List of Famous people born in Massachusetts, United States of America
Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej, conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great in 1987, was the ninth monarch of Thailand from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IX. Reigning since 9 June 1946, he was the world's longest-reigning current head of state from the death of Emperor Hirohito of Japan in 1989 until his own death in 2016, and is both the second-longest reigning monarch of all time and the longest-reigning monarch to have reigned only as an adult, reigning for 70 years and 126 days. During his reign, he was served by a total of 30 prime ministers beginning with Pridi Banomyong and ending with Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Jimmy Hayes
James Ryan Hayes is an American professional ice hockey right winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is also a member of the Missin’ Curfew podcast. He was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round, 60th overall, of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. His younger brother Kevin Hayes currently plays in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Eliza Dushku
Eliza Patricia Dushku is an American actress and producer. She is best known for starring as Faith in the supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1998–2003) and its spin-off series Angel (2000–2003). She also had lead roles in the Fox supernatural drama series Tru Calling (2003–2005) and the Fox science fiction series Dollhouse (2009–2010), for which she was a producer.
Allison Janney
Allison Brooks Janney is an American actress. A character actress, Janney is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, seven Primetime Emmy Awards, and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards.
B. J. Novak
Benjamin Joseph Manaly Novak is an American actor, writer, comedian, and director. Novak was one of the writers and executive producers of The Office (2005–2013), in which he also played Ryan Howard. He also appeared as PFC Smithson "The Little Man" Utivich in the film Inglourious Basterds (2009), Robert B. Sherman in Saving Mr. Banks (2013), and Harry J. Sonneborn in The Founder (2016).
Jenny Slate
Jenny Sarah Slate is an American actress, comedian and author. Born and raised in Milton, Massachusetts, Slate was educated at Milton Academy and studied literature at Columbia University, where she became involved in the improv and comedy scene. Following early acting and stand-up roles on television, Slate gained recognition for her live variety shows in New York City and for co-creating, writing, and producing the children's short film and book series Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2010–present), and became known to a mainstream audience after featuring as a cast member on the 35th season of Saturday Night Live (2009–2010). Her distinctive voice landed her the role of Tammy Larsen on the critically acclaimed animated sitcom Bob's Burgers (2012–present) and she gained further recognition for her recurring roles as Mona-Lisa Saperstein on the NBC comedy televisions series Parks and Recreation (2013–2015), Sarah Guggenheim on the Showtime comedy series House of Lies (2013–2015), and the sketch comedy series Kroll Show (2013–2015).
John F. Kelly
John Francis Kelly is a board member at Caliburn International and a retired U.S. Marine Corps general who served as the White House Chief of Staff for President Donald Trump from July 31, 2017, to January 2, 2019. He had previously served as Secretary of Homeland Security in the Trump administration.
Joe Arpaio
Joseph Michael Arpaio is an American former law enforcement officer and politician. He served as the 36th Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona for 24 years, from 1993 to 2017, losing reelection to Democrat Paul Penzone in 2016.
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, and short-story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, The Colossus and Other Poems and Ariel, as well as The Bell Jar, a semi-autobiographical novel published shortly before her death. In 1981 The Collected Poems were published, including many previously unpublished works. For this collection Plath was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 1982, making her the first to receive this honour posthumously.
Kenneth Feinberg
Kenneth Roy Feinberg is an American attorney, specializing in mediation and alternative dispute resolution. Feinberg was appointed Special Master of the U.S. government's September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and served as the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation. Additionally, Feinberg served as the government-appointed administrator of the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Fund. Feinberg was appointed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to administer the One Fund—the victim assistance fund established in the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Feinberg was also retained by General Motors to assist in their recall response and by Volkswagen to oversee their U.S. compensation of VW diesel owners affected by the Volkswagen emissions scandal. Feinberg was hired by The Boeing Company in July, 2019, to oversee distribution of $50 million to support 737 MAX crash victim families. Feinberg is also an adjunct professor at the Columbia University School of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, New York University School of Law, the University of Virginia School of Law and at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.