The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Evanston, Illinois . For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Evanston, Illinois .
Oliver Marcy , two-time president of Northwestern University
Dale T. Mortensen , Nobel Prize winner in economics, faculty of Northwestern University
Gail Thain Parker , scholar of American literature, president of Bennington College
Dwight H. Perkins , economist, Harvard University
Edmund Phelps , Nobel Prize winner in economics and professor
Ernest Samuels , Northwestern faculty, Pulitzer Prize winner.
Morton O. Schapiro , 16th president of Northwestern University, and 16th president of Williams College
Stuart Vyse , psychologist and author; specialist on superstitions[ 1]
John Carrier Weaver , professor of geography, and college administrator for several major universities in the United States
John Henry Wigmore , dean of Northwestern Law School
William Liston Brown , director of American Ship Building Company [ 2] [ 3]
James Cayne , former CEO of Bear Stearns [ 4]
Lester Crown , son of Chicago financier Henry Crown and controls family holdings[ 5]
John Donahoe , president and CEO of eBay , born in Evanston[ 6]
Bob Galvin , former CEO of Motorola [ 7]
Hecky Powell , restaurateur[ 8]
Robert Sampson , disability rights activist born in Evanston[ 9]
Gordon Segal , founder and CEO of Crate & Barrel [ 10]
Gwynne Shotwell , businesswoman, engineer, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX [ 11]
John C. Whitehead , banker , chairman of Goldman Sachs , U.S. Deputy Secretary of State 1985–89, board member of World Trade Center Memorial Foundation (WTC Memorial Foundation)[ 12]
Kate Baldwin , actress and singer
Viola Barry , silent film actress
William Bassett , actor
Carlos Bernard , actor
Marlon Brando , actor
Tamara Braun , actress
Heather Burns , actress
Ronnie Burns , actor
Timothy Carhart , actor
William Christopher , actor, charity spokesperson
Joan Cusack , actress[ 13]
John Cusack , actor[ 13]
John Dickson , poet and short story writer
Sean Evans , host of Hot Ones
Robert Falls , director
Richard Fancy , actor
Julie Fulton , actress
Zach Gilford , actor
Alicia Goranson , actress
Seth Gordon , director, producer, editor
Laura Harrier , actress
Barbara Harris , actress
Charlton Heston , actor
Anders Holm , comedian and co-creator of Workaholics
James Jewell , voice actor, producer and director for radio shows The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet
Jake Johnson , actor
Amanda Jones , Miss Illinois USA 1973 & Miss USA 1973
Tim Kazurinsky , actor and writer, Saturday Night Live [ 14] [ 15]
Walter Kerr , drama critic
Lauren Lapkus , actor and comedian
Jeffrey Lieber , writer and co-creator of the television series Lost
Richard Long , actor
Michael Madsen , actor[ 10]
John Lee Mahin , Oscar-nominated screenwriter
Jeff McCracken , actor, director, producer
Elizabeth McGovern , Oscar-nominated actress[ 16]
Patrick Melton , screenwriter
Josh Meyers , actor and comedian[ 17]
Seth Meyers , actor and comedian[ 18]
John Moffatt , producer
Jessie Mueller , actress and singer
Bill Murray , actor and comedian
Ajay Naidu , actor and singer[ 19]
Christopher Nolan , director, screenwriter, and producer[ 20]
Jonathan Nolan , screenwriter, producer and director
James Olson , actor
Geeta Patel , film and TV director
D.A. Pennebaker , documentary filmmaker[ 21]
William Petersen , actor
Steve Pink , director, screenwriter, and producer
Jeremy Piven , actor[ 22] [ 23]
Shira Piven , director[ 24]
David Schwimmer , actor
Anna D. Shapiro , award-winning director[ 25] [ 26] [ 27]
Martin Sherman , actor
Jerry Springer [ 28] [ 29] [ 30] [ 31]
Hope Summers , actress, founder of Evanston's Showcase Theater
Daniel Sunjata , actor
Dave VanDam , voice actor
Lori Voornas , radio personality
Ruby Wax , comedian
Jenniffer Weigel , actress, writer[ 32]
Rafer Weigel , actor, television personality[ 33] [ 34]
Steve Albini , music producer
Fred Anderson , saxophonist
Benjamin Bagby , singer, performer of medieval music
Stuart D. Bogie , musician and arranger
David Burge , pianist
Kenneth C. Burns , Jethro of Homer and Jethro
Kevin Cronin , of REO Speedwagon
Patti Drew , 1960s soul singer
Alexander Frey , conductor, pianist, organist, harpsichordist, composer and recording artist
Ezra Furman , of Ezra Furman and the Harpoons [ 35]
Steve Goodman , songwriter and musician[ 36]
