903–1965), Baseball Hall of Famer
 J.C. Watts, Oklahoma Sooners football quarterback and later U.S. Congressman
 Jason White, Oklahoma Sooners football quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner
 Bud Wilkinson (1916–1994), famed Oklahoma Sooners football coach, member of the College Football Hall of Fame
 Matt Wiman (Born 1983), UFC fighter

Science/Medicine
 Richard E. Berendzen (born 1938), astronomer, author, and professor
 James Herndon (born 1952), media psychologist
 Karl Guthe Jansky (1905–1950), physicist and radio engineer

Aviation/Aeronautics
 Thomas and Paul Braniff, airline entrepreneurs, founders of Braniff International Airways
 Gordon Cooper (1907-2006)
 Owen K. Garriott (born 1930), astronaut
 John Herrington (born 1958), astronaut
 James Jabara (1923-1966) world's first jet ace, and Korean War triple ace with 15 kills
 Shannon Lucid (born 1943), astronaut
 William R. Pogue (born 1930), astronaut
 Wiley Post (1898–1935), first pilot to fly solo around the world, (born in Texas but grew up in Oklahoma)
 Thomas Stafford (born 1930), astronaut
 Clarence L. Tinker (1887-1942), U.S. Army Air Corps general and supreme commander of the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Pacific during World War II

Religious Figures
 Oral Roberts (1918-2009), evangelist
 Bill Majors (born 1960), missionary
 Yahweh ben Yahweh born and legally named Hulon Mitchell Jr. (October 27, 1935 - May 7, 2007), was the leader of the religious group Nation of Yahweh

Infamous Oklahomans
 Belle Starr (1848–1889), Queen of the outlaws, a female Jesse James
 Pretty Boy Floyd (1904–1934), Depression era gangster
 Cameron Willingham (1968–2004), convicted arsonist, whose case spawned a controversy over use of forensic evidence in capital trials

Other
 Bill G. Chapman (1928–2007), advocate for the blind, author
 Tom Colbert (born 1949), first African-American Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice
 Stephen Jones (July 1, 1940 -), attorney best known as Timothy McVeigh's lead defense lawyer during his trial for the Oklahoma City bombing
 Joe Redington (1917–1999), "Father of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race"
 Bass Reeves (1838-1910), first African-American U.S. Marshal and one of the chief law enforcement agents during the first years of Oklahoma's statehood.
 Steven W. Taylor (born 1949), Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice, presided over Oklahoma City bombing suspect Terry Nichols's state murder trial
 Cornel West (born 1953), scholar

References

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