List of people from Alaska

Flag of Alaska

Location of Alaska in the United States

Artis the Spoonman

Rex Beach

Carlos Boozer

Susan Butcher

Mario Chalmers

Robert Crawford

Jimmy Doolittle

William Duncan

Wyatt Earp

Mike Gravel

Ernest Gruening

Wally Hickel

Robin Hobb

Sheldon Jackson

Kevin Johansen

Levi Johnston

Joseph Juneau

Gunnar Kaasen

Jewel Kilcher

Sydney Laurence

Lance Mackey

Holly Madison

Ray Mala

Andre Marrou

Drew Meekins

Tommy Moe

Lisa Murkowski

William Oefelein

Bristol Palin

Sarah Palin

Peter the Aleut

Valerie Plame

Amerie Rogers

Larry Sanger

Curt Schilling

Mark Schlereth

Molly Smith

Soapy Smith

Steve Smith

Ted Stevens

Robert Stroud

Nate Thompson

Archie Van Winkle

This is a list of notable people from Alaska. This list includes individuals who were born in Alaska, grew up there, retired there, or in any other fashion lived there even if for only a brief period of time (such as infancy, during one or more of the many gold rushes during the late 19th century and early 20th century, or as a result of rapid military influx and outflux from 1940 onward).

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

• Key to table entries:
  • Name
  • Year born
  • Year died
  • Communities lived in in Alaska
  • Noted for

A

John Luther Adams	1953	living	Fairbanks	classical music composer
Syun-Ichi Akasofu	1930	living	Fairbanks	geophysicist, aurora researcher, recently a participant in climate change debate
Christian Allen	1976	living	Eagle River	video game designer
Alvin Eli Amason	1948	living	Fairbanks, Kodiak	painter, sculptor
Artis the Spoonman	1948	living	Kodiak	street musician, subject of the song by Soundgarden
Peter J. Aschenbrenner	1948	living	Fairbanks	author self-help legal books
Lena Atti	1926	2020	Kwigillingok	artist expert at traditional grass weaving

C

Marian Call	1982	living	Anchorage, Juneau	singer-songwriter
Matt Carle	1984	living	Anchorage	NHL hockey player
Chad Carpenter		living	Eagle River, Wasilla	cartoonist, creator of Tundra
William F. Cassidy	1908	2002	Nome	U.S. Army lieutenant general
Shawn Chacón	1977	living	Anchorage	Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher
Mario Chalmers	1986	living	Anchorage	Miami Heat point guard who won the 2011 3-point contest
Valentina Chepiga	1962	living	Anchorage	IFBB professional bodybuilder
Quinn Christopherson		living	Anchorage	singer-songwriter
Callan Chythlook-Sifsof	1989	living	Aleknagik, Girdwood	snowboarder, 2010 Olympics team member, Alaska Native activist
Corey Cogdell	1986	living	Anchorage	trapshooter, two-time Olympic bronze medal winner in the Women's Trap
Daryn Colledge	1982	living	North Pole	Miami Dolphins football player
Ty Conklin	1976	living	Anchorage	former professional hockey player
Robert Crawford	1899	1961	Fairbanks	early singer-songwriter, composer of "The U.S. Air Force"
Aaron Cunningham	1986	living	Anchorage	San Diego Padres outfielder

D

Nora Marks Dauenhauer	1927	2017	Juneau	writer
T. Neil Davis	1932	2016	Fairbanks, North Pole	geophysicist, writer
Dale DeArmond	1914	2006	Juneau, Ketchikan, Pelican, Sitka	printmaker
R. N. DeArmond	1911	2010	Juneau, Ketchikan, Pelican, Sitka	historian, journalist, writer
Mahala Ashley Dickerson	1912	2007	Anchorage, Wasilla	lawyer, civil rights activist, mother of bodybuilder Chris Dickerson
Traci Dinwiddie	1973	living	Anchorage	actress
Buckwheat Donahue	1951	2019	Nome	folklorist
Jimmy Doolittle	1896	1993	Nome	World War II general and hero
Brandon Dubinsky	1986	living	Anchorage	professional ice hockey player
William Duncan	1832	1918	Metlakatla	Anglican lay missionary, brought a group of Tsimshian Indians from Canada to Annette Island, founding Metlakatla

E

Kate Earl	1981	living	Anchorage, Chugiak	singer-songwriter
Carl Ben Eielson	1897	1929	Fairbanks	pioneering aviator

F

Dana Fabe	1951	living	Anchorage	first female associate justice of the Alaska Supreme Court
Claire Fejes	1920	1998	Fairbanks	artist, writer
Corey Flintoff	1946	living	Fairbanks	National Public Radio correspondent

G

Vivica Genaux	1969	living	Fairbanks	opera singer
Ray Genet	1931	1979	Talkeetna	mountaineer, guide
Scott Gomez	1979	living	Anchorage	Florida Panthers hockey player
Katherine Gottlieb	ca. 1952	living	Anchorage, Old Harbor, Seldovia	president of Southcentral Foundation, MacArthur Fellow
John Gourley	1981	living	Willow	musician, lead singer of Portugal. The Man
Mike Gravel	1930	2021	Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula	U.S. Senator of Pentagon Papers fame
Kelsey Griffin	1987	living	Eagle River	basketball player for multiple teams in both the WNBA and Australian WNBL; also played for the Australia national team
Max Gruenberg	1943	2016	Juneau	member of the Alaska House of Representatives	Ernest Gruening	2009	width="60pt"	Cordova	professional snowboarder, wrestler H John Haines 1924 2011 Big Delta, Fairbanks poet, former Alaska poet laureate Benjamin Haldane 1874 1941 Metlakatla photographer Travis Hall 1972 living Soldotna San Francisco 49ers football player Walter Harper 1892 1918 Tanana made the first recorded ascent of Denali Richard Harris 1833 1907 Juneau gold prospector, co-founder of Juneau Ernestine Hayes 1945 living Juneau writer Ruthy Hebard 1998 living Fairbanks WNBA basketball player with the Chicago Sky Willie Hensley 1941 living Kotzebue, Anchorage advocate for Alaska Native rights Herman of Alaska 1756 1837 Kodiak Island Orthodox saint C. "Rusty" Heurlin 1895 1986 Barrow, Ester, Valdez painter Wally Hickel 1919 2010 Anchorage industrialist, twice governor, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Robin Hobb 1952 living Kodiak fantasy fiction writer Sam Hoger 1980 living Eagle River mixed martial artist Anna Kathryn Holbrook 1956 living Fairbanks television actress Sven Holmberg 1918 2003 Fairbanks film and television actor Rick Holmstrom 1965 living Fairbanks blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Steve Holt living Kenai guitarist and backing vocalist for 36 Crazyfists I J Sheldon Jackson 1834 1909 Sitka pioneering Presbyterian missionary, educator, reindeer herder Lydia Jacoby 2004 living Anchorage, Seward swimmer, 2020 Summer Olympics team member Kevin Johansen 1964 living Fairbanks Latin rock musician Michelle Johnson 1965 living Anchorage actress Levi Johnston 1990 living Wasilla former partner of Bristol Palin and celebrity news personality Jennifer Jolly 1971 living Kenai consumer technology journalist and TV broadcaster Marie Smith Jones 1918 2008 Anchorage, Cordova last speaker of the Eyak language James Johnson Jensen 2009 living Anchorage, cordova Famous basketball player, gamer for twitch Joseph Juneau 1836 1899 Juneau gold prospector, co-founder and namesake of Juneau K Gunnar Kaasen 1882 1960 Nome sled dog racer Peter Kalifornsky 1911 1993 Kenai Peninsula ethnographer, writer Seth Kantner living Kobuk Valley, Kotzebue writer Joan Arend Kickbush 1926 2006 Anchorage painter Jewel Kilcher 1974 living Homer singer-songwriter, actress Jeff King 1956 living McKinley Park sled dog racer Sara King 1982 living Fairbanks writer Tyler Kornfield 1991 living Anchorage Olympic cross-country skier Michael E. Krauss 1934 2019 Fairbanks linguist Chris Kuper 1982 living Anchorage Denver Broncos offensive guard Natalie Kusz 1962 living memoirist Randy Kutcher 1960 living Anchorage major league baseball outfielder L Trajan Langdon 1976 living Anchorage retired basketball player, most notably the Cleveland Cavaliers and CSKA Moscow Austin E. Lathrop 1865 1950 Anchorage, Cordova, Fairbanks, Valdez businessman, one of the strongest Alaskan opponents of statehood Sydney Laurence 1865 1940 Anchorage, Valdez, Talkeetna landscape painter Ernest Leffingwell 1875 1971 Flaxman Island explorer and geologist Hilary Lindh 1969 living Juneau alpine ski racer Segundo Llorente 1906 1989 Alakanuk, Anchorage, Bethel, Cordova, Fairbanks, Kotzebue, Sheldon Point Jesuit priest, elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 1960, becoming the first Catholic priest to serve in a U.S. state legislature; also a widely published writer on Alaska in his native Spain M Fred Machetanz 1908 2002 Palmer, Unalakleet painter Dick Mackey living Coldfoot sled dog racer, early winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Lance Mackey 1970 living Fairbanks, Fox sled dog racer, four time Yukon Quest and four time Iditarod winner Holly Madison 1979 living Craig model, television personality Ray Mala 1906 1952 Candle actor, cinematographer Andre Marrou 1938 living Anchorage, Homer the third Libertarian to be elected to a U.S. state legislature (all from Alaska to that point), later became the party's vice presidential and presidential nominee Edward Marsden 1869 1932 Saxman, Metlakatla, Sitka Tsimshian Presbyterian missionary and activist, first Alaska Native to be ordained Robert Marshall 1901 1939 Wiseman wilderness activist, writer; wrote Arctic Village about his experiences in Wiseman Bristol Marunde 1982 living Fairbanks mixed martial artist Jesse Marunde 1979 2007 Glennallen strongman competitor Carl McCunn 1946 1981 Anchorage photographer, adventurer; committed suicide when stranded in the wilderness in northern Alaska Mel McDaniel 1942 2011 Anchorage country music singer-songwriter Linious "Mac" McGee 1897 1988 Anchorage, Seward pioneering aviator Drew Meekins 1985 living Juneau pairs figure skater Russel Merrill 1894 1929 Anchorage, Ketchikan pioneering aviator Dan Mintz 1981 living Anchorage comedian, writer, and actor Tommy Moe 1970 living Girdwood, Palmer, Wasilla skier, gold medal winner at the 1994 Winter Olympics Patricia Monaghan 1946 2012 poet, writer Kelly Moneymaker 1970 living Fairbanks singer, most notably with Exposé Shannyn Moore 1970 living Homer blogger, political activist James Morrison 1954 living Anchorage actor, 24 Joshua Morrow 1974 living Juneau actor, singer Margaret Murie 1902 2003 Fairbanks "grandmother of the conservation movement" Lisa Murkowski 1957 living Anchorage, Fairbanks, Ketchikan, Wrangell U.S. Senator who was reelected as a write-in candidate in 2010 N Jacob Netsvetov 1802 1864 Atka, Sitka Orthodox saint O William Oefelein 1965 living Anchorage astronaut Laurie Olin 1938 living landscape architect Norman Olson 1946 living Nikiski militia activist P Dorothy Page 1921 1989 Wasilla co-founder of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Bristol Palin 1990 living Wasilla daughter of Sarah and Todd Palin, former contestant on Dancing with the Stars Sarah Palin 1964 living Eagle River, Skagway, Wasilla youngest and first female governor, 2008 Republican nominee for U.S. vice president Todd Palin 1964 living Dillingham, Wasilla ex husband of Sarah Palin, champion snowmobile racer Rudy Pankow 1998 living Ketchikan, Alaska actor, most notably on the Netflix original, Outer Banks. Virgil Partch 1916 1984 St. Paul cartoonist William Paul 1885 1977 Tongass Village, Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau Native rights activist, first Alaska Native attorney Elizabeth Peratrovich 1911 1958 Juneau, Ketchikan, Klawock, Petersburg, Sitka civil rights activist Peter the Aleut ca. 1815 Kodiak Orthodox saint Emmitt Peters 1940 2020 Ruby sled dog racer, early winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Pat Pitney 1965 living Fairbanks, Juneau president of the University of Alaska system, 1984 Olympic gold medalist Valerie Plame 1963 living Anchorage Kirsten Powers 1969 living Fairbanks blogger, political commentator Chanel Preston 1985 living Fairbanks pornographic actress Q R Kikkan Randall 1982 living Anchorage Olympic gold medalist cross-country skier Sean Rash 1982 living Anchorage professional tenpin bowler Joe Redington 1917 1999 Knik sled dog racer, co-founder of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Robert Campbell Reeve 1902 1980 Anchorage, Valdez pioneering aviator Wilds P. Richardson 1861 1929 Valdez Army officer, headed Alaska Roads Commission Tex Rickard 1870 1929 Juneau, Nome Old West figure, boxing promoter; lived in Nome during the height of its gold rush, served on the first city council Libby Riddles 1956 living Shaktoolik, Teller sled dog racer, first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Libby Roderick ca. 1958 living Anchorage journalist, singer-songwriter, writer Amerie Rogers 1981 living Anchorage pop singer Paul Rosenthal 1942 living Juneau violinist, founder of the Sitka Summer Music Festival Bob Ross 1942 1995 North Pole painter Peter Trimble Rowe 1856 1942 Sitka Episcopal bishop Jason Ryznar 1983 living Anchorage professional ice hockey player S Larry Sanger 1968 living Anchorage co-founder of