The following notable people are or have been associated with Madison, Wisconsin.

Artists and architects

• Ruth Ball, sculptor
• Homer Fieldhouse, landscape architect
• Georgia O'Keeffe, artist; born in the suburb of Sun Prairie, she attended high school in Madison at Sacred Heart Academy, now Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart
• Vinnie Ream, sculptor of the statue of Lincoln in the U.S. Capitol rotunda
• Steve Rude, comic book artist
• Maria Schneider, illustrator
• Simon Sparrow, mixed media artist
• Michael Velliquette, artist
• Frank Lloyd Wright, architect

Athletes and sports figures

• Frank Baker, NFL player^[1]
• Jim Bakken, NFL player^[2]
• Peter Barrett, Olympic gold medalist^[3]
• Ed Barry, MLB player^[4]
• Sam Barry, head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team and USC Trojans men's basketball, baseball, and football teams; member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
• Les Bartholomew, MLB player^[5]
• Marc Behrend, NHL player^[6]
• Henry Benn, baseball player^[7]
• Dave Besteman, Olympic athlete
• Sandy Botham, head coach of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panthers women's basketball team
• Gene Brabender, MLB player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles and the Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers^[8]
• Art Bramhall, MLB player^[9]
• Tyrone Braxton, NFL player^[10]
• Alex Brooks, NHL player^[11]
• Craig Brown, national champion curler
• Erika Brown, national champion curler
• Bob Bruer, NFL player^[12]
• Roman Brumm, NFL player^[13]
• Adam Burish, NHL player^[14]
• John Byce, NHL player^[15]
• Gabe Carimi, All-American football player^[16]
• Connie Carpenter-Phinney, road cyclist and ice speed skater; winner of first-ever women's Olympic road race (1984)
• Charlie Chech, MLB player^[17]
• Bruce Christensen, MLB player^[18]
• Geep Chryst, quarterbacks coach of the San Francisco 49ers
• Paul Chryst, former head coach of the University of Wisconsin football team
• Rick Chryst, commissioner of the Mid-American Conference, 1999–2009
• John Coatta, NFL scout
• Eddie Cochems, "father of the forward pass"
• Bill Cofield, head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team; first African American head coach of a major sport in the Big Ten Conference; 1976–1982
• Casey Cramer, NFL player
• Annabelle Cripps, Olympic athlete
• Kevin Dean, NHL player^[19]
• Dorcas Denhartog, Olympic athlete^[20]
• Mary Docter, Olympic athlete^[21]
• Sarah Docter, Olympic athlete^[21]
• Clarence Esser, NFL player^[22]
• Paul Feldhausen, professional football player^[23]
• Casey FitzRandolph, Olympic gold medalist^[24]
• Mary Froning, AAGPBL player
• Steve Furniss, Olympic medalist, Pan American Games gold medalist
• Reece Gaines, NBA player for the Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, and the Milwaukee Bucks^[25]
• Vern Geishert, MLB player^[26]
• Gale Gillingham, NFL player^[27]
• Mike Gosling, professional baseball player^[28]
• Carie Graves, Olympic gold medalist, head coach of the Harvard Crimson and Texas Longhorns women's crew teams^[29]
• Steve Green, NBA player
• Paul Gruber, NFL player^[30]
• Dale Hackbart, NFL player for the Green Bay Packers, Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Denver Broncos^[31]
• Donald Hayes, NFL player^[32]
• Beth Heiden, Olympic speedskater
• Eric Heiden, Olympic speedskater
• Russell Hellickson, Olympic wrestler
• Phil Hellmuth, professional poker player
• Jack Ikegwuonu, NFL player^[33]
• Dan Immerfall, Olympic medalist, head referee for the International Skating Union, member of National Speedskating Hall of Fame^[34]
