List of people from Westport, Connecticut

Actors, comedians, others in the film and television industries

Mason Adams (1919–2005), character actor, voice of Pepper Young and Smuckers, longtime resident

Millette Alexander, actress, musician, current resident

Mädchen Amick, actress

Linda Blair (b. 1959), actress known for The Exorcist, grew up in Westport

Scott Bryce, actor, past resident, 1974 graduate of local public high school, Staples High School

Marilyn Chambers (1952–2009), former porn star, born in town, 1970 graduate of Staples High School

Imogene Coca (1908–2001), comedian, died in town

Kevin Conroy (b. 1955), actor, spent much of his childhood in town

Ray Dalio, CEO, money manager at Bridgewater Associates

Rodney Dangerfield, comedian and actor, past resident

Bette Davis, Academy Award-winning actress, past resident, 1 Crooked Mile Road

Sandy Dennis (1937–1992), Academy Award-winning actress, died in town

Phil Donahue (b. 1935), television personality, talk show host, married to Marlo Thomas, lives in town

Michael Douglas, Academy Award-winning actor, past resident

Linda Fiorentino, actress

Luke Greenfield, movie director, grew up in town

Matt Harding (b. 1976), Internet celebrity notable for videos showing him dancing in many locations around the world

Melissa Joan Hart, actress, moved to Westport in 2009

Mariette Hartley, actress, 1957 graduate of Staples High School

Linda Hunt, actress, raised in town

Patricia Kalember (b. 1957), actress, partly raised in town

Kerri Kenney-Silver (b. 1970), actress, singer, writer and daughter of Larry Kenney, born in town

Michael Kulich, pornographic film director and producer, graduated Staples High School in 2004

Paul Lieberstein, writer and co-star of American version of The Office

Christopher Lloyd, actor and producer, past resident, graduate of local public high school, Staples High School

Bob Lorenz (b. 1963), television sportscaster with Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES Network), current resident

George Lowther (1913–1975), writer and producer for radio and television programs, including Superman, Terry and the Pirates and The Edge of Night

Pamela Sue Martin (b. 1953), actress, born in town, graduated from Staples High School, 1971

Cady McClain (born 1969), soap opera actress, owned a home in town since 1992

Steve Miner (b. 1951), film and television director, born in town

Gerry Mulligan (1927–1996), jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger

Paul Newman (1925–2008), Academy Award-winning actor, director, auto racer and philanthropist, lived in town

Alisan Porter (b. 1981), actress (Curly Sue) and singer, went to high school in town

Robert Redford, Academy Award-winning actor and director, past resident

Eric Roberts, actor, past resident

Rod Serling (1924–1975), creator of The Twilight Zone, lived in town

Micah Sloat, actor and star of Paranormal Activity

Brett Somers (1924–2007), actress, wife of Jack Klugman, game show personality

Martha Stewart (b. 1941), business magnate, television personality, author, convicted felon

Marlo Thomas (b. 1937), actress, author, wife of Phil Donahue, current resident

Harvey Weinstein, film producer, current resident

Joanne Woodward (b. 1930), Academy Award-winning actress and philanthropist, current resident

Singers, musicians and other entertainers

Michael Bolton, singer, current resident

Matt Gallant (b. 1964), a television host, raised in town

Mike Greenberg, ESPN personality, host of Mike and Mike, current resident

Dan Hartman (1950–1994), singer, songwriter and record producer, died in town

Don Imus, radio personality, current resident

Larry Kenney, radio personality on the Don Imus show, actor, father of Kerri Kenney-Silver, lives in town

Meat Loaf (Marvin Lee Aday), rock singer and songwriter, moved to town in 1981, coached girls softball in town

Gerry Mulligan, Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan (1927–1996), jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger

Nile Rodgers, musician and music producer

Harry Rodrigues, known as Baauer, DJ and creator of the "Harlem Shake" track, lived in Westport from 2003-2006, attended Staples High School

Neal Smith, drummer for Alice Cooper, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, briefly lived in Westport, now sells real estate in the area

John Solum, flutist, author and teacher, current resident

Martha Stewart, entrepreneur, convicted felon, past resident, had a studio in town

Eric Von Schmidt (1931–2007), folk and blues singer-songwriter of the folk/blues revival of the 1960s

Hy Zaret (d. 2007), lyricist, lived and died in Westport

Artists, illustrators, cartoonists, designers

Mel Casson, cartoonist, lived and died in Westport

Stevan Dohanos (1907–1994), artist and illustrator known for his Saturday Evening Post covers, lived in town

Bernie Fuchs (1932–2009), renowned illustrator, Westport resident from 1960 until his death in 2009

William Glackens (1870–1938), realist painter, died in town

Annie Leibovitz (b. 1949), portrait photographer, born in town

Joe McNally, photographer, former resident

Gerry Turner (1921–1992), photographer

Hilla von Rebay (1890–1967), painter and founding curator of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, spent the last years of her life in Greens Farms, died there in 1967

George Hand Wright (1872–1951), painter and illustrator

Miller Pope (1929-2016), author and illustrator, member of the Society of Illustrators, past president of the Westport Artists Association. The Life and Art of Miller Pope

Leonard Everett Fisher (b. 1924), artist and illustrator. Lives in Westport.