Wikipedia Curt Schilling 1966 living Anchorage professional baseball player Daniel Schlereth 1986 living Anchorage professional baseball player Mark Schlereth 1966 living Anchorage professional football player, analyst for ESPN Brian Schmidt 1967 living Anchorage astrophysicist, 2011 Nobel Prize laureate in Physics Mitch Seavey 1959 living Seward, Sterling sled dog racer Charles John Seghers 1839 1886 Juneau, Nulato, Sitka pioneering Catholic missionary Ronald Senungetuk 1933 2020 Fairbanks, Homer, Wales silversmith, sculptor Leonhard Seppala 1877 1967 Fairbanks, Nome sled dog racer, key musher in the 1925 serum run to Nome Tom Sexton 1940 living Anchorage, Fairbanks Alaska poet laureate Don Simpson 1943 1996 Anchorage film producer Peter Simpson 1871 1947 Metlakatla, Sitka Native rights activist and boatbuilder Jamie Smith ca. 1965 living Fairbanks cartoonist, printmaker Molly Smith living Douglas theater director Soapy Smith 1860 1898 Skagway con artist, gangster Steve Smith 1985 living Anchorage professional football player Dana Stabenow 1952 living Anchorage, Seldovia writer Darby Stanchfield 1971 living Kodiak, Unalaska television actress Ted Stevens 1923 2010 Anchorage, Fairbanks, Girdwood longest-serving U.S. Senator from Alaska and from Republican Party John Strohmeyer 1924 2010 Anchorage Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; professor at University of Alaska Anchorage, author of Extreme Conditions John F. A. Strong 1856 1929 Iditarod, Juneau, Katalla, Nome, Skagway founder of what is now Juneau Empire, territorial governor Robert Stroud 1890 1963 Juneau convicted killer known as "The Birdman of Alcatraz" Stephen Sundborg 1943 living president of Seattle University Rick Swenson 1950 living Manley Hot Springs, Two Rivers sled dog racer Jim Sykes 1950 living Anchorage, Palmer, Talkeetna Green Party politician T Khleo Thomas 1989 living Anchorage actor, rapper Lowell Thomas, Jr. 1923 2016 Anchorage, Talkeetna son of and collaborator with Lowell Thomas; bush pilot, film maker, lecturer, politician, writer Morris Thompson 1939 2000 Fairbanks, Tanana Alaska Native leader, business executive Nate Thompson 1984 living Anchorage professional ice hockey player Ray Troll 1954 living Ketchikan artist, musician U Rachel Uchitel 1975 living Anchorage media personality; her father was an Anchorage business magnate of the 1970s and 1980s who founded Anchorage's cable television system V Archie Van Winkle 1925 1986 Juneau, Ketchikan Korean War hero Paul Varelans 1969 2021 Fairbanks mixed martial artist Norman D. Vaughan 1905 2005 Eagle River, Trapper Creek explorer, dog musher Joe Vogler 1913 1993 Fairbanks, Kodiak gold miner and secessionist advocate, became folk hero following his murder W Jujiro Wada ca. 1872 1937 Barrow, Fairbanks, Nome adventurer Ken Waldman 1955 living Nome, Fairbanks, Anchorage, Juneau poet, fiction writer, musician Velma Wallis 1960 living Fairbanks, Fort Yukon writer Nathan West 1978 living Anchorage actor Mr. Whitekeys 1947 living Fairbanks, Spenard writer, musician, commentator, satirist James Wickersham 1857 1939 Eagle, Fairbanks, Juneau judge and congressional delegate in the district and territory, made an early recorded ascent of Mount McKinley, compiled an important early bibliography of Alaska Noel Wien 1899 1977 pioneering aviator Lael Wilcox living Anchorage ultra-endurance bicycle racer Dave Williams 1979 living Anchorage professional baseball player Barrett Willoughby 1901 1959 writer Charles Wood 1916 1978 Iditarod, Kodiak singer and actor in Broadway musicals Roger L. Worsley 1937 living Anchorage educator; vice-chancellor University of Alaska Anchorage, 1978–1985 Hugh Wade 1901 1995 first secretary of state of Alaska X Y S. Hall Young 1847 1927 Fairbanks, Fort Wrangel Presbyterian missionary, wilderness companion of John Muir Z People associated with Alaska Edward Albee (1928–2016), main person responsible for building the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez to the status it has currently achieved Henry Tureman Allen (1859–1930), U.S. Army officer who conducted a famous expedition of Alaska's interior in 1885, largely through the Copper and Tanana River drainages Roald Amundsen (1872–1928), frequently passed through Alaska in his travels Hubert Howe Bancroft (1832–1918), whose 19th-century published history of Alaska, part of a larger series, formed an important