20 famous people were born within 35 miles of Soledad
John Blume, born in Gonzales, 8 mi away, is the closest. So far, no famous person on record was born in Soledad. The best known of them is John Steinbeck, with articles in 148 languages. 544 towns across California can name a famous person born there.
What stands out about Soledad’s famous people
Famous people born near Soledad
They were born in 8 towns within 35 miles, nearest first.








Leon Panetta
born 1938American politician, Secretary of Defense 2011–2013


Tory Belleci
born 1970Film maker and model maker, MythBusters build team member



Who’s the most famous person from Soledad?
Pick one and say why. Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Be the first to say who Soledad’s most famous person is.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Soledad and whose English Wikipedia article agrees, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Nearby people are those born in a town within 35 miles; distances are town center to town center. People known mainly for crimes, and adult performers, aren’t listed. “The usual town” = everyone born in the towns gathered so far.
Photo credits (13)
- John Steinbeck: McFadden Publications, Inc.; no photographer credited; photo likely the work of Sonya Noskowiak, as Steinbeck is wearing the same clothes from her 1935 studio session that produced the work shown here: https://www.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2006.74, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Vanessa Hudgens: Presidential Communications Office, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Leon Panetta: Monica King, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jesse Metcalfe: iDominick, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jeremy Sumpter: Sumpter.jpg: Joyce Costello derivative work: Alelapenya, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sacheen Littlefeather: Rick Browne, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joel Courtney: Dmcourtn, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tory Belleci: ViNull, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cain Velasquez: The Doppelganger (Adam Etheridge), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Verna Felton: CBS Television, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Dick Sargent: American Broadcasting Company, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Donald Blessing: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- J. R. Celski: J steez16, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons