#1Famous people · Kansas City
Performers stand out among the 36 famous people born in Kansas City
Articles in 80 languages make the American actor Ed Asner the best known. Second place goes to the American film actress Jean Harlow, third to Robert Altman. Between 1920 and 1969, 21 were born, the most of any period. The earliest on the list is Ub Iwerks, born in 1901, and the youngest Bebe Wood, born in 2001.
Born here
36
notable people
Best known
Ed Asner
in 80 Wikipedia languages
First
1901
Ub Iwerks
Youngest
2001
Bebe Wood
Most common field
Film, TV & Stage
18 people
Also called it home
14
notable residents
What stands out about Kansas City’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Kansas City is known for
Compared with the usual town, performers are the most over-represented field, at 5.3 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 Kansas City
Ranked by languages covered: Ed Asner with 80, then Jean Harlow with 72 and Robert Altman with 70.
#1
#2
#3Through the years
When Kansas City’s famous people were born
More of them were born in the 1940s than in any other ten years, 8 in all.
Film, TV & StageWriting & ArtsScience & MedicinePolitics & LawMusicSportsNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Kansas City
33 more, from 1901 to 2001.
Basil Poledouris
1945–2006Greek-American composer, conductor, and orchestrator of film and television scores
MusicWikipedia ↗
Stephen Hunter
born 1946American novelist, essayist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
A chosen home
Also called Kansas City home
14 notable people born elsewhere made the town home, Walt Disney the best known.
Walt Disney
1901–1966American animator, producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor and entrepreneur, founder of The Walt Disney Company
Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
James Ellroy
born 1948American novelist, short story writer, essayist, memoirist
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Margaret Lally "Ma" Murray
1888–1982Canadian journalist and newspaper editor
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
The town’s pick
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Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns around it, Independence has the most on record: 51.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Kansas City 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)
- Ed Asner: Terry Ballard, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jean Harlow: studio, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Altman: Associate Press Newsfeatures (see first upload of this image), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Dianne Wiest: MC1 Chad J. McNeeley, U.S. Navy, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Burt Bacharach: ABC Television, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edie McClurg: John Mueller, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael Rosbash: John Sears, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Gillian Flynn: aphrodite-in-nyc from new york city, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ellie Kemper: https://www.flickr.com/photos/greg2600, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dorothy Vaughan: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Josh Shapiro: Governor Tom Wolf, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Walt Disney: Boy Scouts of America, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tim Kaine: Rosa Pineda, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- David Robinson: Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley, U.S. Navy., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Eric Stonestreet: iDominick, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ginger Rogers: Studio publicity still, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Pat Metheny: badosa, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Craig Stevens: Doherty, Clifford, Strauss and Shenfield-public relations, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Alec Burks: GoIowaState.com, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bob Allison: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Kevin Hern: U.S. House of Representatives, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons