List of people from Montclair, New Jersey

Notable current and former residents of Montclair, New Jersey, include:

## Academics and science
* H. Bruce Franklin (born 1934), author and historian who was expelled from his Stanford University professorship for involvement in a leftist group
* Joshua Lederberg (1925–2008), geneticist who received the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work in bacterial genetics; born in Montclair
* Ronald T. Raines (born 1958), chemical biologist and expert on the chemistry and biology of proteins
* Kenneth B. Smith (1931-2008), President of the Board of Education of the Chicago Public Schools; President of the Chicago Theological Seminary
* Dr. Leo Sternbach (1908–2005), chemist, invented precursor to Valium
* Edward Weston (1850–1936), electrical engineer and inventor whose Weston Electrical Instrument Company won the contract to illuminate the Brooklyn Bridge

## Arts
### Authors and journalists
* Virginia Hamilton Adair (1913–2004), poet
* Jonathan Alter (born 1957), *Newsweek* magazine journalist
* Jim Axelrod, national correspondent for CBS News; reporter for the *CBS Evening News*
* Eric Boehlert, journalist, author, frequent contributor to *The Huffington Post* and contributing editor to *Rolling Stone*
* David Carr (1956-2015), media and culture columnist for *The New York Times*
* Wendy Coakley-Thompson (born 1966), author of the novel *Back to Life*
* Cojo, Art Juggernaut (born 1977), artist, writer, cartoonist
* Fleur Cowles (1908–2009), painter, journalist, hostess, socialite and founder of *Flair* magazine; claimed to have been born in Montclair but records from the United States Census Bureau indicate that she was born in New York City
* Louise DeSalvo (born 1942), author
* Christopher Durang (born 1949), contemporary playwright
* Edward S. Ellis (1840–1916), teacher, school administrator, journalist; author of hundreds of publications under his name and many pseudonyms
* Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882-1961), novelist, poet, literary critic for *The Crisis*; later teacher
* Ian Frazier (born 1951), writer, humorist, and essayist
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* Frank Bunker Gilbreth (1868–1924) and Lillian Moller Gilbreth (1878–1972), and their twelve children, featured in the autobiography *Cheaper by the Dozen* and *Belles on Their Toes* by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr.
* Bob Herbert, (born 1945), syndicated op-ed columnist for *The New York Times*
* Ken Johnson, (born 1953), art critic for *The New York Times*
* Jon Katz (born 1947), author
* Peter King (born 1957), journalist and *Sports Illustrated* senior writer
* Michael Laser (born 1954), author
* Donna Leon (born 1942), novelist
* Arthur Levine (born 1962), editor, author, and publisher of children's books, including the American editions of the *Harry Potter* series
* Anne McCaffrey (1926–2011), a prolific writer of fantasy and science fiction best known for her *Dragonriders of Pern* series
* Susan Meddaugh, author of the *Martha Speaks* series of children's books, whose first home in Montclair was 33 Fairfield Street, where Martha the talking dog "lives" now
* Isabel Paterson (1886–1961), journalist, novelist, political philosopher, author of *The God of the Machine*
* Andrew Rosenthal (born 1956), editorial page editor of *The New York Times*; son of the paper's former executive editor A.M. Rosenthal
* Lee Siegel (born 1957), writer and cultural critic
* Richard Wesley (born 1945), screenwriter and playwright
* Valerie Wilson Wesley (born 1947), mystery writer
* Jana Winter, Fox News Channel reporter

### Fashion
* Bobbi Brown (born 1957), makeup artist
* Jack McCollough (born 1978), fashion designer; co-creator of Proenza Schouler
* Louise Vyent, Dutch-born fashion model and portrait photographer

### Fictional characters
* Paul Kinsey, on *Mad Men*
* Millicent Kent, in David Foster Wallace's novel *Infinite Jest*
* Jennifer Melfi, on *The Sopranos*
* Marnie Michaels, on *Girls*
Carmela Soprano, on *The Sopranos*, attended Montclair State University

### Fine arts
* Thomas Ball (1819–1911), sculptor
* William Couper (1853–1942), sculptor
* Harry Fenn (1845–1911), was an English-born illustrator, primarily of landscapes
* George Inness, (1825–1894), landscape painter
* Joe McNally (born 1952), photographer
* Dorothy Canning Miller (1904–2003), art curator

### Movies, stage and television
* Richard E. Besser (born 1959), former acting director of Centers for Disease Control; current Senior Health and Medical Editor at ABC News
* Richard Burgi (born 1958), actor
* John Callahan (born 1953), actor, *Falcon Crest*, *Santa Barbara*, *All My Children*, *Days of Our Lives*
* Stephen Colbert (born 1964), television personality, host of *The Colbert Report*
* Margaret Colin (born 1957), actress, *Gossip Girl*, *The Edge of Night*, *Something Wild*, *Independence Day*
* R.J. Colleary (1928–2012), Peabody and Emmy Award-winning comedy writer and producer for *M*A*S*H* and *Barney Miller*;  produced *Benson* and ''It's a Living*
* Kristen Connolly (born 1980), actress
* Justin Deas (born 1948), actor
* Olympia Dukakis (born 1931), Academy Award-winning actress, *Moonstruck*, *Steel Magnolias*, *Mr. Holland's Opus*
* Allen DuMont (1901–1965), television pioneer
* Beth Ehlers (born 1968), actress on *Guiding Light* and *All My Children*
* Frankie Faison (born 1949), actor, *The Silence of the Lambs*
* Frank Field (born 1923), meteorologist, former resident
* Savion Glover (born 1974), tap dancer and choreographer
* Peter Greene (born 1965), actor, *Pulp Fiction*, *The Mask*
* Sterling Hayden (1916–1986), actor, *Dr. Strangelove*, *The Godfather*, *The Asphalt Jungle*, *9 to 5*
* Anthony Heald (born 1944), actor, *The Silence of the Lambs*, *Boston Public*
* Shuler Hensley (born 1967), actor; won a Tony Award for *Oklahoma!*
* Steve Hofstetter (born 1979), comedian and radio personality
* Janet Hubert-Whitten (born 1956), television and Broadway actress
* Vincent Irizarry (born 1959), Emmy Award-winning actor, *[All My Children*
* The Amazing Kreskin (born 1935), paranormalist and TV personality
* Eva La Rue (born 1966), actress, model, singer
* Delroy Lindo (born 1952), actor nominated for Tony and SAG awards; *Get Shorty*, *The Cider House Rules*, *Crooklyn*, *Gone in 60 Seconds*, *Malcolm X*, *More American Graffiti*
* Warren Littlefield, (born 1952), President of NBC in the 1990s
* Priscilla Lopez (born 1948), actress, singer, dancer, *Maid in Manhattan''
* Tyler Mathisen (born 1957), writer, editor, co-host of CNBC's *Power Lunch*
* John Miller (born 1959), journalist, author, former FBI and ABC News journalist, current CBS News Senior Correspondent and investigative reporter
* Joe Morton (born 1947), actor, *Scandal*
* Michael O'Leary (born 1958), actor who portrayed Dr. Fredrick "Rick" Bauer on *Guiding Light*
* Roscoe Orman (born 1944), actor who portrayed Gordon Robinson on *Sesame Street*
* Stacie Passon, film director and screenwriter
* Kal Penn (born 1977), actor, *Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle*
* Todd Porter (born 1968), child/teen actor, *Starstuff*, ''Pinocchio's Christmas*, *Whiz Kids*
* Christina Ricci (born 1980), actress whose films include *The Addams Family*, *Buffalo '66*, *Monster*, *Sleepy Hollow*
* Rosemary Rice (1925–2012), actress; played Katrin on *Mama''; voice-over artist and children's musician
* Bruce Sinofsky (born 1956), screenwriter, editor, producer and filmmaker, 2012 Academy Award nominee
* Steven Spielberg (born 1946), Academy Award-winning film director
* Elaine Stewart (1930–2011), model and Hollywood actress of the 1950s, promoted as a "dark-haired Marilyn Monroe"
* Sophia Takal, actress, writer and director
* Michelle Thomas (1968–1998), actress who played Myra on *Family Matters*
* Dallas Townsend (1919–1995), anchor for *CBS World News Roundup*
* Jake Weary (born 1990), actor, *As the World Turns*
* Mary Alice Williams (born 1949), television personality
* Wendy Williams (born 1964), TV and radio personality, host of *The Wendy Williams Show*
* Patrick Wilson (born 1973), actor, *Watchmen*, *The A-Team*, *Little Children*
* Alex Winter (born 1965), actor
* Kim Zimmer (born 1955), actress, *Guiding Light*
* Louis Zorich (born 1924), actor, *Mad About You*; married to Olympia Dukakis
* Eric Nyenhuis (born 1967), actor Walking Dead, Almost Mercy 

