List of Famous people born in New York City, United States of America
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith, better known by his stage name LL Cool J, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, author, and entrepreneur from Queens, New York. With the breakthrough success of his hit single "I Need a Beat" and the Radio LP, LL Cool J became an early hip-hop act to achieve mainstream success along with Kurtis Blow and Run-DMC.
Lea Michele
Lea Michele Sarfati is an American actress, singer, and author. She began her career as a child actress on Broadway, appearing in productions of Les Misérables (1995–1996), Ragtime (1997–1999), Fiddler on the Roof (2004–2005), and Spring Awakening (2006–2008). Michele came to major prominence playing Rachel Berry on the Fox series Glee (2009–2015), for which she received an Emmy Award nomination, two Golden Globe nominations and won four People's Choice Awards, three Teen Choice Awards and a Satellite Award. Michele and the rest of the Glee cast earned a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series from four nominations and three Grammy Award nominations for music recorded for the series, also spawning multiple hits on the Billboard charts. Michele subsequently starred as Hester Ulrich on the Fox series Scream Queens (2015–2016) and as Valentina Barella on the ABC sitcom The Mayor (2017).
Corey Stoll
Corey Daniel Stoll is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Congressman Peter Russo on the Netflix political thriller series House of Cards (2013–2016), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination in 2013, and Dr. Ephraim Goodweather on the FX horror drama series The Strain (2014–2017). Since 2020, he has portrayed Michael Prince, a business rival to Bobby Axelrod, in the Showtime series Billions. He was also a regular cast member on the NBC drama series Law & Order: LA (2010–2011) and portrayed Darren Cross / Yellowjacket in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Ant-Man (2015). Other notable roles include an off-Broadway performance of Intimate Apparel (2004), Ernest Hemingway in the romantic comedy film Midnight in Paris (2011) a performance for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male, bulldog prosecutor Fred Wyshak in Black Mass (2015), and astronaut Buzz Aldrin in the biopic First Man (2018).
Vanessa Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She initially gained recognition as the first woman of African-American descent to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984 in 1983. However, a scandal arose the following year when, a few weeks prior to the end of her reign, Williams learned that Penthouse magazine would be publishing now "iconic" unauthorized nude photographs of her in an upcoming issue. Amid growing media controversy and scrutiny, Williams resigned as Miss America in July 1984 and was replaced by first runner-up Miss New Jersey Suzette Charles. Thirty-two years later, Miss America CEO Sam Haskell offered her a public apology for the events of 1984.
Ricky Schroder
Richard Bartlett Schroder is an American actor and film director. As a child actor, billed as Ricky Schroder, he debuted in the film The Champ (1979), going on to become a child star on the sitcom Silver Spoons. He has continued acting as an adult, usually billed as Rick Schroder, notably as "Newt" on the Western miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989) and in the crime-drama series NYPD Blue.
Maryanne Trump Barry
Maryanne Trump Barry is an American attorney and a retired United States federal judge. She became an Assistant United States Attorney in 1974, and was first appointed to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. In 1999, she was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, by President Bill Clinton.
Gilbert Gottfried
Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried is an American stand-up comedian, actor and voice actor. Gottfried's persona as a comedian features an exaggerated shrill voice and emphasis on crude humor. His numerous roles in film and television include voicing the parrot Iago in Disney's Aladdin animated films and TV show, Digit LeBoid in the PBS Kids Go! show Cyberchase, and Kraang Subprime in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Gottfried was also the voice of the Aflac Duck until 2011. He appeared in the critically panned commercial hit Problem Child in 1990.
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor and writer known for starring in popular films during the 1970s and 1980s, including American Graffiti, Jaws, Stand by Me, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, The Goodbye Girl, Tin Men, Stakeout, Always, What About Bob?, and Mr. Holland's Opus.
Remy Ma
Reminisce Mackie, known professionally as Remy Ma, is an American rapper. She was initially discovered by Big Pun, and came to prominence for her work as a member of Fat Joe’s group, Terror Squad. On February 7, 2006, she released her debut studio album There's Something About Remy: Based on a True Story, which was a modest success, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard 200 chart. She is one of only six female rappers to ever top the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and one of only four multiple winners of the BET Award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, which she won in 2005 and 2017.
Alan Dershowitz
Alan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer known for his work in U.S. constitutional law and American criminal law, and for controversial political views.