List of people from Lake Forest, Illinois

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Lake Forest, Illinois. For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Lake Forest, Illinois.

• Andrew Bird, singer-songwriter
• Sarah Brackett, actress^[1]
• Peach Carr, fashion designer; contestant on season 8 of Project Runway
• Wallace Leroy DeWolf, etcher, painter, art collector, and businessman
• Sylvia Shaw Judson, sculptor and teacher; winner of the Logan Prize in 1929 for her sculpture Little Gardener
• Lisel Mueller, poet; winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for poetry
• Rene Romero Schuler, fine arts painter

• Edward H. Bennett, architect and city planner
• Howard Van Doren Shaw, architect; lived in Ragdale

• Andrew Watson Armour III, meatpacking magnate
• J. Ogden Armour, meatpacking magnate (Armour and Company)
• Albert Blake Dick, founder of A.B. Dick Company; licensed autographic printing patents from Thomas Edison; mayor of Lake Forest (1928–1931)^{[citation needed]}
• Grace Durand, businesswoman and owner of Crab Tree Dairy Farm^[2]
• W. James Farrell, chairman and CEO of Illinois Tool Works^{[citation needed]}
• Charles B. and John V. Farwell, builders of the Texas State capitol building and founders of the XIT Ranch.
• Marshall Field, owner of Marshall Field's (now Macy's)^{[citation needed]}
• Albert Lasker, businessman who played a major role in shaping modern advertising
• Marcus Lemonis, Chairman & CEO Camping World, host of The Profit
• Cyrus H. McCormick, inventor; founder of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became International Harvester^{[citation needed]}
• Peter W. Smith, investment banker^[3]
• Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein, business people, founders of Uline, conservative donor, and heir^[4]

• Kipleigh Brown, actress^{[citation needed]}
• Kristin Cavallari, actress^{[citation needed]}
• Kyle Chandler, actor
• Jay Chandrasekhar, actor, director
• Charlie Finn, actor
• Jean Harlow, actress
• Lauren Holly, actress^{[citation needed]}
• John Mahoney, actor^{[citation needed]}
• Mr. T, actor, wrestler^[5]
• Joan Taylor, actress
• Vince Vaughn, actor
• Richard Widmark, actor
• Robin Williams, actor, comedian
• Kathryn Joosten, actress

• James T. Aubrey, Jr., television and film executive
• John Hughes, writer, director, producer^{[citation needed]}
• Alex Timbers, theater writer and director

• Mary Maher, journalist, trade unionist and feminist
• Bill Schulz, journalist (Fox News)
• Sam Weller, author and journalist

• Bix Beiderbecke, jazz cornet player and pianist
• Andrew Bird, musician and songwriter^{[citation needed]}
• Mat Devine, lead singer of Chicago-based alternative rock band Kill Hannah^{[citation needed]}

• Lacy Crawford, writer
• Dave Eggers, writer
• Beth Ann Fennelly, writer
• Jen Lancaster, writer
• Rebecca Makkai, writer
• Arthur Meeker Jr., novelist

• Joseph E. Anderson (1873−1937), Illinois state legislator and most recent Prohibitionist member of the Illinois General Assembly.^[6]
• David N. Barkhausen, Illinois state legislator and politician
• Mary Beattie, Illinois state legislator
• Edward J. Brundage, Illinois Attorney General
• Fredrik Herman Gade, mayor of Lake Forest; diplomat from Norway
• Charles B. Farwell, United States Senator from Illinois (1887-1891) and member of the United States House of Representatives (1871-1876, 1881-1883), cofounder of the Onwentsia Club, owner of XIT Ranch
• Susan Garrett, Illinois Senate state senator representing the 29th District
• Noble Brandon Judah, United States Ambassador to Cuba (1927–1929)
• Robert P. Lamont, United States Secretary of Commerce (1929–1932)
• William Mather Lewis, mayor of Lake Forest (1915–1917); president of George Washington and Lafayette Universities
• Thomas J. Moran, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court
• William Proxmire, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin
• Judy Baar Topinka, Illinois Comptroller and Illinois State Treasurer
• Pete Wilson, 36th Governor of California (1991–1999); United States Senator (1983–1991); 29th Mayor of San Diego (1971–1983)
• Corrine Wood, 44th lieutenant governor of Illinois

• Pamela Darling, library preservation specialist
• Tung Jeong, professor and international leader in the field of holography
• Jim Lovell, astronaut on Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13; author of Lost Moon; owner of Lovell's of Lake Forest
• Karl Patterson Schmidt, herpetologist

• Margaret "Peg" Carry, socialite; daughter of Pullman Company president Edward F. Carry; friend of F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Rose Farwell Chatfield-Taylor, socialite, sportswoman, bookbinder, suffragist, cofounder of Onwentsia Club
• Ginevra King, socialite; inspiration for many female characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's work, including Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby^{[citation needed]}
• Edith Rockefeller McCormick, socialite
• Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich, descendant of the Russian Imperial dynasty the House of Romanov
• McKey Sullivan, fashion model and winner of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 11

• Mickey Cochrane, catcher for Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers in Baseball Hall of Fame
• Joe Girardi, catcher for the Chicago Cubs, manager of the New York Yankees
• Mabel Holle (1920–2011), third basewoman and outfielder in All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
• Scott Sanderson, All-Star pitcher for eight MLB teams^[7]
• Steve Stanicek, designated hitter for Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies

• Bill Cartwright, center and coach for the Chicago Bulls ^{[citation needed]}
• Kevin Edwards, shooting guard for the Miami Heat and New Jersey Nets ^{[citation needed]}
• Steve Kerr, point guard for the Chicago Bulls ^{[citation needed]}
• Scottie Pippen, forward for the Chicago Bulls^{[citation needed]}

• Carl Haas, auto racing impresario
• Horst Kwech, champion Trans Am Series driver and race car constructor
• Steve Seligman, stock car racer

• Gabe Carimi (born 1988 in Lake Forest), offensive lineman for the Chicago Bears^[8]
• Jim Covert, offensive lineman for the Chicago Bears^{[citation needed]}
• Jay Cutler, quarterback for the Chicago Bears^{[citation needed]}
• Bobby Douglass, quarterback for the Chicago Bears^{[citation needed]}
• Justin Fields, quarterback for the Chicago Bears^{[citation needed]}
• George Halas, head coach of the Chicago Bears^{[citation needed]}
• Cade McNown, quarterback for the Chicago Bears^{[citation needed]}
• Robert Quinn, linebacker for the Chicago Bears ^{[citation needed]}
• Lovie Smith, head coach for the Chicago Bears^{[citation needed]}
• Kevin Walter, former wide receiver in the NFL
• Tom Waddle, wide receiver for the Chicago Bears
• James O. Williams,"Big Cat", tackle for Chicago Bears and offensive lineman coach for Lake Forest High School

• Chip Beck, PGA Tour golfer
• Edith Cummings, golfer; US Women's Amateur Champion (1924)^{[citation needed]}

• Nicole Sladkov, Olympic rhythmic gymnast^[9]

• Keith Magnuson, defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks, team captain^{[citation needed]}

• Matt Grevers, Olympic swimmer; silver medalist (2008), gold medalist (2012)

• Tim Weigel, sports anchor and reporter
• Sarah Spain, radio host and sports reporter, ESPN