List of people from Brooklyn
This is a list of people who were either born or have lived in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City at some time in their lives.
A
- Aaliyah – actress, dancer and singer
- Allison Abbate – film producer and animator
- Johari Abdul-Malik – imam and muslim activist
- Cal Abrams – Major League Baseball player
- Elaine Abrams – physician and epidemiologist
- Elizabeth C. Addoms – physical therapist and academic
- Constance Ahrons – psychotherapist
- Aja – rapper, drag queen, and reality television personality
- Monica Aksamit, saber fencer; won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the women's saber team competition
- Romeo Alaeff – visual artist
- Michael Alaimo – actor
- Sal Albanese – politician
- Marv Albert – sportscaster
- Steve Albert – sportscaster
- Tatyana Ali – actress
- Rawle Alkins – basketball player in the NBA and Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Donna Allegra – writer and dancer
- Alexander Allen – stylist
- Harry Allen – journalist
- Woody Allen – film director, actor and screenwriter
- Louis Allmendinger – architect
- Dean Alvord – real estate developer
- Lyle Alzado – NFL All-Pro football player
- Franco Ambriz – playwright
- Anthony Ameruso – New York City transportation commissioner
- Alan Amron – inventor
- John Andariese – basketball player and sports broadcaster
- Barbara Anderson – actress
- Dave Anderson – sportswriter
- Warren Anderson – businessman and CEO of Union Carbide Corporation at the time of the Bhopal disaster
- Grace Andrews – mathematician
- Carmelo Anthony – National Basketball Association player
- Stephen Antonakos – sculptor
- Sonny Arguinzoni – evangelist and Christian religious leader
- Alan Arkin – actor, director and screenwriter
- Jack Armstrong – sportscaster Toronto Raptors; former coach Niagara University
- Darren Aronofsky – film director
- Abraham Aronow – physician and photographer
- Robert Asencio – Florida politician
- Isaac Asimov – author and biochemist
- Stan Asofsky – superfan of the New York Knicks
- Madeline Astor – Titanic survivor, wife of John Jacob Astor IV
- W.H. Auden – poet
- Red Auerbach – National Basketball Association coach and general manager, member of Hall of Fame
- Aaron Augenblick – animator, director, and producer
- Ken Auletta – journalist and writer
- Louis Auslander – mathematician
- Maurice Auslander – mathematician
- Paul Auster – author
- Albert S. Axelrad – rabbi, author, educator, and community leader
- Martin Azarow – actor
B
- John Badalamenti – federal judge
- Joey Badass – rapper
- Jenny Baglivo – mathematician, statistician, and author
- Adrienne Bailon – actress
- Scott Baio – actor
- William Baker – New York City police commissioner and owner of the Philadelphia Phillies
- Ralph Bakshi – film director
- Folarin Balogun – soccer player
- Jean Balukas – pool player
- Francis J. Banfield – soldier, law enforcement officer, and police sergeant
- Ross Barkan – journalist, novelist, and essayist
- Aziza Barnes – poet, screenwriter and playwright
- Samuel Baron – flutist
- Salvatore Barone – soccer player
- Carolyne Barry – dancer and dance instructor
- Pauline Bart – sociologist
- Maria Bartiromo – journalist and author
- Jake Barton – designer
- Jean-Michel Basquiat – artist
- Ebenezer Bassett – diplomat
- Noah Baumbach – film director and writer
- Frederick Converse Beach – patent attorney, editor and co-owner of Scientific American
- Gary Becker – economist; Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
- Francis J. Beckwith – philosopher at Baylor University
- James D. M. Beebe – Sandy Hook Pilot
- Edward Beecher – theologian
- Henry Ward Beecher – clergyman and social reformer
- Lyman Beecher – clergyman and father of Henry Ward Beecher, Thomas K. Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Begushkin – folk rock band
- Joy Behar – comedian and talk-show host
- Sam Belnavis – executive in automobile racing
- Paul Ben-Victor – actor
- Pat Benatar – singer
- Richard Bender – architect and urban planner
- Randy E. Bennett – educational researcher
- Mary Crowell Van Benschoten, author, newspaper publisher, clubwoman
- Sarah Benson – director of avant-garde theatre
- Bill Benulis – penciller and inker
- John G. Bergen – public servant and New York City Police Commissioner
- David Berkowitz – serial killer known as "Son of Sam"
- Joan Berkowitz – chemist
- A. R. Bernard – pastor and founder of the Christian Cultural Center
- Walter Berndt – cartoonist
- Hannah Berner – comedian
- Mike Berniker – record producer
- Karen Bernod – R&B vocalist, songwriter and producer
- Herb Bernstein – record producer, composer, arranger, and conductor
- Lou Bernstein – photographer and teacher
- Mark S. Berry – music and film producer
- Alan Bersin – civil servant, lawyer, scholar, and educator
- Paul Bettany – actor
- Miriam Bienstock – record company executive
- Jennifer Biesty – chef and restaurateur
- Big Daddy Kane – rapper, producer and actor
- Sidney W. Bijou – developmental psychologist
- Paul Binder – founder and ringmaster of the Big Apple Circus
- J. Malcolm Bird – mathematician and parapsychologist
- Howard Kent Birnbaum – metallurgist
- Charles Biro – cartoonist and comic book creator
- Alexis Bittar – jewelry designer
- Mary Walling Blackburn – artist, writer, and feminist
- Brandon Blackwood – fashion designer and businessman
- Larry J. Blake – actor
- Lloyd Blankfein – investment banker; chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs
- Herbert Blau – theatre director and educator
- Corbin Bleu – actor
- Paul Bloch – publicist
- Walter Block – economist and anarcho-capitalist theorist
- Sara Blomqvist – fashion model
- George G. Bloomer – televangelist
- Kermit Bloomgarden – theatrical producer
- William Bodde Jr. – diplomat
- Joseph Bologna – actor
- Kurt Boone – writer
- Bob Born – inventor of Peeps marshmallow confection
- John Boulos – soccer player and National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee
- Matthew Bouraee – soccer player
- William Oland Bourne – clergyman, publisher, journalist, editor, author, poet, and social reformer
- Clara Bow – actress
- Riddick Bowe – boxer, heavyweight champion
- Doug Bowser – president of Nintendo of America
- Barbara Boxer – politician; U.S. senator from California
- Harry Boykoff – basketball player
- Elizabeth Bracco – actress
- Lorraine Bracco – actress
- Steve Bracey – basketball player
- Scott Brady – actor
- Justin Brannan – politician and musician
- Maureen Braziel – pioneer of women's judo competition
- George Braziller – book publisher
- Mark Breland – boxer; five-time New York Golden Gloves champion
- Julia E. B. Brick – philanthropist
- Shannon Briggs – boxer, heavyweight champion
- Richard Bright – actor
- Alice Brock – artist, author and restaurateur
- Gail Brodsky – tennis player
- Lola Brooke – rapper
- Mel Brooks – actor, comedian, film director, film producer and screenwriter
- Brooklyn Thrill Killers – Four Brooklyn teenagers who were convicted of murdering a homeless man in 1954
- Dario Brose – soccer player and 1992 Olympian
- Foxy Brown – actress, model and rap artist
- Larry Brown – basketball player and coach, point guard, three-time All-Star, three-time assists leader, Olympic champion, NCAA and NBA head coach
- Nixzmary Brown – murder victim
- Patrick J. Brown – fire captain who died in the September 11 attacks who is the subject of the 2006 film Finding Paddy
- Peter Campbell Brown – lawyer and government official
- Richard Brown – Sandy Hook Pilot
- Dave Buchwald – filmmaker and hacker
- Elliott Buckmaster – U.S. Navy officer; naval aviator during World War I and World War II
- Buckshot – rapper
- Eddie Buczynski – Wiccan and archaeologist
- Oral Bullen – soccer player
- Nicholas Burke – uilleann piper
- Kit Burns – sportsman, saloon keeper and criminal
- Sarah Burns – writer, public speaker, and filmmaker
- Terry Burrus – musician; composer, conductor, producer
- Steve Buscemi – actor, film director and screenwriter
- Arnold H. Buss – psychologist and academic
- Daniel M. Burnham – politician
- Busta Rhymes – rapper
- Yitzhak Buxbaum – author and maggid
C
- Red Cafe – rapper
- Jason Calacanis – podcaster and author
- Paul Calello – CEO of Credit Suisse Group
- Charlie Callas – comedian
- Brandon Cambridge – soccer player
- Robert Horton Cameron – mathematician known for the Cameron–Martin theorem
- Sean Cameron – soccer player who represented Guyana
- Duncan Candler – architect
- Mathilda B. Canter – psychologist
- Giovanni Capitello – actor/filmmaker
- Al Capone – gangster
- Mae Capone – wife of Al Capone
- Fred Capossela – thoroughbred race track announcer
- Truman Capote – writer
- Miriam Carey – woman killed at a White House security check point
- Timothy Carey – film and television character actor
- Jack Carter – comedian
- Fabiano Caruana – youngest chess grandmaster in United States history
- Lionel Casson – classical archaeologist
- Jack Catran – industrial designer and linguist
- Chris Cattaneo – soccer player
- Gerald Chapman – criminal known as the "Gentleman Bandit"
- George S. Chase – composer
- Roz Chast – cartoonist
- Joy Chatel – cosmetologist, community organizer and activist
- Edwin Checkley – athlete, author, and physician
- Phyllis Chesler – writer, psychotherapist, and academic
- Bea Chester – All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
- Hilda Chester – Brooklyn Dodgers super fan known as Howlin' Hilda
- Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick – U.S. representative for Florida
- Nola Chilton – theater director and acting teacher
- Shirley Chisholm – first female African American U.S. representative and first African American major-party candidate for U.S. president
- Alice Clark – singer
- Donald C. Clark Sr. – businessman and philanthropist
- Adele Clarke – sociologist and women's health scholar
- Yvette Clarke – U.S. congresswoman and former New York City councilor
- Andrew Dice Clay – comedian
- Cheryl "Coko" Clemons – gospel singer and lead singer of R&B group SWV
- Abram Cohen – Olympic fencer
- David Cohen – member of the US Army, a liberator of the Ohrdruf concentration camp, and schoolteacher
- George H. Cohen – lawyer
- Haylynn Cohen – model
- Herbert Cohen – 2x Olympic foil fencer
- Irwin Cohen (developer) – lawyer, investor, and real estate developer
- Karl P. Cohen – physical chemist and mathematical physicist who helped usher in the age of nuclear energy and reactor development
- Manuel F. Cohen – chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Gary Cohn – journalist
- Joanne M. Cohoon – sociologist
- Kenneth Cole – designer
- Norm Coleman – U.S. senator from Minnesota, 2003–2009
- Kim Coles – comedian, actress from Living Single
- Melville Collins – actor, baritone, composer, and pianist
- Sandy Collora – film director
- Joseph Colombo – mobster who was boss of the Colombo crime family
- Elvis Comrie – soccer player who represented the United States national team
- Robert W. Conn – president and chief executive officer of The Kavli Foundation
- Jennifer Connelly – actress
- Chuck Connors – actor
- Daniel Conover – public servant, political activist, and industrialist
- Mildred Constantine – curator
- Omar Cook – professional basketball player
- Andrew W. Cooper – civil rights activist, businessman, and journalist
- George H. Cooper – United States Navy rear admiral
- Pat Cooper – comedian
- Aaron Copland – composer
- Italia Coppola – matriarch of the Coppola family
- Larry Corcoran – Major League Baseball player
- John Corigliano – Academy Award-, Pulitzer Prize for Music- and Grammy Award-winning composer
- William H. Cornwell – businessman, military colonel and politician
- Howard Cosell – sportscaster
- William R. Cosentini – mechanical engineer and founder of Cosentini Associates
- Jonathan Coulton – musician
- Almira Kennedy Coursey – activist and educator
- Jesse Armour Crandall – inventor and toy-maker
- Hart Crane – poet
- Melora Creager – singer
- Jimmy Crespo – former Aerosmith guitarist
- Peter Criss – musician
- Seymour L. Cromwell – banker who served as president of the New York Stock Exchange
- Billy Cunningham – NBA player and coach
- Duncan Curry – baseball pioneer and insurance executive
- Steve Cuozzo – newspaper editor, restaurant critic, and real estate columnist
- Anthony Curtiss – naturalist and writer
- Malkia Cyril – poet and media activist
D
- Da Beatminerz – hip-hop production team
- Da Bush Babees – hip-hop group
- Andrea Dalzell – nurse
- Dana Dane – rapper
- Tony Danza – actor
- John D'Aquino – actor
- Thomas Darden – U.S. Navy rear admiral, 37th governor of American Samoa
- Jonathan David – soccer player who represented the Canada soccer team
- Larry David – writer, producer, actor, and comedian
- Brian David-Marshall – founding partner of Eternity Comics
- Paul Davidson – economist
- Richard Davidson – psychologist
- Edward H. Davis – field collector for the Museum of the American Indian
- James E. Davis – politician who was assassinated
- John Henry Davis – U.S. weightlifter, 6-time world champion and 2-time Olympic gold medalist
- Luther Davis – playwright and screenwriter
- Marguerite Inman Davis – socialite, nurse and political figure
- Tommy Davis – baseball player and coach
- Noach Dear – New York Supreme Court judge
- Frank DeCicco – mobster
- Mos Def – actor and rapper
- Ronald DeFeo Jr. – mass murderer who killed his family in 1974; inspiration for The Amityville Horror
- Calvert DeForest – actor and comedian
- Sebastian DeFrancesco, paralympic athlete and table tennis player
- Charles R. DeFreest – journalist, newspaper editor, and politician
- David DeJesus – MLB player
- Jane Delgado – clinical psychologist, health care advocate, non-profit executive, and author
- Dom DeLuise – comedian and actor
- Tony De Nonno – filmmaker, photographer, puppeteer, and historian
- Alan Dershowitz – lawyer, professor, author
- C.C. Deville – guitarist for the bands Poison and Samantha 7
- Kevin Devine – musician
- Danny Devito – actor, comedian, filmmaker
- Neil Diamond – singer
- Lou DiBella – boxing promoter and television/film producer
- Sally Maria Diggs – enslaved African-American girl whose freedom was famously bought by Henry Ward Beecher
- Mary E. Dillon – engineer and president of Brooklyn Borough Gas Company
- Jessica Dimmock – documentary photojournalist
- Lou DiMuro – umpire
- Michael A. DiSpezio – writer, performer, and broadcast host
- Chris DiStefano – comedian
- Corey Dolgon – author and sociologist
- Andy Dolich – sports executive
- Candida Donadio – literary agent
- Byron Donalds – U.S. representative for Florida
- Vincent D'Onofrio – actor
- Valerie D'Orazio – writer and blogger
- Irvin Dorfman – tennis player
- Irwin Dorros – telecommunications executive and engineer
- Doug E. Doug – comedian
- Carol Douglas – singer
- Donald Wills Douglas Sr. – aircraft industrialist and engineer
- John E. Douglas – special agent and unit chief in the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Michael Dowd – police officer and convicted drug distributor who was the subject of the 2014 film The Seven Five
- Daniel B. Drachman – neurologist
- David Draiman – singer
- Arthur Drexler – curator of the Museum of Modern Art
- Henry Dreyfuss – industrial designer
- Richard Dreyfuss – actor
- Veronica Driscoll – nurse and labor organizer
- Jim Drucker – former Commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association, former Commissioner of the Arena Football League, and founder of NewKadia Comics
- Don Dubbins – actor
- William S. Dudley – naval historian
- Crescentius Richard Duerr – president of De La Salle University
- Allen B. DuMont – electronics engineer, scientist, inventor, and founder of the DuMont Television Network
- Lena Dunham – actress and writer
- Kyle Bobby Dunn – composer, musician, artist
- Walter L. Durack – lawyer, politician, and judge
- William West Durant – designer
- Jimmy Durante – actor and comedian
- Florence Spencer Duryea – philanthropist
- Michael Dweck – visual artist and filmmaker
E
- Easy Mo Bee – hip-hop and R&B producer
- William J. Ecker – U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral
- David Carl Edelman – former chief marketing officer at Aetna and Harvard Business School professor
- Harry Eisenstat – Major League Baseball player
- Arthur Rose Eldred – agricultural and railroad industry executive, civic leader, and the first Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America
- H. Wentworth Eldredge – sociologist, urban planner, and World War II spy
- Niles Eldredge – biologist and paleontologist
- Arthur Elgort – fashion photographer
- Stanley Ellin – mystery writer
- Erick Arc Elliott – rapper, producer
- Louis Eppolito – New York City Police officer who worked for the American Mafia
- Benjamin Epstein – national director of the Anti-Defamation League
- Jeffrey Epstein – wealthy businessman and longtime child sex trafficker
- Aprille Ericsson – aerospace engineer
- Etika – YouTuber and online streamer
- Lou Everett – United States Army Air Corps fighter pilot and test pilot
- Natale Evola – mobster
- Miriam Ezagui – nurse and TikToker
F
- Fabolous – rapper
- Tony Fabrizio – political strategist and polster
- Walter Fairservis – archaeologist
- Edie Falco – actress
- Gertrude Falk – physiologist
- Jimmy Fallon – actor and comedian
- Abram P. Fardon – politician and dentist
- Steve Farhood – boxing historian and analyst
- Ahmad Farooq – terrorist
- Bob Farrell – motivational speaker
- Anthony Fauci – infectious disease expert, director of NIAD at National Institutes of Health
- Alex Faust – sportscaster
- Lotta Faust – musical comedy actress
- Vincent Favale – co-founder of Comedy Central
- Tom Feelings – artist, cartoonist, children's book illustrator, author, teacher, and activist
