#1Of the 13 famous people born in Bell, an unusual share are athletes
Most widely known is Larry Knechtel, the American session musician, with articles in 13 languages. Between 1920 and 1969, 11 were born, the most of any period. Valentina, born in 1991, is the youngest, and Herman Reich, born in 1917, the first on record. For every 10,000 residents the town has 4, while at least half the towns in California list nobody born there.
What stands out about Bell’s famous people
What Bell is known for
Compared with the usual town, athletes are the most over-represented field, at 1.5 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.
Born in Bell
Three names lead: Larry Knechtel (13 languages), Valentina (11) and James Harper (7).
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#3When Bell’s famous people were born
More of them were born in the 1940s than in any other ten years, 5 in all.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone else born in Bell
10 more names, born between 1917 and 1961.


No one matches both filters.
Who’s the most famous person from Bell?
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Famous people from the towns next door
Close by, Huntington Park counts 21 famous people, the most of its neighbours.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Bell and whose English Wikipedia article agrees, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. People known mainly for crimes, and adult performers, aren’t listed. “The usual town” = everyone born in the towns gathered so far.
Photo credits (8)
- Larry Knechtel: Distributed by Elektra Records, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Valentina: dvsross derivative work: Bleff, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Harper: Morten Skovgaard, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Eileen Anderson: Democratic Party of Hawaii, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert F. Willard: U.S. Navy, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Hector Jiménez: Jay eyem, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jim Messina: Scott Dudelson[1], CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cristina Garcia: California State Assembly, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons


