This list includes people born in Oakland, California, or who lived in Oakland for a significant time.
Academics
- George H. Hildebrand – industrial relations scholar at Cornell University
- Gail Mahood – geology (born in Oakland)[1]
Artists and designers
- Natalia Anciso – artist and educator
- Steven F. Arnold – filmmaker, photographer, painter, illustrator, set and costume designer, and assemblage artist
- Olive Ayhens – painter[2]
- Garry Knox Bennett – woodworker, metalworker, furniture maker, artist
- Bernice Bing – artist, activist
- Warrington Colescott – artist and educator
- Henry Doane – landscape painter, commercial artist
- Janet Doub Erickson – artist and author
- Roger C. Field – industrial designer, graduated from California College of the Arts
- Linda Geary – painter, teacher[3]
- Liz Hernández – painter, sculptor, graphic designer
- Oliver Lee Jackson – painter, printmaker, sculptor
- Walter J. Mathews – architect, designed the First Unitarian Church of Oakland
- Bernard Maybeck – architect
- Jeremy Mayer – sculptor
- Julia Morgan – architect, raised and buried in Oakland
- Willis O'Brien – animator
- Nathan Oliveira – painter, printmaker, sculptor, professor
- Oree Originol – graphic poster artist, activist
- Adrienne Keahi Pao – photographer, artist
- Lisa Quinn – artist, author, designer
- Mel Ramos – painter
- Favianna Rodriguez – painter, artist[4]
- Galen Rowell – photographer
- J. Otto Seibold – artist, illustrator, author
- Elizabeth Sher – documentary and short filmmaker, artist
- Seasick Steve – blues musician
- Betty Swords – cartoonist
- Morrie Turner – artist, illustrator, author of the Wee Pals comic strip
- Wendy Yoshimura – artist
Athletes
Businesspeople, entrepreneurs and industrialists
- Stephen Bechtel – engineer, president, CEO of Bechtel Corporation, 1933–1960[75]
- Anthony Chabot – entrepreneur, father of hydraulic mining, namesake of Chabot Space & Science Center, Lake Chabot, and Chabot College, buried in Oakland[76]
- Charles Crocker – railroad tycoon, buried in Oakland[77]
- Debbi Fields – entrepreneur, founder of Mrs. Fields cookies[78]
- Domingo Ghirardelli – founder of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company based in San Francisco, buried in Oakland[79]
- Ken Hofmann – former owner of the Oakland Athletics[80]
- Henry J. Kaiser – entrepreneur, businessman, founder of Kaiser Permanente and Kaiser Family Foundation, buried in Oakland[81]
- Gladys H. Lent-Barndollar – businesswoman and clubwoman; President, National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs[82]
- Mark Mastrov – founder of 24 Hour Fitness, partial owner of the Sacramento Kings[83]
- Jonah Peretti – founder of BuzzFeed[84]
- Francis Marion Smith (also known as "Borax" Smith) – miner, business magnate[85]
Chefs
- Nelson German – chef[86]
- Tanya Holland – chef, restaurateur, podcast host, and cookbook author[87]
- Nite Yun – chef and restaurateur[88]
Entertainment
- Mahershala Ali – Academy Award-winning actor
- Eddie Anderson – actor
- Max Baer Jr. – actor, film director
- Matt Bettinelli-Olpin – filmmaker and musician
- Pamela Blake – actress
- True Boardman – silent film actor
- Alex Bretow – film producer, director, and screenwriter
- David Carradine – actor
- Rafael Casal – actor, writer
- Connie Cezon – actress
- Angus Cloud – actor
- Keyshia Cole – musician
- Tracie Collins – actress, writer, theatre director and producer
- Ryan Coogler – director
- Buster Crabbe – actor
- T. D. Crittenden – silent film actor
- Robert Culp – actor
- Mark Curry – actor/comedian
- Gloria Dea – actress, dancer and magician
- Walter DeLeon – screenwriter
- Dimitri Diatchenko – actor
- Daveed Diggs – actor and rapper
- Rockmond Dunbar – actor, mixed-media artist
- Sheila E. – musician
- Michael Earl – puppeteer
- Clint Eastwood – actor, Academy Award-winning film producer, and director
- Lyndsy Fonseca – actress
- Squire Fridell – actor
- Cary Fukunaga – Emmy Award-winning director
- Sylvia Gerrish – performer of musical comedy and light opera
- Sumner Getchell – actor
- Gary Goldman – filmmaker
- Michael A. Goorjian – actor and filmmaker
- R. Henry Grey – silent film actor
- Khamani Griffin – child actor
- Mark Hamill – actor
- Bernie Hamilton – actor, Starsky and Hutch
- MC Hammer – rapper
- Tom Hanks – Academy Award-winning actor, raised in Oakland
- Susan Seaforth Hayes – actor
- Claude Heater – opera singer and actor, Ben-Hur
- Russell Hornsby – actor
- Moshe Kasher – comedian, actor, and author/writer; raised in Oakland
- Kehlani – singer
- Joe Knowland – newspaper publisher, actor
- David Labrava – actor, writer, tattoo artist
- Remy Lacroix – adult actress
- Ted Lange – actor
- Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee) – actor, born in Oakland
- Bruce Lee – actor, martial artist
- Nnegest Likké – film director
- Caryl Lincoln – actress
- Delroy Lindo – actor
- Dakin Matthews – actor
- Russ Meyer – film director
- Jefferson Moffitt – screenwriter, film director
- Paul Mooney – comedian
- Shemar Moore – actor, model
- Mitch Mullany – actor
- Kali Muscle – actor
- Roger Nichols – recording engineer
- Natalie Nunn – television personality
- Laura Oakley – silent film actress
- Orunamamu (Marybeth Washington-Stofle) – storyteller[89]
- Frank Oz – actor, director, puppeteer for Bert, Cookie Monster and Grover on Sesame Street
- Chelsea Peretti – comedian, actress
- Dorothy Revier – silent film actress, dancer
- Cherie Roberts – adult model, photographer
- Cynthia Robinson – musician
- Raphael Saadiq – singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer
- Timothy B. Schmit – singer, bassist of The Eagles, born in Oakland
- Kellita Smith – actress and model
- Jack Soo (Goro Suzuki) – comedian, actor, Barney Miller
- George Stevens – Academy Award-winning film director
- Cynthia Stevenson – actress, born in Oakland
- Ethel Grey Terry – silent film actress
- Colin Trevorrow – film director
- Jo Van Fleet – actress
- Matt Vasgersian – actor, sports broadcaster
- Mills Watson – actor
- Robert Webber – film and TV actor, 12 Angry Men
- Will Wright – game designer
- Daniel Wu – actor
- Bassem Youssef – satirist
- Zendaya – Emmy Award-winning actress
Leaders (activists and politicians)
- Richard Aoki – activist[90]
- William P. Baker – politician[91]
- Sonny Barger – founder of the Hells Angels motorcycle club[92]
- Henry G. Blasdel – first governor of Nevada; resident of Oakland[93]
- Annie Florence Brown – President, Oakland Board of Education [94]
- Jerry Brown – politician, former governor of California and mayor of Oakland[95]
- Albert E. Carter – politician[96]
- Frank Chu – eccentric street protester[97]
- Eloise B. Cushing – lawyer; librarian of the Alameda County Law Library (47 years)[98]
- C. L. Dellums – organizer and leader of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters[99]
- Ron Dellums – politician, former U.S. Congressman and Representative, mayor of Oakland[100]
- Frank M. Dixon – politician, former governor of Alabama[101]
- Warren B. English – Confederate war veteran, politician, realtor[102]
- Lydia Flood Jackson – businesswoman, club woman, suffragist, an oldest living native of Oakland when she died in 1963[103]
- Marcus Foster – educator, first African-American Superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District[104]
- Alicia Garza – co-founder of Black Lives Matter[105]
- Elihu Harris – politician, former mayor of Oakland[106]
- JuJu Harris – food-affordability activist[107]
- Kamala Harris – politician, U.S. Senator, first female African-American attorney general of California; first female, African-American, and Asian-American vice president of the United States; born at Kaiser hospital in Oakland but lived and attended school in Berkeley[108]
- Van Jones – founder, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Special Advisor for Green Jobs under US President Barack Obama[109]
- Joseph R. Knowland – former U.S. Representative and former owner of the Oakland Tribune, cremated in Oakland[110]
- William F. Knowland – former U.S. Senator[111]
- Fred Korematsu – Japanese-American who fought forced internment, testing the law in Korematsu v. United States[112]
- Barbara Lee – U.S. Representative[113]
- Charles Goodall Lee – dentist, civic leader, benefactor of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance[114]
- Clara Elizabeth Chan Lee – activist, first Chinese-American woman voter in the U.S.[115]
- Richard Lee – horticulturist, activist for the legalization of marijuana[116]
- Edwin Meese III – former U.S. Attorney General[117]
- Victor H. Metcalf – politician, attorney, banker[118]
- Jessica Mitford – writer, activist, former communist[119]
- Paul Montauk – Communist politician and two-time candidate for Oakland mayor[120]
- Ethel Moore – civic, education, and national defense work leader[121][122]
- Anca Mosoiu – technology activist[123]
- Nancy Nadel – member of the Oakland City Council[124]
- Huey P. Newton – activist, co-founder of the Black Panther Party[125]
- Andrew Nisbet Jr. – member of the Washington House of Representatives and United States Army officer[126]
- Pat Parker – Black lesbian poet and activist[127]
- Ed Rosenthal – horticulturist, publisher, activist for the legalization of marijuana[128]
- Byron Rumford – pharmacist
- John A. Russo – Oakland city attorney, former city councilman[129]
- Bobby Seale – activist, co-founder of the Black Panther Party[130]
- Nicole Shanahan – attorney and running mate of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 2024 presidential campaign
- Hettie B. Tilghman – African-American activist and suffragist[131]
- Robert Treuhaft – activist for labor and leftist causes, attorney, writer[132]
- Earl Warren – Assistant Attorney City of Oakland, District Attorney of Alameda County, Attorney General of California, Governor of California and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice[133]
- Charles Stetson Wheeler – attorney, Regent of the University of California[134]
- Lionel J. Wilson – politician, first African-American mayor of Oakland[135]
- Mother Wright – anti-hunger activist[136]
Military
- Bud Anderson – USAF (served 1942–1972) fighter pilot and commander, triple ace who retired at the rank of colonel[137]
- Jeremiah C. Sullivan – Civil War general in the Union Army and staff member of Ulysses S. Grant, buried in Oakland[138]
Musicians, composers and dancers
- 3XKrazy – male rap group
- A-Plus – rapper
- Rustee Allen – musician
- Ambrose Akinmusire – musician, trumpeter, composer
- Billie Joe Armstrong – co-founder of Green Day
- Tim Armstrong – musician, lead vocalist of punk rock band Rancid
- Paul Baloff (d. 2002) – former lead singer of thrash metal band Exodus
- Ant Banks – rapper, producer
- Gaylord Birch – musician
- Carla Bley – composer, musician
- Boots Riley – rapper, filmmaker
- Mike Botts – studio musician, drummer for rock band Bread
- Bobby Brackins – rapper, songwriter
- Ian Brennan – Grammy Award-winning record producer and author
- Antonia Brico (born Wilhelmina Wolthius) – classical pianist, first female conductor of New York Philharmonic
- Chris Broderick – musician, lead guitarist for the heavy metal band Megadeth
- Peter Buck – musician, guitarist and co-founder of the alternative rock band R.E.M.
- Aaron Burckhard – musician, first drummer of the grunge band Nirvana
- Kevin Cadogan – musician, original lead guitarist of Third Eye Blind
- Emilio Castillo – musician, a founding member of Tower of Power
- Casual – rapper
- Mike Clark – musician
- Cold Blood – rock, soul, jazz band
- Keyshia Cole – Grammy Award-nominated R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, born and raised in Oakland
- The Coup – hip hop group
- Jason Cropper – original band member of Weezer
- Del tha Funkee Homosapien – musician
- Daveed Diggs – rapper and actor
- Digital Underground – rap group
- Mike Dirnt – co-founder of Green Day
- Sue Draheim – fiddler
- Mac Dre – rapper, born in Oakland, raised in Vallejo
- Dru Down – rapper
- Isadora Duncan – dancer
- E-A-Ski – rapper, record producer
- En Vogue – Grammy Award-nominated R&B singing group, originated from Oakland in 1990
- Coke Escovedo – musician
- Pete Escovedo – musician, born in Oakland
- Peter Michael Escovedo – musician
- Robb Flynn – musician best known as rhythm guitarist and vocalist for Machine Head
- Michael Franti – musician
- Fred Frith – improvisational musician, guitarist, composer, professor of music
- Nils Frykdahl – musician, a founding member of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Idiot Flesh
- G-Eazy – rapper and producer
- David Garibaldi – musician, member of Tower of Power
- GGFH – industrial band
- Mic Gillette – musician, a founding member of Tower of Power
- Goapele – soul and R&B singer
- Larry Graham – musician
- Guapdad 4000 – rapper, musician
- MC Hammer – musician, born in Oakland
- Jeff Hanneman – former guitarist for heavy metal band Slayer
- Shawn Harris – musician; former member of The Matches
- Davey Havok – musician, lead singer for AFI
- Edwin and Walter Hawkins – gospel singers
- Hieroglyphics – rap group, originated from Oakland
- Earl Hines – jazz pianist
- John Lee Hooker – blues singer
- Paul Jackson – musician
- Henry Kaiser – musician, grandson of Henry J. Kaiser
- Keak da Sneak – musician
- Kehlani – singer
- Kid 606 – musician
- Sharon Knight – Celtic musician, founding member of pagan rock band Pandemonaeon
- Kreayshawn – rapper
- Stephen "Doc" Kupka – musician, founding member of Tower of Power
- Thomas Lauderdale – musician and pianist
- LaToya London – singer; born in San Francisco, raised in Oakland
- Pep Love – rapper
- The Lovemakers – pop band
- The Luniz – Grammy Award-nominated rap duo
- Michael Manring – bassist, born in D.C., lives in Oakland
- Adrian Marcel – singer
- Jim Martin – musician
- Tony Martin – singer, actor
- MC Lars – rapper; post-punk laptop rap
- Dave Meniketti – rock musician; born and raised in Oakland; lead singer/lead guitarist for Y&T
- Seagram Miller – rapper
- Mistah F.A.B. – rapper
- David Murray – musician
- mxmtoon – singer/songwriter
- Fantastic Negrito – musician
- Noaccordion – multimedia project of Onah Indigo[139]
- Numskull – rapper
- Ray Obiedo – musician
- Marty Paich – pianist, composer, arranger, producer, director, conductor
- Harry Partch – composer
- The Phenomenauts – science and space band, refer to Oakland as "Earth's capital"
- Phesto – rapper, producer
- Matt Pike – guitarist of Sleep and High on Fire
- The Pointer Sisters – Grammy Award-winning R&B singing group
- Pooh-Man – rapper
- PopLyfe – pop group
- Francis Rocco Prestia – musician
- San Quinn – rapper, born in Oakland, raised in San Francisco
- Perri "Pebbles" Reid – singer-songwriter, manager of TLC
- Richie Rich – rapper
- Cynthia Robinson – musician
- Raphael Saadiq – musician
- Arion Salazar – musician in Third Eye Blind
- Pharoah Sanders – musician
- Timothy B. Schmit – rock musician, bassist for the Eagles
- E.C. Scott – blues singer, songwriter and record producer; television host
- Tupac Shakur – rapper, lived in Oakland
- Shock G – rapper
- Sharon Shore – ballet dancer, model
- Calvin E. Simmons – symphony orchestra conductor, namesake of Calvin Simmons Theatre, born in San Francisco
- Souls of Mischief – rap group
- J. Stalin – rapper, co-founder of Livewire Records
- Steady Mobb'n – rap duo
- Jamie Stewart – frontman of the experimental group Xiu Xiu
- Shakir Stewart – record producer, senior vice president of Island Def Jam Music Group
- Freddie Stone – musician
- Rose Stone – musician
- Sly Stone – musician
- Bill Summers – musician
- The Team – rap group
- Tony! Toni! Toné! – R&B singing group
- Too Short – rapper, born in Los Angeles, lived in Oakland 1980–1994
- Tower of Power – band, formed and based in Oakland
- Tune-Yards – band; indie, afro-funk
- Weasel Walter – progressive rock and free jazz musician/composer
- Freddie Washington – musician
- Lenny Williams – musician, early member of Tower of Power
- Y&T – rock band, formed in Oakland 1974
- Yukmouth – rapper
- Baba Zumbi – co-founder of hip hop group Zion I
Physicians
- Samuel Merritt – physician, practiced in San Francisco, namesake of Merritt College, Merritt Hospital, and Lake Merritt, buried in Oakland[140]
- Virginia Prentiss – nanny to Jack London, midwife and former slave[141]
Religious leaders
- David A. Bednar – LDS apostle, born in Oakland[142]
- David Berg – controversial cult leader, founder of Children of God[143]
- Yusuf Bey – controversial Black Muslim activist[144]
- Mose Durst – author, educator, former president of the Unification Church[145]
- James Ishmael Ford – Zen Buddhist priest and Unitarian Universalist minister[146]
- Ray Frank – Jewish leader[147]
- Jack Hayford – minister, chancellor, songwriter[148]
- Judah Leon Magnes – prominent Reform rabbi, first president of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem[149]
- Carol Anne O'Marie – Roman Catholic nun, mystery fiction writer[150]
- Bebe Patten – evangelist and founder of Patten University[151]
- Clarence Richard Silva – Catholic bishop from Oakland, current bishop of Honolulu[152]
- Richard B. Stamps – anthropologist, archeologist, president of the Taipei Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints[153]
- Allen Henry Vigneron – Catholic bishop, leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland[154]
Scientists and inventors
- Dean Burk – medical researcher[155]
- Fernando J. Corbató – computer scientist[156]
- Frederick Cottrell – inventor[157]
- Frank Epperson – popsicle inventor[158]
- Lloyd N. Ferguson – first African American to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley[159]
- Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat – biochemist and virologist; died in Oakland[160]
- Ansel Franklin Hall – first park naturalist for Yosemite National Park, first Chief Forester for the National Park Service[161]
- Richard F. Johnston – ornithologist, academic and author[162]
- Stanley Miller – chemist[163]
- Sten Odenwald – astronomer and author[164]
- Wendell Phillips – archaeologist and oil magnate[165]
- William Shurtleff – researcher, technical writer, bibliographer, historian, and popularizer of soy foods[166]
- Lydia Weld – first woman to get a degree in engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and naval architect in World War II[167]
Writers and poets
- Daniel Alarcón – writer, currently resides in Oakland[168]
- Catherine Asaro – writer[169]
- Chauncey Bailey – journalist assassinated by an agent of Your Black Muslim Bakery[170]
- Delilah L. Beasley – first African-American columnist to be published in a major newspaper[171]
- Anthony Boucher – writer[172]
- Garrett Caples – poet, writer[173]
- Jon Carroll – columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle[174]
- Frank Chin – writer[175]
- Daniel Clowes – comic book writer, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, currently resides in Oakland[176]
- Robert Duncan – poet[177]
- Sarah Webster Fabio – African-American writer, poet, educator; born in Nashville, lived in Oakland 1955–1979[178]
- Ben Fong-Torres – rock journalist[179]
- Maxine Hong Kingston – writer, currently resides in Oakland[180]
- Richard Lange – Los Angeles-based author, born in Oakland[181]
- Yiyun Li – writer, former creative writing instructor at Mills College[182]
- Jack London – writer, raised in Oakland, namesake of Jack London Square[183]
- Anthony Marra – writer[184]
- Rod McKuen – poet, composer, singer[185]
- Joaquin Miller – poet, lived in Oakland 1886–1913[186]
- Jessica Mitford – author[187]
- Leila Mottley – author and poet[188]
- Jess Mowry – writer[189]
- Colleen Patrick-Goudreau – author, speaker, and podcaster[190]
- Ishmael Reed – writer, currently resides in Oakland[191]
- Mary Roach – science writer, currently resides in Oakland[192]
- William Saroyan – dramatist, author, lived in Oakland 1913–1918[193]
- Jason Shiga – author, cartoonist, puzzle designer[194]
- Alex Steffen – writer, born in Oakland[195]
- Gertrude Stein – writer[196]
- Robert Louis Stevenson[197] – writer
- Tina Susman – journalist, Time senior editor, former national editor of BuzzFeed News[198]
- Amy Tan – writer, born in Oakland[199]
- Jack Vance – science fiction writer[200]
- Nellie Wong – poet and activist, born in Oakland[201]
- Shawn Wong – writer, English professor
- Helen Zia – writer, journalist, and activist, currently resides in Oakland[202]
Criminals
- Felix Mitchell – notorious drug lord and gang leader of the 1970s and early 1980s[203]
- Hans Reiser – computer programmer, owner of Namesys, convicted of murdering his wife[204]
- Tommy Lynn Sells – murderer and suspected serial killer[205]
References
See also
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