The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Joliet, Illinois. For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Joliet, Illinois.
Acting
John Barrowman (born 1967), actor (Doctor Who, Torchwood) Nora Bayes (1880–1928), actress, singer, and comedian John Beck (born 1943), actor (The Other Side of Midnight, Rollerball) Jodi Carlisle (born 1960), actress (The Wild Thornberrys) Tyler Christopher (born 1972), actor (General Hospital) JoAnn Dean Killingsworth (1923–2015), actress and dancer, first person to play Snow White at Disneyland Andy Dick (born 1965), comedian, actor, musician and producer (NewsRadio) Janina Gavankar (born 1980), actress, musician (True Blood) Kathryn Hays (born 1933), actress (As the World Turns) Mercedes McCambridge (1916–2004), actress; 1949 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (All the King's Men, Giant) Melissa McCarthy (born 1970), actress and comedian (Mike & Molly, Bridesmaids) Nick Offerman (born 1970), actor, comedian, and carpenter (Parks and Recreation) Larry Parks (1914–1975), stage and film actor (The Jolson Story) Anthony Rapp (born 1971), stage and film actor and singer (Rent) Lynne Thigpen (1948–2003), Tony Award-winning stage, film and TV actress (Carmen Sandiego, The Paper, Godspell) Audrey Totter (1917–2013), actress (Lady in the Lake, Our Man Higgins) Vince Vieluf (born 1970), actor (Rat Race)
Academics, arts, and writing
Ann Bannon (born 1932), pulp fiction writer
William Lincoln Bakewell (1888–1969), able seaman on Shackleton Antarctic expedition Thomas Bojeski (1946–1974), notable poet writing under the name of Thomas James Charles Bowden (1945–2014), educator and writer Robert Todd Carroll (1945–2016), publisher of The Skeptic's Dictionary and fellow of Committee for Skeptical Inquiry James Downey (born 1952), head writer for Saturday Night Live Wendy Anderson Halperin, children's book illustrator and writer John Houbolt (1919–2014), aerospace engineer Mort Kondracke (born 1939), political commentator and journalist Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (born 1933), children's and young adult fiction author Robert Novak (1931–2009), syndicated columnist, author, conservative political commentator Adam Rapp (born 1968), novelist, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker and musician Johan Reinhard (born 1943), anthropologist, archaeologist James J. Stukel (born 1937), 15th President of the University of Illinois (born in Joliet) Edwin Way Teale (1899–1980), naturalist, photographer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Adele Fay Williams (1859–1937), artist and newspaper writer, born in Joliet
Business
John D. Goeken (1930–2010), founder of MCI Inc. and Airfone
John Fremont McCullough (1871–1963), co-founder of Dairy Queen; opened first store in Joliet in 1940 William Cornelius Van Horne (1843–1915), pioneering Canadian railway executive Mike Wolfe (born 1964), owner of Antique Archaeology; cast member of American Pickers
Crime
Milton Johnson (born 1950), serial killer
Military
Joseph F. Ambrose (1896–1988), World War I veteran
Earl N. Franklin (1917–2003), colonel of the United States Air Force and Tuskegee Airman Frank Perconte (1917–2003), D-Day veteran, member of Easy Company, 506th parachute infantry regiment, and portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by James Madio.
Modeling
Adrianne Curry (born 1982), model, best known as the first winner of America's Next Top Model Lois Delander (1911–1985), Miss America 1927