List of Famous people born in Illinois, United States of America
Fred VanVleet
Fredderick Edmund VanVleet Sr. is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Jason Jordan
Nathan Everhart is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Jason Jordan. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works as a producer. He has not wrestled since suffering a neck injury in January 2018.
Virgil Fox
Virgil Keel Fox was an American organist, known especially for his years as organist at Riverside Church in New York City, from 1946 to 1965, and his flamboyant "Heavy Organ" concerts of the music of Bach in the 1970s, staged complete with light shows. His many recordings made on the RCA Victor and Capitol labels, mostly in the 1950s and 1960s, have been remastered and re-released on compact disc in recent years. They continue to be widely available in mainstream music stores.
Curtis Blaydes
Curtis Lionell Blaydes is an American professional mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2014, he formerly competed for the RFA. As of August 18, 2020, he is #2 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Jerome Vedder is an American musician, multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist, one of three guitarists, and the primary lyricist of the American rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist in Temple of the Dog, the one-off tribute band dedicated to the late singer Andrew Wood.
Christopher Jackson
Christopher Neal Jackson is an American actor, singer, musician, and composer. He began his career in 1995 starring in the Off-Broadway musical Time and the Wind by composer Galt MacDermot when he was just 20 years old. He made his Broadway debut in 1997 as an ensemble member in the Original Broadway Cast of Disney's The Lion King. He remained with the show for several years, ultimately taking over the role of Simba. He went on to perform leading roles in several more Broadway musicals and plays, including After Midnight, Bronx Bombers, Holler If Ya Hear Me, and Memphis. He drew critical acclaim in several projects with Lin-Manuel Miranda: originating the roles of Benny in In the Heights and George Washington in the smash hit Hamilton. For the latter role he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He also collaborated with Miranda on the Disney film Moana in which he provides the singing voice of Chief Tui. His other film work includes secondary roles in After.Life and Tracers.
Brendan E. Hunt
Brendan Hunt is an American actor and writer known for roles in the films We're the Millers (2013) and Horrible Bosses 2 (2014) as well as voicing two characters in the video game Fallout 4 (2015). He is a co-creator of the Apple TV+ sitcom Ted Lasso and also a writer and cast member on the show.
Susan Catania
Susan Catania is an American former politician who served as a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1973 to 1983. She was involved in women's rights issues, and led the unsuccessful effort to get the federal Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ratified by the Illinois General Assembly. Catania also served as chairperson of the Illinois Commission on the Status of Women. A representative from Chicago, she was described as a liberal, feminist, and maverick member of the Republican legislative caucus.
Brett Eldredge
Brett Ryan Eldredge is an American country music singer, songwriter and record producer, signed to Warner Music Group Nashville. Eldredge has had five No. 1 singles on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, three of which came from his debut studio album, Bring You Back: "Don't Ya", "Beat of the Music", and "Mean to Me".
Bret Bielema
Bret Arnold Bielema is an American football coach. He is currently the head football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Bielema served as the head football coach at of the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2006 to 2012, achieving a 68–24 record and taking them to three straight Rose Bowl Games. He was the head football coach at University of Arkansas from 2013 to 2017, tallying a mark of 29–34. Bielema was an assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons, in 2018 and 2019 with the New England Patriots and 2020 with the New York Giants.