- Lillian Feickert – suffragette and politician
- Stu Feiner – sports handicapper and media personality
- Eliot Feld – modern ballet choreographer, performer, teacher, and director
- Harvey Feldman – diplomat who planned the 1972 Nixon visit to China
- Charles Feltman – restaurateur
- Bob Ferguson – MLB player
- Jerry Ferrara – actor
- Frank Ferrer – Guns N' Roses drummer
- Suzi Ferrer – US/Puerto-Rican visual artist and feminist
- Lou Ferrigno – former bodybuilder, actor
- Martin Fettman – astronaut
- Ailene Fields – sculptor
- Sheldon D. Fields – nurse, educator, and researcher
- Robin Fierce – drag performer
- Harvey Fierstein – actor and playwright
- Frank Filan – winner of the 1944 Pulitzer Prize for Photography
- Imero Fiorentino – lighting designer
- Mario P. Fiori – Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment
- Bobby Fischer – champion chess player
- Carl Fischer – photographer
- Jesse Fischer – pianist, keyboardist, composer, and producer
- Josef E. Fischer – surgeon, scientist, and professor at Harvard Medical School
- Stan Fischler – historian of hockey and the New York City Subway
- Florrie Fisher – motivational speaker
- Larry Fisher – real estate developer and philanthropist
- Mickey Fisher – basketball coach
- Robert William Fisher – murderer and fugitive
- Sister Mary Irene FitzGibbon – nun who founded the New York Foundling Hospital
- Percy Keese Fitzhugh – author of children's books
- Rolf G. Fjelde – playwright, educator and poet
- Yonnette Fleming – urban farmer
- Farrah Fleurimond – singer-songwriter and member of R&B group Lyric
- James Florio – 49th governor of New Jersey, 1990–1994
- CJ Fly
- James Foley – film director
- Emily Jordan Folger – co-founder Folger Shakespeare Library
- Henry Clay Folger – businessman
- John S. Folk – law enforcement officer and official in New York City
- Vivian Folkenflik – educator and translator
- Cliff Fong – interior designer, fashion designer, and television personality
- Cristina Fontanelli – opera singer
- William H. Force – merchant
- Ita Ford – Maryknoll Sister who served as a missionary
- William P. Ford – lawyer and bond trader
- Yuri Foreman – world champion boxer
- John Forsythe – actor
- William Forsythe – actor
- Laura Fortman – women's rights activist, government official, and non-profit executive
- Leo Frank – lynching victim of an anti-semitic mob who was previously wrongly convicted of murder
- Steve Franken – actor
- Bruce Franklin – professor
- Sidney Franklin – bullfighter
- Frank Frazetta – artist
- Fab 5 Freddy – hip-hop pioneer
- Avram C. Freedberg – Broadway producer
- David L. Fried – scientist in the field of optics
- Gary William Friedman – composer
- Freda Friedman Salzman – theoretical physicist
- Milton Friedman – Nobel Prize-winning economist
- Herbert Friedmann – ornithologist
- Fu-Schnickens – rapper
- Full Force – 1980s R&B and production group
- Ashrita Furman – juggler who holds many Guinness World Records
- Henry Watson Furniss – medical doctor and diplomat
G
- Artie Gaffin – Broadway stage manager
- Nina Gage – nurse, educator, and president of the International Council of Nurses
- Zach Gage – video game performer
- Anthony Gaggi – mobster
- William Gaines – publisher and co-editor of EC Comics
- John Gallucci Jr. – physical therapist, athletic trainer, and executive
- Sharif El-Gamal – real estate developer
- Curtis Gans – activist, writer, and expert on American voting patterns
- Vincent Gardenia – actor
- M. Elsa Gardner – engineer
- Ina Garten – Food Network television chef, cookbook author; known as the Barefoot Contessa
- Shad Gaspard – professional wrestler
- David Geffen – media mogul
- Eugene Genovese – historian
- Vincent J. Gentile – politician
- Mark Gerard – equine veterinarian
- Sylvia Gerrish – 19th-century musical comedy performer
- George Gershwin – composer; brother of Ira Gershwin
- Murray Gerstenhaber – mathematician and lawyer
- Alfred Giardino – lawyer
- Deborah Gibson – singer and songwriter
- Paul Gibson Jr. – airline executive
- Taj Gibson – NBA player
- Sharon Gilbert – artist
- Kathleen Gilje – artist and art restorer
- Jessie Gillespie Willing – illustrator
- Roswell Gilpatric – attorney and government official
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg – Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court
- Johnny Gioeli – singer
- Linda Giudice – gynecologist and obstetrician
- Rudy Giuliani – former United States attorney, former mayor of New York; 2008 Republican presidential candidate
- Daniel Glass – music industry executive
- Ira Glasser – civil liberties activist
- Jackie Gleason – actor and comedian
- S. Everett Gleason – historian and intelligence analyst
- Ollie Gleichenhaus – restaurateur
- Lila R. Gleitman – expert on language acquisition and developmental psycholinguistics
- Marty Glickman – Olympian and broadcaster
- Joy Glidden – founding director, curator, television director, and senior executive
- James Newton Gloucester – African-American abolitionist
- Eleanor Glueck – social worker and criminologist
- Irwin Glusker – art director
- Gerry Goffin – lyricist
- Jeremy Gold – actuary and economist
- Richard Goldberg – convicted sex offender
- Wendy C. Goldberg – theatre director
- William Goldberg – diamond dealer
- Marty Golden – politician
- Marvin Goldfried – psychologist
- Steve Goldman – financial advisor and former gridiron football coach
- Kathi Kamen Goldmark – author, columnist, publishing consultant, radio and music producer, songwriter, and musician
- Peter C. Goldmark Jr. – publisher and journalist
- George Goldner – owner of Tico Records and record producer and promoter
- Baruch Goldstein – American-Israel extremist and perpetrator of the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre
- Jerry Goldstein – physicist
- Ben Goldwasser – member of the band MGMT
- Aquilino Gonell – United States Capitol Police officer
- Eric Gonzalez politician
- Ed Goodgold – writer, music industry executive, and academic administrator
- Norman Gorbaty – artist
- Carl Gordon – actor
- Glenna Gordon – documentary photographer, photojournalist, editor, and educator
- Jim Gordon – sportscaster
- Kyle Gordon – comedian, singer, and YouTuber
- Sid Gordon – two-time All-Star baseball player
- Louis Gossett Jr. – Oscar-winning actor
- Gilbert Gottfried – stand-up comedian, actor
- Morton Gottlieb – Broadway producer
- Alfred Gottschalk – president of Hebrew Union College and leader in the Reform Judaism movement
- Elliott Gould – actor
- Andrew Gounardes – lawyer and politician
- Earl G. Graves Sr. – entrepreneur, publisher, businessman, philanthropist, and advocate of African-American businesses
- George E. Green – cardiac surgeon
- Irving Green – founder and president of Mercury Records
- Yossi Green – composer
- Gary Greenberg – psychologist
- Joseph Greenberg – linguist
- Martin L. Greenberg – politician and jurist
- Alexander Greendale – playwright and civic leader
- Brenda M. Greene – scholar, author, literary activist, and radio host
- Kai Greene – bodybuilder
- Stewart Greene – advertising executive
- Martin Greenfield – tailor
- Elizabeth W. Greenwood – social reformer in the temperance movement and evangelist
- Adrian Grenier – actor
- Harriet Griffin – mathematician and author
- Bill Griffith – cartoonist
- David Grimm – award-winning playwright and screenwriter
- Emmett Grogan – actor and founder of the Diggers
- Leib Groner – Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbai and secretary to Menachem Schneerson
- Ernest A. Gross – diplomat and lawyer
- Karl Grossman – professor, journalist, author, TV program host
- Mildred Grossman – educator, civil rights activist, unionist, and a photographer
- Robert Grossman – illustrator
- Bob Guccione – adult-magazine publisher
- Louise Gunning – singer, actress
- Sigrid Gurie – actress
- Arlo Guthrie – singer
- Amy Gutmann – diplomat
- Jack M. Guttentag – banker and academic
- Maggie Gyllenhaal – actress
- GZA – rapper
H
- Richard N. Haass – diplomat
- Buddy Hackett – actor and comedian
- Deana Haggag – curator
- Amy Halberstadt – psychologist
- Adelaide Hall – jazz singer, songwriter, actress
- Jimmy Hall, basketball player in the Israeli National League
- Morton Halperin – analyst
- Bobby Hambel – guitarist, Biohazard
- Marvin Hamlisch – Oscar-winning composer of film scores
- Q. R. Hand Jr. – poet
- Steven Handel – ecologist and educator
- Michelle Handelman – artist, writer, and filmmaker
- Andis Harasani – politician and economist
- Bethann Hardison – fashion model and activist
- Kadeem Hardison – actor
- Charles Hardy – competitive eater
- Carter Harman – composer, writer, and music industry executive
- Edward John Harper – Roman Catholic bishop
- Andrew P. Harris – Maryland politician
- Anita G. Harris – geologist, paleontologist, and mapmaker
- Eileen Harris – architectural historian and author
