Famous People Born in New Jersey a to z

Bud Abbott was a comedian best known for playing the "straight man" of the Abbott and Costello comedy duo.

Charles Addams was an American cartoonist whose work was frequently featured in The New Yorker. His most famous creation was the humorously macabre Addams Family.

Howard H. Aiken was a 20th century mathematician and engineer who came up with the idea behind the Mark I, a forerunner to modern computing devices.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin was one of the first people to walk on the moon. He and flight commander Neil Armstrong made the Apollo 11 moonwalk in 1969.

Film, theater and television actor Jason Alexander played George Costanza opposite Jerry Seinfeld on the popular television sitcom Seinfeld.

Imamu Amiri Baraka is an African-American poet and scholar. He has served as professor emeritus of Africana Studies at the State Unversity of New York at Stony Brook.

Sydney Biddle Barrows is famous for running a high-class escort service in the 1980s.

Considered one of history's most influential jazz musicians, Count Basie was known for his piano style and command of big bands such as the Count Basie Orchestra, and for songs like "Jumpin' at the Woodside," "Taxi War Dance" and "Miss Thing."

Edith Ewing Beale, also known as "Big Edie," was aunt to Jackie Kennedy, and resident of the decrepit mansion called Grey Gardens.

Jill Biden is best known for being the wife of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, and for her role as America's second lady.

Robert Blake is an Emmy-winning actor known for his film roles and as the star of the '70s cop drama Baretta. He's also known for the murder trial of his second wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley.

Author Judy Bloom is a writer and illustrator of books for children and young adults, including Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Blubber, and Tiger Eyes.

Zach Braff is an American actor known chiefly for his role on TV's Scrubs and in the big-screen film Oz the Great and Powerful.

Since the end of the 1960s, Actor Roscoe Lee Browne made steady television appearances, including on Barney Miller, The Cosby Show, ER and Will & Grace.

Aaron Burr was the third vice president of the United States, serving under President Thomas Jefferson. Burr fatally shot his rival, Alexander Hamilton, during a duel.

At the height of his career, boxer Rubin Carter was twice wrongly convicted of a triple murder and was imprisoned for nearly two decades.

Chris Christie is best known for his combative style as the Republican governor of traditionally Democratic New Jersey.

The 22nd and 24th president, Grover Cleveland is the only POTUS to serve two nonconsecutive terms, as well as the first to be married in the White House.

Tom Colicchio is a restaurateur and author who stars in the award-winning reality TV show Top Chef.

James Fenimore Cooper was a 19th-century American novelist, best known for his Leatherstocking Tales, which included The Last of the Mohicans.

David Copperfield is a world-famous magician whose tricks include making the Statue of Liberty disappear and walking through the Great Wall of China.

Working with Bud Abbott, Lou Costello was part of one of most popular comedy duos of the 20th century.

Stephen Crane was a 19th century American writer best known for his novels The Red Badge of Courage and Maggie: A Girl of the Streets.

Brian De Palma is a writer-director whose career has been marked by both hits and misses, with such films as Carrie and Bonfire of the Vanities.

Sandra Dee became the “Queen of Teens” in 1950s Hollywood, appearing in such films as Gidget and A Summer Place.

American actor Danny DeVito began his rise to fame on the TV show Taxi. Since then, he's starred in feature films such as Twins and Ruthless People, and on the popular show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Taye Diggs is an American actor best known for his role as the opportunistic landlord Benny in the Jonathan Larson's groundbreaking musical Rent.

David Dinkins was the mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1994, and he was the first black mayor of the city.

Actor Peter Dinklage has earned raves for his work in the 2003 film The Station Agent and on the hit television series Game of Thrones.

Michael Douglas is an American actor best known for his roles on TV's Streets of San Francisco and in the films Wall Street, Fatal Attraction and Wonder Boys.

Once a child star, actress Kirsten Dunst has garnered over 40 film and television credits and continues to command hefty sums for acting appearances.

Ashley Alexandra Dupré was the Emperor's Club VIP escort hired on several occasions by former New York governor Elliot Spitzer.

Andrea Dworkin was an American feminist and author, an outspoken critic of sexual politics, particularly of the victimizing effects of pornography on women.

Jessie Fauset was a teacher and writer who worked as editor for The Crisis magazine, and penned the novels Comedy: American Style and Plum Bun.

John Forsythe was a theater, film and TV actor. He won Golden Globes for playing Blake Carrington in Aaron Spelling’s long-running prime-time drama Dynasty.

A talented singer, comedian, and actor, Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx has proved to be a triple threat in the entertainment industry.

Barney Frank is the first U.S. Congressman to voluntarily announce his homosexuality. He is also known for his work on the 2008 American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act.

James Gandolfini is an American actor best known for his role as a mobster in the hit 1999 HBO television series The Sopranos.

Janeane Garofalo is an Emmy Award-nominated TV and film actress, comedian and political activist known for work like Reality Bites and The Truth About Cats & Dogs.

