Famous People Born in California a to z

Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped by Phillip Garrido in 1991, at age 11. She spent 18 years in captivity with Garrido—who raped Jaycee repeatedly and impregnated her twice—and his wife, Nancy Garrido.

Isadora Duncan was a trailblazing dancer and instructor whose emphasis on free forms of movement was a precursor to modern dance techniques.

Patricia Dunn served as a director and non-executive chairwoman of Hewlett-Packard before resigning in 2006, after receiving a criminal indictment stemming from a spying scandal.

Actor Robert Duvall has been in some of the most acclaimed films of all time, including To Kill A Mockingbird, Apocalypse Now, Lonesome Dove and The Godfather.

Clint Eastwood has made his name as a popular TV and film actor. He went on to become a famed director, working on several Academy Award-winning films.

Zac Efron is a teen heartthrob who appears in films and on TV, notably in the High School Musical films.

First a child star on Charles in Charge, Actress Nicole Eggert is best known for her role as lifeguard Summer Quinn on Baywatch.

Golden-Globe winning film and television actress Jenna Elfman played the free-spirited wife Dharma opposite Thomas Gibson on the popular sitcom Dharma and Greg.

Throughout his career, American actor Sam Elliott has played gun-slinging cowboys on TV and in films, including The Quick and the Dead and Tombstone.

Silent movie star Douglas Fairbanks Sr. (1883–39) teamed up with Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith and his wife Mary Pickford to launch United Artists in 1919.

Mia Farrow is an American actress who starred in Rosemary's Baby. She dated Woody Allen for more than a decade before the relationship ended in scandal.

Kevin Federline, best known for his marriage to superstar Britney Spears in 2004, has performed as a backup dancer for such pop stars as Michael Jackson.

Dianne Feinstein is a United States senator from California and a former mayor of San Francisco.

Allyson Felix is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, she won two gold medals, in the women's 200 and the 4-by-100-meter relay.

Fergie is the lead singer of The Black Eyed Peas. Her solo album The Dutchess was also a hit. Her eclectic work ranges from ballads to dance tracks.

America Ferrera is a Honduran-American actress best known for her title role in the hit television series Ugly Betty.

Sally Field is an American actress best known TV and film roles such as Gidget, The Flying Nun, Smokey and the Bandit, Sybil and Places in the Heart.

Actress Joely FIsher is best known for her work on the popular 1990s sitcom Ellen.

Pianist Leon Fleisher is best known for his compositions and performances of classical music.

Heidi Fleiss is an American criminal best known as the "Hollywood Madam" of a high class prostitution ring that catered to wealthy clients like Charlie Sheen.

Figure skater Peggy Fleming won the only U.S. gold medal in the 1968 Olympics. Later, she publicly battled breast cancer, beating it with radiation therapy.

Victor Fleming was a Hollywood director, notably helming Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.

Dian Fossey was a zoologist best known for researching the endangered gorillas of the Rwandan mountain forest from the 1960s to the '80s, and for her mysterious murder.

Jodie Foster is an award-winning American actress best known for her roles in the films Taxi Driver, The Accused and The Silence of the Lambs.

Film and television actor James Franco starred in the NBC series Freaks and Geeks and won a Golden Globe for his role in 2001's TNT cable biopic James Dean.

Bonnie Franklin is best known for playing Ann Romano, a loving but tough divorced mother on the hit television show One Day at a Time.

At the 2012 London Olympics, Missy Franklin won gold in both the 100-meter and 200-meter backstrokes, and two more gold medals with the 4-by-200-meter and 4-by-100-meter relay teams.

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was a member of Charles Manson's "Family," who was sentenced to life in prison for attempting to assassinate President Gerald Ford.

A four-time Pulitzer Prize winner in poetry, American Robert Frost depicted realistic New England life through language and situations familiar to the common man.

Ernest Gallo and brother Julio founded E. & J. Gallo Winery and built an empire by shaping American drinking tastes with inexpensive, non-vintage wines.

Actor Andrew Garfield has appeared in such films as The Social Network and The Amazing Spider-Man.

Phillip Garrido kidnapped 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard in 1991. Garrido held Dugard captive for 18 years, raping her repeatedly and impregnating her twice. He also committed several other crimes, including many rapes.

American actor and businessman John Gavin starred in such classic films as Psycho and Midnight Lace, and was also U.S ambassador to Mexico under Ronald Reagan.

Clifford Geertz was a leading proponent of a form of anthropology that stresses the importance of symbols and interpretation in human social life.

Melissa Gilbert came to fame playing Laura Ingalls on the NBC period drama series Little House on the Prairie (1974-82).

Sara Gilbert is an actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner-Healy from in the sitcom Roseanne and the creator of the series The Talk.

Danny Glover is an actor who came into his own as Mel Gibson's co-star in the Lethal Weapon films in the 1980s and 1990s.

American cartoonist Rube Goldberg was best known for his work satirizing America's obsession with technology. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1948 for his editorial cartoon "Peace Today."

Television producer Mark Goodson created many of the best-loved game shows of the 20th century, including What's My Line, The Price is Right and Family Feud.

Jeff Gordon is best known as an American stock car race driver with the most wins in NASCAR modern history (1972-present).

Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt starred in the TV comedy 3rd Rock From the Sun, and several acclaimed films, including (500) Days of Summer, Inception and The Dark Knight Rises.

For close to a decade, actress Karen Grassle was known to TV audiences as pioneer mother, Caroline Ingalls, on the hit show, Little House on the Prairie.

Linda Gray is an American actress and director best known for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing on the popular series Dallas.

Lita Grey Chaplin was an actress known mostly for her tumultuous marriage to screen legend Charlie Chaplin.

Merv Griffin was an American television host, singer and business magnate. He created the game shows Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune and Click.

Jake Gyllenhaal is an Oscar-nominated actor known for his work in films like Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain, Jarhead and Zodiac.

Gene Hackman is an Academy Award-winning actor known for his range and versatility in several flims.

Originally a troubled youngster who served time in San Quentin prison, Merle Haggard grew to become a country music legend.

American actor Jackie Earle Haley played a rebellious Little Leaguer in the The Bad New Bears movies of the 1970s, and has since starred in films like A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) and Lincoln (2012).

Laird Hamilton is an athlete, surfer, model and television host. He is one of today’s best known big wave surfers.

Actor Harry Hamlin starred in the television series L.A. Law as lawyer Michael Kuzak for five seasons and was voted People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in 1987.

MC Hammer brought rap music to the mainstream audience with his album Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em, the biggest-selling rap album of all time.

TV star Mark Harmon has been on long-running shows like St. Elsewhere, Chicago Hope and NCIS.

With a string of big-budget titles to his credit, actor Josh Hartnett has emerged from the crowd of 1990s teen heartthrobs to become a sought after leading man.

Teri Hatcher is an American Actress best known for her role on the hit television series Desperate Housewives.

Tony Hawk is a professional skateboarder, probably the most famous to ever be involved in the sport.

The granddaughter of 19th century media mogul William Randolph Hearst, Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974. She spent 19 months with her captors—joining them in criminal acts soon after her kidnapping—before she was captured by the FBI.

William Randolph Hearst is best known for publishing the largest chain of American newspapers in the late 19th century, and particularly for sensational "yellow journalism."

James Hetfield is the lead guitarist and vocalist for heavy metal band Metallica, known for hits like "Enter Sandman" and "The Memory Remains."

Writer and actor Jonah Hill starred in the teen hit Superbad. In 2011, he received an Oscar nomination for his performance in Moneyball.

Academy Award–winning actor Dustin Hoffman starred in films like The Graduate (1967), Tootsie (1982), and Meet the Fockers (2004).

Dexter Holland is the lead singer of the punk band The Offspring.

James Holmes was charged in a Colorado shooting that killed 12 and injured 58 on July 20, 2012.

Maxine Hong Kingston is a Chinese American author of memoirs and fiction. Her best known work is The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood among the Ghosts.

Actress Bryce Dallas Howard, daughter of Ron Howard, played Victoria in the third Twilight film and starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village.

C. Thomas Howell is best known for his acting roles in hit 1980s films E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (directed by Steven Spielberg), The Outsiders (1983) and The Hitcher (1986).

Kate Hudson is an actress and the daughter of actress-producer Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson, a television comedian. She played Penny in the film Almost Famous.

D.L. Hughley is an actor and comedian known for his sitcom, The Hughleys, and his appearance in The Original Kings of Comedy.

Helen Hunt in an Emmy and Academy Award-winning actress best known for her roles in the sitcom Mad About You and the film As Good As It Gets.

Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter was first elected to represent the San Diego area in 1980. He failed to gain his party's 2008 presidential nomination.

Robert Hunter is a writer and lyricist chiefly known for the songs he has written for the Grateful Dead.

Jon Huntsman, former governor of Utah and U.S. Ambassador to China became a candidate for the Republican Party nomination for President in 2012.

Anjelica Huston is an Academy Award-winning actress, a film director and the daughter of John Huston.

Actor Timothy Hutton won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in Ordinary People. His notable films include Beautiful Girls and Playing God.

Model Kathy Ireland graced the covers of many magazines, including Sports Illustrated, in the 1980s. Today she runs her own successful business Kathy Ireland Worldwide.

Paris Michael Katherine Jackson is the second child and only daughter of pop legend Michael Jackson.