List of Famous people born in Kansas, United States of America
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor and filmmaker. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared alongside James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), and Giant (1956). In the next ten years he made a name in television, and by the end of the 1960s had appeared in several films, notably Cool Hand Luke (1967) and Hang 'Em High (1968). Hopper also began a prolific and acclaimed photography career in the 1960s.
Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel was an American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as "Mammy” in Gone with the Wind (1939), becoming the first African American to win an Oscar.
David Kennedy
David Franklin Kennedy was an American advertising executive who co-founded Wieden+Kennedy (W+K). Some of his most popular campaigns included the "Just Do It", "Bo Knows", and the "Mars and Mike" campaigns for Nike, Inc. He and his professional services partner Dan Wieden were listed as number 22 on the Advertising Age 100 ad people of the 20th century.
Colton Haynes
Colton Lee Haynes is an American actor and model. He is known for his starring role as Jackson Whittemore in the MTV supernatural drama series Teen Wolf and as Roy Harper / Arsenal in the CW superhero television series Arrow.
Gale Sayers
Gale Eugene Sayers was an American professional football player who was both a halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). In a relatively brief but highly productive NFL career, Sayers spent seven seasons with the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1971, though multiple injuries effectively limited him to five seasons of play. He was known for his elusiveness and agility and was regarded by his peers as one of the most difficult players to tackle.
Jeff Probst
Jeff Probst is an American reality show host and an executive producer. He is best known as the Emmy Award-winning host of the U.S. version of the reality television show Survivor. He was also the host of The Jeff Probst Show, a syndicated daytime talk show produced by CBS Television Distribution from September 2012 to May 2013.
Eric Stonestreet
Eric Allen Stonestreet is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for portraying Cameron Tucker in the ABC mockumentary sitcom Modern Family, for which he received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series out of three nominations.
Edward J. Adams
Edward J. "Eddie" Adams was a notorious American criminal and spree killer in the Midwest. He murdered seven people–including three policemen—during a period of around 14 months, and wounded at least a dozen others. At age 34, Adams was surrounded and then killed by police in Wichita, Kansas.
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank Keaton, known professionally as Buster Keaton, was an American actor, comedian, film director, producer, screenwriter, and stunt performer. He is best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression that earned him the nickname "The Great Stone Face". Critic Roger Ebert wrote of Keaton's "extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929" when he "worked without interruption" on a series of films that make him "the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies". His career declined afterward with a loss of artistic independence when he signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, his wife divorced him, and he descended into alcoholism. He recovered in the 1940s, remarried, and revived his career as an honored comic performer for the rest of his life, earning an Academy Honorary Award in 1959.
Jordy Nelson
Jordy Ray Nelson is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Kansas State, where he received All-America honors, and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. During his tenure in Green Bay, he was regarded by sports analysts as one of the elite wide receivers in the NFL, and won Super Bowl XLV with the team over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2010 season. After spending 10 seasons in Green Bay, he played one year with the Oakland Raiders before announcing his retirement.