### Music
* Al Anderson (born 1950), guitarist and songwriter; played with Bob Marley & The Wailers
* David Bendeth (born 1954), musician, songwriter and producer
* Chuck Burgi (born 1952), drummer
* Robert DeLeo (born 1966), bass player, songwriter, and harmony vocalist for the Stone Temple Pilots
* Tommy DeVito (born 1936), guitarist and vocalist for The Four Seasons
* Hussein Fatal (born 1973), rapper, former member of the Outlawz
* Bob Gaudio, (born 1942), singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and songwriting member of The Four Seasons
* Billy Hart (born 1940), jazz drummer
* Dorothy Kirsten (1910–1992), lyric soprano
* Vincent La Selva, (born 1929), symphony and opera conductor
* Oliver Lake (born 1944), alto saxophone player and composer
* Christian McBride (born 1972), three-time Grammy Award winner for jazz (bass)
* Jim McNeely (born 1949), Grammy-winning jazz pianist, composer and arranger
* Anwar Robinson (born 1979), singer, contestant on *American Idol*
* Wallace Roney (born 1960), trumpet player and jazz musician
* Ty Taylor (born 1967), guitarist and vocalist of R&B group Dakota Moon; contestant on the reality TV show *Rock Star: INXS*
* Steve Turre (born 1948), jazz trombonist and member of *Saturday Night Live* band since 1984
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* Joe Walsh (born 1947), musician/songwriter for the James Gang and the Eagles
* Reggie Workman (born 1937), jazz musician
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* Jenny Owen Youngs (born 1981), singer/songwriter

## Business
* Israel Crane (1774-1858), merchant
* Allen B. DuMont (1901–1965), television pioneer and inventor who created the DuMont Television Network
* Floyd Hall, CEO of K-Mart, 1995-2001
* Benjamin Moore, co-founder with his brother Robert of Benjamin Moore & Co, in Brooklyn in 1883; lived in Upper Montclair, 1905-1917

## Government, politics and law
* Bradley Abelow, Treasurer of the U.S. State of New Jersey, appointed by Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine
* Steve Adubato (born 1957), former member of the New Jersey General Assembly; talk show host
* Jane Barus (1892-1977), member of the Constitutional convention that formulated the 1947 New Jersey State Constitution
* Bill Bradley (born 1942), former forward for the New York Knicks; U.S. Senator; prospective presidential candidate
* Raymond A. Brown (1915–2009), attorney whose clients included Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur, boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter and "Dr. X" physician Mario Jascalevich
* Bayard H. Faulkner (1894–1983), former mayor and chairman of the Commission on Municipal Government that created New Jersey's Optional Municipal Charter Law, better known eponymously as the Faulkner Act
* Paul J. Fishman (born 1957), United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey
* William H. Gray (born 1941), former Congressman who was head of the United Negro College Fund
* Lonna Hooks, Secretary of State of New Jersey from 1994 to 1998, under Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman
* J. Erik Jonsson (1901-1995), businessman, philanthropist, and mayor of Dallas, Texas, reared in Montclair
* Sean T. Kean (born 1963), represents the 11th legislative district in the New Jersey General Assembly
* Arthur Kinoy (1920–2003), activist lawyer who was part of the team that represented the Chicago Seven
* Howard Krongard (born 1940), head of the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State
* Archie Lochhead (1892-1971), first director of the Exchange Stabilization Fund and President of the Universal Trading Corporation
* Benjamin Chavis Muhammad (born 1948), civil rights activist
* Lucy Stone (1818–1893), feminist and suffragist
* Benjamin Strong, Jr. (1872-1928), governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
* Edward W. Townsend (1855–1942), represented New Jersey's 6th congressional district, 1911-1913, and the 10th district, 1913-1915
* Jeh Johnson (1957), fourth United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017 

## Sports
* Me'Lisa Barber (born 1980), track and field sprint athlete
* Yogi Berra (born 1925), baseball player and manager with the New York Yankees and New York Mets
* Bob Bradley (born 1958), soccer coach of the Egypt national football team; former manager of the United States men's national soccer team
* David Caldwell (born 1987), football safety for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, previously with the Indianapolis Colts
* Peter A. Carlesimo (1915–2003), basketball coach
* Leonard Coleman (born 1949), President of the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs
* Larry Doby (1923–2003), second African-American to play professional baseball in Major League Baseball
* Alex Ferguson (1897–1976), right-handed pitcher; played for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, Philadelphia Phillies, and Brooklyn Robins; played in the 1925 World Series
* Don Garber (born 1957), commissioner of Major League Soccer
* Billy "Brud" Johnson (1918–2006), former New York Yankees third baseman; played nine seasons in the majors; missed two seasons for military service during World War II
* Rees Jones (born 1941), golf course architect
* Robert Trent Jones, Jr. (born 1939), golf course architect
* Robert Trent Jones, Sr. (1906–2000), golf course architect; moved here from England where he married and raised two sons, both following in their father's footsteps
* Sean Jones (born 1962), defensive end for the Raiders, Oilers, and the Packers; played in the 1997 Super Bowl championship
* Rich Kenah (born 1970), middle distance runner; won bronze medals over 800 metres at the 1997 World Indoor Championships and 1997 World Championships in Athens; member of the US Team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney
* Dave Meads (born 1964), pitcher for the Houston Astros who had an 8-4 career record
* John McMullen (1918–2005), naval architect and marine engineer; former owner of the New Jersey Devils and Houston Astros
* Jeff Mills (born 1968), linebacker who played four seasons in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos
* Scott Niedermayer (born 1973), retired hockey defenseman for the New Jersey Devils and Anaheim Ducks
* William Steinitz (1836–1900), one of the greatest chess masters of the 19th century; first world champion; known as the "Bohemian Caesar"
* Michael Strahan (born 1971), NFL defensive end for the New York Giants; holds single season sack record
* Willie Taylor (born 1955), wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers
* David Tyree (born 1980), NFL wide receiver for the New York Giants; 1998 graduate of Montclair High School
* Ingrid Wells (born 1989), soccer player
* Earl Williams (born 1948), baseball player; National League's rookie of the Year in 1971
* Dainius Zubrus (born 1978), forward for New Jersey Devils

## Other
* Buzz Aldrin (born 1930), astronaut, second man to walk on the moon
* Paul Cushing Child (1902–1994), husband of chef Julia Child, who introduced his wife to fine cuisine, which began her legendary career
* Victor E. Engstrom (1914–2000), philatelist
* Vladimir Guryev and Lydia Guryev, aka Richard and Cynthia Murphy, arrested in their Montclair home June 2010 by FBI; admitted in court to being agents of the Russian Federation and pled guilty to conspiracy to act as unregistered agents; expelled with eight others in a prisoner exchange with Russia
* Isaac Newton Lewis (1858–1931), soldier and inventor who created the Lewis Gun

## References