List of Jamaicans
The following is a list of notable people from Jamaica. The list includes some non-resident Jamaicans who were born in Jamaica.
Artists and writers
- Opal Palmer Adisa, writer
- Louisa Wells Aikman, writer
- Esther Anderson, actress, photographer, filmmaker
- Gwyneth Barber Wood, poet
- Edward Baugh, poet
- Lindsay Barrett, writer, playright, journalist
- Louise Bennett-Coverley, poet
- Carl Bradshaw, actor, producer
- Jean "Binta" Breeze, poet
- Yvonne Brewster, theatre director
- Erna Brodber, novelist
- Charles Hopel Brown, writer, author
- Lady Colin Campbell, writer, socialite
- Morris Cargill, journalist
- Margaret Cezair-Thompson, novelist
- Colin Channer, novelist, co-founder of Calabash
- Staceyann Chin, poet and writer
- Michelle Cliff, writer
- Aston Cooke, playwright, artistic director
- Carolyn Cooper, writer and cultural theorist
- Christine Craig, poet and short story writer
- Kwame Dawes, Ghana-born writer, co-founder of Calabash
- Jean D'Costa, professor, linguist, and children's novelist
- John Figueroa, poet
- Honor Ford-Smith, artist, writer, performer, educator
- Kirk Fraser, film director, film producer, screenwriter
- Ryan Fraser, writer
- Marcus Garvey, political activist
- Malcolm Gladwell, writer, journalist
- Thomas Glave, Bronx-born writer
- Lorna Goodison, writer
- Mona Hammond, actress
- Thomas Duffus Hardy, historian
- Hubert Henry Harrison, activist, philosopher
- John Hearne, novelist
- Perry Henzell, writer, director
- Stephen Hopkins, film director
- Marlon James, novelist
- Vere Johns, writer, broadcaster, actor
- Linton Kwesi Johnson, dub poet
- Grace Jones, model, actor, artist
- Roger Mais, novelist
- Edna Manley, sculptor
- Louis Marriott, playwright, actor, director, journalist
- Una Marson, writer, broadcaster
- Claude McKay, writer
- Alecia McKenzie, writer
- Anthony McNeill, poet
- Carmen McRae, vocalist
- Brian Meeks, novelist
- Kei Miller, writer
- Pamela Mordecai, poet
- Mervyn Morris, poet
- Mutabaruka, poet
- Oku Onuora, writer
- Geoffrey Philp, writer
- Patricia Powell, novelist
- Claudia Rankine, poet
- Barry Reckord, playwright
- Lloyd Reckord, actor, producer, director, playwright
- Victor Stafford Reid, writer
- Leone Ross, novelist, editor, short story writer, journalist, academic
- Andrew Salkey, writer
- Dennis Scott, poet and playwright
- Olive Senior, writer
- Madge Sinclair, actress
- Malachi Smith, poet
- Pamela Colman Smith, artist and writer
- Michael Thelwell, writer
- Vivian Virtue, poet
- Peter Williams, actor
- Sylvia Wynter, writer
- Nadean Rawlins, actress, producer, director, talent manager
Beauty contest winners
- Cindy Breakspeare, Miss World 1976
- Carole Joan Crawford, Miss World 1965
- Lisa Hanna, Miss World 1993, politician
- Toni-Ann Singh, Miss World 2019
Business
- Alexander Aikman, printer, publisher, and landowner.
- Chris Blackwell, president and CEO of Island Records and Palm Pictures, NYC
- Michael Lee-Chin, Chairman/CEO of AIC Limited, Chairman of NCB Jamaica
- Levi Roots, Chairman of Reggae Reggae Sauce
- Adam Stewart
- Gordon "Butch" Stewart
- Gail Vaz-Oxlade, financial adviser, TV personality
Groups
- Bob Marley and the Wailers
- Byron Lee and the Dragonaires
- Culture
- Inner Circle
- T.O.K., a crew of deejays
- Third World
- Toots and the Maytals
Models
- Tyson Beckford, model
- Naomi Campbell, model
- Grace Jones, model, musician, actress
- Venice Kong, Playboy playmate
- Stacey McKenzie, supermodel, actress and model coach
- Rachel Stuart, model, television personality
- Karin Taylor, former Playboy model
Musicians
- Alisha Dixon, Rapper (Jamaican Father)
- SavageYute, Rapper (Jamaican Father)
- Aidonia, dancehall, rap deejay
- Alaine, singer
- Monty Alexander, jazz pianist and composer
- Cherine Anderson, singer, actress, director
- Buju Banton, reggae singer
- Beenie Man, deejay; Grammy winner
- Benji Webbe, Skindred frontman (Jamaican Parents)
- Thom Bell, musician, singer/songwriter, arranger and producer
- Biggie Smalls, rapper (Jamaican mother)
- Bounty Killer, reggae musician
- Brigadier Jerry, reggae musician, dancehall deejay
- Dennis Brown, reggae singer
- Burning Spear, real name Winston Rodney, reggae musician
- Busta Rhymes, rapper (parents are Jamaican)
- Busy Signal, dancehall and reggae musician deejay
- Canibus, rapper
- Charlie Chaplin, reggae singer
- Clive Chin, record producer
- Tessanne Chin, singer/songwriter, winner of NBC's The Voice Season 5 in 2013
- Vincent "Randy" Chin, record producer, co-founder of VP Records
- Chipmunk, rapper, songwriter
- Chubb Rock, rapper, radio personality
- Tami Chynn, singer/songwriter
- Jimmy Cliff, singer, reggae musician
- Desmond Dekker, ska and reggae singer
- Demarco, reggae and dancehall musician
- Coxsone Dodd, record producer
- Huey Dunbar, Spanish-language singer with group DLG (Jamaican father)
- Clancy Eccles, ska and reggae singer, record producer
- Eek-a-Mouse, reggae singer
- Elephant Man, reggae singer
- Horace Faith, reggae singer
- Chuck Fenda, singer
- Dean Fraser, reggae musician
- Ghetts, grime MC
- Joe Gibbs, record producer
- Andrew Gourlay, conductor
- Heavy D, rapper
- Sean Paul Henriques, dancehall musician
- Toots Hibbert, reggae musician
- Joseph Hill, reggae musician and band leader, Culture
- Deni Hines, singer
- Marcia Hines, singer
- Giggs, rapper
- Grace Jones, singer, supermodel
- Ini Kamoze, reggae musician
- Kano, rapper, actor
- Koffee, reggae musician
- Vybz Kartel, dancehall musician, rapper, deejay
- Wynton Kelly, jazz pianist
- Joseph Hoo Kim, record producer
- Diana King, reggae musician
- King Tubby, dub musician
- Sean Kingston, singer
- Kiprich, deejay
- DJ Kool Herc, DJ
- Byron Lee, ska and soca musician
- Barrington Levy, reggae singer
- Mad Cobra, dancehall deejay
- Bei Maejor, record producer, hip-hop/R&B singer (Jamaican parent)
- Bob Marley, reggae singer
- Damian Marley, reggae musician
- Ky-Mani Marley, reggae musician
- Rita Marley, reggae singer; wife of Bob Marley
- Stephen Marley, singer
- Ziggy Marley, reggae musician; son of Bob Marley
- Mavado, dancehall and reggae musician
- Chrisette Michelle, singer (Jamaican parent)
- Mr. Vegas, deejay
- Augustus Pablo, reggae singer
- Patra, dancehall musician
- Dawn Penn, reggae singer
- Lee "Scratch" Perry, reggae musician
- Leigh-Anne Pinnock, member of girl group Little Mix
- Prince Buster, ska singer and producer
- Ernest Ranglin, jazz, ska, rocksteady and reggae guitarist
- Ras Droppa, reggae artist
- Duke Reid, record producer
- Wayne Rhoden, singer/songwriter
- Tarrus Riley, singer
- Tenor Saw, reggae artist
- Sasha, deejay
- Lady Saw, reggae musician
- Serani, reggae singer
- Shabba Ranks, reggae musician
- Shaggy, singer/songwriter
- Sister Nancy, dancehall deejay
- Sizzla, reggae and dancehall deejay
- Slick Rick, rapper (Jamaican parents)
- Mikey Smith, dub poet
- Spice, dancehall musician
- Spot
- Spragga Benz, reggae and dancehall deejay
- Peter Tosh, reggae musician
- Bunny Wailer, reggae singer
- Willard White, operatic bass-baritone
- Wretch 32, rapper
- XXXTENTACION, rapper (Jamaican parents)
- Ski Mask the Slump God, rapper (Jamaican parents)
Politicians
- Kenneth Baugh, Minister of Health and Deputy Prime Minister
- Alexander Bustamante, trade unionist and Prime Minister, national hero
- Bruce Golding, Prime Minister
- Lisa Hanna, Minister of Youth & Culture, former Miss World
- Andrew Holness, Prime Minister
- Hyman Isaac Long, Deputy Inspector General of the Grand Consistory of the twenty-five degree "Rite of the Royal Secret" (11 January 1795)
- Michael Manley, Prime Minister
- Norman Manley, Prime Minister and Jamaican national hero
- Earle Maynier, first Jamaican High Commissioner to Canada
- Henry Moore, colonial governor
- Trevor Munroe, trade unionist and politician
- P. J. Patterson, Prime Minister
- Edward Seaga, Prime Minister
- Portia Simpson-Miller, Prime Minister
Religious leaders
- S. U. Hastings, first Jamaican bishop of the Moravian Church
- Neville Neil, bishop of the Moravian Church in Jamaica
Science and medicine
- O'Shaine Brown, American physician
- Mary Seacole, Jamaican-born woman of Scottish and Creole descent who set up a "British hotel" behind the lines during the Crimean War
- Cicely Williams, identified the protein deficiency disease kwashiorkor
Sports
- Donovan Bailey, Jamaican-born Canadian, world champion sprinter
- Leon Bailey, Jamaican footballer playing for Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- John Barnes, Jamaican-born English football player; played for the England national football team and Liverpool F.C.
