Famous Mormons

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Businessmen:

Professional Athletes

  • Dennis Eckersley: threw no-hitter for Cleveland Indians, member of Red Sox, A's
  • Steve Young: Hall of Fame quarterback for San Francisco 49ers
  • Dale Murphy: Hall of Fame centerfielder for Atlanta Braves
  • Danny Ainge: Pro basketball player, and former NBA coach
  • Dick Motta: Coached Washington Bullets to NBA championship
  • Harmon Kilibrew: Hall of Fame member of Minnesota Twins
  • Vernon Law: Major League pitcher
  • Billy Casper: Professional Golfer
  • Johnny Miller: Professional Golfer, and golf analyst
  • Ty Detmer: Heisman Trophy winner at BYU, and NFL quarterback
  • Bruce Hurst: pitched for Boston Red Sox
  • Merlin Olsen: Hall of Famer from Los Angeles Rams, actor Father Murphy, and NFL analyst
  • Thurl Bailey: played for Utah Jazz, and professional singer

Politics:

  • Michael O. Leavitt: Secretary of Health and Human Services.
  • Mitt Romney: Governor of Massachusetts, possible upcoming presidential candidate.
  • Terrel Bell (1921-1996): Secretary of Education
  • Angela "Bay" Buchanan: US Treasurer
  • David Matthew Kennedy (1905-1996): Secretary of the Treasury
  • Stewart Udall (1920-1998): US Secretary of the Interior
  • George W. Romney (1907-1995): Governor of Michigan
  • Ivy Baker Priest (1905-1975): US Treasurer
  • Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994): US Secretary of Agriculture. He went on to become the worldwide leader of the LDS Church.
  • William Ide (1796-1852): President of the California Republic. “In 1846, he joined John C. Fremont in the Bear Flag Revolt. They took Sonoma and captured the Mexican Commandante of Northern California. They raised a new flag and declared the independence of the California Republic with Ide as president. When the U.S. declared war on Mexico, Ide and the others joined the U.S. forces thus ending California's independence.” Ide may be the only Mormon head of state in history, unless rumors about the King of Tonga (or is it Samoa?) are true...
  • There are currently eight Mormon senators...kind of. Five U.S. senators, one Mexican senator (his great, great grandfather was the first Mormon missionary in Mexico), the delegate to the U.S. Congress from American Samoa (if Samoa were a state, he'd be a senator), and a member of the British parliament. The “senators” come from Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, American Samoa, Chihuahua state, and England.
  • Harry Reid: Current U.S. Senate Minority Leader, a democrat from Nevada. He could take command of the Senate if the Democrats do well in congressional elections this November.
  • Rex E. Lee (1935-1996): Former U.S. Solicitor General

Educators:

  • Kim Clark: President of BYU-Idaho. Former dean, Harvard Business School. He gave up his position at Harvard when the Church asked him to move to Idaho.
  • Gordon Gee: Chancellor, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
  • Dr. V. Lane Rawlins: President, Washington State University
  • Steven Charles Wheelwright: Senior associate dean, Harvard University
  • Wilford Gardner: Once served as dean at UC Berkley.

Scientists:

  • Nolan Bushnell: Founded Atari and invented the game “Pong.” He was also owner of Chuck-e-Cheese for a time.
  • John Moses Browning (1855-1926): A famous gunsmith.
  • William Clayton (1814-1879): Invented the odometer.
  • Don Carlos Edwards: Invented fry sauce.
  • Philo T. Farnsworth (1906-1971): Invented the television.
  • Lester Wire (1887-1958): Invented the traffic light. The first one was in Salt Lake City!
  • Henry Eyring (1901-1981): Pioneered the application of quantum mechanics to chemistry. Received the National Medal of Science.
  • Harvey Fletcher (1884-1981): As in Millikan and Fletcher, discoverers of the charge on an electron. He also invented the hearing aid and was president of the American Physical Society.
  • William Hall: First to produce synthetic diamonds.

Arts and Entertainment

  • Donny and Marie Osmond: Singers, talk show hosts.
  • Gladys Knight: Singer from “Gladys Knight and the Pips.”
  • Thurl Bailey: Singer and former NBA Basketball player with the Utah Jazz.
  • Jenny Jordan Frogley: Singer. If you play the “King Kong” video game, hers is the last voice you hear before you die.
  • Mormon Tabernacle Choir: The radio program Music and the Spoken Word, which broadcasts Mormon Tabernacle Choir performances, has been a weekly tradition since 1929 and is the longest continuous network broadcast in history. The choir has won a Grammy and has earned two platinum and five gold albums.
  • SheDaisy: Country music singers.
  • Ryan Benson: Recent winner of the reality show The Biggest Looser.
  • Ashlee Ashby: Contestant, Survivor Palau
  • Neleh Dennis: Contestant, Survivor Marquesas (2002). She brought scriptures as her luxury item.
  • Ken Jennings: Contestant on Jeopardy. Holds the record for the most consecutive victories in Jeopardy history. The press have reported that 10% of his earnings will be donated to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as tithing.
  • Lena and Kristy Jensen: Contestants: The Amazing Race 6
  • Jon Peter Lewis: Contestant: American Idol, Season 3 (2004)
  • Shawn Nelson: Winner of the reality TV show Rebel Billionaire.
  • Carmen Rasmusen: Contestant: American Idol, Season 2 (2003)
  • Benji Schwimmer: Winner: So You Think You Can Dance?, Season 2 (2006)
  • Kelly Wiglesworth: Contestant: Survivor Borneo (Season 1, 2000)
  • Corbin Allred: Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
  • Don Bluth: Director and producer. The Rescuers (1977), Pete's Dragon (1977), The Secret of NIMH (1982), An American Tail (1986), The Land Before Time (1988), All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989), Rock-A-Doodle (1991), Thumbelina (1994), Anastasia (1997) and Titan A.E. (2000).
  • Wilford Brimley: Actor in The Thing (1981), Hotel New Hampshire (1984), The Natural (1984) and Cocoon (1986). Currently on television as the spokesperson for Liberty Medical Diabetic Supplies.
  • Brady Bluhm: Voice of Christopher Robin one some of the Winnie the Pooh movies.
  • Kevin J. Foxe: Producer: Blair Witch
  • Jon Heder: Actor who played Napoleon Dynamite
  • Aaron Ruell: "Kip" from Napoleon Dynamite
  • Jared Hess: Writer and director of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre.
  • Jerusha Hess: Writer of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre.
  • Katherine Heigl: Actress on Grey's Anatomy (raised Mormon, but doesn't currently practice)
  • Glen Larsen: Producer of The Six Million Dollar Man (1973), Battlestar Galactica (1978), B.J. and the Bear (1978), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), Magnm P.I. (1980), The Fall Guy (1981), and Knight Rider (1982)
  • Kieth Merrill: Academy award-winning filmmaker
  • Gerald "Jerry" R. Molen: Producer of Schindler's List (Best Picture, 1993).
  • Ellen Wheeler: “In 1986 she won the Daytime Award Emmy for 'Outstanding Ingénue in a Drama Series' for her work as Marley and Vicky Love on Another World. In 1988 she won another Daytime Emmy for 'Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series', for her work as Cindy Parker Chandler on All My Children. Ellen's character was one of the first AIDS patients on daytime television.”
  • Robert Ray, MD, MPP: Cosmetic surgeon from Dr. 90210. Likely no longer an active member of the Church. He was brought to the U.S. by Mormon missionaries.
  • Orson Scott Card: Author, most well-known for his Ender's series.
  • Richard L. Evans: Author, wrote The Christmas Box and other books

Random people:

  • Butch Cassidy (1866-1909): It is unknown whether he was a practicing Mormon.
  • Christina Aguilera: Her parents met at BYU, but divorced when she was seven. Their Church activity after the divorce is unknown, although her mother was still receiving visits from Church members when Christina was nine. Could it be that Christina was baptized? Regardless, she is no longer a practicing Mormon.[citation needed]
  • Jewel: Again, this singer was raised Mormon, but it's unclear if she was baptized.
  • Larry King: No, not Larry. But his wife is Mormon.
  • Roseanne Barr: She was a Mormon from age 6 to 16, but left the Church and is now critical of it.

For sources, see AllAboutMormons.com.

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