Willie Garson is a TV and film actor who hit it big starring opposite Sarah Jessica Parker on Sex and the City

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Allen Ginsberg is one of the 20th century's most influential poets, regarded as a founding father of the Beat Movement and known for works like "Howl."

American dancer and choreographer Savion Glover is best known for his unique style of tapping dancing, called "hitting."

Peter Greene is an American character actor best known for his roles as villains in Pulp Fiction and The Mask.

With her late-night talk show, Chelsea Lately, Chelsea Handler became one of the most-watched women in comedy.

Actor Ed Harris played John Glenn in The Right Stuff, fought a water monster in The Abyss, and was a tormented artist in Pollack.

Anna Harrison was a former First Lady of the United States. She was the wife of ninth President, William Henry Harrison, who died after only one month in office.

When singer, songwriter and actress Lauryn Hill released her solo debut album, she became the first woman or hip-hop artist to win five Grammy Awards.

Adam Horovitz, also known as "Ad-Rock," was a co-founder and member of the Beastie Boys, the popular rap-rock group.

Whitney Houston was an American singer and actress whose first four albums, released between 1985 and 1992, amassed global sales in excess of 86 million copies.

Linda Hunt is a diminutive actress best known for her role as Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously.

Derek Jeter is a Major League Baseball Player with the New York Yankees and was a key factor in their 1990s World Series wins.

James Johnson was an influential African-American jazz pianist and a key figure in musical transition from ragtime to jazz. He's known for his hit "Carolina Shout."

Musician and actor Jon Bon Jovi is best known as the lead singer and founder of the rock band Bon Jovi.

Jerome Kagan is a professor of psychology at Harvard University and is regarded as key pioneer in the field of developmental psychology.

Herb Kelleher is the founder and former CEO of Southwest Airlines, one of the first airlines to offer low-cost fares by eliminating unnecessary services.

Biologist Alfred Kinsey wrote Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, which was based on research he and his colleagues conducted at the Institute for Sex Research.

Actress Keisha Knight Pulliam is best known for her portrayal of Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show.

Film, TV and theater actress Jane Krakowski is known for having played Elaine on Ally McBeal and Jenna on 30 Rock. She also starred in the London production of Guys and Dolls.

Dorothea Lange was a photographer whose portraits of displaced farmers during the Great Depression greatly influenced later documentary photography.

Actor Frank Langella portrayed Richard Nixon in the Broadway and film version of Frost/Nixon. He won a Tony Award and an Oscar nomination.

Jacob Lawrence was an American painter, and the most widely acclaimed African-American artist of the 20th century. He is best known for his Migration Series.

Jerry Lewis rose to fame as Dean Martin's comedic partner. The two performed on stage before their film career began in 1949.

Actress Judith Light has successfully tackled daytime dramas, prime time sitcoms and the New York stage. She played Angela Bower on the sitcom Who’s the Boss? and a witty alcoholic in the Broadway production Other Desert Cities.

Writer and aviation pioneer Anne Morrow Lindbergh was married to aviator Charles Lindbergh. The couple’s child was kidnapped for ransom and murdered in 1932.

Sol Myron Linowitz was an American diplomat, lawyer and businessman known as a presidential adviser and as a co-founder of Xerox.

American actor Ray Liotta is best known for his on-the-edge tough-guy characterizations in films like Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas (1992) and No Escape (1994).

American actor Derek Luke has starred in films including Antwone Fisher (2002) and Friday Night Lights (2004).

Fantasy writer George R. R. Martin created A Song of Ice and Fire, one of the most popular book series today and includes 1996's Game of Thrones

Charlotte Mason was an American socialite and philanthropist who was an important patron of Harlem Renaissance figures, including Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston.

Andrew McCarthy is best known for his roles in iconic 1980s "Brat Pack" films such as Pretty in Pink, Less than Zero, and St. Elmo's Fire.

Erik Menendez and brother Lyle were found guilty of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. They were both sentenced to life in prison in 1996.

Jay Mohr is a stand-up comedian, actor and television host known for his stint on Saturday Night Live and for hosting Last Comic Standing.

American singer and songwriter Ricky Nelson was an early teen idol who acted out his real-life childhood on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

Actress Bebe Neuwirth won Tonys for her roles in Sweet Charity and Chicago, and Emmys for her role on the sitcom Cheers.

Jack Nicholson is one of the most prominent American motion-picture actors of his generation, noted for his versatile portrayals of unconventional outsiders

Standing 7 feet tall and weighing 315 pounds, Shaquille O'Neal was one of the most dominant players in the NBA. After his 2011 retirement, he became an on-screen league analyst.

Queen Latifah is an American rapper, record producer and actress known for her roles in the films Set it Off, Bone Collector, Last Holiday and Chicago.

Dorothy Parker was the sharpest wit of the Algonquin Round Table, as well as a master of short fiction and a blacklisted screenwriter.

Suffragette Alice Paul dedicated her life's work to women's rights and was a key figure in the push for the 19th Amendment.