Actors/Actresses From New Jersey

1. Bud Abbott

Long acknowledged as one of the best "straight men" in the business, Bud Abbott was born William Alexander Abbott in Reading, Pennsylvania to Rae (Fisher) and Harry Abbott, who had both worked for the Barnum and Bailey Circus. When Bud was three his family moved to Asbury Park, New Jersey, which he...

2. Lou Costello

Actor | Hold That Ghost

Lou Costello was born Louis Francis Cristillo in Paterson, New Jersey, to Helen (Rege) and Sebastiano Cristillo. His father was from Calabria, Italy, and his mother was an American of Italian, French, and Irish ancestry. Raised in Paterson, Costello dropped out of high school and headed west to ...

3. Michael Douglas

Actor | Wall Street

A legendary actor with 50 celebrated years of film, television and producing experience, Michael Douglas is known for his era-defining roles and enduring cultural impact.

In addition to his career accomplishments, Douglas has remained a steadfast public servant, activist and philanthropist dedicated...

4. James Gandolfini

Actor | The Sopranos

James Gandolfini was born in Westwood, New Jersey, to Santa (Penna), a high school lunchlady, and James Joseph Gandolfini, Sr., a bricklayer and head school janitor. His parents were both of Italian origin. Gandolfini began acting in the New York theater. His Broadway debut was in the 1992 revival ...

5. Danny DeVito

Actor | Matilda

Danny DeVito has amassed a formidable and versatile body of work as an actor, producer and director that spans the stage, television and film.

Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. was born on November 17, 1944, in Neptune, New Jersey, to Italian-American parents. His mother, Julia (Moccello), was a homemaker. ...

6. Joe Pesci

Actor | Goodfellas

Compact Italian-American actor Joe Pesci was born February 9, 1943 in Newark, New Jersey, to Mary (Mesce), a part-time barber, and Angelo Pesci, a bartender and forklift driver. Pesci first broke into entertainment as a child actor, and by the mid-1950s, was starring on the series "Star Time Kids"....

7. Kirsten Dunst

Actress | Spider-Man

Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, who also holds German citizenship. She was born on April 30, 1982 in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, to parents Inez (née Rupprecht), who owned an art gallery, and Klaus Dunst, a medical services executive. She has a younger brother named Christian Dunst, ...

8. Laura Prepon

Actress | Orange Is the New Black

Laura Helene Prepon was born on March 7, 1980, in Watchung, New Jersey. She is the daughter of Marjorie (Coll) and Michael Prepon. Her father died in 1993, when she was 13 years old. Laura is the youngest of five children--she has a brother named Brad and three sisters: Danielle, Jocelyn, and ...

9. John Travolta

Actor | Pulp Fiction

John Joseph Travolta was born in Englewood, New Jersey, one of six children of Helen Travolta (née Helen Cecilia Burke) and Salvatore/Samuel J. Travolta. His father was of Italian descent and his mother was of Irish ancestry. His father owned a tire repair shop called Travolta Tires in Hillsdale, ...

10. Ray Liotta

Actor | Narc

Intense was the word for Ray Liotta. He specialized in psychopathic characters who hide behind a cultivated charm. Even in his nice-guy roles in Field of Dreams (1989) and Operation Dumbo Drop (1995), you get the impression that something is smoldering inside of him. He was born in Newark, New ...

11. Anne Hathaway

Actress | Les Misérables

Anne Jacqueline Hathaway was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Kate McCauley Hathaway, an actress, and Gerald T. Hathaway, a lawyer, both originally from Philadelphia. She is of mostly Irish descent, along with English, German, and French. Her first major role came in the short-lived television series ...

12. Jack Nicholson

Actor | Chinatown

Jack Nicholson, an American actor, producer, director and screenwriter, is a three-time Academy Award winner and twelve-time nominee. Nicholson is also notable for being one of two actors - the other being Michael Caine - who have received an Oscar nomination in every decade from the '60s through ...

13. Bruce Willis

Actor | Die Hard

Actor and musician Bruce Willis is well known for playing wisecracking or hard-edged characters, often in spectacular action films. Collectively, he has appeared in films that have grossed in excess of $2.5 billion USD.

Walter Bruce Willis was born on March 19, 1955, in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany,...

14. Sterling Hayden

Actor | Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Born to George & Frances Simonson Walter, and named Sterling Relyea Walter. Father died in 1925. Adopted by stepfather 'James Hayden' renamed Sterling Walter Hayden. Grew up in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and Maine. Though very poor, attended prep school at ...

15. Meryl Streep

Actress | Out of Africa

Considered by many critics to be the greatest living actress, Meryl Streep has been nominated for the Academy Award an astonishing 21 times, and has won it three times. Meryl was born Mary Louise Streep in 1949 in Summit, New Jersey, to Mary Wolf (Wilkinson), a commercial artist, and Harry William ...

16. Zoe Saldana

Actress | Avatar

Zoe Saldana was born on June 19, 1978 in Passaic, New Jersey, to Asalia Nazario and Aridio Saldaña. Her father was Dominican and her mother is Puerto Rican. She was raised in Queens, New York. When she was 10 years old, she and her family moved to the Dominican Republic, where they would live for ...

17. Kevin Spacey

Actor | L.A. Confidential

Kevin Spacey Fowler, better known by his stage name Kevin Spacey, is an American actor of screen and stage, film director, producer, screenwriter and singer. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s before obtaining supporting roles in film and television. He gained critical acclaim in...

18. Ed Harris

Actor | Appaloosa

By transforming into his characters and pulling the audience in, Ed Harris has earned a reputation as one of the most talented actors of our time.

Ed Harris was born in Tenafly, New Jersey, to Margaret (Sholl), a travel agent, and Robert Lee Harris, a bookstore worker who also sang professionally. ...

19. Lee Van Cleef

Actor | Escape from New York

One of the great movie villains, Clarence Leroy Van Cleef, Jr. was born in Somerville, New Jersey, to Marion Lavinia (Van Fleet) and Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef, Sr. His parents were of Dutch ancestry. Van Cleef started out as an accountant. He served in the U.S. Navy aboard minesweepers and sub ...

20. Frank Sinatra

Actor | From Here to Eternity

Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants Natalina Della (Garaventa), from Northern Italy, and Saverio Antonino Martino Sinatra, a Sicilian boxer, fireman, and bar owner. Growing up on the gritty streets of Hoboken made Sinatra determined to work hard to get ahead. ...

21. Peter Dinklage

Actor | Game of Thrones

Peter Dinklage is an American actor. Since his breakout role in The Station Agent (2003), he has appeared in numerous films and theatre plays. Since 2011, Dinklage has portrayed Tyrion Lannister in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011) . For this he won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a...

22. Paul Gleason

Actor | The Breakfast Club

Character actor Paul Gleason was adept at playing tough guys and white collar sleazebags, making his film debut in Winter A-Go-Go (1965). He made a name for himself portraying these unlikeable characters. A native of Jersey City, New Jersey, Gleason studied extensively at the Actor's Studio in New ...

23. Scott Wolf

Actor | Nancy Drew

Scott Wolf is an actor and producer known for his roles in Party of Five (1994), White Squall (1996), Go (1999), Everwood (2002), V (2009), Perception (2012), The Night Shift (2014) and many others. In addition to his extensive work on screen and TV, Wolf's prestigious stage experience includes the...

24. John DiMaggio

Actor | Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

John DiMaggio is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, and producer from Plainfield, New Jersey. He is best known for voicing Bender on Futurama, Jake the Dog on Adventure Time, King Zøg on Disenchantment, The Joker from Batman: Under the Red Hood and Jerry Jumbeaux Jr from Zootopia. He can ...

25. Zach Braff

Actor | Garden State

Zach Braff was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, to Anne Hutchinson (Maynard), a clinical psychologist, and Harold Irwin Braff, a trial attorney. His father is from Russia and Austria, while Zach's mother is from a family with deep roots in New England. Zach attended Columbia High School...

26. Kevin Smith

Producer | Clerks

Kevin Patrick Smith was born in Red Bank but grew up in Highlands, New Jersey, the son of Grace (Schultz) and Donald E. Smith, a postal worker. He is very proud of his native state; this fact can be seen in all of his movies. Kevin is of mostly German, with some Irish and English, ancestry.

His ...

27. Jason Alexander

Actor | Seinfeld

Jay Scott Greenspan, known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, film director, and television presenter. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series Seinfeld (1989), for which he was nominated for seven consecutive...

28. Steven Van Zandt

Actor | The Sopranos

Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, producer, actor, activist and author. He is best known as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He is also ...

29. Jason Biggs

Actor | American Pie

Jason Matthew Biggs was born on May 12, 1978, in Pompton Plains, New Jersey, to Angela (Zocco), a nurse, and Gary Biggs, a shipping company manager. Jason has two sisters, Heather, a tax specialist born in 1971, and Chiara, born in 1980. He was raised Catholic, and is of English and mostly Italian ...

30. Robert Sean Leonard

Actor | Dead Poets Society

One actor who has deserved much acknowledgment and fame and has had to do without it on a number of occasions is Robert Sean Leonard, known by most as Dr. James Wilson on House M.D. (2004). But his career has spanned a number of classic films, alongside such greats as Daniel Day-Lewis, Christian ...

31. Ali Larter

Actress | Final Destination

Born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Ali began modeling at age thirteen, and traveled the world before moving to Los Angeles to study acting. Her first professional acting job was a role on the television series Chicago Sons (1997). She received her breakthrough in the high school football drama ...

32. Bobby Cannavale

Actor | The Station Agent

In both career and in real life, Bobby Cannavale tends to choose the unconventional way of doing things. In the beginning, his decisions may have cost the dark, swarthily good-looking actor some acting roles and/or good-paying parts but, in the end, his strong work ethic and sense of self, despite ...

33. John Ventimiglia

Actor | The Sopranos

John Ventimiglia is an American actor. He portrayed Artie Bucco in the HBO television series The Sopranos and had a recurring role as Dino Arbogast, an Organized Crime Control Bureau Chief for the NYPD, on the American police procedural/drama series Blue Bloods on CBS. Ventimiglia was born in ...

grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey

34. Paul Rudd

Actor | Ant-Man

Paul Stephen Rudd was born in Passaic, New Jersey. His parents, Michael and Gloria, both from Jewish families, were born in the London area, U.K. He has one sister, who is three years younger than he is. Paul traveled with his family during his early years, because of his father's airline job at ...

35. Patrick Warburton

Actor | The Emperor's New Groove

Patrick Warburton is known to many for the role of "Puddy" in the hit NBC comedy "Seinfeld," the laconic, enigmatic, quirky Saab salesman and Elaine's boyfriend. Warburton starred for 7 seasons on the hit CBS comedy "Rules of Engagement" with David Spade, Oliver Hudson, and Megyn Price about two ...

36. Tom McCarthy

Writer | The Station Agent

Tom McCarthy is an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is best known for direct and write The Station Agent (2003), The Visitor (2007), Win Win (2011), and Spotlight (2015), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Director.

McCarthy...

37. Ernie Kovacs

Actor | Bell Book and Candle

Author, actor, comedian, composer and producer. He was educated at the New York School of Theatre, and received the Sylvania Television Award. Joining the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) in 1957, he composed a number of songs and themes, a number of which were used in ...

38. Nathan Lane

Actor | The Producers

Nathan Lane is an American actor and singer from New Jersey who is known for playing Timon from The Lion King, Spot Helperman/Scott Leadready II from Teacher's Pet, Max Bialystock from The Producers, Snowball from Stuart Little, Hamegg from Astro Boy and Ernie Smuntz from Mouse Hunt. He is married ...

39. Jane Krakowski

Actress | 30 Rock

Jane Krakowski was born in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, to Barbara (Benoit), a college theater instructor, and Edward Krajkowski, a chemical engineer. Her father was of Polish descent and her mother has French-Canadian and Scottish ancestry.

Jane was the winner of the 2003 Tony Award for her ...

40. Vincent Curatola

Actor | The Sopranos

Vincent Curatola is an American actor and writer. Curatola's best-known role is that of the New York Mafioso Johnny Sack from the HBO drama The Sopranos. He is also a singer and has appeared onstage several times with the band Chicago. Curatola was born in and grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, ...

41. Jerry Lewis

Actor | The Nutty Professor

Jerry Lewis (born March 16, 1926 - August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team ...

42. Roy Scheider

Actor | Jaws

Lean, angular-faced and authoritatively spoken lead / supporting actor Roy Scheider obviously never heard the old actor's axiom about "never appearing with kids or animals" lest they overshadow your performance. Breaking that rule did him no harm, though, as he achieved pop cult status by finding, ...

43. Frank Vincent

Actor | Goodfellas

"Go home and get your shine box....", so said ill-fated Billy Batts in Goodfellas (1990). However, Billy Batts is better known to a legion of crime-film fans as the talented actor, musician, and comedian Frank Vincent. He was born in North Adams, Massachusetts, but was raised in the Greenville ...

Raised in the Greenville section of Jersey City, New Jersey

44. Matt Servitto

Actor | Enchanted

Matt Servitto was born on April 7, 1965 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Enchanted (2007), Compliance (2012) and Good Head (2021). He has been married to Anne Lauterbach since September 15, 2001. He was previously married to Charissa Marie Sgouros.

45. Joe Pantoliano

Actor | Memento

Joe Pantoliano is an American actor of the screen and stage, Joe has over 150 credits to his name. On the big screen, he is known for his roles in such films as "The Goonies," "La Bamba," "The Fugitive," "The Matrix," "Memento," and the "Bad Boys" trilogy. Pantoliano has also appeared on numerous ...

46. Frankie Valli

Soundtrack | Grease

Frankie Valli was born on May 3, 1934 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Grease (1978), Free Guy (2021) and Bumblebee (2018). He has been married to Jackie Jacobs since June 26, 2023. He was previously married to Randy Clohessy, MaryAnn Hannigan and Mary Mandel.

47. Karen Young

Actress | Jaws: The Revenge

Karen Young was born in Pequannock, New Jersey, and educated at Rutgers University. She was the eldest of six children; her mother was a homemaker and her father was a stonemason. After college, she went to New York City to pursue a career in acting and has been a New Yorker ever since.

One of her ...

48. Gaten Matarazzo

Actor | Stranger Things

Gaetano John "Gaten" Matarazzo III (born September 8, 2002) is an Italian-American actor. He began his career on the Broadway stage as Benjamin in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert & as Gavroche in Les Misérables. He stars as Dustin Henderson in the Netflix science-fiction drama series, Stranger Things...

49. Elizabeth Gillies

Actress | Dynasty

Elizabeth Gillies (born July 26, 1993) is an American actress and singer. Shortly after her Broadway debut in the musical "13", she landed the role of Jade West in the hit Nickelodeon series, Victorious (2010). She soon started appearing on other Nickelodeon shows, most notably as the voice of ...

50. Michael Pitt

Actor | The Dreamers

Michael Carmen Pitt (born April 10, 1981) is an American actor, model and musician. A casting agent, whom Pitt mistook as a police officer attempting to arrest him, noticed him and recommended him for a guest role on the television series Dawson's Creek (1998) (he played Henry Parker in 15 episodes...

51. Mindy Sterling

Actress | Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Mindy Sterling is an American actress from New Jersey. She is known for her roles in the Austin Powers film trilogy, the 2000 How the Grinch Stole Christmas film, Con Man, Chowder, The Legend of Korra, iCarly, the Spider-Man 2 video game, Mars Needs Moms, Invader Zim and The Goldbergs. She had a ...

52. Mae Clarke

Actress | Frankenstein

Vivacious, blonde Mae Clarke was exposed to cinema from an early age, her father being an organist in a motion picture cinema. Growing up in Atlantic City, New Jersey, she learned how to dance. At the tender age of 13 she was already performing in nightclubs and amateur theatricals. In 1924, she ...

53. Liza Weil

Actress | Gilmore Girls

Liza Weil's childhood was spent traveling around the world with her parents, who were members of The Mad House of London, a prestigious comedy troupe known throughout Europe. At the age of 7, Liza's family settled in a small town in Pennsylvania, and soon after, she began performing in local ...

54. Roger Clark

Actor | Red Dead Redemption II

Roger Clark was born in New Jersey, raised in Ireland and trained in the U.K. He attended University of Glamorgan in Cardiff, Wales and achieved a BA in Theatre, Media and Drama. His professional acting debut was in 2000 with the Wales Actor's company and their production of 'Juno and the Paycock'....

Born in New Jersey but raised in Ireland.

55. Vera Farmiga

Actress | Up in the Air

Vera Farmiga is an American actress who has received an Academy Award nomination for her role in Up in the Air (2009) and Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her roles in Bates Motel (2013) and When They See Us (2019).

She was born Vera Ann Farmiga, the second of seven children, on August 6, 1973, ...

56. Rick Gomez

Actor | Silo

Rick Gomez was born in Bayonne, New Jersey on June 1st. He is the first-born son and was born on his father's birthday. In 1987 the family moved to South Plainfield, New Jersey where Rick went to school. He graduated from South Plainfield High School and promptly moved to New York City to pursue ...

57. Jeff Anderson

Actor | Clerks

Jeff Anderson is an American film and television actor, director, and screenwriter best known for starring as Randal Graves in Clerks (1994) and Clerks II (2006). In between, he has appeared in other Kevin Smith directed films and has written, directed, and starred in Now You Know (2002). For his ...

58. Brian O'Halloran

Actor | Clerks

Brian O'Halloran was born on December 20, 1969 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Clerks (1994), Mallrats (1995) and Clerks II (2006).

