List of Famous people born in Jamaica
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.