List of people from Sussex



This is a list of people from Sussex, a historic county in southern England. The following are people who were either born, brought up or have lived for a significant period of time in Sussex, or for whom Sussex is a significant part of their identity. Only those meeting notability criteria are included. A few people appear in more than one section of the list.

Actors



 * George K. Arthur (1899–1985)
 * Alexandra Bastedo (1946–2014)
 * Daniel Betts (born 1971)
 * Gwendoline Christie (born 1978)
 * Sophie Cookson (born 1990)
 * Michael Elphick (1946–2002)
 * Tara Fitzgerald (born 1967)
 * Philip Friend (born 1915–1987)
 * Judy Geeson (born 1948)
 * Nigel Humphreys (born 1951)
 * Katie Johnson (born 1878–1957)
 * Jane Leeves (born 1961) ('Frasier')
 * Lesley Manville (born 1956)
 * Charlotte Mardyn (1789–1844)
 * Anna Massey (1937–2011)
 * Tamzin Merchant (born 1987)
 * Cecil Parker (1897–1971)
 * Amanda Redman (born 1957)
 * Dakota Blue Richards (born 1994)
 * David Ryall (1935–2014)
 * Greta Scacchi (born 1960)
 * Nicollette Sheridan (born 1963)
 * Hugh Williams (1904–1969)

Architects

 * Robert Knott Blessley (1833–1923), architect
 * Charles Busby (1786–1834), architect
 * Somers Clarke (1841–1926), architect
 * Ernest Coxhead (1863–1933), Sussex-born American architect
 * John Leopold Denman (1882–1975), architect
 * George Devey (1820–1886), architect
 * Frederick Charles Eden (1864–1944), architect
 * Walter Godfrey (1881–1961), architect
 * Piers Gough (born 1946), architect
 * Nicholas Grimshaw (born 1939), architect
 * Thomas Lainson (1825–1898), architect
 * Harvey Lonsdale Elmes (1814–1847), architect
 * Hugh May (1621–1684), architect
 * John Rebecca (died 1847), architect
 * Ian Ritchie (born 1947), architect
 * Edward Sargent (1842–1914), Sussex-born American architect
 * Henry Bingham Towner (1909–1997), architect
 * Randall Wells (1877–1942), architect
 * Amon Henry Wilds (1784 or 1790–1857), architect
 * Amon Wilds (1762–1833), architect

Artists



 * Helen Cordelia Angell (1847–1884), watercolour painter
 * Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898), illustrator
 * Raymond Briggs (1934–2022), illustrator, cartoonist and graphic novelist
 * Edward Burra (1905–1976), painter
 * Russell Drysdale (1912–1981), Sussex-born Australian artist
 * Clifford Ellis (1907–1985), printmaker, painter and designer
 * Ralph Ellis (1885–1963), painter and designer of inn signs
 * Eric Gill (1882–1940), sculptor, typeface designer and printmaker
 * Gluck (1895–1978), painter
 * Patricia Goldsmith (1929–2017), painter and printmaker
 * Captain Thomas Honywood (1819–1888), photographer
 * Jamie Hewlett (born 1968), comic creator, animator and designer
 * Edward Johnston (1872–1944), Uruguayan-born craftsman and calligrapher
 * Alison Lapper (born 1965), artist
 * Raoul Millais (1901–1999), portrait painter and equestrian artist
 * Lee Miller (1907–1977), American-born photographer
 * Marianne North (1830–1890), botanical artist
 * Paul Pagk (born 1962), painter
 * Roland Penrose (1900–1984), artist and collector of modern art
 * Eric Ravilious (1903–1942), painter, designer, book illustrator and wood-engraver
 * George Smith (1713/14-1776), landscape painter
 * Hilary Stratton (1906–1985), sculptor
 * Paddy Summerfield (born 1929), artist
 * Paul Tanqueray (1905–1991), photographer
 * Alan Thornhill (1921–2020), sculptor
 * Alfred Tidey (1808–1892), miniature-painter

