List of people from Oakland, California

This is a list of people from Oakland, California, people born in Oakland or who lived in Oakland for a significant time.

Academics

 * Gail Mahood – geology (born in Oakland)

Artists and designers

 * Natalia Anciso – artist and educator
 * Olive Ayhens – painter
 * Steven F. Arnold – filmmaker, photographer, painter, illustrator, set and costume designer, and assemblage artist
 * Garry Knox Bennett – woodworker, metalworker, furniture maker, artist
 * Bernice Bing – artist, activist
 * Warrington Colescott – artist and educator
 * Henry Doane – landscape painter, commercial artist
 * Janet Doub Erickson artist and author
 * Roger C. Field – industrial designer, graduated from California College of the Arts
 * Linda Geary – painter, teacher
 * Liz Hernández – painter, sculptor, graphic designer
 * Oliver Lee Jackson – painter, printmaker, sculptor
 * Walter J. Mathews – architect, designed the First Unitarian Church of Oakland
 * Bernard Maybeck – architect
 * Jeremy Mayer – sculptor
 * Julia Morgan – architect, raised and buried in Oakland
 * Willis O'Brien – animator
 * Nathan Oliveira – painter, printmaker, sculptor, professor
 * Adrienne Keahi Pao; photographer, artist
 * Lisa Quinn – artist, author, designer
 * Mel Ramos – painter
 * Favianna Rodriguez – painter, artist
 * Galen Rowell – photographer
 * J. Otto Seibold – artist, illustrator, author
 * Elizabeth Sher – documentary and short filmmaker, artist
 * Seasick Steve – blues musician
 * Betty Swords – cartoonist
 * Morrie Turner – artist, illustrator, author of the Wee Pals comic strip
 * Wendy Yoshimura – artist

Athletes

 * Zack Andrews – baseball player
 * Ron Allen (skateboarder) – professional skateboarder
 * Pervis Atkins – NFL football player, Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, actor, The Longest Yard
 * Don Barksdale – basketball player
 * Drew Barry – basketball player
 * Jon Barry – basketball player and sportscaster
 * Charlie Beamon – baseball pitcher
 * Charlie Beamon Jr. – baseball player
 * Davion Berry (born 1991), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Davone Bess – football player
 * Will Blackwell – football player
 * Linc Blakely – Major League Baseball player, Cincinnati Reds
 * Marlin Briscoe – football player
 * John Brodie – football player and sportscaster
 * Jabari Brown – basketball player
 * Steve Brye baseball player, No. 1 pick of Twins, played nine years in majors
 * Don Budge – tennis player
 * Chris Burford – football player
 * Glenn Burke – baseball player
 * Tiffany Chin – figure skater
 * Steve Clark – swimmer, won five Olympic gold medals
 * Ray Crouse – football player
 * Bruce Cunningham – Major League Baseball player, Boston Braves
 * Jared Cunningham - basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Antonio Davis – basketball player
 * Steve DeBerg – football player
 * Bernie DeViveiros – Major League Baseball player, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers
 * Taylor Douthit – Major League Baseball player, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds
 * Forey Duckett – football player
 * Dennis Eckersley – baseball player
 * Manny Fernandez – football player
 * Eric Fernsten – basketball player, NBA, CBA, and Europe
 * Curt Flood – Major League Baseball player, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Senators known for challenging the Reserve clause
 * Greg Foster – basketball player
 * La Vel Freeman – baseball player
 * Len Gabrielson – Major League Baseball player, Philadelphia Phillies
 * Len Gabrielson – Major League Baseball player, Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, California Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers
 * Joe Gaines – Major League Baseball player, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros
 * Derrick Gardner – football player
 * Kiwi Gardner – basketball player
 * Brad Gilbert – tennis player and coach
 * John Gillespie – Major League Baseball player, Cincinnati Reds
 * Jesse Gonder –baseball player
 * Drew Gooden – basketball player
 * Alexis Gray-Lawson – basketball player, Phoenix Mercury
 * Bob Greenwood – Major League Baseball player, Philadelphia Phillies
 * Bud Hafey – Major League Baseball player, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies
 * Tom Hafey – Major League Baseball player, New York Giants, St. Louis Browns
 * Roger Harding – football player
 * Rickey Henderson – baseball player
 * Jan Henne – swimmer, two-time gold medalist at 1968 Summer Olympics
 * Steve Hosey – baseball player
 * Al Hrabosky – baseball pitcher and sportscaster
 * Proverb Jacobs – NFL football player, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants
 * Jackie Jensen – baseball player
 * Brian Johnson – baseball player
 * Josh Johnson – Quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals
 * Maurice Jones-Drew – football player
 * Robert Jordan – football player
 * Bobby Kemp – football player
 * Jason Kidd – basketball player and coach
 * MacArthur Lane – football player
 * Cookie Lavagetto – baseball player and manager
 * James Yimm Lee – martial arts teacher
 * Tony Lema – golfer
 * Bill Lester – NASCAR driver
 * Damian Lillard – basketball player
 * Ernie Lombardi – baseball player
 * Don Lofgran – professional basketball player
 * Terrell Lowery – baseball player
 * Lorenzo Lynch – football player
 * Marshawn Lynch – football player
 * Eddie McGah – baseball player, part-owner of Oakland Raiders
 * Bill McKalip – college All-American football player, NFL player, Portsmouth Spartans / Detroit Lions
 * Joe Mellana – Major League Baseball player, Philadelphia Athletics
 * Demetrius "Hook" Mitchell – streetball player
 * Joe Morgan – baseball second baseman and sportscaster
 * Kirk Morrison – football player
 * Hank Norberg – football player
 * Mike Norris – baseball player
 * Lee Norwood – ice hockey player
 * Zoe Ann Olsen – olympic diver
 * Gary Payton – basketball player, born and raised in Oakland
 * Gary Pettis – baseball player and coach
 * Paul Pierce – basketball player
 * Vada Pinson – baseball player and coach
 * Jim Pollard – basketball player
 * Damon Powell – basketball player
 * Leon Powe – basketball player
 * Jarrod Pughsley – football player
 * John Ralston – football player and coach
 * Isiah Rider – basketball player
 * Chris Roberson – baseball player
 * Cliff Robinson – basketball player, Youngest (teenaged), highest scoring NBA Player, 1976 TOC Champions
 * Frank Robinson – baseball player and manager
 * Jimmy Rollins – baseball player
 * Bill Russell – basketball player and coach
 * Brian Shaw – basketball player and coach
 * Paul Silas – basketball player and coach
 * Fred Silva – football official
 * Marvel Smith – football player
 * Dave Stewart – baseball player and executive
 * John Sutro – football player
 * Ron Theobald – baseball player
 * Jim Tobin – baseball player
 * Marviel Underwood – football player
 * Kwame Vaughn (born 1990), basketball player for Maccabi Haifa in the Israeli Basketball National League
 * Langston Walker – football player
 * Andre Ward – professional boxer
 * George Wells – professional wrestler
 * Ray Wells – football player
 * Bill Werle – baseball player
 * Archie Williams – runner
 * Dontrelle Willis – baseball player
 * Rodney Williams – American football player

Businesspeople, entrepreneurs and industrialists

 * Stephen Bechtel – engineer, president, CEO of Bechtel Corporation, 1933-1960
 * Anthony Chabot – entrepreneur, father of hydraulic mining, namesake of Chabot Space & Science Center, Lake Chabot, and Chabot College, buried in Oakland
 * Charles Crocker – railroad tycoon, buried in Oakland
 * Debbi Fields – entrepreneur, founder of Mrs. Fields cookies
 * Domingo Ghirardelli – founder of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company based in San Francisco, buried in Oakland
 * Ken Hofmann – former owner of the Oakland Athletics
 * Henry J. Kaiser – entrepreneur, businessman, founder of Kaiser Permanente and Kaiser Family Foundation, buried in Oakland
 * Mark Mastrov – founder of 24 Hour Fitness, partial owner of the Sacramento Kings
 * Jonah Peretti – founder of BuzzFeed
 * Francis Marion Smith (also known as "Borax" Smith) – miner, business magnate

Chefs

 * Tanya Holland – chef, restaurateur, podcast host, and cookbook author.
 * Nelson German – chef
 * Nite Yun - chef and restaurateur.

Entertainment

 * Mahershala Ali – Academy Award-winning actor
 * Eddie Anderson – actor
 * Max Baer Jr. – actor, film director
 * Matt Bettinelli-Olpin – filmmaker and musician
 * Pamela Blake – actress
 * True Boardman – silent film actor
 * Alex Bretow – film producer, director, and screenwriter
 * David Carradine – actor
 * Rafael Casal – actor, writer
 * Connie Cezon – actress
 * Angus Cloud – actor
 * Keyshia Cole – musician
 * Tracie Collins – actress, writer, theatre director and producer
 * Ryan Coogler – director
 * Buster Crabbe – actor
 * T. D. Crittenden – silent film actor
 * Robert Culp – actor
 * Mark Curry – actor/comedian
 * Gloria Dea – actress, dancer and magician
 * Walter DeLeon – screenwriter
 * Daveed Diggs – actor and rapper
 * Rockmond Dunbar – actor, mixed-media artist
 * Michael Earl – puppeteer
 * Clint Eastwood – actor, Academy Award-winning film producer, and director
 * Lyndsy Fonseca – actress
 * Squire Fridell – actor
 * Cary Fukunaga – Emmy Award-winning director
 * Sylvia Gerrish – musical comedy and light opera
 * Sumner Getchell – actor
 * Gary Goldman – filmmaker
 * Michael A. Goorjian – actor and filmmaker
 * R. Henry Grey – silent film actor
 * Khamani Griffin – child actor
 * MC Hammer – rapper
 * Mark Hamill – actor
 * Bernie Hamilton – actor, Starsky and Hutch
 * Tom Hanks – Academy Award-winning actor, raised in Oakland
 * Susan Seaforth Hayes – actor
 * Claude Heater – opera singer and actor, Ben-Hur (1959 film)
 * Russell Hornsby – actor
 * Moshe Kasher – comedian, actor, and author/writer; raised in Oakland
 * Kehlani – singer
 * Joe Knowland – newspaper publisher, actor
 * David Labrava – actor, writer, tattoo artist
 * Remy Lacroix – adult actress
 * Ted Lange – actor
 * Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee) – actor, born in Oakland
 * Bruce Lee – actor, martial artist
 * Nnegest Likké – film director
 * Caryl Lincoln – actress
 * Delroy Lindo – actor
 * Dakin Matthews – actor
 * Russ Meyer – film director
 * Jefferson Moffitt – screenwriter, film director
 * Paul Mooney – comedian
 * Shemar Moore – actor, model
 * Mitch Mullany – actor
 * Kali Muscle – actor
 * Roger Nichols – recording engineer
 * Natalie Nunn – television personality
 * Laura Oakley – silent film actress
 * Orunamamu (Marybeth Washington-Stofle) – storyteller
 * Frank Oz – actor, director, puppeteer for Bert, Cookie Monster and Grover on Sesame Street
 * Chelsea Peretti – comedian, actress
 * Dorothy Revier – silent film actress, dancer
 * Cherie Roberts – adult model, photographer
 * Raphael Saadiq – singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer
 * Timothy B. Schmit – singer, bassist of The Eagles, born in Oakland
 * G-Eazy – rapper
 * Sheila E. – percussionist
 * Kellita Smith – actress and model
 * Jack Soo (Goro Suzuki) – comedian, actor, Barney Miller
 * George Stevens – Academy Award-winning film director
 * Cynthia Stevenson – actress, born in Oakland
 * Ethel Grey Terry – silent film actress
 * Colin Trevorrow – film director
 * Jo Van Fleet – actress
 * Matt Vasgersian – actor, sports broadcaster
 * Mills Watson – actor
 * Robert Webber – film and TV actor, 12 Angry Men
 * Will Wright – game designer
 * Daniel Wu – actor
 * Bassem Youssef – satirist
 * Zendaya – Emmy Award-winning actress

Leaders (activists and politicians)

