List of people from Norwalk, Connecticut

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Norwalk, Connecticut, has been home to numerous notable people, residents and others, past and present.

Authors, writers

Faith Baldwin (1893–1978), novelist; worked with the Famous Writers School; lived in the Silvermine neighborhood and died in Norwalk
Brian Basset (born 1957), Seattle-based cartoonist; born in the city
A. Scott Berg (born 1949), award-winning biographer; born in Norwalk
F.R. Buckley (1896–1976) lived in Norwalk
Tom Curry (1900–1976), pulp fiction writer
Philip Caputo (born 1941), author
Stanley Dance (1910–1999), jazz writer, biographer of Duke Ellington
Peter De Vries (1910–1983), writer, editor, novelist, worked on The New Yorker magazine for many years
Alyse Gregory (1884–1967), suffragist, journalist, and novelist; born in Norwalk
Johnny Gruelle (1880–1938), artist and author; creator of Raggedy Ann; lived in town
Bob Grumman (1941–2015), minimalist poet
Emma Johnson (born 1976), podcast host and blogger
Steven Kellogg (born 1941), author and illustrator of children's books; born in Norwalk
Sheila Lukins (1942–2009), cook and food writer
Warren E. Preece (1921–2007), editor of Encyclopædia Britannica's 15th edition
Andy Rooney (1919–2011), commentator on 60 Minutes television newsmagazine on CBS
Peter St. John, poet during the American Revolution
Stephen W. Sears (born 1932), Civil War historian; lives in Norwalk
Sloan Wilson (1920–2003), author; was born in the city
Wayne Winsley (born 1963), broadcaster and author; former resident

Actors, musicians, entertainers

Roger Bart (born 1962), Broadway actor; born in Norwalk
Jesse Bradford (born 1979), film actor; born in Norwalk
D.J. Caruso (born 1965), movie and television director; born in the city and attended Norwalk High School
Helen Curry (1896–1931), actress; died at her home in the city
Ruth Chatterton (1892–1961), actress, writer and aviator; died in the city in 1961
Charli D'Amelio (born 2004), dancer and social media personality
Dixie D'Amelio (born 2001), social media personality and singer
Robin de Jesús (born 1984), film and theater actor
Frances Dee (1909–2004), actress; died in the city
Mat Devine (born 1974), lead singer of Kill Hannah
Violet Englefield (1881–1946), actress and singer; lived in Norwalk 1930–1939
Ellen Hanley (1926–2007), musical theater performer
Eileen Heckart (1919–2001), actress; died at her home in the city
Clegg Hoyt (1910–1967), film and television actor; born in Norwalk
Sarah Jacobson (1971–2004), independent filmmaker; born in Norwalk
Mitch Longley (born 1965), television actor; graduated from Brien McMahon High School
Forrest McClendon, Tony Award-nominated actor (The Scottsboro Boys)
Vince Mendoza (born 1961), music arranger and composer; born in Norwalk
Christopher Schreiner (born 1983), guitarist; born in Norwalk
Artie Shaw (1910–2004), Big Band composer; lived in Norwalk in the 1950s
Horace Silver (1928–2014), jazz pianist and composer; born in the city
John Simon (born 1941), musician, record producer, and composer; born in Norwalk
Joan Wasser (born 1970), violinist and singer-songwriter; was raised in the city
Chris Webby (Christian Webster), rapper; grew up in Norwalk
Bruce Weitz (born 1943), actor; was born in Norwalk
Treat Williams (1951–2023), actor; Rowayton resident
Remy Zaken (born 1989), stage and television actress

Sports

Érik Bédard (born 1979), pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles; went to Norwalk Community College
Paul Gerken (born 1950), professional tennis player
Luca Koleosho, soccer player for Burnley of the English Premier League was born in Norwalk and played as a child at nearby Trumbull United
Mickey Kydes, soccer player for the NY/NJ MetroStars of Major League Soccer
Randy LaJoie (born 1961), two-time champion driver in the NASCAR Busch Series (now the (Xfinity Series)
Bob Miller (1929–2006), NFL Detroit Lions football player (1952–1958); born in the city
Marie Corridon Mortell (1930–2010), won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay in swimming at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London
Kevin Morton, former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox
Calvin Murphy (born 1948), former NBA basketball player; grew up in town
Idris Price (born 1976), football player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rita Williams (born 1976), WNBA Basketball player (1998–2003) Washington Mystics
Scott Sharp (born 1968), auto racer, Indy Racing League champion; currently an American Le Mans Series owner-driver in the GT class
Leif Shiras (born 1959), former tennis player and tennis journalist
Dan Sileo (born 1963), former football player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, lived in Norwalk
Tarvis Simms (born 1971), middleweight boxer; Golden Gloves champion; South Norwalk native
Travis Simms (born 1971), welterweight champion of the World Boxing Association (as of January 2007); South Norwalk native
Mo Vaughn (born 1967), former baseball player
Luke Vercollone (born 1982), professional soccer player with the Charleston Battery; grew up in Norwalk
Daniel Walsh (born 1979), rower and winner of a bronze medal in rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Government and politics

