This is a list of notable people who were born in or have been residents of Yonkers, a city in Westchester County, in the U.S. state of New York, in the United States.
Academia
Edwin Howard Armstrong (1890–1954), electronics pioneer Herbert Benson (1935–2022), physician Ladislaus Bolchazy (1937–2012), Classical scholar, independent academic publisher, and Slovak cultural advocate Daniel Carleton Gajdusek (1923–2008), physician and medical researcher; co-recipient of 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine John Howard Northrop (1891–1987), co-recipient of 1946 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Rudolph Schoenheimer (1898–1941), German-American biochemist
Business Elisha Otis, inventor of the safety elevator and Otis Elevator Company Alexander Smith, founder of Alexander Smith & Sons Carpet Company Jay S. Walker founder of Priceline.com
Entertainment Acting and directing
Carlos Alazraqui (born 1962), actor, stand-up comedian, and impressionistDe Rubio, Dave Gil. "Carlos Alazraqui Revisits Rocko’s Modern Life", Long Island Weekly, September 6, 2018. Accessed September 22, 2019. "In returning to this breakout role and being able to work with his friends again, the Yonkers native was quick to point out that no one missed a beat." Stephen Book (born 1945), director, actor, and acting teacher Sid Caesar (1922–2014) , comic actor and comedian Cathy DeBuono, actress, psychotherapist, radio personality Thomas Mikal Ford (1964–2016), actor Frances Foster, actress Michael Fox (1921–1996), character actor who played Saul Feinberg on the daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful"Michael Fox, 75, An Actor in Film, TV and Theater", The New York Times, June 10, 1996. Accessed September 23, 2019. "He was born in Yonkers, and began acting in the theater, appearing on Broadway in the 1947 play "The Story of Mary Surratt," which starred Lillian Gish." Joe Howard, actor Clayton LeBouef (born 1954), actorChattin, Gena R. "Starring Clayton Lebouef", The Baltimore Sun, February 8, 2007. Accessed September 23, 2019. "LeBouef, 52 and a native of Yonkers, N.Y., is likely to stay in the Baltimore-Washington area, where he says great things are happening in film and television." Linda Lovelace (1949–2002), star of 1972 "porno chic" film Deep ThroatMartin, Douglas. "Linda Boreman, 53, Known For 1972 Film Deep Throat", The New York Times, April 24, 2002. Accessed September 23, 2019. "Linda Boreman was born in the Bronx on Jan. 10, 1949, and moved to Yonkers when she was 3." Richard Masur (born 1948), actorBarron, Sam. "TV, Movie Star Richard Masur Now Leads Croton Democrats", Cortlandt Daily Voice, July 25, 2016. Accessed September 23, 2019. "Masur grew up in Yonkers and went to camp at Croton Point Park." Cathy Moriarty (born 1960), actress who appeared in Raging BullBennetts, Leslie. "The Blond From The Bronx Returns", The New York Times, December 13, 1981. Accessed September 23, 2019. "The third of seven children, Miss Moriarty was born in the Bronx, the daughter of a warehouseman for National Cold Storage in Brooklyn. When Cathy was 5, the family moved to Yonkers, where she attended parochial schools." Erik Palladino, actor Adam Rodriguez, actor Robert Shayne, actor Jon Voight (born 1938), Oscar-winning actor Tyler James Williams (born 1992), actor and rapper
Music
Melinda Ademi (born 1995), also known mononymously as Melinda, Kosovar-American rapper and singer Amanda Ayala, singer and musicianFormer “The Voice” Contestant Amanda Ayala Makes Impression on Yonkers Music Scene Joseph Alfidi (1949–2015), classical pianistKenneson, Charles. Musical Prodigies: Perilous Journeys, Remarkable Lives, p. 279. Hal Leonard Corporation, 1998. . Accessed September 22, 2019. "Thus wrote Michael Privitello, Joey Alfidi's music tutor, about the triple-threat musician who was pianist, composer, and conductor. Born in Yonkers, New York, on 28 May 1949, Joey was the son of American-born parents of Italian descent." Charlie Benante (born 1962), musician best known as the drummer for thrash metal band Anthrax, as well as crossover thrashband Stormtroopers of Death.Knopper, Steve. "Anthrax still making rock intensely, dude", Chicago Tribune, May 16, 2003. Accessed September 22, 2019. "'The whole Public Enemy thing we did was way ahead of its time and we were on the cusp of something. It took a couple of years after that for people to actually digest it,' says Charlie Benante, the 22-year-old band's founding drummer, by phone from his home in Yonkers, N.Y." Mary J. Blige (born 1971), R&B singer and Academy Award-nominated actressDaniels, Karu F. "'Reminisce': 25 Years Later, Mary J. Blige, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul Reigns Supreme; The '411' On Mary J. Blige's Groundbreaking Debut", NBC News, September 5, 2017. Accessed September 22, 2019. "It’s been a long and winding — and yet triumphant — road since a street-savvy, aspiring singer from Yonkers’ Schlobohm housing projects came to the attention of Uptown Records executives via a karaoke style cassette tape of her singing Anita Baker’s ‘Caught Up in the Rapture.'... The young woman’s birth name was Mary Jane Blige and she had a look and sound that was quite a polarizing contrast to what the record industry grew comfortable with for a black R&B vocalist Gerald Cohen (born 1960), composer and cantor Christine D'Clario (born 1982), Christian singer DMX (born Earl Simmons; 1970–2021), rapper, songwriter, actor Ella Fitzgerald (1917–1996), singer Saul Goodman (1907–1996), the principal timpanist of the New York Philharmonic from 1926 to 1972 W. C. Handy (1873–1958), composer and musician Immolation, Death metal band Jadakiss (born 1975), rapper, member of The LOX Jaz-O (born 1964), rapper and record producer Ekrem Jevrić (1961–2016), Montenegrin singer, rapper Gene Krupa (1909–1973), drummerWilson, John S. "Gene Krupa, Revolutionary Drummer, Dies", The New York Times, October 17, 1973. Accessed September 23, 2019. "Gene Krupa, who changed the drummer in jazz bands from a timekeeper to a soloist through his flamboyant performances in Benny Goodman's orchestra in the nineteenthirties, died yesterday at his home in Yonkers." Stagga Lee (born 1977), rapper and DJ"Happy Birthday To Yonkers' Eric Newman", Yonkers Daily Voice, July 4, 2014. Accessed September 23, 2019. "Newman, who was born in Yonkers, turns 37 on Friday. Newman, a rapper, better-known by his stage name Stagga Lee, was born July 4, 1977." Sheek Louch (born 1976), rapper, member of The LOXCohen, Ian. "Styles P would like us to live healthy lifestyles, please; One of the grimiest rappers ever to do it is on a mission to bring healthy food to New York’s overlooked neighborhoods.", The Outline (website), March 25, 2018. Accessed September 23, 2019. "As both a solo artist and a member of The LOX alongside his Yonkers compatriots Jadakiss and Sheek Louch, Styles P excelled at airing out his frustrations in his lyrics." DD Osama (born 2006), rapper Notti Osama (2008–2022), child rapper Outasight (born 1983), singer, rapper Kevin Puts, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Will Rahmer, musician Allen Ritter, record producer and songwriter Ice Spice (born 2000), rapper Avery Storm (born 1976), R&B singer Styles P (born 1974), rapper, member of The LOX Chip Taylor, songwriter (brother of Jon Voight) Steven Tyler (born 1948), singer-songwriter, member of Aerosmith Hanifah Walidah, poet, rapper, singer, actor, playwright, educator, and LGBT activist Tyler James Williams (born 1992), actor and rapper Tom Wolk (1951– 2010), Hall & Oates session musician Lil Zane (born 1982), rapper
Other
