20 of Our Favorite Celebrities from Philadelphia

Will Smith

Many notable people from throughout history were born in Philadelphia, including actress Grace Kelly, singer Billie Holiday, baseball player Roy Campanella, cartoonist Bil Keane, composer Marcus Blitzstein, and writer Owen Wister. It is also the birthplace of many celebrities that are famous in various aspects of the entertainment industry. Here are our 20 favorite celebrities from Philadelphia.

20. Jaeden Martell

Famous Birthdays lists Jaeden Martell as a celebrity from Philadelphia. The actor was born in Philadelphia on January 4, 2003. Although he began his career in 2013, Martell rose to prominence when he played Bill Denbrough in the 2017 film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel ‘It.’ Martell reprised the role for the 2019 sequel. He is also known for appearing in the 2019 film ‘Knives Out’ and starring in the miniseries ‘Defending Jacob.’

19. Lil Uzi Vert

Symere Basil Woods is a rapper and singer who is better known by the stage name Lil Uzi Vert. He was born in Philadelphia on July 31, 1995. Lil Uzi Vert began his career in 2012 and gained recognition in 2015 when he released the commercial mixtape ‘Luv Is Rage.’ A year later, he released his debut single ‘Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World,’ which attracted mainstream attention. In 2017, the rapper released his debut album ‘Luv Is Rage 2.’ It was followed by his second studio album ‘Eternal Atake’ in 2020.

18. Danny Garcia

Danny Garcia is one of the most successful boxers of the 2010s and 2020s, and he was born in Philadelphia on March 20, 1988. The boxer has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the lineal light-welterweight titles for Ring magazine, WBC, and WBA (Super), and the WBC welterweight title from 2016 to 2017. In 2020, Garcia was ranked as the world’s sixth-best active welterweight by The Ring. He was also ranked seventh in the world by Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and eighth in the world by BoxRec. In his career, Garcia has had 39 total fights, of which he has lost only three. It means he has won 36 fights, and 21 of these were won by knockout.

17. Todd Rundgren

Todd Rundgren is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, record producer, and sound engineer. He is known for both his solo career and for being a member of the band ‘Utopia.’ Rundgren has earned a reputation for his unorthodox yet sophisticated style of music, and he is also credited with being one of the first artists to embrace various computer technologies, such as using the Internet for music distribution. As a solo artist, Rundgren has released 21 studio albums, ten compilation albums, one EP, two live albums, two video albums, four music videos, and 21 singles. Todd Rundgren was born in Philadelphia on June 22, 1948.

16. Eddie Alvarez

Eddie Alvarez is a mixed martial artist from Philadelphia who is known by the nickname ‘The Underground King.’ He is the first fighter to have won championships with both the UFC and Bellator MMA, as he has won the UFC Lightweight Championship once and the Bellator Lightweight World Championship twice. Alvarez married his high school sweetheart in 2008, and they have three sons and a daughter. The family originally lived in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, but they moved to Northeast Philadelphia after their first son was born.

15. Jill Scott

Jill Scott is a singer, songwriter, actress, model, and poet who was born in Philadelphia in 1972. She began her career in 1999 and released her debut studio album, ‘Who Is Jill Scott: Words and Sounds Vol. 1,’ in 2000. During her career, Scott has recorded five studio albums, four compilation albums, two live albums, one remix album, and 20 singles. Although she was born in Philadelphia, Jill Scott has spent time living in New Jersey and has lived in Tennessee since 2014.

14. Bernard Hopkins

Despite being retired from professional boxing, Bernard Hopkins is still one of the most successful boxers of the last three decades. During his career, Hopkins had 67 fights, of which he won 55, including 32 by knockout. Hopkins first became a world champion in 1995 when he won the IBF middleweight title. He unified the middleweight division in 2001 when he defeated Felix Trinidad to win the WBC, WBA (Super), Ring magazine, and lineal titles. His status as the undisputed champion was cemented in 2004 with a victory over Oscar De La Hoya. The former became a minority partner with Golden Boy Promotions during the last years of his active career. Bernard Hopkins was born in Philadelphia on January 15, 1965.

13. Kyle Lowry

Professional basketball player Kyle Lowry was born in Philadelphia on March 25, 1986. He has been a six-time NBA All-Star, and he was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2016. In the same year, he was a member of the U.S. national basketball team that won a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Lowry began his professional basketball career playing for the Memphis Gazettes from 2006 and 2009. He went on to play for the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors. Since 2021, Kyle Lowry has played for Miami Heat.

12. Victoria Pedretti

Actress Victoria Pedretti was born in Philadelphia on March 23, 1995, and she began her career in 2014. She is considered a scream queen due to her roles in horrors and thrillers playing disturbed or villainous characters. Pedretti starred in both seasons of the Netflix anthology series ‘The Haunting,’ which ran from 2018 to 2020, and she played a different character in each season. She also played the role of Love Quinn in the Netflix series ‘You’ from 2019 to 2021. Her films include ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,’ ‘Shirley,’ and ‘Star-Crossed: The Film.’

11. Kat Dennings

Kat Dennings was born in the Philadelphia suburb of Bryn Mawr on June 13, 1986. In her television career, she is best known for playing Max Black in the CBS sitcom ‘2 Broke Girls’. She is also known for playing Darcy Lewis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films ‘Thor’ and ’Thor: The Dark World.’ Dennings reprised the role for the Disney+ miniseries ‘WandaVision.’ Her films have included ‘Suburban Gothic,’ ‘Big Momma’s House 2,’ ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin,’ ‘Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,’ ‘The House Bunny,’ and ‘Charlie Bartlett.’ Although she is originally from Pennsylvania, Dennings now lives in Los Angeles.

