List of people from Tulsa, Oklahoma

This is a list of well-known persons who were either born in, or lived in, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Arts

• Joe Brainard (1942–1994), painter
• Charles Bell (1935–1995), artist
• Ted Berrigan (1934–1983), poet
• Shan Goshorn (1957–2018), artist
• James Pepper Henry artist and Gilcrease Museum director (2015–2017)
• Roman Jasinski (1907–1991), ballet dancer and teacher
• Ron Padgett (b. 1942), poet

Business

• Frank Abagnale (born 1948), fraud expert, former con man, subject of Catch Me If You Can
• Cyrus Avery (1870–1963), businessman and "father of Route 66"
• Bill Bartmann (c. 1949–2016), businessman, named as "One of the Top 100 Entrepreneurs of the Last 100 Years"
• W. Tate Brady (1870–1925), businessman, owner of the Brady Hotel
• James A. Chapman (1881–1966), oilman and philanthropist
• Robert Galbreath Jr. (1863–1955), oilman who moved to Tulsa after he drilled the first oil well in Glenn Pool Field
• J. Paul Getty (1892–1976), oilman founder of Getty Oil Company, who made his first million in Tulsa between 1914 and 1916
• Thomas Gilcrease (1890–1962), oilman, founder of Gilcrease Museum
• Jay Graber (born 1991), software engineer and first CEO of Bluesky
• J. M. Hall (1851–1935), pioneer merchant in Tulsa, organized First Presbyterian Church
• George Kaiser (born 1942), chairman of BOK Financial Corporation
• Henry Kravis (born 1944), co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
• James H. McBirney (1870–1944), co-founder and president National Bank of Commerce in Tulsa
• Sam P. McBirney (1877–1936), football coach and co-founder of National Bank of Commerce in Tulsa
• Robert M. McFarlin (1866–1942), oilman and philanthropist
• Waite Phillips (1883–1964), oilman and philanthropist
• Harry Ford Sinclair (1876–1956), founder of Sinclair Oil, co-founder of Exchange National Bank (later part of National Bank of Tulsa and Bank of Oklahoma; convicted of jury tampering during Teapot Dome scandal trial
• Carolyn Mary Skelly (1905–1996), eccentric daughter of William Grove Skelly; oil heiress; dubbed the most robbed woman in the U.S. by the Boston Globe; socialite; hosted fundraisers for President George H.W. Bush, and Texas Governor John Connally
• William G. Skelly (1877–1957), founder of Skelly Oil Company, Spartan Aircraft Company and Spartan School of Aeronautics, philanthropist
• William K. Warren Sr. (1897–1990), founder of Warren Petroleum Corporation; philanthropist
• John Smith Zink (1928–2005), engineer, owner of John Zink Industries, automobile racer

Music

• Admiral Twin (Mark Carr, Jarrod Gollihare, John Russell, Brad Becker), rock band
• The Agony Scene, metalcore band
• AleXa, K-pop Idol
• Tuck Andress, guitarist
• Elvin Bishop (born 1942), blues and rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist and bandleader
• Garth Brooks (born 1962), country music singer
• Broncho, punk rock band with Ryan Lindsey, Johnathon Ford of Roadside Monument, and Nathan Price
• Anita Bryant (1940–2024), singer
• J. J. Cale (1938–2013), songwriter and musician, an originator of The Tulsa Sound
• Capital Lights, pop rock band
• Rodney Carrington (born 1968), country music singer and comedian
• Jeff Carson (1963–2022), country musician
• Kristin Chenoweth (born 1968), actress, singer and author
• Chuck Cissel (born 1948), singer and dancer
• Roy Clark (1933–2018), country musician
• David Cook (born 1982), 2008 American Idol winner
• Denny Cordell (1943–1995), record producer, signed Tom Petty as part of Mudcrutch
• Ester Dean (born 1986), singer-songwriter
• Joe Diffie (1958–2020), country musician
• Phil Driscoll (born 1947), trumpet player and singer, Christian and jazz musician
• Ronnie Dunn (born 1953) (Brooks and Dunn)
• Annie Ellicott (born 1984), jazz, swing singer
• Scott Ellison (born 1954), electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter
• Ester Drang, indie band
• Rocky Frisco (1937–2015), pianist for J.J. Cale; 2008 inductee into Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame
• The Gap Band, Charlie, Ronnie and Robert Wilson, R&B, funk, and soul band
• David Gates (born 1940), pop rock musician (Bread)
• Hanson, Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson, Pop rock band
• Hardie Avenue, Christian alternative rock band
• Gus Hardin (1945–1996), female country musician
• Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, jazz band
• William Johns (born 1936), opera singer
• Jim Keltner (born 1942), drummer for the Traveling Wilburys
• Tosca Kramer (1903–1976), violinist, violist, and music educator
• Fredell Lack (1922–2017), violinist
• Lega-C (born 1976), rapper
• Leon McAuliffe (1917–1988), steel guitarist with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys
• Little Joe McLerran (born 1983), singer, guitarist, recording artist and winner of 2009 International Blues Challenge
• John Moreland (born 1985), singer-songwriter
• Jamie Oldaker (1951–2020), drummer, Eric Clapton, Bob Seger
• Patti Page (1927–2013), singer
• PDA, rapper
• Pillar, band
• Johnny Polygon (born 1984), rapper
• Carl Radle (1942–1980), musician, bassist for Derek and the Dominos
• Ben Rector (born 1986), singer-songwriter
• Steve Ripley (1950–2019), engineer, producer, singer-songwriter and guitarist for The Tractors and Bob Dylan
• Leon Russell (1942–2016), singer-songwriter, pianist, guitarist, an originator of The Tulsa Sound and founder of The Church Studio
• SafetySuit, pop rock band
• Jacob Sartorius (born 2002), born in Tulsa but adopted and moved to upstate Virginia shortly after his birth
• Natalie Sims (born 1984), musician, songwriter and music executive
• Andy Skib (born 1985), guitarist, keyboardist in David Cook's band
• Clyde Stacy (1936–2013), rockabilly musician
• Ryan Tedder (born 1979), producer, songwriter, lead singer of OneRepublic
• David Teegarden, rock drummer with Teegarden & Van Winkle and with Bob Seger
• Flash Terry (1934–2004), blues musician
• Neal Tiemann (born 1982), lead guitarist in David Cook's band
• Wayman Tisdale (1964–2009), jazz musician and former professional basketball player
• Dara Tucker (born 1958), singer-songwriter and documentary filmmaker
• Dwight Twilley (1951–2023), power pop, rock musician
• Jared Tyler (born 1978), singer-songwriter and producer
• Unwed Sailor, instrumental indie rock
• St. Vincent (born 1982)
• David T. Walker (born 1941), session guitarist, famous for his work with Jackson 5, Bobby Womack, Levert and Stevie Wonder among others
• Johnnie Lee Wills (1912–1984), western music band leader, brother of Bob Wills
• Charlie Wilson (born 1953), R&B singer and lead singer of The Gap Band
• Bob Wootton (1942–2017), lead guitarist for the Tennessee Three

Politics

• Tom Adelson, member of the Oklahoma State Senate
• Alicia Andrews, former chair of the Oklahoma Democratic Party
• Bob Ballinger (born 1974), member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, reared in Tulsa
• Dewey F. Bartlett (1919–1979), former governor of the state of Oklahoma and U.S. senator
• Dewey F. Bartlett Jr. (born 1947), former mayor of Tulsa (2009–2016)
• G. T. Bynum (born 1977), mayor of Tulsa (2016–2024)
• Jim R. Caldwell, retired Church of Christ minister and former member of the Arkansas State Senate
• David Duke (born 1950), former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
• David Hall (1930–2016), former governor of the state of Oklahoma
• Kevin Hern (born 1961), U.S. representative
• Linda Hughes O'Leary (born 1950), former member of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council (2003–2007)
• James Inhofe (1934–2024), U.S. senator
• James R. Jones (born 1939), former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, chairman of the American Stock Exchange
• Frank Keating (born 1944), former governor of the state of Oklahoma
• John Albert Knebel (born 1936), Secretary of Agriculture in the Carter Administration
• Sheila Kuehl (born 1941), former actress, now California state senator
• Steve Largent (born 1954), former member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Phyllis Lyon (1924–2020), feminist and gay rights activist, co-founder of Daughters of Bilitis
• Willian F. Martin (born 1950), United States Deputy Secretary of Energy
• Jim McConn (1928–1997), former mayor of Houston, Texas, 1979–1981
• Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927–2003), former Democratic U.S. senator representing New York; born in Tulsa
• Markwayne Mullin (born 1977), U.S. senator for Oklahoma
• George E. Nowotny (born 1932), retired Tulsa businessman and former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Fort Smith
• John Sullivan (born 1965), member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Kathy Taylor (born 1955), mayor of Tulsa (2006–2009)
• John Volz (1935–2011), attorney for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, died in Tulsa in 2011
• Roger G. Wells (1940–2023), member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
• R. James Woolsey Jr. (born 1941), former director, Central Intelligence Agency
• Terry Young (born 1948), former mayor of the City of Tulsa

Print

• Mildred Grosberg Bellin (1908–2008), Jewish cookbook author
• William Bernhardt (born 1960), mystery/suspense fiction author
• Daniel J. Boorstin (1914–2004), historian and writer; former Librarian of Congress
• Cleora Butler (1901–1985), chef, caterer and cookbook writer
• Dorothy Carnegie (1912–1998), author
• P.C. Cast (born 1960), author
• John Hope Franklin (1915–2009), African American historian; namesake of John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park in Tulsa
• Martin Gardner (1914–2010), author of works on philosophy, mathematics and literature
• Sterling Gates (born 1981), comic book writer (Supergirl, Action Comics)
• Joy Harjo (born 1951), poet, musician, and author; first Native American Poet Laureate, and first Poet Laureate from Oklahoma
• S.E. Hinton (born 1948), author (The Outsiders, That Was Then, This Is Now, Tex)
• Mercedes Lackey (born 1950), science-fiction author
• R.A. Lafferty (1914–2002), science-fiction author
• Billie Letts (1938–2014), author, Where the Heart Is
• Tracy Letts (born 1965), Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and actor (August: Osage County)
• Joe McGuff (1926–2006), journalist and newspaper editor
• Russell Myers (born 1938), cartoonist, Broom-Hilda comic strip
• Denver Nicks, journalist
• Dan Piraro (born 1958), cartoonist of the Bizarro comic strip
• Nancy Speir, children's book illustrator
• Grace Steele Woodward (1899–1987), writer and historian
• William P. Steven (1908–1991), journalist and newspaper editor
• Clifton Taulbert, author, Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored
• Will Thomas (born 1958), mystery fiction author
• Mildred Ladner Thompson (1918–2013), reporter for The Wall Street Journal and Tulsa World
• Michael Wallis (born 1945), author, Route 66, Pretty Boy Floyd, Mankiller, Billy the Kid
• K. D. Wentworth (1951–2012), science-fiction author
• Cornel West (born 1953), theologian, author

Radio

• Paul Harvey (1918–2009), radio personality

Screen and stage

• Pamela Bach (born 1962), actress; ex-wife of David Hasselhoff
• Marshall Bell (born 1942), actor
• William Boyd (1895–1972), aka Hopalong Cassidy, western actor (born in Hendrysburg, Ohio)
• Max Burnett (born 1969), TV writer, screenwriter and director
• Gary Busey (born 1944), actor
• Cindy Chupack (born 1965), screenwriter for Sex and the City
• Larry Clark (born 1943), film director and photographer
• Iron Eyes Cody (1904–1999), actor
• Jay Dee (born 1979), comedian
• Larry Drake (1949–2016), actor
• Blake Edwards (1922–2010), film director
• Sue England (1928–2018), actress
• Josh Fadem (born 1980), actor, writer and comedian
• Bill Hader (born 1978), actor, writer and comedian
• Sterlin Harjo (born 1979), filmmaker
• Josh Henderson (born 1981), actor
• John Ingle (1928–2012), actor
• Eva Jinek (born 1978), news anchor
• Jennifer Jones (1919–2009), actress
• Heather Langenkamp (born 1964), actress
• Tracy Letts (born 1965), actor and writer
• Tommy Morrison (1969–2013), boxer and actor
• Jerry Nelson (1934–2012), actor, puppeteer
• Tim Blake Nelson (born 1964), actor and director
• Mary Kay Place (born 1947), actress
• Tony Randall (1920–2004), actor
• Julián Rebolledo, actor and voice talent
• Jack Roberts, actor
• Gailard Sartain (born 1946), actor
• Mary Stuart (1926–2002), actress
• Wes Studi (born 1947), actor
• Paula Trickey (born 1966), actress
• Jeanne Tripplehorn (born 1963), actress
• Stacy Valentine, porn star
• Amber Valletta (born 1974), actress and supermodel
• Susan Watson (born 1938), Broadway actress
• Cory Williams (born 1981), Internet Personality
• Alfre Woodard (born 1952), actress
• Judy Woodruff (born 1946), television journalist
• Don Woods (1928–2012), meteorologist

Sports

• Brent Albright (born 1978), professional wrestler
• Kelenna Azubuike (born 1983), professional basketball player
• Kenny Bednarek (born 1998), sprinter, Olympic and world championship silver medalist
• Randy Blake (born 1986), kickboxer
• Bill Blankenship (born 1956), football coach, head coach at University of Tulsa
• Anthony Bowie (born 1963), basketball player
• Michael Bowie (born 1991), former Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle
• Jordan Brailford (born 1995), defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons
• Dylan Bundy (born 1992), baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins
• Kenny Bundy (born 1981), soccer player and coach
• Mikey Burnett (born 1974), mixed martial artist
• Patrick Callan (born 1999), competitive swimmer
• Dale Cook (born 1956), kickboxer and actor
• Bobby Cox (born 1941), player, manager and Baseball Hall of Famer
• Chris Dade (born 1974), basketball player
• Richard Dumas (born 1969), professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns
• Ebi Ere (born 1981), basketball player for Melbourne Tigers
• Terrance Ferguson (born 1998), basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers
• Justin Fuente (born 1976), head football coach, Virginia Tech
• Reuben Gant (born 1952), football player for Buffalo Bills
• Matt Gogel (born 1971), professional golfer
• Bill Goldberg (born 1966), professional NFL football player and undefeated wrestler
• Todd Graham (born 1964), head coach of Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team (2007–2010)
• Matt Grice (born 1981), mixed martial arts fighter
• Tommy Hanson (1986–2015), baseball pitcher
• Chris Harris Jr. (born 1989), NFL, Cornerback
• Gerald Harris (born 1979), mixed martial artist
• Thomas Hatch (born 1994), pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays
• Marques Haynes (1926–2015), Harlem Globetrotters player, Basketball Hall of Famer
• David Heath (born 1976), mixed martial artist
• Randy Heckenkemper (born 1958), golf course designer
• Daxton Hill (born 2000), NFL, safety
• Justice Hill (born 1997), NFL, running back
• Koyie Hill (born 1979), Major League Baseball catcher
• Zach Jackson (born 1994), Major League Baseball, pitcher for the Oakland Athletics
• Josh Jacobs (born 1996), NFL, running back
• Felix Jones (born 1987), Dallas Cowboys running back
• Dallas Keuchel (born 1988), pitcher for the Chicago White Sox
• Jim King (born 1941), NBA player and Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball coach
• Jeff Krosnoff (1964–1996), Championship Auto Racing Teams driver
• Steve Largent (born 1954), Seattle Seahawks wide receiver, Pro Football Hall of Famer, also politician
• Kevin Lilly (born 1963), NFL player
• Kevin Lockett (born 1974), NFL player
• Tyler Lockett (born 1992), NFL player
• Zach Loyd (born 1987), soccer player
• Lee Mayberry (born 1970), professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks
• Sam P. McBirney (1877–1936), coach of Tulsa Golden Hurricane football (1914–1916)
• R. W. McQuarters (born 1976), professional football cornerback
• Robert Meachem (born 1984), New Orleans Saints wide receiver
• Kenny Monday (born 1960), Olympic gold medalist and World Champion in freestyle wrestling
• Joe-Max Moore (born 1971), soccer forward, U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame 2013
• Reece Morrison (born 1945), NFL player
• Tommy Morrison (1969–2013), boxer, heavyweight contender and actor, Rocky V
• Ray Murphy, Jr. (1946–2010), collegiate wrestler and 1989 Handicapped Person of the Year
• Charlie O'Brien (born 1960), professional baseball catcher
• Janice O'Hara (1918–2001), All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
• Peter Ramondetta (born 1982), professional skateboarder
• Nolan Richardson (born 1941), basketball coach for University of Tulsa and University of Arkansas, coach and general manager WNBA's Tulsa Shock
• Henry Schichtle (born 1941), football player
• Tubby Smith (born 1951), basketball coach
• John Starks (born 1965), basketball player
• Ricky Stromberg (born 2000), American football player
• Iciss Tillis (born 1981), professional basketball player for WNBA's Washington Mystics
• James "Quick" Tillis (born 1957), boxer, heavyweight contender and actor
• Wayman Tisdale (1964–2009), professional basketball player and musician
• Matt Wiman (born 1983), mixed martial arts fighter
• Darryl Wren (born 1967), gridiron football player
• John Smith Zink (1928–2005), automobile racing

Religion

• Finis Alonzo Crutchfield, Jr. (1916–1986), United Methodist Church bishop, minister of Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, died in Tulsa
• Paul Vernon Galloway (1904–1990), minister of Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, later Methodist bishop
• Charles William Kerr (1875–1951), first permanent Protestant minister in Tulsa
• Carlton Pearson (1953–2023), evangelist
• Oral Roberts (1918–2009), pioneer televangelist, founder of Oral Roberts University, affiliated with United Methodist church
• Richard Roberts (born 1948), evangelist, and faith healer
• Mother Grace Tucker (1919–2012), Evangelical Christian pastor and philanthropist
• John B. Wolf (1925–2017), minister of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church

Other

• Joshua Anderson (born 1987), serial killer who shot five people to death in Tulsa between 2006 and 2007
• William French Anderson, geneticist, born in Tulsa in 1936
• Bobby Baldwin, professional poker player (1978 world champion) and casino executive; born in Tulsa
• Deborah Barnes, judge of the Oklahoma Appellate Court (1987–present); daughter-in-law of the late Justice Don Barnes
• Don Barnes (1924–2011), born in Tulsa, justice of the Oklahoma State Supreme Court (1972–1985)
• Jennifer Berry (born 1983), Miss America 2006
• Robert and Michael Bever, brothers who were convicted of murdering their parents and three siblings
• Phillip N. Butler (born 1938), the eighth longest-held US prisoner of war in North Vietnam, president of Veterans for Peace
• Roscoe Cartwright (1919–1974), first black field artilleryman promoted to brigadier general
• Stephen Z. Fadem, doctor and scientist
• Viola Fletcher, survivor of the Tulsa race massacre
• John Duncan Forsyth (1887–1963), architect
• Wayne Henry Garrison (born 1959), serial killer who killed three children between 1972 and 1989
• W. R. Holway (1893–1981), engineer, designer of Spavinaw water project
• Robert Lawton Jones (1925–2018), architect noted for his contributions to modern architecture
• Olivia Jordan (born 1988), Miss World America 2013, Miss Oklahoma USA 2015, Miss USA 2015
• Joseph R. Koberling, Jr. (1900–1990), architect
• Charles Page (1860–1926), philanthropist and founder of Sand Springs
• Leon B. Senter (1889–1965), architect
• Gordon Todd Skinner, drug dealer and convicted kidnapper
• William Angie Smith (1894–1974), Methodist bishop of Oklahoma
• Mother Grace Tucker (1919–2012), pastor and philanthropist

Fictional

• Ponyboy Curtis, main character in S. E. Hinton's novel The Outsiders
• Mike Doonesbury, main character in Garry Trudeau's comic strip Doonesbury
• Roy D. Mercer, fictional radio character

References