NJ is the center of the entertainment universe.

"There are a lot of jokes about Jersey but it really is a great place. It's a very diverse state...
To put it in perspective, Jersey is the perfect scarecrow. People see the turnpike and think, 'oh what a mess.'
But five minutes from there you'll find a great lake, great scenery. I like that people think it's a mess,
then there's less people there and it's better for me." - John Stewart

Email us!
Send us your updates of other famous New Jerseyites.
The criteria for inclusion is that the person was either born
in NJ or spent a good deal of their formative years there.

actresses:


Susan Sarandon - Edison, NJ.
Janeane Garafalo - Newton, New Jersey.
Meryl Streep - Summit, New Jersey.
Hope Davis (Mumford, Arlington Road) - Tenafly, NJ.
Christina Ricci - Montclair, NJ.
Hallie Eisenberg (little girl from the Pepsi ads) - East Brunswick, NJ.
Mira Sorvino - Tenafly, NJ.
Linda Hunt (Year of Living Dangerously, "The Practice") - Morristown, NJ.
Joanna Cassidy (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Blade Runner) - Camden, NJ.
Eva Marie Saint (On the Waterfront, North by Northwest) - Newark, NJ.
Tea Leone (Deep Impact) - Tenafly, NJ.
Laura Prepon ("That 70's Show") - Watchung, NJ.
Tara Reid (American Pie) - Wyckoff, NJ.
Calista Flockhart ("Ally McBeal") - Medford, New Jersey. Rutgers alum.
Kirsten Dunst - Point Pleasant, NJ.
Laura San Giacomo ("Just Shoot Me") - Hoboken, NJ.
Sandra Dee - Bayonne, NJ.
Brittany Murphy (Clueless) - Edison, NJ.
Jennifer Milmore ("Jesse") - Rumson, NJ.
Elizabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas) - South Orange, NJ.

actors:


Jack Nicholson - Neptune, NJ.
Jason Alexander ("Seinfeld") - Livingston, NJ.
John Lithgow ("Third Rock from the Sun") - Princeton, NJ.
Joe Pesci - Newark, NJ.
Bruce Willis - Penn's Grove, NJ.
Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) - Union, NJ.
Tom Cruise - Glen Ridge, NJ.
Jerry Lewis - Newark, NJ.
Danny Devito - Neptune, NJ.
James Gandolfini ("The Sopranos") - Westwood, NJ. Rutgers alum.
Kevin Spacey - South Orange, NJ.
Flip Wilson - Jersey City, NJ.
Joe Piscipo ("Saturday Night Live") - Passaic, NJ.
John Travolta - Englewood, NJ.
Christopher Reeve - Princeton, NJ.
Ed Harris (Glengarry Glenn Ross) - Englewood, NJ.
Savion Glover ("Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk") - Newark, NJ.
Paul Robeson (also singer and activist) - Somerville, NJ. Rutgers alum.
Jay Mohr (Jerry Maguire) - Verona, NJ.
Ozzie Nelson - Jersey City, NJ.
Lee Van Cleef (the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly) - Somerville, NJ.
John Stewart ("the Daily Show") - Lawrence, NJ.
Abbot and Costello - Asbury Park, NJ and Paterson, NJ.
Avery Brooks ("Star Trek: Deep Space Nine")Rutgers alum.
Jason Biggs (American Pie) - Pompton Plains, NJ.
James Urbaniak (Henry Fool)
Michael Douglas - New Brunswick, NJ.
Nathan Lane (Birdcage) - Jersey City, NJ.
Roy Scheider (Jaws) - Orange, NJ.
Ethan Hawke - Princeton, NJ.
Andrew Shue ("Melrose Place") - South Orange, NJ.
Robert Blake ("Beretta") - Nutley, NJ.
Mel Ferrer (the Sun also Rises, War and Peace) - Elberon, NJ.
Ernie Kovacs (comedian) - Trenton, NJ.
Artie Lange ("Norm")
Samm Levine ("Freaks and Geeks")
Frankie Muniz ("Malcolm in the Middle") - Woodridge, NJ.
Brian Keith ("Family Affair," "Hardcastle & McCormick") - Bayonne, NJ.
Frank Langella (new Lolita, Eddie) - Bayonne, NJ.

