Famous People Born in California a to z

Silent film director F.W. Murnau created the first major vampire film with 1924's Nosferatu, based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stroker.

Jack Rowland Murphy is a convicted jewel thief and murderer who served 19 years of a double life sentence before being released.

Dave Navarro is a guitar player and TV personality known for his years with the band Jane's Addiction.

Vince Neil is the lead singer of Mötley Crüe and a reality TV show veteran.

Tracy Nelson is an actress and the oldest child of songwriter and actor Ricky Nelson and his wife, actress Kristin Harmon.

Film, stage and TV actress Julie Newmar played Catwoman in the 1960’s TV series Batman. She was also in the musical film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Richard Nixon was the 37th U.S. president and the only commander-in-chief to resign from his position, after the 1970s Watergate scandal.

As the bassist of the grunge band Nirvana, Krist Novoselic was a part of the music revolution that brought alternative rock to the mainstream.

Ryan O’Neal is an Oscar-nominated actor known for films like Love Story, What’s Up, Doc?, Barry Lyndon and The Main Event.

Frank Ocean is a singer-songwriter and member of the hip-hop collective Odd Future. He's best known for the albums nostalgia, ULTRA and channel ORANGE.

Selected by NASA in 1990, Ellen Ochoa became the world's first Hispanic female astronaut in 1991.

Actor Edward James Olmos earned an Oscar nomination for Stand and Deliver before starring on TV's Battlestar Galactica.

Ashley Olsen, along with her twin sister Mary-Kate, came to stardom as a baby on TV's Full House, then built a vast media and fashion empire by the age of 21.

Elizabeth Olsen is best known for being the younger sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and for acting in the film Martha Marcy May Marlene.

Johnny Otis was a bandleader, drummer, vibraphonist, singer, producer and promoter who discovered artists like Etta James, Jackie Wilson and Big Mama Thornton.

Ann Patchett is an American novelist best known for her PEN/Faulkner Award-winning novel Bel Canto.

General George Patton led the Third Army in a very successful sweep across France during World War II in 1944. He was skilled at tank warfare.

Brilliant, brash and a little wacky, J. Stephen Peace co-produced the cult horror film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and, as a state legislator, oversaw energy deregulation in California.

Gregory Peck is best known for his larger-than-life film roles, particularly as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn starred in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, married Madonna, and directed Jack Nicholson in two films.

Pop music singing sensation Katy Perry has become known for her over-the-top fashions, quirky stage props and catchy songs like "I Kissed a Girl".

Steve Perry was the lead singer of pop rock band Journey from 1977 to 1986. He is known for having a wide vocal range, which can be heard on such popular hits as "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Oh Sherrie."

Scott Peterson is best known as the man who murdered his eight-month pregnant wife, Laci, in 2002. A jury sentenced him to death by lethal injection.

Michelle Pfeiffer is an American actress known for her film roles in Scarface, The Fabulous Baker Boys and Batman Returns.

Chris Pine is an American actor who portrayed a young Captain James Kirk in the 2009 remake of Star Trek and its 2013 sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness.

Dana Plato was a child actress on the television show Diff'rent Strokes. She fell into drug addiction and died of an overdose in 1999.

The daughter of comedian Richard Pryor, Rain Pryor is a multifaceted actress, singer, comedian and artistic director.

Bonnie Raitt is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose musical range encompasses blues, folk, rhythm and blues, pop, and country rock.

Robert Redford is a Hollywood legend, starring in several blockbuster films in his day, and producing and directing many others. He also helped start the Sundance Film Festival in the late 1970s.

One of the greatest women's beach volleyball players of all-time, Gabrielle Reece is also a successful model, actress, writer and fitness expert.

Actor Jeremy Renner played a recurring character on the television series Angel, and starred in the movies Dahmer, North Country and The Hurt Locker.

Janet Reno broke new ground in 1993 as the first woman to serve as U.S. Attorney General, serving under President Bill Clinton.

American actor Giovanni Ribisi has been known for playing a range of quirky characters on television and in movies of various genres since the 1990s.

Actress Christina Ricci played Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family movie. By the late 1990s, she was one of the most in-demand young actresses in Hollywood.

Actor Michael Richards starred for nine years on the television series Seinfeld, playing Jerry Seinfeld's quirky next-door neighbor Cosmo Kramer.

Bill Richardson served in Clinton's cabinet and as New Mexico’s governor but he was unsuccessful in his bid for a 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Nicole Richie is the adopted daughter of Lionel Richie and the star of the 2003-2007 TV show The Simple Life.

