List of people from Irvine, California

This is a list of notable past and present residents of the U.S. city of Irvine, California, and its surrounding metropolitan area. For people whose only connection with the city is attending the University of California, Irvine, see: List of University of California, Irvine people.

Athletics



 * Garret Anderson – Major League Baseball player
 * Garrett Atkins – Major League Baseball player
 * C. David Baker – commissioner of the Arena Football League and former Irvine Council member
 * Dotsie Bausch – Olympic cyclist
 * Amanda Beard – Olympic swimmer
 * Steve Birnbaum (born 1991) – soccer player
 * Travis Brody – professional football player
 * JT Daniels – quarterback for the West Virginia Mountaineers
 * Lindsay Davenport – professional tennis player
 * Anthony Davis – former National Football League player
 * Austin Daye – National Basketball Association player
 * Darren Daye – former National Basketball Association player
 * Eric Ebert – professional football (soccer) player
 * Jim Edmonds – Major League Baseball player
 * Julie Ertel – Olympic triathlete (2008 Summer Olympics) and water polo player (2000 Summer Olympics)
 * Benny Feilhaber – professional soccer player
 * Vince Ferragamo – formal NFL/CFL quarterback - Led Los Angeles Rams to Super Bowl appearance, 1980
 * Kevin Friedland (born 1981) - soccer player
 * Shawn Green – former Major League Baseball player; 2-time All-Star
 * Bob Hamelin – former Major League Baseball player
 * Dan Haren – Major League Baseball pitcher
 * Nick Hornsby (born 1995), basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Quinton Jackson – professional mixed martial arts fighter and UFC former light-heavyweight champion
 * Adam Keefe – former National Basketball Association player
 * Carnell Lake – five-time NFL Pro Bowl player and UCLA Bruins assistant football coach
 * Mark Langston – former Major League Baseball player
 * Jason Lezak – Olympic swimmer, four-time gold medal winner.
 * Chris Lewis – former professional tennis player
 * Chris Mandeville – former National Football League defensive back
 * Michael McClune – professional tennis player
 * Mark McGwire – former Major League Baseball player
 * Beverly Oden – Olympic volleyball player
 * Elaina Oden – Olympic volleyball player
 * Kim Oden – Olympic volleyball player
 * Aaron Peirsol – Olympic swimmer
 * Shar Pourdanesh – former National Football League player, first Iranian-born player in NFL, starting tackle for Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers
 * Chris Pronger – National Hockey League player
 * Jimmy Raye – former National Football League player and offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers
 * Joe Sambito – retired Major League pitcher
 * Monte Scheinblum – 1992 U.S. National and world long-driving champion
 * Scott Spiezio – former Major League Baseball player
 * Eliot Teltscher – Top-10 tennis player
 * Natasha Watley – Olympic softball player
 * Zack Weiss (born 1992), Major League Baseball player
 * Caroline Zhang – figure skater

Literature/journalism

 * Kevin Drum – political blogger for the Mother Jones magazine website
 * Ezra Klein – Washington Post columnist, MSNBC contributor, blogger
 * Tahereh Mafi – bestselling young adult fiction author
 * Annalee Newitz – science and technology journalist
 * Kira Peikoff – novelist, journalist, and daughter of Leonard Peikoff

Movies/television/media

 * Omid Abtahi – actor
 * Eric Anderson – actor
 * Jeanne Carmen – model, pin-up girl, and actress
 * Justin Chon – actor
 * Jack DeSena – sketch comedy actor on Nickelodeon's All That
 * Will Ferrell – actor and comedian
 * Mark Haapala – producer and director
 * Georgia Hardstark – actress, podcast, "My Favorite Murder"
 * Hugh Hewitt – author, radio talk show host, blogger
 * Ben Maller – sports radio personality
 * Annie Mumolo – screenwriter actor
 * Nicole Parker – comedian and actress
 * Nasim Pedrad – Saturday Night Live cast member
 * Jason Peoples – winner of the reality television show Average Joe (Season 1)
 * Gene Polito – cinematographer and professor at USC School of Cinematic Arts
 * Jim Rome – sports radio personality
 * Irv Weinstein – retired television news anchor (WKBW-TV) and father of mayor Beth Krom

Music

 * Joey Allen – guitarist for glam metal band Warrant
 * Rebecca Black – singer/YouTuber
 * Eddie Breckenridge – bassist for the post-hardcore band Thrice
 * Riley Breckenridge – drummer for the post-hardcore band Thrice
 * Cashis – Shady Records rapper
 * Tim Commerford – Rage Against the Machine
 * Zack de la Rocha – lead singer for rap metal band Rage Against the Machine
 * Tom Dumont – guitarist for rock band No Doubt
 * East West – Christian rapcore band
 * Dustin Kensrue – vocalist and rhythm guitarist of post-hardcore band Thrice
 * Martin Leung – known as the Video Game Pianist
 * Geneva Lewis – violinist
 * Kevin Kwan Loucks, concert pianist and arts entrepreneur
 * Aubrey O'Day – singer
 * Teppei Teranishi – lead guitarist of post-hardcore band Thrice
 * Thrice – post-hardcore band active from 1998–Present
 * Amy Yao – bassist for Riot grrrl band Emily's Sassy Lime
 * Young the Giant – band
 * Yeat – rapper

Politics

 * Dick Ackerman – politician and former California State Senator
 * Larry Agran – politician and Irvine Council member
 * John B. T. Campbell III – politician and former U.S. Congressman
 * Steven Choi – politician and former Irvine Mayor
 * Chuck DeVore – politician and California State Assemblyman and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010
 * Ross Johnson – politician and former California State Legislator
 * Sukhee Kang – former Mayor of Irvine and former Irvine Council member
 * Farrah N. Khan – current Mayor of Irvine and former Irvine Council member
 * Tammy Kim – Irvine Council member

Miscellaneous

 * William E. Barber – Medal of Honor United States Marine Corps officer
 * Larry C. Ford – gynecologist found to have stored deadly biological toxins (including the agents of anthrax, botulism, cholera, and typhoid) in his home and office, and C4 and machine guns in his back yard
 * Steve Gibson – software engineer and security journalist
 * Nam Le – professional poker player
 * Leonard Peikoff – Objectivist philosopher and intellectual heir to novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand
 * Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh – sociologist and urban ethnographer
 * Dita Von Teese – burlesque performer