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10 Famous People From Queens, NY

It comes with no surprise that a few famous names call Queens home given that it is home to nearly 2 million people. However, the number of actors, writers, musicians, and other renowned persons with ties to the borough may surprise you. Did you know that many renowned and talented people were born in this city? This bustling borough is where people like Donald Trump, Ray Romano, and Fran Dresher got their start. Check out our list of famous people from Queens.

1. Donald Trump

Official portrait of President Donald J. Trump, Friday, October 6, 2017. (Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead)

Although President Donald J. Trump has officially relocated to Florida, traces of his upbringing remain in New York City (along with his many buildings in New York City), notably Trump Tower. Trump was born in Jamaica Hospital in Queens, New York. The hospital, located at 8900 Van Wyck Expressway, may be seen from the Long Island Railroad as you approach Jamaica Station. The addition of the words TRUMP PAVILION at the top of the Nursing and Rehabilitation facility, dedicated to Trump’s mother, is especially noticeable.

Read also; Top 10 Interesting Facts about the Election of Donald Trump

2. Howard Stern

Howard Allan Stern was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, on January 12, 1954, to Rae (Schiffman) and Bernard Stern. Stern’s first radio exposure came while volunteering at the student radio station at Boston University. He is most known for his radio show, The Howard Stern Show, which was widely syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1986 until 2005 and acquired fame. He and a group of other students invented the King Schmaltz Bagel Hour, a parody of the popular King Biscuit Flour Hour. The show was canceled after its first transmission, which included the comic sketch “Name That Sin,” a game show in which contestants admitted their biggest faults, foreshadowing his predilection for controversy.

3. Elizabeth Perkins

, , via Wikimedia Commons

Perkins was born in Queens, New York, to drug treatment counselor Jo Williams and farmer, writer, and businessman James Perkins. Her paternal ancestors were Greek immigrants from Salonika who changed their surname from “Pisperikos” to “Perkins” when they immigrated to America. Perkins is an American actress. She is particularly well-known for her role as Celia Hodes in the Showtime TV series Weeds, for which she was nominated for three Primetime Emmys and two Golden Globes. She was named one of John Willis’ Screen World’s 12 “Promising New Actors of 1986” and has subsequently won numerous film roles.

4. Lori Loughlin

Loughlin is a well-known American actress. She starred as Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis in the ABC sitcom Full House from 1988 to 1995, and she reprised the character for the Netflix sequel Fuller House (2016-2018). Jody Travis in The Edge of Night (1980-1983), Debbie Wilson in The CW series 90210 (2008-2012), Jennifer Shannon in the Garage Sale Mystery television film series (2013-2018), and Abigail Stanton in When Calls the Heart (2014-2019) are some of Loughlin’s other roles. She co-created, produced, and starred in the two seasons of Summerland on The WB (2004-2005).

5. Bernard Madoff

, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Next on our list is Bernard Madoff. In 1956, Madoff graduated from Far Rockaway High School. Madoff spent a year at the University of Alabama, where he joined the Tau Chapter of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity, before transferring to and graduating from Hofstra University in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. He briefly attended Brooklyn Law School before dropping out after his first year to establish Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC and work for himself. Madoff is well known as an American fraudster and financier who masterminded the world’s largest Ponzi scheme, valued at around $64.8 billion.

Read also; The Bernard Madoff Scandal in 15 Facts

6. Michael Landon

Landon was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz on October 31, 1936, in the Queens suburb of Forest Hills, New York. Peggy (née O’Neill; a dancer and comedian) and Eli Maurice Orowitz were his parents. His Jewish father and Roman Catholic mother raised him. Landon was an American actor and filmmaker best remembered for his appearances on Bonanza (1959-1973), Little Joe Cartwright on Little House on the Prairie (1974-1983), and Jonathan Smith on Highway to Heaven (1984-1989). He was the only person to appear on the cover of TV Guide 22 times, second only to Lucille Ball.

7. Francine Drescher

, , via Wikimedia Commons

Drescher is best known for playing Fran Fine in the television sitcom The Nanny (1993–1999. She appeared in the sitcoms Living with Fran and Happily Divorced in 2000. She starred in the animated Hotel Transylvania film series from 2012 until 2022. Drescher was born on September 30, 1957, in the New York City borough of Queens, to Sylvia, a bridal consultant, and Morty Drescher, a navy systems analyst. Her family is Jewish and originates in Southeast and Central Europe.

8. Al Roker

Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is a weather forecaster, journalist, television personality, and author from the United States. He is currently the weather anchor on NBC’s Today and co-hosts 3rd Hour Today on occasion. He is the owner of an inactive American Meteorological Society Television Seal #238. Roker was born in the New York City borough of Queens, the son of Isabel, who was of Jamaican heritage, and Albert Lincoln Roker Sr., a bus driver of Bahamian descent.

Read also; 15 Most Famous Authors of all Time

9. Donald Rickles

, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Rickles was born on May 8, 1926, in Queens, New York City, United States, and raised in Jackson Heights. He was most known for his insult comedy. His film credits include Clark Gable’s Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), Carl Reiner’s Enter Laughing (1967), Clint Eastwood’s Kelly’s Heroes (1970), and Martin Scorsese’s Casino (1995). Rickles featured in the NBC television sitcom C.P.O. Sharkey for two seasons from 1976 to 1978, having previously performed in two namesake half-hour programs, an ABC variety show titled The Don Rickles Show (1968) and a CBS sitcom titled The Don Rickles Show (1972).

10. Martin Scorsese

To suggest Martin Scorsese is the greatest director of all time is a bold declaration. To say he’s the best living director, though, maybe stretching the truth. He’s been making films since the late 1960s and continues to push cinema forward with each new one. Age doesn’t appear to slow him down, since he’s released numerous films that rank among his best after reaching 70 in 2012. The 80-year-old director has nearly exclusively made hits, making a clear ranking difficult, considering that Scorsese’s films are generally quite good at worst and real classics at best. Because, after all, is said and done, almost everything Scorsese has done is worth watching.

That’s our list of 10 famous people from Queens, NY. Our list contains persons who were born in Queens and reared there, as well as others who were born there but migrated elsewhere while they were young.