In 1983, astronaut and astrophysicist Sally Ride became the first American woman in space aboard the space shuttle Challenger. Ride died on July 23, 2012 at the age of 61, following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Cathy Rigby is best known as a medal-winning American gymnast and Tony nominated actress for her theatrical production in Peter Pan.

Molly Ringwald is an American actress known for the series of teen films she did with directer John Hughes in the 1980s, including Sixteen Candles.

Actress Lisa Rinna is known for her roles on Days of Our Lives and Melrose Place, and for appearing on TV's Dancing with the Stars.

Jenni Rivera is best known for making hit albums singing in Spanish and producing several reality TV series featuring her family.

Tim Robbins is an Academy Award-winning actor as well as an accomplished film director, writer and activist. He had a 23-year relationship with actress Susan Sarandon.

Aaron Rodgers is quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He steered the franchise to victory in Super Bowl XLVII.

Brash sports-talk personality Jim Rome has entertained fans and clashed with interview subjects while rising to fame as a radio and television host.

Tony Romo is one of the NFL's top quarterbacks and has played for the Dallas Cowboys.

Tokyo Rose, whose real name was Iva Toguri, was an American-born Japanese woman who hosted a Japanese propaganda radio program aimed at U.S. troops during World War II.

April Ross is a beach volleyball player who, along with teammate Jennifer Kessy, is a dominant figure on the international circuit. Ross and Kessy took the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

Artist Ed "Big Daddy" Roth became the king of California custom car culture in the 1950s and '60s with his Beatnik Bandit model and characters like Rat Fink.

Pete Rozelle is a U.S. sports executive best known for helping to turn the National Football League into one of the most successful leagues in the world.

Debra Jo Rupp is an actress who played Kitty on the TV sitcom That '70s Show, which ran from 1998 to 2006.

Actress Keri Russell starred on the TV drama Felicity as the title character, a young college student who decides to follow her crush to New York City.

Betye Saar is best known for her art work that critiques American racism toward blacks.

Daryl Sabara is an American actor best known for his role in the movie franchise Spy Kids.

Andy Samberg is a comedian, actor, singer and a star of Saturday Night Live. His comedy troupe "The Lonely Island" is known for its humorous digital shorts.

Republican Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval is the first Hispanic to hold statewide office, as well as the youngest chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Dick Sargent was an actor of film and television mostly remembered for his portrayal of Darrin Stephens on TV's Bewitched.

Actor and comedian Rob Schneider's is best known for his combination of self-deprecating humor and goofball antics in films like Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.

Liev Schriber is an actor known for appearing in such films as X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Hamlet and Scream.

Edie Sedgwick was a socialite and model who became a muse to Andy Warhol in the 1960s.

A comedic actor, Jason Segel has appeared on television and in such films as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Bad Teacher and The Muppets.

William Shockley was an engineer and co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1956 for his development of the transistor.

Alicia Silverstone is an actress who starred in such films as Clueless and The Crush. She is an outspoken environmentalist, vegan and animal rights activist.

O.J. Simpson is best known for his arrest and trial in the 1994 murder of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, of which he was found not guilty.

Screenwriter and director John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood led to a Academy Award for Best Director, making him the first African-American ever nominated.

Nikki Sixx founded and played bass in the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. He has written two autobiographies, and hosts the radio show Sixx Sense.

Jaden Smith is an actor best known for his starring role in the remake of The Karate Kid, and as the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith.

Willow Smith, the daughter of stars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, gained musical fame in 2010 with her first hit single "Whip My Hair".

Writer Lemony Snicket became well-known for his series of children's novels, A Series of Unfortunate Events, featuring the Baudelaire siblings.

Suzanne Somers is an American actress known for her role in the TV sitcom Three’s Company as well as for promoting health and fitness books and equipment.

Tori Spelling is an actress who has appeared on TV and in films, notably on the TV show Beverly Hills 90210.

American swimmer Mark Spitz set a world record at the 1972 Olympic Games, when he won seven gold medals across individual and team events.

Gwen Stefani is a founding member and lead singer of the ska-pop group No Doubt.

John Steinbeck was a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist whose book The Grapes of Wrath portrayed the plight of migrant workers during the Depression.

In 2008, actress Kristen Stewart landed the role of Bella Swan in the saga Twilight and the movies made her an instant star.

Stephen Strasburg drew close media scrutiny as the first pick in Major League Baseball's 2009 draft.

David Strathairn is an American actor best known for his Oscar-nominated role in Good Night, and Good Luck, and performances in We Are Marshall, The Bourne Ultimatum, Temple Grandin and Lincoln.

Power-hitting outfielder Darryl Strawberry was one of baseball's biggest stars in the 1980s before his career was derailed by substance-abuse problems.