The following is a list of notable people from Union City, New Jersey. (B) denotes that the person was born there, though births prior to 1925 would have been in West Hoboken or Union Hill which merged in 1925 to form Union City, as noted in some of these entries.
Helen Castillo, fashion designer known as one of the cast members on season 12 of the reality television series Project Runway. Castillo was born and raised in Weehawken before later moving to Union City[15]
Frank Haubold (1906–1985), Olympic gymnast who won a silver and gold medal in the 1928 Summer Olympics,[41] and who, with his wife, Irma, were the first married couple to compete in the Olympics[42]
Irma Haubold (1908–1996), Olympic gymnast who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics,[43] and who, with and her husband, Frank, were the first married couple to compete in the Olympics[42](B)
Luigi Lucioni (1900–1988), painter known for his realistic and precisely-drawn still lifes, landscapes, and portraits. Lucioni's family emigrated from Malnate, Italy in 1911 to New York City, and after moving several more times, settled in 1929 at 403 New York Avenue in Union City[62]
Luis Moro (born 1964), actor, filmmaker and writer, best known for his history making-film Love and Suicide, which made him the first American to break the embargo on Cuba to film a feature there[78]
William Musto (1917–2006), Mayor of Union City from 1962 to 1970 and from 1974 to 1982[79]
Nick Piantanida (1932–1966), amateur skydiver who died four months after barely surviving a fall from 57,000 feet, in an unsuccessful attempt to break the world parachute jump record[88][89]
Esther Salas (born 1968), first Hispanic woman to serve as a United States magistrate judge in the District of New Jersey, and the first Hispanic woman to be appointed a U.S. District Court judge in New Jersey[97]
^"Colts Sign Bansavage For 1960", The Evening Sun, May 12, 1960. Accessed January 20, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The Colts today came up with an added starter when Al Bansavage, Southern California guard, signed for the coming National Football League season. Bansavage, who migrated from coast to coast to play college ball (he hails from Union City. N. J.), gave up his final year of eligibility with the Trojans to try his luck with the world champions."
^Dell, John. "Fred Barakat retires from ACC position", Winston-Salem Journal, March 3, 2007. Accessed August 20, 2015. "Barakat grew up in Union City, N.J., and said he had no clue about the ACC until he enrolled at Assumption College in Worcester, Mass."
^ abHalasz, Piri. "Art: Maritime Theme at Exhibitions; Appeal of Nostalgia History and Humor Portraits of Vessels", The New York Times, January 21, 1973. "James Butterworth (1817–1894), whose work is on view in Trenton, was an Englishman born on the Isle of Wight. By the time he emigrated and settles in West Hoboken (now Union City), America was in the heyday of its gallant clipper ships."
^Garcia, Julian. "Planinic Will Stay Extra Year In N.J.", New York Daily News, November 1, 2005. Accessed August 23, 2017. "Assistant coach Gordon Chiesa, the most experienced member of Frank's staff, resigned unexpectedly yesterday, citing family issues. Chiesa, a former coach at Manhattan and a native of Union City, N.J., was hired in June to replace Brian Hill, who left to become head coach in Orlando."
^Bernstein, Jason. "Hallice Cooke of St. Anthony commits to Oregon State", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 10, 2012. Accessed August 23, 2017. "Hallice Cooke of St. Anthony has made a verbal commitment to Oregon State University.... 'It’s a great environment there in Corvallis, OR, way different from being in the city,' said Cooke, a Union City native."
^Sullivan, Joseph F. "Politics; '87 Fallout Is Seen For Municipal Elections", The New York Times, May 11, 1986. Accessed January 20, 2022. "Mr. Kean also visited Union City to lend his support to the Alliance Civic Association ticket in the City Commission elections. Assemblyman Ronald Dario, Republican of the 33d District (part of Hudson County), is on the slate."
^Kaufman, Michael T."American Mystery Series For Canadian TV A Hit", The New York Times, May 21, 1984. Accessed October 1, 2016. "After trying almost everything, from producing cut-rate kitsch to arcane documentaries, the national network has stumbled onto a remarkable method: It has given a free hand to Louis Del Grande, a refugee from both Union City, N.J., and Hollywood, enabling him to produce, write and star in a sophisticated comic mystery series that not only is a hit in Canada but has been sold to the Public Broadcasting Service and has a growing cult following in the United States."
^Severo, Richard. "Pietro di Donato Is Dead at 80; Wrote of Immigrants' Experience", The New York Times, January 21, 1992. Accessed August 29, 2018. "Mr. di Donato was born on April 3, 1911, in West Hoboken, N.J. His family had immigrated to the United States from Vasto, in the Abruzzi region of Italy."
^"Gary Thomas Erbe", askART. Accessed November 24, 2018. "Gary Erbe, a self-taught painter was born in 1944 in Union City, New Jersey where he maintained his studio from 1972-2006."
^Schapiro, Sara. "Remembering Rav Shlomo Goldman zt”l, Sanz-Zvhiller Rebbe of Union City", The Jewish Link,August 3, 2017. Accessed January 10, 2022. "Rav Shlomo Goldman, the Sanz-Zvhiller Rebbe, of Union City, New Jersey, passed away on July 21.... He served as the head of the kollel in Kiryat Sanz until 1971, when his father-in-law appointed him to be the leader of the recently established community in Union City."
^Tannenbaum, Rabbi Gershon. "My Machberes"[permanent dead link], The Jewish Press, January 3, 2008. Accessed July 1, 2008. "The current Zvhiler Rebbe is a son-in-law of Rabbi Yekusiel Yehuda Halberstam, zt"l (1904–1994), Klausenberg Rebbe and founder of the Union City community."
^ abFrank, Dan (Director); Deneau, Jeremy (Writer, narrator) (August 10, 2012). Frank & Chip: The Olympic Experience (Film). United States: Upward Rising Development. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014.
^"Legends profile: Tom Heinsohn", NBA.com, September 13, 2021. Accessed December 20, 2023. "Born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, just across the river from New York City, Heinsohn attended Saint Paul of the Cross school through the fifth grade. Then his family moved to nearby Union City, New Jersey, and he was introduced to basketball while attending sixth grade at Saint Joseph’s."
^"Alfred Jochim, 77; was Olympic medalist", Herald News, March 19, 1980. Accessed November 13, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "Funeral services will be Friday for Alfred A. Jochim, 77. who died Monday at Holy Name Hospital, Teaneck. Mr. Jochim was born in Germany and came to this country in 1905. He lived in Union City and Hackensack before moving to Lodi 11 years moving ago."
^Vargas, Elizabeth; Gerdau, Richard; Mendelsohn, Michael; and Miller, Susan. "Searching For Tony", ABC News, January 12, 2007. Accessed August 23, 2017. "The story that captivated millions of readers and viewers across the country began in Union City, New Jersey. Tony lived, the story goes, in Union City with Vicki Johnson, a social worker who had adopted him."
^McClay, Wilfred M."George Keller: Intellectual Whirlwind", The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 23, 2007. Accessed January 10, 2022. "The son of a Latvian father and south-German mother, born in 1928 in working-class Union City, N.J., his life would be changed forever by his encounter with Columbia University and the likes of Jacques Barzun and Lionel Trilling, first as a student and later as a colleague and assistant dean."
^"Your Name in Stickup Light Bulbs!", New York Magazine. Accessed February 19, 2018. "Khubani inherited his peculiar acumen from his father, an Indian immigrant and serial entrepreneur who made enough money importing Japanese-made pocket radios—an inexpensive, sixties precursor to the Walkman—to move his family from a third-floor walk-up in Union City to a modest house in Lincoln Park, New Jersey."
^Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, Volume 201, Part 1, p. 273. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1984. Accessed August 15, 20,19. "Nicholas J. LaRocca, Dem. Union City - Assemblyman LaRocca is one of the few legislators in the state's history who have moved from the Senate to the Assembly."
