List of people from Highland Park, Illinois

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Highland Park, Illinois. For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Highland Park, Illinois.

Academics and sciences

 * Elisha Gray, invented and demonstrated a telephone in 1874; his Hazel Avenue house still stands
 * Dr. John Grunsfeld, astronaut
 * Eric Isaacs, director of Argonne National Laboratory and a professor at University of Chicago; lived in Highland Park
 * Dr. John Preskill, professor at the California Institute of Technology
 * Dr. Jeremy Siegel, Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
 * Dr. Graham Spanier, president of Penn State University
 * Dr. Peter Suber, leader in the movement for open access to research
 * Aaron Swartz, pioneer in internet technology and activism for free digital culture

Arts and entertainment

 * Craig Bolotin, screenwriter, film director
 * Alex Borstein, actress
 * Paul Brickman, film director
 * Rachel Brosnahan, actress
 * Patrick Burns, reality TV star (Haunting Evidence)
 * Jacqueline Carey, fantasy fiction novelist
 * Mickie Caspi, artist
 * Billy Corgan, lead singer and founder of the band Smashing Pumpkins
 * Blag Dahlia, singer in The Dwarves
 * Eric Engberg, broadcast journalist
 * Brenda Ferber, author
 * Jennie Fields, writer, author of Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, Lily Beach, and The Middle Ages
 * Brett Gelman, actor
 * Michael Gelman, producer, Live With Regis and Kelly
 * Stephen Glass, discredited magazine journalist
 * James Goldman, screenwriter and playwright, author of The Lion in Winter
 * William Goldman, Academy Award-winning screenwriter, author of The Princess Bride
 * F. Gary Gray, film director
 * Chief Keef, rapper and producer
 * Brian Levant, film director
 * Donald Lipski, artist
 * Sebastian Maniscalco, comedian
 * Richard Marx, singer-songwriter, producer
 * Jeff Melvoin, television writer and producer
 * Ken Olin, actor, director, producer
 * Peter Orner, author
 * Jeff Perry, actor
 * Cory Provus, baseball broadcaster
 * Robert Reed, actor
 * Ben Savage, actor
 * Fred Savage, actor and director
 * Kala Savage, actress and singer
 * Josh Server, actor
 * Robert Seyfarth, architect
 * Gary Sinise, actor
 * Grace Slick, of the band Jefferson Airplane, born in Highland Park
 * Kevin Symons, actor
 * Harold Ramis, actor and director
 * Brandon Ratcliff, actor
 * Brian Ross, broadcast journalist
 * David Seltzer, screenwriter, producer, and director
 * Gene Siskel, film critic
 * George Kirke Spoor, film pioneer
 * Lauren Tom, actress
 * D.B. Weiss, co-creator of Game of Thrones TV series
 * Orson Welles, actor and director
 * Edward Weston, photographer
 * Dan Witz, artist
 * Dean Zelinsky, founder of Dean Guitars
 * Claud Mintz, singer

Business

 * Anthony Saliba, (born 1955), author & businessman
 * Steve Sarowitz (born 1965/1966), American billionaire, founder of Paylocity

Military

 * Major General "Terrible Terry" Allen, World War II commander of 1st Infantry Division; featured on the cover of Time magazine
 * General Mark W. Clark, US Army general (World War II and the Korean War), lived in Highland Park
 * Stansfield Turner, Admiral, U.S. Navy and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, was a graduate of Highland Park High School.
 * General Jonathan M. Wainwright, commander of Allied forces in the Philippines at the time of their surrender to the Empire of Japan, attended Highland Park High School

Politics and law

 * Lane Bray, Washington state legislator; born in Highland Park
 * Bill Cassidy, United States senator from Louisiana and former member of the United States House of Representatives; born in Highland Park
 * Lauren Beth Gash, Illinois state legislator and lawyer; lived in Highland Park
 * Mark Kirk, United States senator; lived in Highland Park
 * Fayette S. Munro, Illinois state legislator and lawyer; lived in Highland Park
 * Daniel M. Pierce, Illinois state legislator who served three nonconsecutive terms as Mayor of Highland Park; lifelong resident.
 * Rob Sherman, atheist activist, perennial candidate, and businessman; grew up in Highland Park
 * Jill Stein, 2012 and 2016 Green Party presidential candidate; grew up in Highland Park
 * Grace Mary Stern, Illinois state legislator; lived in Highland Park
 * Stansfield Turner, United States admiral and Director of Central Intelligence; born in Highland Park
 * David Shulkin, United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
 * Howard R. Slater, Illinois state legislator and lawyer; lived in Highland Park
 * Paul Soglin, mayor of Madison, Wisconsin graduated from Highland Park High School

Baseball

 * Ross Baumgarten, pitcher for the Chicago White Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates, was born in Highland Park
 * Ryan Borucki, relief pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, was born in Highland Park
 * Tony Cogan, relief pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, attended Highland Park High School

Basketball

 * Michael Jordan, iconic basketball player for the Chicago Bulls, six-time NBA champion, Olympic gold medalist, lived in Highland Park
 * Toni Kukoč, forward for the Chicago Bulls and other NBA teams, lives in Highland Park
 * Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls forward, six-time NBA champion and Basketball Hall-of-Famer
 * Justin Smith (born 1999), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League

Football

 * Tunch Ilkin, offensive tackle for Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers, sports broadcaster, attended Highland Park High School
 * Hugh "Shorty" Ray, football official, member of Pro Football Hall of Fame, was born in Highland Park

Gymnastics

 * Jasmine Kerber, U.S. National rhythmic gymnast, resides in Highland Park

Hockey

 * Billy Jaffe, hockey analyst, born in Highland Park
 * David Meckler, professional hockey player, was born in Highland Park

Skating

 * Jason Brown, figure skater, 2015 national champion and medalist at 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, attended Highland Park High School

Tennis

 * Seymour Greenberg (1920–2006), tennis player; lived in Highland Park
 * Robert Wrenn (1873–1925), tennis player; won the US Championship Men's Singles title four times, was born in Highland Park

Motorsports

 * Brian Redman, champion road racing driver, lived and worked in Highland Park when driving for Carl Haas