List of people from Urbana, Illinois

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Urbana, Illinois. For a similar list, see the category page People from Urbana, Illinois.

Academics and writing

 * Philip W. Anderson, earned the Nobel Prize in Physics (1977)
 * John Bardeen, inventor of the transistor; awarded Nobel Prize in Physics (1956 & 1972); winner of IEEE Medal of Honor (1971)
 * Iris Chang, author (The Rape of Nanking)
 * Ward Churchill, author and political activist
 * David Forsyth, computer scientist; co-author of Computer Vision: A Modern Approach
 * Eugie Foster, science-fiction writer
 * Theodore Gray, co-founder of Wolfram Research and winner of the Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2002)
 * José Graziano, Brazilian agronomist; secretary general of the FAO
 * Robert W. Holley, earned the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1968); graduate of Urbana High School (1939)
 * Braj Kachru, linguist; created the "circle model" of world English varieties
 * Edwin G. Krebs, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1994); graduate of Urbana High School (1937)
 * Paul Christian Lauterbur, earned the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2003)
 * Sir Anthony James Leggett, earned the Nobel Prize in Physics (2003)
 * Revilo P. Oliver, professor, writer, University of Illinois (1977)
 * Hamilton O. Smith, earned the Nobel Prize in Medicine (1978)
 * Thelma Strabel, novelist, grew up in Urbana
 * James Tobin, earned the Nobel Prize in Economics (1981)
 * David Foster Wallace, author (Infinite Jest); graduate of Urbana High School
 * Brian Wansink, author (Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think); professor at Cornell University
 * Gregorio Weber, Argentinian spectroscopist and protein chemist, worked in Urbana from 1962
 * Carl Woese, microbiologist; identified Archaea as a domain of life

Fine arts

 * Christopher Brown, painter, printmaker, and professor.

Media and music

 * Ken Baumann, actor (The Secret Life of the American Teenager)
 * Jay Bennett, founding member of Wilco; solo musician; died in May 2009
 * Emily Blue, singer-songwriter, Chicago Reader Award winner
 * Deborah Blum, journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner, author of The Poisoner's Handbook
 * Roger Ebert, movie critic; Pulitzer Prize winner
 * Jennie Garth, actress (What I Like About You, Beverly Hills, 90210 and 90210)
 * Erika Harold, 2002 Miss Illinois and 2003 Miss America; graduate of Urbana High School
 * Michael S. Hart, author, inventor of the electronic book; founder of Project Gutenberg, first project to make ebooks freely available via the Internet
 * William Slavens McNutt, screenwriter (Huckleberry Finn)
 * Nina Paley, cartoonist, animator, and free culture activist
 * Mark Roberts, actor, comedian, writer, creator of the TV series Mike and Molly
 * Chic Sale, author, actor, and vaudevillian
 * Virginia Sale, actress
 * Gil Shaham, violinist
 * David Ogden Stiers, actor (Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on the TV series M*A*S*H)
 * Sasha Velour, drag queen, artist, fashion forward winner of Season 9 of RuPaul's Drag Race
 * American Football (band), midwestern emo and math rock band
 * Jeff Austin, Founding member and frontman of the bluegrass band Yonder Mountain String Band until his departure in 2014.

Fictional

 * HAL 9000, character in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey; upon "dying" claims he was made operational in Urbana

Business

 * Brady Dougan, CEO of Credit Suisse Group
 * Tony Hsieh, former CEO of Zappos
 * Shahid Khan, CEO of Flex-N-Gate; owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars

Military

 * Larry Allen Abshier, U.S. soldier who defected to North Korea after the Korean War in 1962
 * Charles Carpenter (Lt. Col.), U.S. Army officer and army observation pilot (Second World War); taught history at Urbana High School
 * Reginald C. Harmon, first US Air Force Judge Advocate General; Mayor of Urbana

Politics and law

 * Thomas B. Berns, Illinois state legislator, civil engineer, and surveyor
 * Bird Sim Coler, Comptroller of Greater New York
 * George W. Dilling, mayor of Seattle from 1911 to 1912
 * Stanley B. Weaver, Illinois state legislator, funeral director, and Mayor of Urbana
 * William B. Webber, Illinois state legislator, lawyer, and mayor of Urbana
 * Dennis Yao, member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Sports

 * LaToya Bond, guard for the Indiana Fever (WNBA)
 * Scott Garrelts, pitcher for the San Francisco Giants
 * Jonathan Kuck, Olympic speed skater; silver medalist
 * Ella Masar, forward for the Chicago Red Stars
 * Spencer Patton, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs