List of people from Norwalk, Connecticut

Norwalk, Connecticut, has been home to numerous notable people, residents and others, past and present.

Artie Shaw, big band leader

Authors, writers

• Faith Baldwin (1893–1978), novelist; worked with the Famous Writers School; lived in the Silvermine neighborhood and died in Norwalk
• Brian Basset (born 1957), Seattle-based cartoonist; born in the city
• A. Scott Berg (born 1949), award-winning biographer; born in Norwalk
• F. R. Buckley (1896–1976) lived in Norwalk
• Tom Curry (1900–1976), pulp fiction writer
• Philip Caputo (born 1941), author
• Stanley Dance (1910–1999), jazz writer, biographer of Duke Ellington
• Peter De Vries (1910–1983), writer, editor, novelist, worked on The New Yorker magazine for many years
• Alyse Gregory (1884–1967), suffragist, journalist, and novelist; born in Norwalk
• Johnny Gruelle (1880–1938), artist and author; creator of Raggedy Ann; lived in town
• Bob Grumman (1941–2015), minimalist poet
• Emma Johnson (born 1976), podcast host and blogger
• Steven Kellogg (born 1941), author and illustrator of children's books; born in Norwalk
• Sheila Lukins (1942–2009), cook and food writer ^[1]
• Warren E. Preece (1921–2007), editor of Encyclopædia Britannica 's 15th edition
• Andy Rooney (1919–2011), commentator on 60 Minutes television newsmagazine on CBS
• Peter St. John, poet during the American Revolution
• Stephen W. Sears (born 1932), Civil War historian; lives in Norwalk
• Sloan Wilson (1920–2003), author; was born in the city
• Wayne Winsley (born 1963), broadcaster and author; former resident

Actors, musicians, entertainers

Frances Dee in Becky Sharp

• Roger Bart (born 1962), Broadway actor; born in Norwalk
• Jesse Bradford (born 1979), film actor; born in Norwalk
• D.J. Caruso (born 1965), movie and television director; born in the city and attended Norwalk High School
• Helen Curry (1896–1931), actress; died at her home in the city
• Ruth Chatterton (1892–1961), actress, writer and aviator; died in the city in 1961
• Charli D'Amelio (born 2004), dancer and social media personality ^[2]
• Dixie D'Amelio (born 2001), social media personality and singer
• Robin de Jesús (born 1984), film and theater actor
• Frances Dee (1909–2004), actress; died in the city
• Mat Devine (born 1974), lead singer of Kill Hannah
• Violet Englefield (1881–1946), actress and singer; lived in Norwalk 1930–1939
• Ellen Hanley (1926–2007), musical theater performer
• Eileen Heckart (1919–2001), actress; died at her home in the city
• Clegg Hoyt (1910–1967), film and television actor; born in Norwalk
• Sarah Jacobson (1971–2004), independent filmmaker; born in Norwalk
• Mitch Longley (born 1965), television actor; graduated from Brien McMahon High School
• Forrest McClendon, Tony Award-nominated actor ( The Scottsboro Boys ) ^[3]
• Vince Mendoza (born 1961), music arranger and composer; born in Norwalk
• Christopher Schreiner (born 1983), guitarist; born in Norwalk
• Artie Shaw (1910–2004), Big Band composer; lived in Norwalk in the 1950s ^[4]
• Horace Silver (1928–2014), jazz pianist and composer; born in the city ^[5]
• John Simon (born 1941), musician, record producer, and composer; born in Norwalk
• Joan Wasser (born 1970), violinist and singer-songwriter; was raised in the city
• Chris Webby (Christian Webster), rapper; grew up in Norwalk
• Bruce Weitz (born 1943), actor; was born in Norwalk
• Treat Williams (1951–2023), actor; Rowayton resident
• Remy Zaken (born 1989), stage and television actress ^[6]

Sports

• Érik Bédard (born 1979), pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles; went to Norwalk Community College
• Paul Gerken (born 1950), professional tennis player
• Luca Koleosho, soccer player for Burnley of the English Premier League ^[7] was born in Norwalk and played as a child at nearby Trumbull United
• Mickey Kydes, soccer player for the NY/NJ MetroStars of Major League Soccer ^[8]
• Randy LaJoie (born 1961), two-time champion driver in the NASCAR Busch Series (now the (Xfinity Series)
• Bob Miller (1929–2006), NFL Detroit Lions football player (1952–1958); born in the city
• Marie Corridon Mortell (1930–2010), won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay in swimming at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London ^[9]
• Kevin Morton, former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox
• Calvin Murphy (born 1948), former NBA basketball player; grew up in town
• Idris Price (born 1976), football player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Rita Williams (born 1976), WNBA Basketball player (1998–2003) Washington Mystics
• Scott Sharp (born 1968), auto racer, Indy Racing League champion; currently an American Le Mans Series owner-driver in the GT class
• Leif Shiras (born 1959), former tennis player and tennis journalist
• Dan Sileo (born 1963), former football player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, lived in Norwalk
• Tarvis Simms (born 1971), middleweight boxer; Golden Gloves champion; South Norwalk native
• Travis Simms (born 1971), welterweight champion of the World Boxing Association (as of January 2007); South Norwalk native
• Mo Vaughn (born 1967), former baseball player
• Mark Vientos (born 1999), MLB player for the New York Mets
• Luke Vercollone (born 1982), professional soccer player with the Charleston Battery; grew up in Norwalk
• Daniel Walsh (born 1979), rower and winner of a bronze medal in rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics ^[10]

Government and politics

See also: List of mayors of Norwalk, Connecticut

Brien McMahon stamp, issued in 1962

John Magrath

• Audrey P. Beck (1931–1983), college professor and Connecticut state legislator
• William Benton (1900–1973), U.S. Senator; later publisher of the Encyclopædia Britannica ; lived in the city
• Thaddeus Betts (1789–1840), United States Senator from Connecticut
• William Thomas Clark (1831–1905), American Civil War general, U.S. Congressman, and abolitionist
• Darius N. Couch (1822–1897), naturalist and Union general in the Civil War; died in Norwalk
• Jeremiah Donovan (1857–1935), mayor and U.S. Congressman
• Thomas Fitch (1696–1774), colonial Governor of Connecticut
• Thomas Fitch, V (1725–1795), state representative; widely believed to be the original "Yankee Doodle Dandy"
• Irving Freese, five-term mayor of Norwalk; one of the few Socialists ever elected mayor in the United States
• Boris Johnson, prime minister of the United Kingdom, grew up in the city ^[11]
• Alex Knopp, two-term mayor of Norwalk, 2001–2005
• Mia Love, United States Representative; raised in Norwalk ^[12]
• Brien McMahon (1903–1952), United States Senator (D-CT), authored the Atomic Energy Act of 1946; born, raised, and is buried in Norwalk; namesake of one of the city's high schools
• Dick Moccia, elected mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut on November 8, 2005
• Isaac Sears (1729/1730–1786), merchant, sailor, and political figure during the American Revolution; raised in Norwalk
• Roger Stone (born 1952), Political consultant and author; renowned Conservative and avid supporter of the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump
• Levi Warner (1831–1911), United States Representative from Connecticut
• Peter Willcox (born 1953), Greenpeace activist and former captain of the Rainbow Warrior ; was raised in the city

Other

Daniel Shea

• Daniel T. Barry (born 1953), retired NASA astronaut; born in Norwalk
• Azor Betts (1740–1809), doctor who promoted smallpox inoculation
• Fanniebelle Curtis (1867–1940), kindergarten educator, educational administrator, in France during World War I
• Donald Drew Egbert (1902-1973), art historian and educator
• Sarah Louise Bouton Felt (1850–1928), first general president of the children's Primary organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
• Francis Gregory (1780–1866), U.S. Navy officer in the War of 1812 and the American Civil War; born in Norwalk
• Edward Calvin Kendall (1886–1972), chemist and Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine winner in 1950; born in South Norwalk
• LeGrand Lockwood (died February 1872), Wall Street financier; builder of the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion in Norwalk
• John D. Magrath (1924–1945), World War II Medal of Honor recipient; born in East Norwalk and is buried in Norwalk
• Charles O. Perry (1929–2011), sculptor, lived in East Norwalk and had his art studio in South Norwalk from 1977 until his death
• Alexander Rummler (1867–1959), painter, lived in the city for 35 years painting many scenes of Norwalk life
• Daniel J. Shea (1947–1969), recipient of the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War; Shea Island in the Norwalk Islands was renamed in his honor
• Charles Robert Sherman (1788–1829), lawyer, Ohio public servant; father of William Tecumseh Sherman; born in Norwalk ^[13]
• Mary Emma Woolley (1863–1947), president of Mount Holyoke College, 1901–1937; born in South Norwalk ^[14]

See also

Mary Emma Woolley, president of Mount Holyoke College

• List of people from Connecticut
• List of people from Bridgeport, Connecticut
• List of people from Brookfield, Connecticut
• List of people from Darien, Connecticut
• List of people from Greenwich, Connecticut
• List of people from Hartford, Connecticut
• List of people from New Canaan, Connecticut
• List of people from New Haven, Connecticut
• List of people from Redding, Connecticut
• List of people from Ridgefield, Connecticut
• List of people from Stamford, Connecticut
• List of people from Westport, Connecticut

Footnotes

1. Moskin, Julia. "Sheila Lukins, 66, Dies; Awakened Taste Buds", The New York Times , August 30, 2009. Accessed August 31, 2009.
2. "TikTok Star Charli D'Amelio Has No Idea How She Got So Famous". Cosmopolitan . April 14, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
3. Wright, Chase (May 7, 2011). "Norwalk native turned Broadway star nominated for Tony Award". Stamford Times . Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
4. Grudens, Richard, Jukebox Saturday Night: More Memories of the Big Band Era and Beyond (1999), Pine Hill Press, Freeman, S.D., ISBN   1-57579-142-0, page 29, accessed through Google Books (free registration required) on August 4, 2006
5. "Horace Silver obituary". the Guardian. June 19, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
6. "Remy Zaken". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
7. InCrowd. "Burnley Football Club". Burnley Football Club. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
8. Mickey Kydes Soccer Enterprises
9. Geoghegan, Steve (September 25, 2008). "Norwalk honors its Olympian". The Hour. p. B1.
10. Hine, Tommy (August 22, 2008). "Summer Bronze: Norwalk's Walsh Garners Olympic Medal". Norwalk Citizen. 12 (34): A1, A15. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
11. Grauel, Thane (July 25, 2019). "'BoJo,' Britain's new prime minister, spent younger years in Norwalk". The Hour (Norwalk, CT).
12. Glionna, Hohn M.; Pearce, Matt (November 5, 2014). "GOP hopes Mia Love's win a watershed moment for the party". LA Times. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014.
13. Hirshson, Stanley P., The White Tecumseh: A Biography of General William T. Sherman, John Wiley & Sons, 1997, ISBN   0-471-17578-1
14. Web page titled "Mary Emma Wolley" at Encyclopædia Britannica Web site, accessed May 4, 2007