musicians


George Clinton (P-Funk) - Plainfield, NJ.
Bruce Springsteen - Freehold, NJ.
Kool and the Gang - Jersey City, NJ.
Frank Sinatra - Hoboken, NJ.
Debbie Harry (Blondie) - Hawthorne, NJ.
Lauryn Hill - East Orange, NJ.
Sarah Vaughn (jazz singer) - Newark, NJ.
Connie Francis - Newark, NJ.
Cissy Houston (gospel singer) - Newark, NJ.
Whitney Houston - Newark, NJ.
Ricky Nelson - Teaneck, NJ.
Ice T - Newark, NJ.
Patti Smith - Woodbury, NJ.
DeLeo Brothers (Stone Temple Pilots)
Jon Bongiovi - Sayreville, NJ.
Leslie Gore - Tenafly, NJ.
Monster Magnet - Red Bank, NJ.
Vitamin C - Old Bridge, NJ.
Joe Walsh (Eagles) - Montclair, NJ.
Redman - Newark, NJ.
Gloria Gaynor (disco singer) - Newark, NJ.
Max Weinberg ("Conan O'Brien Show," E Street Band) - Newark, NJ. Resides in Middletown, NJ.
Little Steven Van Zandt ("the Sopranos," E Street Band)
Joe Pass (jazz guitarist) - New Brunswick, NJ.
Count Basie - Red Bank, NJ.
the Misfits - Lodi, NJ.
Wayne Shorter (jazz saxophonist) - Newark, NJ.
Queen Latifah - East Orange, NJ.
Naughty by Nature - East Orange, NJ.
Al DiMeola (jazz guitarist) - Jersey City, NJ.
Danzig - Lodi, NJ.
the Fugees - East Orange, NJ.
the Smithereens - New Brunswick, NJ.
Bouncing Souls - New Brunswick, NJ.
Frankie Valli - Newark, NJ.
Eddie Rabbitt (country singer) - East Orange, NJ.
Skid Row - Tom's River, NJ.
Dramarama - Wayne, NJ.
1/4 of Fountains of Wayne - Montclair, NJ.
Yo La Tengo - Hoboken, NJ.
Dionne Warwick - East Orange, NJ.
Mary Chapin Carpenter (country singer) - Princeton, NJ.
Clint Black (country singer) - Long Branch, NJ.
Blues Traveler - met in high school in Princeton, NJ.
Paul Simon - Newark, NJ.
Rah Digga (rapper) - Newark, NJ.

filmmakers


Todd Solondz (Happiness, Welcome to the Dollhouse)
Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy) - Highlands, NJ.
David Chase (creator of "the Sopranos")
Brian DePalma (Carrie, Mission:Impossible) - Newark, NJ.
James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, producer of "the Simpsons") - North Bergen, NJ.

literary types


Amiri Baraka (poet) - Newark, NJ.
Norman Mailer (author, the Naked and the Dead)- Long Branch, NJ.
Dorothy Parker (author) - West End, NJ. Self composed epitaph: "Excuse my dust."
Judy Blume (children's author, Ramona Quimby, Age 8) - Elizabeth, NJ.
Edmund Wilson (literary critic) - Red Bank, NJ.
William Carlos Williams (poet) - Rutherford, NJ.
Stephen Crane (author, Red Badge of Courage) - Newark, NJ.
James Fenimore Cooper (author, Last of the Mohicans) - Burlington City, NJ.
Philip Roth (author, Portnoy's Complaint) - Newark, NJ.
Allen Ginsburg (beat poet) - Paterson, NJ.
Anna Quindlan (author) - Hoboken, NJ.
Charles Addams (cartoonist) Westfield, NJ.

miscellaneous


Daisy Fuentes (MTV VJ) - Newark, NJ.
Buzz Aldrin (Appollo 11 astronaut made lunar landing) - Montclair, NJ.
Alexei Lalas (professional soccer player)
Alfred Kinsey (sexologist) - Hoboken, NJ.
Michael Chang (professional tennis player) - Hoboken, NJ.
Bill Parcells (football coach, Jets & Giants) - Oradell, NJ.
Martha Stewart - Nutley, NJ.
Saul Zaentz (producer, English Patient) - Passaic, NJ.
David Copperfield (magician) - Metuchen, NJ.

politicians


Grover Cleveland (president) - Caldwell, NJ.
David Dinkins (mayor of NYC) - Trenton, NJ.
William Brennan (supreme court justice) - Newark, NJ.

pro wrestlers


King Kong Bundy - Atlantic City, NJ.
Bam Bam Bigelow - Mt. Laurel, NJ.
'Diamond' Dallas Page - Point Pleasant Beach, NJ.