- Larry Harris – co-founder of Casablanca Records
- Barbara Grizzuti Harrison – author
- George Harrison – gun runner for the Irish Republican Army
- Richard James Hart – sharpshooter and prohibition agent
- Carol Harter – president of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Anne Hathaway – Oscar-winning actress
- Knut Haukelid – Norwegian resistance movement soldier
- Webley John Hauxhurst – pioneer
- Richie Havens – folk singer-songwriter, actor; first performer at the original Woodstock
- Connie Hawkins – basketball player
- James Hayden – actor
- Melissa Hayden – poker player
- Ulric Haynes – diplomat, lawyer, and academic
- Susan Hayward – Oscar-winning actress
- Rita Hayworth – actress
- Joseph A. Healey – US Army major general
- Michael Hebranko – man who suffered from an extreme case of morbid obesity
- Abraham Hecht – Chabad-affiliated American Orthodox rabbi
- Jamie Hector – actor
- Kenneth Heilman – behavioral neurologist
- Albert S. Heinrich – pioneer aviator
- Esther Heins – artist, scientific illustrator, and author
- Hermann Helms – chess player and writer
- Leona Helmsley – businessperson and real estate investor
- Heltah Skeltah – hip-hop duo
- Joseph Henderson – harbor pilot
- Sheldon Saul Hendler – scientist, physician and musician
- Gabe Henry – author and humorist
- Patrick T. Henry – Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs)
- Aileen Hernandez – union organizer, civil rights activist, and women's rights activist
- William H. Herriman – art collector
- Judah Hertz – real estate investor and philanthropist
- Sidney Hertzberg – pro basketball player
- Robert Hess – sculptor
- Robert Hess – president of Brooklyn College
- Bob Heussler – sports broadcaster
- Israel Hicks – theatre director
- Thomas Michael Higgins – entrepreneur, investor, and banker
- Vannie Higgins – mobster
- Henry Hill – mobster, subject of Goodfellas
- Newell Dwight Hillis – minister and philosopher
- Mildred Hilson – socialite and philanthropist
- Kenneth R. Himes – Roman Catholic theologian
- Russel Hobbs – drummer; member of Gorillaz
- William E. Hoehle – member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
- Steven Hoffenberg – fraudster
- Hendrick S. Holden – politician and banker
- Bobby Hollander – publisher and pornographic film director and actor
- Jean Hollander – poet, translator and teacher
- Zander Hollander – sportswriter, journalist, editor and archivist
- Thomas Holmes – mortician
- Hamilton Holt – educator, editor, author and politician
- Red Holzman – Hall of Fame NBA two-time All-Star and coach
- Molly Holzschlag – Open Web advocate and author
- Homicide – ring name of Nelson Erazo, professional wrestler signed to Ring of Honor
- Sidney Hook – philosopher
- Alfred Horn – mathematician
- Lena Horne – singer and actress
- Louis Hostlot – priest
- Avis and Effie Hotchkiss – mother and daughter pioneering motorcyclists
- Bess Houdini – stage assistant and wife of Harry Houdini
- Henry Alonzo House – inventor
- Curly Howard – comedian; member of The Three Stooges
- Moe Howard – comedian; leader of the Three Stooges
- Shemp Howard – comedian; member of the Three Stooges
- Brigid Hughes – literary editor
- Charles F. Hummel – curator and author
- William G. Hundley – criminal defense attorney for high-profile clients, reared in Brooklyn
- Anna Graham Hunter – writer
- Hezekiah Hunter – teacher, minister, and politician; born in Brooklyn
- Frederick Hutson – businessman
- Amy J. Hyatt – diplomat
- Alice Clary Earle Hyde – botanical artist and conservationist
I
- Laura Ingalls – aviator who won the Harmon Trophy
- Anthony Ingrassia – playwright, producer and director
- Alex Inkeles – sociologist and social psychologist
- Jimmy Iovine – entrepreneur, record producer and film producer
- Alice Recknagel Ireys – landscape architect
- Breuk Iversen – designer and writer
J
- Richard C. Jack – animator
- Mark Jackson – basketball player
- Randolph Jackson – lawyer and judge
- Fishel Jacobs – rabbi and writer
- Maura Jacobson – crossword puzzle creator
- Oswald Jacoby – contract bridge player and author
- Lloyd Jacquet – founder of Funnies, Inc.
- Cheryl James – rapper and actress
- John Wells James – artist
- Shawn James – basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv
- Tama Janowitz – novelist
- Jay-Z – rapper and entrepreneur
- Jaz-O – rapper
- Hakeem Jeffries –Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives and former New York State Assemblyman
- Anna V. Jefferson – politician
- Charles Jenkins – NBA player
- J. T. W. Jennings – architect
- Paul Jennings – president of the International Union of Electrical Workers
- Jennie Jerome – Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston Churchill
- Jeru the Damaja – rapper
- W. L. G. Joerg – geographer
- Ariyan A. Johnson – actress, television director, dancer and choreographer
- Evan M. Johnson – US Army brigadier general
- Evan Malbone Johnson – clergyman
- Maliq Johnson – actor
- Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George – member of R&B group SWV
- Alexander Johnston – historian
- Nathan S. Jonas – banker and philanthropist
- Jasmine Cephas Jones – actress, singer, songwriter
- Lamont Jones – basketball player
- Norah Jones – musician, actress
- Odyssey Jones – professional wrestler
- Susannah Mushatt Jones – oldest living New Yorker
- Jim Jonsin – record producer and songwriter
- E. Bernard Jordan – founder of Zoe Ministries
- June Jordan – poet, essayist, teacher, and activist
- Michael Jordan – basketball player
- Pierre Joris – poet, essayist, translator, and anthologist
- Audrey Joseph – record executive, nightclub owner and manager, and LGBT rights activist
- William Joyce – Nazi propaganda broadcaster; executed for treason
- Zab Judah – professional boxer
- David Julius – Nobel laureate
- Lee Jussim – social psychologist
- Just-Ice – rapper
K
- KA – rapper
- Julia Kaganskiy – curator
- Meir Kahane – Orthodox Jewish rabbi, activist and founder of the Jewish Defense League
- Roger Kahn – sportswriter and author of The Boys of Summer
- Bill Kaiserman – fashion designer
- Big Daddy Kane – rapper
- Edith Kaplan – psychologist and pioneer of neuropsychological tests
- Eric Kaplan – writer
- Gabe Kaplan – actor and comedian
- Mitch Kapor – entrepreneur
- Daniella Karagach – dancer and choreographer
- Stanley Karnow – journalist and historian
- Ivan Karp – art dealer
- Leon Karp – artist
- Abraham Katz – diplomat, United States ambassador to the OECD
- Jack Katz – artist
- Kaves – fine art painter, graffiti artist, illustrator, director, actor, author, rapper, and entrepreneur
- KAWS, born Brian Donnelly – graffiti artist, limited-edition clothing and toy designer
- Danny Kaye – actor and comedian
- Lainie Kazan – actress and singer
- Shake Keane – jazz musician and poet
- Ezra Jack Keats – author and illustrator
- Monica Keena – actress
- Harvey Keitel – actor
- Steven G. Kellman – author and critic
- Patsy Kelly – actress
- Raja Feather Kelly – dancer and choreographer
- Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly – historian, genealogist, and writer
- Ken Kelsch – cinematographer
- John Whitefield Kendrick – economist
- David M. Kennedy – professor of criminology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, author of Don't Shoot
- Don Kennedy, paralympic athlete, weightlifter and wheelchair basketball player
- Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy – feminist and pioneer in women's studies
- Norm Kent – criminal defense attorney, publisher, and radio talk show host
- Kasim Keto – music producer
- Aleksandr Khazanov – mathematician
- William Chauncey Kibbe – Adjutant General of California
- The Kid Gashi – rapper
- Eleanor Kieliszek – politician * Antony Ferdinand Kilbourn – president of De La Salle College
- Jimmy Kimmel – comedian and television talk-show host
- Michael Kimmel – sociologist
- Bernard King – NBA Hall of Famer
- Carole King – singer-songwriter
- Larry King – television talk-show host and interviewer
- Shaka King – film director, screenwriter, and film producer
- June Kirby – actress, model, and wardrobe supervisor for Hollywood films
- Marvin Kitman – television critic, humorist, and author
- Matthew Klapper – attorney
- Anne Klein – fashion designer
- Florence Klotz – costume designer
- Joseph P. Knapp – publisher and philanthropist
- Rachel Kohl Finegold – rabbi
- Brian Kokoska – artist
- Jerome B. Komisar – economist
- C. Everett Koop – U.S. Surgeon General
- Constance Kopp – first female undersheriff in the United States
- Bertram Kostant – mathematician
- Sandy Koufax – Hall of Fame baseball pitcher for Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers
- Martin Kove – actor
- Nikolas Kozloff – academic, author and photojournalist
- Carl Hermann Kraeling – theologian, historian, and archaeologist
- Edward E. Kramer – editor, co-founder of Dragon Con, and convicted child molester.
- Jerome Krase – social scientist and academic
- John Krasinski – actor and director
- Philip Krey – former president of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia
- Martin H. Krieger – physicist
- Alan M. Kriegsman – dance critic
- Paul L. Krinsky – admiral in the merchant marines and superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy
- Lucy Kroll – theatrical and literary agent
- Ethan Kross – experimental psychologist, neuroscientist and writer
- Rich Krueger – rock singer-songwriter and neonatologist
- Jeff Kwatinetz – entertainment industry executive
- Talib Kweli – rapper and producer
L
- Marisa Lago – attorney
- David D. Laitin – political scientist and academic
- Jeffrey Laitman – anatomist
- Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir – diplomat
- Pierre Lallement – inventor
- Alfred A. Lama – architect and politician
- Alexander B. Lamberton – politician, conservationist and lumberman
- John LaMotta – actor
- Rachel Lampert – playwright, director, and choreographer
- Sylven Landesberg – American-Israeli basketball shooting guard
- Michael Landon – actor, director, producer
- Abbe Lane – singer, dancer, actress
- Arthur Bliss Lane – diplomat
- Mark Lane – attorney, politician, and civil rights activist
- Dulcinea Langfelder – multidisciplinary artist
- Alphonse F. La Porta – diplomat
- Rose La Rose – dancer and actress
- Rudy LaRusso – five-time All-Star NBA basketball player
- William S. Lasdon – pharmaceutical executive and philanthropist
- Reuben Lasker – marine biologist
- Catherine Allen Latimer – librarian
- Cyndi Lauper – singer and activist
- Arthur Laurents – writer and director
- Steve Lawrence – singer and actor
- Heath Ledger – actor
- Edward Lee – chef
- Ivan Lee – Olympic saber fencer; banned for life by SafeSport
- Roy Lee – film producer
- Spike Lee – film director, screenwriter and actor
- Marlon Legere – convicted murderer
- Sandra Leiblum – author, lecturer, and researcher in sexology
- Shulem Lemmer – singer
- Ivan Leshinsky – American-Israeli basketball player
- Jonathan Lethem – author
- Andrew Levane – NBA basketball player
- Nathan Leventhal – municipal government executive, arts administrator and corporate director
- George W. LeVere – pastor, educator, abolitionist, and civil rights activist
- Robert V. Levine – psychologist, writer, and academic
- Stuart Levine – academic and founder of the journal American Studies
- Howard Levy – United States Army doctor and Vietnam War resister who was court-martialed
- June Rockwell Levy – philanthropist
- Lewis – 19th-century professional baseball player
- Daniel Lewis – choreographer
- Emmanuel Lewis – actor
- Richard Lewis – actor and comedian
- Robert Lewis – actor, director, teacher, author and founder of the Actors Studio
- Tillie Ehrlich Lewis – businesswoman
- Harvey Lichtenstein – arts administrator
- Evelyn S. Lieberman – first woman to serve as White House Deputy Chief of Staff
- Nancy Lieberman – WNBA basketball player, coach and broadcaster; Hall of Fame
- Stanley Lieberson – sociologist
- Lil' Kim, born Kimberly Denise Jones – Grammy Award-winning rapper
- Lil Mama – rapper
- Harold F. Linder – banker and diplomat
- O. Winston Link – photographer
- Leonard Linkow – dentist and pioneer in oral implants
- Gertrude Lintz – dog breeder and socialite
- Jennie Livingston – film and television director and producer
- Adrianne Lobel – scenic designer and producer
- Luke Vincent Lockwood –
- Paul Lo Duca – MLB baseball player
- Edie Locke – fashion journalist
- Jack Lord – actor
- Robert Logan – actor
- Robert K. Logan – scientist
- Anthony Lolli – real estate developer and founder of the Brooklyn-based brokerage firm Rapid Realty
- Steve Lombardi – professional wrestler, ring name "The Brooklyn Brawler"
- Vince Lombardi – Pro Football Hall of Fame coach
- Michael Lomonaco – chef, restaurateur, and television personality
- Nia Long – actress
- Jackie Loughery – Miss New York USA 1952, Miss USA 1952
- Mynette Louie – film producer
- Murray Louis – modern dancer and choreographer
- Harry Love – animator
- Mia Love – politician and political commentator
- Hilde Lysiak – journalist
- Low Ki – ring name of Brandon Silvestry, professional wrestler
- Sid Luckman – NFL quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Peter Luger – chef and restaurateur
- Carmen Luvana – pornographic actress
- Danny Lyon – photographer and filmmaker
- MC Lyte – actress and rapper
M
- Nadine Macaluso – psychotherapist, author, internet personality, and former model
- Clara MacBeth – heiress
- Anne Thompson MacDonald – philanthropist and founder of Recording for the Blind
- Nicholas Macdonald – author and filmmaker
- Lester Machta – meteorologist and first director of the Air Resources Laboratory
- Rose Mackenberg – investigator specializing in fraudulent psychic mediums
- Joseph Maguire – Director of the National Counterterrorism Center
- John Buffalo Mailer – playwright and youngest child of author Norman Mailer
- Norman Mailer – author and playwright
- Maino – rapper
- Romany Malco – actor
- Paul Malignaggi – boxer
- Fern Mallis – fashion businesswoman
- Adrienne Mancia – film curator
- Thomas Mancuso – epidemiologist
- Irwin D. Mandel – expert on dental chemistry
- Barry Manilow – singer-songwriter
- Mike Mansfield – United States senator and congressman from Montana; born in Brooklyn
- Stephon Marbury – NBA player
- Erin Markey – writer and comedian
- Mario – fictional video-game character
- Athan Maroulis – actor, vocalist and record producer
- Marty Markowitz – borough president of Brooklyn, New York City
- Constantine Maroulis – singer
- Carmel Carrington Marr – lawyer and co-founder of the Amistad Research Center
- Branford Marsalis – saxophonist
- Duane Martin – actor
- George Willard Martin – mycologist
- Angie Martinez – radio personality, former rapper and actress
- Masta Ace – rapper
- Abraham Maslow – psychologist who created Maslow's hierarchy of needs
- Jerry Masucci – attorney, businessman and co-founder of Fania Records
- Maxwell – singer-songwriter, producer, musician
- William May – theatre director, producer, and composer
- Alice Mayhew – vice president and editorial director for Simon & Schuster
- Joan Maynard – preservationist, artist, and writer
- Bruce Mazlish – historian
- Paul Mazursky – film director, screenwriter, and actor
- Lee Mazzilli – professional baseball player, coach, and manager; part of the 1986 World Series Champion New York Mets
- Yavilah McCoy – activist and founder of Ayecha
- Carson McCullers – writer
- Joseph McGoldrick – NYC Comptroller and NY State Residential Rent Control Commissioner, lawyer, and professor
- Amy Upham Thomson McKean – pianist, songwriter and composer
- Christopher McKee – historian
- Triston McKenzie – professional baseball pitcher for The Cleveland Indians
- John Bach McMaster – American historian
- Meechy Darko – rapper
- Edward J. Megarr – United States Marine Corps major general
- Ronald Mellor – historian
- Boyd Melson – boxer
- Arthur I. Mendolia – chemical engineer
- Ralph Mercado – businessman and music promoter
- Richard Merkin – painter and illustrator
- Robert Merrill – opera singer
- Debra Messing – actress
- John C. Metzler Sr. – superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery
- Martin Meyerson – city planner, academic, and president of the University of Pennsylvania
- Keith Michael – fashion designer
- Al Michaels – television sportscaster
- Sean Michaels – pornographic actor and director
- Thomas Mignone – film director, music video director, screenwriter
- Muriel Miguel – director, choreographer, playwright, actor and educator
- Alyssa Milano – actress
- Barbara Milberg – ballerina, writer, and academic
- Anita Miller – urbanist
- Arthur Miller – Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
- Henry Miller – author and raconteur
- Jarrell Miller – kickboxer
- Matthew Paul Miller – reggae singer
- Walter Miller – jockey
- Wentworth Miller – actor
- William J. Millican – double Navy Cross recipient
- Stephanie Mills – singer
- Willard L. Miranker – mathematician and computer scientist
- Matthew Mirones – politician in the New York State Assembly
- Arnon Mishkin – management consultant, media personality, and news analyst for Fox News
- Eleanor Mlotek – musicologist
- Edward L. Molineux – Union Army officer, New York National Guard major general
- Rinty Monahan – Major League Baseball player
- Irv Mondschein – track and field champion
- Lenny Montana – actor and professional wrestler
- Elisa Monte – choreographer and dancer
- Pilar Montero – bar owner
- Evelyn Mulry Moore – swimmer and Paralympic gold medalist
- Mary Tyler Moore – actor
- M.O.P. – hip-hop duo
- Esai Morales – actor
- Ed Morris – 19th-century MLB pitcher
- Joel Moses – former provost, MIT
- William A. Moses – real estate developer and founder of the Community Housing Improvement Program
- Bret Mosley – singer-songwriter
- Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire – rapper
- Isadore Gilbert Mudge – librarian
- John C. Mula – art director and production designer
- Chris Mullin – NBA player and executive, Hall of Fame
- Charlie Murphy – actor and comedian
- Eddie Murphy – actor and comedian
- Muriel Oxenberg Murphy – museum curator, art historian and socialite
- Robert Cushman Murphy – ornithologist
- Barbara Myers – former child model and actress, raised in Bensonhurst
- Tracy Dickinson Mygatt – writer, pacifist, and co-founder of the War Resisters League
N
- Boris Nachamkin – NBA basketball player
- Sam Nahem – Major League Baseball pitcher
- Larry Namer – founder of E! Entertainment TV networks
- Nicole Napolitano – television personality and entrepreneur
- Lia Neal – competitive swimmer and Olympic medalist
- Lemrick Nelson – convicted murderer
- Nikita Nesterenko, professional ice hockey center who plays in the National Hockey League for the Anaheim Ducks
- Edwin C. Nevis – gestalt therapist
- Jack Newfield – writer
- Donald J. Newman – mathematician
- Stanley Newman – puzzle creator, editor, and publisher
- Mark Newgarden – artist, cartoonist, writer, creator of Garbage Pail Kids, author of We All Die Alone and How to Read Nancy
- Ed Newman – NFL All-Pro football player
- Mike Nieves – president and CEO of Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network
- Louis J. Nigro Jr. – diplomat
- Harry Nilsson – singer-songwriter
- Joakim Noah – NBA basketball player
- Charles Nolan – fashion designer
- Peggy Noonan – author, columnist
- The Notorious B.I.G. – rapper, born Christopher George Latore Wallace; Biggie, Biggie Smalls
- Lupita Nyong'o – actress
O
- Eric Ober – broadcasting executive
- Henry Obst – football player
- O.C. – rapper
- Greg O'Connell – property developer
- Francis V. O'Connor – art historian
- Tasker Oddie – 12th governor of Nevada and a United States senator; born in Brooklyn
- Izzy Odigie – choreographer and dancer
- Dennis J. Patrick O'Grady – Florida state senator
- Herbert S. Okun – diplomat
- Ol' Dirty Bastard – rapper
- Katherine Oliver – media and entertainment executive
- Gregory Olsen – astronaut and scientist
- Originoo Gunn Clappaz – hip-hop group
- Waterman Ormsby – engraver and inventor
- Dave Orr – MLB player, born in Brooklyn
- Mary Orr – actress and writer
- Joell Ortiz – rapper and producer
- Aileen Osofsky – community leader, philanthropist and bridge player
- Steve Ostrow – businessman, LGBT rights activist, and opera singer
- Adam Ottavino – MLB pitcher for the New York Yankees
P
- Peter Pace – chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Shemuel Pagan – professional boxer
- Frances "Fanny" Palmer – artist
- Richard Palmese – music industry executive
- Bruce Pandolfini – chess player and writer on chess
- Papoose – rapper
- Joseph Papp – theatrical impresario who created New York City's Public Theater
- Yannis Pappas – comedian
- John Parisella – horse trainer
- Lana Parrilla – actress
- Annie-B Parson – choreographer, dancer, and director
- Joe Paterno – football coach at Penn State in College Football Hall of Fame
- Angela Paton – theatre, TV and film actress
- Jayson Paul – professional wrestler
- Dickey Pearce – MLB player
- Nelson Peltz – billionaire businessman and investor
- James W. C. Pennington – historian, abolitionist, orator, minister, writer, and social organizer
- Joe Pepitone – professional baseball player
- Rosie Perez – actress and choreographer
- Rhea Perlman – actress
- Steven Peros – playwright, screenwriter, and director
- Harold Perrineau – actor
- Richard Perry – record producer
- Jerome B. Peterson – newspaper editor and civil servant
- Lip Pike – home run champion baseball player
- Elizabeth Pipko – author, model, media personality, and political operative
- Michael Pitt – actor and musician
- Stacey Plaskett – politician and attorney
- Suzanne Pleshette – actress
- Albert Podell – magazine editor and writer, advertising executive, trial attorney, and documentary film producer and director
- Van Nest Polglase – Academy Award-nominated art director
- Gene Polito – cinematographer and mechanical engineer
- Robert Pollack – professor of biological sciences
- Mark F. Pomerantz – attorney, prosecutor
- Samuel Hartt Pook – naval architect
- Martin Pope – physical chemist
- Ed Posner – information theorist and neural network researcher
- Augustus Post – automotive pioneer, balloonist, early aviator, writer, actor, musician and lecturer
- Frank Potenza – police officer and actor
- Troy Powell – dancer, choreographer, and director
- Ed Powers – pornographic film director, producer, actor, and radio host
- Charles Millard Pratt – oil industrialist and philanthropist
- Frederic B. Pratt – president of Brooklyn's Pratt Institute
- George Dupont Pratt – conservationist and philanthropist
- Harold Pratt – oil industrialist
- Herbert L. Pratt – oil industrialist
- John Pratt – lawyer, philanthropist, music impresario and financier
- Sherman Pratt – sportsman, explorer, and co-founder of Florida's Marineland and the Grenville Baker Boys Club
- Marianne Preger-Simon – dancer, choreographer, writer, and psychotherapist
- DJ Premier – hip-hop disc jockey, producer, co-founder and member of hip-hop duo Gang Starr
- Priscilla Presley – businesswoman, actress
- Steven Pressman – economist
- Sean Price – rapper
- Shimon Prokupecz – journalist
- Elisabeth Prueitt – pastry chef
- Roger Pulvers – playwright and theatre director
Q
- Phil Quartararo – music industry executive
- Jennie Quigley – sideshow performer
R
- Eddie Rabbitt – singer-songwriter
- Rack-Lo – rapper and author
- Marky Ramone – drummer of the punk band The Ramones
- Anthony Ramos – actor, singer-songwriter
- Keith Raniere – cult leader who co-founded NXIVM
- Arlene Raven – art historian, author, critic, educator, and curator
- Florence Ravenel – actress; born in Minnesota, raised in Brooklyn
- Larry Ray – criminal convicted of sex trafficking, extortion, forced labor, and other offenses, sentenced to 60 years in prison
- Domenic Recchia – attorney and politician
- Lou Reed – singer-songwriter
- Paul Regina – actor
- Jerry Reinsdorf – sports executive and businessman
- Odd Kristian Reme – priest and politician
- Leah Remini – actress
- Barbara Res – attorney, author, and engineer
- Bebe Rexha – singer-songwriter and record producer
- Dorothy P. Rice – health statistician
- Ed Rice – author, publisher, photojournalist and painter
- Buddy Rich – drummer and big-band leader
- Elsie Richardson – community activist and civil servant
- Adam Richman – actor, host of reality-television series Man vs. Food
- Thomas Ridgway – U.S. Army officer and father of General Matthew Ridgway
- Henry Riecken – psychologist
- Heinrich Ries – economic geologist
- Joan Rivers – comedian
- Phil Rizzuto – Major League Baseball player and broadcaster
- Saul Robbins – toy manufacturer and co-founder of Remco
- Warren Delano Robbins – diplomat
- Mary Fanton Roberts – journalist, writer
- Jackie Robinson – Major League Baseball player and pioneer, Brooklyn Dodgers
- Dorothy Robins-Mowry – diplomat and writer
- Chris Rock – actor and comedian
- Tony Rock – actor and comedian
- Fred J. Rode – Academy Award-nominated set director
- Jessamyn Rodriguez – social entrepreneur, educator, and hospitality executive
- John Raphael Rogers – inventor of the Typograph
- Steve Rogers – fictional superhero, federal official, intelligence operative, former soldier
- Mortimer Rogoff – inventor and businessman
- Saul Rogovin – Major League Baseball pitcher
- Stan Rogow – music manager, writer, and producer of film and television
- Roget Romain – executive, producer, entertainment manager and entrepreneur
- Edward A. Romano – entertainment executive
- Mickey Rooney – five-time Oscar-nominated actor
- Daisy Rosario – public radio personality and producer
- Max Rose – military officer and politician who served as a United States representative from New York
- Mike Rosen – radio talk show host and newspaper columnist
- Aaron "Rosy" Rosenberg – two-time "All-American" college football player, and film and television producer
- Harold Rosenberg – writer, educator, philosopher and art critic
- Jerry Rosenberg – television personality
- Philip Rosenberg – Academy Award winning production designer and art director
- Wayne Rosenthal – Major League Baseball pitcher and coach
- Spencer Ross – sportscaster
- Steve Ross – chairman of Time Warner
- Angela Carlozzi Rossi – social worker
- Mark Roth – bowler
- Julian Rotter – psychologist known for developing social learning theory
- Rowdy Rebel – rapper from GS9
- Herbert H. Rowen – historian
- Essie Wick Rowland – socialite
- Jeff Rubens – bridge player, editor, and writer
- Cyma Rubin – producer, writer, and director
- Ed Rubinoff – tennis player
- David Rubinson – recording engineer and music producer
- Rudi – spiritual teacher
- David Ruggerio – chef
- Chris Rush – stand-up comedian
- Brenda Russell – singer
- Sam Rutigliano – football coach
- Carl Hancock Rux – writer, actor, and director
- RZA – rapper
S
- Jonathan Safran Foer – novelist
- Carl Sagan – scientist, author, educator
- Saigon – actor and rapper
- Stephanie Saland – ballet dancer and teacher
- Claudia Peña Salinas – artist
- Dmitri Salita – boxer
- William Salter – minister, public orator, social activist, and historian
- Arnold A. Saltzman – businessman, diplomat, art collector, and philanthropist
- John Samuelsen – labor union leader
- Julia Sand – letter writer who corresponded with President Chester A. Arthur
- Bernie Sanders – Independent U.S. senator from Vermont
- Jane Sanders – social worker, college administrator, activist, and political strategist
- Adam Sandler – actor and comedian
- Evie Sands – singer-songwriter and musician
- Betty Santoro – educator, activist and community leader
- Porter Sargent – educational theorist and critic
- Peter Sarsgaard – actor
- Lois Sasson – jewelry designer and gay rights activist
- Brittney Savage – professional wrestler
- Viola Savoy – actress
- Leo Schachter – diamond manufacturer
- Roger Schank – education reformer, artificial-intelligence expert
- Kenny Scharf – graffiti artist
- Ossie Schectman – NBA basketball guard
- Robert Scherrer – FBI agent
- Thomas D. Schiano – organ-transplantation specialist
- Vincent Schiavelli − actor, food writer
- Phil Schiliro – political consultant and strategist
- Justin G. Schiller – bookseller
- Vincent Schiraldi – juvenile justice policy reformer and activist
- Steve Schirripa – actor
- Harvey Schlossberg – psychoanalyst, police officer, and founder of modern crisis negotiation
- Michael Schlow – chef and restaurateur
- Ruth A. M. Schmidt – geologist and paleontologist
- Tobias Schneebaum – artist, anthropologist, and AIDS activist
- Robert Scholes – literary critic and theorist
- Andre-Michel Schub – pianist
- Peter C. Schultz – co-inventor of fiber optics
- Chuck Schumer – U.S. senator from New York
- Alan Schwartz – businessman; executive chairman of Guggenheim Partners
- Gary Schwartz – art historian
- Ylon Schwartz – chessmaster
- Joseph E. Schwartzberg – writer, academic, and peace activist
- Seymour Schwartzman – opera singer and cantor
- Chris Matthew Sciabarra – political theorist
- Brian Scolaro – comedian, actor, voice-over actor and author
- Raymond Scott – composer, bandleader, pianist, electronic-music pioneer
- Samuel R. Scottron – inventor and engineer
- John Scully – Jesuit priest and president of Fordham University
- Neil Sedaka – singer-songwriter
- Alice Wiley Seay – social worker and founder of the Empire State Federation of Women's Clubs
- Alonzo Bertram See – businessman
- Murray Seeman – lawyer and real estate developer
- Erich Segal – author, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, and educator
- Hugh Seidman – poet
- Steven Seifert – medical toxicologist
- Jerry Seinfeld – actor and comedian
- Matt Zoller Seitz – film and television critic, author and filmmaker
- Hubert Selby, Jr. – author
- Cletus Seldin – boxer
- Phil Sellers – former NBA player
- Irene Mayer Selznick – socialite and theatrical producer
- George I. Seney – banker, art collector, and philanthropist
- Greg Serano – actor
- Frank Serpico – New York Police Department detective and whistleblower
- John Severin – comics artist
- Marie Severin – comics artist and colorist
- Shabazz the Disciple – rapper
- William Shadish – psychologist and statistician
- Ruth Shafer – engineer
- Juliet Popper Shaffer – psychologist and statistician
- Neal Shapiro – equestrian and Olympic medalist
- Judy Shapiro-Ikenberry – long-distance runner
- Francis Ethelbert Sharkey – fictional character played by Terry Becker in the 1964–68 ABC television series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
- Judith Sheindlin – television personality, Judge Judy
- Lawrence L. Shenfield – advertising executive
- Allie Sherman – NFL player and coach
- Art Sherman – horse trainer and jockey
- Fred Sherman – economist and business commentator
- Jerome K. Sherman – biologist and founder of modern sperm banking and cryopreservation
- Bobby Shmurda – rapper from GS9
- Lester Shorr – cinematographer
- Marjorie Shostak – anthropologist
- Michael Showalter – actor and comedian
- Shyne, Belizean rapper and politician
- Gabourey Sidibe – actress
- Bugsy Siegel – gangster
- Jill Sigman – choreographer and dancer
- Raymond Siller – television writer, political consultant
- Beverly Sills – opera singer
- Dean Silvers – film director, film producer, screenwriter, and author
- Phil Silvers – actor and comedian
- John Sitaras – fitness professional
- David Sive – attorney, environmentalist, and professor of environmental law
- Skoob – half of rap duo Das EFX
- Justine Skye – singer-songwriter, dancer and model
- Harold S. Sloan – economist
- Buzz Slutzky – artist, writer, educator, and performer
- Peer Smed – silversmith
- Smif-n-Wessun – hip-hop duo
- Frank H. Smith – media executive and producer
- Lois Smith – publicist
- Lucy Eaton Smith – nun
- Munroe Smith – jurist and historian
- Philip F. Smith – Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard
- Sanford L. Smith – businessman
- Jimmy Smits – actor
- Stephen Edward Smith – financial analyst and political strategist who was the husband of Jean Kennedy Smith
- Pop Smoke – rapper
- Joel Smoller – mathematician
- Culver C. Sniffen – Paymaster-General of the United States Army
- Ralph Snyderman – physician, scientist, administrator
- Robert Solow – economist; winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
- Lee Solters – press agent
- Gilbert Sorrentino – novelist, short story writer, poet, literary critic, and editor
- Paul Sorvino – actor
- Carl Søyland – editor-in-chief of Nordisk Tidende
- Paul Spatola – musician
- Mortimer Spiegelman – statistician
- Michael Spiller – cinematographer and television director
- DJ Spinderella – DJ and rapper
- William F. Spurgin – US Army brigadier general, lived in Brooklyn during retirement
- Lamuel A. Stanislaus – dentist and diplomat
- Jessie Stanton – writer
- Barbara Stanwyck – Oscar-winning actress
- Adele Starr – activist
- Peter Steele – bassist and singer
- Charles M. Stein – statistician and academic
- Seymour Stein – entrepreneur and music executive
- Norman Steinberg – television director, producer and screenwriter
- Douglas C. Steiner – real estate developer
- Gilbert Y. Steiner – scholar and president of the Brookings Institution
- Charles Stendig – businessman and philanthropist
- Gary Stephan – artist
- Lance Stephenson – basketball player
- Ray Stern – professional wrestler, bodybuilder and entrepreneur
- Stuart Sternberg – owner of the Tampa Bay Rays
- Connie Stevens – actress and singer
- Neil M. Stevenson – chief of chaplains of the U.S. Navy
