List of people from Leicester and Leicestershire
(Redirected from Famous People from Leicester)
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Expand list This is a list of notable people born in Leicester, England, or in the county of Leicestershire, educated there, or otherwise associated with the city or county.
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Academia (except scientists)
- Graham Barnfield (sociologist)
- Caroline Ashurst Biggs (suffragette & academic)
- James Densley (sociologist)
- Mark Fisher (21st century cultural theorist and philosopher)
- W. G. Hoskins (landscape historian)
- Jack Simmons (historian esp. of British railways)
Architecture
- John Breedon Everard (architect and civil engineer)
- Ernest Gimson (architect, craftsman)
- Henry Goddard (architect)
- Stockdale Harrison (architect)
- John Johnson (architect)
- William Keay (architect and civil engineer)
- Samuel Perkins Pick (architect)
- Arthur Wakerley (architect)
Arts and entertainment
Acting, film, and comedy
- Richard Armitage (actor, North and South, Robin Hood, The Hobbit)
- Richard Attenborough (actor, Jurassic Park; director, Gandhi)
- Patrick Barlow (actor, comedian and playwright)
- Oliver Bayldon (production designer and writer)
- Lydia Rose Bewley (stage and movie actor, The Inbetweeners Movie)
- Norman Bird (actor, The Lord of the Rings, Cash on Demand)[1]
- Jeremy Bulloch (actor, Star Wars)
- Graham Chapman (comedian, Monty Python)
- Selina Chilton (actress, Doctors)
- Amanda Drew (actress, EastEnders)
- Betty Driver (singer and actress, Coronation Street)
- Terri Dwyer (actress, Hollyoaks)
- Sheila Fearn (actor, The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, George and Mildred)[2]
- Stephen Frears (film director, Dangerous Liaisons)
- Rosemary Harris (actress, "Spider-Man film trilogy")
- Tom Hopper (actor, Merlin, Doctor Who)
- Colin Hurley (Shakespearean actor)
- Dominic Keating (actor, Star Trek: Enterprise)
- Alison King (actress, Coronation Street)
- Michael Kitchen (actor, Foyle's War)
- John Leeson (actor, voice of K-9 in Doctor Who and Bungle in Rainbow and narrator for the children's hospital radio series, The Space Gypsy Adventures)
- Barry Letts (actor, television director, writer and producer)
- Bill Maynard (actor, Coronation Street, Heartbeat)
- Parminder Nagra (actor, Bend It Like Beckham, ER)
- David Neilson (actor, Coronation Street)
- Andy Nyman (actor)
- Vincenzo Nicoli (actor)
- Kate O'Mara (actress, Howards' Way)
- Steve Oram (actor, Sightseers, A Dark Song)
- Rachel Parris (actor, comedian, and television presenter)[3]
- John Payne (Canadian voice actor who was born in town and raised in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire but moved to Vancouver, British Columbia)
- Helen Pearson (actress, Hollyoaks)
- Adrian Scarborough (actor, The Madness of King George, Gosford Park)
- Josette Simon (actress, Blakes 7)
- Una Stubbs (actress, Till Death Us Do Part, Sherlock)
- Rakhee Thakrar (actress, EastEnders)
- Kraig Thornber (actor, The Rocky Horror Show, etc.)
- Mark Wingett (actor, The Bill)
Broadcasting and journalism
- David Attenborough (broadcaster and naturalist)
- Karl Beattie (Living TV presenter, Most Haunted and Most Haunted Live)
- Biddy Baxter (editor, Blue Peter)
- Manish Bhasin (BBC sports presenter, Football Focus)
- O.J. Borg (radio and TV presenter)
- Martine Croxall (TV newsreader, BBC)
- Julie Etchingham (TV newsreader, Sky News, ITN)
- Derrick Evans (TV fitness instructor, Mr Motivator)
- Martin Gillingham (sports commentator and journalist)
- Clare Hollingworth (foreign correspondent)
- David Icke (conspiracy theorist)
- Oliver Kamm (Times leader writer and columnist)
- Kevin Myers (journalist, Irish Independent)
- Sir Henry Norman, 1st Baronet (journalist and politician who revealed the truth about the Dreyfus affair)
- Jon Tickle (Leicester University graduate, Brainiac: Science Abuse presenter)
- Tony Wadsworth (broadcaster, BBC)
- Gok Wan (fashion stylist and presenter of How to Look Good Naked, Channel 4)
- Arlo White (broadcaster, BBC)
Music
- Aetherfx (Jacob Tugby, industrial electronic musician)
- Laurel Aitken (singer, the "godfather of ska"; born in Cuba, lived on the St. Mark's Estate 1971–2005)
- Sam Bailey (winner of The X Factor 2013)
- Frank Benbini (drummer, Fun Lovin Criminals)
- Blab Happy (band)
- Black Widow (band)
- Blitzkrieg (band)
- Hannah Boleyn (singer-songwriter)
- The Bomb Party (band)
- Mahalia Burkmar (singer)
- Grace Burrows (English violinist and orchestra conductor)
- Felix Buxton (half of Basement Jaxx)
- Scott Xylo (multi-genre Music Producer & Songwriter)
- Cornershop (band)
- Crazyhead (band)
- Brian Davison (drummer, The Nice, Refugee, Gong)
- John Deacon (bassist, Queen)
- The Deep Freeze Mice (band)
- Diesel Park West (band)
- Disco Zombies (band)
- Easy Life (band)
- Family (band)
- Gaye Bykers on Acid (band)
- Gemini (DJ)
- Robert Gotobed (drummer, Wire)
- Davy Graham (folk musician)
- Ric Grech (violinist, bassist, writer, producer, member of Blind Faith, Traffic)
- H "Two" O (band who produced the 2008 song "What's It Gonna Be?")
- Kevin Hewick (singer)
- Engelbert Humperdinck (singer, Release Me, Misty Blue and 2012 Eurovision entrant.)
- The Hunters Club (band)
- John Illsley (bassist, Dire Straits)
- Kasabian (band)
- KAV (former Happy Mondays guitarist, solo artist, musician, co-launched UK festival Getloaded in the Park)
- Tony Kaye (keyboard player, Yes)
- Sharron Kraus (folk singer)
- Lisa Lashes (DJ)
- Jon Lord (organist, Deep Purple)
- Paul Martinez (bassist, guitarist, writer)
- Tom Meighan (vocalist, Kasabian)
- Mark Morrison (singer, "Return of the Mack")
- Perfume (band)
- Sergio Pizzorno (musician, Kasabian)
- Po! (band)
- Prolapse (band)
- Scum Pups (band)
- Oliver Sean
- Showaddywaddy (band)
- Molly Smitten-Downes (2014 Eurovision entrant)
- DJ SS (DJ and producer)
- Stunt (band)
- Nancy Whiskey Folk singer most famous for "Freight Train". Lived in Leicestershire from 1958 and died in Leicester in 2003.
- David Wise (composer)
- Yeah Yeah Noh (band)
- The Young Knives (band)
Painters
- Lemuel Francis Abbott (portrait artist)
- Duncan Fegredo (comic book artist)
- John Flower (artist)
- Edith Gittins (artist and social reformer)
- John T. Kenney (artist and illustrator of The Railway Series)
- Benjamin Marshall (artist)
- Tom Marshall (artist and photo colouriser)
- Jemisha Maadhavji (portrait painter)
Writing (except journalism)
- Lemuel Abbott (clergyman and poet)
- James Allen (author)
- Elizabeth Arnold (children's writer)
- Anna Barbauld (writer and poet)
- Julian Barnes (author)
- David Campton (playwright, actor)
- John Cleveland (poet)
- Thomas Cooper (poet)
- J. T. Edson (author)
- Anne Fine (author)
- Martin Goodman (novelist, biographer and travel writer)
- Hal Iggulden (author)
- E. Phillips Oppenheim (prolific author, inventor of "Rogue Male" genre)
- Joe Orton (playwright)
- Lynda Page (author)
- Jessie Pope (writer and poet)
- Bali Rai (author)
- C. P. Snow (author)
- Nina Stibbe (author)
- Sue Townsend (author, Adrian Mole books)
- Ruth Wills (poet)
- Colin Wilson (author)
Others
- Gothy Kendoll (drag queen, DJ and OnlyFans creator)
- Mary Linwood (needlewoman)
- Danica Taylor (television personality)
Business
- Charles Bennion (shoe machinery manufacturer, philanthropist, bought Bradgate Park for the 'quiet enjoyment of the people of Leicestershire')
- Harold Berridge (civil engineer and mechanical engineer)
- Thomas Cook (travel agent)
- Nathaniel Corah (textile manufacturer)
- Henry Curry (founder of Currys)
- Thomas Fielding Johnson (worsted spinner, philanthropist, founding benefactor of Leicester University)
- William Inman (shipping company owner)
- Frank Jessop (In 1935 founded The Jessop Group Limited, photographic retailers and suppliers. "Jessops of Leicester")
- Harry Peach (furniture manufacturer and social campaigner)
- Henry Walker (founder of Walkers Crisps)
- Thomas White (merchant, philanthropist)
- William Wyggeston (merchant, philanthropist)
Exploration
- Henry Bates (naturalist and explorer)
- Ed Stafford (explorer and author)
- Alfred Russel Wallace (naturalist, explorer, evolutionist and author, who briefly taught at Collegiate school)
Military
- Nicholas Alkemade Lancaster tail gunner who jumped 18000 feet without a parachute and survived.
- General Sir Patrick Howard-Dobson, former Vice-Chief of Defence Staff
- M. E. Clifton James, actor trained to impersonate Bernard Montgomery in World War II
- Johnnie Johnson, World War II's top Allied fighter ace
Politics and royalty
- Alastair Campbell (journalist and political advisor)
- Sir Arthur Haselrig, 2nd Baronet (MP for Leicestershire 1640–1653 & Leicester 1653 – 1659)
- Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (founder of the English Parliament)
- Lady Jane Grey ("Queen for Nine Days")
- Kelvin Hopkins (MP)
- Greg Knight (Former MP)
- Greville Janner (MP and barrister)
- Richard III of England
- Peter Soulsby (Mayor of Leicester, former MP)
- Claudia Webbe (Labour Party MP)[4]
Religion
- John Brown, famous evangelical preacher[5]
- William Carey (missionary and translator)
- Charles Henry Carter (Baptist missionary and translator of the first English-Singhalese dictionary)
- George Davys (Bishop and tutor to Queen Victoria)
- George Fox (founder of the Religious Society of Friends, otherwise known as Quakers)
- Robert Hall (Baptist minister and preacher)
- Arthur Colborne Lankester (doctor and missionary)
- Hugh Latimer (Protestant Bishop and Martyr)
- Thomas Moor (only Protestant martyr to be burned at the stake at Leicester during the Marian persecutions, not to be confused with Catholic martyr Thomas More)
- John Wycliffe (Theologian, Church reformer, translator of the Bible, Rector of Lutterworth)
Science
- Alf Adams (physicist, inventor of the strained quantum-well laser)
- William Henry Bragg (physicist, chemist and mathematician)
- William Lawrence Bragg (physicist)
- Harold Hopkins
- Harold Edwin Hurst (Hydrologist whose study of the Nile led to a better understanding of statistics with applications in dam design and finance.)
- Sir Alec Jeffreys (geneticist and developer of genetic fingerprinting) (DNA)
- Roger Mason
- Benjamin Ward Richardson (physician)
- Cedric Smith (statistician and geneticist)
Sport
Boxing
- George Aldridge (born 1936) (former British middleweight champion; grew up in Market Harborough)
- Pat Butler (1913-2001) (former British welterweight champion; born in Rothley)
- Errol Christie (1963-2017) (former European middleweight champion; born in Leicester)
- Albert Cocksedge (1884-1928, early 20th century English champion at various weights; born in Leicester
- Shaun Cummins (1968-2012) (fought for British and European titles at super-welterweight and middleweight; born in Leicester)
- Jack Gardner (1926–1978) (British, British Empire, and European heavyweight champion)
- Tony McKenzie (born 1963) (former British light welterweight champion; born in Leicester)
- Rendall Munroe (born 1980) (EBU and Commonwealth super bantamweight boxing champion; born in Leicester)
- Louis Norman (born 1993) (British flyweight challenger; lives in Shepshed)
- Chris Pyatt (born 1963) (former World Champion middleweight boxer)
- Tony Sibson (born 1958) (former European and Commonwealth middleweight champion; born in Leicester)
- Len Wickwar (1911-1980) (holds the record for highest number of professional fights, 470; born in Leicester)
- Tim Wood (1951-2010) (former British light heavyweight champion; grew up in Leicester)
Chess
- Henry Ernest Atkins (chess master, nine-time British champion; the H.E. Atkins tournament is run annually in Leicester)
- Mark Hebden (chess grandmaster)
- Glenn Flear (chess grandmaster)
Cricket
- James Barnfather (played first-class cricket for Essex in 1924)
- Samit Patel (England international cricketer)
- M. J. K. Smith (England cricket captain)
Cycling
- Lucy Garner (twice Junior World Champion)
- Bert Harris (first professional cycling champion of England)
- Fred Wood (multi World Cycling Champion, 1880s)[6]
Football
- Ian Baraclough (football manager)
- Harvey Barnes (English footballer)[7]
- Ashley Chambers (English footballer)[8]
- Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (English footballer)
- Dion Dublin (England International footballer)[9]
- Kevin Friend (football referee)[10]
- Emile Heskey (England international footballer)[11]
- Chris Kirkland (England international footballer)[12]
- Norman Leet (English former footballer)[13]
- Gary Lineker (England international footballer, World Cup 1986 Golden Boot Winner, sports presenter)[14]
- Joe Mattock (English footballer)[15]
- Holly Morgan, (English footballer, captain of Leicester City W.F.C.)[16]
- Norman Plummer (Leicester City footballer, captain 1949 FA Cup Final, decorated World War II veteran)
- Levi Porter (English footballer)[17]
- Michael Robinson (footballer, Spanish TV presenter)[18]
- Peter Shilton (England's most capped footballer)[19]
- Luke Varney (footballer)[20]
Rugby Union
- Dan Cole (rugby union footballer for Leicester Tigers and England)
- Martin Corry (former rugby union footballer, former Leicester captain and former England captain)
- Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers captain, England International)
- Martin Johnson (rugby union footballer, Leicester and England's World-Cup winning captain; grew up in Market Harborough)
- Steve Redfern (rugby union footballer, Leicester Tigers walk of legends)
- Dean Richards (rugby union footballer and coach, Leicester Tigers and England captain)
- Ollie Smith (Rugby Union international)[21]
- Harry Thacker (Leicester Tigers)
- John Wells (Leicester Tigers captain, head coach and England Forwards coach)
Snooker
- Tom Ford (snooker player)
- Shailesh Jogia (snooker player)
- Joe O'Connor (snooker player)
- Mark Selby (snooker player; the 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021 world snooker champion and eight ball pool world champion 2007)
- Willie Thorne (snooker player and commentator)
- Ben Woollaston (snooker player)
Speedway
- Geoff Bouchard
- Ivor Brown
- Cyril "Squib" Burton
- Bruce Forrester
- David Howe
- Paddy Mills
- Graham Plant
- Fred Wilkinson
- Len Williams (Sheffield, Leicester and England)
- Stan Williams (Sheffield, Coventry and England)
Others
- Chris Adcock (English and Great Britain badminton player)
- Tony Allcock (fourteen-time bowls world champion, now chief executive of Bowls England)
- Andrew Betts (Great Britain basketball player)
- Katie Boulter (professional tennis player)
- Jamie Caven (darts player)
- Roger Clark (rally driving champion)
- Mark Cox (English professional tennis player)[22]
- Jennie Fletcher (Olympic gold medallist in swimming)
- Bob Gerard (racing driver)
- Jamie Green (race car driver in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters championship)
- Tamsin Greenway, former English netball player and coach
- Phelan Hill (Rowing cox Olympic Gold medalist 2016 and Olympic Bronze medalist 2012)
- John Arthur Jarvis (swimmer, 1900 Olympic medallist)
- Ken Johnson (Olympic athlete)
- Charlie Christina Martin hill climb and Le Mans Cup racing driver
- John Merricks (sailor, 1996 Olympic medallist)
- James Wilks (UFC fighter)
- Roger Williamson (Formula One driver)
Miscellaneous
- Donald Hings (1907–2004), inventor of the Walkie-Talkie
- Daniel Lambert (1770–1809), heaviest man in England
- Sydney Lucas (1900–2008), last soldier to serve in both World Wars
- Ian McAteer, Scottish-born former gangster[23]
- Kim McLagan, model and cosmetologist
- Joseph Merrick (1862–1890), "The Elephant Man"
- Charles Killick Millard (1870–1952), Medical Officer for Health and founder of the Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society
- Phil Shaw, inventor of extreme ironing
- Anick Soni, intersex activist and creative consultant.
References
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