List of Famous people born in Jamaica
Winsome Sears
Winsome Earle Sears is an American politician who is the lieutenant governor-elect of Virginia. A Republican, Sears served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002 to 2004 after defeating longtime incumbent Billy Robinson Jr. In September 2018, she entered the race for U.S. Senate as a Republican write-in alternative to Corey Stewart. Sears was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in the 2021 election which she won, becoming the first woman, black woman, and first person of Jamaican origin to be elected to a statewide office in Virginia.
Shawn Rhoden
Shawn Rhoden is a Jamaican-American IFBB professional bodybuilder and former Mr. Olympia. He won the 2018 Mr. Olympia contest by defeating seven-time Mr. Olympia Phil Heath. He is the oldest bodybuilder to win the Mr. Olympia title, at the age of 43 years and five months.
Dillian Whyte
Dillian Whyte is a British professional boxer, and former kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He held the WBC interim heavyweight title from 2019 to 2020. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight titles, including the British title from 2016 to 2017. As of December 2020, he is ranked as the world's fifth best active heavyweight by The Ring magazine and seventh by BoxRec and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. He has been ranked among BoxRec's top 10 heavyweights since 2016, reaching his career-high ranking of No.5 at the conclusion of 2018. As of 2020, Whyte has won three fights rated by BoxRec as 5-Star. His knockout-to-win percentage stands at 72%.
Chris Gayle
Christopher Henry Gayle, OD is a Jamaican cricketer who played international cricket for the West Indies. Gayle captained the West Indies Test side from 2007 to 2010. Regarded as one of the best batsmen of all time, Gayle has set numerous records across all three formats of the game. He is the most capped player for the West Indies in international cricket and is the only player to score a triplet of centuries – a triple hundred in Tests, double hundred in ODIs and a hundred in T20Is. Gayle is the first ever batsman to hit 1000 sixes in T20 cricket.
Raheem Sterling
Raheem Shaquille Sterling is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the England national team.
Robert Shakespeare
Robert "Robbie" Shakespeare is a Jamaican bass guitarist and record producer, best known as the one half of the reggae rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie, with drummer Sly Dunbar. Regarded as one of the most influential reggae bassists, Shakespeare is also known for his creative use of electronics and production effects units. He is sometimes nicknamed "Basspeare".
Mary Seacole
Mary Jane Seacole was a British-Jamaican nurse, healer and businesswoman who set up the "British Hotel" behind the lines during the Crimean War. She described this as "a mess-table and comfortable quarters for sick and convalescent officers", and provided succour for wounded servicemen on the battlefield, and nursed many of them back to health. Coming from a tradition of Jamaican and West African "doctresses", Seacole displayed "compassion, skills and bravery while nursing soldiers during the Crimean War", through the use of herbal remedies. She was posthumously awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit in 1991. In 2004, she was voted the greatest black Briton.
Leon Edwards
Leon Edwards is a British-Jamaican professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2011, Edwards formerly competed for BAMMA, where he was the BAMMA Welterweight Champion. As of October 28, 2020, he is #3 in the UFC welterweight rankings.
Nia Long
Nia Talita Long is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Third Watch and Empire, and the films Big Momma's House, Are We There Yet?, Love Jones, The Best Man, Soul Food, Friday, Boyz n the Hood and In Too Deep.
Tanya S. Chutkan
Tanya Sue Chutkan is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Patrick Chung
Patrick Christopher Chung is a Jamaican professional American football strong safety for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Patriots in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon and has also been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. In May 2020, Chung was named to the New England Patriots 2010s All-Decade Team.
Patrick Ewing
Patrick Aloysius Ewing is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Georgetown University men's team. He played most of his career as the starting center for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) before ending his playing career with brief stints with the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic.
Donna Hylton
Donna Hylton is a Jamaican-American author and criminal justice activist. She was convicted at age 20 of murder in the second degree and two counts of kidnapping in the first degree for her role in the kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder of New York businessman Thomas Vigliarolo in 1985. Sentenced to 25 years to life, Hylton was paroled in 2012 after serving more than 26 years. Following her time in prison, Hylton earned a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science and a master’s degree in English from Mercy College, and now works as an activist, public speaker, and community health advocate for Mt. Sinai St. Luke’s. She is the author of the memoir A Little Piece of Light.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, OD is a Jamaican track and field sprinter who competes in the 60 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres. Widely regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, she achieved worldwide success in the late 2000s and throughout the 2010s decade, helping to elevate Jamaican athletics on the international scene. In the 100 m, her signature event, she is a two-time Olympic gold medallist and a four-time world champion, while in the 200 m, she is an Olympic silver medallist and the 2013 world champion.
Sean Paul
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques, OD is a Jamaican dancehall recording artist and producer who is regarded as one of the genre's most prolific artists.
Madge Sinclair
Madge Dorita Sinclair was a Jamaican-born American actress best known for her roles in Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975), Convoy (1978), Coming to America (1988), Trapper John, M.D. (1980–1986), and the ABC TV miniseries Roots (1977). Sinclair also voiced the character of Sarabi, Mufasa's wife and Simba's mother, in the Disney animated feature film The Lion King (1994). A five-time Emmy Award nominee, Sinclair won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Drama Series for her role as Empress Josephine in Gabriel's Fire in 1991.
Bushwick Bill
Richard Stephen Shaw, better known by his stage name Bushwick Bill, was a Jamaican-American rapper and record producer. He was best known as a member of the pioneering Texas hip hop group Geto Boys, a group he originally joined as a dancer in 1986 as Little Billy. He went on to become one third of the best-known incarnation of the group, alongside Willie D and Scarface.
Sandra Denton
Sandra Jacqueline Denton (sources differ), better known by her stage name Pepa or Pep, is a Jamaican-American hip hop rapper and actress, best known for her work as a member of the Grammy Award-winning female rap trio Salt-N-Pepa. Denton starred in The Salt-N-Pepa Show, a reality TV series focusing on reforming the group which aired on the VH1 network in 2008. Since January 2016, Denton has appeared as a supporting cast member on the music reality television show Growing Up Hip Hop which airs on WE tv.
Toni-Ann Singh
Toni-Ann Singh is a Jamaican American singer and beauty queen who won Miss World 2019. She was previously crowned Miss Jamaica World 2019 and is the fourth woman from Jamaica to win Miss World.
Shaggy
Orville Richard Burrell CD OJ, better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican reggae musician, singer, DJ, and actor who scored hits with the songs "It Wasn't Me", "Boombastic", "In The Summertime", "Oh Carolina", and "Angel". He has been nominated for seven Grammy Awards, winning twice for Best Reggae Album with Boombastic in 1996 and 44/876 with Sting in 2019, and has won the Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist in 2002.