List of people from Ontario
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This is a list of notable people who were either born or lived in Ontario, Canada, or have spent a large part or formative part of their career in that province.
Film, Television, and/or Voice Actors
| Name | Notable for | Connection to Ontario | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will Arnett (born 1970) | actor, voice actor, and comedian | born in Toronto | |
| Matt Austin (born 1978) | actor from Power Rangers: SPD | born in Toronto | |
| Dan Aykroyd (born 1952) | actor, musician, comedian, producer, and screenwriter from Saturday Night Live | born in Ottawa | |
| Neve Campbell (born 1973) | actress from the Scream series of horror movies | born in Guelph | |
| John Candy (1950-1994) | actor from Home Alone and Uncle Buck | born in Newmarket | |
| Jim Carrey (born 1962) | actor, comedian, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer from Dumb and Dumber and Bruce Almighty | born in Newmarket | |
| Michael Cera (born 1988) | actor and musician from Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Superbad | born in Brampton | |
| Sarah Chalke (born 1976) | actress from Scrubs and Roseanne | born in Ottawa | |
| Juan Chioran (born 1963) | Argentine-born actor, voice actor, and singer known for his voice roles in Beyblade: Metal Fusion and Grossology | lived in Toronto and Stratford | |
| A. J. Cook (born 1978) | actress from Criminal Minds and Final Destination 2 | born in Oshawa, raised in Whitby | |
| Paulo Costanzo (born 1978) | actor from Royal Pains | born in Brampton | |
| Daniel DeSanto (born 1980) | actor and voice actor from Mean Girls and Are You Afraid of the Dark? | born in Toronto | |
| Kevin Duhaney (born 1984) | actor and rapper from Power Rangers: Dino Thunder | born in Whitby | |
| Marlowe Gardiner-Heslin (born 1985) | voice actor best known for voicing Tyson Granger in the Beyblade original saga | born in Toronto | |
| Victor Garber (born 1949) | actor from The Flash and Titanic | born in London | |
| Ryan Gosling (born 1980) | actor from The Notebook | born in London | |
| Shenae Grimes (born 1989) | actress from 90210 | born in Toronto | |
| Corey Haim (1971-2010) | actor from The Lost Boys and Lucas | born in Toronto | |
| Jennifer Irwin (born 1975) | actress from Superstar | born in Toronto | |
| Andrew Jackson (born 1963) | actor and voice actor known for his voice roles in Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge and Beyblade: Metal Fusion | born in Newmarket | |
| Stana Katic (born 1978) | actress from Castle | born in Hamilton | |
| Eugene Levy (born 1946) | actor from the American Pie series of films | born in Hamilton | |
| Rachel McAdams (born 1978) | actress from The Notebook | born in St. Thomas | |
| Scott McCord (born 1971) | voice actor known for voicing Dan Kuso, the protagonist from Bakugan | born in Sarnia | |
| Eric McCormack (born 1963) | actor from Will and Grace | born in Toronto | |
| Derek McGrath (born 1951) | actor from My Secret Identity | born in Timmins | |
| Shay Mitchell (born 1987) | actress from Pretty Little Liars | born in Mississauga | |
| Rick Moranis (born 1953) | actor from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Ghostbusters | born in Toronto | |
| Al Mukadam (born 1985) | actor from Radio Free Roscoe | born in Toronto | |
| Mike Myers (born 1963) | actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, and film producer best known for voicing Shrek in the Shrek series of films | born in Scarborough | |
| Sophie Nelisse (born 2000) | teen actress | born in Windsor | |
| Sandra Oh (born 1971) | Golden Globe and SAG Award-winning actress | born in Ottawa | |
| Jeffrey Parazzo (born 1978) | actor from Power Rangers: Dino Thunder | born in Toronto | |
| Dan Petronijevic (born 1981) | voice actor | born in Scarborough | |
