This is a list of people from Calderdale, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. This list includes people who pre-date the creation of Calderdale, from the towns of Brighouse, Elland, Halifax, Sowerby Bridge, Hebden Bridge, Todmorden, and the smaller villages that make up the borough. This list is arranged alphabetically by surname:
A
Dicken Ashworth, Todmorden-born actor
B
Tom Bailey (born 1954), singer, songwriter, composer and musician for the band The Thompson Twins was born in Halifax. Christopher Paul Baker (born 1955), award-winning travel writer, photographer, and adventure motorcyclist from Brighouse; currently living in Palm Springs, California Paul Barker (writer) (1935–2019), journalist and writer, grew up in Mytholmroyd and Hebden Bridge Antony Booth (1931–2017), actor and father of Cherie Blair; married to Stephanie Booth, a politician local to Calderdale; lived in Todmorden
C
Anita Carey (1948–2023), actress, born in Halifax and raised in Brighouse
Chipps Chippendale (born 1968), mountain biking journalist from Todmorden
Keith Clifford (born 1938), actor, born in Halifax
Dario Coates (born 1992), actor from Hebden Bridge
Prof. Sir John Cockcroft (1897–1967), Todmorden-born scientist who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1951 Hannah Cockroft (born 1992), wheelchair racer, born in Halifax Neil Cowie (born 1967), Rugby League player for Wigan, Wales and Great Britain from Todmorden Brian Crabtree, wrestler and referee from Halifax Max Crabtree (1933–2023), wrestler and promoter, born in Halifax Shirley Crabtree (1930–1997), wrestler, born in Halifax Charles Crossland (1844–1916), mycologist, born in Halifax Roy Crossley (1923–2003), footballer, born in Hebden Bridge Russell Crossley (1927–2018), English footballer, born in Hebden Bridge
D
Divina de Campo, a British drag queen and singer best known for appearing on the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, born in Brighouse Joe Duttine (born 1970), actor, born in Halifax.
E
Avril Elgar (1932–2021), actress, born in Halifax. Keith Emerson (1944–2016), pianist, founder and member of The Nice and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, born in Todmorden
F
Oliver Farnworth (born 1982), actor from Hebden Bridge
Kenneth Fiddling (1917–1992), English cricketer born in Hebden Bridge
John Fielden (1784–1849), land and factory owner in Todmorden; Member of Parliament; national leader of the Ten Hours Campaign for factory reform; scion of the Fielden family Samuel Fielden, (1847–1922), socialist, anarchist, lay pastor and labour activist who was one of eight convicted in the 1886 Haymarket bombing in Chicago. Born in Todmorden. Adam Fogerty (born 1969), actor, boxer, and rugby league player, born in Halifax John Foster (1770–1843), English Baptist minister and essayist born in Halifax
H
Jessica Harris (born 1981), actress from Hebden Bridge
Eric Harrison (1938–2019), Mytholmroyd-born football coach for the Manchester United youth team during the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson John Helliwell (born 1945), Todmorden-born musician of the band Supertramp Dale Hibbert, original bass player with The Smiths and author, born in Todmorden Ursula Holden-Gill (born 1974), TV actress (Emmerdale, Holby City, Teachers, The Bill) William Holt (1897–1977), Todmorden-born writer, painter, political activist, journalist and traveller Ted Hughes (1930–1998), Poet Laureate, born in Mytholmroyd Neil Hurst (born 1982), actor and comedian from Halifax
I
Barrie Ingham (1932–2023), actor, born in Halifax
Sir Bernard Ingham (1932–2023), journalist and civil servant, born in Halifax
Innes Ireland (1930–1993), Formula One racing driver (1960s and 1970s), born in Mytholmroyd
J
Jollyboat, musical comedy double-act, of Todmorden brothers Tommy and Ed Croft
Wilfred Judson (1902–1980), former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, born in Todmorden
K
Jason Kay, singer from the band Jamiroquai, owns a 'country retreat' (actually a small terraced house) in Todmorden John Kettley (born 1952), BBC weatherman, from Todmorden Julie Kirkbride (born 1960), Member of Parliament for Bromsgrove from 1997 to 2010