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

Kawhi Anthony Leonard is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played two seasons of college basketball for the San Diego State Aztecs and was named a consensus second-team All-American as a sophomore. Leonard opted to forgo his final two seasons at San Diego State to enter the 2011 NBA draft. He was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 15th overall pick before being traded to the San Antonio Spurs on draft night.

DeSean William Jackson is an American football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of California, Berkeley, where he was recognized as a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft, and has also played for the Washington Redskins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jackson has been selected to the Pro Bowl three times, and was the first player selected to the Pro Bowl at two different positions in the same year when he was named to the 2010 Pro Bowl as a wide receiver and return specialist.

Bryce Dallas Howard is an American actress and director. She is the eldest daughter of actor and filmmaker Ron Howard. Howard attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, initially leaving in 1999 to take roles on Broadway, but officially graduated in 2020.

Antonio Ramiro Romo is a former American football quarterback and sports analyst who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for Eastern Illinois University, where he led the Panthers to an Ohio Valley Conference championship in 2001 and won the Walter Payton Award the following year. Romo signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2003.

Brandon Paak Anderson, known professionally as Anderson .Paak, is an Afro-American and Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist from Oxnard, California. He released his debut mixtape, O.B.E. Vol. 1 in 2012 and went on to release Venice in 2014. He later followed up with Malibu, in 2016, which received a nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the Grammy Awards, followed by Oxnard, in 2018 and Ventura, in 2019. At the 61st Grammy Awards, Paak won his first Grammy award for Best Rap Performance with the song "Bubblin". He again won a Grammy Award in 2020 for "Best R&B Album" with Ventura and one for Best R&B Performance for "Come Home".

Mark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice actor, and writer. He is known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars film series, winning three Saturn Awards for the role. His other film appearances include Corvette Summer (1978) and The Big Red One (1980). Hamill has also appeared on stage in several theater productions, primarily during the 1980s.

Joshua Javon Johnson is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at San Diego, and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Considered a journeyman quarterback, Johnson has been a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sacramento Mountain Lions, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, New York Giants, Houston Texans, Oakland Raiders, Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, San Diego Fleet, and Los Angeles Wildcats. Despite playing for sixteen teams across four leagues during his professional career, he did not win his first game as a starter until his 11th season as a member of the Redskins in 2018.

Max Dorian Fried is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the first round, seventh overall, in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He made his major league debut in 2017. His 17 wins in 2019 were 2nd-most in the National League, and his seven wins in 2020 were again 2nd-most in the NL. In 2020 he also won the NL Gold Glove Award at pitcher and the Fielding Bible Award at pitcher, and was named All-MLB First Team.

Heather Michele O'Rourke was an American child actress. She made her debut after being discovered by director Steven Spielberg while visiting MGM studios. Spielberg promptly cast her in the horror film Poltergeist (1982) as Carol Anne Freeling, and O'Rourke earned recognition for her performance. She then reprised the role in the second and third installments. O'Rourke was also recognized for her work in television, and appeared in recurring roles on Happy Days from 1982 to 1983, on Webster in 1983, as well as appearing in the television-film Surviving in 1985.

Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson is an American conservative television presenter and political commentator who has hosted the nightly political talk show Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News since 2016.