Broadcasters

 * Zoe Ball (born 1970), television and radio presenter
 * Hermione Cockburn (born 1973), television and radio presenter
 * Simon Fuller (born 1960), television producer
 * Sarah Kennedy (born 1950), television and radio presenter
 * Des Lynam (born 1942), television presenter
 * Piers Morgan (born 1965), broadcaster and journalist
 * Richard Osman (born 1970), television presenter
 * Jon Snow (born 1947), television presenter and journalist
 * Jamie Theakston (born 1970), television and radio presenter
 * Dan Walker (born 1977), television presenter, journalist and newsreader
 * Holly Willoughby (born 1981), television presenter

Comedians



 * James Bachman (born 1972), comedian
 * Jo Brand (born 1957), comedian
 * Harry Enfield (born 1961), comedian
 * Stephen Grant (born 1973), comedian
 * Tony Hawks (born 1960), comedian
 * Alex Horne (born 1978), comedian
 * Zoe Lyons (born 1971), comedian
 * Max Miller (1894–1963), comedian
 * Simon Nye (born 1958), comic television writer
 * Paul Putner (born 1966), comedian
 * Romesh Ranganathan (born 1978), comedian

Dancers

 * Francesca Hayward (born 1992), ballet dancer
 * Nancy Osbaldeston (born 1989), ballet dancer

Fashion designers

 * Stella McCartney (born 1971)
 * Ted Tinling (1910–1990)

Filmmakers

 * Beryl Armstrong (born 1928), film director, screenwriter, producer and author
 * Adrian Brunel (1892–1958), film director and screenwriter
 * Charles Bennett (1899–1995), film director and screenwriter
 * Don Chaffey (1917–1990), film director, screenwriter and producer
 * Matt Charman (born 1979), screenwriter and producer
 * Jack Clayton (1921–1995), film director and producer
 * Graham Cutts (1884–1958), film director
 * Brian Eastman (born 1949), film producer
 * Sean Ellis (born 1970), film director, screenwriter and producer
 * Robert Fox (born 1952), film producer
 * Charles Frend (1909–1977), film director
 * Manning Haynes (1889–1957), film director
 * Adam Stephen Kelly (born 1990), film director, screenwriter and producer
 * Pete Walker (born 1939), film director, screenwriter and producer

Musicians

 * Charlesia Alexis (1934–2012), Chagossian singer
 * Anohni (born 1971), singer
 * Brett Anderson (born 1967), singer (Suede, The Tears)
 * Florence Aylward (1862–1950), composer
 * Tony Banks (born 1950), keyboardist
 * Natasha Bedingfield (born 1981), singer-songwriter
 * Wilfred Brown (1921–1971), tenor
 * Henry Burstow (1826–1916), folk singer and bellringer
 * Clara Butt (1872–1936), contralto
 * Nick Cave (born 1957), Australian-born singer, songwriter
 * Celeste (born 1994), singer and songwriter
 * Tom Chaplin (born 1979), singer-songwriter and musician (Keane)
 * Shirley Collins (born 1935), folk singer
 * Ms. Dynamite (born 1981), singer
 * Keith Emerson (1944–2016), keyboardist, songwriter and composer
 * Gary Farr (born 1944), folk/blues singer
 * Ruth Gipps (1921–1999), composer
 * Dominic Glynn (born 1960), electronic composer
 * Harry Gregson-Williams (born 1961), composer
 * Mike Hazlewood (1941–2001), singer, composer and songwriter
 * Nigel Kennedy (born 1956), violinist and violist
 * William Henry Kerridge (1881–1940), organist
 * Pete Kirtley (born 1972), songwriter
 * Vera Lynn (1917–2020), singer and songwriter
 * Conor Maynard (born 1992), singer-songwriter
 * James McCartney (born 1977), musician and songwriter
 * Paul McCartney (born 1942), singer-songwriter, has lived near Rye since the late 1970s
 * Isolde Menges (1893–1976), violinist
 * Tom Odell (born 1990), singer-songwriter
 * Ray Noble (1903–1978), bandleader
 * Passenger (born 1984), singer-songwriter, musician
 * Maisie Peters (born 2000), singer-songwriter
 * Luke Pritchard (born 1985), lead-singer of The Kooks
 * Rag'n'Bone Man (born 1985), singer and songwriter
 * Leslie Rands (1900–1972), opera singer
 * Tim Rice-Oxley (born 1976), musician and singer (Keane)
 * Leo Sayer (born 1948), singer-songwriter
 * Robert Smith (born 1959), singer, songwriter, musician (The Cure)
 * Spider Stacy (born 1958), musician, singer, songwriter (The Pogues)
 * Suggs (born 1961), singer-songwriter, musician (Madness)
 * Nick Van Eede (born 1958), musician, producer, songwriter
 * Thomas Weelkes (1576–1623), composer and organist
 * Bruce Welch (born 1941), guitarist
 * Wreckless Eric (born 1954), singer-songwriter
 * Nicholas Yonge (c.1560–1619), singer

Writers



 * Conrad Aiken (1889–1973), American-born writer and poet
 * Joan Aiken (1924–2004), novelist
 * Jane Aiken Hodge (1917–2009), American-born writer
 * John Agard (born 1949), Guyanese-born poet
 * Vivien Alcock (1924–2003), writer of children's books
 * Val Andrews (1926–2006), prolific writer on magic
 * Attila the Stockbroker (born 1957), punk poet
 * David Bangs, writer and conservationist
 * Elizabeth Bartlett (1924–2008), poet
 * Viola Bayley (1911–1997), children's author
 * Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898), author
 * Archibald Stansfield Belaney (commonly known as Grey Owl) (1888–1938)
 * Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953), poet and writer
 * Marie Belloc Lowndes (1868–1947), novelist
 * E. F. Benson (1867–1940), writer
 * Clementina Black (1853–1922), writer
 * William Blake (1757–1827), poet
 * Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840–1922), poet and writer
 * Andrew Boorde (c.1490–1549)
 * Joyce Lankester Brisley (1896–1978), writer
 * Arabella Buckley (1840–1929), writer
 * Anthony Burgess (1917–1993), novelist, wrote A Clockwork Orange in Etchingham
 * Anna Burns (born 1962), novelist
 * Edward Carpenter (1844–1929), poet
 * John Caryll (senior) (1625–1711), poet and dramatist
 * William Collins (1721–1759), poet
 * Eliza Cook (1818–1889), writer and Chartist
 * Catherine Cookson (1906–1998), author (citation required)
 * E.M. Delafield (1890–1943), author
 * Alice Dudeney (1866–1945), author and short story writer
 * Henry Dudeney (1857–1930), author
 * Maureen Duffy (born 1933), poet, novelist, non-fiction author
 * Anne Francis (1738–1800), author
 * John Fletcher (1579–1625), playwright
 * Ford Maddox Ford (1873–1939), novelist and poet
 * John Galsworthy (1867–1933), novelist and playwright
 * Neil Gaiman (born 1960), fantasy writer
 * Leon Garfield (1921–1996), writer of children's fiction
 * Angelica Garnett (1918–2012), writer and artist
 * David Garnett (1892–1981), writer
 * Rumer Godden (1907–1998), writer
 * Leon Gordon (1891–1960), playwright
 * Elly Griffiths (born 1963), crime novelist
 * Patrick Hamilton (1904–1962), playwright and novelist
 * David Hare (born 1947), playwright and screenwriter
 * William Hay (1695–1755), writer
 * William Hayley (1745–1820), writer
 * Ralph Hammond Innes (1913–1998), novelist
 * Edward James (1907–1984), poet
 * Henry James (1843–1916), American author
 * Peter James (born 1948), writer of crime fiction
 * P.J. Kavanagh (1931–2015), poet
 * Sheila Kaye-Smith (1887–1956), novelist
 * Grace Kimmins (1870–1954)
 * Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936), poet and novelist
 * Damian Le Bas (born 1985), writer
 * Theodora Elizabeth Lynch (1812–1885), poet and novelist
 * Peter Marshall (born 1946), biographer, travel writer and poet
 * Thomas May (1594/5-1650), poet and dramatist
 * Thomas Medwin (1788–1869), writer and poet
 * A. A. Milne (1882–1956), author, best known for his Winnie-the-Pooh books
 * Kate Mosse (born 1961), novelist
 * Grace Nichols (born 1950), Guyanese-born poet
 * William Nicholson (born 1948), screenwriter, novelist and playwright
 * Thomas Otway (1652–1685), dramatist
 * Hilary Douglas Clark Pepler (1878–1951), writer and poet
 * Roland Penrose (1900–1984), poet and artist
 * Valentine Penrose (1898–1978), French-born surrealist poet and author
 * Alex Preston (born 1979), author and journalist
 * Bessie Rayner Parkes (1829–1925), writer
 * Richard Realf (1832–1878), poet
 * Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset (1536–1608), poet and dramatist
 * Malcolm Saville (1901–1982), author
 * Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), Romantic poet
 * Chris Simms (born 1969), author of crime novels
 * George Smith (1713/14-1776), poet
 * Noel Streatfeild (1895–1986), author
 * Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892), poet
 * Isabella Tree (born 1964), writer and conservationist
 * Robert Tressell (1870–1911), novelist, The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists
 * Frank Tuohy (1925–1999), writer
 * Charles Webb (1939–2020), American novelist, The Graduate
 * H. G. Wells (1866–1946), writer
 * Barbara Willard (1909–1994), novelist
 * Angus Wilson (1913–1991), novelist and short-story writer
 * Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), writer

Explorers



 * Thomas Bannister (1799–1874), explorer of Western Australia
 * Victor L. A. Campbell (1875–1956), Antarctic explorer
 * Isabella Charlet-Straton (1838–1918), mountaineer, made first winter ascent of Mont Blanc
 * Rosemary Coogan (born 1991), Northern Ireland-born astronaut
 * Charles Cooke Hunt (1833–1868), explorer of interior of Western Australia
 * Nicholas Crane (born 1954), explorer and television presenter
 * Ernest Joyce (1875–1940), Antarctic explorer
 * Cecil Pashley (1891–1961), aviation pioneer
 * Tim Peake (born 1972), astronaut
 * Piers Sellers (1955–2016), astronaut

Military personnel

 * Sidney Godley (1889–1957), recipient of Victoria Cross
 * G. F. Gorringe (1868–1945), field commander
 * Roger P. Hill (1910–2001), Royal Navy commander
 * Ernest Joyce (1875–1940), Royal Navy seaman and explorer
 * Frederick Tees (1922–1982), RAF gunner (Operation Chastise)
 * Arthur David Torlesse (1902–1995), Royal Navy officer
 * Cicely Ethel Wilkinson (1882/83—1967), possibly the only woman to qualify as a pilot in Britain during the First World War

Monarchs and nobility

 * Adeliza of Louvain (c.1103—1151), Queen of England 1121–1135
 * Aelle of Sussex (fl.c.477—c.514), King of Sussex
 * Aethelwalh of Sussex (fl.c.660—c.685), King of Sussex
 * Queen Camilla (born 1947), wife of Charles III
 * Eppillus (fl. c. 20BC—AD7), Iron Age king with capital at Chichester
 * Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus (fl. 1st century AD), king of Regni
 * George IV (1762–1830), King of the United Kingdom and King of Hanover 1820–1830
 * Godwin, Earl of Wessex (died 1053), Earl of Wessex and father of Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England
 * Verica (fl. c. AD15—AD42), king of southern Atrebates with capital at Chichester

Philanthropists

 * Octav Botnar (1913–1998)
 * Richard Churcher (1659–1723)
 * Mad Jack Fuller (1757–1834)
 * Ann Thwaytes (1789–1866)
 * Jane Woodward (1823/4—1894)

Politicians and activists



 * Edith Ayrton (1879–1945), suffragist
 * Barbara Bodichon (1827–1891), feminist and women's rights activist
 * Clementina Black (1853–1922), feminist and trade unionist
 * James Callaghan (1912–2005), former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1976–1979
 * Anna Campbell (1991–2018), feminist, anarchist and prison abolition activist who fought with the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) in the Rojava Conflict of the Syrian Civil War
 * Edward Carpenter (1844–1929), early activist for gay rights and animal rights
 * William Cawley (1602–1667), regicide and MP
 * Jane Cobden (1851–1947), suffragist
 * Richard Cobden (1804–1865), MP and co-founder of Anti-Corn Law League
 * Maureen Colquhoun (1928–2021), UK's first openly lesbian MP
 * Margery Corbett Ashby (1882–1981), suffragist, feminist and internationalist
 * Cicely Corbett Fisher (1885–1959), suffragist and workers' rights activist
 * Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon (1866–1941), politician, former Governor General of Canada and former Viceroy and Governor-General of India
 * Harry Hay (1912–2002), Sussex-born American gay rights activist
 * James Henty (1800–1882), Sussex-born Australian politician
 * Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham, lawyer, politician and Lord Chancellor
 * Sabrina Jean (born 1973), Chagossian activist
 * Sophia Jex-Blake (1840–1912), suffragist
 * Jenny Jones, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (born 1949), first Green Party member of the House of Lords
 * Helen Joseph (1905–1992), anti-apartheid activist
 * Jomo Kenyatta (c.1897–1978), first prime minister and president of Kenya
 * Imran Khan (born 1952), current Prime Minister of Pakistan
 * Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond (1735–1806), known as the 'radical duke', probable owner of 'Sussex declaration' of US independence
 * Caroline Lucas (born 1960), first and only Green Party MP
 * Harold Macmillan (1894–1986), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1957–1963
 * Louisa Martindale (1839–1914), suffragist and workers' rights activist
 * Theresa May (born 1956), former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 2016–2019
 * John Merfold (fl 1450–51), leader of 1450 uprising Henry VI
 * William Merfold (fl 1450–51), leader of 1450 uprising against Henry VI
 * Ralph Neville (died 1244), Lord Chancellor of England
 * Thomas Paine (1737–1809), political activist
 * Henry Pelham (1694–1754), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1743–1754
 * Tony Penikett (born 1945), Premier of Yukon 1985–1992
 * William Penn (1644–1718), founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, lived at Warminghurst
 * Bessie Rayner Parkes (1829–1925), feminist
 * Anita Roddick (1942–2007), human rights activist and environmental campaigner
 * Anthony Stapley (1590–1655), regicide and MP
 * William Bridgland Steer (1867–1939), trade unionist and politician
 * Allen Vincatassin, first and current President of the Diego Garcia and Chagos Islands Council

Archbishops

 * Thomas Arundel (1353–1414), Archbishop of Canterbury, 1397–1399 and Archbishop of York
 * Thomas Bradwardine (1300–1349), Archbishop of Canterbury, 1349
 * Accepted Frewen (1588–1664), Archbishop of York
 * William Juxon (1582–1663), Archbishop of Canterbury 1660–1663
 * Henry Edward Manning (1808–1892), Archbishop of Westminster (1865–1892) and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
 * Cormac Murphy-O'Connor (1932–2017), Archbishop of Westminster and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church (2000–2009)
 * John Peckham (c.1230–1292), Archbishop of Canterbury 1279–1292

Martyrs

 * George Gervase (1571–1608), martyred Catholic priest
 * James Hannington (1847–1885), Anglican missionary and martyr
 * Thomas Pilchard (11557-1587), Catholic priest and martyr
 * Edward Shelley (c.1530–1588), Catholic martyr
 * Richard Shelley (died 1586), Catholic recusant
 * Richard Woodman (c.1524–1557), Protestant martyr

Saints

 * Cuthmann of Steyning (c.681–8th century), saint
 * Leofwynn of Bishopstone (fl 7th century), saint
 * Richard of Chichester (1197–1253), patron saint of Sussex
 * Philip Howard, 13th Earl of Arundel (1557–1595), Catholic saint

Other religious leaders

 * Matthew Caffyn (1628–1714), General Baptist preacher
 * Richard Challoner (1691–1781), Roman Catholic bishop and leading figure of English Catholicism
 * Cornelia Connelly (1809–1879), US-born founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus and Mayfield School, Mayfield
 * Richard Enraght (1837–1898), Irish-born Anglo-Catholic priest
 * John Sirgood (1822–1885), Gloucestershire-born fundamentalist lay preacher, founder of Society of Dependants
 * Thomas Stapleton (1535–1598), Catholic theologian
 * Fiona Windsor (born 1956), archdeacon of Horsham, and the first female archdeacon in Sussex

Anthropologists

 * E.E. Evans-Pritchard (1902–1973), anthropologist
 * David Pilbeam (born 1940), palaeoanthropologist

Archaeologists

 * John Pull (1899–1960)
 * Mark Roberts (archaeologist) (born 1961)

Astronomers

 * Patrick Moore (1923–2012), astronomer and broadcaster
 * Ian Morison (born 1943), astronomer and astrophysicist
 * Martin Ryle (1918–1984), radio astronomer, winner of Nobel Prize

Biologists



 * William Borrer (1781–1862), botanist
 * Edward Boyse (1923–2007), physician and biologist
 * Barry Fell (1917–1994), zoologist
 * Isabella Forshall (1900–1989), paediatric surgeon
 * John Braxton Hicks (1823–1897), doctor and obstrecian
 * Frederick Gowland Hopkins (1861–1947), biochemist and Nobel Prize winner
 * Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895), biologist and anthropologist
 * Sophia Jex-Blake (1840–1912), physician, pioneer female doctor
 * Thomas H. Jukes (1906–1999), biologist known for his work in nutrition and molecular evolution
 * Martin Holdgate (born 1931), biologist and environmental scientist
 * Marianne North (1830–1890), biologist
 * Richard Russell (1687–1759), physician
 * Edith Rebecca Saunders (1865–1945), geneticist and plant anatomist
 * F. M. L. Sheffield (1904–1973), botanist
 * David Sims (born 1969), marine biologist
 * Octavia Wilberforce (1888–1963), physician

Chemists

 * Tom Blundell (born 1942), biochemist
 * Martin Fleischmann (1927–2012), electrochemist
 * Frederick Gowland Hopkins (1861–1947), biochemist and Nobel Prize winner
 * Frederick Soddy (1877–1956), radiochemist

Computer scientists

 * Stanley Gill (1926–1975), co-inventor of first computer subroutine
 * Alan Turing (1912–1954)

Economists

 * Richard Blundell (born 1952), economist and econometrician
 * Richard Jolly (born 1934), development economist
 * John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946), founder of Keynesian economics
 * George Paish (1867–1957), economist

Geologists and palaeontologists

 * Gideon Mantell (1790–1852), geologist, palaeontologist and obstetrician (discoverer of Iguanadon)

Historians

 * Kevin Brownlow (born 1938), film historian
 * Thomas Walker Horsfield (1792–1837), Yorkshire-born historian best known for his works on Sussex history
 * Mark Antony Lower (1813–1876), known for his works on Sussex history, anti-Catholic propagandist and founder member of the Sussex Archaeological Society
 * Elizabeth Norton (born 1986)
 * Philip Payton (born 1953)
 * Louis Francis Salzman (1878–1971), economic historian

Mathematicians

 * Frank Anscombe (1918–2001), statistician
 * Ruth Lawrence (born 1971)
 * David Mumford (born 1937)
 * John Pell (1611–1685)
 * Harold Stanley Ruse (1905–1974)

Philosophers

 * Thomas Bradwardine (1300–1349)
 * Peter Kropotkin (1842–1921), anarcho-communist philosopher lived in Brighton
 * Gilbert Ryle (1900–1976)

Physicists

 * Emma Bunce (born 1975), space physicist
 * Anthony French (1920–2017), physicist
 * Alan Ernest Owen (1928–1999), physicist specialising in glass technology
 * William Francis Gray Swann (1884–1962), physicist noted for his research into cosmic rays

Psychologists

 * William Brown (1881–1952)
 * Edward B. Titchener (1867–1927)

Boxers

 * Chris Eubank Jr. (born 1989)
 * Alan Minter (1951–2020)
 * Tom Sayers (1826–1865)
 * Scott Welch (born 1968), known as 'the Brighton Rock'

