Famous Oklahomans
Oklahoma has been home to a number of trailblazers. Our citizens have contributed to every field of work and left an indelible mark on our country and our world. Below is a partial list of individuals who were born, raised, or became famous in Oklahoma.
Native Americans
- Quanah Parker - Quahadi Comanche Indians' final chief
- Geronimo - Chiricahua Apache leader and famous fighter
- Te Ata Fisher - Chickasaw story teller and performer
- Wilma Mankiller - first primary female chief of the Cherokee Nation
- Maria Tallchief - world renowned ballerina
Arts/Communication
- William Boyd - actor
- Chuck Norris - actor and martial artist
- Gene Autry - actor and musician
- Dale Robertson - actor
- Joan Crawford - Academy Award winning actress
- Ron Howard - actor, producer, and director
- Brad Pitt - actor
- Dan Rowan - television host
- Tony Randall - actor
- Rue McClanahan - actress
- Will Rogers - cowboy, comedian, and actor
- Paul Harvey - radio commentator
- Walter Cronkite - television journalist
- Mary Hart - television personality
- James Garner - actor
- Ben Johnson - Academy Award winning actor
- Ralph Ellison - writer
- Bill Wallace - writer
- John Hope Franklin - historian and writer
Political/Military Figures
- Jeane Kirkpatrick - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
- Carl Albert - Served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
- Joseph J. Clark - U.S. Navy Admiral, first Native American to graduate from the Naval Academy
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan - U.S. Senator, Ambassador to India, Ambassador to the United Nations
- General Tommy Franks - Commander of U.S. Forces in Iraq/Afghanistan
- William Crowe - former Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff
- David Boren - former Governor of Oklahoma, President of OU
- Bo Gritz - Green Beret officer during Vietnam War
- J.C. Watts - former OU quarterback, former Oklahoma Congressman
Athletics
- Jim Thorpe - gold medal Olympian, pro football and MLB player, Sac & Fox Indian
- Johnny Bench - Cincinnati Reds player, member Baseball Hall of Fame
- Henry Iba - basketball coach, Basketball Hall of Fame
- Bart Conner - gold medal Olympian in gymnastics
- Lee Roy Selman - OU player, Football Hall of Fame inductee
- Warren Spahn - baseball player, Baseball Hall of Fame
- Joe Carter - MLB player
- Joe Don Looney - Cameron and OU player, NFL
- Darrell Porter - MLB player
- Gil Morgan - pro golfer
- Sam Bradford - quarterback for OU Sooners
- Jason White - former quarterback for OU Sooners
- Steve Largent - Seattle Seahawks, Pro Football Hall of Fame, and politician
- Barry Sanders - OSU Cowboys Heisman Trophy winner, Football Hall of Fame
- Shannon Miller - gold medal Olympian in gymnastics
- Steve Owens - OU Sooners football player and 1969 Heisman Trophy winner
- Bob Kalsu - OU Sooners player, Buffalo Bills
- Billy Sims - running back, Detroit Lions, Heisman Trophy winner
- Spencer Tillman - running back OU, sportscaster
- Brian Bosworth - OU Sooners player, NFL
- Bobby Murcer - pro basketball player, sportscaster
- Darrell Royal - coach at University of Texas
- Troy Aikman - quarterback, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
- Barry Switzer - football coach, OU Sooners and Dallas Cowboys
- Bud Wilkinson - OU Sooners football coach, College Football Hall of Fame
- Mickey Mantle - New York Yankees, Baseball Hall of Fame
Music
- Garth Brooks - country music artist
- Carrie Underwood - country singer and American Idol winner
- Reba McEntire - country singer
- The Flaming Lips - rock band
- The All-American Rejects - rock band
- Hoyt Axton - country singer
- Bob Wills - country singer
- B.J. Thomas - singer
- Woody Guthrie - folk singer
- Vince Gill - country singer
- Lee Hazlewood - singer
- Jimmy Webb - music composer
- Hanson - pop-singer group
- Toby Keith - country musician
- Sandi Patty - Christian music artist
- Patti Page - singer
Aviation/Aeronautics
- Clarence L. Tinker - commander of the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Pacific during World War II
- Wiley Post - first pilot to take a solo flight around the world
- John Herrington - astronaut, Chickasaw Indian
- Owen Garriott - astronaut
- Shannon Lucid - astronaut
- William Pogue - astronaut
- Thomas Stafford - astronaut
Miss America
- Lauren Nelson - 2007 Miss America
- Jennifer Berry - 2006 Miss America
- Shawntel Smith - 1996 Miss America
- Susan Powell - 1981 Miss America
- Jane Anne Jayroe - 1967 Miss America
- Norma Smallwood - 1926 Miss America and the first Miss America of Native American Heritage