List of Famous people born in Uttar Pradesh, India

Abu Salem ( AH-boo sah-LEM; born Abu Salem Abdul Qayoom Ansari, also known as Aqil Ahmed Azmi 'and Abu Samaan, is an Indian gangster and terrorist convicted to 25 years life sentence, who hails from Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh. Abu Salem worked in the D-Company as a driver transporting weapons and contraband. Later he rose among the ranks after he introduced a new strategy of hiring unemployed youths from his hometown Azamgarh to come to Mumbai, execute shoot-outs and return to Azamgarh the next day remaining untraced by the Mumbai police.

Mumtaz Mahal was the Empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 19 January 1628 to 17 June 1631 as the chief consort of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, often cited as one of the Wonders of the World, was commissioned by her husband to act as her tomb.

Ashok Singhal was the international working president of the Hindu organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) for over 20 years and in charge of the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi movement. He was replaced in the VHP in December 2011 following a long bout of diminishing physical health. Succeeded by Praveen Togadia, Singhal suffered ill-health but was working till a month before his death.

Vishal Bhardwaj is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards in four categories.

Sandeep Dikshit is an Indian politician, development manager and educator. He is the son of former Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit. He was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the East Delhi constituency of Delhi and is a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) political party.

Sushant Singh is an Indian television character actor, television actor, author and presenter known for his works predominantly in Savdhan India and Hindi cinema. He made his film debut in 1998 with Ram Gopal Varma's Satya.

Nikesh Arora is an Indian-American business executive. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) and chairman of Palo Alto Networks. Arora was formerly a senior executive at Google. He served as the president of SoftBank Group from October 2014 to June 2016. On June 1, 2018, Arora took on the role of CEO and chairman at Palo Alto Networks.

Donald Charles Alfred Crowhurst was a British businessman and amateur sailor who died while competing in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, a single-handed, round-the-world yacht race. Soon after starting the race, his ship began taking on water and he wrote it would probably sink in heavy seas. He secretly abandoned the race while reporting false positions, in an attempt to appear to complete a circumnavigation without actually doing so. His ship's log books, found after his disappearance, suggest that the stress he was under and an associated psychological deterioration possibly led to his suicide.

Subedar Major and Honorary Lieutenant Yogendra Singh Yadav PVC is an officer in the Indian Army, who was awarded the highest Indian military honour decoration, the Param Vir Chakra, for his action during the Kargil War. Aged 19 when he received the decoration, he is the youngest person to be awarded the medal.

Javed Akhtar is an Indian political activist, poet, lyricist and screenwriter. He is originally from the Gwalior area. He is a recipient of the Padma Shri (1999), Padma Bhushan (2007), the Sahitya Akademi Award as well as five National Film Awards. In the early part of his career, he was a screenplay writer, creating films such as Deewar, Zanjeer and Sholay. Later, he left screenplay-writing and became a lyricist and social-political activist. He also remained a member of Rajya Sabha. In 2020, he received the Richard Dawkins Award for his contribution to secularism, free thinking, for critical thinking, holding religious dogma up to scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values. Javed Akhtar was chosen as a recipient for the Richard Dawkins Award for being "the bright light for reason, freethought, and atheism in a dark time".