Famous People Born in New York a to z

Sharon Preston is a media planner and author who has said that she is the daughter of legendary jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong.

Tito Puente was a musical pioneer, mixing musical styles with Latin sounds and experimenting in fusing Latin music with jazz.

Mario Puzo became famous when he adapted his novel The Godfather into a screenplay for director Francis Ford Coppola in the 1960s.

Thomas Pynchon is an award-winning novelist known for works like The Crying of Lot 49 and Gravity's Rainbow.

Congressman Charles Rangel has served New York's Harlem district since 1971. He was censured by his peers for ethics violations in 2010.

Charlotte E. Ray was the first female African-American lawyer in the United States.

Nancy Reagan is a former first lady of the United States, the widow of Ronald Reagan, who founded the "Just Say No" drug awareness campaign.

Lou Reed is a singer and guitarist best known as a co-founder of the influential rock group the Velvet Underground and as solo artist.

Actor Christopher Reeve played Superman in the movie and its sequels. After a spinal cord injury, he started a foundation to help other paraplegics.

Charles Nelson Reilly was a Tony-Award winning actor also known for a variety of roles on TV programs, including The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and The Match Game.

American actor, director and producer Rob Reiner is best known for directing the classic hits Stand By Me (1996) and When Harry Met Sally (1989).

Paul Reiser's career as a comedian began in New York's comedy clubs. He got his first big break starring in Diner in 1982, and later starred in Mad About You.

Ray Reyes is a former member of the Latin-pop boy band Menudo and has released a number of successful albums with the band Project M.

Ving Rhames is an actor known for roles in such films as Pulp Fiction and the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Drummer Buddy Rich was known for his prodigious talent and fiery temper. His career saw him work with stars like Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra.

Serial killer Joel Rifkin killed 17 women in the 1990s before the police tried to pull him over for a missing license plate (and discovered his latest victim).

Basketball coach Patrick James Riley participated in both basketball and football, playing professionally with the San Diego Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers.

Faith Ringgold is an American artist and author who became famous for innovative, quilted narrations like Tar Beach that communicate her political beliefs.

Though best known for his controversial talk shows, television personality Geraldo Rivera also worked as a journalist for several major news outlets.

Comedian Joan Rivers created a Grammy nominated comedy album, launched a syndicated daytime talk show, and went on to win a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Emma Roberts, best known for being the daughter of actor Eric Roberts and niece of actress Julia Roberts, has established her own career in television and film.

John Roberts became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after he was nominated by George W. Bush in 2005.

David Rockefeller is an American banker and philanthropist, the youngest of the five sons of John D. Rockefeller Jr.

John D. Rockefeller was the head of the Standard Oil Company and one of the world's richest men. He used his fortune to fund ongoing philanthropic causes.

Venture capitalist and environmentalist Laurance Rockefeller founded the American Conservation Association and put conservationism on the American agenda.

From The Sound of Music to Oklahoma! to South Pacific, Richard Rodgers helped change the face of Broadway musicals, giving them stories and making them both memorable and "hum-able."

In 2007, American baseball player Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player in major league baseball history to hit 500 career home runs.

Al Roker is a television personality, a weatherman for NBC's Today show, and a nine-time Emmy winner.

Sonny Rollins is a jazz saxophonist and composer associated with the "hard bop" movement.

American actor and comedian Ray Romano is best known for his CBS hit Everybody Loves Raymond in which Raymond plays a father and husband.

Actor and dancer Cesar Romero performed in movies from the '30s through the '60s. He became a pop culture icon in the 1966 Batman television series.

Filmmaker George A. Romero has created such classic horror films as Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead.

Saoirse Ronan is an Irish-American film actress best known for her film roles in Atonement, The Lovely Bones and Hanna.

Andy Rooney was an Emmy Award-winning journalist best known for his "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney" segments which aired on the CBS news program 60 Minutes.

Mickey Rooney was a child star best known for his role as Andy Hardy in a long-running film series. He a starred in a number of musicals with Judy Garland.

The wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt changed the role of the first lady through her active participation in American politics.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only U.S. president to be elected four times. He led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II.

A New York governor who became the 26th U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt is remembered for his foreign policy, corporate reforms and ecological preservation.

Pop singer Draco Rosa was a member of Menudo and has released a number of successful solo albums in a variety of different languages.

Ethel Rosenberg and husband Julius Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage in 1951. They were both executed by the U.S. government in 1953.

Julius Rosenberg became an infamous figure in American history when he was convicted, along with his wife, Ethel Rosenberg, of giving military secrets to the Soviet Union in the early 1950s.

Actress Emmy Rossum sang her heart out in the movie musical The Phantom of the Opera in 2004. She's made a name for herself on TV too, in the show Shameless.

Mickey Rourke is an American actor who had great success and became a sex symbol in the 1980s. He left acting to box but has recently returned to the screen.

Mercedes Ruehl is an actress of Cuban and Irish descent. She won a Tony Award for Lost in Yonkers and an Oscar for The Fisher King.

Ja Rule is one of the biggest rappers from the early 2000s, known for hits like "Between Me and You," "Always on Time" and "Put It on Me."

David O. Russell is an Oscar-nominated director, writer and producer known for films like Three Kings, The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook.

Tim Russert was a one-time political counsel who became a journalist and the longtime host of the public affairs show Meet the Press.

William Safire was a writer whose column "On Language" was a long-running feature of The New York Times Magazine.

With his landmark novel Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger was an influential 20th-century American writer.

Jonas Salk was an American physician and medical researcher who developed the first safe and effective vaccine for polio.

Actor, comedian, and musician Adam Sandler was a cast member on Saturday Night Live and is the star of such films as Punch-Drunk Love and The Wedding Singer.

Margaret Sanger was an early feminist and women's rights activist who coined the term "birth control" and worked towards its legalization.

A film and TV actress Mia Sara is best known for her role as Sloan Peterson, the girlfriend of Ferris Bueller in John Hughes's 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Susan Sarandon is an Academy Award-winning American film actress known for roles in films like Bull Durham, Thelma and Louise and Dead Man Walking.

Telly Savalas was an American actor best known for his role as a tough, New York City detective in the 1970’s television series Kojak.

Mob boss Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo controlled Philadelphia's organized crime for many years, even from prison.

Controversial radio host Laura Schlessinger, also known as "Dr. Laura," is an expert at giving listeners—and readers—a piece of her mind when it comes to moral living and leading a successful family life.

Artist, screenwriter and director Julian Schnabel was a leading figure of the art world in the 1980s, and has proven to be talented in many creative fields.

Howard Schultz is CEO and chairman of Starbucks, the highly successful coffee company.

Director Martin Scorsese has produced some of the most memorable films in cinema history, including the iconic Taxi Driver and Academy Award-winner The Departed.

Charles Scribner co-founded the publishing house Baker & Scribner, which became Charles Scribner's Sons.

Former Apple Computers Inc. CEO John Sculley famously clashed with Steve Jobs, leading to Jobs's departure from the company he helped found.

Neil Sedaka is an American singer-songwriter known for writing hits like "Love Will Keep Us Together" and "Laughter in the Rain."

Comedian and writer Amy Sedaris is known for her outrageous stage and television characters. She is the younger sister of writer David Sedaris.

David Sedaris is a humorist and essayist best known for his sardonic autobiographical stories and social commentary.

Actress Kyra Sedgwick's career took a new turn when she was cast as the lead in the TNT crime drama The Closer, which premiered in 2005.

American folk singer Pete Seeger is an iconic figure in the mid-20th century, and is best known for his contributions to the American folk music revival.

Jerry Seinfeld is an actor and comedian best known for his starring role in the hit television sitcom Seinfeld.

Maurice Sendak is a Caldecott award-winning children's book author and illustrator best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are.

Emmy Award–winning television and film writer Rod Serling created and hosted the sci-fi fantasy series The Twilight Zone and co-wrote Planet of the Apes.

Police officer Frank Serpico exposed corruption in the New York City police department. He was the first officer to testify against another officer.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was an activist and advocate for the poor in the 18th to 19th centuries who established the group Sisters of Charity.

William Seward was a New York governor and U.S. senator before serving as secretary of state under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson.

A hip-hop legend, with explicit and controversial lyrics, Tupac Shakur was embroiled in a feud between East Coast and West Coast rappers.

Al Sharpton is an outspoken and sometimes controversial political activist in the fight against racial prejudice and injustice.

Photographer Sam Shaw is remembered for his iconic images of such stars as Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando. He also produced several films, including 1961's Paris Blues.

Ally Sheedy is a film actress who became famous in the early 1980s for her roles in films such as War Games, The Breakfast Club, and St. Elmo's Fire.

Actor Charlie Sheen, star of such films as Platoon and of TV's Two and a Half Men, is the brother of actor Emilio Estévez and the son of actor Martin Sheen.

Brooke Shields is an actress known for her early movie roles and TV series such as Suddenly Susan.

Iconic mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel built the Flamingo casino in Las Vegas, igniting an era of glamour, gambling and gangsters in the desert.