20 Of Our Favorite Celebrities From New Hampshire

Adam Sandler

The New England state of New Hampshire is steeped in history. Known as “The Granite State”, New Hampshire is the home to some of this country’s greatest statesmen and writers. The state has beautiful forests and mountains. There are some of the highest ski mountains on the east coast. Tourism is big in New Hampshire due to its fall foliage, coastal area, and mountains. Tourists enjoy events including sap houses in the spring and county fairs in the summer and fall. There are fishing skiing, and snowmobile riding in the winter. New Hampshire is also home to some of the country’s best colleges and universities. Many celebrities were born and grew up in the state.

1. Seth Meyers

The host of NBC’s Late Night With Seth Meyers was born in Illinois but grew up in Bedford, New Hampshire. Seth Meyers always had a knack for comedy. While studying at Northwest University, Meyers performed improvisational comedy. After graduating, he and his younger brother Josh formed an improvisational troop called Boom Chicago. They performed in Amsterdam as well as the United States. Meyers was noticed by Lorne Michaels and was hired as a writer for Saturday Night Live. Meyers eventually became the show’s head writer and became the anchor of the show’s Weekend Update skit. Meyers left the show in 2014 for his own late night show.

2. Sarah Silverman

Comedian, actress, and writer Sarah Silverman was born and grew up in Bedford, New Hampshire. Silverman is known for her deadpan delivery of her satircral and often controversial jokes. She started doing stand up comedy in Boston when she was just 17 years old. Silverman attended New York University and performed stand up comedy in Greenwich Village. She was noticed by Saturday Night Live and became a writer for the show. Silverman appeared in the television shows V.I.P. and Mr. Show and the movies Who’s the Caboose, School of Rock, Wreck It Ralph, and I Smile Back. She published an autobiography in 2010 titled The Bedwetter.

3. Adam Sandler

Adam Sandler was born in New York City and grew up in Manchester, New Hampshire. He graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of Arts in 1988. Sandler’s first television role was as Theo Huxtable’s friend Smitty on The Cosby Show. He appeared on MTV’s game show Remote Control. Sandler did stand up comedy in New York City Comedy Clubs that led to a role as writer on Saturday Night Live beginning in 1990. After leaving SNL, Sandler continues to star in movies. These include Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Waterboy, The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy, 50 First Dates, The Longest Yard, Click, Grown Ups, Just Go With It, and the lead voice part in the Hotel Transylvania movies. Sandler starred in the critically acclaimed movies Punch Drunk Love and Uncut Gems.

4. Mandy Moore

Singer and actress Mandy Moore is from Nashua, New Hampshire. She began her career as a singer and songwriter and has recorded five albums. She started acting doing a voice in Dr. Doolittle 2. She appeared in movies including The Princess Diaries, A Walk to Remember, Chasing Liberty, Because I Said So, License to Wed, The Darkest Minds, and Midway. Moore was the voice of Rapunzel in the movie Tangled. Moore starred as Rebecca Pearson in NBC’s hit series This Is Us from 2016 with the last season airing this year. Moore and the cast won two Screen Actors Guild awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast. In 2019 Moore was honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

5. J.D. Salinger

Famed writer J.D. Salinger spent most of his life living in Cornish, New Hampshire. He attended New York University and Columbia University and submitted short stories to The New Yorker during the late 1930’s, but they were all rejected until 1941. Slight Rebellion Off Madison was about a teenager named Holden Caufield who was afraid of the US entering World War II. Because of Pearl Harbor and the US’s entrance into WWII, the story wasn’t published until 1946. In 1951 Salinger revisited the character of Holden Caufield in Catcher In the Rye, one of the most classic novels throughout time. Unfortunately, Salinger didn’t like the attention he received from the book’s publication and became reclusive.

6. Dan Brown

Author Dan Brown is well known for his thrillers. Some have been adapted into films. Brown is from Exeter, New Hampshire. After graduating from Amherst College, Brown began a music career. He produced a children’s music cassette and joined the National Academy of Songwriters. He composed and recorded the CD’s Angel’s an Demons and Wild Symphony. He began writing while working as an English teacher at his alma mater Phillips Exeter. Brown is most famous for his Robert Langdon novels that explore Christian themes and historical fiction. Three of the Langdon novels were adapted into films including Angels and Demons, The Divinci Code, and Inferno.

7. Jodi Picoult

Author Jodi Picoult is from Hanover, New Hampshire. Picoult has been writing since she was five years old. Her mother and grandmother were teachers and encouraged her. She graduated from Princeton University. Picoult wrote short stories for Seventeen magazine, edited textbooks, and taught 8th grade English. She earned her Masters Degree from Harvard University. Picoult wrote for the DC Comics Wonder Woman series before publishing her first novel. Her novel’s include Nineteen Minutes, Change of Heart, Handel With Care, House Rules, and Between the Lines. Picoult has received Honorary Doctor of Letter Degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of New Haven.

8. John Irving

Novelist and screenwriter John Irving is from Exeter, New Hampshire. Irving has published several bestselling novels. Four were adapted into films, and Irving wrote the screenplays. As John Irving was developing his skills, he studied with Kurt Vonnegut at the University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop. Irving published his first novel Setting Free Bears in 1969 when he was just 26 years old. Irving’s short stories and novels are mostly set in and around his hometown of Exeter, New Hampshire. A decade later he published The World According to Garp His other bestselling novels include The Hotel New Hampshire, The Cider House Rules, A Prayer For Own Meany, and A Widow For One Year. Garp, Hotel, Meany, Cider, and Widow were all adapted into movies.

9. Bode Miller

Bode Miller is the best alpine skier in the United States of America. Born in Easton, New Hampshire, Miller grew up in Franconia in the White Mountains where he learned to ski. Miller’s first Olympics was in 1998. He would go on to win six medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics and six discipline World Cup Titles. Bode Miller is the co founder of the Ski Tracking App SKEO. He is an investor in the lifestyle and nutrition brand Onnit. He serves on the Board of Directors of Opex Technologies. Miller is a partner in Alpine-X ski resorts and works as a strategic advisor.

10. Alan Shepherd

Astronaut Alan Shepherd was from Derry, New Hampshire. Shepherd graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis and served in the Navy before and during World War II. Following the war he became a naval aviator and test pilot. Shepherd was the second person and the first American to travel to space when he did so in 1961. In 1971 Shepherd walked on the moon. He is one of the NASA Mercury Seven members.

11. Christa McAuliffe

Christa McAuliffe was going to be the first civilian in space when the Space Shuttle Challenger tragically exploded just 1 minute and 13 seconds after take off. The disaster occurred on January 28, 1986. McAuliffe grew up in Concord, New Hampshire She received a Bachelor and Master’s degrees in education. McAuliffe taught at Concord High School and was selected from 11,000 applicants in NASA’s Teacher In Space Program. She trained as an astronaut and would teach from space. In 2004 McAulifffe was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal.

12. Daniel Webster

The nineteenth century statesman Daniel Webster was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire and lived in Portsmouth most of his life. Webster attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College studying law. He had a legal practice in Portsmouth. The Constitutional lawyer entered politics as a Federalist and argued 200 cases before the Supreme Court from 1914 until his death in 1852. Webster was elected to Congress representing New Hampshire and Connecticut and served in the Senate. A great orator and tactful skills, Webster served as the United States Secretary of State.

13. Anthony “Ant” Stephen Kalloniati

Comedian and television host Anthony “Ant” Stephen Kalloniati grew up in New Hampshire. He began his career in 1991 performing in comedy clubs across the country. He appeared in two seasons of Last Comic Standing and hosted VH1’s celebrity Fit Club. Ant was a regular judge on Steve Harvey’s Big Time. In 2006 he performed in U.S. of Ant. He’s appeared as a frequent commentator on VH1’s Best Week Ever. He appeared on The Tyra Banks Show, The Tonight Show, The Howard Stern Show, Snoop Dogg’s short Circuitz, To Tell the Truth, and VH1’s Celebracadabra. At hosted a podcast, second Chances, with comedian Greg Baldwin.

