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

Robert Charles Wilson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.

Louis Johnson was an American bass guitarist. Johnson was best known for his group the Brothers Johnson and his session playing on several hit albums of the 1970s and 1980s, including the best selling album of all time, Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Clifford James Geertz was an American anthropologist who is remembered mostly for his strong support for and influence on the practice of symbolic anthropology, and who was considered "for three decades...the single most influential cultural anthropologist in the United States." He served until his death as professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.

Jack Martin Smith was a highly successful Hollywood art director with over 130 films to his credit and nine Academy Award nominations which ultimately yielded three Oscars.

Edward Carfagno was an art director who established himself in the 1950s with his Oscar-winning work on such films as Vincente Minnelli's The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Joseph Mankiewicz's Julius Caesar (1953) and William Wyler's Ben-Hur (1959) . Carfagno went on to work consistently on a variety of films, including five collaborations with Clint Eastwood including Tightrope (1984) and Heartbreak Ridge (1987).

David Frank Paich is an American musician, songwriter, singer, and record producer, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist, and occasional singer of the rock band Toto since 1976. Paich wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the band's three most popular songs: "Hold the Line", "Rosanna" and "Africa". With Toto, Paich has contributed to 17 albums and sold over 40 million records. Additionally, Paich has worked as a songwriter, session musician, and producer with a host of artists including Boz Scaggs and Michael Jackson.

Gregory Brian Shapiro is an American producer. He won an Academy Award in the category Best Picture for the film The Hurt Locker.

Armen Albert Alchian was an American economist. He spent almost his entire career at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). A major microeconomic theorist, he is known as one of the founders of new institutional economics and widely acknowledged for his work on property rights.

Warren Vanders was an American character actor on television and in films. He was initially a substitute teacher for the Montebello Unified School District. He was also a substitute mathematics teacher at El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera California. Mr. Vanders was also a well-regarded substitute teacher at La Serna High School in Whittier CA in the 1960s.

William Harvey "Bill" Dana was an American aeronautical engineer, U.S. Air Force pilot, NASA test pilot, and astronaut. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA. He was also selected for participation in the X-20 Dyna-Soar program.