If there’s one thing I always loved doing while attending college in D.C. was name-dropping all of the famous people from Pittsburgh I knew that came up in conversation. While I’m sure many of these you may already know, there might be a surprise or two on this list. There are many, many more out there. Here are just a few of the celebrities from Pittsburgh:
Christina Aguilera
For those who don’t already know, the Grammy Award winning singer and former Voice coach is a Wexford native. Did you also know she sponsors and is involved with the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh for Battered Women and Children?
Joe Manganiello
The True Blood actor is a true original Pittsburgher. He attended St. Bernard’s and attended Carnegie Mellon’s prestigious School of Drama. One of the first things he did when he married one of the most beautiful women in the world was turn her into a Steelers fan—like every good Pittsburgher would.
Frances McDormand
The actress perhaps best known for her work in Fargo and Almost Famous graduated from Monessen High School in 1975. Her latest work was the title character of HBO’s miniseries Olive Kitteridge.
Dan Marino
This one is probably an obvious one, but NFL Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino grew up in Pittsburgh and attended Central Catholic High School. Here’s a fun fact you might be unaware of: his dad delivered newspapers for the Post Gazette!
Kurt Angle
Angle is a 1996 gold medalist in wrestling, hailing from Mt. Lebanon, PA. Pro wrestling fans will recognize him from his extensive career in the World Wrestling Federation. Rumor has it he now lives in the Coraopolis area.
Charles Grodin
Millennials may recognize him from ‘90s favorites like Beethoven (he was the perpetually annoyed dad) and The Great Muppet Caper. Our parents remember Grodin from his performances in shows like The Heartbreak Kid, King Kong and Heaven Can Wait.
Zachary Quinto
Quinto is most recently known for his role as Spock in the Star Trek movie remakes. He also was nominated for an Emmy for his role in American Horror Story: Asylum. Quinto grew up in Green Tree and like Marino, was also a graduate of Central Catholic. Like Manganiello, he too attended CMU’s School of Drama.
Are you a Pittsburgher? Here’s 15 ways to find out…
What about Jeff Goldblum, Michael Keaton, Joe Namath, Dennis Miller, Josh Gibson, Art Howe, Pie Traynor, Honus Wagner, Mark Cuban, Paul Spadafora, Jim Haslett, Jim Kelley, Johnny Unitas, Mercury Morris, Bill Fralic, Randy White, LaVar Arrington, Dick Butkus, Dan Rooney,Chip Ganassi, Bruno Sanmartino, Adrian Cronauer…and we haven’t gone into scientists, artist, politicians and military.
Thanks! We are working on that!