Famous People Born in Pennsylvania a to z

Author and activist Jane Jacobs wrote about preserving urban neighborhoods, in books like The Death and Life of Great American Cities and Dark Age Ahead.

Judith Jamison, choreographer and dancer, has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts.

Jazz pianist, composer and saxophonist Keith Jarrett is considered one of the most original and prolific jazz musicians to emerge during the late 20th century.

Jazzy Jeff is a DJ and producer known for his pioneering turntable work and his collaboration with Will Smith, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.

As frontwoman for The Runaways, Joan Jett became a female pioneer in the male-dominated world of rock music. She is also a songwriter and producer.

Sheila Johnson is an African-American entrepreneur who co-founded Black Entertainment Television (BET) and is part-owner of the three sports teams in the NHL, NBA and the WNBA.

Shirley Jones is a singer and actress best known for her parts in movie musicals, and for her role as Mrs. Partridge on the 1970s television show The Partridge Family.

American playwright George S. Kaufman co-wrote a number of Broadway hits, two of which received Pulitzer Prizes.

Michael Keaton is an American actor known for his roles in the comedy Mr. Mom and as Batman in the Tim Burton-directed installments of the series.

Gene Kelly was a dancer whose athletic style transformed the movie musical and did much to change the American public's conception of male dancers.

Gelsey Kirkland joined the New York City Ballet at age 15, becoming its youngest member. In 1984, she left the spotlight for several years due to physical and emotional issues.

Chris Kirkpatrick was the eldest member of the popular boy band N'Sync, not to mention the only one with dreadlocks. Now he plays now in the group Nigels 11.

Jack Klugman is an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in the Broadway play The Odd Couple and the TV series of the same name.

Jeff Koons is a famous contemporary artist whose work is influenced by an eclectic array of sensibilities.

Cyclist Floyd Landis won the 2006 Tour de France. Urine tests later revealed that he was using performance-enhancing drugs, and he was banned from the sport for two years.

Tommy Lasorda is an American baseball manager best known for successfully managing the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1977 to 1996.

Viola Gregg Liuzzo was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. She was murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan for her efforts.

Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes was a singer and rapper known for her work with the 1990s group TLC.

Director Sidney Lumet was best known for his films Twelve Angry Men and Serpico. He made more than 40 films during his career.

Joe Manganiello has risen to fame as werewolf Alcide Herveaux on the television drama True Blood.

American producer, director and screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz was known for creating memorable characters. He worked with many major Hollywood stars.

Jayne Mansfield was an American actress best known for her bombshell curves and roles in films during the 1950s and '60s.

Dan Marino was a Hall of Fame quarterback for the Miami Dolphins from 1984-2000.

American Mary Cassatt was one of the leading artists in the Impressionist movement of the later part of the 1800s.

Journalist and political commentator Chris Matthews is best known as the talk show host of MSNBC's Hardball and The Chris Matthews Show.

Philadelphia's Michael McCary is known for his deep bass voice as part of the boy band Boyz II Men, which he quit in 2003 because of problems from scoliosis.

Bob McDonnell, a prominent Republican politician, became governor of Virginia in 2010.

William McGuffey was a 19th-century educator remembered chiefly for his series of elementary readers.

Margaret Mead is best known for her studies and publications on cultural anthropology.

Bret Michaels is the lead singer in the glam-metal band Poison and has starred in several reality TV shows, including The Celebrity Apprentice.

Abby Lee Miller, who runs a Pittsburgh dance studio, is known for her tirades and tough training as star of Lifetime TV's reality show Dance Moms.

Dennis Miller is an Emmy-winning comedian and actor known for his biting humor filled with esoteric and wide-ranging knowledge.

Tom Mix was an America actor, producer and director and one of the most famous silent film cowboys.

Kelly Monaco is an actress and model known for her role on General Hospital. Additionally, she was a Playboy "Playmate of the Month" in 1997, and won season 1 of Dancing with the Stars.

Professional football player Joe Montana lead the 49ers to victories in four Super Bowls during the 1980s, including consecutive wins in 1989 and 1990.

Contrasting her edgy, tomboyish style with that of her female popstar peers, Pink has had huge success with hits like "You Make Me Sick" and "There You Go".

Nathan Morris founded the all-boy group Boyz II Men, whose members are known for their smooth-sounding harmonies as well as their slick dance performances.