Cricketers



 * Chris Adams (born 1970), captain of the Sussex men's team during their 'golden era' in the early 2000s
 * Georgia Adams (born 1993)
 * Caroline Atkins (born 1981)
 * Jem Broadbridge (1795–1843)
 * Henry Charlwood (1846–1888)
 * Holly Colvin (born 1989)
 * Clare Connor (born 1976)
 * George Cox Sr (1873–1949)
 * Mason Crane (born 1997)
 * Jemmy Dean (1816–1881)
 * Duleepsinhji (1905–1959)
 * Ed Giddins (born 1971)
 * William Henty (1808–1881), bowled the first ever ball in a first class cricket match in Australia
 * Jack Hobbs (1882–1963)
 * Chris Jordan (born 1988)
 * Imran Khan (born 1952)
 * James Kirtley (born 1975)
 * James Langridge (1906–1966)
 * James Lillywhite (1842–1929)
 * John Lillywhite (1826–1874)
 * William Lillywhite (1792–1854)
 * Kate Oakenfold (born 1984)
 * Alan Oakman (1930–2018)
 * Jim Parks (born 1903) (1903–1980)
 * Jim Parks (born 1931) (born 1931)
 * Barbara Pont (born 1933)
 * Matt Prior (born 1982), South African-born cricketer for Sussex and England
 * Ranjitsinhji (1872–1933)
 * Albert Relf (1874–1937)
 * Charlie Russell (born 1988)
 * James Southerton (1827–1880)
 * Maurice Tate (1895–1956)
 * Joe Vine (1875–1946)
 * Alexia Walker (born 1982)
 * Alan Wells (born 1961)
 * Colin Wells (born 1960)
 * John Wisden (1826–1884)
 * Elaine Wulcko (born 1959)

Footballers

 * Gareth Barry (born 1981)
 * Tony Bloom (born 1970), chairman and owner of Brighton & Hove Albion and Royale Union Saint-Gilloise
 * Lewis Dunk (born 1991)
 * Jarvis Kenrick (1852–1949)
 * Bobby Tambling (born 1941)
 * Charles Wollaston (1849–1926)

Golfers

 * Max Faulkner (1916–2005)
 * Abe Mitchell (1887–1947)
 * Mark Seymour (1897–1952)

Racing drivers



 * Derek Bell (born 1941)
 * Martin Dugard (born 1969)
 * Selwyn Edge (1868–1940)
 * David Nye (born 1958)
 * Jolyon Palmer (born 1991)
 * Will Palmer (born 1997)
 * David Purley (1945–1985)
 * Richard Seaman (1913–1939)
 * Jimmy Broadbent (born 1991)

Other sportspeople



 * Chemmy Alcott (born 1982), ski racer
 * Bob Champion (born 1948), jump jockey and Grand National winner
 * Mark Davis (born 1972), snooker player
 * Mercedes Gleitze (1900–1981), swimmer (first person to swim the Strait of Gibraltar, first British woman to swim the English Channel)
 * Leslie Godfree (1885–1971), tennis player and winner of men's doubles at Wimbledon
 * Will Green (born 1973), rugby union player
 * Guy Harwood (born 1939), racehorse trainer
 * David Howell (born 1990), youngest UK chess grandmaster
 * Johanna Konta (born 1991), tennis player
 * Richard Leman (born 1959), field hockey player
 * Michael Olowokandi (born 1975), former NBA player
 * Liam Treadwell (1986–2000), jockey

Other notables

 * Beachy Head Lady (fl. early to mid 3rd century AD), thought to be the first known person of sub-Saharan origin in Britain.
 * Charles Burrell (born 1962), conservationist (Knepp Wildland Project)
 * John Cripps (1927–2022), orchardist, responsible for creation of the Pink Lady ('Cripps Pink') and Sundowner ('Cripps Red') apples
 * Martin Coles Harman (1885–1954), self-proclaimed king of Lundy
 * Cecil Hurst (1870–1963), international lawyer, President of the Permanent Court of International Justice in The Hague (1934–1936) and Chairman of the United Nations War Crimes Commission (1943–1945)
 * Peter Love (died 1610), pirate
 * John Selden (1584–1654), jurist
 * Maria Ann Smith (1799–1870), orchardist, responsible for creation of the Granny Smith apple