This is a list of notable people from San Jose, California. It includes people who were born/raised in, lived in, or spent portions of their lives in San Jose, or for whom San Jose is a significant part of their identity, as well as music groups founded in San Jose. This list is in alphabetical order by surname.

Actors and entertainment industry

• Elisa Marina Alvarado, Chicana director, actress, educator, born in San Jose
• Frank Bacon, actor, playwright and father of Lloyd Bacon, raised in San Jose and lived there for 17 years^[1]
• Lloyd Bacon, Hollywood director, son of actor Frank Bacon, born in San Jose^[2]
• Adrienne Barbeau, actress, attended Del Mar High School class of 1963^[3]
• Calum Best, British television personality, son of footballer George Best, born in San Jose
• Brett Dalton, actor, born in San Jose^[4]
• Vernon Dent, comedy actor in numerous Three Stooges shorts, born in San Jose
• Rosanna DeSoto, actress, born in San Jose
• Dustin Diamond, child actor, known as Screech from Saved By The Bell, born in San Jose^[5]
• Ricco Fajardo, voice actor in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School and various anime, TV actor, born in San Jose
• Renée Elise Goldsberry, actress, known for originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway musical Hamilton, born in San Jose
• Michael Gough, voice actor, born in San Jose
• Farley Granger, actor, best known for Strangers on a Train, born in San Jose
• Nick Groff, paranormal investigator and television personality, born in San Jose
• Krazy George Henderson, cheerleader, inventor of "The Wave", sports entertainment
• Josh Holloway, actor, Lost, born in San Jose
• Gabriela Sepúlveda, singer and actress, Jenni Rivera: Mariposa De Barrio, born in San Jose
• Fran Jeffries, singer and actress, born in Palo Alto
• Anjelah Johnson, comedian, born in San Jose
• Neil Kaplan, voice actor, attended elementary through high school in San Jose
• Jeannie Mai, TV personality, talk show host, fashion expert, makeup artist, born in San Jose
• Peverell Marley, Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-winning cinematographer, born in San Jose
• Charles Martinet, actor and voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Nintendo's Mario, born in San Jose
• Candi Milo, voice actress, born in San Jose
• Linda Park, actress, originally from Seoul, South Korea and raised in San Jose
• Miguel Perez, actor, born in San Jose
• Kurtwood Smith, actor, That '70s Show
• Smothers Brothers, musical comedy duo and actors
• Ernie Reyes Jr., actor and martial artist, born in San Jose
• Diane Rodriguez, theatre director, actor, writer, born in San Jose
• Dave Tatsuno, Japanese-American internment camp resident who made amateur film Topaz, about camp life
• Kathy Uyen, actress and producer for Vietnamese cinema, born in San Jose
• Kate Walsh, actress, born in San Jose
• Luis Valdez, playwright and director
• Kung Fu Vampire, musician, also on the Discovery Channel's "Oddities", born in San Jose^[6]
• Akhil Akkineni, Indian-American actor who predominantly works in Telugu film Industry of India.^[7]

Artists

Comics and zines

• Brent Anderson, comic artist with DC Comics, born in San Jose^[8]
• Jan Eliot, comic artist of Stone Soup, born in San Jose
• Julia Kaye, comic artist of Up and Out, illustrator, raised in San Jose^[9]
• Jhonen Vasquez, creator of alternative comics for Slave Labor Graphics and Invader ZIM, born in San Jose^[10]

Mixed media

• Susan O'Malley (artist), public art, museum curation, and author, raised in San Jose.^[11]

Painters

• Lucy Bacon, Impressionist painter lived in San Jose from 1898 until 1909, taught at the Washburn Preparatory School.^[12]
• James Caprell, fine artist, born in San Jose^[13]
• Ernest de Saisset, portrait artist.^[14]
• Chris Johanson, fine artist part of the Mission School art movement, born in San Jose^[15]
• Bill Koeb, illustrator and painter, also comics, known for his illustrative work for Clive Barker's Hellraiser series
• Suzanne Scheuer, painter known for her New Deal-era murals, born in San Jose
• Herman Volz, fine artist that worked with the Federal Art Project, lived in San Jose from 1960 to 1990, died in San Jose^[16]

Photographers

• Bill Owens, photographer and photojournalist documenting suburbia, born in San Jose^[17]
• Alfred T. Palmer, photographer of Americana during World War II, born in San Jose

Sculptors

• Ruthadell Anderson, sculptor, fiber artist, textile artist; born in San Jose and attended San Jose State University.^[18]
• Therese May, fine art quilting, lived in San Jose

Athletes

• Yorgo Alexandrou, Olympic bobsledder for Armenia (two-man bobsleigh, 2002 Salt Lake City), born and raised in San Jose^[19]
• Chidobe Awuzie NFL player, born in San Jose
• Scott Baker, Major League Baseball player, born in San Jose^[20]
• Bayley, WWE wrestler
• Isaac Brizuela, footballer, born in San Jose
• Brent Burns, pro hockey player San Jose Sharks, lives in San Jose
• Steve Caballero, professional skateboarder, born in San Jose
• Mark Canha, baseball player, born in San Jose
• Ken Caminiti, pro baseball player (San Jose State), 1996 NL MVP
• Rich Campbell, NFL player, played high school football in San Jose
• John Carlos, Olympic silver medalist, 200m (1968 Mexico City); track and field athlete; pro football player
• Andre Carter, pro football player
• Henry Cejudo, 2012 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, MMA fighter, born in San Jose
• Brandi Chastain, soccer player, World Cup champion, born in San Jose
• Amy Chow, Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics (1996), born in San Jose
• Kay Cockerill, professional golfer, born in San Jose
• Jerry Coleman, decorated combat pilot, MLB player and manager, Ford Frick Award-winning sportscaster, born in San Jose
• Angelo Caloiaro (born 1989), American-Italian basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Sam Delaplane (born 1995), professional baseball pitcher
• Michelle Do, Olympic table tennis player
• Polina Edmunds, Olympic figure skater
• Herman Edwards, NFL player, coach, TV commentator
• Jon Fitch, UFC fighter
• Peggy Fleming, 1968 Winter Olympics figure skating gold medalist, born in San Jose
• Rudy Galindo, national champion figure skater, born in San Jose
• Jeff Garcia, pro football quarterback (San Jose State)
• Jeremy Giambi, baseball player, born in San Jose
• Naomi Girma, soccer player for the United States^[21]
• Dan Gladden, baseball player, two-time World Series champion (1987, 1991 with Minnesota Twins), born in San Jose
• Aaron Gordon, player for the Denver Nuggets and brother of Drew Gordon, born in San Jose
• Drew Gordon, player for the Philadelphia 76ers and brother of Aaron Gordon, born in San Jose
• Shawn Green, MLB 2-time All-Star outfielder
• Kyle Harrison (born 2001), baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants
• Dany Heatley, pro hockey player, San Jose Sharks
• Mike Holmgren, NFL coach and executive
• Cass Jackson, former college football head coach, one of the first African-American head football coaches at a predominantly white college (Oberlin College).
• John Johnson, NBA basketball, First Team All American at the University of Iowa, lived and died in San Jose^{[citation needed]}
• Brent Jones, football player, Santa Clara University, San Francisco 49ers, three-time Super Bowl champion, born in San Jose
• James Jones, pro football player (San Jose State), Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders, born in San Jose
• Carney Lansford, pro baseball player, Oakland A's, 1989 World Series champion, 1981 A.L. batting champion, born in San Jose
• Joe Leonard, automobile and motorcycle champion
• Cung Le, Vietnamese mixed martial arts fighter, three-time Sanshou bronze medalist
• Roger Maltbie, professional PGA golfer and NBC Sports On Air golf analyst
• Patrick Marleau, pro hockey player, San Jose Sharks
• Jake McGee, baseball player
• Kyle McLaren, pro hockey player San Jose Sharks
• Tommy Medica, baseball player, born in San Jose
• Marty Mornhinweg, NFL player and coach
• Evgeni Nabokov, pro hockey player, San Jose Sharks
• James Nunnally (born 1990), professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the Euroleague, and formerly in the NBA, born in San Jose
• Brian Oldfield, athlete, world and American record holder in shot put
• Jesús Padilla, soccer player for Chivas de Guadalajara, born in San Jose
• Jim Plunkett, quarterback, Stanford University, 1970 Heisman Trophy winner, Oakland Raiders, two-time Super Bowl champion (SB XV MVP), born in San Jose
• John Powell, two-time Olympic bronze medalist (1976 Munich, 1984 L.A.), discus throw
• Dave Righetti, baseball player; 1981 A.L. Rookie of the Year (N.Y. Yankees); pitched no-hitter on July 4, 1983; San Francisco Giants pitching coach, born in San Jose
• Ricco Rodriguez, mixed martial artist, UFC and ADCC champion, born in San Jose
• Frank Shamrock, MMA fighter
• Tommie Smith, Olympic gold medalist - 200m, (1968 Mexico City), track and field athlete (San Jose State), pro football player
• Dave Stieb, pro baseball pitcher
• Carl Sullivan, football player, born in San Jose
• Mike Swain, Olympic gold medalist, four-time Olympian, San Jose State judo coach
• Mike Swick, UFC fighter
• Josh Thomson, mixed martial artist and model, born in San Jose
• Joe Thornton, pro hockey player, San Jose Sharks
• Pat Tillman, pro football player and decorated Army Ranger, born in San Jose
• Debi Thomas, Olympic figure skater, grew up in San Jose
• Loren Toews, pro football player
• Yosh Uchida, businessman, educator, contributor to San Jose State judo team, born in San Jose
• Cain Velasquez, MMA fighter
• Dick Vermeil, college and pro football head coach, Super Bowl champion (St. Louis Rams, 1999)
• Aly Wagner, retired soccer player
• Bill Walsh, college and pro football head coach, three-time Super Bowl champion (San Francisco 49ers)

Business leaders and entrepreneurs

• Gurbaksh Chahal, entrepreneur
• Andy Dinh, entrepreneur and professional gamer, born in San Jose
• Amadeo Peter Giannini, founder of Bank of America, born in San Jose
• Steve Jobs, co-founder and former CEO of Apple Inc., lived in San Jose
• Donald Snyder, investment banker, born in San Jose
• Peter Ueberroth, sports and business executive, San Jose State University alumnus
• Ken Williams, MLB executive, general manager for 2005 World Series champion Chicago White Sox
• Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc., born in San Jose
• Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo!

Chefs

• Angela Dimayuga, internationally known chef born and raised in San Jose^[22]

Dancers

• Mythili Kumar, South Indian traditional dancer of Bharatanatyam, resides in San Jose, founder of Abhinaya Dance School of San Jose^[23]
• Yuriko Kikuchi (née Amemiya), worked with the Martha Graham Dance Company, born in San Jose

Designers

• Mai Kitazawa Arbegast, landscape architect, born in San Jose^[24]
• Scott Campbell, video game concept artist for LucasArts then Double Fine Productions, art director, comic artist and illustration, born and raised in San Jose
• Theodore Lenzen, Prussian-born architect, active in San Jose
• Joe Murray, animator, born in San Jose
• Emily Williams, pioneering female architect in the 20th century, attended California State Normal School (later known as SJSU)

Educators

• Peter William Cassey, African-American 19th-century school founder, deacon, minister, educator, abolitionist, and political activist^[25][26]
• Henry Suzzallo, educator; President of the University of Washington

Musicians and bands

• Antwon, rapper, lives in San Jose^[27]
• Ashe (singer), singer, born in San Jose
• Bassnectar, DJ and electronic music producer
• Louie Bellson, professional drummer
• Tommy Castro, blues, rock
• Charizma, rapper, born in San Jose
• Count five, garage rock band, formed in San Jose
  • John "Sean" Byrne, musician with Count five, lived in San Jose
• Irene Dalis, opera singer, founder of Opera San Jose, born in San Jose
• Jimmy DeGrasso, heavy metal drummer
• DJ Shadow, born Joshua Davis, instrumental hip-hop DJ, born in San Jose
• Duster (band), indie rock band
• The Doobie Brothers, rock band
  • Tom Johnston, lived in San Jose with the Doobie Brothers
• Fleetwood Mac, rock band
  • Lindsey Buckingham, musician with Fleetwood Mac
  • Stevie Nicks, singer and musician with Fleetwood Mac
• Jeff Foskett, guitarist and singer, best known for work with The Beach Boys
• Getter, DJ, electronic music producer and rapper^[28]
• Heavy Heavy Low Low, metal band formed in San Jose
• Antony Hegarty, frontwoman of Antony and the Johnsons
• The Holdup, reggae and hip hop band formed in San Jose
• Greg Kihn, rock musician and radio DJ
• Kung Fu Vampire, rapper from San Jose
• Los Tigres del Norte, Mexican band formed in San Jose
• Laura Mam - musician and music industry entrepreneur
• Bryan Mantia, drummer for Primus and Guns N' Roses, born in San Jose
• Kamtin Mohager, lead musician for The Chain Gang of 1974^[29]
• No Use for a Name, band
  • Matt Riddle, bassist of No Use for a Name, born in San Jose
  • Tony Sly, lead singer and guitarist of No Use for a Name, born in San Jose
• Peanut Butter Wolf, disc jockey and producer from San Jose
• Plavka, international singing star, born in San Jose
• Nikki Sixx, bassist for Mötley Crüe, born in San Jose
• Sleep, doom metal band formed in San Jose
• Smash Mouth, pop-rock band formed in San Jose
• Snow Tha Product, rapper, born in San Jose
• Skip Spence, co-founder of Moby Grape
• Stone Temple Pilots, band
  • Eric Kretz, drummer for Stone Temple Pilots, Talk Show, and Spiralarms, born in San Jose
  • Scott Weiland, vocalist for Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver, Camp Freddy, The Wondergirls, Art of Anarchy, and The Magnificent Bastards, born in San Jose
• Randy Stonehill, singer/songwriter, born in San Jose
• Syndicate of Sound, garage rock band formed in San Jose
• Traxamillion, rapper
• Xiu Xiu (band), avant-garde band formed in San Jose
• Yvette Young, singer/songwriter, guitarist/front-woman of Covet
• Kim Yubin, member of South Korean girl group Wonder Girls
• Quinn Godfrey, member of grunge rock band Heatmiser

