List of people from Joliet, Illinois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Joliet, Illinois. For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Joliet, Illinois.
- Tim Baltz (born 1981), actor and comedian (The Righteous Gemstones)
- John Barrowman (born 1967), actor (Doctor Who, Torchwood)
- Nora Bayes (1880–1928), actress, singer, and comedian
- John Beck (born 1943), actor (The Other Side of Midnight, Rollerball)
- Jodi Carlisle (born 1960), actress (The Wild Thornberrys)
- Tyler Christopher (1972- 2023), actor (General Hospital)
- JoAnn Dean Killingsworth (1923–2015), actress and dancer, first person to play Snow White at Disneyland[1]
- Andy Dick (born 1965), comedian, actor, musician and producer (NewsRadio)
- Janina Gavankar (born 1980), actress, musician (True Blood)
- Kathryn Hays (1933–2022), actress (As the World Turns)
- Mercedes McCambridge (1916–2004), actress; 1949 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (All the King's Men, Giant)
- Nick Offerman (born 1970), actor, comedian, and carpenter (Parks and Recreation)
- Larry Parks (1914–1975), stage and film actor (The Jolson Story)
- Anthony Rapp (born 1971), stage and film actor and singer (Rent)
- Lynne Thigpen (1948–2003), Tony Award-winning stage, film and TV actress (Carmen Sandiego, The Paper, Godspell)
- Audrey Totter (1917–2013), actress (Lady in the Lake, Our Man Higgins)
- Vince Vieluf (born 1970), actor (Rat Race)
Academics, arts, and writing
- William Lincoln Bakewell (1888–1969), able seaman on Shackleton Antarctic expedition
- Ann Bannon (born 1932), pulp fiction writer
- Charles Bowden (1945–2014), educator and writer
- Robert Todd Carroll (1945–2016), publisher of The Skeptic's Dictionary and fellow of Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
- James Downey (born 1952), head writer for Saturday Night Live
- Wendy Anderson Halperin, children's book illustrator and writer
- John Houbolt (1919–2014), aerospace engineer
- Mort Kondracke (born 1939), political commentator and journalist
- Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (born 1933), children's and young adult fiction author
- Robert Novak (1931–2009), syndicated columnist, author, conservative political commentator
- Adam Rapp (born 1968), novelist, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker and musician
- Johan Reinhard (born 1943), anthropologist, archaeologist
- James J. Stukel (born 1937), 15th President of the University of Illinois (born in Joliet)
- Edwin Way Teale (1899–1980), naturalist, photographer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
- Lester Frank Ward (1841–1913) botanist, paleontologist, and sociologist; born in Joliet
- Adele Fay Williams (1859–1937), artist and newspaper writer, born in Joliet
Business
- John D. Goeken (1930–2010), founder of MCI Inc. and Airfone
- John Fremont McCullough (1871–1963), co-founder of Dairy Queen; opened first store in Joliet in 1940
- William Cornelius Van Horne (1843–1915), pioneering Canadian railway executive
- Mike Wolfe (born 1964), owner of Antique Archaeology; cast member of American Pickers
Crime
- Milton Johnson (born 1950), serial killer
Military
- Joseph F. Ambrose (1896–1988), World War I veteran
- Earl N. Franklin (1917–2003), colonel of the United States Air Force and Tuskegee Airman
- Frank Perconte (1917–2003), D-Day veteran, member of Easy Company, 506th parachute infantry regiment, portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by James Madio
Modeling
- Adrianne Curry (born 1982), model, best known as the first winner of America's Next Top Model
- Lois Delander (1911–1985), Miss America 1927
Music
- Charlie Adams (born 1954), drummer for Chameleon and Yanni, spokesman for Autism Society of America
- John Barrowman (born 1967), Scottish singer, actor, dancer, musical performer and media personality; 1985 graduate of Joliet West High School
- Buffalocomotive, rock band formed in 2004 that recorded the theme song for Inked
- Mark Carman (born 1960), Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter, musician, singer
- Jimmy Chamberlin (born 1964), drummer, songwriter and producer of The Smashing Pumpkins
- Edward Joseph Collins (1886–1951), pianist and composer
- Da Brat (born 1974), born Shawntae Harris, Grammy-nominated rapper and actress; first female solo rap act to have platinum-selling album
- Five Pointe O, alternative rock music group, active 1999–2003
- Janina Gavankar (born 1980), actress and musician
- Frank Marocco (1931–2012), accordionist
- Don Murray (1904–1929), jazz clarinet and saxophone player
- Kerry Muzzey (born 1970), film and television composer
- Ron Nelson (1929–2023), composer of classical and semi-classical music, retired music educator
- Ann Nesby (born 1950), R&B, gospel, and dance music singer/songwriter and actress, former lead singer of Sounds of Blackness
- Doug Pinnick (born 1950), bass guitarist, songwriter, and co-lead vocalist for King's X
- Lionel Richie (born 1949), Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and record producer, composer of the Academy Award-winning song "Say You, Say Me"
- Steve Rodby (born 1954), bass guitarist for Pat Metheny Group
- Elisabeth Withers, neo-soul and R&B singer-songwriter
Politics and law
- Edward C. Akin (1852–1936), Illinois attorney general and mayor of Joliet[2]
- Meade Baltz (1912–1994), businessman and Illinois state legislator[3]
- Richard J. Barr (1865–1951), Illinois state senator and mayor of Joliet[4]
- William G. Barr (1920–1987), Illinois state representative and businessman[5]
- Joel Aldrich Matteson (1808–1873), 10th governor of Illinois
- Lucy McBath (born 1960), U.S. representative for Georgia[6]
- George H. Munroe (1844–1912), Illinois state senator and businessman
- Lewis E. Reed (born 1962), first African-American president of the Board of Aldermen in St. Louis, Missouri (2007–2022)
- Richard Terrin (1890–1958), lawyer, military theorist and Asia expert
- Lawrence M. Walsh Sr. (born 1948), Illinois state senator and farmer