| Mary Pickford (1892-1979) | silent screen film star; co-founder of United Artists and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences | born in Toronto | |
| Sarah Polley (born 1979) | actress, writer, director, and political activist | born in Toronto | |
| Alycia Purrott (born 1983) | actress from Power Rangers: SPD | born in London | |
| David Reale | voice actor known for voicing Kai Hiwatari in the Beyblade original saga | born in Caledon | |
| Kathleen Robertson (born 1973) | actress from Beverly Hills, 90210 and Scary Movie 4 | born in Hamilton | |
| Kelly Rowan (born 1965) | actress from The O.C. | born in Ottawa | |
| Corey Sevier (born 1984) | actor | born in Ajax | |
| Martin Short (born 1950) | actor, comedian, singer, writer, voice actor, and producer | born in Hamilton | |
| Jay Silverheels (1912-1980) | First Nations actor | born in Brantford | |
| John Stocker (born 1947) | voice actor | born in Toronto | |
| Tara Strong (born 1973) | voice actress best known for her various voice roles | born in Toronto | |
| Dave Thomas (born 1949) | actor and television writer | born in St. Catharines | |
| Chris Violette (born 1981) | actor from Power Rangers: SPD | born in Mississauga | |
| Lisa Yamanaka (born 1983) | voice actress | born in Toronto |
Comedians
- Evan Fong – Toronto
- Dave Foley – Etobicoke
- Tom Green – Pembroke
- Phil Hartman – Brantford[1]
- Jenny Jones – London
- Norm Macdonald – Ottawa
- Howie Mandel – Toronto
- Mark McKinney – Ottawa
- Russell Peters – Brampton
- Scott Thompson – North Bay
- Harland Williams – Toronto
Professional athletes
- Sean Avery – retired hockey player from North York
- Anthony Bennett – basketball player from Toronto
- Steve Christie – Hamilton
- Mike Craig – Thorndale
- Laura Creavalle – Toronto
- Nick Denis – North Bay
- Phil Esposito – Sault Ste. Marie
- Tony Esposito – Sault Ste. Marie
- Simon Farine – basketball player from Toronto
- Mike Fisher – hockey player from Peterborough
- Rick Fox – Toronto
- Doug Gilmour – Kingston
- Claude Giroux – Hearst
- Wayne Gretzky – Brantford
- James Hinchcliffe – Oakville
- Tim Horton – Cochrane
- Cory Joseph – Pickering
- Curtis Joseph – Keswick
- Eric Lindros – London
- Jamaal Magloire – Toronto
- Frank Mahovlich – Timmins
- Rick Nash – Brampton
- Daniel Nestor – Toronto
- Bobby Orr – Parry Sound
- Pete Orr – Richmond Hill
- Milos Raonic – Thornhill
- Jim Rutherford – Beeton
- Patrick Sharp – Thunder Bay
- Darryl Sittler – Kitchener
- Trevor Smith – hockey player
- Eric Staal – Thunder Bay
- Jordan Staal – Thunder Bay
- Marc Staal – Thunder Bay
- Steven Stamkos – Markham
- Tristan Thompson – Brampton
- Raffi Torres – Toronto
- Paul Tracy – Scarborough
- Joey Votto – Etobicoke
- Andrew Wiggins – basketball player from Toronto
- Nigel Wilson – Oshawa
Politicians
- Philip Downing
- Stephen Harper – 22nd Prime Minister of Canada (2006-2015) and former Conservative Party leader – Leaside
- John T. Jarvis
- Paul Martin – 21st Prime Minister of Canada (2003-2006) – Windsor
- James McMillan – Hamilton
- Justin Trudeau – 23rd Prime Minister of Canada (2015-present) – Ottawa
Olympic athletes
- Alex Baumann – Sudbury
- Patrick Chan – Ottawa
- Gabrielle Daleman – Newmarket
- Victor Davis – Guelph
- Lori Dupuis – Cornwall
- John Fitzpatrick – Toronto
- Chris Jarvis – Grimsby
- Becky Kellar – Hagersville
- Rosie MacLennan – King City
- Conlin McCabe – Brockville
- Scott Moir – London
- Brian Orser – Belleville
- Elvis Stojko – Richmond Hill
- Adam van Koeverden – Oakville
- Tessa Virtue – London
- Simon Whitfield – Kingston
Other notable celebrities
- Thalia Assuras – London
- Don Cherry – Kingston
- William Winer Cooke – Brantford
- Adam Copeland – Orangeville
- Linda Evangelista – St. Catharines
- Melyssa Ford – Toronto
- Frank Gehry – Toronto
- Danielle Graham – Guelph
- Shalom Harlow – Oshawa
- Michiel Horn – Toronto
- Peter Jennings – Toronto
- Lynn Johnston – Collingwood
- Firdaus Kharas – Ottawa
- Gail Kim – Toronto
- Lisa LaFlamme – Kitchener
- Ferdinand Larose - created the Larose Forest, Prescott and Russell
- Lainey Lui – Toronto
- Steve Mackall – Toronto
- Lorne Michaels – Toronto
- Alice Munro – Wingham
- Daniel Negreanu – poker player, Toronto
- Kevin Newman – Toronto
- Quddus – Toronto
- Ivan Reitman – Hamilton
- Jason Reso – Orangeville
- Sandie Rinaldo – Toronto
- John Roberts – Toronto
- Lloyd Robertson – Stratford
- Morley Safer – Toronto
- David Shore – London
- Trish Stratus – Richmond Hill
- John Saunders (sports reporter) - Ajax and other cities
- Alex Trebek – Sudbury
- Jack L. Warner – London
- Ken Westerfield – disc sports (Frisbee) pioneer, from Toronto
- Lauren Williams – Toronto
Bands, musicians, singers, and rappers
- Bryan Adams – Kingston
- Alexisonfire – St. Catharines
- Paul Anka – Ottawa
- Eva Avila – Ottawa
- Barenaked Ladies – Scarborough
- Justin Bieber – Stratford
- Billy Talent – Mississauga
- Jully Black – Toronto
- Blue Rodeo – Toronto
- Broken Social Scene – Toronto
- Cancer Bats – Toronto
- Alessia Cara – Mississauga
- Keshia Chanté – Ottawa
- Bruce Cockburn – Ottawa
- Deborah Cox – Toronto
- Hugh Dillon – Kingston
- Fefe Dobson – Scarborough
- Drake – Toronto
- Finger Eleven – Burlington
- Five Man Electrical Band – Ottawa
- J. D. Fortune – Mississauga
- Nelly Furtado – Forest Hill, Toronto[2]
- Hail The Villain – Oshawa
- Sarah Harmer – Burlington
- illScarlett – Mississauga
- Kardinal Offishall – Scarborough/Toronto
- Vikas Kohli – Mississauga
- James LaBrie – Penetanguishene
- Henry Lau – Toronto
- Avril Lavigne – Napanee
- Gordon Lightfoot – Orillia
- Lights – Timmins
- Little X – Toronto
- Guy Lombardo – London
- Brian Melo – Hamilton
- Shawn Mendes – Pickering
- Metric – Toronto
- Alanis Morissette – Ottawa
- My Darkest Days – Toronto
- Our Lady Peace – Toronto
- Peaches – Toronto
- Protest The Hero – Whitby
- Anastasia Rizikov – Toronto
- Rush – Toronto
- Saga (band) – Oakville
- Paul Shaffer – Thunder Bay
- Silverstein – Burlington
- Snow – Toronto
- Wendy Son – Richmond Hill
- Sum 41 – Ajax
- Skye Sweetnam – Bolton
- Teenage Head – Hamilton
- Three Days Grace – Toronto
- Tokyo Police Club – Newmarket
- The Tragically Hip – Kingston
- Shania Twain – Windsor
- Vanity – Niagara Falls
- Tamia Washington – Windsor
- U.S.S. (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) – Stouffville, Markham and Toronto
- Walk Off The Earth – Burlington
- The Weeknd – Scarborough
- Neil Young – Toronto
- Joel Zimmerman (deadmau5) – Toronto
Scientists and physicians
- Sir Frederick Banting - co-discoverer of insulin
- Dr. Charles Best - co-discoverer of insulin
- Dr. Norman Bethune - physician, pioneered the use of in-field blood transfusions during the Spanish Civil War, joined the Communist guerillas in China in the 1930s
- Dr. Roberta Bondar - astronaut, neurologist, from Sault Ste. Marie
- Mathew Evans - inventor, created and patented the first incandescent light bulb in 1874, five years before Thomas Edison's US patent
- Dr. Wilbur Franks - physician and inventor; developed first anti-gravity or "G-suit" now used by air crews and astronauts; also noted for his work in cancer research
- Dr. James Naismith - physician, inventor of basketball
Business people
- Howard I. Wetston - Chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission
Criminals
- Paul Bernardo
- Edwin Alonzo Boyd - led the Boyd Gang in Toronto
- Karla Homolka
See also
References
- ^ Parish, James Robert (2004). The Hollywood Book of Scandals: The Shocking, Often Disgraceful Deeds and Affairs of More Than 100 American Movie and TV Idols. McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 212–213. ISBN 0-07-142189-0.
- ^ The history of the Forest Hill neighbourhood by Elli Davis, accessed on June 30, 2011.
