This is a listing of notable people who were born in, or have lived in, Tucson, Arizona. For people whose only connection with the city is attending the University of Arizona, see: List of University of Arizona people. Coaches of University of Arizona athletic teams should not be included either.

Athletics

George Arias – baseball player Dave Baldwin – major league baseball player, writer, artist Michael Bates – National Football League (NFL) player, sprinter, and 1992 Olympian Stanley Berryhill – NFL player Chad Beyer – cyclist Craig Bjornson – baseball player and coach Nat Borchers – soccer player Alex Bowman – NASCAR driver Henry Brauner – soccer player Bryce Cotton – basketball player Dominick Cruz – mixed martial artist Lum Davenport – baseball player Ike Davis – baseball player Chris Duncan – baseball player Shelley Duncan – baseball player Sean Elliott – basketball player Cole Ford – football player Jim Grabb – tennis player J. J. Hardy – baseball player Ron Hassey – baseball player Gary Hayes – football player Alex Kellner – born in Tucson, baseball player Walt Kellner – born in Tucson, baseball player Mike Kellogg – football player Ian Kinsler – baseball player Chris Knierim – pairs figure skater Hank Leiber – baseball player Eddie Leon – born in Tucson, baseball player Lafayette Lever – basketball player Caitlin Leverenz – Olympic swimmer, born in Tucson, attended Sahuaro High School Pete McCaffrey  – basketball player Roger McCluskey – National Sprint Car Hall of Fame racer Alice Greenough Orr – rodeo star, originally from Montana Tom Pagnozzi – baseball player Allen Pitts – Canadian Football League player Bijan Robinson – NFL running back for the Atlanta Falcons Sam Sacksen – 2008 Beijing Olympic modern pentathlete Anthony Shumaker – baseball player Tommy Silva – soccer player Michael Smith – NFL running back Brad Steinke – Emmy award-winning sportscaster Kerri Strug – Olympic gold-medalist gymnast Donny Toia – soccer player Alex Verdugo – baseball player Roman Bravo Young – freestyle and folkstyle wrestler, two-time NCAA champion for Penn State University Win Young – Olympic medalist in diving

Business

Leopoldo Carrillo – Mexican-American entrepreneur, early founder of Tucson Arturo Moreno – entrepreneur, owner of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Jeff Rein – chairman and chief executive officer of Walgreens Robert Sarver – entrepreneur, principal owner of Phoenix Suns Robert Stewart co-founder of GMA Network

Law and order

Eugene O'Dunne – jurist on the Supreme Bench of Baltimore Clay Pell lawyer

Literature

Edward Abbey – author Sue Alexander – children's author Jon Anderson – poet Byrd Baylor – essayist and children's author Michael Blake – author Charles Bowden – author Ray Bradbury – author Erskine Caldwell – playwright Max Cannon – author and creator of the comic strip Red Meat Mitch Cullin – author Charles G. Finney – author Frances Gillmor – folklorist, scholar and novelist Andrew Greeley – author, scholar and Roman Catholic priest Brenda Hillman – poet, translator Barbara Kingsolver – novelist Joseph Wood Krutch – author Todd Miller – journalist Tom Miller – travel writer Gary Paul Nabhan — author and ethnobotanist Adam Rex – children's writer and illustrator Stacey Richter – author Richard Shelton – poet, author Richard Siken – poet, painter, filmmaker Leslie Marmon Silko – author Susan Sontag – author, critic and public intellectual Luci Tapahonso – poet laureate of the Navajo Nation Ron Terpening – author and professor emeritus of Italian at the University of Arizona David Foster Wallace – author Peter Wild – poet, author and professor of English at the University of Arizona Ofelia Zepeda – poet laureate of Tucson, author Tom Zoellner – nonfiction author

Movies, television, and media

Rex Allen – actor, musician Max Amini – stand-up comedian Hailey Baldwin – model Mika Boorem – actress Lynn Borden – actress and 1957 Miss Arizona Roy Brown – actor Brooke Burke – model, TV host Aaron Chang – photographer Kaylee DeFer – actress Barbara Eden – actress Pablo Francisco – stand-up comedian Savannah Guthrie – television personality Dan Hicks – sportscaster Michael Horse – actor, jeweler, painter Pat Hughes – baseball announcer Dominic Janes – actor Cord Jefferson – screenwriter, director, journalist Ben Patrick Johnson – journalist, model, voice-over artist Brad Johnson – actor, former Marlboro Man Daniel Kennedy – actor Gavin MacIntosh – child/teen actor, model Taryn Manning – actress Clare McNulty – actress George Meyer – Simpsons producer and writer Bentley Mitchum – actor Burt Mustin – actor Inde Navarrette - actress Noel Neill – actress Sierra Teller Ornelas – filmmaker and screenwriter Larry Pine – actor Timothy Reckart – Oscar-nominated filmmaker Garry Shandling – comedian and actor Tommy Shannon – musician, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble W. Eugene Smith – photographer Frederick Sommer – photographer Martin Spanjers – actor Sally Todd – model, actress Amber Valletta – actress Janet Varney – actress Kate Walsh – actress Lou Waters – newscaster Nick Young – actor Parker Young – model, actor

Music, arts

Panteha Abareshi – multidisciplinary visual artist Madeline Heineman Berger – music and arts promoter Duane Bryers – painter, illustrator and sculptor Joey Burns – musician Joseph Byrd – musician Luis Coronel – singer, musician Jason DeCorse – musician, member of Greyhound Soul John Convertino – musician James Pringle Cook – Western landscape painter Ted DeGrazia – artist John Denver – singer, musician Daniel Martin Diaz – artist and musician Maynard Dixon – artist Duane Eddy – musician, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Howe Gelb – musician Greg Ginn – musician, founder of Black Flag and SST Records Lalo Guerrero – "father of Chicano music" Cord Jefferson – writer and film director Ulysses Kay – composer Katie Lee – folk singer, writer, photographer Dan Levenson – old-time musicianSteinberg, David (January 2, 2009) "Old-time Musician Keeps Flame Burning: Levenson is Part Performer, Part Teacher and Part Historian", Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved April 18, 2024. Bob Log III – musician Linda McCartney – photographer, musician Arizona Muse – model Dennis F. Parker – musician, recording engineer Raymond Pettibon – artist Signe Pierce – multidisciplinary artist Rainer Ptacek – composer, musician Linda Ronstadt – singer, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ivan and Jane Rosenquist – art gallerists Barry Sadler – singer-songwriter Pat The Bunny Schneeweis – folk-punk artist Sara Tea – musician and DJ Randy "R Dub!" Williams – DJ and radio host Mark Wystrach – musician

Politics

Andy Biggs – U.S. representative for Arizona J. W. Buchanan – Arizona state senator, member of the Arizona House of Representatives Dean Burch – Republican National Committee chairman, 1964–1965; chairman, FCC James B. Burkholder – peace activist and retired U.S. Army officer Richard Carmona – U.S. Surgeon General Tony Carrillo – Arizona state legislator Juan Ciscomani – U.S. representative for Arizona James N. Corbett – former mayor of Tucson Eli Crane – U.S. representative for Arizona Terri Cruz – community organizer and political activist Dennis DeConcini – U.S. senator Randy Fine – U.S. representative for Florida Gabby Giffords – U.S. representative for Arizona Adelita Grijalva – U.S. representative for Arizona; daughter of Raul Grijalva Raul Grijalva – U.S. representative for Arizona; father of Adelita Grijalva Alma Hernandez – member of the Arizona House of Representatives Don Hummel – politician, former Tucson mayor, businessman Mark Kelly – U.S. senator, former astronaut Laura Loomer – far-right political activist and white nationalist Kyrsten Sinema – U.S. senator for Arizona Robert C. Strong – U.S. diplomat Mark Udall – U.S. senator from Colorado, former member of the House Mo Udall – U.S. representative for Arizona Stewart Udall – U.S. Secretary of Interior and U.S. representative Tom Udall – U.S. senator from New Mexico

Science and medicine

David Arnett – astronomer Bart Bok – astronomer Frank Borman – astronaut, orbited the Moon on Apollo 8 A. E. Douglass – astronomer, dendrochronologist Lucy May Cranwell FRSNZ – New Zealand botanist Tom Gehrels – planetary scientist Emil Haury – archaeologist Rashad Khalifa – biochemist and founder of United Submitters International Gerard Kuiper – planetary scientist Brian A. Larkins – molecular biologist William Rathje – archaeologist, Garbage Project director Peter M. Rhee – physician Elizabeth Roemer – astronomer Peter Smith – scientist, principal investigator of Phoenix Project Andrew Weil – doctor who promotes integrative medicine Wieslaw Z. Wisniewski – astronomer

Military

Thad Allen – U.S. Coast Guard admiral Frank L. Culin Jr. – United States Army major general José de Urrea – Mexican general

Crime

Robert John Bardo – convicted murderer and stalker of actress and model, Rebecca Schaeffer Joseph Bonanno – mobster Jared Lee Loughner – convicted mass murderer who perpetrated the 2011 Tucson shooting Stephen Paddock – mass shooter who perpetrated the 2017 Las Vegas shooting Charles Schmid – killer

Religion

William M. Branham – minister Eusebio Kino – pioneer missionary and explorer

Miscellaneous John Dossey – mathematician Margaret Sanger – birth control activist; feminist; founder of Planned Parenthood María Urquides – educator, "mother of bilingual education"

References