foundation for later study of Alaskan history Alexander Baranof (1746–1819) Vitus Bering (1681–1741), made the first recorded European sighting of Alaska Hale Boggs (1914–1972), member of the U.S. House from Louisiana, who disappeared on a flight in Alaska along with freshman colleague Nick Begich while helping Begich campaign for reelection Jackson Browne (born 1948), stated in a 1980s interview that he was conceived in Alaska, while his father was stationed there in the U.S. military Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. (1886–1945), military commander of Alaska early in World War II Sydney Chapman (1888–1970), mathematician and geophysicist; Advisory Scientific Director of the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska from 1951 until his death, where he was largely responsible for building the programs and reputation of the Institute in its early years James Cook (1728–1779), British explorer whose voyages included several trips along Alaska's coastline William Healey Dall (1845–1927), biologist, hydrographer; explored interior Alaska, charted the Aleutians; America's pre-eminent authority on Alaska 1866–1900 Brad Davis (born 1955), played briefly for the Anchorage Northern Knights before going on to a long career with the Dallas Mavericks, both as a player and in other capacities Edna Ferber (1885–1968), friend of Ernest Gruening; following the success of Giant, was convinced by Gruening to write Ice Palace as a tool to promote Alaskan statehood Joseph Hazelwood (born 1946), captain of the Exxon Valdez when it ran aground and spilled oil in 1989 Michael A. Healy (1839–1904), captain of the USRC Corwin and USRC Bear when they were the only law enforcement presence north of Sitka Eric Holmback (1924–1965), professional wrestler of the 1950s and 1960s known as "Yukon Eric," was billed (declared by the promoter and/or ring announcer as hailing) from Fairbanks. Other wrestlers, such as Jay York (who was also briefly a member of the rock group Delaney & Bonnie) and King Kong Bundy (while wrestling in Texas during the early 1980s), also portrayed wrestling personas associated with Alaska. Michio Hoshino (1952–1996), photographer Jack London (1876–1916), writer Christopher McCandless (1968–1992), hiker, ad hoc adventurer John Muir (1838–1914), writer, explorer, naturalist; made and wrote about several trips to Alaska; explored Glacier Bay Wiley Post (1898–1935), aviator who died in a plane crash in Alaska along with Will Rogers (see below) while making a flight through the territory Ralph Regula (1924–2017), longtime member of the U.S. House representing Canton, Ohio, the hometown of William McKinley. Regula devoted much of his career to preserving McKinley's legacy, and maintained a decades–long effort in Congress to prevent the renaming of Mount McKinley to its native name Denali. Will Rogers (1879–1935), actor and humorist, died in a plane crash in Alaska along with Wiley Post while making a flight through the territory Robert W. Service (1874–1958), due to influence from Gold Rush migration across the North Country, Service became Alaskans' most well–loved poet, despite actually living in the Yukon Territory. Vilhjalmur Stefansson (1879–1962), frequently passed through Alaska in his travels Timothy Treadwell (1957–2003), bear enthusiast Naomi Uemura (1941–1984), adventurer, mountain climber, died while attempting a solo ascent of Mount McKinley Bradford Washburn (1910–2007), mountaineer, geographer Cal Worthington (1920–2013), purchased Anchorage dealership Friendly Ford in 1976 and renamed it Cal Worthington Ford, which his company still owns and operates along with other Anchorage dealerships. He has been a ubiquitous figure on Anchorage television for decades, as well as the subject of parodies and other cultural depictions originating from Alaska. See also Elected officials List of governors of Alaska List of lieutenant governors of Alaska List of mayors of Anchorage, Alaska List of mayors of Cordova, Alaska List of mayors of Fairbanks, Alaska List of mayors of Juneau, Alaska List of speakers of the Alaska House of Representatives List of United States senators from Alaska United States congressional delegations from Alaska Others List of Alaskan aviators List of Alaska suffragists List of Alaskan Hall of Fame pilots List of athletes from Alaska List of justices of the Alaska Supreme Court References