List of Famous people born in Illinois, United States of America
Mr. T
Mr. T is an American actor, television personality, and retired professional wrestler. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III. He is also known for his distinctive hairstyle inspired by Mandinka warriors in West Africa, his gold jewelry, his tough-guy image, and his catchphrase "I pity the fool!", first uttered as Clubber Lang in Rocky III, then turned into a trademark and reused in slogans or titles, like the reality show I Pity the Fool in 2006.
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis Fosse was an American dancer, musical-theatre choreographer, actor, theatre director, and filmmaker. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals The Pajama Game (1954), Damn Yankees (1955), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961), Sweet Charity (1966), Pippin (1972), and Chicago (1975). His films include Sweet Charity (1969), Cabaret (1972), Lenny (1975), and All That Jazz (1979).
Ron Goldman
Ronald Lyle Goldman was an American restaurant waiter and a friend of Nicole Brown Simpson, the ex-wife of O. J. Simpson. He was murdered along with Brown at her home in Los Angeles, California, on June 12, 1994. Simpson was acquitted of their murders in 1995, but found liable for both deaths in a 1997 civil lawsuit.
Andrea Kelly
Andrea Danyell Kelly, known professionally as Drea, is an American choreographer, dancer and actress. She is the ex-wife of singer-songwriter R. Kelly.
Anastacia
Anastacia Lyn Newkirk is an American singer-songwriter, producer and former dancer. Her first two albums Not That Kind (2000) and Freak of Nature (2001) were released in quick succession to major success. Spurred on by the multi-platinum, global smash "I'm Outta Love", Anastacia was awarded as the 'World's Best-Selling New Female Pop Artist' in 2001. Her commercial success continued with international hits such as "Paid My Dues", "One Day In Your Life" and the official song of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, "Boom". After recovering from cancer, she returned with 2004's Anastacia which deviated from previous albums into pop-rock. Peaking at number one in 11 countries, it became Europe's second biggest selling album of the year. Its lead single "Left Outside Alone" remained at number one on the European Billboard chart for 15 weeks and helped Anastacia launch the most successful European tour by a solo artist that same year. The album also provided another three singles: "Sick and Tired", "Welcome to My Truth", and "Heavy on My Heart".
Billy Zane
William George Zane Jr. is an American actor.
James Holzhauer
James Holzhauer is an American game show contestant and professional sports gambler. He is the third-highest-earning American game show contestant of all time and is best known for his 32-game winning streak as champion on the quiz show Jeopardy! from April to June 2019, during which he set multiple single-game records for winnings, and for winning the following Tournament of Champions that November.
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential stand-up comedians of all time.
Jamahal Hill
Jamahal Alexander Hill is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of December 8, 2020, he is #15 in the UFC Light Heavyweight rankings.
Kyle Rittenhouse
On August 25, 2020, amid the Kenosha unrest, Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old male from Antioch, Illinois, shot and killed two people and wounded another during multiple confrontations at two locations. He was armed, allegedly illegally, with an AR-15 style rifle and one of the victims had a handgun. Those who had been chasing him were physically confronting Rittenhouse at the time that they were shot. Kenosha resident Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Silver Lake resident Anthony Huber, 26, were killed, while West Allis resident Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, lost his bicep, but reconstructive surgery enabled him to keep his arm. Two other people present at the protest also chased and confronted Rittenhouse, and he either did not shoot at them, or missed.