Howard Munce (1915-2016), illustrator, art director, teacher, sculptor and author. Lived in Westport 1935-2016.

Ann Chernow (b. 1936), artist. Lives in Westport.

Miggs Burroughs, graphic artist. Lives in Westport.

Nina Bentley, assemblage artist. Lives in Westport

Hardie Gramatky, (1907-1979), painter, author, and illustrator. Lived in Westport post-WWII until his death.

Athletes, sportspeople

John DiBartolomeo (born 1991), basketball player for Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League

Parker Kligerman (b. 1990), NASCAR driver for Swan Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, born in Westport

Kyle Martino (b. 1981), retired soccer player and currently a TV soccer color analyst, went to high school in Westport

Jim McKay (1921-2008), multiple Emmy award-winning sports commentator, host of ABC's Wide World of Sports and numerous summer and winter Olympic Games, lived on Compo Parkway for over 30 years

Paul Newman (1925–2008), former driver, team owner in CART

Authors, writers, journalists

Lynsey Addario (b. 1977), journalist, freelance photographer

Dick Aultman (b. 1933) editor of Golf Digest Magazine and multiple golf instruction books, lived in town

Lincoln Child (b. 1957), author of techno-thriller and horror novels, born in town

Peter De Vries (1910–1993), editor and novelist, died in Norwalk

Frank Deford (b. 1938), journalist, writer and commentator, current resident

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940), author of The Great Gatsby, past resident

Ramin Ganeshram (b. 1968), journalist, chef, author, current resident

Hardie Gramatky (1907–1979), author, artist, illustrator, resident later in life, died and buried in town

Jane Green (b. 1968), also known as Jane Green Warburg, author and current resident

Tyler Hicks (b. 1969), journalist, staff photographer, The New York Times

A.E. Hotchner, author and cofounder with Paul Newman of Newman's Own

Shirley Jackson (1916–1965), author of many novels and the short story "The Lottery", lived in town 1949–51

Gordon Joseloff (b. 1945), former First Selectman and Emmy Award-winning journalist

Melissa Kirsch (b. 1974), author of The Girl's Guide to Absolutely Everything, lived in town, graduated from Staples High School

Hilton Kramer (1928–2012), editor and art critic, former resident

Ruth Krauss (1901–1993), author of children's books, including The Carrot Seed, died in town

Nora Benjamin Kubie (1899–1988), author and illustrator of children's books

Robert Lawson (1892–1957), author and artist whose children's books made him the first person to receive both the Newbery Medal (Rabbit Hill, 1945) and Caldecott Medal (They Were Strong and Good, 1940), died in town

Robert Ludlum, late author and past resident, lived on Sasco Creek where he and Rodney Dangerfield frequently visited

Sheila Lukins (1942–2009), cook and food writer who co-authored the The Silver Palate series of cookbooks and The New Basics Cookbook

Jim Nantz, CBS Sports, past resident

Jeff Pegues, CBS News Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent; author of Black and Blue: Inside the Divide Between the Police and Black America; grew up in Westport and graduated from Staples High School; member of Staples Football Hall of Fame

David Pogue, New York Times technology columnist, current resident

Harry Reasoner (1923–1991), news anchor, lived in town

Ronald B. Scott, journalist, biographer of presidential candidate W. Mitt Romney, author of the novel Closing Circles: Trapped in the Everlasting Mormon Moment which was set in Westport, former resident

Jack Tippit, late cartoonist of Amy, lived in town

Gerry Turner, author of children's book and photographer, Lived in town 1966-1992

Max Wilk (1920–2011), author

Jane Yolen, author, past resident

Government and politics, officeholders and activists

James Comey (b. 1960), former US Deputy Attorney General and current director of the FBI

Wilbur Lucius Cross (1862–1948), governor of the state and namesake of the Wilbur Cross Parkway, principal of Staples High School in his early 20s

Henry M. Judah, Civil War brigadier general, is entombed at Kings Highway Cemetery in town

John Davis Lodge (1903–1985), Connecticut governor and congressman, namesake of the Gov. John Davis Lodge Turnpike (Interstate 95 in Connecticut)

James K. Scribner, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly

Anne Wexler (1930–2009), political advisor and lobbyist

Scientists

Mariangela Lisanti, theoretical physicist

Mary Loveless, immunologist who developed a bee sting immunity