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 (1940–2026), 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
• 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