 * Richard Aoki – activist
 * William P. Baker – politician
 * Sonny Barger – founder of the Hells Angels motorcycle club
 * Henry G. Blasdel – first governor of Nevada; resident of Oakland
 * Jerry Brown – politician, former governor of California and mayor of Oakland
 * Albert E. Carter – politician
 * Frank Chu – eccentric street protester
 * C. L. Dellums – organizer and leader of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
 * Ron Dellums – politician, former U.S. Congressman and Representative, mayor of Oakland
 * Frank M. Dixon, politician, former governor of Alabama
 * Warren B. English – Confederate war veteran, politician, realtor
 * Lydia Flood Jackson, businesswoman, club woman, suffragist, an oldest living native of Oakland when she died in 1963
 * Marcus Foster – educator, the first African-American Superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District
 * Alicia Garza – co-founder of Black Lives Matter
 * Elihu Harris – politician, former mayor of Oakland
 * JuJu Harris – food-affordability activist
 * Kamala Harris – politician, U.S. Senator, first female African-American attorney general of California; first female, African-American, and Asian-American Vice President of the United States
 * Van Jones – founder, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Special Advisor for Green Jobs under US President Barack Obama
 * Fred Korematsu – Japanese-American who fought forced internment, testing the law in Korematsu v. United States
 * Joseph R. Knowland – former U.S. Representative and former owner of the Oakland Tribune, cremated in Oakland
 * William F. Knowland – former U.S. Senator
 * Barbara Lee – U.S. Representative
 * Charles Goodall Lee – dentist, civic leader, benefactor of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance
 * Clara Elizabeth Chan Lee – activist, first Chinese-American woman voter in the U.S.
 * Richard Lee – horticulturist, activist for the legalization of marijuana
 * Edwin Meese III – former U.S. Attorney General
 * Victor H. Metcalf – politician, attorney, banker
 * Jessica Mitford – writer, activist, former Communist
 * Paul Montauk – Communist politician and two-time candidate for Oakland mayor
 * Ethel Moore – civic, education, and national defense work leader
 * Anca Mosoiu – technology activist
 * Nancy Nadel – member of the Oakland City Council
 * Huey P. Newton – activist, co-founder of the Black Panther Party
 * Andrew Nisbet Jr. – member of the Washington House of Representatives and United States Army officer
 * Pat Parker – black lesbian poet and activist
 * Ed Rosenthal – horticulturist, publisher, activist for the legalization of marijuana
 * Byron Rumford – pharmacist
 * John A. Russo – Oakland city attorney, former city councilman
 * Bobby Seale – activist, co-founder of the Black Panther Party
 * Hettie B. Tilghman – African-American activist and suffragist
 * Robert Treuhaft – activist for labor and leftist causes, attorney, writer
 * Charles Stetson Wheeler – attorney, Regent of the University of California
 * Earl Warren – Assistant Attorney City of Oakland, District Attorney of Alameda County, Attorney General of California, Governor of California and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice
 * Lionel J. Wilson – politician, first African-American mayor of Oakland
 * Mother Wright – anti-hunger activist

Military

 * Bud Anderson – USAF (served 1942-1972) fighter pilot and commander, triple ace who retired at the rank of colonel
 * Jeremiah C. Sullivan – Civil War general in the Union Army and staff member of Ulysses S. Grant, buried in Oakland

