Famous People Born in New York a to z

Louise Glück is a poet whose work has been described as technically precise, sensitive, insightful and gripping.

Tracey Gold is an actress who shot to stardom in the 1980s on the hit TV show Growing Pains.

Cuba Gooding Jr. is an African-American actor who is best known for his Oscar-winning role in Cameron Crowe's film Jerry Maguire.

Doris Kearns Goodwin is best known for authoring biographies of American presidents, including Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

Kim Gordon is the bass player for the band Sonic Youth as well as an artist and clothing designer.

Lesley Gore is a singer-songwriter best remembered for her 1963 smash single "It's My Party." Gore also scored hits with "Maybe I Know" and "You Don't Own Me."

Comedian and actor Gilbert Gottfried is known for his trademark squinting and screeching. He's appeared in several films and television programs.

Mobster John "Junior" Gotti allegedly served as a capo in the Gambino family and was the acting boss when his father, John Gotti, now deceased, was in prison.

John Gotti was an organized crime leader who became head of the Gambino family.

Victoria Gotti is a writer, reality television participant and daughter of the late Gambino crime family Mafia boss, John Gotti.

Actor Elliott Gould starred in the original M*A*S*H movie, married Barbra Streisand, and is one of Ocean's Eleven (2001 version).

Jay Gould was a prominent American railroad builder and financier. He illegally issued new stock for Erie Railroads in the "Erie War" with Vanderbilt.

Stephen Jay Gould was an American paleontologist and evolutionary biologist, and the best-selling writer of popular science books.

Seth Grahame-Smith is author of the best-selling novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and screenwriter for Dark Shadows.

Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, a mobster turned government witness, is best known for testifying against his mafia associates in exchange for government protection.

Hank Greenberg became one of Major League Baseball's first Jewish super stars, while playing for the Detroit Tigers.

Jerry Greenfield is the co-founder of the company that makes Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

Alan Greenspan is a financial adviser best known for his service as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of the United States from 1987 to 2006.

Ellie Greenwich is best known as the writer of hit songs from the 1960's through the 1980's.

Jennifer Grey is an American actress, best-known for her role as Frances "Baby" Houseman in the 1987 hit film Dirty Dancing.

Christopher Guest has written, directed and starred in a number of classic comedies, including This is Spinal Tap (1984) and Waiting for Guffman (1996).

American folk singer Arlo Guthrie is the son of renowned folk pioneer Woody Guthrie. Arlo's songbook includes the beloved "Alice's Restaurant Massacree."

Alex Haley was an American writer whose works of historical fiction and reportage depicted the struggles of African Americans.

Adelaide Hall was an American-born jazz singer whose improvisational wordless rhythms ushered in what became known as scat.

Musician, singer. Moby was born as Richard Melville Hall on September 11, 1965, in Harlem, New York. However, his parents felt that such a grand name was unsuited for such a small, fragile child and instead decided to call him Moby, after the eponymous

Alice Hamilton was a physician and authority on lead poisoning and industrial disease. The NIOSH present an award in her name.

Marvin Hamlisch composed more than 40 motion picture scores throughout his career, including 1973's "The Way We Were" and 1975's "A Chorus Line." He is also known for his musical adaptation for 1973's The Sting, and work on such films as Sophie's Choice and Ordinary People.

Lyricist and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II collaborated with Richard Rodgers on the Pulitzer Prize–winning musicals Oklahoma! and South Pacific.

Son of famed music producer John H. Hammond, John P. Hammond is a Grammy-winning American blues singer and guitarist. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011.

Actress Valerie Harper won three consecutive Emmy Awards for playing Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Lorenz Hart was an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with Richard Rodgers, including "My Funny Valentine" and "Blue Moon."

American actress Melissa Joan Hart starred on the television shows Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and began performing on the TV series Melissa & Joey in 2010.

For close to 30 years, drummer Mickey Hart paired with Bill Kreutzmann to form the rhythm section for the iconic rock 'n' roll band the Grateful Dead.

American actress Anne Hathaway has starred in films like The Devil Wears Prada, Becoming Jane, Love and Other Drugs, and Les Miserables.

Richie Havens was an American folk singer who opened the 1969 Woodstock Festival, and covered numerous pop and folk songs over his long career.

