List of people from Oakland, California

This list includes people born in Oakland, California, or who lived in Oakland for a significant time.

Academics George H. Hildebrand – industrial relations scholar at Cornell University Gail Mahood – geology (born in Oakland) Helen Sharsmith – botanist (born in Oakland)

Artists and designers

Natalia Anciso – artist and educator Steven F. Arnold – filmmaker, photographer, painter, illustrator, set and costume designer, and assemblage artist Olive Ayhens – painter Garry Knox Bennett – woodworker, metalworker, furniture maker, artist Bernice Bing – artist, activist Warrington Colescott – artist and educator Henry Doane – landscape painter, commercial artist Janet Doub Erickson – artist and author Roger C. Field – industrial designer, graduated from California College of the Arts Linda Geary – painter, teacher Liz Hernández – painter, sculptor, graphic designer Paul Hultberg – multidisciplinary artist, enamel muralist Mary Catherine Lamb, textile artist Oliver Lee Jackson – painter, printmaker, sculptor Walter J. Mathews – architect, designed the First Unitarian Church of Oakland Bernard Maybeck – architect Jeremy Mayer – sculptor Julia Morgan – architect, raised and buried in Oakland Willis O'Brien – animator Nathan Oliveira – painter, printmaker, sculptor, professor Oree Originol – graphic poster artist, activist Adrienne Keahi Pao – photographer, artist Lisa Quinn – artist, author, designer Mel Ramos – painter Favianna Rodriguez – painter, artist Galen Rowell – photographer J. Otto Seibold – artist, illustrator, author Elizabeth Sher – documentary and short filmmaker, artist Seasick Steve – blues musician Betty Swords – cartoonist Morrie Turner – artist, illustrator, author of the Wee Pals comic strip Wendy Yoshimura – artist

Athletes

James Akinjo – basketball player (Israeli Basketball Premier League)"James Akinjo," Yahoo. Ron Allen – professional skateboarder Zack Andrews – baseball player Peter Arnautoff – soccer player Pervis Atkins – NFL football player, Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, actor, The Longest Yard Don Barksdale – basketball player Drew Barry – basketball player Jon Barry – basketball player and sportscaster Charlie Beamon – Major League baseball pitcher Charlie Beamon Jr. – Major League baseball player Davion Berry (born 1991) – basketball player Davone Bess – NFL football player Will Blackwell – NFL football player Linc Blakely – Major League Baseball player, Cincinnati Reds Marlin Briscoe – NFL football player John Brodie – NFL football player and sportscaster Jabari Brown – basketball player Steve Brye – Major League baseball player, No. 1 pick of Twins, played nine years in majors Don Budge – tennis player Chris Burford – football player Glenn Burke – baseball player Calen Carr – soccer player and television host Tiffany Chin – figure skater Steve Clark – swimmer, won five Olympic gold medals Ray Crouse – football player Bruce Cunningham – Major League Baseball player, Boston Braves Jared Cunningham – basketball player Antonio Davis – NBA basketball player Steve DeBerg – football player Bernie DeViveiros – Major League Baseball player, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers Taylor Douthit – Major League Baseball player, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds Forey Duckett – football player Dennis Eckersley – baseball player Manny Fernandez – football player Eric Fernsten – NBA basketball player, NBA, CBA, and Europe Curt Flood – Major League Baseball player, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Senators; known for challenging the reserve clause Greg Foster – basketball player La Vel Freeman – baseball player Len Gabrielson – Major League Baseball player, first baseman, Philadelphia Phillies Len Gabrielson – Major League Baseball player, outfielder, Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, California Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers Joe Gaines – Major League Baseball player, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros Derrick Gardner – football player Kiwi Gardner – basketball player Brad Gilbert – tennis player and coach John Gillespie – Major League Baseball player, Cincinnati Reds Jesse Gonder – baseball player Drew Gooden – NBA basketball player Alexis Gray-Lawson – basketball player, Phoenix Mercury Bob Greenwood – Major League Baseball player, Philadelphia Phillies Bud Hafey – Major League Baseball player, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies Tom Hafey – Major League Baseball player, New York Giants, St. Louis Browns Roger Harding – football player Rickey Henderson – baseball player Jan Henne – swimmer, two-time gold medalist at 1968 Summer Olympics Steve Hosey – baseball player Al Hrabosky – baseball pitcher and sportscaster Proverb Jacobs – NFL football player, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants Jackie Jensen – baseball player Brian Johnson – baseball player Josh Johnson – quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals Maurice Jones-Drew – football player Robert Jordan – football player Bobby Kemp – football player Jason Kidd – NBA basketball player and coach MacArthur Lane – football player Cookie Lavagetto – baseball player and manager James Yimm Lee – martial arts teacher Tony Lema – golfer Bill Lester – NASCAR driver Alysa Liu – figure skater, two-time gold medalist at 2026 Winter Olympics Damian Lillard – NBA basketball player Don Lofgran – NBA professional basketball player Ernie Lombardi – baseball player Terrell Lowery – baseball player Lorenzo Lynch – football player Marshawn Lynch – football player Eddie McGah – baseball player, part-owner of Oakland Raiders Bill McKalip – college All-American football player, NFL player, Portsmouth Spartans / Detroit Lions Joe Mellana – Major League Baseball player, Philadelphia Athletics Demetrius "Hook" Mitchell – streetball player Joe Morgan – baseball second baseman and sportscaster Kirk Morrison – football player Hank Norberg – football player Mike Norris – baseball player Lee Norwood – ice hockey player Cameron Oliver – basketball power forward/center in the Israeli Basketball Premier League Zoe Ann Olsen – Olympic diver Gary Payton – basketball player, born and raised in Oakland Gary Pettis – baseball player and coach Paul Pierce – basketball player Vada Pinson – baseball player and coach Jim Pollard – basketball player Leon Powe – basketball player Damon Powell – basketball player Jarrod Pughsley – football player John Ralston – football player and coach Isiah Rider – basketball player Chris Roberson – baseball player Cliff Robinson – basketball player, youngest (teenaged), highest scoring NBA Player, 1976 TOC Champions Frank Robinson – baseball player and manager Jimmy Rollins – baseball player Bill Russell – basketball player and coach Brian Shaw – basketball player and coach Paul Silas – basketball player and coach Fred Silva – football official Marvel Smith – football player Dave Stewart – Major League baseball player and executive John Sutro – football player Ron Theobald – Major League baseball player Jim Tobin – Major League baseball player Marviel Underwood – football player Kwame Vaughn (born 1990) – basketball player Langston Walker – football player Andre Ward – professional boxer George Wells – professional wrestler

Businesspeople, entrepreneurs and industrialists

Stephen Bechtel – engineer, president, CEO of Bechtel Corporation, 1933–1960 Anthony Chabot – entrepreneur, father of hydraulic mining, namesake of Chabot Space & Science Center, Lake Chabot, and Chabot College, buried in Oakland Charles Crocker – railroad tycoon, buried in Oakland Debbi Fields – entrepreneur, founder of Mrs. Fields cookies Domingo Ghirardelli – founder of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company based in San Francisco, buried in Oakland Ken Hofmann – former owner of the Oakland Athletics Henry J. Kaiser – entrepreneur, businessman, founder of Kaiser Permanente and Kaiser Family Foundation, buried in Oakland Gladys H. Lent-Barndollar – businesswoman and clubwoman; president, National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs Mark Mastrov – founder of 24 Hour Fitness, partial owner of the Sacramento Kings Jonah Peretti – founder of BuzzFeed Francis Marion Smith (also known as "Borax" Smith) – miner, business magnate Tanya Van Court, founder and CEO of Goalsetter

Chefs

Nelson German – chef Tanya Holland – chef, restaurateur, podcast host, and cookbook author Nite Yun – chef and restaurateur

Entertainment

Mahershala Ali – Academy Award-winning actor Eddie Anderson – actor Max Baer Jr. – actor, film director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin – filmmaker and musician Pamela Blake – actress True Boardman – silent film actor Alex Bretow – film producer, director, and screenwriter David Carradine – actor Rafael Casal – actor, writer Connie Cezon – actress Angus Cloud – actor Keyshia Cole – musician Tracie Collins – actress, writer, theatre director and producer Ryan Coogler – director Buster Crabbe – actor T. D. Crittenden – silent film actor Robert Culp – actor Mark Curry – actor/comedian Gloria Dea – actress, dancer and magician Walter DeLeon – screenwriter Dimitri Diatchenko – actor Daveed Diggs – actor and rapper Rockmond Dunbar – actor, mixed-media artist Sheila E. – musician Michael Earl – puppeteer Clint Eastwood – actor, Academy Award-winning film producer, and director Lyndsy Fonseca – actress Kirk Francis – sound engineer Squire Fridell – actor Cary Fukunaga – Emmy Award-winning director Sylvia Gerrish – performer of musical comedy and light opera Sumner Getchell – actor Gary Goldman – filmmaker Michael A. Goorjian – actor and filmmaker R. Henry Grey – silent film actor Khamani Griffin – child actor Mark Hamill – actor Bernie Hamilton – actor, Starsky and Hutch MC Hammer – rapper Tom Hanks – Academy Award-winning actor, raised in Oakland Susan Seaforth Hayes – actor Claude Heater – opera singer and actor, Ben-Hur Russell Hornsby – actor Warner Jones – actor Moshe Kasher – comedian, actor, and author/writer; raised in Oakland Elmer Keeton – musician, chorus director Kehlani – singer Joe Knowland – newspaper publisher, actor David Labrava – actor, writer, tattoo artist Remy Lacroix – adult actress Ted Lange – actor Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee) – actor, born in Oakland Bruce Lee – actor, martial artist Nnegest Likké – film director Caryl Lincoln – actress Delroy Lindo – actor Dakin Matthews – actor Russ Meyer – film director Jefferson Moffitt – screenwriter, film director Paul Mooney – comedian Shemar Moore – actor, model Mitch Mullany – actor Kali Muscle – actor Roger Nichols – recording engineer Natalie Nunn – television personality Laura Oakley – silent film actress Orunamamu (Marybeth Washington-Stofle) – storyteller Frank Oz – actor, director, puppeteer for Bert, Cookie Monster and Grover on Sesame Street Chelsea Peretti – comedian, actress Dorothy Revier – silent film actress, dancer Cherie Roberts – adult model, photographer Cynthia Robinson – musician Raphael Saadiq – singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer Timothy B. Schmit – singer, bassist of The Eagles, born in Oakland Kellita Smith – actress and model Jack Soo (Goro Suzuki) – comedian, actor, Barney Miller George Stevens – Academy Award-winning film director Cynthia Stevenson – actress, born in Oakland Ethel Grey Terry – silent film actress Colin Trevorrow – film director Jo Van Fleet – actress Matt Vasgersian – actor, sports broadcaster Mills Watson – actor Robert Webber – film and TV actor, 12 Angry Men Will Wright – game designer Daniel Wu – actor Bassem Youssef – satirist Zendaya – Emmy Award-winning actress

Leaders, activists, and politicians Richard Aoki – activist William P. Baker – politician Sonny Barger – founder of the Hells Angels motorcycle club Henry G. Blasdel – first governor of Nevada; resident of Oakland Annie Florence Brown – president, Oakland Board of Education