List of Famous people born in California, United States of America

Esther Jane Williams was an American competitive swimmer and actress. Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics because of the outbreak of World War II, she joined Billy Rose's Aquacade, where she took on the role vacated by Eleanor Holm after the show's move from New York City to San Francisco. While in the city, she spent five months swimming alongside Olympic gold medal winner and Tarzan star Johnny Weissmuller. Williams caught the attention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer scouts at the Aquacade. After appearing in several small roles, alongside Mickey Rooney in an Andy Hardy film, and future five-time co-star Van Johnson in A Guy Named Joe, Williams made a series of films in the 1940s and early 1950s known as "aquamusicals," which featured elaborate performances with synchronised swimming and diving.

Camille Grammer-Meyer is an American television personality, dancer, model, producer, writer and actress who starred in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. She started her career as a dancer, model and actress, and worked as a producer and writer for Grammnet Productions. She was married to Kelsey Grammer from 1997 to 2011.

Kerkor "Kirk" Kerkorian was an Armenian-American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the president and CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beverly Hills, California. Kerkorian was one of the important figures in the shaping of Las Vegas and, with architect Martin Stern, Jr. described as the "father of the mega-resort". He built the world's largest hotel in Las Vegas three times: the International Hotel, the MGM Grand Hotel (1973) and the MGM Grand (1993). He purchased the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio in 1969.

Ashley George Hamilton is an American actor, comedian and singer-songwriter. He made his acting debut in the 1993 film Beethoven's 2nd. He has since starred in films such as Lost in Africa (1994), Off Key (2001), Lost Angeles (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), and Cats Dancing on Jupiter (2015). He portrayed the role of Cole Deschanel in the first season of the NBC television series Sunset Beach (1997).

Margaret Moran Cho is an American stand-up comedian, actress, fashion designer, author, and singer-songwriter. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and sexuality. She rose to prominence after creating and starring in the ABC sitcom All-American Girl (1994–95), and became an established stand-up comic in the subsequent years.

Krekor Ohanian, known professionally as Mike Connors, was an American actor best known for playing private detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series Mannix from 1967 to 1975, a role which earned him a Golden Globe Award in 1970, the first of six straight nominations, as well as four consecutive Emmy nominations from 1970 to 1973. He starred in the short-lived series Tightrope! (1959–1960) and Today's FBI (1981–1982). Connors' acting career spanned six decades. In addition to his work on television, he appeared in numerous films, including Sudden Fear (1952), Good Neighbor Sam (1964), Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious (1965), Stagecoach (1966), Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966), and Too Scared to Scream (1985), which he also produced.

Brian Anthony Boitano is an American figure skater from Sunnyvale, California. He is the 1988 Olympic champion, the 1986 and 1988 World Champion, and the 1985–1988 U.S. National Champion. He turned professional following the 1988 season. He returned to competition in 1993 and competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics, where he placed sixth.

Mariel Hadley Hemingway is an American actress. She began acting at age 14 with a Golden Globe–nominated breakout role in Lipstick (1976), and received Academy and BAFTA Award nominations for her performance in Woody Allen's Manhattan (1979).

Errick Lynne Williams Jr. is an American former football running back who played 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), one season in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and four years of minor league baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies. He played college football for the University of Texas, where he was a two-time All-American and won the Heisman Trophy. Williams was drafted by the New Orleans Saints fifth overall in the 1999 NFL Draft and spent three seasons with the team before he was traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2002. He played for the Dolphins for two seasons, and retired for the first time from football in 2004. Due to his suspension from the NFL in 2006, he played for the Toronto Argonauts that year. Williams re-joined the Dolphins in 2007 and played with them until 2010, and spent the 2011 season with the Baltimore Ravens. He was formerly an assistant football coach at the University of the Incarnate Word and is currently a football analyst for ESPN's Longhorn Network. In 2015, Williams was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Ralph Lazo was the only known non-spouse, non-Japanese American who voluntarily relocated to a World War II Japanese American internment camp. His experience was the subject of the 2004 narrative short film Stand Up for Justice: The Ralph Lazo Story.