List of Famous people born in California, United States of America
Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi is an American former figure skater. In ladies' singles, Yamaguchi is the 1992 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion, and the 1992 U.S. champion. As a pairs skater with Rudy Galindo, she is the 1988 World Junior champion and a two-time national champion. In December 2005, she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. In 2008, Yamaguchi became the celebrity champion in the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars.
Barret Oliver
Barret Spencer Oliver is an American photographer and former child actor. He is best known for his role as Bastian Balthazar Bux in the film adaptation of Michael Ende's novel The Neverending Story, followed by roles in D.A.R.Y.L., Cocoon and Cocoon: The Return.
Robert Stack
Robert Stack was an American actor, sportsman, and television host. Known for his deep, commanding voice and presence, he appeared in over 40 feature films. He starred in the ABC-TV television series The Untouchables (1959–1963), for which he won the 1960 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Series, and later hosted/narrated the true crime series Unsolved Mysteries (1987–2002). He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film Written on the Wind (1956).
Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competed full-time in the series from 2002 to 2020, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet with Hendrick Motorsports, before transitioning to open-wheel racing. Since 2021, he drives the No. 48 Honda on a part-time schedule for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IndyCar Series. Johnson's seven Cup championships, five of which are consecutive, are tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most all time; his successes have caused many analysts and fellow drivers to consider Johnson as one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time.
Bison Dele
Bison Dele was an American professional basketball player who played center for the NBA's Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons. Dele won a championship with the Bulls in 1997. He is believed to have been murdered at sea by his older brother Miles Dabord in 2002. His girlfriend, Serena Karlan, and skipper Bertrand Saldo are also presumed to have been killed by Dabord.
Eric Weddle
Eric Steven Weddle is a former American football free safety who played 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Utah, where he was a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Weddle also played for the Baltimore Ravens from 2016 to 2018 and for the Los Angeles Rams in 2019. He has been named to the Pro Bowl six times, and has been honored as an All-Pro five times.
Dave Schultz
David Lesley Schultz was an American Olympic and World champion freestyle wrestler, and a seven-time World and Olympic medalist. He coached individuals and teams at the college level and also privately.
Sasha Alexander
Suzana Drobnjaković, known by her stage name Sasha Alexander, is an American actress. She played Gretchen Witter on Dawson's Creek and has acted in films including Yes Man (2008) and He's Just Not That Into You (2009). Alexander played Caitlin Todd for the first two seasons of NCIS. From July 2010 through September 2016, Alexander starred as Maura Isles in the TNT series Rizzoli & Isles.
Joseph Wapner
Joseph Albert Wapner (November 15, 1919 – February 26, 2017) was an American judge and television personality. He was the first presiding judge of the ongoing reality court show The People's Court. The court show's first run in syndication, with Wapner presiding as judge, lasted from 1981 to 1993, for 12 seasons and 2,484 episodes. While the show's second run has been presided over by multiple judges, Wapner was the sole judge to preside during the court show's first run. His tenure on the program made him the first jurist of arbitration-based reality court shows, which are now a most popular trend in the judicial genre.
Sally Fox
Sally Fox was an American photographer, art collector and editor. She worked as a photographer, coordinator and picture editor for Houghton Mifflin and was especially known for her curated collections of historical images of women's lives which she published during the 1980s.