#1Famous people · Santa Monica
Of the 21 famous people born in Santa Monica, an unusual share are performers
The best known is the American actor Sean Penn, with articles in 100 languages. Close behind are Robert Redford and Shirley Temple. Births since 1970 account for 10 of the names. The largest group, 11, was born between 1920 and 1969.
Born here
21
notable people
Best known
Sean Penn
in 100 Wikipedia languages
First
1928
Shirley Temple
Youngest
1996
Rosabell Laurenti Sellers
Most common field
Film, TV & Stage
18 people
Also called it home
11
notable residents
What stands out about Santa Monica’s famous people
Known worldwideRead in 100 languages, Sean Penn is known far beyond the town.A town of performersAmong the 21 people born here, 18 are performers: 9.1 times the usual share.Still making namesThe most recent birth on the list came in 1996, among 18 since 1950.A chosen home11 more notable people chose to live in Santa Monica, including James Dean.
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Santa Monica
First, Sean Penn (100 languages), then Robert Redford (97) and Shirley Temple (96).
#1RR#2
#3Film, TV & Stage
Shirley Temple
1928–2014American actress and diplomat
96 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Known for
What Santa Monica is known for
Compared with the usual town, performers are the most over-represented field, at 9.1 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When Santa Monica’s famous people were born
No decade has more births than the 1980s, at 5.
Film, TV & StageMusicSports
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Santa Monica
18 more, best known first.
No one matches both filters.
A chosen home
Also called Santa Monica home
Born elsewhere, they lived here: 11 in all, led by James Dean.
David O. Russell
born 1958American film director, screenwriter and producer
Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
The town’s pick
Town Square →Who’s the most famous person from Santa Monica?
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Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Los Angeles has the longest list next door: 21.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Santa Monica 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)
- Sean Penn: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Shirley Temple: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Christina Ricci: Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Black: NickRewind, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Dean: In-house publicity still, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Christian Bale: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sabrina Carpenter: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Marilyn Monroe: Sam Shaw, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons