List of Famous people born in District of Columbia, United States of America
Dave Chappelle
David Khari Webber Chappelle is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and producer. With his incisive observations, he has been described as "poetically unfiltered and sociopolitically introspective, with an ability to illuminate and interrogate agonizing and poignant topics." Chappelle is the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Emmy Awards and three Grammy Awards as well as the Mark Twain Prize. He is known for his satirical comedy sketch series Chappelle's Show (2003–2006). The series, co-written with Neal Brennan, ran until Chappelle quit the show in the middle of production of the third season. After leaving the show, Chappelle returned to performing stand-up comedy across the U.S. By 2006, Chappelle was called the "comic genius of America" by Esquire and, in 2013, "the best" by a Billboard writer. In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked him No. 9 in their "50 Best Stand Up Comics of All Time."
Elizabeth Holmes
Elizabeth Anne Holmes is a former American businesswoman who founded and was the CEO of Theranos, a now-defunct health technology company. Theranos soared in valuation after the company claimed to have revolutionized blood testing by developing testing methods that could use surprisingly small volumes of blood, such as from a fingerprick. By 2015, Forbes had named Holmes the youngest and wealthiest self-made female billionaire in America, on the basis of a $9-billion valuation of her company. The next year, following revelations of potential fraud about Theranos' claims, Forbes had revised its published estimate of Holmes' net worth to zero, and Fortune had named her one of the "World's Most Disappointing Leaders".
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. is an American environmental lawyer, activist, and author. Kennedy is the son of Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of former U.S. president John F. Kennedy. He is the president of the board of Waterkeeper Alliance, a non-profit environmental group that he helped found in 1999, and is the chairman of Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine advocacy group.
Jon Bernthal
Jonathan Edward Bernthal is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Shane Walsh on the AMC horror series The Walking Dead, Frank Castle / The Punisher on the Netflix action series Daredevil (2015–2018) and The Punisher (2017–2019), and as Sgt. Manuel Rodriguez in the miniseries The Pacific (2010). He began his career in theater before guest starring on various television shows. He has also starred in supporting and leading roles in films such as The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Fury (2014), Sicario (2015), The Accountant (2016), Baby Driver (2017), Wind River (2017), Widows (2018), and Ford v Ferrari (2019).
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress, producer, dancer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968–70), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Cactus Flower (1969).
Brett Kavanaugh
Brett Michael Kavanaugh is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since October 6, 2018. He was previously a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and worked as a staff lawyer for various offices of the federal government.
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American actor and producer. Widely regarded as one of the most popular actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him the highest-grossing actor of all time. He rose to fame with films such as Coming to America (1988), Goodfellas (1990), Patriot Games (1992), Juice (1992), Menace II Society (1993), True Romance (1993), Jurassic Park (1993), and Fresh (1994).
Charles Richard Drew
Charles Richard Drew was an American surgeon and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge to developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II. This allowed medics to save thousands of lives of the Allied forces. As the most prominent African American in the field, Drew protested against the practice of racial segregation in the donation of blood, as it lacked scientific foundation, and resigned his position with the American Red Cross, which maintained the policy until 1950.
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and former fashion model. She started her career as a child model with Wilhelmina Models before turning her attention to acting, making her film debut in That Night (1992) and later appearing in My Father the Hero (1994) as well as Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995). Heigl then landed the role of Isabel Evans on The WB television series Roswell (1999–2002), for which she received nominations for Saturn and Teen Choice Awards.
Justin Theroux
Justin Paul Theroux is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He gained recognition for his work with director David Lynch in the mystery film Mulholland Drive (2001) and the thriller film Inland Empire (2006). He also appeared in films such as Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), American Psycho (2000), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Strangers with Candy (2005), Wanderlust (2012), The Girl on the Train (2016), The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018), On the Basis of Sex (2018), and Lady and the Tramp (2019).