People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Trenton, New Jersey, United States, include:
Academics
Charles Conrad Abbott (1843–1919), archaeologist and naturalistCharles Conrad Abbott Papers, 1770–1919 (bulk 1874–1916): Finding Aid, Princeton University Library. Accessed January 25, 2011. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha (born 1981), physician who is the Julia A. Okoro Professor of Black Maternal Health at the Tufts University School of MedicineNdidi Amutah, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences - Rutgers Oral History Archives. Accessed May 18, 2022. "Ndidi Amutah was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1981 to Nigerian parents. Dr. Amutah grew up in Trenton and graduated from Trenton Central High School in 1999." Flournoy Coles (–1982), official of the United States Department of State who was the first Black faculty member to gain tenure at Vanderbilt University"Flournoy A. Coles Jr.", The Washington Post, August 5, 1982. Accessed February 10, 2021. "Dr. Coles was a native of Trenton, N.J., and a graduate of Xavier University in New Orleans." Timothy Abbott Conrad (1803–1877), geologist and malacologistTimothy Abbott Conrad, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Accessed November 16, 2025. "21 June 1803 – 7 August 1877 Born: Trenton, New Jersey." Mary Joyce Doyle (1923–2016), nun and librarian who founded the library consortium that revolutionized the borrowing of books in Bergen County, New Jersey, through the creation of the Bergen County Cooperative Library System"Mary Joyce Doyle Credited with Revolutionizing Book Lending in Bergen County Dies at 87", The Record, June 29, 2016. Accessed October 30, 2019. "Mary Joyce Doyle, the middle of three daughters, was born and raised in Trenton and educated in Catholic schools." Robert B. Duffield (1917–2000), radiochemist who headed the Argonne National LaboratoryRobert B. Duffield, American Institute of Physics. Accessed May 24, 2020. "October 15, 1917 – Birth, Trenton (N.J.)." N. Gregory Mankiw (born 1958), macroeconomistAndrews, Edmund L. "A Salesman for Bush's Tax Plan Who Has Belittled Similar Ideas", The New York Times, February 28, 2003. Accessed March 16, 2012. "Nicholas Gregory Mankiw: Born – Feb. 3, 1958, Trenton" George T. Reynolds (1917–2005), physicist, known for his accomplishments in particle physics, biophysics and environmental scienceGeorge Reynolds, Rutgers University Oral History Archives, October 29, 1999. Accessed June 28, 2019. "I was born in 1917, in Trenton. Soon after that, I guess I was two years old, we moved to Highland Park, New Jersey, and that's where I lived my early life." W. Kip Viscusi (born 1949), economist who studies the economics of risk and uncertainty, risk and environmental regulation, law and economics and behavioral economicsGruber, William. "Inflation fighter sees answer in everybody taking loss in income", Chicago Tribune, January 9, 1980. Accessed December 11, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "W. Kip Viscusi has gone from talking about the problems of inflation in a classroom at Northwestern University to trying to do something about it in Washington.... Viscusi was born in Trenton, N.J., grew up in Louisville, and received bachelor's, master's and' doctorate degrees in economics at Harvard University." Joshua M. Zeitz (born 1974), historianDr. Joshua Zeitz: Alumni Hall of Fame Class of 1990, Bordentown Regional High School. Accessed February 14, 2020. "Josh Zeitz was born in Trenton and grew up on Prince Street in Bordentown City."
Film and television people
Jean Acker (1893–1978), film actress who was the estranged wife of silent film star Rudolph ValentinoDonnelley, Paul. Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries, p. 7. Music Sales Group, 2003. . Accessed January 5, 2015. "Mrs Rudolph Valentino the First. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, the petite, hazel-eyed brunette began acting aged 18." Betty Bronson (1907–1971), actressStaff. "Betty Bronson, 17, Gets Peter Pan Role; Sir James Barrie Selects Almost Unknown Film Actress After 100 Tests of Players.", The New York Times, August 16, 1924. Accessed July 11, 2018. "Film Director Herbert Brenon announced tonight the name of the film actress selected to play Peter Pan in the screen version of Barrie's phantasy. She is Betty Bronson, aged 17, born in Trenton, N.J." Zach Cherry (born 1987), actor and comedian, who has appeared on the Apple TV+ series SeveranceEdelstein, Jeff. "Severance is the single best piece of entertainment going right now", The Trentonian, January 24, 2025. "For starters, know this — one of the stars, Zach Cherry, is A) hilarious, B) born in Trenton, and C) graduated from Princeton Day School." Ben DeJesus, documentary filmmaker, television director and producerEdelstein, Jeff. "Ben DeJesus: From Trenton to Hollywood, and Broadway, and …", The Trentonian, August 15, 2019. Accessed August 29, 2026. 'Growing up in Trenton and Ewing, Ben DeJesus formed a love of theater.'" Roxanne Hart (born 1952), actress who appeared in the film Highlander and on television in Chicago HopeBennetts, Leslie. "New Face: Roxanne Hart Coming of Age In Loose Ends", The New York Times, July 6, 1979. Accessed July 2, 2018. "She was born in Trenton, the oldest of five children, but moved from Delaware to Colorado to Georgia to Long Island as her father, a biology teacher, took different jobs." Alejandro Hernandez, actor who has appeared in New Amsterdam and The Horror of Dolores RoachD'Aiello, Alexa. "Alejandro Hernandez: From Hamilton to Hollywood", Community News, March 31, 2021, updated January 11, 2022. Accessed September 11, 2023. "Hernandez remembers his family moving from Trenton to Hamilton in 1993, He said it felt like a new world." Richard Kind (born 1956), actor and voice actor, known for his roles in the sitcoms Mad About You and Spin CityIannucci, Lisa. "Spotlight: Richard Kind; Mad about him", SuburbanLife Philadelphia, December 2009. Accessed October 2, 2019. "Born in Trenton, N.J., Kind was in fourth grade when his parents moved him and his younger sister, Joanne, to Yardley, Pa., where he stayed until he graduated from Pennsbury High School in 1974." Ernie Kovacs (1919–1962), television comedian and film actorStaff. "Trenton's own Ernie Kovacs to be celebrated Sunday, his 92nd birthday", The Trentonian, January 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2011. Judith Light (born 1949), actressStone, Sally. "Judith Light: Is best always better?", The Spokesman-Review, October 12, 1993. Accessed February 1, 2011. "Judith Light grew up in Trenton, New Jersey. After her junior year at St. Mary's Hall, a private girls' school, she enrolled in a summer drama program at Carnegie Tech..." Amy Locane (born 1971), actressAbdur-Rahman, Sulaiman. "Former 'Melrose Place' actress Amy Locane-Bovenizer of Hopewell indicted in fatal crash", The Trentonian, December 16, 2010. Accessed February 1, 2011. "Trenton-born TV and film actress Amy Locane-Bovenizer, whose resume includes several big screen gigs with Hollywood A-listers, was indicted Thursday on charges she was boozed up and driving recklessly when she killed a woman in a horrific two-vehicle accident June 27." Amy Robinson (born 1948), actress and film producerAmy Robinson:Overview , MSN. Accessed February 8, 2011. Sommore Rambough (born 1967), comedianBurch, Audra D. S. "Code Blue: Best Of Times, Worst Of Times For Black Comics", Chicago Tribune, April 13, 1997. Accessed September 20, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "'I talk about what people are thinking about,' says Sommore, from Trenton, N.J. 'And I use curse words to enrich what I am saying.'" Ty Treadway (born 1967), host of Merv Griffin's CrosswordsAbout Us , Treadway Realty. Accessed June 25, 2017. "Former One Life to Live television star and 4 time Emmy nominated talk show host Ty Treadway was born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey." Danielle Spencer (1965–2025), actress, known for her role as Dee in What's Happening!! Sammy Williams (1948–2018), actor, known for his role as Paul in the musical A Chorus Line, for which he won the 1976 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a MusicalRoberts, Sam. "Sammy Williams, Tony Winner in ‘A Chorus Line,’ Dies at 69", The New York Times, March 22, 2018. Accessed July 19, 2019. "Samuel Joseph Williams was born on Nov. 13, 1948, in Trenton to Joseph Williams, a factory worker, and the former Nona Dibella, who worked in a hospital." Zach Woods (born 1983), actor and comedianSblendorio, Peter. "Zach Woods, known for The Office and Silicon Valley roles, embraces director gig with short film Bud", New York Daily News, December 1, 2021. Accessed November 16, 2025. "Woods, who is from Trenton, N.J., also has his first feature-length project in the works, and while he’s keeping its premise private for now, he says he hopes to shoot it next year."
Artists
Edward Marshall Boehm (1913–1969), sculptor and his wife Helen Boehm (1920–2010), who promoted his worksFox, Margalit. "Helen Boehm, the Princess of Porcelain, Dies at 89", The New York Times, November 19, 2010. Accessed January 5, 2015. "In 1944, she married Edward Marshall Boehm. An experienced livestock breeder, he made realistic clay sculptures of animals as a pastime. Mrs. Boehm encouraged him to pursue his art professionally, and eventually, with a loan from one of her eyeglass clients, they started a porcelain studio in a Trenton basement." Ruth Donnelly (1896–1982), stage and film actressBlau, Eleanor. "Ruth Donnelly, Comedienne And Character Actor In Films", The New York Times, November 19, 1982. Accessed January 9, 2015. "Born in Trenton, Miss Donnelly, whose father was a newspaper editor, music critic and columnist, began her career at the age of 17 as a chorus girl and shortly afterward began appearing in stage plays, including several productions of George M. Cohan." Peter Hujar (1934–1987), photographer, known for his black-and-white portraitsPeter Hujar , Blouin Artinfo. Accessed January 22, 2017. "Born in Trenton, New Jersey, in the autumn of 1934, Peter Hujar was left in the care of his immigrant grandparents as an infant." Mel Leipzig (1935–2025), visual artist and arts educator, known for his realist portraits in acrylic paintStrunsky, Steve. "Mel Leipzig, renowned Trenton artist and educator, dies at 90", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 4. 2025. Accessed November 16, 2025. "Mel Leipzig, a painter and art educator born in Brooklyn, based in Trenton and known by the art world for his realist portraits of family, friends and other subjects in their everyday settings rendered in an impressionist style and unflinching detail, died on Saturday, his daughter said."
Authors, writers, journalists and poets
Edward Bloor (born 1950), novelistAtkins, Holly. "Welcome to Tangerine, and be careful", St. Petersburg Times, February 18, 2002. Accessed January 25, 2011. Edward Y. Breese (1912–1979), popular fiction writerGuide to the Edward Y. Breese papers 1965–1972, Orbiscascade.org. Accessed January 5, 2015. "Edward Yarde Breese was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1912." John Brooks (1920–1993), writer and longtime contributor to The New Yorker magazineStaff. "Princeton Authors", p. 26. Princeton Alumni Weekly, Volume 50. Accessed January 5, 2015. "Born in New York City and reared in Trenton, Mr. Brooks entered Princeton from Kent School in 1938." Russell Gordon Carter (1892–1957), writer"Russell G. Carter; Newton Author Wrote 50 Books", The Boston Globe, May 9, 1957. Accessed December 8, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "Mr. Carter was born Jan. 1, 1892, Trenton, N.J, the son of John Rogers and Alice (Hughes) Carter." Janis Hirsch (born ), comedy writer, known for producing and writing for television seriesMorris, Shaheed M. "City woman's 50-year-old letter part of TLC Kennedy special", The Trentonian, November 16, 2013. Accessed January 15, 2018. "Hirsch was born in Trenton. She graduated from Ewing High School in 1968."