The following is a list of notable people who were born, or who have lived a significant portion of their lives, in the Lehigh Valley, referred to informally and locally as The Valley>, around Allentown, Pennsylvania in the United States.
Athletics
Lehigh Acres - ABANDONED - Eerie Post Apocalyptic Town - http://www.AdamTheWoo.com - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE - The community of Lehigh Acres is like something out of a movie, a zombie film almost. Listed by some to be one of the eeriest places on earth....
- Chuck Amato, former head football coach, North Carolina State University
- Jeff Andretti, professional race car driver
- John Andretti, professional race car driver in NASCAR and the IndyCar Series
- Mario Andretti, former professional race car driver
- Michael Andretti, professional racing team owner, former professional race car driver
- Afa Anoaʻi Jr., professional wrestler
- Steve Aponavicius, former placekicker, Boston College
- Chuck Bednarik, former professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles, Pro Football Hall of Fame member
- Charlie Berry Sr., former professional baseball player, Union Association, and father of Charlie Berry
- Charlie Berry, former professional baseball and umpire, Major League Baseball
- Jim Booros, professional golfer, former PGA Tour player
- Tom Brennan, radio and television sportscaster, former men's basketball head coach, University of Vermont
- Ian "Rocky" Butler, professional football player, Canadian Football League
- Pete Carril, former professional and collegiate basketball coach
- Francesco Caruso, former professional soccer player, Harrisburg City Islanders and Otago United
- Chris Creveling, Olympic speed skater
- George Daniel, Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer, National Lacrosse League
- Parke H. Davis, football coach and lawyer
- Keith Dorney, former professional football player, Detroit Lions
- DC Drake (Don Drake), former professional wrestler, former world champion for National Wrestling Federation and heavyweight champion for Tri-State Wrestling Alliance, later known as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW)
- Slim Emmerich, former professional baseball player, New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals
- Peter Gruner, former professional wrestler known as Billy Kidman
- Bob Heffner, former professional baseball player, Boston Red Sox, California Angels and Cleveland Indians
- Ty Hildenbrandt, college football broadcaster, Fox Sports
- Larry Holmes, former boxing heavyweight champion (fought under nickname "The Easton Assassin")
- Brian Knobbs, former professional wrestler
- Dan Koppen, professional football player, Denver Broncos
- Noel LaMontagne, former professional football player, Cleveland Browns
- Gary Lavelle, former professional baseball player, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays
- Varvara Lepchenko, professional tennis player
- Jonathan Linton, former professional football player, Buffalo Bills
- Tommy Litz, Olympic figure skater
- Kristen Maloney, gymnast, medalist in 2000 Summer Olympics
- Michelle Marciniak, co-founder of SHEEX, Inc.; former women's basketball coach, University of South Carolina; and former professional basketball player, WNBA's Portland Fire and Seattle Storm
- Ed McCaffrey, former professional football player, Denver Broncos, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers
- John Meister, former professional baseball player, New York Metropolitans
- Joe Milinichik, former professional football player, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers
- Matt Millen, former professional football player, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins, former President and General Manager, Detroit Lions and broadcaster, NFL on Fox
- Jeff Mutis, former professional baseball player, Cleveland Indians and Florida Marlins
- Marty Nothstein, Olympic gold medal winner, track cycling
- Billy Packer, CBS basketball analyst
- Andre Reed, former professional football player, Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins
- Zach Rey, amateur wrestler, competed in the 2015 World Wrestling Championships
- Matthew Riddle, professional UFC mixed martial fighter
- Jim Ringo, former professional football player, Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles, Pro Football Hall of Fame member
- Eddie Sachs, United States Auto Club driver
- Jerry Sags, former professional wrestler
- Jimmie Schaffer, former professional baseball player, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals
- Dave Schneck, former professional baseball player, New York Mets