Carlos Alazraqui (born 1962), actor, stand-up comedian and impressionistDe Rubio, Dave Gil. "Carlos Alazraqui Revisits Rocko’s Modern Life", Long Island Weekly, September 6, 2018. Accessed September 22, 2019. "In returning to this breakout role and being able to work with his friends again, the Yonkers native was quick to point out that no one missed a beat." Sid Caesar, actor and comedian Cathy DeBuono, actress, psychotherapist, radio personality John Howard Lawson (1894–1977), playwright, screenwriter, arts critic, and cultural historian André Nemec (born 1972), screenwriter and producer of television and film Mikey Reid (born1992), actor and comedian Paul Teutul, Sr., founder of Orange County Choppers and reality television personality on American Chopper Bill Tytla, animator
Military Vincent W. Lanna, U.S. Army major general Joseph Stilwell, U.S. Army General during World War I and World War II
Miscellaneous
David Berkowitz (born 1953), serial killer known as the Son of SamKilgannon, Corey. "Yes, Son of Sam Slept Here", The New York Times, February 15, 2007. Accessed September 22, 2019. "Yonkers — The name has been changed. So has the address. But still, 30 years after 1977 — the so-called Summer of Sam — they still stop and stare." Leo Baekeland (1863–1944), chemist, invented Bakelite at his "Snug Rock" home and laboratory in Yonkers in 1907 Felix Alderisio (1912–1971), mobster, bagman, hitman and burglar (Chicago Outfit) James Comey, director of the FBI Joan Donoghue (born 1956), lawyer, President of the International Court of Justice Rudolf Eickemeyer, Jr., photographer Ron Garan, astronaut Lewis Hine, photographer Ethel D. Jacobs, thoroughbred racehorse owner Henrietta Wells Livermore (1864–1933), women's suffragist leaderHenrietta Wells Livermore Years, Hudson River Valley Institute. Accessed September 23, 2019. "Residence: Yonkers, NY" Michaela Odone (c. 1930–1992, née Murphy), mother of Lorenzo Odone, for whom Lorenzo's oil is named.Saxon, Wolfgang. "Michaela Odone, 61, the Lorenzo's Oi'l' Mother, The New York Times, June 13, 2000. Accessed September 23, 2019. "Michaela Murphy was born in Yonkers." Larry Ray (born 1959), criminal convicted of sex trafficking, extortion, forced labor, and other offenses, sentenced to 60 years in prison Sally Regenhard, community activist Joe Ruback, license plate guy Barbara Segal, artist and stone carver Betty Shabazz, widow of civil rights leader Malcolm X Bernadette Thompson, celebrity manicurist and nail artist Joel Steinberg (born 1941), attorney convicted of manslaughter Adriaen Cornelissen van der Donck, (c. 1618, 1655) Samuel Untermyer, Prominent lawyer and civic leader known for bequeathing his Yonkers, New York estate, now known as Untermyer Park and Gardens, to the people of Yonkers Melanie White, jewelry designer
Politics
Antony Blinken, 71st United States Secretary of State William F. Bleakley (1883–1969), attorney, judge and politician who was the first Westchester County Executive.Brenner, Elsa. "The Law; Who Will Be the New Al Pirro?", The New York Times, January 7, 2001. Accessed September 22, 2019. "Bleakley Platt & Schmidt was founded in 1937 by William F. Bleakley of Yonkers and Livingston Platt of Rye." Jamaal Bowman (born 1976), U.S. representative Alfred DelBello, former mayor of Yonkers Belle Moskowitz, reformer and political advisor to former Governor of New York Alfred E. Smith Mike Spano, Mayor of Yonkers Samuel J. Tilden, former governor of New York and winner of the popular vote in the disputed Presidential Election of 1876 Nick Wasicsko, mayor during low-income housing controversy, 1988–1989; John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award runner-up Malcolm Wilson, former Governor of New York
Sports
Joe Avezzano, American football player and coach Rich Bisaccia, NFL coach James Blake (born 1979), tennis playerSlater, Chuck. "For The Record; A Pro Tennis Player Who Began in Yonkers", The New York Times, March 10, 2002. Accessed September 22, 2019. "James Blake, who grew up in Yonkers, went to Harvard, he was nationally ranked as the No. 1 player in the United States Tennis Association’s 18 and under division."