List of people from Springfield, Missouri

This is a list of notable people born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with the city of Springfield, Missouri and its surrounding metropolitan area.

Politics

 * John Ashcroft, former United States attorney general
 * Matt Blunt, former governor of Missouri
 * Melanie Blunt, former first lady of Missouri
 * Roy Blunt, former U.S. senator
 * Dennis Bonner, Missouri state legislator
 * Sempronius H. Boyd, former U.S. representative and minister of the United States to Siam
 * Miller Dunckel, former Michigan State Treasurer
 * James McBride, former minister of the United States to Hawaii
 * Karen L. Williams, current United States Ambassador to Suriname
 * Charlie Brown, former U.S. representative
 * Mark A. Ediger, former Surgeon General of the United States Air Force
 * Johnny Ellis, Alaska state legislator
 * Scott Fitzpatrick, State Auditor of Missouri and former State Treasurer of Missouri
 * M. Douglas Harpool, United States District Judge
 * Gilbert H. Jertberg, United States Circuit Judge
 * Jim Keet (born 1949), former member of both houses of the Arkansas legislature; the 2010 Republican gubernatorial nominee in Arkansas
 * Margaret Kelly, former Missouri state auditor, Missouri republican gubernatorial nominee
 * Billy Long, former U.S. representative
 * Dale Long, MLB baseball player, hit a home run in eight consecutive games
 * Duard Marshall, painter, lithographer, and student of Thomas Hart Benton
 * Roscoe C. Patterson, former U.S. senator and representative
 * William C. Price, former Treasurer of the United States
 * Crystal Quade, minority leader, Missouri House of Representatives
 * Betsy Fogle, member of the Missouri House of Representatives
 * Alex Riley, member of the Missouri House of Representatives

Arts, literature, humanities and entertainment

 * Lennie Aleshire, vaudeville and country music performer
 * Jerry L. Atwood, chemist
 * Bob Barker, game show host (The Price is Right)
 * Julie Blackmon, photographer
 * Aaron Buerge, star of ABC's The Bachelor, season 2
 * Kristi Capel Miss Missouri 2006, anchor for WJW in Cleveland
 * Kim Crosby, Broadway performer
 * Ian Eskelin, lead singer of All Star United
 * Ralph D. Foster, broadcasting pioneer
 * William Garwood, actor
 * John Goodman, actor (born in Affton and attended Missouri State University) numerous award winner including Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award
 * Kathleen Turner, actress, two time Golden Globe Award winner
 * Brenda Lee, singer, numerous award winner including a Grammy Award
 * Ozark Mountain Daredevils, rock band
 * Brad Pitt, actor, and attended Kickapoo High School Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award winner
 * Lucas Grabeel, actor, singer (High School Musical, High School Musical 2, and High School Musical 3: Senior Year)
 * Sara Groves, Christian contemporary recording artist
 * Tess Harper, actress (graduated from Missouri State University)
 * David L. Harrison, children's author and poet
 * Speedy Haworth, guitarist and singer
 * Grace Hayes, actress
 * Joe Haymes, swing era bandleader-arranger (born in Marshfield; grew up and began his band in Springfield)
 * Josh Heinrichs, reggae singer
 * Juto, singer
 * Melissa Hutchison, two time BAFTA nominee
 * Virginia Hunter, actress
 * Jay Kenneth Johnson, actor (Days of Our Lives)
 * The Jordanaires, singing group
 * David Kershenbaum, record producer
 * King's X, musical group
 * Chandler Lawson, beauty pageant titleholder, Miss Tennessee 2012
 * Jim Lowe, country music singer
 * Robin Luke, musician
 * The Marksmen, singing quartet (originally The Foggy River Boys)
 * Mariann Mayberry, actress
 * Crystal Methyd, drag queen, runner-up on season twelve of RuPaul's Drag Race
 * Daya Betty, drag queen, contestant on season fourteen of RuPaul's Drag Race
 * Chappell Roan, singer-songwriter
 * The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, musical group
 * The Philharmonics, singing quintet
 * Mary Ellen Ray, actress
 * Jake Wesley Rogers, singer
 * Artie Romero, cartoonist, animator
 * Jah Roots, reggae band
 * Ronnie Self, singer/songwriter
 * Scott Siman, music producer and executive
 * Si Siman, music producer and broadcast executive
 * Cailee Spaeny, actress (Vice, On the Basis of Sex)
 * Speakeasy, rock and roll band
 * Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, musical group
 * Heidi Strobel, Survivor contestant
 * Terre Thaemlitz, musician, cultural producer
 * Marissa Whitley, Miss Teen USA 2001
 * Tony Tost, poet
 * Speedy West, steel guitarist and record producer
 * Robert Westenberg, Broadway performer
 * Tom Whitlock, Academy Award winner for Best Original Song, Take My Breath Away
 * Adrienne Wilkinson, actress (graduated from Kickapoo High School)
 * Slim Wilson, musician, radio and TV personality
 * Daniel Woodrell, author
 * Percy Grainger, music composer, (lived in Springfield from 1940 to 1943)

Sports

 * Jaelon Acklin, CFL player, Ottawa Redblacks
 * Scott Bailes, MLB pitcher in 1980s and 1990s; color commentator for Springfield Cardinals
 * Eddie Carnett, MLB pitcher in 1940s
 * Dean Deetz, MLB player, Houston Astros
 * Lori Endicott, Atlanta 1996 Olympic volleyball player
 * BJ Flores, boxer
 * Courtney Frerichs, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 track and field
 * Gracie Gold, Sochi 2014 Olympic figure skater, 2014 and 2016 U.S. champion
 * Dorial Green-Beckham, NFL player, 2015 Tennessee Titans, 2016 Philadelphia Eagles
 * Lucas Harrell, MLB player, Toronto Blue Jays
 * John Howard, Mexico City 1968, Munich 1972, Montreal 1976 cycalist
 * Ryan Howard, MLB player, 2005 NL Rookie of the Year, 2006 Home Run Derby champion, 2006 NL Most Valuable Player
 * Jack Jewsbury, MLS player for Portland Timbers
 * Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys owner; worked in Springfield with father Pat Jones at insurance company Modern Security Life in 1960s
 * Josh Kinney, first Springfield Cardinal (AA) to make MLB St. Louis Cardinals roster
 * Stan Musial, Hall of Fame baseball player for St. Louis Cardinals, played for original Springfield Cardinals in late 1930s
 * Larry Nemmers, NFL referee
 * Mickey Owen, MLB player
 * Robin Partch, Grenoble 1968 luger
 * Dave Patterson, MLB player, Los Angeles Dodgers
 * Jason Pyrah, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Olympic 1500m runner
 * Steve Rogers, MLB starting pitcher, 5-time All-Star; most successful pitcher in Montreal Expos history
 * Emily Scott, Sochi 2014 Olympic speed skater
 * Horton Smith, golfer, two-time Masters Tournament champion
 * Payne Stewart, professional golfer
 * Jackie Stiles, NCAA all-time leading scorer in women's basketball
 * Jeri Sitzes, boxer
 * Anthony Tolliver, NBA player for Minnesota Timberwolves
 * Paul Walker, football player

Business

 * William F. Austin, CEO of Starkey Hearing Technologies
 * Jack Gentry, World War II and Korean War veteran; founder of Positronic
 * David Glass, former CEO of Walmart; owner of MLB's Kansas City Royals
 * John Morris, founder and majority owner, Bass Pro Shops
 * Jack Stack, founder of SRC Holdings
 * Byron Trott, investment banker

Other

 * Jimmie Angel, aviator, discoverer of Angel Falls, highest free-falling waterfall in world
 * William A. Beiderlinden, U.S. Army major general
 * Oliver Brown, plaintiff in the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, born in Topeka
 * James E. Cofer, professor at Missouri State University, president 2010-11
 * J. Alan Groves, Biblical Hebrew scholar; editor of Groves-Wheeler Hebrew morphology database
 * Edwin P. Hubble, of Hubble Space Telescope fame (born in Marshfield)
 * Virginia E. Johnson, sexologist; junior member of Masters and Johnson sexuality research team
 * Janet Kavandi, NASA astronaut
 * Curtis Price KBE, warden of New College, Oxford
 * Emma J. Ray, activist, suffragist