List of Famous people born in Illinois, United States of America
Glenn Foster
Glenn Foster, Jr. was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Shannon Sharpe
Shannon Sharpe is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He is a TV presenter who co-hosts Skip and Shannon: Undisputed on Fox Sports 1 with Skip Bayless. He is also a former analyst for CBS Sports on its NFL telecasts. He is a successful sports analyst with the YouTube dominant series of "Undisputed". He co-stars with Skip Bayless as the strength against top tier athletes giving the series a "love or hate" persona which the fans flock towards.
Mike Krzyzewski
Michael William Krzyzewski is a college basketball coach. Since 1980, he has served as the head men's basketball coach at Duke University, where he has led the Blue Devils to five NCAA Division I titles, 12 Final Fours, 15 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament championships, and 12 ACC regular season titles. Among men's college basketball coaches, only UCLA's John Wooden has won more NCAA championships with a total of 10.
Kelly Loeffler
Kelly Lynn Loeffler is an American businesswoman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2020 to 2021. A Republican, Loeffler was previously chief executive officer (CEO) of Bakkt, a subsidiary of commodity and financial service provider Intercontinental Exchange, of which her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, is CEO. She co-owns the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of 10 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in 1987. She was invited to join the band with which she still performs, Alison Krauss and Union Station, and later released her first album with them as a group in 1989.
Robert Wadlow
Robert Pershing Wadlow, also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raised in Alton, Illinois, a small city near St. Louis, Missouri.
Clay Guida
Clayton Charles Guida is an American professional mixed martial artist, currently signed to the UFC competing in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2003, Guida also formerly competed for Strikeforce, the WEC, King of the Cage, and Shooto. Guida was the inaugural Strikeforce Lightweight Champion. He is the younger brother of fellow mixed martial artist, Jason Guida.
Anthony Davis
Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the power forward and center positions. Davis is a seven-time NBA All-Star and has been named to four All-NBA First Teams and four NBA All-Defensive Teams. In his first season with the Lakers, he won an NBA championship in 2020.
Kirk Cousins
Kirk Daniel Cousins is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State from 2009 to 2011, and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Originally drafted as a backup to fellow rookie Robert Griffin III, he occasionally appeared in games during his first three seasons with the team. In 2015, Cousins replaced an injured Griffin that preseason and remained the team's starter until 2017. With the Redskins, Cousins set numerous franchise records and was named to the 2017 Pro Bowl.
Chance the Rapper
Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, activist, actor, and philanthropist.