List of people from the Lehigh Valley

Allentown, the largest city in the Lehigh Valley, third-largest city in Pennsylvania, and county seat of Lehigh County, in May 2010

The following is a list of notable people who were born, or lived a significant portion of their lives, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.

Authors, journalists, playwrights, and poets

H.D.

Lauren Weisberger

• Christian Bauman, novelist
• Stephen Vincent Benét, former Pulitzer Prize-winning author and poet
• Charles Bierbauer, former dean, University of South Carolina, and former CNN correspondent
• John Birmelin, former Pennsylvania German language poet and playwright
• Clair Blank, former author, Beverly Gray series of books
• Katherine Boehret, former technology journalist, The Wall Street Journal
• Jen Bryant, poet and author
• Solomon DeLong (pen name Obediah Grouthomel), former Pennsylvania German newspaper columnist
• Michael Flynn, former science fiction author
• Matthew Giobbi, author
• H.D., former writer and modernist poet
• Alfred Hassler, former journalist and author
• Carmen Maria Machado, short story author and essayist
• Francis March, former academic and founder, comparative linguistics in Old English
• Randall Munroe, writer, xkcd comic series
• Sandra Novack, novelist
• Alix Olson, spoken word artist
• Michael Pocalyko, business executive and financial novelist
• Marci Shore, author and historian
• Elsie Singmaster, former author
• Jennifer Storm, author, Blackout Girl: Growing Up and Drying Out in America and Leave the Light On
• Lauren Weisberger, author, The Devil Wears Prada

Business and politics

Michael Johns

Charles Schwab

• Roy Afflerbach, lobbyist and former Allentown mayor
• William F. Andrews, former Florida state representative
• James S. Biery, former member of Congress
• Joseph Force Crater, former justice, New York State Supreme Court
• James B. Cunningham, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Afghanistan
• Charlie Dent, former member of Congress
• Charles L. Gerlach, former member of Congress
• Fred B. Gernerd, former member of Congress
• Rick Glazier, former North Carolina state representative
• Murray H. Goodman, former real estate developer ^[1]
• Eugene Grace, former president, Bethlehem Steel
• Erskine Hazard, co-founder, Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, Lehigh Canal, and Lehigh Crane Iron Company
• David W. Hess, former New Hampshire state representative
• Lee Iacocca, former chairman and CEO, Chrysler
• Michael Johns, healthcare executive and former White House presidential speechwriter
• John Kline, former member of Congress
• Marcus C. L. Kline, former member of Congress
• Fred E. Lewis, former member of Congress
• Norton Lichtenwalner, former member of Congress
• Ryan Mackenzie, U.S. representative for Pennsylvania ^[2]
• John E. McGlade, former chairman, chief executive officer, and president, Air Products
• Peter Newhard, former member of Congress
• Andrew Horatio Reeder, former governor of Kansas
• Donald L. Ritter, former member of Congress
• James Ritter, former member, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
• Charles M. Schwab, former president, Bethlehem Steel
• Samuel Sitgreaves, former U.S. commissioner to Great Britain and member of Congress
• Richard A. Snelling, former governor of Vermont
• George Taylor, Founding Father and Second Continental Congress delegate who signed Declaration of Independence
• Susan Wild, former member of Congress

Film, television, and stage

Lisa Ann

Devon

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Amanda Seyfried

• Lisa Ann, adult film actress
• Alexandra Chando, actress, As the World Turns
• Jack Coleman, television actor, Dynasty , Heroes , The Office , and Castle
• Dane DeHaan, television and film actor, In Treatment , Chronicle , and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
• Devon, adult film actress
• Omar Doom, actor, Inglourious Basterds
• Oakes Fegley, actor, The Goldfinch
• Winslow Fegley, actor, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
• Jonathan Frakes, actor, Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Mel Harris, actress, Thirtysomething
• Althea Henley, former actress
• Tim Heidecker, actor and comedian, Adult Swim's Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
• Dwayne Johnson ("The Rock"), actor and former professional wrestler ^[3]
• Daniel Dae Kim, actor, 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
• William Marchant, former playwright and screenwriter
• Michael McDonald, costume designer and 2009 Tony Award and Drama Desk nominee for Hair ^[4]
• Kristen McMenamy, fashion model
• Kate Micucci, actress, comedian, artist, and singer-songwriter
• Lara Jill Miller, voice actress, The Life and Times of Juniper Lee
• Aimee Mullins, model and actress
• Robert Newhard, former cinematographer
• Sally Jessy Raphael, former television talk show host
• Daniel Roebuck, actor, Lost
• Amanda Seyfried, model and actress, Mean Girls , Big Love , Mamma Mia! , and Les Misérables
• Sheetal Sheth, actress, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
• Dana Snyder, voice actor, Aqua Teen Hunger Force
• Sarah Strohmeyer, novelist
• Andrea Tantaros, political analyst and commentator
• Christine Taylor, actress
• Jonathan Taylor Thomas, actor, Home Improvement ^[5]
• David Zippel, Tony Award-winning lyricist, City of Angels

Music

Jimmy DeGrasso

Steve Kimock

Lil Peep

• Rick Braun, smooth jazz trumpet player ^[6]
• Lillian Briggs, former rockabilly musician
• Howard J. Buss, contemporary classical music composer
• Leon Carr, former Broadway composer and television advertising songwriter
• Jimmy DeGrasso, heavy metal drummer, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper Band, Megadeth, Dokken, and Ratt
• Walt Groller, Grammy-nominated polka musician
• George Hrab, rock and funk musician
• Keith Jarrett, jazz musician
• Steve Kimock, rock musician
• Ludwig Lenel, former organist and composer
• Lil Peep, former rapper
• Albertus L. Meyers, former music conductor, Allentown Band
• Mulgrew Miller, jazz pianist
• Farley Parkenfarker, keyboardist
• Mike Portnoy, progressive metal drummer ^[7]
• Thom Schuyler, country music singer and songwriter
• Shadow Gallery, progressive metal band
• Melissa VanFleet, alternative metal singer, songwriter, and musician
• Donald Voorhees, former Emmy-nominated orchestra conductor
• Jordan White, rock musician
• Stephanie Woodling, opera singer

Religion

• Frank Buchman, founder of the Oxford Group and the Moral Re-Armament religious movement
• Tim Keller, former Christian pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church and author, The Reason for God
• Nathan Homer Knorr, former religious leader and third president of Jehovah's Witnesses

Science

• David Bader, director, Institute of Data Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and professor
• Michael Behe, biochemist at Lehigh University and intelligent design proponent
• James McKeen Cattell, first U.S. psychology professor
• Richard Diehl, archaeologist and Mesoamerica scholar
• Edwin Drake, former oil driller
• Terry Hart, former Space Shuttle Challenger astronaut
• Aaron D. O'Connell, created the world's first quantum machine
• Beth Shapiro, evolutionary molecular biologist, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Walter O. Snelling, former chemist and explosives expert who discovered propane

Sports

Saquon Barkley

Chuck Bednarik

Jahan Dotson

Tyrese Martin

Matt Millen

Andre Reed

Mario Andretti

Larry Holmes, "The Easton Assassin"

Collegiate sports

• Chuck Amato, former head college football coach, North Carolina State
• Steve Aponavicius, former placekicker and all-time Boston College Eagles football scoring leader
• Parke H. Davis, former college football coach, Amherst, Lafayette, and Wisconsin
• Jordan Oliver, two-time NCAA wrestling champion and Bellator MMA fighter

Major League Baseball (MLB)

• Slim Emmerich, former professional baseball player, New York Giants
• Bob Heffner, former professional baseball player, Boston Red Sox, California Angels, and Cleveland Indians
• Gary Lavelle, former professional baseball player, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, and Toronto Blue Jays
• John Meister, former professional baseball player, New York Metropolitans
• Jeff Mutis, former professional baseball player, Cleveland Indians and Florida Marlins
• 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, Philadelphia Phillies, and Washington Nationals
• Curt Simmons, former professional baseball player, California Angels, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals

National Basketball Association (NBA)

• Pete Carril, former professional and collegiate basketball coach, Sacramento Kings and Princeton University
• Aaron Gray, former professional basketball player, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Hornets, Sacramento Kings, and Toronto Raptors
• Tyrese Martin, professional basketball player, Brooklyn Nets
• Brant Weidner, former professional basketball player, San Antonio Spurs
• Bob Weiss, former professional basketball player and head coach of four NBA teams

National Football League (NFL)

• Saquon Barkley, professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles
• Chuck Bednarik, former professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles, and 1967 Pro Football Hall of Fame member
• Keith Dorney, former professional football player, Detroit Lions
• Jahan Dotson, professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles ^{[8] [9]}
• Dan Koppen, former professional football player, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots
• Noel LaMontagne, former professional football player, Cleveland Browns
• Jonathan Linton, former professional football player, Buffalo Bills
• Ed McCaffrey, former professional football player, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers
• 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 on NFL on Fox
• Andre Reed, former professional football player, Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins, and 2014 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
• Larry Seiple, former professional football player, Miami Dolphins
• John Spagnola, former professional football player, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks
• Tony Stewart, former professional football player, Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland Raiders, and Philadelphia Eagles
• Kevin White, former professional football player, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, and San Francisco 49ers
• Kyzir White, professional football player, Tennessee Titans ^[10]
• Andre Williams, former professional football player, New York Giants
• Joe Wolf, former professional football player, Arizona Cardinals
• Walt Zirinsky, former professional football player who won the 1945 national championship with the Cleveland Rams

Olympic athletes

• Joe Kovacs, silver medalist, shot put, 2016 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics
• Thomas Litz, former figure skater, 1964 Winter Olympics
• Kristen Maloney, former gymnastics medalist, 2000 Summer Olympics
• Marty Nothstein, 2000 Summer Olympics gold medal winner, track cycling
• Cheryl Van Kuren, former Olympic field hockey player
• Bobby Weaver, 1984 Summer Olympics gold medal winner, freestyle wrestling
• Cindy Werley, former 1996 Summer Olympics field hockey player

Professional boxing

• Larry Holmes, former boxing heavyweight champion who fought under nickname "The Easton Assassin"

Professional golf

• Jim Booros, former PGA Tour professional golfer

Professional racing

• Jeff Andretti, former professional race car driver
• John Andretti, former professional race car driver, NASCAR and IndyCar Series
• Mario Andretti, former professional race car driver
• Michael Andretti, professional racing team owner, former professional race car driver
• Sage Karam, professional racing driver ^[11]
• Eddie Sachs, former United States Auto Club race car driver

Professional soccer

• Francesco Caruso, former professional soccer player, Harrisburg City Islanders and Otago United
• Jason Yeisley, former professional soccer player, Dallas FC

Professional tennis

• Varvara Lepchenko, professional tennis player

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

• Afa Anoa'i Jr., former WWE professional wrestler known as Manu
• Billy Kidman, former professional wrestler
• Brian Knobbs, former professional wrestler
• Jerry Sags, former professional wrestler

Other sports

• Ian "Rocky" Butler, former professional football player, Canadian Football League
• George Daniel, former commissioner, National Lacrosse League
• Michelle M. Marciniak, former women's college basketball coach, South Carolina, and former professional basketball player, WNBA's Portland Fire and Seattle Storm
• Billy Packer, former CBS Sports basketball analyst
• Zach Rey, amateur wrestler who competed in the 2015 World Wrestling Championships
• Ian Riccaboni, author, host of Ring of Honor Wrestling
• Matt Riddle, professional UFC mixed martial fighter
• Dave Van Horne, former professional baseball broadcaster, Florida Marlins and Montreal Expos
• Dan Yochum, former professional football player, Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos

Visual arts

• Tal Avitzur, sculptor
• John E. Berninger, former Pennsylvania impressionist landscape painter and first Allentown Art Museum curator
• Mark Beyer, comic book artist
• Chakaia Booker, sculptor
• Karl Buesgen, former landscape painter and Pennsylvania impressionist
• Mario Dal Fabbro, furniture designer, sculptor, and author
• Don Dixon, astronomical artist
• Peter Alfred Gross, former landscape painter
• Ella Sophonisba Hergesheimer, former illustrator, painter, and printmaker
• Herman Leonard, former photographer noted for jazz portraits
• Arlington Nelson Lindenmuth, former landscape and portrait painter and photographer
• Antonio Salemme, former sculptor and painter
• Grover Simcox, former illustrator
• Gary Mark Smith, street photographer
• Karl Stirner, former sculptor
• Boris Vallejo, fantasy artist ^[12]
• Orlando Gray Wales, former landscape painter and Pennsylvania impressionist

Others

• Stephen Barrett, psychiatrist and webmaster, Quackwatch ^[13]
• Karen Bausman, architect
• Thom Browne, fashion designer ^[14]
• 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 on December 30, 1999, at age 119
• Harvey Miguel Robinson, serial killer
• Ryo Tokita, artist
• Charles A. Wikoff, most senior ranking U.S. Army officer killed in the Spanish–American War

References

1. "The Goodman Company – A History of Shopping Center Excellence".
2. "MACKENZIE, Ryan". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
3. Sara K. Satullo (July 25, 2017). "The Rock gives Bethlehem a shout out in his HBO series". lehighvalleylive. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
4. Lauer-Williams, Kathy (June 7, 2009), "Designs on a Tony: Allentown Native Michael McDonald is Nominated for Broadway's Top Honor for Costumes for 'Hair'", The Morning Call
5. KATHLEEN PARRISH (October 31, 1996). "BETHLEHEM GIRL GETS WISH TO MEET TEEN SITCOM STAR * DREAM COME TRUE ENABLES KRISTEN LISICKY TO HANG OUT WITH JONATHAN TAYLOR THOMAS". The Morning Call. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
6. "Rick Braun: bio". Archived from the original on February 24, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
7. Howell, Dave (October 23, 2015). "Next to None: a Lehigh Valley prog metal band on the rise". mcall.com. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
8. "Penn State WR Jahan Dotson returning for 2021 season". Lions247. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
9. Miller, Stephen (June 24, 2017). "Star wide receiver Jahan Dotson returning to Nazareth High School football team". mcall.com. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
10. "Eagles sign former Emmaus standout Kyzir White to one-year deal," WFMZ, March 26, 2022
11. "Andretti's stellar buildup to Indy 500 dissipates on race day", The Express-Times , August 24, 2020. Accessed September 4, 2020. "Nazareth Area High School graduate Sage Karam, competing for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, placed 24th."
12. Tim Higgins (July 7, 2012). "Renowned artists Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell are grounded in fantasy". The Morning Call. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
13. Wlazelek, Ann (June 13, 2007). "Allentown critic of quacks moves to 'milder winters'". The Morning Call . Retrieved September 25, 2014.
14. "Designer Thom Browne, a native of Allentown, says his goal is building business, not trends". March 23, 2013.

External links

• "Famous People from the Lehigh Valley", The Morning Call, August 18, 2006
• "Lehigh Valley Pop Culture Connections" at Discover Lehigh Valley, January 2, 2023

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