The following are people who were either born/raised or have lived for a significant period of time in Missouri.
Military/War
Public Office
- Thomas Hart Benton (1782-1858), U.S. Senator
- Bill Bradley (1943-), U.S. Senator, Basketball Hall of Famer
- Budd Dwyer (1939-1987), politician
- J. William Fulbright (1905-1995), U.S. Senator, established the Fulbright Fellowships
- Richard Gephardt (1941-), Democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives
- Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), General of the Union Army, 18th President of the United States
- Nellie Tayloe Ross (1876-1977), first female governor of a U.S. State
- Harry S. Truman, (1884-1972), 33rd President of the United States
Entertainment
Film/Theater
- Robert Altman (1925-), film director
- Scott Bakula (1954-), actor
- Josephine Baker (1906-1975), dancer, singer, actress
- Wallace Beery (1885-1949)
- Linda Blair (1959-), actress, famous for her role in The Exorcist
- Robert Cummings (1908-1990), actor
- Don S. Davis (1942-), actor
- Walt Disney (1901-1966), film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor and animator
- John Goodman (1952-), actor
- Betty Grable (1916-1973), actress, singer and World War II pin-up girl
- Jean Harlow (1911-1937), actress and sex symbol
- John Huston (1906-1987), film director
- Andreas Katsulas (1946-), actor
- Kevin Kline (1947-), actor
- John Milius (1944-), screenwriter, director and producer
- Dan O'Bannon (1946-), film director
- Geraldine Page (1924-1987), Academy Award and Emmy Award winning actress
- Brad Pitt (1963-), actor (born in Oklahoma, but raised in Missouri)
- Vincent Price (1911-1993), actor
- Ginger Rogers (1911-1995), actress, dancer and partner with Fred Astaire
- Kathleen Turner (1954-), actress
- Dick Van Dyke (1925-), actor
- Dennis Weaver (1924-), actor
- Jane Wyman (1914-), actress, former wife of Ronald Reagan
Comedians
Music
- Burt Bacharach (1928-), pianist, composer
- Chuck Berry (1926-), rock musician
- Grace Bumbry (1937-), soprano
- Sarah Caldwell (1924-), opera conductor
- Sheryl Crow (1962-), singer-songwriter
- Eminem (1972-), rap musician
- Scott Joplin (1867-1917), ragtime musician and composer, (born in Texas but considered Sedalia, Missouri to be home base)
- Michael McDonald (1952-), singer, former Doobie Brothers frontman
- Pat Metheny (1954-), jazz guitarist and musician
- Charlie "Bird" Parker (1920-1955), jazz saxophonist and composer
- Basil Poledouris (1945-), film soundtrack composer
Television/Radio
Miss America/Miss USA
Athletics
- Henry Armstrong (1912-1988), boxer, (born in Mississippi but grew up in St. Louis)
- Yogi Berra (1925-), catcher and manager in Major League Baseball and an Aphorist
- Bill Bradley (1943-), Basketball Hall of Famer, U.S. Senator
- Harry Caray (1914-1998), baseball broadcaster
- Ben A. Jones (1882-1961), thoroughbred horse trainer
- Horace A. "Jimmy" Jones (1906-2001), thoroughbred horse trainer
- Casey Stengel (1890 or 1891-1975), Baseball Hall of Famer
- Payne Stewart (1957-1999), golfer
Business
Art/Literature/Journalism
- Maya Angelou (1928-), author and poet
- Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975), painter
- George A. Borgman 1928-), journalist and musician
- William S. Burroughs (1914-1997), author
- Samuel Clemens (1835-1910), "Mark Twain", humorist, writer and lecturer
- T. S. Eliot (1888-1965), poet, dramatist and literary critic
- Eugene Field (1850-1895), writer and poet
- William Least Heat-Moon (1940-), travel writer
- Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988), science fiction author
- Langston Hughes (1902-1967), African-American poet, novelist and playwright
- Dennis L. McKiernan (1932-), author
- Marianne Moore (1887-1972), poet and writer
- Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911), journalist (from Hungary), known for creating St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the prestigious Pulitzer Prize
- Charles Marion Russell (1864-1926), artist
- Sara Teasdale (1884-1933), poet
- Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), writer and author of the book Little House on the Prairie
- Tennessee Williams (1911-1983), playwright (born in Mississippi but grew up in St. Louis)
Science & Medicine
Aviation/Aeronautics
Infamous Missourians
Other
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