This is a list of the people born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with the American city of Columbia, Missouri, and its surrounding metropolitan area.
Attending college in Columbia
Many people have lived in Columbia temporarily, while attending one of the city's institutions of higher education; such people are not included in this list. For lists of people who attended college in Columbia see: List of Columbia College alumni List of Stephens College alumni List of University of Missouri alumni
A–D
James William Abert – soldier and explorer
Thomas M. Allen – clergyman
Benjamin Anderson – economist
Gary Anderson – football player
Judy Baker – politician
Matt Bartle – politician
Simon Barrett – filmmaker
Rob Benedict – actor
Duane Benton – judge
Rebecca Blank – educator; U.S. Secretary of Commerce
Philemon Bliss – judge
John William Boone – musician
Stratton D. Brooks – college president
Fleda Brown – poet
Jessica Capshaw – actress
Russ Carnahan – politician
J'den Cox – Olympic freestyle wrestler
Kevin Croom – UFC Mixed Martial Artist
Jack D. Crouch – hotelier
Derek "Deke" Dickerson – musician
E–L
Carl Edwards – retired NASCAR driver
Jane Froman – singer; actress
Nicole Galloway – politician
Chuck Graham – politician
Ken Griffin – organist
Eugene Jerome Hainer – Nebraska politician
Jeff Harris – politician
William Least Heat-Moon – writer
Martin Heinrich – U.S. Senator from New Mexico
Peter Hessler – journalist
Darwin Hindman – mayor of Columbia (1995–2010) Brett James – singer William Jewell – educator, second mayor of Columbia Leon W. Johnson – Air Force General Tyler Johnson – baseball pitcher Daniel Webster Jones – Mormon pioneer John Carleton Jones – president of the University of Missouri Lloyd E. Jones – United States Army major general Kraig Kann – golf commentator Henry Kirklin, horticulturalist, first black instructor at the University of Missouri E. Stanley Kroenke – sports mogul Sergei Kopeikin – astrophysicist Ken Lay – chief executive, Enron Grace Lee – radio and television personality Guy Sumner Lowman, Jr. – linguist