^"A.J. Lee". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
^"Miss April". G.L.O.R.Y. Wrestling. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
^Lila Lee, Hollywood Walk of Fame. Accessed January 10, 2022. "Lila Lee was born Augusta Wilhelmena Fredericka Appel in Union Hill, New Jersey into a middle-class family of German immigrants who relocated to New York City when Lila was quite young."
^"Hook'd On Hits". BBC. January 10, 2007. Accessed July 1, 2008. "Dennis Locorriere was born on June 13, 1949 in Union City, New Jersey."
^Embury, Stuart P. (2006). "Chapter One: The Early Years". The Art and Life of Luigi Lucioni. Embury Publishing Company. pp. 1–4.
^"Obituary of John W. Markert", The Star-Ledger, June 5, 2011. Accessed January 10, 2022. "Born in Union City, N.J., Mr. Markert graduated from Union Hill High School, Union City, and the RCA Institute of Technology in New York City."
^Pena, Stacy. "Alicia Menendez". Girls Leadership Institute. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
^Senator Bob Menendez biography, United States Senate. Accessed August 23, 2017. "Senator Bob Menendez’s story is a quintessential American story. He grew up the son of Cuban immigrants in a tenement building in Union City and has risen to become one of 100 United States Senators."
^Slotnik, Daniel E. "Cliff Osmond, Prolific Character Actor, Dies at 75", The New York Times, December 27, 2012. Accessed October 1, 2016. "Clifford Osman Ebrahim was born on Feb. 26, 1937, in Jersey City (adapting his middle name as his professional name). He grew up in Union City, N.J., and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1959."
^Ranney, William Tylee, The Handbook of Texas. Accessed October 23, 2015. "by 1853 he and his family had settled in West Hoboken, New Jersey, where a number of other artists lived. There he built a large studio to accommodate the many artifacts-buckskin costumes, guns, riding gear-that he had brought back from the West."
^Maurer, Mark. "Dan Resin, at 79; 'Caddyshack' actor did TV commercials", The Jersey Journal, August 3, 2010, p. 24. Accessed October 1, 2016. "Shortly after attending Indiana University and Columbia University, Resin moved to Hudson County and lived in Union City, Weehawken, and eventually Secaucus."
^"Biography", Renoly Santiago – Official Website. Accessed February 11, 2014.
^Rosero, Jessica. "Union City's very own Puccini Hoboken conductor brings life to late Italian composer"Archived November 14, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, The Hudson Reporter, April 25, 2004. Accessed November 13, 2017. "It was almost 15 years ago that Hoboken composer/conductor Joel Suben first came upon the work of classical composer Anthony Louis Scarmolin, who was born in Italy and had spent most of his life in Union City.... This mysterious composer's collection of Italian operas and avant garde symphonies would be unfamiliar to much of the public because for years Scarmolin had dedicated himself to composing '"marketable music' and serving as band and orchestra director for Emerson High School."
^Fred Shabel, UConn Hoop Legends. Accessed August 12, 2020. "Fred went to Union Hill High School in Union City, New Jersey, and played on the basketball team with other future New England great players Togo Palazzi and Tommy Heinsohn from Holy Cross University, and Billy Baird who played at the University of Rhode Island."
^Moses, Claire. "Hudson teen in Broadway cast of 'Bye Bye Birdie', The Jersey Journal, October 15, 2009. Accessed August 23, 2017. "Although originally Strong, who lives in Union City with her mother Patricia Trujillo and her dog Magic, wanted to be a veterinarian, it didn't take her long to realize that performing was her calling."
^Horner, Shirley. "About Books", The New York Times, October 29, 1989. Accessed June 7, 2015. "Although Mr. Witcover is a native of Union City and the explosion occurred just six miles away from where he was raised, he said in an interview that he had never heard the incident mentioned in elementary school or high school."