Audrey P. Beck (1931–1983), college professor and Connecticut state legislator
William Benton (1900–1973), U.S. Senator; later publisher of the Encyclopædia Britannica; lived in the city
Thaddeus Betts (1789–1840), United States Senator from Connecticut
William Thomas Clark (1831–1905), American Civil War general, U.S. Congressman, and abolitionist
Darius N. Couch (1822–1897), naturalist and Union general in the Civil War; died in Norwalk
Jeremiah Donovan (1857–1935), mayor and U.S. Congressman
Thomas Fitch (1696–1774), colonial Governor of Connecticut
Thomas Fitch, V (1725–1795), state representative; widely believed to be the original "Yankee Doodle Dandy"
Irving Freese, five-term mayor of Norwalk; one of the few Socialists ever elected mayor in the United States
Boris Johnson, prime minister of the United Kingdom, grew up in the city
Alex Knopp, two-term mayor of Norwalk, 2001–2005
Mia Love, United States Representative; raised in Norwalk
Brien McMahon (1903–1952), United States Senator (D-CT), authored the Atomic Energy Act of 1946; born, raised, and is buried in Norwalk; namesake of one of the city's high schools
Dick Moccia, elected mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut on November 8, 2005
Isaac Sears (1729/1730–1786), merchant, sailor, and political figure during the American Revolution; raised in Norwalk
Roger Stone (born 1952), Political consultant and author; renowned Conservative and avid supporter of the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump
Levi Warner (1831–1911), United States Representative from Connecticut
Peter Willcox (born 1953), Greenpeace activist and former captain of the Rainbow Warrior; was raised in the city

Other

Daniel T. Barry (born 1953), retired NASA astronaut; born in Norwalk
Azor Betts (1740–1809), doctor who promoted smallpox inoculation
Fanniebelle Curtis (1867–1940), kindergarten educator, educational administrator, in France during World War I
Donald Drew Egbert (1902-1973), art historian and educator
Sarah Louise Bouton Felt (1850–1928), first general president of the children's Primary organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Francis Gregory (1780–1866), U.S. Navy officer in the War of 1812 and the American Civil War; born in Norwalk
Edward Calvin Kendall (1886–1972), chemist and Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine winner in 1950; born in South Norwalk
LeGrand Lockwood (died February 1872), Wall Street financier; builder of the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion in Norwalk
John D. Magrath (1924–1945), World War II Medal of Honor recipient; born in East Norwalk and is buried in Norwalk
Charles O. Perry (1929–2011), sculptor, lived in East Norwalk and had his art studio in South Norwalk from 1977 until his death
Alexander Rummler (1867–1959), painter, lived in the city for 35 years painting many scenes of Norwalk life
Daniel J. Shea (1947–1969), recipient of the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War; Shea Island in the Norwalk Islands was renamed in his honor
Charles Robert Sherman (1788–1829), lawyer, Ohio public servant; father of William Tecumseh Sherman; born in Norwalk
Mary Emma Woolley (1863–1947), president of Mount Holyoke College, 1901–1937; born in South Norwalk

Footnotes

Moskin, Julia. "Sheila Lukins, 66, Dies; Awakened Taste Buds", The New York Times, August 30, 2009. Accessed August 31, 2009.
"TikTok Star Charli D'Amelio Has No Idea How She Got So Famous". Cosmopolitan. April 14, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
Wright, Chase (May 7, 2011). "Norwalk native turned Broadway star nominated for Tony Award". Stamford Times. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
Grudens, Richard, Jukebox Saturday Night: More Memories of the Big Band Era and Beyond (1999), Pine Hill Press, Freeman, S.D., ISBN 1-57579-142-0, page 29, accessed through Google Books (free registration required) on August 4, 2006
"Horace Silver obituary". the Guardian. June 19, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
"Remy Zaken". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
InCrowd. "Burnley Football Club". Burnley Football Club. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
Mickey Kydes Soccer Enterprises
Geoghegan, Steve (September 25, 2008). "Norwalk honors its Olympian". The Hour. p. B1.
Hine, Tommy (August 22, 2008). "Summer Bronze: Norwalk's Walsh Garners Olympic Medal". Norwalk Citizen. 12 (34): A1, A15. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
Grauel, Thane (July 25, 2019). "'BoJo,' Britain's new prime minister, spent younger years in Norwalk". The Hour (Norwalk, CT).
Glionna, Hohn M.; Pearce, Matt (November 5, 2014). "GOP hopes Mia Love's win a watershed moment for the party". LA Times. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014.
Hirshson, Stanley P., The White Tecumseh: A Biography of General William T. Sherman, John Wiley & Sons, 1997, ISBN 0-471-17578-1
Web page titled "Mary Emma Wolley" at Encyclopædia Britannica Web site, accessed May 4, 2007

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