This is a list of people from Hayward, California. People from Hayward who are strongly associated with the city include founder William Dutton Hayward, and the Ukrainian patriot and Greek Orthodox priest Agapius Honcharenko, who created a farm whose location is now a historic landmark. High-profile people from Hayward include football coach Bill Walsh, figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, and Treasurer of the United States Rosa Gumataotao Rios. Charles Plummer, prior to becoming Alameda County Sheriff, was the Police Chief of Hayward.
People born (b), raised (r) (including attending high school in Hayward), or who have lived as adults (a) in Hayward (bold names are current residents):
Sena Acolatse, hockey player
Glen Alvelais (1968–) (b), heavy metal guitarist for Forbidden
Max Baer (1909–1959) (a), boxer from the 1930s, Heavyweight Champion of the World, actor
Chauncey Bailey (October 20, 1949 – August 2, 2007) (r), murdered Oakland journalist
Jeff Barnes (1955–) (r), National Football League linebacker
Brian Beacock (1966–) (b), anime voice performer and actor
Jeff Beal (1963–) (b), jazz instrumentalist, Emmy award-winning film and television music composer
John Beck (1981) (b), National Football League quarterback with the Washington Redskins
Davone Bess (1985–) (b), National Football League Miami Dolphins wide receiver
Larry Bliss (a), educator and former politician from Maine, now an administrator at California State University, East Bay
Kimberlin Brown (1961–) (b), actress who played Sheila Carter on The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful
Cory R. Carey (1979–) (a), professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tommy Drake
D. J. Carrasco (1977–) (r), baseball player
Eddie Chacon (r), of the band Charles and Eddie, performers of the single "Would I Lie to You?"
Julie Clark (1948–) (b), aerobatic air show pilot, daughter of the murdered pilot of Pacific Air Lines Flight 773
James Graham Cooper (1830–1902) (a), surgeon, naturalist with the California Geological Survey, director of the California Academy of Sciences
Brian Copeland (1974–) (r), playwright and author of Not a Genuine Black Man, a memoir of his experience growing up in the region
Ellen Corbett (1954–) (a), California State Senator
Vanessa Curry (1990–) (r), dancer, member of the Pussycat Dolls
Marco Dapper (1983–) (b), actor and model
Jack Del Rio (1963–) (r), Oakland Raiders head coach, former head coach of Jacksonville Jaguars
Glenn Dishman (1970–) (r), Major League Baseball pitcher
Fateh Doe (r) - rapper, Punjabi artist
Tom Eplin (1960–) (b), actor who played Jake McKinnon on the TV series Another World and As the World Turns
Andy Ernst (a), music producer, operator of the Art of Ears Studio in Hayward
Johnny Estrada (1976–) (b), Major League Baseball catcher
Josh Ryan Evans (1982–2002) (b), actor who played Timmy Lenox on the TV series Passions
Lewis J. Feldman (r), professor at UC Berkeley
Forrest Fezler (1949–) (b), professional golfer
Ed Galigher (1950–) (b), National Football League defensive lineman with the San Francisco 49ers
Michaela Garecht (1979) (b), missing abduction victim
Oscar Grant (1986–2009) (r,a), victim of BART police officer shooting ruled controversially as involuntary manslaughter
Ted Griggs, businessman
Bud Harrelson (1944–) (r), Major League Baseball shortstop
William Dutton Hayward (1815–1891), city founder and namesake
Agapius Honcharenko (1832–1916) (a), Ukrainian patriot and Greek Orthodox priest
Eddie House (1978–) (r), National Basketball Association player for the Miami Heat
Archie Johnson Inger (1883–1954) (a), spiritualist
J. J. Jelincic (1948–) (a), member of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) Board and the past president of the California State Employees Association
Charlton Jimerson (1979–) (r), Major League Baseball player
Dwayne Johnson (1972–) (b), a.k.a. "The Rock", professional wrestler (ten-time world champion) and actor
Tsuyako Kitashima (1918–2006) (b), activist for reparations to victims of the Japanese-American internment during World War II
Claudia Kolb (1949–) (b), swimmer, Olympic gold medalist in the 1968 Summer Olympics
Art Larsen (1925–) (b), eccentric tennis player, winner of the 1950 U.S. National Championships (now the U.S. Open)
Michelle Le, nursing student missing from, and allegedly killed at, Hayward's Kaiser Hospital
Darren Lewis (r), Major League Baseball player
Wes Littleton (1982–) (b), Major League Baseball pitcher with the Seattle Mariners
Bill Lockyer (1941–) (a), California politician, former Attorney General, President Pro Tempore of the State Senate and State Treasurer
Thia Megia (1995–) (b), Filipino-American singer and guitarist, American Idol finalist
Jon Miller (1951–) (r), ESPN and Major League Baseball announcer
Nannette Miranda (r), television reporter for KGO in San Francisco
Amobi Okugo (1991–) (b), soccer player with Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer
Bill Owens (1938–) (a), photographer, author of Suburbia, 1976 Guggenheim fellow, founder of Buffalo Bill's Brewery
Brian Patterson (1965–) (b), bicycle motocross (BMX) racer
Veronica Perez (1988–) (b), Mexican-American forward for the Mexico women's national football (soccer) team
John Pescoran (1980–) (r), artist
Bill Quirk (a), California State Assemblyman, former Hayward City Council member
Romesh Ratnesar (1975–) (b), journalist, author, former deputy managing editor at TIME magazine, member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Mike Reilly (1944–) (b), Democratic Sonoma County supervisor
Faye Hutchison Resnick, O.J. Simpson murder trial figure, crowned the Maid of Hayward 1975
Rosa Gumataotao Rios (1965–) (r), current Treasurer of the United States
Brandon Rogers (1988-) (r), Actor and YouTuber
Maud Russell (b) (1893 – 1989), welfare worker, educator, author
Steve Sapontzis, professor emeritus of philosophy at California State University, East Bay
France Silva (1876–1951) (b), first U.S. Marine of Mexican-American and Hispanic heritage to receive the Medal of Honor
Diamon Simpson (1987–) (r), basketball player with the Houston Rockets
Henry Snyder (1929–) (b), professor emeritus of history at the University of California, Riverside
Sokei-an (1882–1945) (a), Japanese national, founder of the Rinzai Buddhist Society of America
Spice 1 (1970–) (r), rap musician, active 1991 to present
Shawn Stasiak (1970–) (b), professional wrestler, World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment fifteen time Hardcore Champion
Bob Sweikert (1926–1956) (r), racing driver, Indianapolis 500 winner
Erick Threets (1981–) (r), Major League Baseball pitcher
Don Wakamatsu (1963–) (r), Major League Baseball player and manager
Bill Walsh (1931–2007) (r), NFL Hall of Fame coach
Andre Ward (1984–) (r), boxer, light heavyweight gold medalist in the 2004 Olympics, and current WBA World Super Middleweight champion
Joan Weston (1935–1997) (a), A.K.A. the "Blonde Bomber", famous personality in the original roller derby
Buddy Woodward (1963-), (r), American musician, composer, singer, actor and anime voice performer; member of The Dixie Bee-Liners
Kristi Yamaguchi (1971–) (b), professional figure skater, Olympic gold medalist and inductee into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
Mike Young (1960–) (r), professional baseball player
Hamza Yusuf (1958–) (a), American convert to Islam, Islamic scholar, co-founder of Zaytuna College originally located in Hayward, now in Berkeley
Goto Zuigan (1879–1965) (a), Japanese Rinzai Buddhist, operated a strawberry farm in Hayward in the early 20th century