Greg Graffin [ 37]
Nancy Gustafson , opera singer
David Ryan Harris , musician
Stafford James , musician, composer[ 38] [ 39]
Josh Kantor , organist[ 40]
Howard Levy , harmonica musician[ 41]
Junior Mance , jazz pianist and composer
Jason Narducy , musician
Michael Omartian , pianist, keyboard player and producer
Julianne Phillips , model and actress
Matthew Polenzani , opera singer
Ryan Raddon , producer known as Kaskade [ 42]
Frank Rosenwein , classical oboist
Joe Rushton , jazz bass saxophonist
Natalie Sleeth , composer
Grace Slick , of Jefferson Starship
Patrick Stump , of Fall Out Boy [ 43]
Eddie Vedder , of Pearl Jam [ 44] [ 45]
Loraine Wyman , early 20th-century performer and fieldworker in folk song
Politics, government, and military[ edit ]
W. Russell Arrington , Illinois state legislator and lawyer[ 46]
Alan E. Ashcraft Jr. , Illinois state representative and judge[ 47]
George Wildman Ball , Undersecretary of State for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson
James J. Barbour , Illinois lawyer and state legislator, practiced law in Evanston[ 48]
John Lourie Beveridge , 16th governor of Illinois
Charles E. Browne , Wisconsin territorial legislator[ 49]
Marguerite S. Church , U.S. representative 1951–1963
Ralph E. Church , U.S. representative 1935–1941, 1943–1950
James M. Cole , U.S. Deputy Attorney General
Burton C. Cook , U.S. representative 1865–1871
Charles Gates Dawes , vice president of the United States , 1925–1929; Nobel Peace Prize winner, 1925
Henry M. Dawes , U.S. Comptroller of the Currency 1923–1924
Frances L. Dawson , Illinois state representative and educator[ 50]
Thomas C. Foley , U.S. Ambassador to Ireland , 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate in Connecticut
Robert Gettleman , federal judge
James William Good , U.S. Secretary of War 1929
Nathaniel M. Gorton , federal judge
Mary Jeanne Hallstrom , nurse and politician
Julian J. Hook , Minnesota state legislator and lawyer[ 51]
Jim Kolbe , congressman
Lynn Morley Martin , Secretary of Labor under President George H.W. Bush
Catherine Waugh McCulloch , lawyer, suffragist, first woman to be elected Justice of the Peace in Illinois
H.H.C. Miller , colonel to Illinois Governor Richard Yates, Jr. , three-time mayor of Evanston
Lenora Moragne (1931–2020), nutritionist
Lorraine H. Morton , mayor of Evanston, Illinois from 1993 to 2009; Evanston's longest serving mayor, first Democratic mayor and first African-American mayor
John Porter , congressman
Donald Rumsfeld , U.S. Secretary of Defense, congressman
Jan Schakowsky , U.S. representative 1999–Pres[ 52]
Andrew Shuman , Lieutenant Governor of Illinois 1877–1881
Joseph A. Strohl , Wisconsin state senator
Leroy D. Thoman , U.S. Civil Service Commissioner 1883–1885
Julius White , American Civil War brigadier general
Isabella Garnett , pioneering African-American female physician and founder of Community Hospital
J. Allen Hynek , astronomer, professor, and ufologist
Peter Shirley , computer scientist and computer graphics researcher
Mike Adamle , NFL running back and sports broadcaster[ 53] [ 54] [ 55]
Cornelia Wicker Armsby , golfer
Bessie Anthony , golfer
Elmer Bennett , ACB basketball player
Dave Bergman , MLB player for the New York Yankees , Houston Astros , San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers
Pete Burnside , MLB pitcher for the New York Giants , San Francisco Giants , Washington Senators , Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles
John Castino , MLB infielder for the Minnesota Twins
Jack Cooley , basketball player for the University of Notre Dame
Yu Darvish , baseball player for the Chicago Cubs [ 56]
Luke Donald , professional golfer
Paddy Driscoll , Hall of Fame football player
Lindsey Durlacher , wrestler
Kevin Foster , MLB pitcher for the Chicago Cubs , Philadelphia Phillies , and Texas Rangers
Pat Fitzgerald , head football coach for the Northwestern Wildcats
Tim Floyd NBA and college basketball coach
Clint Frank , college football halfback, 1937 Heisman Trophy winner
Kevin Frederick , MLB pitcher for the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays
Timothy Goebel , Olympic figure skater
Dov Grumet-Morris (born 1982), ice hockey player
Robert Jeangerard , Olympic basketball gold medalist
Damon Jones , NFL tight end
Brandon Hyde , coach for the Chicago Cubs
Mike Kenn , offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons , Pro Bowl selection
Bob Lackey , Marquette and ABA basketball player
Jim Lindeman , MLB player for the St. Louis Cardinals , Detroit Tigers , Philadelphia Phillies , Houston Astros and New York Mets
Freddie Lindstrom , Hall of Fame baseball player[ 57]
Billy Martin , tennis player and coach
Brian McBride , soccer player
Bob Mionske , Olympic and professional bicycle racer
Emery Moorehead , tight end for Super Bowl XX champion Chicago Bears
Steve Parker , NFL player
Wes Parker , MLB first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Josh Paul , MLB catcher for the Chicago White Sox , Chicago Cubs , Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Dan Peterson , basketball coach
Mike Quade , baseball player, coach and manager of Chicago Cubs
Dewey Robinson , MLB pitcher for the Chicago White Sox
Mike Rogodzinski , MLB outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies
Clarke Rosenberg (born 1993), American-Israeli basketball player in the Israel Basketball Premier League
Erik Spoelstra , head coach, Miami Heat
Everette Stephens , player for the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks
Dick Strahs , MLB pitcher for the Chicago White Sox
Peter Ueberroth , sixth commissioner of Major League Baseball , chairman of the United States Olympic Committee
Ed Weiland , MLB pitcher for the Chicago White Sox
Aaron Williams , NBA basketball player
Tommy Wingels , NHL player for the Chicago Blackhawks
Visual artists, designers[ edit ]
Jane Fulton Alt , photographer
John Dilg , painter and educator
Edie Fake , fine artist and comic/zine author[ 58]
Karen Finley , performance artist
Margaret Burnham Geddes , architect
Martha Nessler Hayden , painter[ 59]
Kysa Johnson , painter
Albert Henry Krehbiel , art teacher; impressionist painter and muralist; married to Dulah Marie Evans ; died in Evanston
Allison Miller , abstract painter
Eugene Montgomery , painter
Jay Ryan , illustrator and screen-printer, working professionally as The Bird Machine, musician
Robert Slimbach , typeface designer, author of Myriad, Adobe Garamond, Adobe Jenson, Utopia, Cronos
Adrian Smith , architect of the tallest building in the world[ 60]
Alan Wanzenberg , architect and designer[ 61]
Gahan Wilson , cartoonist for The New Yorker , Playboy
Erik Winquist , visual effects supervisor,[ 62]
Writers, playwrights, journalists[ edit ]
Mildred L. Batchelder , namesake of the ALA award given to the publisher of a translated children's book
Beatrice Bruteau , contemplative, philosopher and author
Algis Budrys , science fiction author
Carolyn Crimi , writer of children's books
Allen G. Debus , historian of science and medicine, known primarily for his work on the history of chemistry and alchemy
Sarah Dessen , fiction author
Carl Fick , author and film director
James Foley , journalist, freelance war correspondent , and first American killed by the terrorist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ,[ 63] [ 64]
Leon Forrest Novelist.
Jeffrey Gettleman , journalist
Charles Gibson , news anchor
Laurens Hammond , inventor of the Hammond organ
George W. Hotchkiss , 19th-century journalist, editor, historian, and lumber dealer
Cassidy Hubbarth , sports anchor
Charles R. Johnson , author, National Book Award winner
Clara Ingram Judson , children's book author
Benay Lappe , publicist, professor, writer, female theologian, Covenant Award winner in education
Susan Lukas , née Ries , writer
Mark McIntosh , priest and theologian
Samuel Merwin , author and playwright
Bob Mionske , attorney, author, former Olympic and professional bicycle racer
Drew Pearson , newspaper columnist
Torrey Peters , author and PEN/Hemingway Award winner[ 65] [ 66]
Richard Powers , author and National Book Award winner
Alice Riley (1867–1955), author of children's media; founder of the Drama League of America and the Evanston Arts Center; lived in Evanston
Albert Tangora , holder of world speed record for typing on a manual typewriter
George Thiem , 1950 Pulitzer Prize -winning reporter
Edward Thomson , writer and bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Henry Kitchell Webster , author and playwright
Edmund White , literary critic, novelist
Frances Willard , temperance advocate and suffragist
Garry Wills , Pulitzer Prize -winning writer/critic
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