- Brian Schneider, former professional baseball player, Montreal Expos, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies
- Larry Seiple, former professional football player, Miami Dolphins
- Curt Simmons, former professional baseball player, California Angels, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals
- John Spagnola, former professional football player, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks
- Tony Stewart, professional football player, Oakland Raiders
- Carl van Horn, former dirt track racer
- Dave Van Horne, Major League Baseball broadcaster, original voice of the Montreal Expos
- Cheryl Van Kuren, former Olympic field hockey player
- Bobby Weaver, 1984 Summer Olympics gold medal winner, freestyle wrestling
- Brant Weidner, former professional basketball player, San Antonio Spurs
- Bob Weiss, former professional basketball player, head coach of four NBA teams
- Cindy Werley, former Olympic field hockey player
- Andre Williams, American football running back, New York Giants
- Joe Wolf, former professional football player, Arizona Cardinals
- Jason Yeisley, professional soccer player, Dallas FC
- Dan Yochum, former professional football player, Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos
- Walt Zirinsky, former professional football player, running back, won 1945 National Championship with Clevland Rams
Authors, journalists, playwrights, and poets
- Christian Bauman, novelist
- Stephen Vincent Benét, author
- Charles Bierbauer, journalist
- Clair Blank, author, Beverly Gray
- H.D., writer, poet
- John Birmelin, Pennsylvania German dialect poet and playwright
- Katherine Boehret, technology journalist
- Russell Davenport, publisher and writer
- Solomon DeLong (pen name Obediah Grouthomel), Pennsylvania German language columnist for The Morning Call
- Michael F. Flynn, science-fiction writer
- Matthew Giobbi, author
- Alfred Hassler, journalist and author
- J. Robert Lennon, novelist
- Randall Munroe, writer, XKCD comic series
- Sandra Novack, author
- Alix Olson, spoken word artist
- Michael Pocalyko, business executive and financial novelist
- Ian Riccaboni, author, host of Ring of Honor Wrestling
- Marci Shore, author and historian
- Elsie Singmaster, author
- Jennifer Storm, author
- Lauren Weisberger, author, The Devil Wears Prada
Business and politics
- Roy C. Afflerbach, lobbyist and politician
- William F. Andrews, former member of Congress
- James Soloman Biery, former member of Congress
- William F. Birch, former member of Congress
- Joseph Force Crater, Associate Justice, New York Supreme Court
- James B. Cunningham, diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to Israel, Afghanistan
- Charlie Dent, member of Congress
- Wayne Dumont, former New Jersey Senate Majority Leader and Senate President
- Charles L. Gerlach, former member of Congress
- Fred Benjamin Gernerd, former member of Congress
- Rick Glazier, Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
- Murray H. Goodman (born 1925), real estate developer
- Eugene Grace, industrialist, President of Bethlehem Steel, 1916â€"1945
- Erskine Hazard, co-founder of Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, Lehigh Canal, Lehigh Crane Iron Company and many railroads.
- David W. Hess, Republican member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
- Lee Iacocca, former chairman of Chrysler Corporation
- Michael Johns, health care executive and former White House speechwriter
- John Kline, member of Congress
- Marcus C.L. Kline, former member of Congress
- Fred Ewing Lewis, former member of Congress
- Norton Lewis Lichtenwalner, former member of Congress
- John E. McGlade, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Air Products & Chemicals
- Helen Stevenson Meyner, former member of Congress
- Robert B. Meyner, former Governor of New Jersey
- Peter Newhard, former member of Congress
- Ed Pawlowski, mayor of Allentown
- Andrew Horatio Reeder, former Governor of Kansas
- Donald L. Ritter, former member of Congress
- James Ritter, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
- Charles M. Schwab, industrialist, former President of U.S. Steel (later incorporated as Bethlehem Steel)
- Charles Sitgreaves, former member of Congress and former Mayor of Phillipsburg
- Samuel Sitgreaves, former U.S. commissioner to Great Britain and former member of Congress
- Richard A. Snelling, former Governor of Vermont
- Andrea Tantaros, political analyst and commentator
- George Taylor, signator to the Declaration of Independence
- Josiah White, co-founder of Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, Lehigh Canal, Lehigh Crane Iron Company and many railroads.