Musicians, composers and dancers

 * 3XKrazy – male rap group
 * Thomas Lauderdale – musician and pianist
 * A-Plus – rapper
 * Billie Joe Armstrong – co-founder of Green Day
 * Tim Armstrong – musician, lead vocalist of punk rock band Rancid
 * Paul Baloff (d. 2002) – former lead singer of thrash metal band Exodus
 * Ant Banks – rapper, producer
 * Gaylord Birch – musician
 * Carla Bley – composer, musician
 * Boots Riley – rapper, filmmaker
 * Mike Botts – studio musician, drummer for rock band Bread
 * Bobby Brackins – rapper, songwriter
 * Ian Brennan – Grammy Award-winning record producer and author
 * Antonia Brico (born Wilhelmina Wolthius) classical pianist, first woman conductor of New York Philharmonic
 * Chris Broderick – musician, lead guitarist for the heavy metal band Megadeth
 * Peter Buck – musician, guitarist and co-founder of the alternative rock band R.E.M.
 * Aaron Burckhard – musician, first drummer of the grunge band Nirvana
 * Kevin Cadogan – musician, original lead guitarist of Third Eye Blind
 * Emilio Castillo – musician, a founding member of Tower of Power
 * Casual – rapper
 * Mike Clark – musician
 * Cold Blood – rock, soul, jazz band
 * Keyshia Cole – Grammy Award-nominated R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, born and raised in Oakland
 * The Coup – hip hop group
 * Jason Cropper – original band member of Weezer
 * Del tha Funkee Homosapien – musician
 * Daveed Diggs – rapper and actor
 * Mike Dirnt – co-founder of Green Day
 * Digital Underground – rap group
 * Sue Draheim – fiddler
 * Mac Dre – rapper, born in Oakland, raised in Vallejo
 * Dru Down – rapper
 * Isadora Duncan – dancer
 * Sheila E. – drummer, born in Oakland
 * E-A-Ski – rapper, record producer
 * En Vogue – Grammy Award-nominated female R&B singing group, originated from Oakland in 1990
 * Pete Escovedo – musician, born in Oakland
 * Robb Flynn – musician best known as rhythm guitarist and vocalist for Machine Head
 * Michael Franti – musician
 * Fred Frith – improvisational musician, guitarist, composer, professor of music
 * Nils Frykdahl – musician, a founding member of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Idiot Flesh
 * David Garibaldi – musician, member of Tower of Power
 * G-Eazy – rapper and producer
 * Mic Gillette – musician, a founding member of Tower of Power
 * Goapele – soul and R&B singer
 * Guapdad 4000 – rapper, musician
 * Larry Graham – musician
 * MC Hammer – musician, born in Oakland
 * Jeff Hanneman – former guitarist for heavy metal band Slayer
 * Shawn Harris – musician; former member of The Matches
 * Davey Havok – musician, lead singer for AFI
 * Edwin and Walter Hawkins – gospel singers
 * Hieroglyphics – rap group, originated from Oakland
 * Earl Hines – jazz pianist
 * John Lee Hooker – blues singer
 * Paul Jackson – musician
 * Henry Kaiser – musician, grandson of Henry J. Kaiser
 * Keak da Sneak – musician
 * Kehlani – singer
 * Kid 606 – musician
 * Sharon Knight – Celtic musician, founding member of pagan rock band Pandemonaeon
 * Kreayshawn – rapper
 * Stephen "Doc" Kupka – musician, founding member of Tower of Power
 * LaToya London – singer; born in San Francisco, raised in Oakland
 * Pep Love – rapper
 * The Lovemakers – pop band
 * The Luniz – Grammy Award-nominated rap duo
 * MC Lars – rapper; post-punk laptop rap
 * Michael Manring – bassist, born in D.C., lives in Oakland
 * Adrian Marcel – singer
 * Jim Martin – musician
 * Tony Martin – singer, actor
 * Dave Meniketti – rock musician; born and raised in Oakland; lead singer/lead guitarist for Y&T
 * Seagram Miller – rapper
 * Mistah F.A.B. – rapper
 * David Murray – musician
 * mxmtoon – singer/songwriter
 * Fantastic Negrito – musician
 * Noaccordion – multimedia project of Onah Indigo
 * Numskull – rapper
 * Ray Obiedo – musician
 * Marty Paich – pianist, composer, arranger, producer, director, conductor
 * Harry Partch – composer
 * The Phenomenauts – science and space band, refer to Oakland as "Earth's capital"
 * Phesto – rapper, producer
 * Matt Pike – guitarist of Sleep and High on Fire
 * The Pointer Sisters – Grammy Award-winning R&B singing group
 * Pooh-Man – rapper
 * PopLyfe – pop group
 * Francis Rocco Prestia – musician
 * Perri "Pebbles" Reid – singer-songwriter, manager of TLC
 * San Quinn – rapper, born in Oakland, raised in San Francisco
 * Richie Rich – rapper
 * Cynthia Robinson – musician
 * Raphael Saadiq – musician
 * Arion Salazar – musician in Third Eye Blind
 * Pharoah Sanders – musician
 * Timothy B. Schmit – rock musician, bassist for the Eagles
 * E.C. Scott – blues singer, songwriter and record producer; television host
 * Tupac Shakur – rapper, lived in Oakland
 * Shock G – rapper
 * Sharon Shore – ballet dancer, model
 * Calvin E. Simmons – symphony orchestra conductor, namesake of Calvin Simmons Theatre, born in San Francisco
 * Souls of Mischief – rap group
 * J. Stalin – rapper, co-founder of Livewire Records
 * Steady Mobb'n – rap duo
 * Jamie Stewart – frontman of the experimental group Xiu Xiu
 * Shakir Stewart – record producer, Senior Vice President of Island Def Jam Music Group
 * Freddie Stone – musician
 * Rose Stone – musician
 * Sly Stone – musician
 * Bill Summers – musician
 * The Team – rap group
 * Tony! Toni! Toné! – R&B singing group
 * Too Short – rapper, born in Los Angeles, lived in Oakland from 1980 to 1994
 * Tower of Power – band, formed and based in Oakland
 * Tune-Yards – band; indie, afro-funk
 * Weasel Walter – progressive rock and free jazz musician/composer
 * Freddie Washington – musician
 * Lenny Williams – musician, early member of Tower of Power
 * Y&T – rock band, formed in Oakland 1974
 * Yukmouth – rapper
 * Baba Zumbi – co-founder of hip hop group Zion I
 * Ambrose Akinmusire – musician, trumpeter, composer

Physicians

 * Samuel Merritt – physician, practiced in San Francisco, namesake of Merritt College, Merritt Hospital, and Lake Merritt, buried in Oakland
 * Virginia Prentiss - nanny to Jack London, midwife and former slave

Religious leaders

 * David A. Bednar – LDS Apostle, born in Oakland
 * David Berg – controversial cult leader, founder of Children of God
 * Yusuf Bey – controversial Black Muslim activist
 * Mose Durst – author, educator, former president of the Unification Church
 * James Ishmael Ford – Zen Buddhist priest and Unitarian Universalist minister
 * Ray Frank – female Jewish leader
 * Jack Hayford – minister, chancellor, songwriter
 * Judah Leon Magnes – prominent Reform rabbi, first President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
 * Carol Anne O'Marie – Roman Catholic nun, mystery fiction writer
 * Bebe Patten – evangelist and founder of Patten University
 * Clarence Richard Silva – Catholic bishop from Oakland, current bishop of Honolulu
 * Richard B. Stamps – anthropologist, archeologist, president of the Taipei Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
 * Allen Henry Vigneron – Catholic bishop, leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland

Scientists and inventors

 * Dean Burk – medical researcher
 * Fernando J. Corbató – computer scientist
 * Frederick Cottrell – inventor
 * Frank Epperson – popsicle inventor
 * Lloyd N. Ferguson – first African American to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley
 * Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat, biochemist and virologist; died in Oakland
 * Ansel Franklin Hall – first park naturalist for Yosemite National Park, first Chief Forester for the National Park Service
 * Richard F. Johnston – ornithologist, academic and author
 * Stanley Miller – chemist
 * Sten Odenwald – astronomer and author
 * Wendell Phillips – archaeologist and oil magnate
 * Lydia Weld, first woman to get a degree in engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and naval architect in World War II
 * William Shurtleff, researcher, technical writer, bibliographer, historian, and popularizer of soyfoods

Writers and poets

 * Daniel Alarcón – writer, currently resides in Oakland
 * Catherine Asaro – writer
 * Chauncey Bailey – journalist assassinated by an agent of Your Black Muslim Bakery
 * Delilah L. Beasley – first African-American columnist to be published in a major newspaper
 * Anthony Boucher – writer
 * Garrett Caples – poet, writer
 * Jon Carroll – columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle
 * Frank Chin – writer
 * Daniel Clowes – comic book writer, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, currently resides in Oakland
 * Robert Duncan – poet
 * Sarah Webster Fabio – African-American writer, poet, educator; born in Nashville, lived in Oakland 1955-1979
 * Maxine Hong Kingston – writer, currently resides in Oakland
 * Richard Lange – Los Angeles-based author, born in Oakland
 * Yiyun Li – writer, former creative writing instructor at Mills College
 * Jack London – writer, raised in Oakland, namesake of Jack London Square
 * Anthony Marra – writer
 * Rod McKuen – poet, composer, singer
 * Joaquin Miller – poet, lived in Oakland from 1886–1913
 * Jessica Mitford – author
 * Leila Mottley – author and poet
 * Jess Mowry – writer
 * Colleen Patrick-Goudreau – author, speaker, and podcaster
 * Ishmael Reed – writer, currently resides in Oakland
 * Mary Roach – science writer, currently resides in Oakland
 * William Saroyan – dramatist, author, lived in Oakland from 1913-1918
 * Jason Shiga – author, cartoonist, puzzle designer
 * Alex Steffen – writer, born in Oakland
 * Gertrude Stein – writer
 * Robert Louis Stevenson – writer
 * Tina Susman – journalist, Time senior editor, former national editor of BuzzFeed News
 * Amy Tan – writer, born in Oakland
 * Ben Fong-Torres – rock journalist
 * Jack Vance – science fiction writer
 * Nellie Wong – poet and activist, born in Oakland
 * Shawn Wong – writer, English professor
 * Helen Zia – writer, journalist, and activist, currently resides in Oakland

Criminals

 * Felix Mitchell – notorious drug lord and gang leader of the 1970s and early 1980s
 * Hans Reiser – computer programmer, owner of Namesys, convicted of murdering his wife
 * Tommy Lynn Sells – murderer and suspected serial killer