List of people from South Dakota

This is a list of prominent people who were born in or lived for a significant period in U.S. state of South Dakota. For a larger list by location, see People from South Dakota.

Academia

 * Vine Deloria Jr., American Indian author, theologian, historian, and activist
 * Alvin Hansen, economist, Harvard professor; born in Viborg
 * Arthur Larson, law professor, United States Undersecretary of Labor; born in Sioux Falls
 * Ernest O. Lawrence, inventor of cyclotron, winner of 1939 Nobel Prize for Physics; born in Canton
 * Lawrence Lessig, internet activist, Harvard Law School professor; born in Rapid City
 * Brad L. Neiger, public health professor, associate academic vice president; born in Eureka
 * Theodore Schultz, economist, winner of 1979 Nobel Prize for Economics; born in Arlington
 * Theodore Schultz, economist, winner of 1979 Nobel Prize for Economics; born in Arlington

Actors and filmmakers

 * Angela Aames (1956–1988), actress; born in Pierre
 * Catherine Bach (born 1954), actress; grew up in South Dakota
 * Bruce Baillie (1931–2020), experimental filmmaker; born in Aberdeen
 * Rachael Bella (born 1984), actress; born in Vermillion
 * Shannon Bolin (1917–2016), actress, singer; born in Spencer
 * Moses Brings Plenty (born 1969), actor; born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
 * Christopher Cain (born 1943), actor, director, screenwriter; born in Sioux Falls
 * Leslie Carlson (1933–2014), actor; born in Mitchell
 * Sean Covel(born 1976),film producer; grew up in Edgemont
 * Harvey B. Dunn (1894–1968), actor; born in Yankton
 * Judith Evelyn (1913–1967), actress; born in Seneca
 * Amy Hill (born 1953), actress; born in Deadwood
 * Candace Hilligoss (born 1935), actress; born in Huron
 * Ron Holgate (born 1937), actor; opera singer; born in Aberdeen
 * January Jones (born 1978), actress; born in Hecla
 * Cheryl Ladd (born 1951), actress; born in Huron
 * Eddie Little Sky (1926–1997), actor; born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
 * Cliff Lyons (1901–1974), stuntman, actor; born in Lake County
 * Beth Maitland (born 1958), actress; born in Rapid City
 * Gail Matthius (born 1953), actress, voice actress; born in New York City
 * Russell Means (1939–2012), actor, left-wing activist; born in Wanblee
 * John Miljan (1892–1960), actor; born in Lead City
 * Debra Mooney (born 1947), actress; born in Aberdeen
 * Conrad A. Nervig (1889–1980), Oscar-winning film editor; born in Grant County
 * Gary Owens (1934–2015), voice actor, disc jockey; born in Mitchell
 * Dorothy Provine (1937–2010), actress, singer, dancer, comedian; born in Deadwood
 * Gene Roth (1903–1976), actor; born in Redfield
 * Chic Sale (1885–1936), actor, vaudevillian; born in Huron
 * Eddie Spears (born 1982), actor; born in Lower Brulé Tribe, South Dakota
 * Michael Spears (born 1977), actor; born in Lower Brulé Tribe, South Dakota
 * Michael Steinberg (born 1959), director, writer; born in Rapid City
 * Joan Tabor (1932–1968), actress; born in Sioux Falls
 * Delores Taylor (1939–2018), actress, writer, director; born in Winner
 * Casey Tibbs (1929–1990), cowboy, rodeo performer, actor; born in Fort Pierre
 * Mamie Van Doren (born 1931), actress; born in Rowena
 * Jerry verDorn (1949-2022), actor; born in Sioux Falls
 * John War Eagle (1901–1991), actor; born on the Yankton Indian Reservation
 * Alfred L. Werker (1896–1975), director; born in Deadwood
 * Floyd Red Crow Westerman (1936–2007), actor, left-wing activist; born on the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation
 * Timmy Williams (born 1981), actor, comedian; born in Watertown

Artists

 * Peggy Detmers, sculptor of wildlife in metal, attended South Dakota State
 * Harvey Dunn, painter, born in Manchester
 * James Earle Fraser, sculptor; spent much of his life in Mitchell
 * Paul Goble, author and illustrator of children's books; lives in Rapid City
 * Mary GrandPré, illustrator, born in South Dakota
 * Bill Groethe, photographer, born in Rapid City
 * Oscar Howe (1915–1983), Native American artist; born in South Dakota
 * Terry Redlin (1937–2016), wildlife artist; born in Watertown
 * Dick Termes, painter of Termespheres; lives in Spearfish

Authors and poets

 * Jacob M. Appel, author, wrote Coulrophobia & Fata Morgana while living in Sioux Falls
 * L. Frank Baum (1856–1919) author; lived in Aberdeen
 * Joseph Bottum (born 1959), essayist and poet; born in Vermillion
 * Charles Badger Clark (1883–1957), poet laureate of South Dakota
 * Allison Hedge Coke (born 1958), American Book Award-winning poet, writer; South Dakota resident
 * Elizabeth Cook-Lynn (born 1930), author; born in Fort Thompson
 * Pete Dexter (born 1943), author, screenwriter and journalist, attended University of South Dakota
 * David Allan Evans (born 1940), poet laureate of South Dakota
 * Joseph Hansen (1923–2004), author, best known for mystery novels; born in Aberdeen
 * Cameron Hawley (1905–1969), author, Executive Suite, Cash McCall; born in Howard
 * Patrick Hicks (born 1970), novelist and poet, Writer-in-Residence at Augustana University
 * Johan Andreas Holvik (1880–1960), author and professor at Concordia College (Minnesota)
 * Adam Johnson (born 1967), writer, author of The Orphan Master's Son (2012); born in South Dakota, Lakota heritage
 * Bill Johnson (born late 1950s), science-fiction writer; born in South Dakota
 * Herbert Arthur Krause (1905–1976), historian, professor at Augustana
 * Rose Wilder Lane (1886–1968), journalist, travel writer, novelist; born in De Smet
 * Gaylord Larsen (born 1932), mystery writer; born in Canova
 * Joseph Marshall III, Pen Award-winning author; co-founder of Sinte Gleska College; born on the Rosebud Indian Reservation
 * Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957), author, best known for Little House on the Prairie; lived in De Smet

Business

 * Gene Amdahl (1922–2015), chief architect of IBM mainframe computer; born in Flandreau
 * Al Neuharth (1924–2013), founder of USA Today, born in Eureka
 * Lee Raymond (born 1938), CEO and chairman of ExxonMobil Corporation; born in Watertown
 * Joseph Robbie, owned NFL's Miami Dolphins; born in Sisseton

Military

 * Oscar Randolph Fladmark (1922–1955), WWII and Korean War pilot; Distinguished Flying Cross recipient; lived in Sioux Falls, born in Moe
 * David C. Jones (1921–2013), retired U.S. Air Force general, former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff; born in Aberdeen
 * Touch the Clouds (c. 1837–1905), Native American chief; later Indian Scout and Sergeant in the US army

Music

 * Joey Clement, band member of Selena Gomez & the Scene; born in Rapid City
 * Shawn Colvin (born 1956), Grammy Award-winning musician; born in Vermillion
 * Mark Craney (1952–2005), drummer for Jethro Tull, Jean Luc-Ponty, Eric Burdon
 * Myron Floren (1919–2005), accordionist, The Lawrence Welk Show; born in Roslyn
 * Gary Mule Deer (born 1940), comedian and country musician; born in Deadwood, lives in Spearfish
 * Keith Olsen (1945–2020), record producer and sound engineer; born in Sioux Falls
 * Jess Thomas (1927–1993), opera singer; born in Hot Springs
 * Frank Waln, Sicangu Lakota rapper
 * Abby Whiteside (1881–1956), piano teacher, attended University of South Dakota

Native Americans

 * Gertrude Bonnin (Zitkala-Sa) (1876–1938), Lakota writer and activist; born on Yankton Sioux Reservation
 * Crazy Horse (c. 1840–1877), Oglala Lakota war leader
 * Russell Means (1939–2012), Native American activist; born in Pine Ridge
 * Maria Pearson (1932–2003), Yankton Sioux activist who helped establish the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
 * Rain-in-the-Face (c. 1835–1905), Hunkpapa Lakota chief
 * Red Cloud (1822–1909), Oglala Lakota chief
 * Sitting Bull (c. 1831–1890), Hunkpapa Lakota chief
 * Touch the Clouds (c. 1837–1905), Miniconjou Teton Lakota chief known for his great size
 * Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman (1936–2007), musician, activist and actor; born on Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Sioux reservation

Politics and government

 * Jim Abdnor (1923–2012), second Lebanese U.S. Representative and Senator; born in Kennebec
 * James Abourezk (born 1931), first Lebanese U.S. Representative and Senator; born in Wood
 * Clinton Presba Anderson, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture; born in Centerville
 * Tom Daschle (born 1947), U.S. Majority Leader of United States Senate; born in Aberdeen
 * J. James Exon (1921–2005), U.S. senator for Nebraska, Governor of Nebraska; born in Geddes
 * Joe Foss (1915–2003), Medal of Honor recipient, 20th Governor of South Dakota, first Commissioner of the American Football League; born in Sioux Falls
 * Ralph A. Gamble (1885–1959), U.S. Representative for New York; born in Yankton
 * John Hamre (born 1950), U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense; born in Watertown
 * Hubert Humphrey (1911–1978), U.S. Senator, 38th Vice President of the U.S., 1968 Democratic presidential candidate; born in Wallace
 * Muriel Humphrey Brown, U.S. Senator from Minnesota, Second Lady of the United States born in Huron
 * Bill Janklow (1939–2012), Governor 1979–1987 and 1995–2003; moved as teen to Flandreau
 * Brendan Johnson (born 1975), 40th U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota; born in Vermillion
 * Tim Johnson (born 1946), U.S. Senator from South Dakota 1997–2015; born in Canton
 * Arthur Larson (1910–1993), United States Under Secretary of Labor, lawyer, law professor; born in Sioux Falls
 * George McGovern (1922–2012), U.S. Senator from South Dakota, 1972 Democratic presidential candidate; born in Avon
 * Karl E. Mundt (1900–1974), U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative; born in Humboldt
 * Kristi Noem (born 1971), first female Governor of South Dakota and U.S. Representative from South Dakota; born in Watertown
 * Larry Pressler (born 1942), three-term U.S. Senator from South Dakota; born in Humboldt
 * Gladys Pyle (1890–1989), first female U.S. Senator from South Dakota; born in Huron
 * Mike Rounds (born 1954), current U.S. Senator from South Dakota, former Governor; born in Huron
 * Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (born 1970), U.S. Representative from South Dakota; born in Houghton
 * Edward John Thye (1896–1969), U.S. Senator from Minnesota and 26th Governor of Minnesota; born in Frederick

Science

 * Bob Burris (1914–2010), biochemist; elected to the NAS; contributed to our understanding of biological nitrogen fixation; born in Brookings
 * Niels Ebbesen Hansen (1866–1950), horticulturist and botanist
 * Ernest O. Lawrence (1901–1958), physicist, Nobel Prize winner, built first cyclotron; born in Canton
 * John Mortvedt (1932–2012), agronomist and soil scientist who was the world's leading expert on micronutrients; born and raised on a farm near Dell Rapids

Sports

 * Sparky Anderson (1934–2010), Baseball Hall of Fame manager of Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers; born in Bridgewater
 * Michael Andrew (born 1999), Olympic swimmer; raised in Aberdeen
 * Shayna Baszler (born 1980), mixed martial artist; born in Sioux Falls
 * James Bausch (1906–1974), athlete, decathlon gold medalist at 1932 Summer Olympics; born in Marion
 * Curt Byrum (born 1958), professional golfer, PGA Tour; Onida
 * Tom Byrum (born 1960), professional golfer, PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions; Onida
 * Dallas Clark (born 1979), tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; born in Sioux Falls
 * Dave Collins, baseball player; born in Rapid City
 * Jessi Combs (1980–2019), professional racer, female land-speed world record holder, and TV personality; born in Rockerville
 * Sean Doolittle (born 1986), baseball player; born in Rapid City
 * Justin Duchscherer (born 1977), baseball player; born in Aberdeen
 * Mark Ellis (born 1977), baseball player; Rapid City
 * Keith Foulke (born 1972), baseball player, relief pitcher for 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox; born on Air Force base in South Dakota
 * Terry Francona (born 1959), baseball player, manager of the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians; born in Aberdeen
 * Chad Greenway (born 1983), linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings; born in Mount Vernon
 * Marlene Hagge (1934–2023), golfer, member of World Golf Hall of Fame; born in Eureka
 * Becky Hammon (born 1977), basketball player and coach; born in Rapid City
 * Clare Jacobs (1886–1971), athlete, pole vault bronze medalist in 1908 Olympics; born in Madison
 * Dennis Koslowski (born 1959), Greco-Roman wrestler, two-time Olympic medalist; born in Watertown
 * Duane Koslowski (born 1959), Greco-Roman wrestler, former Olympian; born in Watertown
 * Jason Kubel (born 1982), outfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks; born in Belle Fourche
 * Ward Lambert (1888–1958), college basketball coach; born in Deadwood
 * Ben Leber, football player; attended high school in Vermillion
 * Brock Lesnar (born 1977), UFC fighter and WWE professional wrestler; born in Webster
 * Randy Lewis (born 1959), freestyle wrestler, 1984 Los Angeles Olympics gold medalist; born in Rapid City
 * Clarence "Pug" Manders (1913–1985), pro football running back; born in Milbank
 * Jack Manders (1909–1977), pro football running back; born in Milbank
 * Mike Martz (born 1951), former NFL head coach and offensive coordinator; born in Sioux Falls
 * Lincoln McIlravy (born 1974), freestyle wrestler, 2000 Sydney Olympics bronze medalist; born in Rapid City
 * David Michaud (born 1988), UFC fighter; born in Pine Ridge
 * Derek Miles (born 1972), Olympic pole vaulter; from Tea
 * Tim Miles (born 1966), Big Ten basketball coach; born in Huron
 * Mike Miller (born 1980), pro basketball player; born in Mitchell
 * Billy Mills (born 1938), athlete, gold medalist in 1964 Olympics; born in Pine Ridge
 * Dale Moss (born 1988), football player and model; born in Brandon
 * Gene Okerlund (1942-2019), Professional wrestling commentator; born in Brookings
 * Eric Piatkowski (born 1970), pro basketball player; attended high school in Rapid City
 * Riley Reiff, football player for Minnesota Vikings; from Parkston
 * Jared Reiner, basketball player; from Tripp
 * Bill Scherr (born 1961), freestyle wrestler, World Champion, four-time World medalist and Olympic bronze medalist; born in Eureka
 * Wilbur Thompson (1921–2013), athlete, 1948 Summer Olympics gold medalist in shot put; born in Frankfort
 * Derrek Tuszka (born 1997), pro football linebacker for the Denver Broncos; born in Warner, SD
 * Shane Van Boening (born 1983), Professional pool player; born in Rapid City
 * Norm Van Brocklin (1926–1983), football player; born in Eagle Butte
 * Adam Vinatieri (born 1972), NFL placekicker; born in Yankton
 * Brandon Wegher (born 1990), football player; born in Dakota Dunes

Television

 * Bob Barker (1923-2023), television game show host; raised on the Rosebud Indian Reservation
 * Tom Brokaw (born 1940), television journalist, former NBC Nightly News anchor; born in Webster
 * Don Fedderson (1913–1994), television producer and creator, My Three Sons, Family Affair, The Millionaire; born in Beresford
 * Mary Hart (born 1950), television personality (Entertainment Tonight); from Madison, and Sioux Falls
 * Chelsea Houska (born 1991), television personality (Teen Mom 2)
 * Tomi Lahren (born 1992), conservative political commentator, host of TheBlaze's Tomi; raised in Rapid City
 * Pat O'Brien (born 1948), sports commentator, television personality (Access Hollywood); born in Sioux Falls
 * Gary Owens (1934–2015), announcer for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, radio disc jockey, voice actor; born in Mitchell

Uncategorized

 * Helen Morton Barker, social reformer
 * Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore
 * Seth Bullock, first sheriff of Deadwood
 * K. G. William Dahl (1883–1917), Lutheran pastor, author and social advocate
 * Billy Etbauer, rodeo cowboy; born in Huron
 * Alvin Hansen, economist; born in Viborg
 * Wild Bill Hickok, Wild West lawman; lived in Deadwood
 * Calamity Jane, Wild West figure; lived in Deadwood
 * Frank Leahy, Notre Dame football coach; attended school in Winner
 * Lawrence Lessig, political activist; from Rapid City
 * Boyd McDonald, pornographer
 * Vernon C. Miller, outlaw and Huron lawman
 * Peter Norbeck, South Dakota governor and senator
 * William H. Parker, longtime Los Angeles police chief; born in Lead
 * James "Scotty" Philip, rancher
 * James Edward Zimmerman, inventor; born in Lantry
 * Korczak Ziółkowski, sculptor of Crazy Horse Memorial