List of people from Lake Forest, Illinois

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

Arts

 * Andrew Bird, singer-songwriter
 * Sarah Brackett, actress
 * Peach Carr, fashion designer; contestant on season 8 of Project Runway
 * Wallace Leroy DeWolf, etcher, painter, art collector, and businessman
 * Sylvia Shaw Judson, sculptor and teacher; winner of the Logan Prize in 1929 for her sculpture Little Gardener
 * Lisel Mueller, poet; winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for poetry
 * Rene Romero Schuler, fine arts painter

Architecture

 * Edward H. Bennett, architect and city planner
 * Howard Van Doren Shaw, architect; lived in Ragdale

Business

 * Andrew Watson Armour III, meatpacking magnate
 * J. Ogden Armour, meatpacking magnate (Armour and Company)
 * Albert Blake Dick, founder of A.B. Dick Company; licensed autographic printing patents from Thomas Edison; mayor of Lake Forest (1928–1931)
 * Grace Durand, businesswoman and owner of Crab Tree Dairy Farm
 * W. James Farrell, chairman and CEO of Illinois Tool Works
 * Charles B. and John V. Farwell, builders of the Texas State capitol building and founders of the XIT Ranch.
 * Marshall Field, owner of Marshall Field's (now Macy's)
 * Albert Lasker, businessman who played a major role in shaping modern advertising
 * Marcus Lemonis, Chairman & CEO Camping World, host of The Profit
 * Cyrus H. McCormick, inventor; founder of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became International Harvester
 * Peter W. Smith, investment banker
 * Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein, business people, founders of Uline, conservative donor, and heir

Acting

 * Kipleigh Brown, actress
 * Kristin Cavallari, actress
 * Kyle Chandler, actor
 * Jay Chandrasekhar, actor, director
 * Charlie Finn, actor
 * Jean Harlow, actress
 * Lauren Holly, actress
 * John Mahoney, actor
 * Mr. T, actor, wrestler
 * Joan Taylor, actress
 * Vince Vaughn, actor
 * Richard Widmark, actor
 * Robin Williams, actor, comedian
 * Kathryn Joosten, actress

Directing and production

 * James T. Aubrey, Jr., television and film executive
 * John Hughes, writer, director, producer
 * Alex Timbers, theater writer and director

Journalism

 * Mary Maher, journalist, trade unionist and feminist
 * Bill Schulz, journalist (Fox News)
 * Sam Weller, author and journalist

Music

 * Bix Beiderbecke, jazz cornet player and pianist
 * Andrew Bird, musician and songwriter
 * Mat Devine, lead singer of Chicago-based alternative rock band Kill Hannah

Writing

 * Lacy Crawford, writer
 * Dave Eggers, writer
 * Beth Ann Fennelly, writer
 * Jen Lancaster, writer
 * Rebecca Makkai, writer
 * Arthur Meeker Jr., novelist

Politics and law

 * Joseph E. Anderson (1873−1937), Illinois state legislator and most recent Prohibitionist member of the Illinois General Assembly.
 * David N. Barkhausen, Illinois state legislator and politician
 * Mary Beattie, Illinois state legislator
 * Edward J. Brundage, Illinois Attorney General
 * Fredrik Herman Gade, mayor of Lake Forest; diplomat from Norway
 * Charles B. Farwell, United States Senator from Illinois (1887-1891) and member of the United States House of Representatives (1871-1876, 1881-1883), cofounder of the Onwentsia Club, owner of XIT Ranch
 * Susan Garrett, Illinois Senate state senator representing the 29th District
 * Noble Brandon Judah, United States Ambassador to Cuba (1927–1929)
 * Robert P. Lamont, United States Secretary of Commerce (1929–1932)
 * William Mather Lewis, mayor of Lake Forest (1915–1917); president of George Washington and Lafayette Universities
 * Thomas J. Moran, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court
 * William Proxmire, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin
 * Judy Baar Topinka, Illinois Comptroller and Illinois State Treasurer
 * Pete Wilson, 36th Governor of California (1991–1999); United States Senator (1983–1991); 29th Mayor of San Diego (1971–1983)
 * Corrine Wood, 44th lieutenant governor of Illinois

Sciences

 * Pamela Darling, library preservation specialist
 * Tung Jeong, professor and international leader in the field of holography
 * Jim Lovell, astronaut on Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13; author of Lost Moon; owner of Lovell's of Lake Forest
 * Karl Patterson Schmidt, herpetologist

Socialites and modeling

 * Margaret "Peg" Carry, socialite; daughter of Pullman Company president Edward F. Carry; friend of F. Scott Fitzgerald
 * Rose Farwell Chatfield-Taylor, socialite, sportswoman, bookbinder, suffragist, cofounder of Onwentsia Club
 * Ginevra King, socialite; inspiration for many female characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's work, including Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby
 * Edith Rockefeller McCormick, socialite
 * Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich, descendant of the Russian Imperial dynasty the House of Romanov
 * McKey Sullivan, fashion model and winner of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 11

Baseball

 * Mickey Cochrane, catcher for Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers in Baseball Hall of Fame
 * Joe Girardi, catcher for the Chicago Cubs, manager of the New York Yankees
 * Mabel Holle (1920–2011), third basewoman and outfielder in All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
 * Scott Sanderson, All-Star pitcher for eight MLB teams
 * Steve Stanicek, designated hitter for Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies

Basketball

 * Bill Cartwright, center and coach for the Chicago Bulls
 * Kevin Edwards, shooting guard for the Miami Heat and New Jersey Nets
 * Steve Kerr, point guard for the Chicago Bulls
 * Scottie Pippen, forward for the Chicago Bulls

Driving

 * Carl Haas, auto racing impresario
 * Horst Kwech, champion Trans Am Series driver and race car constructor
 * Steve Seligman, stock car racer

Football

 * Gabe Carimi (born 1988 in Lake Forest), offensive lineman for the Chicago Bears
 * Jim Covert, offensive lineman for the Chicago Bears
 * Jay Cutler, quarterback for the Chicago Bears
 * Bobby Douglass, quarterback for the Chicago Bears
 * Justin Fields, quarterback for the Chicago Bears
 * George Halas, head coach of the Chicago Bears
 * Cade McNown, quarterback for the Chicago Bears
 * Robert Quinn, linebacker for the Chicago Bears
 * Lovie Smith, head coach for the Chicago Bears
 * Kevin Walter, former wide receiver in the NFL
 * Tom Waddle, wide receiver for the Chicago Bears
 * James O. Williams,"Big Cat", tackle for Chicago Bears and offensive lineman coach for Lake Forest High School

Golf

 * Chip Beck, PGA Tour golfer
 * Edith Cummings, golfer; US Women's Amateur Champion (1924)

Gymnastics

 * Nicole Sladkov, Olympic rhythmic gymnast

Hockey

 * Keith Magnuson, defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks, team captain

Swimming

 * Matt Grevers, Olympic swimmer; silver medalist (2008), gold medalist (2012)

Sports journalism

 * Tim Weigel, sports anchor and reporter
 * Sarah Spain, radio host and sports reporter, ESPN