• Mark Johnson, 1980 Miracle on Ice USA Olympic hockey team gold medalist, NHL player
• Nicole Joraanstad, national champion curler
• Tim Jordan, NFL player
• Jerry Kelly, professional golfer
• Amanda Kessel, Olympic gold medalist in women's ice hockey^[35] and NWHL player for the Metropolitan Riveters^[36]
• Phil Kessel, NHL player for the Vegas Golden Knights
• Gordon King, NFL player^[37]
• George Kittle, NFL player for the San Francisco 49ers
• Phyllis Koehn, AAGPBL player
• Scott Kooistra, NFL player^[38]
• Joe Kurth, NFL player^[39]
• Dan Lanphear, professional football player^[40]
• Debi Laszewski, IFBB professional bodybuilder^[41]
• Mike London, professional football player
• Helene Madison, won three gold medals at the 1932 Olympics in swimming
• Wesley Matthews, basketball player
• Greg Mattison, NFL coach
• Jeronne Maymon (born 1991), basketball player for Hapoel Eilat B.C. of the Israeli Basketball Premier League^[42]
• Dave McClain, head coach of the Ball State Cardinals and Wisconsin Badgers football teams
• Debbie McCormick, world champion curler, Olympic athlete
• Milton McPike, NFL player
• Walter Meanwell, former head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team, member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
• Bob Mionske, Olympic athlete^[43]
• Jim Montgomery, world champion swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame^[44]
• Eric Morel, boxer, former WBA Flyweight champion.^[45]
• Peter Mueller, Olympic speed skater
• Pat Neshek, MLB player^[46]
• Rick Neuheisel, NFL player, former head coach of the UCLA Bruins football team^[47]
• Kid Nichols, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Andy North, professional golfer
• Jay Norvell, NFL player, head coach of the Nevada Wolf Pack football team^[48]
• Jeff Nygaard, Olympic athlete^[49]
• Karl Pagel, MLB player^[50]
• Bill Reay, NHL player and head coach
• Rick Reichardt, MLB player^[51]
• Andrew Rein, Olympic wrestler, winner of a silver medal
• Barry Richter, hockey player
• Pat Richter, NFL player, member of the College Football Hall of Fame, athletic director of the University of Wisconsin–Madison
• Libby Riddles, first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
• Michelle Rohl, Olympic athlete, Pan American Games medalist
• Dan Schachte, former NHL official
• Nick Schmaltz, NHL player
• Pete Schmitt, NFL player
• Jack Skille, right winger for the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL
• Shaka Smart, head coach of the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team
• Craig Smith, NHL player
• Zane Smith, MLB player^[52]
• Chris Solinsky, professional runner
• Bill Southworth, MLB player^[53]
• Dave Stalls, NFL player^[54]
• Derek Stanley, NFL player
• Ken Starch, NFL player^[55]
• Sherri Steinhauer, LPGA player
• Lisa Stone, head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers women's basketball team
• Tim Stracka, NFL player^[56]
• Steve Stricker, professional golfer
• Eric Studesville, head coach of the Denver Broncos in the NFL
• Bob Suter, 1980 Miracle on Ice USA Olympic hockey team gold medalist
• Gary Suter, retired NHL player
• Ryan Suter, NHL player
• Lindsay Tarpley, WPS player
• Matt Tegenkamp, professional distance runner
• Donnel Thompson, NFL player^[57]
• Al Toon, former professional football player
• Stu Voigt, NFL player^[58]
• Jack Waite, professional tennis player
• Pete Waite, head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers women's volleyball team
• Lisa Wang, national champion rhythmic gymnast
• Henry Willegale, NFL player^[59]
• Brad Winchester, NHL player^[60]
• Ari Wolfe, sports announcer
• Tony Yelk, NFL player
• Jackie Zoch, Olympic medalist^[61]

