List of people from Evanston, Illinois

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.

Academia

 * 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, Bennington College.
 * Dwight H. Perkins, Economist, Harvard University.
 * Edmund Phelps, Nobel Prize winner in economics and professor.
 * Morton O. Schapiro, 16th president of Northwestern University, and 16th president of Williams College
 * Stuart Vyse, psychologist and author. Specialist on superstitions.
 * John Carrier Weaver, American professor of geography, and college administrator for several major universities in the United States.
 * John Henry Wigmore, dean of Northwestern Law School.

Business

 * 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)
 * William Liston Brown, director of American Ship Building Company
 * James Cayne, former CEO of Bear Stearns
 * Lester Crown, son of Chicago financier Henry Crown and controls family holdings
 * John Donahoe, president and CEO of eBay, born in Evanston
 * Bob Galvin, former CEO of Motorola
 * Hecky Powell, restaurateur
 * Gordon Segal, founder and CEO of Crate & Barrel
 * Gwynne Shotwell, American businesswoman, engineer, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX

Entertainment

 * 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
 * John Cusack, actor
 * 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 & 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
 * 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
 * John Lee Mahin, Oscar-nominated screenwriter
 * Jeff McCracken, actor, director, producer
 * Elizabeth McGovern, Oscar-nominated actress
 * Patrick Melton, screenwriter
 * Josh Meyers, actor and comedian
 * Seth Meyers, actor and comedian
 * John Moffatt, producer
 * Jessie Mueller, actress and singer
 * Bill Murray, actor and comedian
 * Ajay Naidu, actor and singer
 * Christopher Nolan, director, screenwriter, and producer
 * Jonathan Nolan, screenwriter, producer and director
 * James Olson, actor
 * Geeta Patel, film and TV director
 * D.A. Pennebaker, documentary filmmaker
 * William Petersen, actor
 * Steve Pink, director, screenwriter, and producer
 * Jeremy Piven, actor
 * Shira Piven, director
 * David Schwimmer, actor
 * Anna D. Shapiro, award-winning director
 * Jerry Springer
 * 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
 * Rafer Weigel, actor, television personality
 * Martin Sherman, actor

Music

 * 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
 * Steve Goodman, songwriter and musician
 * Greg Graffin
 * Nancy Gustafson, opera singer
 * David Ryan Harris, musician
 * Stafford James, musician, composer
 * Josh Kantor, organist
 * Howard Levy, harmonica musician
 * 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
 * Frank Rosenwein, classical oboist
 * Natalie Sleeth, composer
 * Grace Slick, of Jefferson Starship
 * Patrick Stump, of Fall Out Boy
 * Eddie Vedder, of Pearl Jam
 * Loraine Wyman, early 20th century performer and fieldworker in folk song

Politics, government, and military

 * Lorraine H. Morton, mayor of Evanston, Illinois from 1993 to 2009; Evanston's Longest serving mayor, first democratic mayor and first African-American mayor
 * W. Russell Arrington, Illinois state legislator and lawyer
 * Alan E. Ashcraft Jr., Illinois state representative and judge
 * George Wildman Ball, Undersecretary of State for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson
 * James J. Barbour, Illinois lawyer and state legislator, practiced law in Evanston
 * John Lourie Beveridge, 16th governor of Illinois
 * Charles E. Browne, Wisconsin territorial legislator
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * John Porter, congressman
 * Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense, congressman
 * 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

Scientists

 * 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

Sports figures

 * Mike Adamle, NFL running back and sports broadcaster
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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

 * Jane Fulton Alt, photographer
 * John Dilg, painter and educator
 * Edie Fake, fine artist and comic/zine author
 * Karen Finley, performance artist
 * Margaret Burnham Geddes, architect
 * Martha Nessler Hayden, painter
 * 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
 * Gahan Wilson, cartoonist for The New Yorker, Playboy.
 * Erik Winquist, visual effects supervisor, Best known for his work on films featuring computer generated effects: Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005), Avatar (2009), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017).

Writers, playwrights, journalists

 * Mildred L. Batchelder, namesake of the ALA award given to the publisher of a translated children's book
 * Beatrice Bruteau, American 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,
 * 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
 * Mark McIntosh, priest and theologian
 * Samuel Merwin, author and playwright
 * Bob Mionske, attorney, author, former Olympic and professional bicycle racer
 * Drew Pearson, newspaper columnist
 * 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

Other

 * Starr Faithfull, socialite known for her unsolved death