Film actress Susan Hayward earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress for her role in Smash-Up, and later won for her performance in I Want to Live.

American film actress Rita Hayworth is best known for her stunning explosive sexual charisma on screen in films throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

Randolph A. Hearst was born a billionaire, but he helped transform the vast Hearst newspaper empire built by his father from a flagging company to a profitable private media company. However, the media melee over his daughter, Patty Hearst's abduction by the Symbionese Liberation Army overshadowed other aspects of his life.

Painter, Al Held was know for his painting complex cube-like structures in the 1960s, and his precise and brightly colored geometric forms in the 1980s.

Based on his experience, novelist Joseph Heller wrote the satirical novel Catch-22, considered one of the most significant works of postwar protest literature.

Bernard Herrmann was an American composer best known as the author of scores for Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock films including Citizen Kane and Psycho.

Don Hewitt was a television producer who created the long-running news show 60 Minutes.

Mary Higgins Clark is a bestselling author of mystery and suspense books, best known for the novel Where Are the Children?

American fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger created a brand of clothing that was extremely popular with several different communities in the 1990s.

Henry Hill was a member of the Lucchese crime family who became a federal informant, inspiring the Martin Scorsese movie Goodfellas.

Paris Hilton is best known as the Heiress and Reality star that courts regular media attention for her socialite lifestyle and short-lived romances.

Gregory Hines began dancing as a child and went on to launch a successful Broadway, television and film career. His notable movies include The Cotton Club and White Nights.

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has gained recognition for his work in a series of successful films including Capote and Doubt.

Academy Award-winning actress Celeste Holm is known for her roles in the 1943 Broadway musical Oklahoma! and the film Gentleman's Agreement.

Artist Edward Hopper is the painter behind the iconic late-night diner scene Nighthawks (1942).

Actress and singer Lena Horne was one of the most popular performers of her time, known for films such as The Wiz and her trademark song, "Stormy Weather."

Moe Howard was the leader of the vaudeville and film comedy team, The Three Stooges.

During his career, jurist Charles Hughes became the governor of New York, U.S. secretary of state and the 11th Supreme Court justice.

At 16, Sarah Hughes won the 2002 Olympic women’s figure skating gold medal as the result of a thrilling long program.

Psychologist Clark L. Hull performed a study and produced the dominant learning theory of the 1940s and 1950s, that learning was based on “habit strength."

E. Howard Hunt was a CIA agent and PR consultant before he teamed up with G. Gordon Liddy to organize the Watergate break-in.

Samuel P. Huntington was a political scientist who wrote the influential book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order.

Distinguished journalist and television news correspondent Gwen Ifill is one of the most successful female African-American reporters of all time.

Robert Iler is an American actor best known for his role as A.J. Sporano on the popular HBO show The Sopranos.

Michael Imperioli is an actor, writer and producer best known for his Emmy-winning performance on The Sopranos.

Washington Irving was a popular 19th century American author, best known for the stories Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

J.J. Jackson was disc jockey, television personality and one of the first VJs (video jockeys) on MTV.

An American novelist and naturalized Englishman, Henry James was an important figure in transatlantic literary culture of the day.

Comedian and actor Kevin James is best known for his nine-season turn as Doug Heffernan on the CBS sitcom, The King of Queens.

The writings of psychologist and philosopher William James had a major impact on the way we look at the mind, the body, and the world.

Rapper and hip-hop entrepreneur Jay-Z has won Grammy Awards, helmed Def Jam Records, created a clothing line, and married Beyoncé Knowles.

Actor Richard Jeni was best known as a popular stand-up comedian, appearing often on television comedy shows, including a few of his own HBO comedy specials.

One of the most beloved athletes of the 1970s, track athlete Bruce Jenner won a gold medal and set a world record in the decathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Since then, he's appeared on the popular reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Singer Billy Joel topped the charts in the 1970s and '80s with hits like "Piano Man," "Uptown Girl" and "We Didn't Start the Fire."

Scarlett Johansson is an actress best known for her work in films like Lost in Translation, The Nanny Diaries, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Avengers and Hitchcock.

In 1951, Barbara Johns led her fellow students in a walkout to protest school segregation. She then started a lawsuit that became part of Brown v. Board of Ed.