List of people from Springfield, Missouri

This is a list of notable people born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with the city of Springfield, Missouri and its surrounding metropolitan area.

Arts, literature, humanities and entertainment

• Lennie Aleshire, vaudeville and country music performer
• Bob Barker, game show host ( The Price is Right )
• Daya Betty, drag queen, contestant on season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race
• Julie Blackmon, photographer
• Aaron Buerge, star of ABC's The Bachelor , season 2
• Kristi Capel Miss Missouri 2006, anchor for WJW in Cleveland
• Kim Crosby, Broadway performer
• Ian Eskelin, lead singer of All Star United
• William Garwood, actor
• Lucas Grabeel, actor, singer ( High School Musical , High School Musical 2 , and High School Musical 3: Senior Year )
• Percy Grainger, music composer (lived in Springfield from 1940 to 1943) ^[1]
• Sara Groves, Christian contemporary recording artist
• Tess Harper, actress (graduated from Missouri State University)
• David L. Harrison, children's author and poet
• Speedy Haworth, guitarist and singer
• Grace Hayes, actress
• Joe Haymes, swing era bandleader-arranger (born in Marshfield; grew up and began his band in Springfield)
• Josh Heinrichs, reggae singer
• Virginia Hunter, actress
• Melissa Hutchison, two-time BAFTA nominee
• Jah Roots, reggae band
• Jay Kenneth Johnson, actor ( Days of Our Lives )
• The Jordanaires, singing group
• Johnny Q. Public, rock band
• Juto, singer
• David Kershenbaum, record producer
• King's X, musical group
• Chandler Lawson, beauty pageant titleholder, Miss Tennessee 2012
• Brenda Lee, singer, numerous awards including a Grammy Award
• Jim Lowe, country music singer
• Robin Luke, musician
• The Marksmen, singing quartet (originally The Foggy River Boys)
• Duard Marshall, painter, lithographer, and student of Thomas Hart Benton
• Mariann Mayberry, actress
• Crystal Methyd, drag queen, runner-up on season 12 of RuPaul's Drag Race
• The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, musical group
• The Philharmonics, singing quintet
• Brad Pitt, actor, attended Kickapoo High School, Oscar, Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award winner
• Mary Ellen Ray, actress
• Chappell Roan, singer-songwriter
• Jake Wesley Rogers, singer
• Artie Romero, cartoonist, animator
• Ronnie Self, singer/songwriter
• Scott Siman, music producer and executive
• Si Siman, music producer and broadcast executive
• Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, musical group
• Cailee Spaeny, actress ( Vice , On the Basis of Sex )
• Speakeasy, rock and roll band
• Heidi Strobel, Survivor contestant
• Terre Thaemlitz, musician, cultural producer
• Tony Tost, poet
• Kathleen Turner, actress, two-time Golden Globe Award winner
• Speedy West, steel guitarist and record producer
• Robert Westenberg, Broadway performer
• Marissa Whitley, Miss Teen USA 2001
• Tom Whitlock, Academy Award winner for Best Original Song, "Take My Breath Away"
• Adrienne Wilkinson, actress (graduated from Kickapoo High School)
• Lanford Wilson, playwright
• Slim Wilson, musician, radio and TV personality
• Daniel Woodrell, author

• 
  Bob Barker
• 
  Brad Pitt
• 
  Chappell Roan

Business

• William F. Austin, CEO of Starkey Hearing Technologies
• Ernest R. Breech, chairman of Ford
• Lester E. Cox, businessman, namesake of CoxHealth
• William H. “Bill” Darr, founder of American Dehydrated Foods (ADF)
• Loren W. Cook and (son) Jerry Cook, founders of Loren Cook Company
• Homer F. Fellows - founder of Springfield Wagon Company
• Ralph D. Foster, broadcasting pioneer
• Jack Gentry, World War II and Korean War veteran; founder of Positronic
• David Glass, former CEO of Walmart; owner of MLB's Kansas City Royals
• John Morris, founder and majority owner, Bass Pro Shops ^[2]
• Paul Mueller, founder of Paul Mueller Company
• Charles H. "Chub" O'Reilly, founder of O'Reilly Automotive Inc.
• Jack Stack, founder of SRC Holdings
• Byron Trott, investment banker
• John T. Woodruff, businessman, founder of Route 66

• 
  Johnny Morris
• 
  John T. Woodruff

Education

• James E. Cofer, professor at Missouri State University, president 2010–11
• J. Alan Groves, Biblical Hebrew scholar; editor of Groves-Wheeler Hebrew morphology database
• Curtis Price KBE, warden of New College, Oxford

Politics

• John Ashcroft, former United States attorney general
• Matt Blunt, former governor of Missouri
• Melanie Blunt, former first lady of Missouri
• Roy Blunt, former U.S. senator
• Dennis Bonner, Missouri state legislator
• Sempronius H. Boyd, former U.S. representative and minister of the United States to Siam
• Charlie Brown, former U.S. representative
• Eric Burlison, U.S. representative for Missouri ^[3]
• Claudine B. Cox, former U.S. Representative to the Executive Board of UNICEF ^[4]
• Miller Dunckel, former Michigan state treasurer
• Mark A. Ediger, former Surgeon General of the United States Air Force
• Johnny Ellis, Alaska state legislator
• Scott Fitzpatrick, state auditor of Missouri and former state treasurer of Missouri
• Betsy Fogle, member of the Missouri House of Representatives
• John N. Griesemer, former Governor of the United States Postal Service ^[5]
• M. Douglas Harpool, United States District Judge
• Stephanie Hein, member of the Missouri House of Representatives
• Gilbert H. Jertberg, United States circuit judge
• Jim Keet, former member of both houses of the Arkansas legislature; the 2010 Republican gubernatorial nominee in Arkansas
• Margaret Kelly, former Missouri state auditor, Missouri republican gubernatorial nominee
• Billy Long, former Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service
• Gary L. Matthews, former United States Ambassador to Malta ^[6]
• James McBride, former minister of the United States to Hawaii
• Roscoe C. Patterson, former U.S. senator and representative
• Robert L. Pettit, former Associate Deputy Secretary of Transportation ^[7]
• William C. Price, former treasurer of the United States
• Crystal Quade, minority leader, Missouri House of Representatives, Missouri democratic gubernatorial nominee
• Alex Riley, member of the Missouri House of Representatives
• Alfred C. Sikes, former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission ^[8]
• Karen L. Williams, former United States Ambassador to Suriname

• 
  John Ashcroft
• 
  Matt Blunt
• 
  Roy Blunt

Science

• Jerry L. Atwood, chemist
• Edwin P. Hubble, of Hubble Space Telescope fame (born in Marshfield) ^[9]
• Janet Kavandi, NASA astronaut

• 
  Edwin Hubble
• 
  Janet L. Kavandi

Sports

• Jaelon Acklin, CFL player, Ottawa Redblacks
• Scott Bailes, MLB pitcher in 1980s and 1990s; color commentator for Springfield Cardinals
• Eddie Carnett, MLB pitcher in 1940s
• Dean Deetz, MLB player, Houston Astros
• Lori Endicott, Atlanta 1996 Olympic volleyball player
• BJ Flores, boxer
• Courtney Frerichs, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 track and field
• Gracie Gold, Sochi 2014 Olympic figure skater, 2014 and 2016 U.S. champion
• Dorial Green-Beckham, NFL player, 2015 Tennessee Titans, 2016 Philadelphia Eagles
• Lucas Harrell, MLB player, Toronto Blue Jays
• John Howard, Mexico City 1968, Munich 1972, Montreal 1976 cycalist
• Ryan Howard, MLB player, 2005 NL Rookie of the Year, 2006 Home Run Derby champion, 2006 NL Most Valuable Player
• Jack Jewsbury, MLS player for Portland Timbers
• Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys owner; worked in Springfield with father Pat Jones at insurance company Modern Security Life in 1960s
• Josh Kinney, first Springfield Cardinal (AA) to make MLB St. Louis Cardinals roster
• Ashlyn Krueger, tennis player
• Dale Long, MLB baseball player
• Stan Musial, Hall of Fame baseball player for St. Louis Cardinals, played for original Springfield Cardinals in late 1930s
• Larry Nemmers, NFL referee
• Mickey Owen, MLB player
• Robin Partch, Grenoble 1968 luger
• Dave Patterson, MLB player, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Jason Pyrah, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Olympic 1500m runner
• Steve Rogers, MLB starting pitcher, 5-time All-Star; most successful pitcher in Montreal Expos history
• Emily Scott, Sochi 2014 Olympic speed skater
• Horton Smith, golfer, two-time Masters Tournament champion
• Payne Stewart, professional golfer
• Jackie Stiles, NCAA all-time leading scorer in women's basketball
• Jeri Sitzes, boxer
• Anthony Tolliver, NBA player for Minnesota Timberwolves
• Paul Walker, football player

• 
  Gracie Gold
• 
  Anthony Tolliver
• 
  Horton Smith
• 
  Payne Stewart
• 
  Courtney Frerichs
• 
  Emily Scott

Other

• Jimmie Angel, aviator, discoverer of Angel Falls, highest free-falling waterfall in world
• William A. Beiderlinden, U.S. Army major general ^[10]
• Oliver Brown, plaintiff in the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education , born in Topeka
• Virginia E. Johnson, sexologist; junior member of Masters and Johnson sexuality research team
• Emma J. Ray, activist, suffragist

Notes

1. "Percy Grainger Society - Percy Grainger's Residence in Springfield, Missouri". percygrainger.org. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
2. "John Morris". Forbes. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
3. "BURLISON, Eric". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
4. "Appointment of Claudine B. Cox as Alternate United States Representative to the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
5. "Nomination of John N. Griesemer To Be a Governor of the United States Postal Service | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
6. "Nomination of Gary L. Matthews To Be United States Ambassador to Malta | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
7. "Nomination of Robert L. Pettit To Be Associate Deputy Secretary of Transportation | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
8. "Nomination of Alfred C. Sikes To Be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
9. "Edwin Hubble - Biography".
10. Who's Who In the South and Southwest. Vol. 5. Chicago, IL: Marquis Who's Who. 1956. p. 68 – via Google Books.