Famous People Born in Chicago

Chicago is a city of great innovation and great opportunity. It’s where the telephone first came into existence, where deep-dish pizza first graced dinner tables, where the world’s first skyscraper reached into the clouds and so, so much more!

The people who have made Chicago so great are to thank for the city’s success today, but did you know there are a handful of successful people out there who we’d have never thought came from Chicago?

If you live in our luxury Chicago apartments, then these neighborhoods and suburbs ought to sound at least somewhat familiar! And who knows? Maybe you’ll end up on a list like this one day!

Famous people you didn’t know were from Chicago

Robin Williams

“You’re only given a little spark of madness. Don’t lose it.” – Robin Williams

Beloved comedian and actor Robin Williams entertained children and adults alike his entire career with his iconic film roles and improvised comedy. Williams showcased his immense range through films ranging from heartfelt dramas such as “Dead Poets Society” and “Good Will Hunting” to comedies and adventures like “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Jumanji” and “The Birdcage." 

Though he died tragically in 2014, Robin Williams remains one of the nation’s most beloved comedians and public figures. His childhood home is just north of Chicago (where he was born on July 21, 1951) in the metropolitan area of Lake Forest. He lived there until the age of 12, after which his family moved first to Detroit then to California.  

Walt Disney

Yup! The man behind the magic himself was born right here in Chicago on December 5, 1901. He took art classes in the city as a boy and got hired as an illustrator at the mere age of 18 years old, after which he moved to California to set up his own studio with his brother, Roy Disney. 

If only eighteen-year-old Walt Disney could’ve seen what his legacy would look like today, nearly a hundred years later! Disney holds the record for most Academy Award nominations (59!) and awards (22), and amassed a total of 950 honors from around the world alongside his staff. 

Harrison Ford

From a humble career as an extra or supporting actor to an overnight success with 1977’s “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope,” Chicago-born Harrison Ford has risen through Hollywood’s ranks to become one of the top ten highest-grossing actors not only in North America, but of all time. 

A leading man in films spanning from sci-fi to fantasy to crime, drama, action, adventure and more, Ford’s long and impressive career started at his high school in the Chicago suburb, Park Ridge, where he was the school’s first sportscaster during his senior year. 

From there, things just went up! 

Dwyane Wade

Though most famous for his time spent playing for the Miami Heat in the NBA, Dwayne Wade started his impressive and wildly successful career right here in Chicago!

Born on January 17, 1982 in Chicago, Dwyane spent much of his early childhood in Chicago's South Side until he moved to Robbins, Illinois, which is just southwest of Chicago. Wade started playing basketball in high school and immediately showed great interest and great promise. He led his high school team to a Class AA Eisenhower Sectional appearance in his senior year and set records for most steals made (106) and most points scored (676).

And that was just high school!

Wade’s career took him to play for Marquette University, from where he was drafted by the Miami Heat in 2003. He played for the team until 2016, then moved briefly to the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers before retiring with the Miami Heat in 2019. 

Shel Silverstein

“There are no happy endings.

Endings are the saddest part,

So just give me a happy middle

And a very happy start.”

— Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstien, famous children’s book author, poet, cartoonist, playwright and songwriter, is perhaps best known for his poetry storybooks such as “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” “The Giving Tree” and “A Light in the Attic.” He was also a successful songwriter, penning works like Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue” and receiving two Grammy Awards and a handful of Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards. 

Silverstein was born right here in Chicago on September 25, 1930. He attended Roosevelt High School in the Albany Park neighborhood and attended the University of Illinois briefly in the 1940s.  He was attending the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts when he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served in Japan and Korea and drew cartoons for the military newspaper Pacific Stars and Stripes.

His drawing career really took off in 1957 when he became a high-ranking cartoonist for Playboy magazine. From there, his fame led him to work with music, theater, TV, film and, of course, children's poetry.

Shonda Rhimes

Shonda Rhimes has entertained television audiences through her gripping TV shows since 2005, with award-winning Shondaland productions such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal”, “How to Get Away With Murder,” “Bridgerton” and, more recently, “Inventing Anna.” 

Rhimes was born in Chicago on January 13, 1970 and spent her early years in University Park, Illinois. She left Illinois after high school to attend Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where she participated in theater associations, newspaper writing and fiction writing. From there, she moved to Los Angeles where she began working on projects like “The Princess Diaries 2,” “Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream,” “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge” and more. 

Rhimes’ television production debut was in 2005 when her hospital drama “Grey’s Anatomy” aired on ABC on March 27, 2005, and the rest, as they say, is history!

The schools, neighborhoods, stores and restaurants we walk or drive past every day have had thousands, if not millions, of people walk through their doors over the years. And, based on this accurate-but-not-totally-comprehensive list, there’s a good chance that some pretty famous people have been to the same places you have!

Who’d ‘a thought?

Pin it!

Featured photo courtesy Pixabay/12019