14. Robert Tewksbury

One of the greatest Major League baseball players of all time, Robert Tewksbury, was born and grew up in Concord, New Hampshire. He played for the New York Yankees, the Chicago Cubs, the St. Louis Cardinals, the San Diego Padres, and the Minnesota Twins over the course of his career. Tewksbury played baseball at Rutgers and Saint Leo University and collegiate summer baseball at Warham Gatemen and Cape Cod Baseball League. Tewksbury had the second lowest ratio base on balls per innings pitched since the 1920’s and the lowest ratio for pitcher to pitch since the 1800’s.

15. Ray LaMontange

Musician Ray LaMontange was born and grew up in Nashua, New Hampshire. LaMontangge is known for his unique vocal style described as a tenor croon that comes from the gut. He was influenced by Stephen Sills, Richard Manuel, and Tim Buckley. LaMontange has been compared to Otis Redding, Ryan Adams, Beck, Pink Floyd, and Van Morrison. He’s recorded eight studio albums since 1999. LaMontange has won multiple awards including three Boston Music Awards for his debut album. He received two Grammy Award nominations for his 2011 album He and the Pariah Dogs and won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album for God Willing and The Creek Don’t Rise.

16. James Broderick

Actor and director James Broderick is from Charlestown, New Hampshire. He studied pre-med at the University of New Hampshire and was drawn to the student drama club. He went to New York City and worked in The Neighborhood Playhouse and acted on Broadway. He was in A Time In Your Life in 1969 and Johnny No-Trump in 1962. Broderic appeared in films including Alice’s Restaurant, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Shadowbox. Broderick appeared in the television shows Gunsmoke and Twilight Zone. Broderick played Officer Ernie Brenner in the series Brenner and the father in Family from 1976 to 1980.

17. Sam Huntington

Actor Sam Huntington was born in Peterboough, New Hampshire and grew up in the town of Hancock. He’s appeared in movies and television since 1996. Television shows that he’s appeared in include iZombi, The Resident, Rosewood, Caveme, Being Human, Veronica Mars, CSI: New York, and The Resident. He starred in the SyFy channel’s Being Human as a werewolf, Jimmy and Jimmy Olsen in Superman Returns. Huntington had a recurring role in Rosewood. He was in the movie Jungle 2 Jungle with Tim Allen. He also appeared in Not Another Teen Movie and Psych: the Movie.

18. Mia Tyler

Mia Tyler grew up in Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire. She is the daughter of Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and actress Cyrinda Foxe. Mia made a name for herself as a model, actress, author, fashion designer, talent manager, and music promoter. At 17 years old, she appeared on MTV’s House of Style. She was a plus sized model managed by Wilhelmina Models for magazines including Seventeen, Teen, Teen People, Mode, Young Miss, and Vogue and appeared on the cover of Flare. Tyler modeled for H & M, MXM, Pennington’s, and Lane Bryant. She started a clothing line, Revolution, in 2009 and has appeared on Celebrity Fit Club, Really Rih Real Estate, Pretty Wicked, and Rush Hour 3. Tyler appeared with her dad on an episode of Hell’s Kitchen. Tyler published an autobiography, Creating Myself; How I Learned that Beauty Comes In All Sizes, in 2008 and is a painter.

19. Randy Harrison

Actor Randy Harrison is from Nashua, New Hampshire. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Degree in Fine Arts and Musical Theater. Harrison worked for several years in regional theater. He played Justin Taylor on Showtime’s Queer As Folk. Harrison co-founded the Arts Bureau. The foundation encourages careers in theater, film, music and writing.

20. Kelly Ayotte

Attorney and politician Klly Ayotle was born in Nashua, New Hampshire. She graduated from Penn State University and Villanova University School of Law. She was a prosecutor for the New Hampshire Department of Justice, and in 2004 she became the Attorney General for the State of New Hampshire. From 2011 through 2017, Ayotte served as a United States Senator. She is a republican, and many believe she is a potential candidate for Governor of New Hampshire. Ayotte serves on the Board of Directors for corporations including Caterpillar, Inc., News Corp, BAE Systems, Blink Health, Bloom Energy, and Blackstone Group.

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