List of Famous people born in California, United States of America
Donnie Edwards
Donnie Edwards is a former American football linebacker from San Diego, California. He played for thirteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers. He began his career as an All-American Collegiate at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round of the 1996 NFL Draft.
Lil B
Brandon Christopher McCartney, professionally known as Lil B and as his alter ego The BasedGod, is an American rapper, motivational speaker, and activist. Lil B has recorded both solo and with Bay Area group The Pack. His solo work spans several genres, including hip hop, new age, indie rock and choral music. He describes his work as "based", a term which denotes a lifestyle of positivity and tolerance; and is noted for his extensive use of social media to build an online cult following. He has released a variety of albums and mixtapes, most recently Bruno Wit Da Pruno (2020).
Iris Apatow
Iris Apatow is an American actress known for her role as Arya in the Netflix series Love, as well as Charlotte in the movies Knocked Up and This Is 40.
Scott Boras
Scott Dean Boras is an American sports agent, specializing in baseball. He is the founder, owner and president of the Boras Corporation, a sports agency based in Newport Beach, California, that represents roughly 175 professional baseball clients. Since 2013, Forbes magazine has named Boras the "Most Powerful Sports Agent in the World." In 2019, contracts signed by his clients totaled more than $1 billion in the month of December.
Edwin Hawkins
Edwin Reuben Hawkins was an American gospel musician, pianist, choir master, composer, and arranger. He was one of the originators of the urban contemporary gospel sound. He was probably best known for his arrangement of "Oh Happy Day" (1968–69), which was included on the "Songs of the Century" list. The Edwin Hawkins Singers made a second foray into the charts exactly one year later, backing folk singer Melanie on "Lay Down ".
Albert Burns
Albert "Shrimp" Burns was an American dirt and board track motorcycle racer in the early 20th century. Riding for Harley-Davidson and later Indian, he won multiple races in California and later the east coast and the midwest. He won the national championship in 1919, and was inducted in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.
Brenda Ann Spencer
The Grover Cleveland Elementary School shooting took place on January 29, 1979, at a public elementary school in San Diego, California, United States. The principal and a custodian were killed; eight children and police officer Robert Robb were injured. A 16-year-old girl, Brenda Spencer, who lived in a house across the street from the school, was convicted of the shootings. Charged as an adult, she pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and was sentenced to life in prison with a chance of parole after 25 years. As of June 2021, she remains in prison. She will be eligible for parole in September 2021.
Amber Stevens West
Amber Dawn Stevens West is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Ashleigh Howard in the ABC Family series Greek (2007–2011), Maxine in the NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show (2015–2017), and Claire Davis in the CBS comedy Happy Together (2018–2019). She has also appeared in films The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), 22 Jump Street (2014) and Jessabelle (2014).
Tank Abbott
David Lee "Tank" Abbott is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter, professional wrestler, and author. He currently hosts his own podcast series titled "The Proving Ground with Tank Abbott." Abbott is perhaps best known for being an icon in the early stages of mixed martial arts and the UFC, but has also competed in the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Strikeforce, EliteXC, and Cage Rage. His fighting style, which he developed brawling in the bars and streets of Huntington Beach, California, was described by his future manager Dave Thomas as "Pit Fighting". Abbott was the first fighter to regularly wear what would be known as traditional MMA gloves in the UFC. He also authored a novel titled Bar Brawler.
Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden is an American actress. Her film breakthrough was in the 1990 Coen brothers-directed Miller's Crossing. She followed this with roles in films including Used People (1992), The First Wives Club (1996), and Flubber (1997). For her performance as artist Lee Krasner in the 2000 film Pollock, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She earned another Academy Award nomination for her performance as Celeste Boyle in Mystic River (2003). Her other notable film roles include American Gun (2005) and 2007's The Mist and Into the Wild.