This article is a list of notable people who were born in and/or have lived in Topanga, California.
Actors
In the 1920s, Topanga Canyon became a weekend getaway for Hollywood silent film stars. The rolling hills and ample vegetation provided both privacy and attractive surroundings for some of the famous.
Actors currently or formerly residing in the Topanga area include:
- Michael Stoker, Actor and Firefighter served at LACOFD Station 69 in Topanga
Musicians
In the musical fields, in 1952 Woody Guthrie was one of the early American musicians who moved to the Topanga area. As nearby Los Angeles grew into a major music industry capital in the 1950s and 1960s, Topanga Canyon was one of the city's bohemian enclaves some performers preferred living in.
Current and former musicians of the Topanga area include:
Writers
- Hugh Lofting, author of Dr Doolittle was living in Topanga at the time of his death in 1947
- Millicent Borges Accardi, NEA poet, lives in Topanga and writes theater reviews for the local Topanga Messenger newspaper
- Hampton Fancher, screenwriter, author, and director, lived for years on Old Canyon Boulevard
- Marija Gimbutas, archaeologist and Indo-European scholar noted for her Kurgan hypothesis and controversial books about Old European religion and society, lived in Topanga for decades
- Al Martinez, Pulitzer Prize winning former L.A. Times columnist, lived for decades in Topanga, often commenting on the nature of life there
- Jon Povill, writer of Total Recall and some episodes of Sliders, as well as producer of ' resides there
- Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author, lived on Iowa Trail in Topanga from 1963 to 1965
- Hope Edelman, writer of New York Times bestseller Motherless Daughters
Others
- Henry Hill, gangster; moved to Topanga Canyon after he was put on probation in 2009
- Clement Meighan, archaeologist and UCLA Professor of Archaeology/Anthropology; resided in Topanga over 30 years
References