Lived in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey since 13.

59. Jason Mewes

Actor | Clerks

New Jersey born and bred actor, who burst onto cinema screens in 1994, playing the grass smoking, fast talking, foul mouthed and over sexed,...but very likable "Jay" in Kevin Smith's hilarious low budget hit Clerks (1994). The off beat & philosophical drug dealing characters of "Jay and Silent Bob"...

60. Jennifer Schwalbach Smith

Actress | Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Jennifer Schwalbach Smith was born on April 7, 1971 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. She is a producer and actress, known for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Clerks II (2006) and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019). She has been married to Kevin Smith since April 25, 1999. They have one child.

61. Michael B. Jordan

Actor | Black Panther

Michael B. Jordan, the middle of three children, was born in Santa Ana, California and raised in Newark, New Jersey. He is the son of Donna (Davis), a high school counselor, and Michael A. Jordan. His middle name, Bakari, means "noble promise" in Swahili. (He is not related to, or named after, ...

Born in California, raised in Newark.

62. Lauren Cohan

Actress | The Boy

Lauren Cohan is a British-American actress and model, best known for her role as Maggie Greene on The Walking Dead (2010) and recurring roles on The Vampire Diaries (2009), Supernatural (2005), and Chuck (2007). After her film debut on Casanova (2005) as Sister Beatrice, she starred in the sequel ...

63. Taissa Farmiga

Actress | The Final Girls

Taissa Farmiga is an American actress, and the younger sister of Academy Award nominee Vera Farmiga, who is 21 years her senior. She was born in Readington Township, New Jersey, USA, to Ukrainian-born parents Michael and Lubomyra (Spas) Farmiga.

Unlike her older sister, Taissa initially had no ...

64. Paul Greco

Actor | The Warriors

Paul Greco was born on October 21, 1955 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for The Warriors (1979), The Cable Guy (1996) and Broadway Danny Rose (1984). He died on December 17, 2008 in Red Hook, New York, USA.

65. Taylor Holmes

Actor | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Taylor Holmes, the American stage and film actor, was born in Newark, New Jersey. He made his Broadway debut in February 1900 in the controversial play "Sapho", which was closed down by the New York Police Department for immorality after 29 performances. In the April 1900 trial, the play was ...

66. Thea White

Actress | Courage the Cowardly Dog

Thea White was born on June 16, 1940 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for Courage the Cowardly Dog (1999), Cartoon Network Racing (2006) and Cartoon Cartoon Fridays (2000). She was married to Andy White. She died on July 30, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

67. Joseph Cross

Actor | Lincoln

Joseph Cross made his motion picture debut in M. Night Shyamalan's Wide Awake (1998). Cross was also seen in Strangers with Candy (2005), co-starring Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, and Greg Hollimon. The prequel to the Comedy Central series of the same name, the film was directed by ...

68. Dulé Hill

Actor | Psych

Dulé Hill can currently be seen starring as the patriarch Bill Williams in ABC's re-imagining of "The Wonder Years". Inspired by the beloved award-winning series of the same name, the Peabody Award winning, "The Wonder Years" is a coming-of-age story set in the late 1960s that takes a nostalgic ...

69. Jared Gilman

Actor | Moonrise Kingdom

A resident of South Orange, New Jersey, Gilman attended Newark Academy and attends NYU Tisch. When he was twelve years old, he was cast in the starring role of Sam Shakusky in Wes Anderson's 'Moonrise Kingdom', alongside an all-star cast of Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Harvey Keitel, ...

70. Diane Guerrero

Actress | Orange Is the New Black

Diane Guerrero (born July 21, 1986) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Maritza Ramos on the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black and Lina on Jane the Virgin. Among her other roles was a recurring role on Are We There Yet? Guerrero grew up in Boston and remained there after...

71. Melissa Rauch

Actress | The Big Bang Theory

Melissa Ivy Rauch was born in Marlboro, New Jersey. She attended Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, where she received a BFA degree. While going to school, Melissa performed stand-up comedy around Manhattan, and soon made a name for herself on the NYC comedy scene. Her one-woman show, "...

72. Jordin Sparks

Actress | Sparkle

Jordin Brianna Sparks was born on December 22, 1989 in Phoenix, Arizona and raised in Glendale, Arizona & Ridgewood, New Jersey. She was born to Jodi Beth Wiedmann & Phillippi Sparks. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the sixth season of American Idol at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in...

Born in Arizona raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

73. Joey Diaz

Actor | The Many Saints of Newark

Joey Diaz is known for The Many Saints of Newark (2021), This Is Not Happening (2015) and Grudge Match (2013). He has been married to Terrie Clark since November 25, 2009. They have one child.

74. Eva Marie Saint

Actress | On the Waterfront

Actress and producer Eva Marie Saint was born on July 4, 1924 on Newark, New Jersey. She is known for starring in Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959). Her film career also includes ...

75. Christina Milian

Actress | Be Cool

Christina Milian was born Christine Flores on September 26, 1981 in Jersey City, New Jersey & raised in Waldorf, Maryland. At the age of 19, Milian signed a contract with Def Jam. In 2001, Milian released her self-titled debut album, which featured the singles "AM to PM" and "When You Look at Me"; ...

76. Michael V. Gazzo

Actor | The Godfather Part II

Michael Vincente Gazzo was born in Hillside, New Jersey, on April 5, 1923. He attended Erwin Piscator's Dramatic Workshop at the New School on the GI Bill after being demobilized from the US Army Air Force after World War II.

Gazzo's first major success was as a playwright. His play about drug ...

77. Harley Quinn Smith

Actress | Cruel Summer

Harley Quinn Smith was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, to Jennifer Schwalbach and Kevin Smith. At the age of two, Smith and her family moved to Los Angeles. Smith had intentions to become a professional bass guitarist, but later fell in love with acting.

She has been seen in several films, including ...

78. Rachel Zegler

Soundtrack | West Side Story

Rachel Zegler is a singer and songwriter, raised in New Jersey by her American father and Colombian mother. Having been one of 30,000 people to audition, she was selected to play the role of Maria in Steven Spielberg's remake of the classic West Side Story (2021), opposite Ansel Elgort as Tony. She...

79. Michael Gandolfini

Actor | The Many Saints of Newark

Michael Gandolfini was born on May 10, 1999 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Cherry (2021) and Landscape with Invisible Hand (2023).

80. Ezra Miller

Actor | The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Ezra Matthew Miller was born in Wyckoff, New Jersey, to Marta (Koch), a modern dancer, and Robert S. Miller, who has worked at Workman Publishing and as former senior V.P. for Hyperion Books. Ezra has two older sisters and is of Ashkenazi Jewish (father) and German-Dutch (mother) ancestry. Ezra has...

81. Richard Conte

Actor | The Godfather

Richard Conte was born Nicholas Richard Conte on March 24, 1910, in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of an Italian-American barber. He held a variety of jobs before becoming a professional actor, including truck driver, Wall Street clerk and singing waiter at a Connecticut resort. The gig as a ...

82. Frankie Muniz

Actor | Agent Cody Banks

Frankie was born in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, to Denise, a nurse, and Francisco Muniz III, a restaurateur. His father is of Puerto Rican heritage and his mother is of Irish and Italian descent. Frankie was home-schooled since Grade Six. He started his acting career performing the role of Tiny Tim in ...

83. Paul Wesley

Actor | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Paul was raised in the Marlboro, New Jersey. His parents immigrated from Poland, where he spent a large portion of his childhood. Many of his relatives still reside there.

During his high school years, Paul was actively involved in theater studies, primarily in New York City. He attended Christian ...

84. Andrew McCarthy

Director | Orange Is the New Black

Andrew McCarthy grew up in Westfield, New Jersey, until he was 15, when his family moved to Bernardsville. He attended the Pingry School, a prep school, where he performed in plays and musicals and played basketball. At 18, he went to New York University as a theatre major and wound up as the lead ...

85. Jimmi Simpson

Actor | Dark Matter

Jimmi Simpson is an American actor. He was born in Hackettstown, New Jersey, the youngest of three brothers. After graduating from Bloomsburg University with a Bachelor of Arts in theater, he acted for four seasons at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts.

Simpson made his film debut in...

86. Paul Robeson

Actor | Show Boat

This handsome, eloquent and highly charismatic actor became one of the foremost interpreters of Eugene O'Neill's plays and one of the most treasured names in song during the first half of the twentieth century. He also courted disdain and public controversy for most of his career as a staunch Cold ...

87. Brandon Sklenar

Actor | The Offer

Brandon Sklenar was born and raised in northern New Jersey. His father a carpenter and his mother a hair dresser. With an intense passion for both film and music, at a young age he decided to pursue a career as an actor and filmmaker.

In 2018 Brandon worked with revered international filmmaker Amir ...