# The 27 Most Famous People From Cleveland

> Astronauts, Oscar winners and two teenagers who invented a superhero all started out in the same Ohio city; a few of them you'd never guess.

*By YPB Team · Published November 1, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-27-most-famous-people-from-cleveland*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Halle Berry** — score 1000/1000
   Cleveland-born actress who became the first Black woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, for Monster's Ball.
2. **Terrence Howard** — score 649/1000
   Oscar-nominated actor of Hustle & Flow and Empire who grew up in Cleveland.
3. **Ruby Dee** — score 592/1000
   Cleveland-born actress and civil rights activist known for A Raisin in the Sun and Do the Right Thing.
4. **Dorothy Dandridge** — score 592/1000
   Cleveland-born star of Carmen Jones and the first Black woman nominated for the Best Actress Oscar.
5. **Margaret Hamilton** — score 525/1000
   Cleveland-born actress forever known as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.
6. **Drew Carey** — score 525/1000
   Cleveland native who set The Drew Carey Show in his hometown and later took over The Price Is Right.
7. **Jake Paul** — score 525/1000
   YouTuber turned boxer born in Cleveland in 1997, who headlined Netflix's record-setting fight with Mike Tyson.
8. **Phil Donahue** — score 525/1000
   Cleveland-born host who invented the audience-participation talk show with The Phil Donahue Show.
9. **Carol Kane** — score 525/1000
   Cleveland-born actress of Taxi and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Oscar-nominated for Hester Street.
10. **The Russo Brothers** — score 444/1000
   Cleveland-born directing duo Anthony and Joe Russo, behind Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.
11. **Tracy Chapman** — score 444/1000
   Cleveland-born singer-songwriter of Fast Car and a four-time Grammy winner.
12. **Jim Backus** — score 444/1000
   Cleveland-born actor who voiced Mr. Magoo and played Thurston Howell III on Gilligan's Island.
13. **Bobby Womack** — score 444/1000
   Cleveland-born soul singer and songwriter of Across 110th Street, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
14. **Jim Lovell** — score 444/1000
   Cleveland-born astronaut who flew on Apollo 8 and commanded the near-disastrous Apollo 13.
15. **Steve Harvey** — score 345/1000
   Comedian and Family Feud host who grew up in Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood.
16. **Wes Craven** — score 345/1000
   Horror director born in Cleveland who created A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream.
17. **John D. Rockefeller** — score 345/1000
   Oil magnate who grew up in Cleveland and founded Standard Oil there in 1870.
18. **Jerry Siegel** — score 345/1000
   Cleveland-born writer who created Superman with Joe Shuster while both were teenagers in Glenville.
19. **Machine Gun Kelly** — score 0/1000
   Rapper and rock singer who came up in Cleveland and made the city the centerpiece of his breakout mixtapes and debut album Lace Up.
20. **Joe Shuster** — score 0/1000
   Artist raised in Cleveland who co-created and first drew Superman.
21. **Kid Cudi** — score 0/1000
   Cleveland-born rapper and singer behind Day 'n' Nite and the Man on the Moon albums.
22. **Bob Hope** — score 0/1000
   Comedy legend raised in Cleveland after emigrating from England, famed for films, Oscars hosting and USO tours.
23. **Jesse Owens** — score 0/1000
   Track star raised in Cleveland who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
24. **Arsenio Hall** — score 0/1000
   Cleveland-born comedian whose late-night Arsenio Hall Show became a cultural force around 1990.
25. **Henry Mancini** — score 0/1000
   Cleveland-born composer of The Pink Panther theme and Moon River.
26. **Langston Hughes** — score 0/1000
   Harlem Renaissance poet who spent his high school years in Cleveland and wrote his first poems there.
27. **Desmond Howard** — score 0/1000
   Cleveland-born Heisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl XXXI MVP, now a College GameDay analyst.

Tags: usa, celebrities, cleveland, ohio