Famous People Born in New York a to z

Co-founder of Def Jam Records, Russell Simmons was the force behind the hip-hop revolution, promoting stars like the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and LL Cool J.

Writer for stage and screen Neil Simon penned some of America's most popular plays, including Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965).

Isaac Singer founded the Singer Sewing Machine Company, the first company to make sewing machines practical and easy to use at home.

Dee Snider is best known as the lead singer of glam metal band Twisted Sister.

Actress Leelee Sobieski’s debut film was the Disney comedy Jungle to Jungle. Shortly after, she landed her breakthrough role in Deep Impact.

Stephen Sondheim is one of Broadway’s most successful and revered composers, responsible for works like Follies, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd.

Susan Sontag was a critical essayist, cultural analyst, novelist and filmmaker. She wrote On Photography, Illness as Metaphor, The Volcano Lover and In America.

Nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, Sonia Sotomayor became the first Latina Supreme Court Justice in US history.

Phil Spector is best known for writing several No. 1 hit songs, and for being convicted of the murder of Lana Clarkson.

Ronnie Spector became famous in the 1960s as the lead singer of the Ronettes, whose hits include "Be My Baby" and "Walking in the Rain".

One of the most popular action stars of all time, Sylvester Stallone is best known for portraying boxer Rocky Balboa and Vietnam War veteran John Rambo.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an early leader of the woman's rights movement, writing the Declaration of Sentiments as a call to arms for female equality.

Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress who had a 60-year career in film and TV. Usually playing strong-willed women, Stanwyck defined the femme fatale.

Jean Stapleton is an American actress best known for her award-winning role as Edith Bunker in the TV hit series All in the Family.

Maureen Stapleton was an American actress known primarily for her stage work in the plays of Tennessee Williams.

Rod Steiger was an Academy Award-winning actor known for his roles in On the Waterfront and In the Heat of the Night.

Howard Stern is a disk jockey, talk show host, author and television personality. His long-running show is currently broadcast via satellite radio.

Jon Stewart is the host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, which dubs itself "the most trusted name in fake news" and has run for nearly 20 seasons.

Actress Julia Stiles is best known for her roles in films like Save the Last Dance, 10 Things I Hate About You and The Bourne Ultimatum.

Actor and director Ben Stiller is responsible for such funny films as There's Something About Mary, Zoolander, and Meet the Fockers.

Jerry Stiller is an actor and comedian known for his roles on Seinfeld and The King of Queens. He is the father of actors, Amy Stiller and Ben Stiller.

Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Oliver Stone is responsible for the hit films Platoon, Scarface, Born on the Fourth of July and Natural Born Killers.

Barbra Streisand is the highest-selling female recording artist of all time, and has won awards and acclaim in every medium that she's worked in.

Margaret Suckley was a close friend and confidante of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and served as the archivist for the first American presidential library.

Ed Sullivan was a journalist, producer and TV host known for his successful variety program The Ed Sullivan Show.

Since co-founding Essence magazine, Edward T. Lewis has become one of the most successful and respected magazine publishers in the country.

Brandon Tartikoff was the president of NBC Television during its rise to the top from 1980 till 1991.

Laurette Taylor was an American actress whose stage career spanned more than 30 years. Her first significant work was in a Boston production of The Child Wife.

Studs Terkel was a Pulitzer Prize-winning oral historian who compiled books of interviews with everyday people.

Debi Thomas was a figure skater who went on to become the first African-American to win an Olympic medal at the Winter Olympics.

Outspoken and ambitious, Dorothy Thompson became a well-known journalist during the 1930s to the 1950s.

Actress Gene Tierney had a rocky start in Hollywood, but is best known for her role as a memorable murder victim in the 1944 film Laura.

Son of Tiffany & Co. founder Charles Tiffany, Louis Tiffany was an internationally renowned glass maker and a leader of the Art Nouveau movement.

Tiny Tim was a singer and musician who had a hit with “Tip Toe Through the Tulips With Me” and guest-starred on shows like Laugh-In and The Tonight Show.

American actress Marisa Tomei has starred in a number of successful films, including My Cousin Vinny and Slums of Beverly Hills.

Donald Trump is a real estate mogul and billionaire. He is also owner of Trump Plaza and host of the NBC reality series, The Celebrity Apprentice.

Sojourner Truth is best known for her extemporaneous speech on racial inequalities, "Ain't I a Woman?", delivered at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851.

Barbara Tuchman, American historian and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, is best known for writing The Guns of August and Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45.

Actress Aida Turturro joined the award-winning dramatic series The Sopranos in 2000 as Janice Soprano, sister to crime boss Tony Soprano.

The lead singer of popular rock band Aerosmith with hits like “Dream On” and “Walk This Way,” Steven Tyler has also served as a judge on American Idol.

Mary Tyler Moore is an Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress and television star know for her roles on The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Mike Tyson is a former heavyweight boxing champion who's served jail time and also appeared in several films.

Hannah Van Buren was the wife of Martin Van Buren, the eighth U.S. president, but she died of tuberculosis 18 years before he took office.

Martin Van Buren was the eighth president of the United States. His shrewd dealings laid the foundations for the Democratic Party and the modern political machine.

James Van Praagh has worked as a psychic medium and popular media figure, and is also the bestselling author of the book Talking to Heaven.

Cornelius Vanderbilt was an industrialist in railroads and shipping. He had accumulated the largest fortune in the U.S. at the time of his death, in 1877.

Known for her fashion design and tumultuous personal life, actress, writer and artist Gloria Vanderbilt became an iconic figure in American popular culture during the 20th century.

American actor Robert Vaughn is best known for his 1960s role as Napoleon Solo on the hit TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Gore Vidal was best known as a prolific American writer, but was also famous for frequent talk-show appearances and witty political criticisms.

Abe Vigoda has been a popular character actor in television and film for more than four decades. He landed his film break with a role in The Godfather.

Actor Jon Voight’s role as Joe Buck in the groundbreaking film Midnight Cowboy earned him an Oscar nomination and launched his career into the big time.

Dana Vollmer is a swimmer and three-time Olympic gold medalist. She set the world record for the 100-meter butterfly at the London Olympics in 2012, and won two gold medals there.

Sam J. Wagstaff was an important art curator and collector of photography. He was also a companion and benefactor of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

Rufus Wainwright is a Canadian American singer and songwriter best known for his pop albums Rufus Wainwright (1998) and Poses (2001).

Ralph Waite is an American actor whose most notable role was playing John Walton Sr. on the 1970s television series The Waltons.

Film Actor Christopher Walken often plays the bad guy, but he has also proved himself in comic roles and has been a repeat guest on Saturday Night Live.

Mary Walker was a physician and women's rights activist who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for her service during the Civil War.

David Foster Wallace was a writer known for his dense short stories, magazine articles and novels, most notably the 1,200-page Infinite Jest.

American actor Eli Wallach has appeared in such films as The Misfits; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

John Walsh hosts the TV series America's Most Wanted, as a result of his son being abducted and murdered in 1981.

Known for balancing modern designs with traditional elegance, Vera Wang is arguably the most prominent designer of bridal wear in America.

Julia Ward Howe was a women's rights activist, abolitionist and writer who penned the poem "Battle Hymn of the Republic."

Lesley Ann Warren is an actress known for her roles on TV shows such as Desperate Housewives and in films such as Cat Ballou, Victor Victoria and Pure Country.

Former star of the hit TV drama St. Elsewhere, actor/director Denzel Washington has earned popular and critical acclaim for his roles in several feature films, including Training Day and American Gangster.

Kerry Washington has appeared in such films as Ray, She Hate Me, The Last King of Scotland and Django Unchained (2013). She also stars on the TV series Scandal.

Wendy Wasserstein was an award-winning playwright of such works as The Sisters Rosensweig and An American Daughter.

Damon Wayans is an African-American comedian who appeared on the sketch comedy show In Living Color.

Comedian and actor Keenen Ivory Wayans hosted his own late night show, The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show. His famous siblings are Damon, Shawn, Marlon and Kim.

Marlon Wayans is best known for his role in the Scary Movie series, and for being one of the Wayans siblings.

Shawn Wayan is an actor known for co-starring with his brother Marlon in various comic spoofs, including the Scary Movie franchise.