#1Famous people · Palo Alto
Performers stand out among the 35 famous people born in Palo Alto
The best known is the American actor James Franco, with articles in 83 languages. More than half were born between 1920 and 1969, 22 in all. Fewer than a quarter of the 552 towns in California with famous people list more. Over 84 years of births, the list goes from Ollie Johnston (1912) to Samia Adam (1996).
Born here
35
notable people
Best known
James Franco
in 83 Wikipedia languages
First
1912
Ollie Johnston
Youngest
1996
Samia Adam
Most common field
Film, TV & Stage
13 people
Also called it home
15
notable residents
What stands out about Palo Alto’s famous people
A town of performersPerformers make up 13 of the 35, 4 times the usual share.Known worldwideJames Franco has an article in 83 languages, more than anyone else from here.Still making names27 were born since 1950, the youngest in 1996.A chosen home15 more notable people chose to live in Palo Alto, including Mark Zuckerberg.
★ What stands out · Known for
What Palo Alto is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as performers, at 4 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Palo Alto
Performers take two of the three places.
#1
#2
#3Science & Medicine
Eric Allin Cornell
born 1961American physicist, professor
65 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Palo Alto’s famous people were born
Births peak in the 1960s, with 9 people born in that decade.
Film, TV & StageSportsScience & MedicineWriting & ArtsNotableMusicPolitics & Law
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Palo Alto
32 more, best known first.
Linda Jezek
born 1960American swimmer, Olympic silver medalist, world champion, former world record-holder
SportsWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
A chosen home
Also called Palo Alto home
15 notable people born elsewhere made the town home, Mark Zuckerberg the best known.
Larry Page
born 1973American computer scientist and Internet entrepreneur
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Marissa Mayer
born 1975American business executive and engineer, former CEO of Yahoo!
BusinessWikipedia ↗
Ray Dolby
1933–2013American engineer and inventor of the Dolby noise reduction system
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
The town’s pick
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Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns around it, Mountain View has the most on record: 38.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Palo Alto 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 (21)
- James Franco: Angela George, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Teri Hatcher: hyku, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Eric Allin Cornell: Betsythedevine, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Andrew Fire: Linda A. Cicero / Stanford News Service, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Amy Irving: Amy_Irving.jpg: Photo by Alan Light derivative work: Wildhartlivie, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pamela Melroy: NASA, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Larry Page: Marcin Mycielski, European Parliament (Stansfield), CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Maryam Mirzakhani: Gert-Martin Greuel, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, Wikimedia Commons
- Tim Cook: Dati Bendo / European Union, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Taube: ENERGY.GOV, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Marissa Mayer: TechCrunch_SF_2013_4S2A3709_(9725490621).jpg: TechCrunch derivative work: Regi51, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Willie Mays: New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer, William C. Greene, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ray Dolby: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Priscilla Chan: Rosiestep, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Filo: Mitchell Aidelbaum from San Francisco, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Brian Boitano: John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Cowell: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Lorrie Fair-Allen: Embassy of the United States in Paraguay, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Powerhouse Hobbs: West Smith, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Max Thieriot: Red Carpet Report on Mingle Media TV from Culver City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rhett Ellison: Adrian_Peterson_tackled_2012-12-30.jpg: Joe Bielawa derivative work: Arbor to SJ, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons