From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Champaign, Illinois . For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Champaign, Illinois .
Business, science, and engineering[ edit ]
Name
Image
Birth
Death
Known for
Association
Reference
Max Abramovitz
May 23, 1908
Sep 12, 2004
Architect
Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Scott Anderson
Jun 26, 1913
Oct 1, 2006
Physicist
President of the Rotary Club of Champaign (1963 to 1964); founder of the Urban League of Champaign County
Marc Andreessen
Jul 9, 1971
Co-author of Mosaic and founder of Netscape
Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
John Bardeen
May 23, 1908
Jan 30, 1991
Electrical engineer and physicist; two time Nobel Prize winner in Physics
Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Steve Chen
Aug 18, 1978
Co-founder of YouTube
Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Jawed Karim
Jan 1, 1979
Co-founder of YouTube
Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Jimmy John Liautaud
Jan 12, 1964
Jimmy John's Owner, founder, & chairman
Anthony James Leggett
Mar 26, 1938
Physicist; Nobel Prize winner in Physics
Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
W. Dwight Pierce
Nov 16, 1881
Apr 29, 1967
Entomologist
Born in Champaign
Jerry Sanders
Sep 12, 1936
Founder and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices
Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Lewis Hastings Sarett
Dec 22, 1917
Nov 29, 1999
Inventor of synthetic cortisone
Born in Champaign
James Tobin
Mar 5, 1918
Mar 11, 2002
Laureate of the Nobel prize in economics (1981)
Born in Champaign
Stephen Wolfram
Aug 29, 1959
Founder of Wolfram Research , makers of Mathematica
Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Tony Khan
Oct 10, 1982
Founder of All Elite Wrestling
Born in Champaign
Name
Image
Birth
Death
Known for
Association
Reference
David Ayer
Jan 18, 1968
Filmmaker
Born in Champaign.
[ 1]
Irving Azoff
Dec 12, 1947
Music promotion
Attended UIUC. Started Blytham Ltd with Bob Nutt
[ 2]
Marc Beeson
Dec 20, 1954
Country music singer and songwriter
Born in Champaign
Tom Bodett
Feb 23, 1955
Author, voiceover actor, and spokesman
Born in Champaign
Harold Bradley Jr.
Oct 13, 1929
Former American football player and actor, singer, artist, TV host (WCIA Channel 3, WICD Channel 15) and painter.
Lived 19 years in Champaign
Iris Chang
Mar 28, 1968
Nov 9, 2004
Author (The Rape of Nanking )
Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Amy Chua
Oct 26, 1962
Author (Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother )
Born in Champaign
Jeremih Felton
Jul 17, 1987
R&B singer
Attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Hart D. Fisher
Comic book creator and publisher
Born in Champaign
Michael Fumento
Journalist and author of The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS
Born in Champaign
Mike Connolly
1914
Nov 19, 1966
Magazine reporter and Hollywood gossip columnist for The Hollywood Reporter
Attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign , where he was the city editor of the Daily Illini , the independent student-run newspaper, known for his 1937–38 crusade against prostitution in Champaign
Bill Geist
May 10, 1945
CBS News correspondent and author
Born in Champaign
Nathan Gunn
Nov 26, 1970
Operatic baritone ; one of People magazine's 2008 Sexiest Men Alive
Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Steven Hager
May 25, 1951
Magazine editor
Born in Champaign
Bruce Hall
Mar 5, 1953
Bass guitar player (REO Speedwagon )
Born in Champaign
Stuart Hamm
Feb 8, 1960
Bass guitar player
Grew up in Champaign
Megyn Kelly
Nov 18, 1970
American journalist, political commentator, and former corporate defense attorney
Born in Champaign
Alison Krauss
Jul 23, 1971
Bluegrass singer
Grew up in Champaign
Christopher Bridges
(a.k.a. Ludacris )
Sep 11, 1977
Rapper
Born in Champaign
Marcella Martin
Jun 5, 1916
Oct 31, 1986
Actress
Born in Champaign
Jack McDuff
Sep 17, 1926
Jan 23, 2001
Jazz musician
Born in Champaign
Jeff Mondak
Mar 26, 1962
Children's poet and songwriter
Lives in Champaign
David Foster Wallace
Feb 21, 1962
Sep 12, 2008
Author of Infinite Jest
Lived in Champaign
George Will
May 4, 1941
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author
Born in Champaign
Douglas Wilson
Interior designer and television personality (Trading Spaces )
Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Louise Woodroofe
Jan 28, 1892
Feb 15, 1996
Painter and University of Illinois professor
Born and grew up in Champaign, attended University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Name
Image
Founded
Disbanded
Music
Association
Reference
The Beauty Shop
1999
2008
Alt-country band
Formed in Champaign
Braid
1993
Rock band
Formed in Champaign
Champaign
1981
R&B, soft rock group
Formed in Champaign
Headlights
2004
2012
Indie rock band
Formed in Champaign
Hostyle Gospel
2003
Christian hip hop
Formed in Champaign
Hum
1989
Alternative rock group
Formed in Champaign
Pacifica Quartet
1994
2008 Grammy-winning string quartet
Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Illinois School of Music, 2003–2012
Poster Children
1987
Rock group
Formed in Champaign
REO Speedwagon
1967
Rock group
Formed in Champaign
Starcastle
1969
2006
Rock group
Formed in Champaign
Name
Image
Birth
Death
Known for
Association
Reference
Henry Herman Meyer
Nov 21, 1874
1951
American Methodist Episcopal clergyman and editor
Born in Champaign
Name
Image
Birth
Death
Known for
Association
Reference
Chantal Bailey
May 28, 1965
Olympic speed skater
Born in Champaign
Walter "Boom-Boom" Beck
Oct 16, 1904
May 7, 1987
Pitcher for six Major League Baseball teams
Lived and died in Champaign
Bonnie Blair
Mar 18, 1964
Speed skater, Olympic gold medalist
Grew up in Champaign
Harold Bradley Jr.
Oct 13, 1929
Apr 13, 2021
Former American football player and actor, singer, artist, TV host (WCIA Channel 3, WICD Channel 15) and painter.
Lived 19 years in Champaign
Fred Brainard
Feb 17, 1892
Apr 17, 1959
Infielder for the New York Giants
Born in Champaign
Don Branson
Jun 2, 1920
Nov 12, 1966
Indy-car driver
[citation needed ]
Dick Butkus
Dec 9, 1942
Oct 5, 2023 [ 4]
Football linebacker for the Fighting Illini
Attended UIUC
Steve Dunn
Apr 18, 1970
First baseman for the Minnesota Twins
Born in Champaign
Matt Herges
Apr 1, 1970
Pitcher for eight Major League Baseball teams
Born in Champaign
Reggie Hodges
Jan 26, 1982
Punter for the Cleveland Browns
Born in Champaign
Bershawn Jackson
May 8, 1983
Olympic 400M hurdler
Lives in Champaign
Rhaka Khan
Dec 25, 1981
Wrestler with the WWE
Born in Champaign
Jonathan Kuck
Mar 14, 1990
Speed skater and silver medalist in the 2010 Winter Olympics
Attending University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Don Laz
May 17, 1929
Feb 21, 1996
Pole vaulter; Olympic silver medalist
[citation needed ]
Jeremy Leman
Mar 1, 1985
Linebacker for Illinois Illini and six NFL teams
Born and lives in Champaign
Mikel Leshoure
Mar 30, 1990
Running back for the Detroit Lions
Graduated from Centennial High School in Champaign
Troy Mattes
Aug 26, 1975
Pitcher for the Montreal Expos
Born in Champaign
Tyler McGill
Aug 18, 1987
Swimmer, US Olympic team 2012
Born in Champaign
Big Jeff Pfeffer
Mar 31, 1882
Dec 19, 1954
Pitcher for the Chicago Cubs , Boston Beaneaters/Doves and Boston Rustlers
Born in Champaign
Roy Radebaugh
Feb 22, 1881
Jan 17, 1945
Pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals
Born in Champaign
Katherine Reutter
Jul 30, 1988
Short track speed skater, Olympic silver medalist
Born in Champaign
Rayvonte Rice
Jul 14, 1992
Starting guard for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Born in Champaign
Bob Richards
Feb 20, 1926
Feb 26, 2023
Pole vaulter; Olympic gold medalist
Adam Seward
Jun 15, 1982
Linebacker for the Carolina Panthers
Born in Champaign
Emily Stevenson
Jul 26, 1925
Dec 30, 2012
Backup catcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Born in Champaign
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