Wanya Morris' claims to fame are harmonizing with the ever-popular all-boy group Boyz II Men and dating singer Brandy in her teenage years.

R&B talent Marc Nelson co-founded Boyz II Men but quit before they hit it big. He continued on as a solo artist and songwriter for well-known performers.

Jack Palance was an American actor best known for playing villainous roles in the 1960s and for his award-winning appearance in the film City Slickers.

Deborah Jeane Palfrey was the leader of a large Washington-based prostitution ring and became known as the D.C. Madame.

Arnold Palmer, nicknamed "The King," is a former champion golfer and is considered one of the sport's all-time greats.

Maxfield Parrish was an American painter and illustrator who was the highest-paid commercial artist in the United States by the 1920s.

Senator Rand Paul, son of Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, is best known for his support of the Tea Party movement and his controversial comments on the Civil Rights Act.

Politician Ron Paul has served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas multiple times. His politics are a mix of Republican and Libertarian views.

American explorer Robert Edwin Peary is best known for claiming to be the first person to reach the geographic North Pole.

Horace Pippin was a self-taught, African-American painter whose art documented slavery and his experiences in World War I.

American filmmaker Edwin S. Porter invented the Simplex camera for the Edison Company, and pioneered new techniques in films like The Great Train Robbery.

Terence Powderly served as union leader of the Knights of Labor from 1879 to 1893. Under his leadership, the union saw both unprecedented growth and sudden decline.

Jean Vander Ply was an American actress on radio, television and film. He is best known as the voice of Wilma Flintstone from the cartoon The Flintstones.

Anna Quindlen is the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and bestselling novelist who wrote the books One True Thing and Object Lessons.

Zachary Quinto starred as the main villain on the popular supernatural television show Heroes, and has played Spock in J.J. Abrams's rebooted Star Trek film series.

Sally Jesse Raphael is an American talk show host best known for TV’s Sally Jesse Raphael and her trademark red glasses.

Man Ray was primarily known for his photography, which spanned both the Dada and Surrealism movements.

Fred Rogers is the much-loved host of the public television show, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, which ran on PBS from 1968 to 2001.

According to legend, Betsy Ross made the first American flag. Despite a lack of credible evidence to support this, she remains an icon of American history.

Bayard Rustin was a civil rights organizer and activist, best known for his work as adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1950s and '60s.

Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky made headlines in November 2011, when he was arrested on several sexual offenses related to children. He was later found guilty of 45 charges and sentenced to serve 30 to 60 years in prison.

American swimmer Allison Schmitt is best known for her medal-earning performances at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where she won three gold medals, one silver and one bronze.

Jill Scott is a Grammy Award-winning recording artist who's also a poet and actress, known for roles in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and Steel Magnolias.

David O. Selznick was a Hollywood film producer who made a huge string of hits in the 1930s through the 1950s, including Gone with the Wind.

Amanda Seyfried is an American actress best known for her roles in Mean Girls and Mamma Mia! She is considered one of Hollywood’s up-and-coming actresses.

American socialite Wallis Simpson became the mistress of Edward, Prince of Wales. Edward abdicated the throne to marry her, a period known as the Abdication Crisis.

American psychologist B.F. Skinner is best known for developing the theory of behaviorism, and for his utopian novel Walden Two (1948).

Will Smith was on the TV show Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and has had a successful career as a film actor in several blockbusters since 1992.

Gertrude Stein was an American author and poet best known for her modernist writings, extensive art collecting and literary salon in 1920s Paris.

Parker Stevenson is best known for his role as Frank Hardy in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries.

Jimmy Stewart was a major motion-picture star known for his portrayals of diffident but morally resolute characters in films such as It’s a Wonderful Life.

Jazz master Rex Stewart is best known for his work with the Duke Ellington orchestra. Duke Ellington arranged many of his pieces to showcase Stewart's talent.

Shawn Stockman has made a name for himself by harmonizing with Philadelphia's Boyz II Men, serving as a judge on television's The Sing-Off and raising awareness about autism.

Actress Sharon Stone is most famous for her starring role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct. She won an Oscar nomination for her performance in Casino.

Sundance Kid was an American criminal best known for his train robberies and bank heists with the Wild Bunch gang in the late 1890s and early 1900s.

Singer/songwriter Taylor Swift is one of country music's top recording artists, having crossed over into pop and winning many awards.