#1Famous people · Blackpool, Lancashire
Musicians stand out among the 263 famous people born in Blackpool
At the top of the list is the British actor David Thewlis, covered in 54 languages. In the 20th century, 142 were born, the most of any period. Only 2 towns in Lancashire list more. The list comes to 17.6 for every 10,000 residents, against 2.3 in the typical town in Lancashire.
Born here
263
notable people
Best known
David Thewlis
in 54 Wikipedia languages
First
1869
Jack Parkinson
Youngest
2006
Tom Atcheson
Most common field
Sports
135 people
What stands out about Blackpool’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Blackpool is known for
Musicians stand out most, at 2.6 times the usual share.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Blackpool
The three are covered in 54, 54 and 51 languages: David Thewlis, Michael Smith and Robert Smith.
#1
#2Science & Medicine
Michael Smith
1932–2000Canadian Nobel laureate in chemistry
54 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
#3Music
Robert Smith
born 1959English singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter
51 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Blackpool’s famous people were born
No decade has more births than the 1940s, at 36.
SportsFilm, TV & StageMusicWriting & ArtsScience & MedicinePolitics & LawBusinessMilitaryNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Blackpool
260 more; the 197 best known are listed here.
John Evan
born 1948British musician and composer; best know as the keyboard player for the rock band Jethro Tull from April 1970 to June 1980
MusicWikipedia ↗
Sophie Walker
born 1971British political activist; leader of Women's Equality Party (born 1971)
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Peter Crampton (politician)
1932–2011British Labour Party politician (1932–2011)
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Tom Whiteside
1932–2008British mathematician and historian of mathematics (1932–2008)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
William Jackson
1917–1999British Army officer, military historian, author and Governor of Gibraltar (1917–1999)
MilitaryWikipedia ↗
David Sherrington
born 1941Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Christine McGuinness
born 1988English model and television personality (born 1988)
Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Around it, Lytham St Anne's has the most people on record, 37 of them.
Questions about famous people from Blackpool
Who is the most famous person from Blackpool?
David Thewlis (British actor) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 54 languages. Next come Michael Smith and Robert Smith.
How many famous people were born in Blackpool?
263 people born in Blackpool have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 298 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Blackpool known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 135 of the 263. That is 51% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Blackpool?
Jack Parkinson, born in 1869. The youngest on the list was born in 2006.
Who counts as from Blackpool?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Blackpool’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (73)
- David Thewlis: David_Thewlis_at_San_Sebastian_Filmfestival_2008.jpg: Andreas Tai derivative work: RanZag, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael Smith: File:Michael Smith party at Mary Vickers's house.1994, F-109-7-0-0-10 001.jpg: SCWIST Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology derivative work: Michał Sobkowski, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Smith: Bill Ebbesen, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Mahoney: liz bustamante from chicagoland, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jenna Coleman: Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cynthia Lennon: Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Graham Nash: Schorle, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tania Mallet: Comet Photo AG (Zürich), CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Gavin McCann: vagueonthehow, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- George Eastham: Hilton Teper, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Little Boots: Little_Boots.jpg: https://www.flickr.com/photos/uncensoredinterview/ derivative work: Funkfried333, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Lowe: Bálint Fejér from Budapest, Hungary, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Peter Chelsom: Jack English (Copyright holder Peter Chelsom), CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jeffrey Hammond: Tony Morelli, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Maddy Prior: Rob Glover, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Evan: Tony Morelli, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joe Riley: Werner100359, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Craig Parkinson: Matt Deegan, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nick McCarthy: livepict.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- June Tripp: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Lyons: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Rae Morris: Phil King, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ricky Tomlinson: Andrew D Hurley at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Beckii Cruel: Flickr user "Dominic Alves", CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hamish Hamilton: Hhdirector, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Cahill: Benutzer:Bill da Flute, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Richard Gleeson: Charltonkyle, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Errol Fuller: Roddy Paine, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Drake: John Manard, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kenny Cooper, Sr.: Major Indoor Soccer League, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Nikki Sanderson: Meena, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Richard Wigglesworth: Charlie from UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Shelly Woods: Stuart Grout, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Zoë Ball: Bryan Ledgard from Yorkshire, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Coleen Nolan: Dartfordliving, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jon Gomm: Danny North from UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ronnie Baxter: Jahn1234567890, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Scott Davies: https://www.flickr.com/photos/global_ranger/, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sophie Walker: Women's Equality Party, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tom Gregory: Paulae, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- George Tanner: Kane Brooker, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Scott Tanser: User:Tanser19, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tom Atcheson: Timmy96, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- William Parr: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Aiden Grimshaw: Fiona McKinlay, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Beech: Joe Vitale 5, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Matthew Blinkhorn: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ingythewingy/, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Steven Croft: AMBerry, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tom McNally, Baron McNally: ©House of Lords / photography by Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Walter Cookson: Thebees1889, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Anastasia Vaipan-Law: FloweringDagwood, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Carol Royle: Stephen B Whatley, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Christian Day: Charlie from UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- George Cowl: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Peter Howarth: Knutsk, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Syd Little: Jack1956, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Averil Mansfield: OlwenOlwen, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Darran Kempson: Bluewheel, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hayley Tamaddon: vagueonthehow, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Josh Feeney: Timmy96, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kurt Willoughby: Mattythewhite, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Larry Cassidy: Hans Dinkelberg, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Valerie Austin: Ssaco, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Andrew Pilley: Fleetwiki16, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Christine McGuinness: JaceMerlyn, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Curtis Jobling: Mark Jobling, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Dan Forshaw: Katy.steele, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Daniel Whiston: Rach from Tadcaster, York, England, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hollie Thomson: Ally Middleton from Tynemouth, England, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Steve Barclay: Richard Townshend, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Andy Summers: Rob Bogaerts for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, Wikimedia Commons
- Hannah Godfrey: Katie Chan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Patten: Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.