#1Famous people · Philadelphia
Of the 30 famous people born in Philadelphia, an unusual share are performers
The best known is the American linguist and activist Noam Chomsky, with articles in 188 languages. Will Smith is second and Grace Kelly third. More than half were born between 1920 and 1969, 21 in all. Births since 1970 account for 2 of the names.
Born here
30
notable people
Best known
Noam Chomsky
in 188 Wikipedia languages
First
1839
Henry George
Youngest
1978
Kobe Bryant
Most common field
Film, TV & Stage
12 people
Also called it home
10
notable residents
What stands out about Philadelphia’s famous people
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Philadelphia
Two of the three are performers.
#1
#2Film, TV & Stage
Will Smith
born 1968American actor, film producer and rapper
134 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
#3Film, TV & Stage
Grace Kelly
1929–1982American actress and Princess consort of Monaco
117 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Known for
What Philadelphia is known for
Set against the usual town, performers come out 4.3 times as common.
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 Philadelphia’s famous people were born
More of them were born in the 1940s than in any other ten years, 7 in all.
Film, TV & StageWriting & ArtsMusicScience & MedicinePolitics & LawSports
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Philadelphia
27 more, 10 of them performers.
No one matches both filters.
A chosen home
Also called Philadelphia home
10 notable people born elsewhere made the town home, George Washington the best known.
James Rolfe
born 1980American filmmaker, YouTuber, and Internet personality
Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
Elenore Abbott
1875–1935American Art Nouveau book illustrator, scenic designer, and painter
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
The town’s pick
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Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Close by, the fullest list is Camden’s, at 56 names.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Philadelphia 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 (18)
- Noam Chomsky: Augusto Starita / Ministerio de Cultura de la Nación, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Will Smith: TechCrunch, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Grace Kelly: Hans Peters for Anefo, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Billie Holiday: William P. Gottlieb, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John de Lancie: Super Festivals from Ft. Lauderdale, USA, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Wilt Chamberlain: Wilt_Chamberlain2.jpg: Fred Palumbo, World Telegram staff photographer derivative work: JoeJohnson2, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Bob Saget: Behind The Velvet Rope TV, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Janet Gaynor: Studio, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Hooton Taylor: 2008JosephTaylorWithMarietta.jpg: Betsythedevine Betsy Devine derivative work: Materialscientist, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Man Ray: Van Vechten, Carl, 1880-1964, photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Karl Barry Sharpless: Bengt Oberger, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry George: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- George Washington: Gilbert Stuart, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Katalin Karikó: US Embassy Sweden, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Allen Iverson: Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kellyanne Conway: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ryan Gunderson: Anders H Foto, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joe Wilder: Professor Bop, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons