List of people from Wheaton, Illinois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Wheaton, Illinois.
- Elbert Henry Gary (1846–1927), lawyer, county judge and founder of U.S. Steel
- Dan and Ada Rice (Daniel 1896–1975; Ada 1898–1977), businesspeople, Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders, and philanthropists; owners of Kentucky Derby winner Lucky Debonair
Media and entertainment
- Shane Acker (born 1971), filmmaker and animator
- Jane Adams (born 1965), film, television, and theatre actress
- Selamawi Asgedom (born 1976), author of Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy's Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard
- Bobbie Battista (born 1952), CNN anchor; attended high school in Wheaton[1]
- Andrew Belle (born 1984), singer and songwriter
- Jim Belushi (born 1954), actor (According to Jim, K-9, Red Heat)
- John Belushi (1949–1982), actor (Saturday Night Live, The Blues Brothers, and Animal House)
- Wes Craven (1939–2015), horror film director (A Nightmare on Elm Street); alumnus of Wheaton College
- John Drury (1927–2007), Chicago television news anchor
- Dennis Dugan (born 1946), actor and director (Happy Gilmore and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry)
- Tami Erin (born 1974), actress and model (The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking)
- Danny Gonzalez (born 1994), YouTuber and former Viner
- A. Wilson Greene (born 1949), writer and historian
- Paul Hendrickson (born 1944), author, journalist and professor
- Clyde S. Kilby (1902–1986), author and professor at Wheaton College
- Ned Locke (1919–1992), Chicago TV and radio announcer[2]
- Paul Maxey (1907–1963), actor who played character roles in films and television, starting in 1937
- Brian McCann (born 1965), actor, writer, and comedian
- Robert R. McCormick (1880–1955), publisher of the Chicago Tribune
- Joseph Medill (1823–1899), Mayor of Chicago; co-owner and managing editor of the Chicago Tribune
- Everett Mitchell (1898–1990), radio announcer
- Gail O'Grady (born 1963), actress (NYPD Blue, American Dreams)
- Lorraine Olivia (born 1968), November 1990 Playboy Playmate of the Month; graduated from Wheaton Central High School (1986)[3]
- Kate Pierson (born 1948), lead singer of the B-52s, past spokesperson for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
- Janet Pilgrim (1934–2017), model and actress
- Rick Santelli (born 1953), on-air editor for the CNBC Business News cable network
- Sonal Shah (born 1980), actress (Scrubs)
- Sandra Smith (born 1980), reporter for Fox Business Network
- Bob Woodward (born 1943), author and reporter with The Washington Post; broke the Watergate scandal, co-writer of All the President's Men
Military
- Mark S. Inch (born 1960), retired US Army Major General and ninth Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (2017–2018); graduate of Wheaton College; son of Morris Inch, Wheaton Professor[4]
- Robert James Miller (1983–2008), US Army Special Forces staff sergeant; Medal of Honor recipient; graduate of Wheaton North High School[5]
- James Howard Monroe (1944–1967), US Army PFC; Medal of Honor recipient; graduate of Wheaton Central High School; namesake of James Howard Monroe Middle School[6]
Music
- Andrew Belle (born 1984), musician
- Steve Camp (born 1955), Christian singer
- Blake Judd (born 1982), musician; lead vocalist of Nachtmystium
- Ryan O'Neal (born 1983), musician; Sleeping at Last
Politics and law
- Ralph H. Barger (1923–2002), Illinois state legislator and mayor of Wheaton[7]
- Joe Birkett (born 1955), Illinois Appellate Court justice; former DuPage County State's Attorney
- George Peter Foster (1858–1928), U.S. Congressman from Illinois, 3rd and 4th districts
- Amy Grant, member of the Illinois House of Representatives (2019–present)[8]
- William L. Guild (1910–1993), Illinois Attorney General and jurist
- Randy Hultgren (born 1966), U.S. congressman, represented Illinois's 14th congressional district from 2011 to 2019.
- Jeanne Ives (born 1964), Illinois state legislator (2013–2018), and candidate for Governor of Illinois (2018).[9]
- Robert Jauch (born 1945), Wisconsin state legislator
- John McCandish King (1927–2016), member of the Illinois House of Representatives; between 1951–2015, he held the record as the youngest person to serve in the Illinois General Assembly[10][11]
- Prentice Marshall (1926–2004), U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois (1973–1996)
- Lewis V. Morgan (1929–2018), American judge, lawyer, and politician[12]
- Evelyn Sanguinetti (born 1970), Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
- Albert W. Sherer Jr. (born 1916), American diplomat, Ambassador to the United Nations under President Gerald Ford, author of Human Rights Pact at Helsinki[13][14]
- Samuel K. Skinner (born 1938), U.S. Secretary of Transportation and White House Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush[15]
Religion
- Jonathan Blanchard (1811–1892), pastor, educator, social reformer, and abolitionist; founder of Wheaton College
- Jim Elliot (1927–1956), evangelical Christian missionary to Ecuador who was killed while evangelizing to the Waodani people; alumnus of Wheaton College
- Billy Graham (1918–2018), Christian evangelist; alumnus of Wheaton College
- R. Kent Hughes (born 1942), author; pastor Emeritus of College Church
- Isobel Miller Kuhn (1901–1957), Canadian missionary to the Lisu people of Yunnan Province, China, and northern Thailand
- John R. Rice (1895–1980), Baptist evangelist and journalist
- Miles J. Stanford (1914–1999), Christian author
- Kenneth N. Taylor (1917–2005), translator of The Living Bible and founder of Tyndale House Publishers
- Phil Vischer (born 1966), creator of the children's show VeggieTales