10. Seth Green

Seth Green, an actor, producer, writer, and director, was born in Philadelphia in 1974. He is probably best known for being the co-creator and executive producer of Adult Swim’s ‘Robot Chicken.’ Green is also the most frequent voice on the series, and he has directed two specials. As an actor, Seth Green has appeared in films including ‘My Stepmother Is an Alien,’ ‘Rat Race,’ and ‘Angel.’ He voices Chris Griffin in ‘Family Guy.’ Green released the film ‘Changeland’ in 2019, which was his first film as a writer and director.

9. Marshmello

Marshmello is an artist of mystery, as he has become famous for concealing his true appearance by wearing white headgear with black features that reflects his stage name. However, it is known that his real name is Christopher Comstock, and he was born in Philadelphia on May 19, 1992. As an electronic music producer and DJ, he has released multiple multi-platinum singles that have appeared in the top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100.

8. Eve

Rapper and actress Eve, whose full name is Eve Jihan Cooper, was born in Philadelphia on November 10, 1978. She began her career in the music industry in 1996 but did not release her debut album, ‘Let There Be Eve… Ruff Ryder’s First Lady,’ until 1999. As an actress, she is probably best known for playing the role of Terri Jones in the ‘Barbershop’ trilogy of films. She has also had roles in films including ‘Whip It,’ ‘The Cookout,’ and ‘The Woodsman.’ Although Eve originates from Philadelphia, she now splits her time between Los Angeles, London, and New York.

7. Rob McElhenney

Rob McElhenney was born in Philadelphia to parents of Irish descent. The actor began his career in 1996, and he is best known for playing Ronald ‘Mac’ McDonald in ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ and Ian Grimm in ‘Mythic Quest.’ He has been married to actress Kaitlin Olson since 2008. The couple has stayed close to their roots, and they bought Skinner’s Bar at 226 Market Street in Philadelphia in 2009.

6. Kevin Hart

Actor Kevin Hart was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 6, 1979. He started his acting career performing in nightclubs around New England and got his television break in 2001 when he was cast in ‘Undeclared.’ It led to Hart landing roles in films such as ‘Paper Soldiers,’ ‘Little Fockers,’ ‘Soul Plane,’ ‘Scary Movie 3,’ and ‘In the Mix.’ He went on to appear in more films throughout the 2010s, including ‘Central Intelligence,’ ‘Ride Along,’ ‘Grudge Match,’ and ‘Think Like a Man.’ In partnership with Lionsgate, Hart launched the subscription video streaming service Laugh Out Loud Network in 2017.

5. Questlove

Questlove, whose real name is Ahmir Khalib Thompson, was born in Philadelphia in 1971. He is a musician, songwriter, DJ, music journalist, author, and film director. Alongside Black Thought, Questlove is the frontman for the hip hop band the Roots, and he is also the band’s drummer. The Roots are the in-house band for ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.’ Questlove has produced music for multiple successful artists, including Jay-Z, Jill Scott, Bilal, Amy Winehouse, Al Green, John Legend, and Erykah Badu. In addition to his music career, Questlove has written four books, and he is an adjunct professor at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University.

4. Kevin Bacon

Only In Your State lists actor Kevin Bacon as one of the most famous celebrities from Philadelphia. He was born in the city on July 8, 1958. The actor is known for films such as ‘Footloose,’ ‘A Few Good Men,’ ‘Apollo 13,’ ‘The Woodsman,’ ‘Wild Things,’ ‘Hollow Men,’ ‘X-Men: First Class,’ and ‘Patriot’s Day.’ Bacon is married to actress Kyra Sedgwick, and they have a son and a daughter together. Sedgwick and Bacon live in the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

3. Richard Gere

Actor Richard Gere’s career began in the 1970s, and he rose to prominence for his roles in the films ‘Looking for Mr. Goodbar’ and ‘Days of Heaven.’ He was established as a sex symbol and leading man after starring in the 1980 film ‘American Gigolo.’ Some of his other successful films include ‘Pretty Woman,’ ‘An Officer and a Gentleman,’ ‘Runaway Bride,’ ‘I’m Not There,’ and ‘Chicago.’ Gere has been married three times and has one son from his second marriage and two sons from his third marriage.

2. Will Smith

Another of our favorite celebrities from Philadelphia is Will Smith, who is an actor, rapper, and film producer. Smith first received recognition as a performer when he was part of a hip hop duo with DJ Jazzy Jeff, and he then began a solo career in the music industry. Smith’s fame grew when he played a fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.’ He then moved into the film industry, with roles in the three ‘Bad Boys’ films, ‘the three ‘Men In Black’ films, ‘Shark Tale,’ ‘I Am Legend,’ ‘Suicide Squad,’ ‘Hancock,’ and ‘The Pursuit of Happyness.’ Will Smith has won multiple awards, and his films have grossed more than $9.3 billion at the worldwide box office.

1. Kobe Bryant

According to The Famous People, one of the most famous celebrities from Philadelphia is Kobe Bryant. Not only is Kobe Bryant one of the most famous basketball players, but he is also one of the best known and most commercially successful living sportspeople. Throughout his entire 20-year career, Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers, which meant he lived in Los Angeles with his wife and four daughters. Bryant and his second daughter were tragically killed in a helicopter accident on January 26, 2020.

You can also read:

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply