6 of the Most Famous Celebrities From St. Louis, MO

Photo by Tiffany Cade on Unsplash

Many famous people have called St. Louis home over the years. It's a city that has brought us outstanding athletes, musicians, and artists.

There are many people to cover, but this is just a quick look at a few people who lived here at some point in their lives.

This list is in no particular order and provides a quick sampling—so other favorites may have been left off.

Jon Hamm

Jon Hamm is a proud resident of St. Louis. He was born here in 1971. Hamm attended the University of Missouri.

Hamm was involved in acting while he was growing up, but never took it too seriously. He became an acting teacher for a short while and one of his students was Ellie Kemper—also from St. Louis—who played Erin on The Office and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Hamm would make his way out to Hollywood and struggled to find work. It was then when he got his breakthrough role—and the role that would define his life: Don Draper on Mad Men.

Don Draper became one of the most notable characters in TV history and brought many awards to Hamm. He won Emmy's, Golden Globes, and became a producer on the show.

Hamm wasn't limited to the role of Don Draper and has continued to work in film and television.

Yogi Berra

The great Yogi Berra was born Lorenzo Pietro Berra in St. Louis on May 12th, 1925. Berra began playing baseball at a young age and played both infield and outfield.

He played in the minor leagues while also serving in World War 2. In 1946, Berra was called up to the Yankees to begin his professional career.

Berra, a catcher, would play 19 seasons in the major leagues. He then moved into the role of manager and coach which further cemented his iconic legacy.

Berra had many classic quotes over the years including "it ain't over till it's over." Even though it's easy to associate Berra as his role as a manager in his later years, his stellar playing career cannot be ignored.

Here are just some of his accomplishments:

• 18-time All-Star
• Hit 358 home runs
• 1,430 RBI's
• One of only 6 players to win AL MVP three times
• Won 10 World Series championships as a player and that's more than any player in history

Nelly

You can't talk about St. Louis without mentioning Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. aka Nelly. Nelly was born in Texas but grew up in St. Louis.

When Nelly moved to University City, it was there he formed the St. Lunatics. The group experienced some success throughout St. Louis and into Missouri but didn't have great success outside of the area.

Nelly was encouraged to go solo and ended up signing with Universal. His breakthrough hit would be "Country Grammer" in 2000. The song hit number 7 on Billboard and the album debuted at number three on the charts.

Other notable hits off that album include "E.I.," and "Ride Wit Me." In 2002, Nelly released "Nellyville" which had such monster hits as "Hot in Herre," and "Dilemma."

Nelly has won several Grammy's and has always been proud of his association with the city of St. Louis.

Redd Foxx

The legendary comedian was born in St. Louis in 1922. Born John Elroy Sanford, he would change his stage name to Red Foxx.

Foxx started in nightclubs where his dirty sense of humor started to catch on. His act drew him more attention and it was Dinah Washington who wanted him to head west to Los Angeles.

His act started to grow and he began to record several comedy albums which became influential classics.

Foxx's big break came when he starred in the role of Fred G. Sanford in the NBC series "Sandford and Son." Fun Fact: This show was based on a BBC show called "Steptoe and Son."

Foxx would later star in his own show called "The Redd Foxx Show" for ABC. He remains an important influence on future comedians such as Richard Pryor and Chris Rock.

Chuck Berry

Despite "Back to the Future" telling us that Marty McFly invented Rock n' Roll, that honor should go to Chuck Berry.

Born in St. Louis in 1926 Chuck Berry started out life as Charles Edward Anderson Berry. He has been called the "father of rock n' roll."

Berry had an interest in music at an early age. Berry started out playing Blues and would gig with various bands around St. Louis to try and make extra money.

In 1955, he went to Chicago where he met the famous Muddy Waters. Eventually, Berry would refine various elements of rhythm and blues into what would become rock and roll.

Some of his notable songs include: "Ida Red," "Maybellene," "No Particular Place to Go," and, of course, "Johnny B. Goode." Berry is considered one of the greatest--and most important--musical artists of all time.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

One of the all-time great American athletes, Jackie Joyner-Kersee was born in East St. Louis in 1962. She was actually named after Jacqueline Kennedy.

Joyner-Kersee went to East St. Louis Lincoln Senior High School. While there, she became a standout athlete. She even qualified for the finals of the 1980 Olympic Trials in the long jump.

After that, she decided to focus on the heptathlon as she was exceptional in several events. She attended UCLA where she also played basketball.

Over her Olympic career, she won three gold, a silver, and two bronze--all of this despite having asthma. Sports Illustrated named her the greatest female athlete of all time.

Even though it was short-lived, Joyner-Kersee also played professional basketball. Another amazing accomplishment is she still holds the world record for heptathlon which has stood for over thirty years.

Final Thoughts

As mentioned, it's impossible to cover all the famous people from St. Louis. This list provides a quick sampling to show you the wide range of talents that have called this city home.

What makes this city so amazing is that there are so many talented people from it, that many are unintentionally left off, and a list like this could go on for ages.

You may have your own personal favorites, but you can see how many remarkable people come from St. Louis.