Politicians, civil servants and activists

• César Chávez, American labor leader and civil rights activist
• C. C. Cottrell, 1933 to 1939 California State Assembly member
• Nathan Damigo, founder of Identity Evropa an American neo-Nazi and white supremacist organization^{[citation needed]}, grew up in San Jose.^[30]
• Don Edwards, U.S. Representative from California 1963–1995, born in San Jose
• Thomas Fallon, soldier, Mayor of San Jose
• Ron Gonzales, Mayor of Sunnyvale, Mayor of San Jose
• Mike Honda, U.S. Representative
• Sherman Otis Houghton, Mayor of San Jose, U.S. Representative
• Norman Mineta, Mayor of San Jose, United States Secretary of Transportation, United States Secretary of Commerce, born in San Jose
• James F. Reed, organizer of the Donner Party, businessman and soldier
• Michael A. Rice, biologist and Rhode Island politician, born in San Jose
• Iola Williams, politician and civil rights activist, first African-American to serve on San Jose City Council (1979–1991), Vice Mayor of San Jose for two terms^[31][32]

Scientists

• Edgar F. Codd, computer scientist
• Dian Fossey, primatologist, SJSU graduate
• Dudley R. Herschbach, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, born in San Jose
• Michio Kaku, physicist, born in San Jose

Writers

• Reza Aslan, Iranian-American author, religious studies scholar, producer, and television host; attended Del Mar High School (class of 1990)
• Tad Williams, author of the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series.
• Raymond Carver, American short story writer and poet
• Carolyn Cassady, author of the Beat Generation, lived in San Jose^[33]
• Neal Cassady, author of the Beat Generation, Merry Pranksters member, inspiration for character Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's novel On The Road, lived in San Jose^[33]
• Howard Dully, author, My Lobotomy
• Kate Elliott, novelist
• Khaled Hosseini, best-selling novelist, author of The Kite Runner, lived in San Jose
• Wayne Koestenbaum, artist, poet, and cultural critic
• William Lewis Manly, pioneer, hero, banker, and author of Death Valley in '49
• Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Sympathizer, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction; attended Bellarmine College Preparatory^[34]
• James Wesley Rawles, novelist
• Al Ruffo, Mayor of San Jose
• Kay Ryan, poet, former Poet Laureate of the United States, born in San Jose
• Amy Tan, best-selling novelist, author of The Joy Luck Club
• Louis Theroux, English documentary filmmaker, journalist and broadcaster
• Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, author of the memoirs Farewell to Manzanar, attended high school and college in San Jose

Journalists

• Francis B. Murdoch, founder and publisher of the San Jose Weekly Telegraph (1853–1860) and the San Jose Weekly Patriot (1863–1875)^[35]
• Vicky Nguyen, NBC News anchor

Other

• Isai Alvarado, professional video game player, Super Smash Bros. player^[36]
• Susan Atkins, convicted murderer, Manson Family member
• Joey Chestnut, competitive eater
• Jason Dahl, captain of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, born in San Jose
• David Marius Guardino, psychic
• Henry Morris Naglee, U.S. Civil War general and served in the Mexican–American War
• Matt Stonie, competitive eater, born in San Jose
• Raika, hot dog smile
• Rick Warren, Baptist evangelical Christian pastor and author
• Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester Rifle Company, occultist, architect to the Winchester Mystery House, lived in San Jose