- Charles A. Wikoff, most senior ranking U.S. Army officer killed in the Spanishâ€"American War
Film, television, and stage
- Lisa Ann, adult film actress
- Althea Henley, actress
- Alexandra Chando, actress, As the World Turns
- Jack Coleman, actor, NBC's Heroes
- Michaela Conlin, actress, Fox's Bones
- Dane DeHaan, actor, In Treatment and Chronicle
- Devon, adult film actress
- Omar Doom, actor and musician
- Jonathan Frakes, actor, Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Mel Harris, actress, ABC's thirtysomething
- Tim Heidecker, actor and comedian, Cartoon Network's Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
- Dwayne Johnson ("The Rock"), actor, former professional wrestler
- Daniel Dae Kim, actor, ABC's Lost
- Gelsey Kirkland, ballerina
- Carson Kressley, fashion consultant, Bravo's Queer Eye
- Christopher Lennertz, film, television, and video game music composer, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Supernatural
- Jayne Mansfield, 1950s-era actress and sex symbol
- William Marchant, playwright and screenwriter
- Michael McDonald, costume designer and 2009 Tony Award and Drama Desk nominee for Hair
- Kristen McMenamy, fashion model
- Kate Micucci, actress, comedian, artist, and singer-songwriter
- Lara Jill Miller, voice actress, Cartoon Network's The Life and Times of Juniper Lee
- Aimee Mullins, model and actress
- Robert Newhard, cinematographer
- Sally Jessy Raphael, television talk show host
- Lou Reda, documentary filmmaker
- Daniel Roebuck, actor, ABC's Lost
- Amanda Seyfried, model and actress, The CW's Veronica Mars and HBO's Big Love
- Sheetal Sheth, actress, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
- Gary Mark Smith, artist, author, and global street photographer
- Dana Snyder, voice actor, Cartoon Network's Aqua Teen Hunger Force
- Sabrina Carpenter, actress, singer and Songwriter
- Sarah Strohmeyer, novelist, creator of Bubbles Yablonsky
- Christine Taylor, actress and wife of actor Ben Stiller
- Jonathan Taylor Thomas, actor, ABC's Home Improvement
- Yvonne Zima, actress, "Rachel Greene" on NBC's ER
- David Zippel, Tony-award-winning lyricist, City of Angels
Music
- Rick Braun, Smooth jazz trumpet player
- Lillian Briggs, former rockabilly musician
- Sabrina Carpenter, singer, songwriter, actress
- Leon Carr, Broadway composer and television advertising songwriter
- Jimmy DeGrasso, drummer for Alice Cooper band, former drummer for Megadeth
- Omar Doom, actor and musician
- Fiona, rock music singer
- Walt Groller, Grammy-nominated polka musician
- George Hrab, rock and funk musician
- Chris Jarrett, pianist and composer
- Keith Jarrett, jazz musician
- Jay & the Techniques, sixties era pop/soul group
- Steve Kimock, rock musician
- Terry Kitchen, folk singer
- Ludwig Lenel, organist and composer
- Mulgrew Miller, jazz pianist
- Mike Portnoy, rock drummer
- Thom Schuyler, country music singer and songwriter
- Shadow Gallery, progressive metal band
- Melissa VanFleet, singer/songwriter and musician
- Donald Voorhees, Emmy-nominated orchestral conductor
- Jordan White, rock musician
- Stephanie Woodling, opera singer
Religion
- Frank N. D. Buchman, founder of the Oxford Group and Moral Re-Armament religious movement
- Timothy J. Keller, Christian pastor in of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, author of The Reason for God
- Nathan Homer Knorr, religious leader and 3rd president, Jehovah's Witnesses
- Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Science
- David A. Bader, Georgia Tech professor
- Michael Behe, biochemist at Lehigh University, advocate of intelligent design
- James McKeen Cattell, first United States psychology professor
- Richard Diehl, archaeologist, academic and Mesoamericanist scholar
- Edwin Drake, oil driller
- Terry Jonathan Hart, Space Shuttle astronaut
- Dennis Mammana, nationally syndicated astronomy columnist, lecturer and sky photographer
- Francis March, academic
- Aaron D. O'Connell, created the world's first quantum machine
- Beth Shapiro, evolutionary biologist, MacArthur Fellow
- Walter O. Snelling, chemist and explosives expert who discovered propane gas
- Maria Zuber, planetary scientist
Visual arts
- John E. Berninger, landscape painter and Pennsylvania impressionist, first curator of the Allentown Art Museum
- Karl Buesgen, landscape painter and Pennsylvania impressionist
- Mark Beyer, comic book artist
- Don Dixon, astronomical artist
- Peter Alfred Gross, landscape painter
- Ella Sophonisba Hergesheimer, illustrator, painter and printmaker
- Herman Leonard, photographer noted for jazz portraits
- Arlington Nelson Lindenmuth, landscape and portrait painter, photographer
- Grover Simcox, naturalist illustrator
- Gary Mark Smith, Global street photography pioneer, author, educator
- Boris Vallejo, fantasy artist
- Orlando Gray Wales, landscape painter and Pennsylvania impressionist
Other
- Stephen Barrett, psychiatrist and webmaster, Quackwatch (former longtime resident)
- Karen Bausman, architect
- Thom Browne, fashion designer
- Beth Doe, unidentified murder victim found in 1976
- Frank Reed Horton, founder of Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity
- Sarah Knauss, supercentenarian recognized as the "world's oldest person" by Guinness World Records from April 16, 1998 until her death at age 119 in 1999
- Timothy Krajcir, serial killer
- Martin O. May, Medal of Honor recipient in World War II
- Harvey Miguel Robinson, serial killer
- Robert Sun, inventor of 24 Game
- Ryo Tokita, artist
- Theo Tran, professional poker player
References
External links
- "Famous People from the Lehigh Valley," The Baltimore Sun