List of people from Coventry
This is a list of people from Coventry, a city in the West Midlands region of England. The list is arranged alphabetically by surname.
A
- Jassa Ahluwalia, actor, TV and radio presenter
- Bob Ainsworth, former Labour Party politician, Member of Parliament for Coventry North East and Secretary of State for Defence
- Alice Arnold, politician, trade unionist and first female mayor of Coventry
- John Ash, English physician and founder of Birmingham General Hospital
- Martin Atkins drummer in post-punk and industrial groups Public Image Ltd, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and ''Killing Joke''
B
- Neil Back, rugby union player who played 66 times for England
- Angela Bailey, Canadian track and field athlete and Olympic medallist
- Gillian Barber, actress
- Jessica Barry, super featherweight boxer
- Ian Bell, Warwickshire and England cricketer
- John Blakemore, photographer
- Sara Blizzard, weather presenter
- Jordan Bolger, actor
- Laurence Boswell,, Olivier Award-winning theatre director.
- John Bradbury, drummer of the 2-tone band the Specials
- Charles Bray, ribbon manufacturer, social reformer and phrenologist
- Albert Brown, Coventry's first England international footballer
- Olivia Broadfield, singer-songwriter for TV and film
- Sydney John Bunney, impressionist artist
- Jocelyn Burgener, businesswoman and Canadian politician
- Joseph Butterworth, law bookseller, philanthropist, politician and Member of Parliament for Coventry from 1812 to 1818
C
- Sheila Carey, middle-distance runner and Olympian
- Samuel Carter, solicitor and Member of Parliament for Coventry
- Tom Cartwright, Warwickshire and England cricketer
- Cathy Cassidy, children's writer
- William Chattaway, sculptor and draughtsman
- Fontaine Chapman, badminton player
- Lee Child, novelist best known for his Jack Reacher series
- David Clements, ice hockey player for Coventry Blaze and the British men's national team
- Paul Clews, motorcycle speedway rider
- Rowena Cole, middle distance runner
- Anketil de Coleshull, first known Member of Parliament for Coventry
- Ray Colledge, mountaineer
- Cyril Connolly, literary critic and writer
- William of Coventry, Carmelite friar and historian
- Mary Creagh, Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament for Coventry East
- Cyrus Christie, footballer
- Cal Crutchlow, MotoGP motorcycle racer
D
- Dominic Dale, professional snooker player and commentator for the BBC and Eurosport
- Christopher Davenport, Catholic theologian, religious controversialist, and royal chaplain
- Dame Laura Davies, professional golfer
- Neol Davies, guitarist of 2 tone band the Selecter
- Peter Ho Davies, writer
- Delia Derbyshire, composer of electronic music and creator of the theme music to the BBC TV series Doctor Who
- Marlon Devonish, sprinter and Olympic gold medallist
- Lisa Dillon, actress
- Reg Dixon, comedian
- Yvonne Dolphin-Cooper, cricket umpire and member of the first-all female umpiring duo in ECB Premier League history
- Lee Dorrian, heavy metal musician of bands Napalm Death, Cathedral, Septic Tank and With the Dead
- Thomas Edward Dunville music hall comedian
E
- Mary Eaves, midwife
- Josh Eccles, footballer for Coventry City F.C.
- Thomas Edwards, Anglican clergyman, divine and writer
- George Eld, antiquary and editor of the Coventry Standard
- Evelyn Evans, British librarian who founded libraries in Ghana
- John Eyre, painter and engraver, transported to New South Wales as a convict
F
- Nan Fairbrother, writer and environmentalist
- Tom Farndon, speedway rider
- Jade Faulkner, gymnast and Olympian
- Colleen Fletcher, former Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament for Coventry North East
- Richard Forster, physician and astrologer
- Danusia Francis, gymnast and Olympian
- Mary Franklin, schoolmistress
- Connie Frazer, poet and writer
- Emma Fryer, comedian and actress
G
- Cathy Galvin, poet and journalist
- David Gee, oil painter
- Frederick Gibberd, English architect, town planner and landscape designer
- Chelsie Giles, judoka and Olympic medallist
- Neelam Gill, international fashion model
- Lady Godiva, Anglo-Saxon noblewoman and figure of legend
- Andy Goode, former England international rugby union fly-half
- Bobby Gould, former footballer and manager
- Melissa Graham, singer-songwriter in band Solid HarmoniE
- Danny Grewcock, rugby union lock who played for England
- Theresa Griffin, Labour Party politician and former Member of the European Parliament for the North West England constituency
- Alfred Robert Grindlay, inventor, industrialist and politician
- Joseph Gutteridge, silk weaver, microscopist and naturalist
H
- Terry Hall, lead singer of the 2-tone band the Specials
- Mary Dormer Harris, local historian, translator, writer and suffragist
- Nigel Hawthorne, actor
- Vince Hill, traditional pop music singer and songwriter
- Edward Hopkins, Whig Member of Parliament for Coventry
- Amy Hurlston, journalist, editor, social campaigner, suffragist and trade unionist
I
- Frank Ifield, English-Australian country music singer, yodeller and guitarist
- Langton Iliffe, 2nd Baron Iliffe, businessman and peer; owned the controlling interests in newspapers in Birmingham and Coventry, including the Birmingham Post, the Birmingham Mail and the Coventry Evening Telegraph
- Harold Innocent, actor
J
- Margot James, Conservative Party politician, former Member of Parliament for Stourbridge and Minister of State for Digital and Creative Industries
- William Jesson, dyer, politician and former Member of Parliament for Coventry in the Short Parliament
- Yasmin Javadian, judoka and Commonwealth Games medallist
- JAY1, rapper and songwriter
- Dominic Jephcott, actor
- Sally Jones, tennis player, writer and TV presenter
- Gillian Joseph, newscaster and weekend anchor of Sky News at Ten
- Graham Joyce, fantasy and speculative fiction writer
K
- Jackie Kabler, TV presenter and writer
- Tamla Kari, actress
- Charlotte Kelly, singer and member of R&B group Soul II Soul
- Richard Keys, sports TV presenter
- Guz Khan, comedian and actor
- Sarah Jane Kirk, New Zealand temperance leader, suffragist and human rights activist
- Thomas Kirk, New Zealand botanist, teacher, public servant, writer and churchman
- Aimee Knight, former Green Party and Liberal Democrats politician and transgender activist
- Neil Kulkarni, music critic and writer
L
- Billy Lane, angler and author
- Philip Larkin, poet, novelist, and librarian
- Lisa Lashes, music producer and electronic dance music DJ
- John David Lawson, engineer and physicist
- Jen Ledger, drummer and co-vocalist of the Christian rock band Skillet
- Yasmin Liverpool, 200m and 400m sprinter
- Leon Lloyd, retired English rugby union footballer, played for Leicester Tigers
- Alice Lowe, actress, screenwriter and film director
M
- Sharon Maguire, film director best known for directing Bridget Jones's Diary
- Margery Manners, music hall performer and TV actress
- Clint Mansell, lead singer of rock band Pop Will Eat Itself and film music composer
- Tom Mann, trade unionist and activist
- John Marquez, actor
- Ian Marter, actor
- Beverley Martyn, folk rock singer, songwriter and guitarist
- Dame Clare Marx, surgeon and former president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
- Sian Massey-Ellis, football referee in English Premier and Football Leagues
- Brian Matthew, BBC Radio 2 broadcaster
- Reg Matthews, England football goalkeeper
- Sinead Matthews, actress
- Panjabi MC, recording artist, rapper, record producer and DJ
- Dave McCalla, GB 4-man Bobsleigh Athlete, Olympian. Competed at 2002 Winter Olympic Games, Salt Lake City Utah
- Jamie McGough, former boxer turned playwright
- Millie McKenzie, professional wrestler and longest reigning CPW Women’s Champion
- Carla Mendonça, actress
- Clara Milburn, diarist and housewife whose writing gives an insight into domestic life during the Second World War
- Brian Mitchell, Australian Labor Party politician
- David Moorcroft, athlete, Olympian and former world record holder for the men's 5,000 metres
- Billie Myers, pop singer best known for her hit song Kiss the Rain
N
- Dave Nellist, Militant tendency politician in the Labour Party, former Member of Parliament and current National Chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
- Rhoda Holmes Nicholls, watercolour and oil painter
- Simon Norton, dyer, politician and former Member of Parliament
O
- Hazel O'Connor, singer-songwriter and actress
- Patricia O'Connor, soccer player and captain of the first Australia women's national soccer team
- Christine Oddy, Labour Party politician and former Member of the European Parliament for the Midlands Central constituency
- Clive Owen, actor
P
- Julins Palmer, English Protestant martyr
- Henry Parkes, statesman and founder of modern Australia
- Robin Parkinson, actor
- Bharti Patel, actress
- Elizabeth Percival, research chemist
- April Phillips, screenwriter, director and producer of film and theatre
- Jill Phipps, animal rights activist
- Alan Pollock, playwright
- Pamela Vandyke Price, wine expert and writer
R
- Roddy Radiation, lead guitarist of the 2-tone band the Specials
- Julianne Regan, lead singer and songwriter of the rock band All About Eve
- Ann Rollason, printer and bookseller who published the Coventry Mercury newspaper from 1813 to 1846
- Alison Rose, former diplomat and British ambassador to Belgium
- Roy Rutherford, boxer who held the British featherweight title in 2003 and the English super featherweight title from 2004 to 2005
S
- Selaine Saxby, Conservative Party politician and former Member of Parliament for North Devon
- Doc Scott, drum and bass DJ and producer, also known as Nasty Habits
- Henry Sewall, draper, politician and former Member of Parliament
- Ciara Sexton, Irish dancer and choreographer
- Thomas Sharp, antiquary
- Eileen Sheridan, road record-breaking cyclist
- Tarsame "Taz" Singh Saini, lead singer of the band Stereo Nation
- Rachel Smith, rhythmic gymnast and Olympian
- James Starley, inventor and father of the bicycle industry.
- Thomas Stevens, weaver and inventor of Stevengraph woven silk pictures
- Graham Stevenson, trade union leader and former National Secretary for the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU)
- Graham Sykes, competitive swimmer and Olympian
- Graham Symonds, competitive swimmer and Olympian
T
- Les Tarrant, bantamweight boxer and Olympian
- Dick Taylor, long distance runner and Olympian
- Dame Ellen Terry, leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
- Conor Thomas, Coventry City footballer
- Freya Thomas, footballer
- Peter Thomas, footballer who made two international appearances for the Republic of Ireland
- Geoff Thompson, BAFTA-winning writer and martial artist.
- Donald Trelford, editor of The Observer newspaper from 1975 to 1993
V
- Joseph Vernon, boy soprano and actor
- Manjinder Virk, actress, director and writer
W
- George Wagstaffe, sculptor
- Rowena Wallace, actress
- Melissa Walton, actress
- Kevin Warwick, cybernetics scientist
- Pete Waterman, record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ and television presenter
- John Watts, educational and social reformer
- Billie Whitelaw, actress
- Tony Whittaker, solicitor and politician, co-founder and first leader of PEOPLE, forerunner of the Ecology Party and Green Party UK
- Sir Frank Whittle, inventor of the jet engine
- Daphne Wilkinson, freestyle swimmer and Olympian
- Arthur Wills, composer, organist and Director of Music at Ely Cathedral
- Callum Wilson, footballer
- River Wilson-Bent, middleweight boxer
- Mark Wood, explorer
- Tom Wood, rugby union flanker
- Hilda Woodward, pianist for the band ''Lieutenant Pigeon''
Z
- Salma Zahid, Liberal Party of Canada politician