- Trevor Berbick, champion boxer
- Atari Bigby, former football player
- Andre Blake, professional MLS goalkeeper
- Yohan Blake, sprinter
- Usain Bolt, world and Olympic record holder, 100m and 200m
- Walter Boyd, former professional footballer
- Steve Bucknor, international cricket umpire
- Veronica Campbell-Brown, sprinter
- Omar Cummings, Jamaican-born MLS and Jamaica national football team football player
- Chili Davis, Jamaican-born American, former star Major League Baseball player
- Patrick Ewing, Jamaican-born American, former NBA star
- Junior Flemmings, professional footballer
- Heather Foster, Jamaican-born American professional bodybuilder
- Shaun Francis, former professional footballer
- Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, sprinter, 100m and 200m World and Olympic record holder (Beijing 2008 and London 2012), fondly known as "The Pocket Rocket"
- Ricardo Fuller, Jamaican-born Premier League and Jamaica national football team football player
- Ricardo Gardner, Jamaican-born Premier League and Jamaica national football team football player
- Chris Gayle, Captain of West Indian International Cricket Team
- Ian Goodison, former professional footballer
- Owayne Gordon, professional footballer
- George Headley, cricketer
- Sek Henry, basketball player
- Wavell Hinds, cricketer
- Michael Holding, cricketer
- Kamara James, Jamaican-born American, Olympic fencer
- Ben Johnson, Jamaican-born Canadian, disgraced champion sprinter
- Glen Johnson, champion boxer
- Ryan Johnson, former professional footballer
- Jerome Jordan, NBA player, New York Knicks center #44
- Andrew Kennedy, professional basketball player
- Rajiv Maragh, jockey
- Tyrone Marshall, Jamaican-born MLS and Jamaica national football team football player
- Darren Mattocks, Jamaican-born MLS and Jamaica national football team football player
- Mike McCallum, champion boxer
- Merlene Ottey, Jamaican-born Slovenian sprinter, the world's most winning female athlete
- Asafa Powell, sprinter, former 100m world record holder
- Donald Quarrie, sprinter
- Shawn Rhoden, bodybuilder
- Sanya Richards-Ross, Jamaican-born American sprinter, 400m
- Donovan Ricketts, Jamaican-born MLS and Jamaica national football team football player
- Tessa Sanderson, Jamaican-born former British Javelin gold medalist and Heptathlon
- Trecia-Kaye Smith, former Triple Jump World Champion
- Raheem Sterling, Jamaican-born English football player; currently plays for Manchester City
- Shavar Thomas, Jamaican-born MLS and Jamaica national football team football player
- Stephen Tulloch, National Football League middle linebacker for Detroit Lions and N.C. State Wolfpac; born in Miami of Jamaican heritage
- Peter-Lee Vassell, professional footballer
- Melaine Walker, sprinter, 400m Olympic record holder (Beijing 2008)
- Courtney Walsh, cricketer
- Nicholas Walters, professional boxer, former WBA (Super) World Featherweight Champion
- Devon White, baseball player
- Theodore Whitmore, former professional footballer, coach
- Arthur Wint, OD MBE, Olympic former 400m gold medalist
Others
- Hope Arthurine Anderson, national chess champion and Olympian
- Clancy Eccles, social activist and reggae musician
- Marcus Garvey, founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)
- St. William Grant, trade unionist and activist
- Dhalia Harris, actress, and television personality
- Lenford "Steve" Harvey, AIDS activist
- Ian McKnight, founder of Jamaica AIDS Support for LIFE (JASL)
- Roxroy Salmon, Jamaican-American immigration activist