List of people from Arlington Heights, Illinois

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Arlington Heights, Illinois. For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Entertainment

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Margaret Judson		1985		Television actor (The Newsroom)	Born in Arlington Heights
Matteo Lane		1982		Comedian	Raised in Arlington Heights
Sebastian Maniscalco		July 8, 1973		Comedian and actor	Attended Rolling Meadows High School
Marlee Matlin		Aug 24, 1965		Actress	Graduated from John Hersey High School
Jim Michaels		Sep 12, 1965		Producer, director, and actor	Graduated from John Hersey High School
Jennifer Morrison		Apr 12, 1979		Actress (House, Once Upon A Time)	Attended Prospect High School
Anson Mount		Feb 25, 1973		Actor (Hell on Wheels)	Born in Arlington Heights[citation needed]
Jeff Speakman		Nov 8, 1958		Martial artist and actor	Graduated from John Hersey High School	[citation needed]

Business

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Steve Chen		Aug 18, 1978		Co-founder of YouTube	Attended John Hersey High School	[1]
Ray Kroc		Oct 5, 1902	Jan 14, 1984	Businessman behind McDonald's success	Lived in Arlington Heights
Robert A. Roth		Mar 19, 1947		Publisher and art collector, founder of Chicago Reader	Grew up in Arlington Heights	[2]

Music

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Jay Bennett		Nov 15, 1963		Guitarist, ex member of Wilco	Lived in Arlington Heights	[3]
Davis Daniel		Mar 1, 1961		Country music artist	Born in Arlington Heights
Lee DeWyze		Apr 2, 1986		Winner of American Idol (season 9)	Attended Prospect High School
Alan Gratzer				Co-founder of REO Speedwagon	Graduate of Arlington High School (1966)	[citation needed]
Tim McIlrath		Nov 3, 1978		Lead singer of the band Rise Against	Grew up in Arlington Heights and attended Rolling Meadows High School
Ted Nugent		Dec 13, 1948		Musician	Attended St. Viator High School

Sports

Baseball

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Dick Bokelmann		Oct 26, 1926	Dec 27, 2019	Pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals	Born in Arlington Heights
Zach Borenstein		Jul 23, 1990		Outfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks organization	Born in Arlington Heights
Kurt Knudsen		Feb 20, 1967		Pitcher for the Detroit Tigers	Born in Arlington Heights
Bobby Murcer		May 20, 1946	Jul 12, 2008	Outfielder for the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, and the Chicago Cubs	Lived Arlington Heights	[citation needed]
Mike Myers		Jun 26, 1969		Pitcher for the New York Yankees	Born in Arlington Heights
Fritz Peterson		Feb 8, 1942		All-Star pitcher for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Texas Rangers		[citation needed]
Paul Splittorff		Oct 8, 1946	May 25, 2011	Pitcher for the Kansas City Royals; grew up in Arlington Heights and graduated from Arlington High School		[4]
Bruce Sutter		Jan 8, 1953	Oct 13, 2022	Hall of Fame relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs (1976–1980) and St. Louis Cardinals (1981-1984)	Lived in Arlington Heights	[citation needed]
Dan Wilson		Mar 25, 1969		Catcher for the Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners		[citation needed]

Basketball

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Dave Corzine		Apr 25, 1956		Center for six National Basketball Association teams	Born in Arlington Heights; attended John Hersey High School and Thomas Middle School
Ray Meyer		Dec 18, 1913	Mar 17, 2006	Head coach of DePaul University's men's basketball program	Lived in Arlington Heights	[citation needed]

Football

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Brett Basanez		May 11, 1983		Quarterback with Northwestern University (2002–2005), Carolina Panthers (2006–2008), and the Chicago Bears (2009)	Born in Arlington Heights; attended Saint Viator High school
Doug Betters		Jun 11, 1956		All-Pro defensive end with the Miami Dolphins	Attended Arlington High School
Jimmy Garoppolo		Nov 2, 1991		Quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers and the New England Patriots	Born in Arlington Heights; graduated from Rolling Meadows High School
Tom Nelson		Dec 4, 1986		Free safety, punt and kick returner with the Chicago Bears and Illinois State University; attended John Hersey High School	Grew up in Arlington Heights, Illinois; attended John Hersey High School, Thomas Middle School, and Ivy Hill Elementary School
Jarrett Payton		Dec 26, 1980		Walter Payton's son; running back with the Tennessee Titans; sportscaster	Attended Saint Viator High School
Walter Payton		Jul 25, 1954	Nov 1, 1999	Hall of Fame running back with the Chicago Bears	Lived in Arlington Heights
Tom Zbikowski		May 22, 1985		Boxer and football player for Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Chicago Bears	Attended Buffalo Grove High School		Emmett Cleary

Hockey

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Tom Preissing		Dec 3, 1978		Defenseman for the Los Angeles Kings	Born in Arlington Heights

Soccer

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Brian McBride		Jun 19, 1972		Striker for the Columbus Crew, Chicago Fire S.C., VfL Wolfsburg (Germany), Fulham F.C. (England), and US national team (USMNT); current general manager of the USMNT	Attended Buffalo Grove High School
Jonathan Spector		Mar 1, 1986		Defender and centre midfielder for the US men's national team, and the English teams Manchester United, West Ham United, and Birmingham City	Attended Saint Viator High School

Wrestling

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Chris Nowinski		Sep 24, 1978		Wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment	Born in Arlington Heights; attended John Hersey High School

References

1. "Alumni / Distinguished Alumni". www.d214.org. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
2. Anderson, Jon (March 14, 1986). "A publisher who is proud of his readers" (PDF). Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
3. Kot, Greg (2004). Wilco: Learning How to Die (1st ed.). New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1558-5.
4. "Paul Splittorff, Royals' Biggest Winner, Dies at 64". NYTimes.com.