- Bob Stewart – television producer
- Sticky Fingaz, born Kirk Jones, member of the rap group Onyx
- Jerry Stiller – actor, father of Ben Stiller
- Lulu G. Stillman – activist for Native American rights
- Frederick A. Stokes – publisher
- David Stones – rapper
- Ruth Storey – actress
- Jeff Strabone – scholar, political activist and civic leader
- Granville Straker – music businessman and record producer
- Evelyn Straus – photojournalist
- Barbra Streisand – Oscar-winning actress, singer, director, political activist
- Eric Stuart – voice actor, voice director, musician, singer and songwriter
- Ray Suarez – journalist
- Jason Sudeikis – actor and comedian
- Daniel Suhr – first firefighter to die in the September 11 attacks
- Jackie Summers – microdistiller, writer and chief executive officer of Jack from Brooklyn
- Laura Sumner – numismatist and poet
- Rowena Swanson – information scientist
- Glenn Switkes – environmentalist and film-maker
- Richard Sylbert – film production designer and art director
- Harold Syrett – president of Brooklyn College
T
- Gregory Tague – literary scholar
- Nancy Tang – diplomat
- Sid Tannenbaum – professional basketball player
- Yanki Tauber – scholar, rabbi, writer and editor
- Irving Taylor – composer, lyricist, and screenwriter
- Tazz – ring name of Peter Senerchia, former professional wrestler
- Sebastian Telfair – NBA player
- Frank Terpil – CIA agent and American defector
- Robert Terzuola – knife maker
- Roy M. Terry – Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Air Force
- Tanisha Thomas – reality television participant, television show host
- Gale Thomson – businesswoman and activist
- John Threat – computer hacker
- Yosel Tiefenbrun – tailor and rabbi
- Frank Tieri – mobster
- Ira Tiffen – optics designer and glass artist
- Adrianne Tolsch – comedian, writer and graphic artist
- Sy Tomashoff – television production designer and set decorator
- Marisa Tomei – Oscar-winning actress
- Ronn Torossian – public relations executive
- Joe Torre – Major League Baseball player, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers manager, Hall of Fame
- Frank Tousey – publisher
- Isaac Toussie – real estate developer
- Rachel Trachtenburg – actress, singer, musician
- Spencer Trask – financier, philanthropist, and venture capitalist
- Warren Lincoln Travis – weightlifter
- Mimi Trepel – radio broadcaster
- Kathy Troccoli – gospel singer
- Kevin M. Tucker – Commissioner of Philadelphia Police Department
- Richard Tucker – actor
- Marcia Tucker – art historian, art critic and curator
- Florence Tullis – mother of Roy L. Dennis who was portrayed by Cher in the 1985 film Mask
- Kenneth Turan – film critic and writer
- Mark Turenshine – American-Israeli basketball player
- John Turturro – actor and director
- Nicholas Turturro – actor
- Mike Tyson – heavyweight boxing champion
U
- Uncle Murda – gangster rapper
- Adelaide Underhill – librarian
- Daniel Oscar Underhill – banker
- Barbara Underwood – politician
- UTFO – 1980s rap group
V
- Francis R. Valeo – 21st Secretary of the United States Senate
- Lou Vairo – ice hockey coach and inductee into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame
- Isaac Van Anden – newspaper publisher and founder of the Brooklyn Eagle
- Mary Crowell Van Benschoten – author, newspaper publisher, clubwoman
- Charles H. Van Brunt – lawyer and judge
- Willard Van der Veer – Academy Award-winning cinematographer
- Paul Van Dyke – historian
- Frank P. Van Pelt – Sandy Hook Pilot
- Andrew VanWyngarden – member of MGMT
- Alan Veingrad – NFL player
- Nydia Velázquez – political advisor, educator, and missionary
- Dylan Verrechia – film director, producer, and screenwriter
- Edward Verso – dancer and choreographer
- Edward Vick – former CEO of Young & Rubicam
- Idara Victor – actress
- Abe Vigoda – actor
- Pat Villani – computer programmer
- Sal Villanueva – record producer
- Tony Visconti – musician, producer
- Joseph Volpe – manager of the Metropolitan Opera
- Thomas von Essen – New York City Fire Commissioner
W
- Theodore Wachs – psychologist and academic
- Larry Wachtel – banker and radio personality
- Siraj Wahhaj – imam and muslim activist
- Edward T. Wailes – diplomat and lawyer
- A. E. Waite – poet and mystic
- Kaci Walfall – actress
- Andre Walker, designer
- Eli Wallach – actor
- John C. Walsh – film director and screenwriter
- William B. Walsh – founder of Project HOPE (USA)
- Rosalind P. Walter – philanthropist and humanities advocate
- Esraa Warda – Algerian-American dance performer and educator
- Elizabeth von Till Warren – historian and preservationist
- Kenneth S. Warren – scientist and physician
- Sydnee Washington – comedian and actress
- Isabel Bassett Wasson – petroleum geologist and Yellowstone National Park ranger
- Timothy Weah – soccer player
- Susan Weber – historian
- Elizur G. Webster – silversmith
- Sanford I. Weill – banker, financier, and philanthropist
- Sidney Weinberg – banker who led Goldman Sachs
- Sylvia Weinstock – baker and cake decorator
- Shatzi Weisberger – nurse, activist, and death educator
- Mickey Welch – MLB player
- Harold Wenstrom – cinematographer
- Mae West – actress, playwright, and comedian
- West Dakota – drag queen
- Arthur H. Westing – ecologist
- Randy Weston – pianist and composer
- Jitu Weusi – educator, activist, and co-founder of the National Black United Front
- Alfred Tredway White – housing reformer and philanthropist known as "Brooklyn's first citizen"
- Frank Russell White – architect
- Nancy White – editor of Harper's Bazaar
- Stanley Hart White – landscape architect and educator
- Colson Whitehead – novelist and MacArthur Fellow
- Isaiah Whitehead – basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets, now in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Laura Whitehorn – activist and participant in the 1983 United States Senate bombing
- Walt Whitman – poet, best known for Leaves of Grass; journalist and Brooklyn Eagle editor; essayist and humanist
- Theodore Whitmarsh – businessman and politician
- Whodini – 1980s rap group
- Oscar Widmann – interior designer and co-founder of the American Institute of Designers
- William H. Willcox – architect
- Olivia Wilde – actress
- Maya Wiley – lawyer, professor, and civil rights activist
- Julia Willebrand – environmental and peace activist
- Jerry Williams – radio host
- Michael K. Williams – actor
- Michelle Williams – actress
- Phyllis Williams Lehmann – archaeologist
- Tracy Williams – professional wrestler
- Jeff Wilpon – businessman and owner of the New York Excelsior
- Jan Wilsgaard – chief automotive designer, Volvo Cars, 1950–1990
- Robert Anton Wilson – author
- Amelia Kempshall Wing – author and philanthropist
- John Winslow – lawyer
- Shelley Winters – Oscar-winning actress
- Joel-Peter Witkin – photographer
- Bertram Wolfe – biographer and writer on communism
- Paula Wolfert – cookbook author, specialist in Mediterranean cuisines
- Milton Wolff – writer and veteran of the Spanish Civil War
- Wolfman Jack – 1970s disc jockey
- Paul Wolfowitz – political scientist and diplomat
- Theresa Wolfson – labor economist and educator
- Lloyd R. Woodson – arrested in 2010 with military-grade weapons and a detailed map of the Fort Drum military installation
- Georgeanna Woolsey – writer and nurse
- Harold Wren – dean of three law schools
- Lee Wulff – artist, pilot, fly fisherman, author, filmmaker, outfitter and conservationist
- Tony Wyllie – sports executive
Y
- Robert D. Yates – medical doctor and checkers player
- Jean R. Yawkey – owner of the Boston Red Sox
- Adam Yauch – rapper, founding member of the Beastie Boys
- Kalman Yeger – politician
- Janet Yellen – economist and U.S. secretary of the treasury
- James Harvey Young – social historian
- Henny Youngman – comedian and violinist
Z
- Dov S. Zakheim – businessman, writer, and US government official
- Walter Zanger – author and television personality
- Frank Zarb – businessman and politician
- Max Zaslofsky – NBA guard/forward, one-time FT% leader, one-time points leader, All-Star, ABA coach
- Carl Zimmerman – theatre producer and talent agent
- Zombie Juice – rapper
- Shirley Zussman – sex therapist
- Shlomo Zev Zweigenhaft – rabbi