List of people from Tulsa, Oklahoma

This is a list of well-known persons who were either born in, or lived in, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Arts

 * Joe Brainard, (1942 - 1994) painter
 * Charles Bell (1935–1995), artist
 * Ted Berrigan, (1934 - 1983) poet
 * Shan Goshorn, (1957-2018), artist
 * James Pepper Henry, artist and Gilcrease Museum director (2015-2017)
 * Roman Jasinski, (1907- 1991) ballet dancer and teacher
 * Ron Padgett, (b. 1942) poet

Business

 * Frank Abagnale, fraud expert, former con man, subject of Catch Me If You Can
 * Cyrus Avery (1870–1963), businessman and "father of Route 66"
 * Bill Bartmann, businessman, named as "One of the Top 100 Entrepreneurs of the Last 100 Years"
 * W. Tate Brady (1870–1925), businessman, owner of the Brady Hotel
 * James A. Chapman (1881–1966), oilman and philanthropist
 * Robert Galbreath Jr. (1863–1955), oilman who moved to Tulsa after he drilled the first oil well in Glenn Pool Field
 * J. Paul Getty (1892–1976), oilman founder of Getty Oil Company, who made his first million in Tulsa between 1914 and 1916
 * Thomas Gilcrease (1890–1962), oilman, founder of Gilcrease Museum
 * J. M. Hall (1851–1935), pioneer merchant in Tulsa, organized First Presbyterian Church
 * George Kaiser, chairman of BOK Financial Corporation
 * Henry Kravis, co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
 * James H. McBirney (1870–1944), co-founder and president National Bank of Commerce in Tulsa
 * Sam P. McBirney (1877–1936), football coach and co-founder National Bank of Commerce in Tulsa
 * Robert M. McFarlin (1866–1942), oilman and philanthropist
 * Waite Phillips (1883–1964), oilman and philanthropist
 * Harry Ford Sinclair (1876–1956), founder of Sinclair Oil, co-founder of Exchange National Bank (later part of National Bank of Tulsa and Bank of Oklahoma; convicted of jury tampering during Teapot Dome scandal trial
 * Carolyn Mary Skelly (1905–1996), eccentric daughter of William Grove Skelly; oil heiress; dubbed the most robbed woman in the U.S. by the Boston Globe; socialite; hosted fundraisers for President George H.W. Bush, and Texas Governor John Connally
 * William G. Skelly (1877–1957), founder of Skelly Oil Company, Spartan Aircraft Company and Spartan School of Aeronautics, philanthropist
 * William K. Warren Sr. (1897–1990), founder of Warren Petroleum Corporation; philanthropist
 * John Smith Zink (1928–2005), engineer, owner of John Zink Industries, automobile racer

Music

 * Admiral Twin (Mark Carr, Jarrod Gollihare, John Russell, Brad Becker), rock band
 * The Agony Scene, metalcore band
 * Elvin Bishop, blues and rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist and bandleader
 * Garth Brooks, country music singer
 * Broncho, punk rock band with Ryan Lindsey, Johnathon Ford of Roadside Monument, and Nathan Price
 * Anita Bryant, singer
 * J. J. Cale, songwriter and musician, an originator of The Tulsa Sound
 * Capital Lights, pop rock band
 * Rodney Carrington country music singer and comedian
 * Jeff Carson, country musician
 * Chuck Cissel, singer and dancer
 * Annie Clark (St. Vincent)
 * Roy Clark, country musician
 * David Cook, 2008 American Idol winner
 * Denny Cordell, record producer, signed Tom Petty as part of Mudcrutch
 * Ester Dean, singer-songwriter
 * Joe Diffie, country musician
 * Phil Driscoll, trumpet player and singer, Christian and jazz musician
 * Ronnie Dunn (Brooks and Dunn)
 * Annie Ellicott, jazz, swing singer
 * Scott Ellison, electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter
 * Ester Drang, indie band
 * Rocky Frisco, pianist for J.J. Cale; 2008 inductee into Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame
 * The Gap Band, Charlie, Ronnie and Robert Wilson, R&B, funk, and soul band
 * David Gates, pop rock musician (Bread)
 * Hanson, Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson, Pop rock band
 * Gus Hardin, female country musician
 * Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, jazz band
 * William Johns, opera singer
 * Jim Keltner, drummer for the Traveling Wilburys
 * Tosca Kramer (1903–1976), violinist, violist, and music educator
 * Fredell Lack (1922–2017), violinist
 * Hardie Avenue, Christian alternative rock band
 * Lega-C, rapper
 * Leon McAuliffe, steel guitarist Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
 * Little Joe McLerran, singer, guitarist, recording artist and winner of 2009 International Blues Challenge
 * John Moreland, singer-songwriter
 * Jamie Oldaker, drummer, Eric Clapton, Bob Seger
 * Patti Page, singer
 * PDA, rapper
 * Pillar, band
 * Johnny Polygon, rapper
 * Carl Radle, musician, bassist for Derek and the Dominos
 * Ben Rector, singer-songwriter
 * Steve Ripley, engineer, producer, singer-songwriter and guitarist for The Tractors and Bob Dylan
 * Leon Russell, singer-songwriter, pianist, guitarist, an originator of The Tulsa Sound and founder of The Church Studio
 * SafetySuit, pop rock band
 * Jacob Sartorius, born in Tulsa but adopted and moved to upstate Virginia shortly after his birth
 * Natalie Sims, musician, songwriter and music executive
 * Andy Skib, guitarist, keyboardist in David Cook's band
 * Clyde Stacy, rockabilly musician
 * Ryan Tedder, producer, songwriter, lead singer of OneRepublic
 * David Teegarden, rock drummer with Teegarden & Van Winkle and with Bob Seger
 * Flash Terry, blues musician
 * Neal Tiemann, lead guitarist in David Cook's band
 * Wayman Tisdale (1964–2009), jazz musician and former professional basketball player
 * Dwight Twilley, poper pop, rock musician
 * Jared Tyler, singer-songwriter and producer
 * Unwed Sailor, instrumental indie rock
 * David T. Walker, session guitarist, famous for his work with Jackson 5, Bobby Womack, Levert and Stevie Wonder among others
 * Johnnie Lee Wills, western music band leader, brother of Bob Wills
 * Charlie Wilson, R&B singer and lead singer of The Gap Band
 * Bob Wootton, lead guitarist for the Tennessee Three
 * Tuck Andress, guitarist
 * Kristin Chenoweth, actress, singer and author
 * Dara Tucker, singer-songwriter and documentary filmmaker
 * AleXa, K-pop Idol

Politics

 * Tom Adelson, member of the Oklahoma State Senate
 * Alicia Andrews, chair of the Oklahoma Democratic Party
 * Bob Ballinger, member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, reared in Tulsa
 * Dewey F. Bartlett, former Governor of the state of Oklahoma and U.S. Senator
 * Dewey F. Bartlett Jr., former Mayor of Tulsa (2009–2016)
 * G. T. Bynum, Mayor of Tulsa (2016–present)
 * Jim R. Caldwell, retired Church of Christ minister and former member of the Arkansas State Senate
 * David Duke, former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
 * David Hall, former Governor of the state of Oklahoma
 * James Inhofe, U.S. Senator
 * James R. Jones, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, chairman of the American Stock Exchange
 * Frank Keating, former Governor of the state of Oklahoma
 * John Albert Knebel, Secretary of Agriculture in the Carter Administration
 * Sheila Kuehl, former actress, now California State Senator
 * Joseph A. LaFortune, oilman and mayor
 * Steve Largent, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives
 * Willian F. Martin, United States Deputy Secretary of Energy
 * Jim McConn, former Mayor of Houston, Texas, 1979–1981
 * Daniel Patrick Moynihan, former Democratic U.S. Senator representing New York was born in Tulsa.
 * George E. Nowotny, retired Tulsa businessman and former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Fort Smith
 * John Sullivan, member of the U.S. House of Representatives
 * Kathy Taylor, Mayor of Tulsa (2006–2009)
 * John Volz, attorney for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, died in Tulsa in 2011
 * R. James Woolsey Jr., former director, Central Intelligence Agency
 * Terry Young, former Mayor of the City of Tulsa

Print

 * Mildred Grosberg Bellin, Jewish cookbook author
 * William Bernhardt, mystery/suspense fiction author
 * Daniel J. Boorstin (1914-2004), historian and writer; former Librarian of Congress
 * Cleora Butler (1901–1985), chef, caterer and cookbook writer
 * Dorothy Carnegie (1912–1998), author
 * P.C. Cast, author
 * John Hope Franklin, African American historian; namesake of John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park in Tulsa
 * Martin Gardner, author of works on philosophy, mathematics and literature
 * Sterling Gates, comic book writer (Supergirl, Action Comics)
 * Joy Harjo, poet, musician, and author. First Native American Poet Laureate, and first Poet Laureate from Oklahoma.
 * S.E. Hinton, author (The Outsiders, That Was Then, This Is Now, Tex)
 * Mercedes Lackey, science-fiction author
 * R.A. Lafferty, science-fiction author
 * Billie Letts, author, Where the Heart Is
 * Tracy Letts, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and actor (August: Osage County)
 * Joe McGuff, journalist and newspaper editor
 * Russell Myers, cartoonist, Broom-Hilda comic strip
 * Denver Nicks, journalist
 * Dan Piraro, cartoonist of the Bizarro comic strip
 * Nancy Speir, children's book illustrator
 * Grace Steele Woodward, writer and historian
 * William P. Steven, journalist and newspaper editor
 * Clifton Taulbert, author, Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored
 * Will Thomas, mystery fiction author
 * Mildred Ladner Thompson, reporter for The Wall Street Journal and Tulsa World
 * Michael Wallis, author, Route 66, Pretty Boy Floyd, Mankiller, Billy the Kid Voice Of Sheriff in The Cars Series
 * K. D. Wentworth, science-fiction author
 * Cornel West, theologian, author

Radio

 * Paul Harvey (1918–2009), radio personality
 * Roy D. Mercer, fictional radio character

Screen and stage

 * Pamela Bach, actress; ex-wife of David Hasselhoff
 * Marshall Bell, actor
 * William Boyd, aka Hopalong Cassidy, western actor (born in Hendrysburg, Belmont County, Ohio)
 * Max Burnett, TV writer, screenwriter and director
 * Gary Busey, actor
 * Cindy Chupack, screenwriter for Sex and the City
 * Larry Clark, film director and photographer
 * Iron Eyes Cody, actor
 * Jay Dee, comedian
 * Larry Drake, actor
 * Blake Edwards, film director
 * Sue England, actress
 * Bill Hader, actor, writer and comedian
 * Sterlin Harjo, filmmaker
 * Josh Henderson, actor
 * John Ingle, actor
 * Eva Jinek, news anchor
 * Jennifer Jones (1919–2009), actress
 * Heather Langenkamp, actress
 * Tommy Morrison, boxer and actor
 * Jerry Nelson, actor, puppeteer
 * Tim Blake Nelson, actor and director
 * Mary Kay Place, actress
 * Tony Randall, actor
 * Julián Rebolledo, actor and voice talent
 * Jack Roberts, actor
 * Gailard Sartain, actor
 * Mary Stuart, actress
 * Wes Studi, actor
 * Paula Trickey, actress
 * Jeanne Tripplehorn, actress
 * Stacy Valentine, porn star
 * Amber Valletta, actress and supermodel
 * Susan Watson, Broadway actress
 * Alfre Woodard, actress
 * Judy Woodruff, television journalist
 * Don Woods, meteorologist

Sports

 * Sam P. McBirney (1877–1936), coach of Tulsa Golden Hurricane football (1914–1916)
 * Janice O'Hara (1918–2001), All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
 * Marques Haynes (1926–2015), Harlem Globetrotters player, Basketball Hall of Famer
 * John Smith Zink (1928–2005), automobile racing
 * Ray Murphy, Jr. (1946–2010), collegiate wrestler and 1989 Handicapped Person of the Year
 * Wayman Tisdale (1964–2009), professional basketball player and musician
 * Jeff Krosnoff (1964–1996), Championship Auto Racing Teams driver
 * Tommy Morrison (1969-2013), boxer, heavyweight contender and actor, Rocky V
 * Tommy Hanson (1986-2015), baseball pitcher
 * Nolan Richardson (born 1941), basketball coach for University of Tulsa and University of Arkansas, coach and general manager WNBA's Tulsa Shock
 * Henry Schichtle (born 1941), football player
 * Bobby Cox (born 1941), player, manager and Baseball Hall of Famer
 * Jim King (born 1941), NBA player and Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball coach
 * Reece Morrison (born 1945), NFL player
 * Tubby Smith (born 1951), basketball coach
 * Reuben Gant (born 1952), football player for Buffalo Bills
 * Steve Largent (born 1954), Seattle Seahawks wide receiver, Pro Football Hall of Famer, also politician
 * Bill Blankenship (born 1956), football coach, head coach at University of Tulsa
 * Dale Cook (born 1956), kickboxer and actor
 * James "Quick" Tillis (born 1957), boxer, heavyweight contender and actor
 * Randy Heckenkemper (born 1958), golf course designer
 * Charlie O'Brien (born 1960), professional baseball catcher
 * Kenny Monday (born 1960), Olympic gold medalist and World Champion in freestyle wrestling
 * Kevin Lilly(born 1963), NFL player
 * Anthony Bowie (born 1963), basketball player
 * Todd Graham (born 1964), head coach of Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team (2007–2010)
 * John Starks (born 1965), basketball player
 * Bill Goldberg (born 1966), professional NFL football player and undefeated wrestler
 * Darryl Wren (born 1967), gridiron football player
 * Richard Dumas (born 1969), professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns
 * Lee Mayberry (born 1970), professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks
 * Joe-Max Moore (born 1971), soccer forward, U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame 2013
 * Matt Gogel (born 1971), professional golfer
 * Kevin Lockett (born 1974), NFL player
 * Mikey Burnett (born 1974), mixed martial artist
 * R. W. McQuarters (born 1976), professional football cornerback
 * David Heath (born 1976), mixed martial artist
 * Justin Fuente (born 1976), head football coach, Virginia Tech
 * Brent Albright (born 1978), professional wrestler
 * Gerald Harris (born 1979), mixed martial artist
 * Koyie Hill (born 1979), Major League Baseball catcher
 * Iciss Tillis (born 1981), professional basketball player for WNBA's Washington Mystics
 * Ebi Ere (born 1981), basketball player for Melbourne Tigers
 * Matt Grice (born 1981), mixed martial arts fighter
 * Peter Ramondetta (born 1982), professional skateboarder
 * Matt Wiman (born 1983), mixed martial arts fighter
 * Kelenna Azubuike (born 1983), professional basketball player
 * Robert Meachem (born 1984), New Orleans Saints wide receiver
 * Randy Blake (born 1986), kickboxer
 * Zach Loyd (born 1987), soccer player
 * Felix Jones (born 1987), Dallas Cowboys Running back
 * Dallas Keuchel (born 1988), pitcher for the Chicago White Sox
 * Chris Harris Jr. (born 1989), NFL, Cornerback
 * Michael Bowie (born 1991), former Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle
 * Tyler Lockett (born 1992), NFL player
 * Dylan Bundy (born 1992), baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins
 * Zach Jackson (born 1994), Major League Baseball, pitcher for the Oakland Athletics
 * Thomas Hatch (born 1994), pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays
 * Jordan Brailford (born 1995), defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons
 * Josh Jacobs (born 1996), NFL, Running back
 * Justice Hill (born 1997), NFL, Running back
 * Kenny Bednarek (born 1998), American sprinter, olimpic and world championship silver medalist
 * Terrance Ferguson (born 1998), basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers
 * Patrick Callan (born 1999), competitive swimmer
 * Ricky Stromberg (born 2000), American football player
 * Daxton Hill (born 2000), NFL, Safety

Religion

 * Finis Alonzo Crutchfield, Jr., (1916–1986), United Methodist Church bishop, minister of Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, died in Tulsa
 * Paul Vernon Galloway (1904–1990), Minister of Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, later Methodist bishop
 * Charles William Kerr (1875–1951), first permanent Protestant minister in Tulsa
 * Carlton Pearson (born 1953), evangelist
 * Oral Roberts (1918–2009), pioneer televangelist, founder of Oral Roberts University, affiliated with United Methodist church
 * Mother Grace Tucker (1919-2012), Evangelical Christian pastor and philanthropist
 * John B. Wolf (1925–2017), minister of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church

Other

 * William French Anderson, geneticist, born in Tulsa in 1936
 * Bobby Baldwin, professional poker player (1978 world champion) and casino executive; born in Tulsa
 * Deborah Barnes, judge of the Oklahoma Appellate Court (1987-present); daughter in law of the late Justice Don Barnes
 * Don Barnes (judge), born in Tulsa, Justice of the Oklahoma State Supreme Court (1972-1985)
 * Jennifer Berry, Miss America 2006
 * Butler, Phillip N., the eighth longest-held US prisoner of war in North Vietnam, president of Veterans for Peace
 * Roscoe Cartwright, first black Field Artilleryman promoted to Brigadier General.
 * Ponyboy Curtis, main character in S. E. Hinton's novel The Outsiders
 * Mike Doonesbury, main character in Garry Trudeau's comic strip Doonesbury
 * Viola Fletcher, survivor of the Tulsa race massacre
 * John Duncan Forsyth (1887–1963), architect
 * W. R. Holway (1893–1981), engineer, designer of Spavinaw water project
 * Robert Lawton Jones (1925–2018), architect noted for his contributions to modern architecture
 * Olivia Jordan, Miss World America 2013, Miss Oklahoma USA 2015, Miss USA 2015
 * Joseph R. Koberling, Jr. (1900–1990), architect
 * Charles Page (1860–1926), philanthropist and founder of Sand Springs
 * Leon B. Senter (1889-1965), architect
 * William Angie Smith (1894–1974), Methodist Bishop of Oklahoma
 * Mother Grace Tucker, pastor and philanthropist
 * Gordon Todd Skinner, drug dealer and convicted kidnapper
 * Robert and Michael Bever, American brothers who were convicted of murdering their parents and 3 siblings.