List of Famous people born in Illinois, United States of America
David A. Siegel
David Alan Siegel is an American businessman who founded Westgate Resorts Ltd, a Florida-based timeshare resort firm where he serves as president and chief executive officer. He has nine biological children and two adopted children. Siegel is CEO of CFI Resorts Management Inc. and Central Florida Investments Inc. and his other businesses include real estate, construction, hotel and apartment management, travel services, insurance, transportation, and retail.
Sparkle
Stephanie Edwards, better known by her stage name Sparkle, is an American R&B singer. She began her career in 1998 as a protégé of fellow Chicago native R. Kelly. Sparkle is best known for her 1998 R&B debut hit single "Be Careful".
LisaRaye McCoy-Misick
LisaRaye McCoy, known as LisaRaye, is an American actress, model, businesswoman and fashion designer. McCoy is best known for portraying Diana "Diamond" Armstrong in the 1998 film The Players Club, Neesee James on the UPN/The CW sitcom All of Us from 2003 until 2007 and Keisha Greene in the VH1 romantic comedy series Single Ladies which originally aired from 2011 to 2014. She was also married to Michael Misick, the first Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, from 2006 until 2008; during that time she served as First Lady of Turks and Caicos.
Marla Gibbs
Marla Gibbs is an American actress, comedian, singer, writer and television producer, whose career spans five decades. Gibbs is known for her role as George Jefferson's maid, Florence Johnston, in the CBS sitcom, The Jeffersons (1975–1985), for which she received five nominations for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Mellody Hobson
Mellody Hobson is an American businesswoman who is the chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation. She was the president and co-CEO of Ariel Investments. She is the former chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation, having stepped down after negotiating the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., by NBCUniversal in August, 2016. In 2017, she became the first African-American woman to head The Economic Club of Chicago. She was also named to chair the board of directors of Starbucks in 2021, making her one of the highest profile African American corporate directors.
Ike Barinholtz
Isaac Barinholtz is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. He is best known for his role as a cast member on the comedy series MADtv (2002–2007), Eastbound & Down (2012), and The Mindy Project (2012–2017). He has also appeared in films, such as Disaster Movie (2008), Neighbors (2014) and its sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, Suicide Squad (2016), Snatched (2017), Blockers (2018), and Late Night (2019). Barinholtz co-wrote the film Central Intelligence (2016), and directed, wrote, produced, and starred in the comedy film The Oath (2018). He is currently playing the voice of Wayne Edwards in Bless the Harts.
Robert L. Hines
Robert Lazarik Hines is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for his role as Toby Jones in a series of viral spoof commercials that include "Jones' Good-Ass BBQ and Foot Massage".
Virginia Madsen
Virginia Gayle Madsen is an American actress and film producer. She made her film debut in Class (1983), which was filmed in her native Chicago. After moving to Los Angeles, director David Lynch cast her as Princess Irulan in the science fiction film Dune (1984). Madsen then starred in a series of successful teen movies, including Electric Dreams (1984), Modern Girls (1986), and Fire with Fire (1986).
Lil Rel Howery
Milton Howery Jr., known professionally as Lil Rel Howery, is an American actor and comedian. Howery is best known for his roles as Robert Carmichael in NBC's television comedy series The Carmichael Show (2015–2017) and as TSA officer Rod Williams in the horror film Get Out (2017). He also starred in the TV series Rel, which he also created and co-produced.
Peter Cetera
Peter Paul Cetera is an American retired singer, songwriter, and bassist best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago (1967–1985), before launching a successful solo career. His career as a recording artist encompasses 17 albums with Chicago and eight solo albums.