Business and industry figures

• Noah Dietrich, CEO of the majority of enterprises owned by Howard Hughes, including RKO Pictures, Trans World Airlines, and Hughes Aircraft
• Judith R. Faulkner, CEO and founder of Epic Systems
• John Geisse, founder of Target Corporation
• Burton E. Green, one of the developers of Beverly Hills, California
• Alex Jordan, Jr., businessman, architect
• Peter Koechley, co-founder of Upworthy and former managing editor of The Onion
• Jim Lillie, CEO of Jarden Corporation; spent a part of his childhood there and attended the UW in 1983
• Oscar G. Mayer, Jr., Chairman of Oscar Mayer
• Oscar G. Mayer, Sr., Chairman of Oscar Mayer
• Odessa Piper, chef and co-founder of the restaurant L'Etoile
• Pleasant Rowland, businesswoman, creator of the American Girl product line

Entertainers

Actors, radio personalities, and filmmakers

• Andrea Anders, actress, comedian
• Randy Chestnut, comedian, actor, 17-year resident of Madison
• Michael Cole, actor
• Tyne Daly, Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress
• Melvyn Douglas, Academy Award-winning actor
• Chris Farley, actor, comedian, grew up in Madison
• John P. Farley, actor and comedian
• Kevin Farley, actor
• Michael Feldman, radio personality for Public Radio International
• Nick Grinde (1893–1979), film director and screenwriter^[62]
• Uta Hagen, actress, recipient of the National Medal of Arts
• Kurt Johnson, radio personality, director for RKO, CBS, Viacom and others
• Nietzchka Keene, filmmaker
• Imran Khan, Bollywood actor
• Russ Lieber, fictitious character from The Colbert Report with a liberal radio talk show supposedly based in Madison
• Rob Marshall, Academy Award-nominated director
• Sandra Nelson, actress
• Chris Noth, actor, born in Madison
• Zorba Paster, radio show host
• Bill Rebane, filmmaker
• Ann Risley, actress
• Gena Rowlands, Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actress
• Matt Sloan, voice actor, comedian
• Mary Sweeney, film editor and producer, partner of director David Lynch
• J.D. Walsh, actor
• Marc Webb, film, television, and music video director
• Bradley Whitford, actor, born in Madison
• Gideon Yago, CBS and MTV News correspondent
• Leigh Zimmerman, actress

Musicians

• Brother Ali, hip hop musician
• Lou and Peter Berryman, musicians and songwriters
• Jeff Conrad, drummer of Phantom Planet
• Yung Gravy, hip hop musician
• Brent Michael Davids, composer for the National Symphony Orchestra
• Richard Davis, bassist and professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
• John DeMain, conductor
• Christine Nielson Dreier, singer
• Ari Herstand, musician, actor, blogger
• Nick Hexum, musician, lead vocalist of 311
• Lee Hoiby, composer
• Zola Jesus, musician; raised in Merrill and got her start in Madison
• Jennifer Korbee, member of Hi-5; contestant on American Idol
• Alicia Lemke, singer, famous for appearing on Matt Harding's Where the Hell is Matt? 2012 video
• Barbara K. MacDonald, musician
• Pat MacDonald, musician
• Joel McNeely, composer
• Tracy Nelson, singer
• Otis Redding, musician, died in Madison^[63]
• Art Paul Schlosser, musician
• Jim Schwall, musician, singer-songwriter
• Ben Sidran, musician, jazz pianist
• Catfish Stephenson, blues musician
• Clyde Stubblefield, musician, died in Madison
• Butch Vig, alternative music producer and drummer of Garbage; from Viroqua, got his start in Madison
• Chris Vrenna, musician and producer
• Jane Wiedlin, musician and actress
• Glenn Worf, Nashville session bass player
• Benjamin Foster, lead singer and guitarist of the punk rock band Screeching Weasel.
• Geoff Palmer musician, singer, and songwriter. Member of The Connection, The Kurt Baker band, and The Queers

Government officials, politicians, and activists

Military figures

• George E. Bryant, U.S. Army Brigadier General
• Joseph Cable, Medal of Honor recipient^[71]
• Charles L. Harris, Union Army Brigadier General
• Frank A. Haskell, Union Army colonel; author of a noted account of the Battle of Gettysburg
• William Hawley, Union Army Brigadier General
• John Higgins, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral (Upper Half)^[72]
• Donald S. Jones, U.S. Navy Vice Admiral
• William Lorenz, Army Distinguished Service Medal recipient
• John Birdsell Oren, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral
• Carson Abel Roberts, U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant General
• Clayton K. Slack, Medal of Honor recipient^[73]
• Eugene L. Tattini, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General
• Albert Taubert, Navy Cross and Distinguished Service Cross recipient^[74]
• Karl G. Taylor, Sr., Medal of Honor recipient
• Ralph Wise Zwicker, U.S. Army Major General

Miscellaneous

• Tunnel Bob, Famous Resident
• Dwight Armstrong, took part in the Sterling Hall bombing in 1970
• Carlo Peter Caputo, alleged Italian American gangster and businessman
• Bill Horstmeyer, race car driver
• Awonder Liang, chess prodigy, 3rd youngest Grandmaster in US chess history
• Richard Ragsdale, physician who litigated against excessive abortion regulation

Religious figures

• Matthew Fox, Episcopal priest
• Jerome J. Hastrich, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup
• Hans Gerhard Stub, Bishop of the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
• Manfred Swarsensky, rabbi

Scholars and scientists

• Ann Althouse, law professor, scholar and blogger
• John Bardeen, Nobel laureate, named one of the 20th century's most influential Americans by Life magazine
• Arthur Louis Breslich, President of German Wallace College and Baldwin-Wallace College
• Ernest J. Briskey, creator of the American Meat Science Association
• W. Wallace Cleland, University of Wisconsin–Madison biochemist;^[75] inventor of Cleland's reagent^[76]
• Scott Cutlip, dean of the University of Georgia College of Journalism and Mass Communication
• Richard Davidson, neuroscientist, director of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds University of Wisconsin–Madison
• Hector DeLuca, biochemist and founder and president of Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals
• Harvey Goldberg, historian and professor
• Harlan Hanson, Director of the Advanced Placement program from 1965 to 1989
• Howard Hibbard, art historian, professor at Columbia University
• John Duer Irving, geologist
• Henry A. Lardy, biochemist
• Aldo Leopold, ecologist
• A. Carl Leopold, Graduate Dean at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• A. Starker Leopold, Professor of Zoology and Conservation at the University of California, Berkeley
• Luna Leopold, Professor of Geology and Geophysics and of Landscape Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley
• William Shainline Middleton, co-founder and Secretary-Treasurer of American Board of Internal Medicine
• George Mosse, historian, professor
• John Muir, Scottish-born American naturalist, author and early advocate of preservation of U.S. wilderness
• Gerhard Brandt Naeseth, genealogist
• Lorrie Otto, environmentalist
• Leon E. Rosenberg, physician-scientist, geneticist, and educator
• Jay P. Sanford, author of the Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy
• Sumner Slichter, economist, professor at Harvard University
• Kurt Squire, director of the Games, Learning & Society Conference
• Harry Steenbock, biochemist, researcher of Vitamin D
• James Thomson, leading stem cell researcher
• Jan Vansina, historian and anthropologist
• I. Bernard Weinstein, physician
• Ira Loren Wiggins, botanist
• James Wright, President of Dartmouth College

Writers and journalists

• Carl Thomas Anderson, cartoonist
• Mike Baron, comic book writer famous for creating Nexus
• Lowell Bergman, TV news producer
• Deborah Blum, journalist and professor
• Barbara Fister, author, blogger and librarian
• Jason Gastrow, Videogamedunkey, video game reviewer, humorist, YouTube personality
• Annie Laurie Gaylor, author and activist with Freethought Today
• Jeff Gillan, journalist
• Kevin Henkes, children's book author, graduated from UW–Madison and as of 1996 "makes his home in Madison."
• Ed Janus, journalist
• Gloria Ladson-Billings, professor and author
• David Maraniss, journalist and author, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize
• Karl E. Meyer, journalist
• Jacquelyn Mitchard, author
• Lorrie Moore, prize-winning author of short stories
• Jessica Nelson North, author
• Alice Hobbins Porter, journalist, editor
• Richard Quinney, author and photographer
• Phil Rosenthal (columnist), columnist
• Patrick Rothfuss, writer of epic fantasy
• Greg Dean Schmitz, online film journalist, creator of Upcomingmovies.com, columnist for Rotten Tomatoes
• Alice Sebold, author
• Scott Stantis, editorial cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune; creator of the comic strips The Buckets and Prickly City
• John Tuschen, poet
• Connie Wanek, poet
• Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet ("Laugh and the world laughs with you"); grew up in Madison
• Amos Wilder, poet and theologian
• Thornton Wilder, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and playwright