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This is a list of notable people from San Jose, California. It includes people who were born/raised in, lived in, or spent portions of their lives in San Jose, or for whom San Jose is a significant part of their identity, as well as music groups founded in San Jose. This list is in alphabetical order by surname.
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- Akhil Akkineni, Indian-American actor who predominantly works in the Telugu film Industry of India[1]
- Elisa Marina Alvarado, Chicana director, actress, educator, recipient of Cornerstone of the Arts award, born in San Jose[2]
- Frank Bacon, actor, playwright and father of Lloyd Bacon, raised in San Jose and lived there for 17 years[3]
- Lloyd Bacon, Hollywood director, son of actor Frank Bacon, born in San Jose[4]
- Adrienne Barbeau, actress, attended Del Mar High School class of 1963[5]
- Calum Best, British television personality, son of footballer George Best, born in San Jose[6]
- Brett Dalton, actor, born in San Jose[7]
- Rosanna DeSoto, actress, born in San Jose
- Dustin Diamond, child actor, known as Screech from Saved By The Bell, born in San Jose[8]
- Ricco Fajardo, voice actor in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School and various anime, TV actor, born in San Jose
- Renée Elise Goldsberry, actress, known for originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway musical Hamilton, born in San Jose[9][10]
- Michael Gough, voice actor, born in San Jose
- Farley Granger, actor, best known for Strangers on a Train, born in San Jose[11]
- Nick Groff, paranormal investigator and television personality, born in San Jose[12]
- Krazy George Henderson, cheerleader, inventor of "The Wave", sports entertainment[13]
- Josh Holloway, actor, Lost, born in San Jose[14]
- Fran Jeffries, singer and actress, born in Palo Alto[15]
- Anjelah Johnson, comedian, born in San Jose[16]
- Jeannie Mai, TV personality, talk show host, fashion expert, makeup artist, born in San Jose[17]
- Peverell Marley, Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-winning cinematographer, born in San Jose[18]
- Charles Martinet, actor and voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Nintendo's Mario, born in San Jose[19]
- Candi Milo, voice actress, born in San Jose[20]
- Linda Park, actress, originally from Seoul, South Korea and raised in San Jose[21]
- Miguel Perez, actor, born in San Jose
- Ernie Reyes Jr., actor and martial artist, born in San Jose[22]
- Diane Rodriguez, theatre director, actor, writer, born in San Jose[23]
- Gabriela Sepúlveda, singer and actress, Jenni Rivera: Mariposa De Barrio, born in San Jose[24]
- Kurtwood Smith, actor, That '70s Show
- Smothers Brothers, musical comedy duo and actors
- Dave Tatsuno, Japanese-American internment camp resident who made amateur film Topaz, about camp life[25]
- Kathy Uyen, actress and producer for Vietnamese cinema, born in San Jose[26]
- Luis Valdez, playwright and director[27]
- Kung Fu Vampire, musician, also on the Discovery Channel's Oddities, born in San Jose[28]
- Kate Walsh, actress, born in San Jose[29]
Comics and zines
- Brent Anderson, comic artist with DC Comics, born in San Jose[30]
- Jan Eliot, comic artist of Stone Soup, born in San Jose[31]
- Julia Kaye, comic artist of Up and Out, illustrator, raised in San Jose[32]
- Jhonen Vasquez, creator of alternative comics for Slave Labor Graphics and Invader ZIM, born in San Jose[33]
Mixed media
- Susan O'Malley, public art, museum curation, and author, raised in San Jose[34]
Painters
- Lucy Bacon, impressionist painter, lived in San Jose 1898–1909, taught at the Washburn Preparatory School[35]
- James Caprell, fine artist, born in San Jose[36]
- Ernest de Saisset, portrait artist[37]
- Chris Johanson, fine artist, part of the Mission School art movement, born in San Jose[38]
- Suzanne Scheuer, painter known for her New Deal-era murals, born in San Jose[39]
- Herman Volz, fine artist, worked with the Federal Art Project, lived in San Jose 1960–1990, died in San Jose[40]
Photographers
- Bill Owens, photographer and photojournalist documenting suburbia, born in San Jose[41]
Sculptors
- Ruthadell Anderson, sculptor, fiber artist, textile artist; born in San Jose and attended San Jose State University[42]
- Therese May, fine art quilting, lived in San Jose[43]
- Yorgo Alexandrou, Olympic bobsledder for Armenia (two-man bobsleigh, 2002 Salt Lake City), born and raised in San Jose[44]
- Chidobe Awuzie, NFL player, born in San Jose[45]
- Scott Baker, Major League Baseball player, born in San Jose[46]
- Bayley, WWE wrestler[47]
- Isaac Brizuela, footballer, born in San Jose[48]
- Brent Burns, pro hockey player San Jose Sharks, lives in San Jose[49]
- Steve Caballero, professional skateboarder, born in San Jose[50]
- Angelo Caloiaro (born 1989), American-Italian basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League[51]
- Ken Caminiti, pro baseball player (San Jose State), 1996 NL MVP[52]
- Rich Campbell, NFL player, played high school football in San Jose[53]
- Mark Canha, baseball player, born in San Jose[54]
- John Carlos, Olympic silver medalist, 200m (1968 Mexico City); track and field athlete; pro football player[55]
- Andre Carter, pro football player[56]
- Brandi Chastain, soccer player, World Cup champion, born in San Jose[57]
- Amy Chow, Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics (1996), born in San Jose[58]
- Kay Cockerill, professional golfer, born in San Jose[59]
- Jerry Coleman, decorated combat pilot, MLB player and manager, Ford Frick Award-winning sportscaster, born in San Jose[60]
- Sam Delaplane (born 1995), professional baseball pitcher[61]
- Polina Edmunds, Olympic figure skater[62]
- Herman Edwards, NFL player, coach, TV commentator[63]
- Jon Fitch, UFC fighter[64][65]
- Peggy Fleming, 1968 Winter Olympics figure skating gold medalist, born in San Jose[66]
- Rudy Galindo, national champion figure skater, born in San Jose[67]
- Jeff Garcia, pro football quarterback (San Jose State)[68]
- Jeremy Giambi, baseball player, born in San Jose[69]
- Naomi Girma, soccer player for the United States[70][71]
- Aaron Gordon, player for the Denver Nuggets and brother of Drew Gordon, born in San Jose[72]
- Drew Gordon, player for the Philadelphia 76ers and brother of Aaron Gordon, born in San Jose[73]
- Shawn Green, MLB 2-time All-Star outfielder[74]
- Kyle Harrison (born 2001), baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants[75]
- Dany Heatley, pro hockey player, San Jose Sharks[76]
- Mike Holmgren, NFL coach and executive[77]
- Cass Jackson, former college football head coach, one of the first African-American head football coaches at a predominantly white college (Oberlin College)[78]
- John Johnson, NBA basketball, First Team All American at the University of Iowa, lived and died in San Jose[79]
- Brent Jones, football player, Santa Clara University, San Francisco 49ers, three-time Super Bowl champion, born in San Jose[80]
- James Jones, pro football player (San Jose State), Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders, born in San Jose[81]
- Carney Lansford, pro baseball player, Oakland A's, 1989 World Series champion, 1981 A.L. batting champion, born in San Jose[82]
- Cung Le, Vietnamese mixed martial arts fighter, three-time Sanshou bronze medalist[83]
- Joe Leonard, automobile and motorcycle champion[84]
- Roger Maltbie, professional PGA golfer and NBC Sports On Air golf analyst[85]
- Patrick Marleau, pro hockey player, San Jose Sharks[86]
- Jake McGee, baseball player[87]
- Kyle McLaren, pro hockey player San Jose Sharks[88]
- Tommy Medica, baseball player, born in San Jose[89]
- Marty Mornhinweg, NFL player and coach[90][91]
- Evgeni Nabokov, pro hockey player, San Jose Sharks[92][93][94]
- James Nunnally (born 1990), professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the Euroleague, and formerly in the NBA, born in San Jose[95][96]
- Brian Oldfield, athlete, world and American record holder in shot put[97]
- Jesús Padilla, soccer player for Chivas de Guadalajara, born in San Jose[98][99]
- Jim Plunkett, quarterback, Stanford University, 1970 Heisman Trophy winner, Oakland Raiders, two-time Super Bowl champion (SB XV MVP), born in San Jose[100][101]
- John Powell, two-time Olympic bronze medalist (1976 Munich, 1984 L.A.), discus throw[102][103]
- Dave Righetti, baseball player; 1981 A.L. Rookie of the Year (N.Y. Yankees); pitched no-hitter on July 4, 1983; San Francisco Giants pitching coach, born in San Jose[104][105]
- Ricco Rodriguez, mixed martial artist, UFC and ADCC champion, born in San Jose[106]
- Frank Shamrock, MMA fighter[107]
- Tommie Smith, Olympic gold medalist - 200m, (1968 Mexico City), track and field athlete (San Jose State), pro football player[108][109]
- Dave Stieb, pro baseball pitcher[110][111]
- Carl Sullivan, football player, born in San Jose[112][113]
- Mike Swain, Olympic gold medalist, four-time Olympian, San Jose State judo coach[114][115]
- Mike Swick, UFC fighter[116][117]
- Debi Thomas, Olympic figure skater, grew up in San Jose[118][119]
- Josh Thomson, mixed martial artist and model, born in San Jose[120][121]
- Joe Thornton, pro hockey player, San Jose Sharks[122][123]
- Pat Tillman, pro football player and decorated Army Ranger, born in San Jose[124][125]
- Loren Toews, pro football player[126][127]
- Yosh Uchida, businessman, educator, contributor to San Jose State judo team, born in San Jose[128][129]
- Cain Velasquez, MMA fighter[130][131]
- Dick Vermeil, college and pro football head coach, Super Bowl champion (St. Louis Rams, 1999)[132][133]
- Aly Wagner, retired soccer player[134][135]
- Bill Walsh, college and pro football head coach, three-time Super Bowl champion (San Francisco 49ers)[136]
- Gurbaksh Chahal, entrepreneur[137][138]
- Andy Dinh, entrepreneur and professional gamer, born in San Jose[139]
- Amadeo Peter Giannini, founder of Bank of America, born in San Jose[140][141]
- Peter Ueberroth, sports and business executive, San Jose State University alumnus[142][143]
- Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc., born in San Jose[144][145]
- Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo![146][147]
- Angela Dimayuga, internationally known chef born and raised in San Jose[148][149][150]
- Mythili Kumar, South Indian traditional dancer of Bharatanatyam, resides in San Jose, founder of Abhinaya Dance School of San Jose[151][152][153]
- Yuriko Kikuchi (née Amemiya), worked with the Martha Graham Dance Company, born in San Jose[154][155]
- Mai Kitazawa Arbegast, landscape architect, born in San Jose[156]
- Scott Campbell, video game concept artist for LucasArts then Double Fine Productions, art director, comic artist and illustration, born and raised in San Jose[157][158]
- Theodore Lenzen, Prussian-born architect, active in San Jose[159][160]
- Joe Murray, animator, born in San Jose[161][162]
- Emily Williams, pioneering female architect in the 20th century, attended California State Normal School (later known as SJSU)[163][164]
- Peter William Cassey, African-American 19th-century school founder, deacon, minister, educator, abolitionist, and political activist[165][166]
- Henry Suzzallo, educator; president of the University of Washington[167][168]
- Anohni, frontwoman of Antony and the Johnsons[169][170]
- Antwon, rapper, lives in San Jose[171]
- Ashe, singer, born in San Jose[172][173]
- Bassnectar, DJ and electronic music producer[174][175]
- Louie Bellson, professional drummer[176][177]
- Tommy Castro, blues, rock[178][179]
- Charizma, rapper, born in San Jose[180][181]
- Count Five, garage rock band, formed in San Jose[182][183]
- John "Sean" Byrne, musician with Count Five, lived in San Jose[184][185]
- Irene Dalis, opera singer, founder of Opera San Jose, born in San Jose[186][187]
- Jimmy DeGrasso, heavy metal drummer[188]
- DJ Shadow, born Joshua Davis, instrumental hip-hop DJ, born in San Jose[189][190]
- The Doobie Brothers, rock band[191][192]
- Tom Johnston, lived in San Jose with the Doobie Brothers[193][194]
- Duster, indie rock band[195][196]
- Fleetwood Mac, rock band[197][198]
- Lindsey Buckingham, musician with Fleetwood Mac[199][200]
- Stevie Nicks, singer and musician with Fleetwood Mac[201][199]
- Jeff Foskett, guitarist and singer, best known for work with The Beach Boys[202][203]
- Getter, DJ, electronic music producer and rapper[204][205][206]
- Heavy Heavy Low Low, metal band formed in San Jose[207][208]
- The Holdup, reggae and hip hop band formed in San Jose[209][210]
- Greg Kihn, rock musician and radio DJ[211][212]
- Kung Fu Vampire, rapper from San Jose[213][214]
- Los Tigres del Norte, Mexican band formed in San Jose[215][216]
- Laura Mam, musician and music industry entrepreneur[217][218]
- Bryan Mantia, drummer for Primus and Guns N' Roses, born in San Jose
- Kamtin Mohager, lead musician for The Chain Gang of 1974[219]
- No Use for a Name, band
- Matt Riddle, bassist of No Use for a Name, born in San Jose
- Tony Sly, lead singer and guitarist of No Use for a Name, born in San Jose
- Peanut Butter Wolf, disc jockey and producer from San Jose[220][221]
- Nikki Sixx, bassist for Mötley Crüe, born in San Jose[222]
- Sleep, doom metal band formed in San Jose[223][224]
- Smash Mouth, pop-rock band formed in San Jose[225][226]
- Snow Tha Product, rapper, born in San Jose[227][228]
- Skip Spence, co-founder of Moby Grape[229]
- Stone Temple Pilots, band[230][231]
- Eric Kretz, drummer for Stone Temple Pilots, Talk Show, and Spiralarms, born in San Jose
- Scott Weiland, vocalist for Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver, Camp Freddy, The Wondergirls, Art of Anarchy, and The Magnificent Bastards, born in San Jose[232][233]
- Sunami, hardcore punk band[234][235]
- Syndicate of Sound, garage rock band formed in San Jose[236][237]
- Traxamillion, rapper[238][239]
- Xiu Xiu (band), avant-garde band formed in San Jose[240][241]
- Yvette Young, singer/songwriter, guitarist/front-woman of Covet[242][243]
- Kim Yubin, member of South Korean girl group Wonder Girls[244]
- Ben Nighthorse Campbell, U.S. Senator from Colorado, SJSU graduate[245][246]
- César Chávez, labor leader and civil rights activist[247][248]
- C. C. Cottrell, California State Assembly member 1933–1939
- Nathan Damigo, founder of Identity Evropa, an American neo-Nazi and white supremacist organization[citation needed], grew up in San Jose[249]
- Don Edwards, U.S. Representative from California 1963–1995, born in San Jose[250][251]
- Thomas Fallon, soldier, mayor of San Jose[252][253]
- Ron Gonzales, mayor of Sunnyvale and San Jose[254][255]
- Mike Honda, U.S. Representative[256][257]
- Sherman Otis Houghton, mayor of San Jose, U.S. Representative[258][259]
- Norman Mineta, mayor of San Jose, United States Secretary of Transportation, United States Secretary of Commerce, born in San Jose[260][261]
- Michael A. Rice, biologist and Rhode Island politician, born in San Jose
- Iola Williams, politician and civil rights activist, first African-American to serve on San Jose City Council (1979–1991), Vice Mayor of San Jose for two terms[262][263]
- Paul André Albert, scientist and pioneering metallurgist with IBM, and founder of ACI Alloys[264]
- Edgar F. Codd, computer scientist[265][266]
- Dian Fossey, primatologist, SJSU graduate[267]
- Dudley R. Herschbach, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, born in San Jose
- Michio Kaku, physicist, born in San Jose[268][269][270]
- Reza Aslan, Iranian-American author, religious studies scholar, producer, and television host; attended Del Mar High School (class of 1990)[271][272]
- Raymond Carver, short story writer and poet[273][274]
- Carolyn Cassady, author of the Beat Generation, lived in San Jose[275]
- Neal Cassady, author of the Beat Generation, Merry Pranksters member, inspiration for character Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's novel On The Road, lived in San Jose[275]
- Howard Dully, author, My Lobotomy[276][277]
- Kate Elliott, novelist
- Khaled Hosseini, best-selling novelist, author of The Kite Runner, lived in San Jose[278][279]
- Wayne Koestenbaum, artist, poet, and cultural critic[280][281]
- William Lewis Manly, pioneer, hero, banker, and author of Death Valley in '49
- Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Sympathizer, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction; attended Bellarmine College Preparatory[282][283][284]
- James Wesley Rawles, novelist[285][286]
- Al Ruffo, Mayor of San Jose[287][288]
- Kay Ryan, poet, former Poet Laureate of the United States, born in San Jose[289][290]
- Amy Tan, best-selling novelist, author of The Joy Luck Club
- Louis Theroux, English documentary filmmaker, journalist and broadcaster[291][292]
- Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, author of the memoir Farewell to Manzanar, attended high school and college in San Jose
- Tad Williams, author of the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series[293][294]
- Francis B. Murdoch, founder and publisher of the San Jose Weekly Telegraph (1853–1860) and the San Jose Weekly Patriot (1863–1875)[295]
- Vicky Nguyen, NBC News anchor[296][297]
- Isai Alvarado, professional video game player, Super Smash Bros. player[298]
- Susan Atkins, convicted murderer, Manson Family member[299][300]
- Joey Chestnut, competitive eater[301][302]
- Jason Dahl, captain of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, born in San Jose[303][304]
- David Marius Guardino, psychic
- Henry Morris Naglee, U.S. Civil War general and served in the Mexican–American War[305][306]
- Matt Stonie, competitive eater, born in San Jose[307][308]
- Rick Warren, Baptist evangelical Christian pastor and author[309][310]
- Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester Rifle Company, occultist, architect to the Winchester Mystery House, lived in San Jose[311][312]
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