List of people from Grand Forks, North Dakota

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Arts and entertainment

Liz Anderson (1927–2011), country singer; grew up in Grand Forks
Lynn Anderson (1947–2015), country singer; born in Grand Forks
Maxwell Anderson, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, author, poet, reporter, lyricist
Tom Brosseau, singer and songwriter, folk guitarist
Tony Fontane, gospel singer
Joel Harlow, Academy Award-winning makeup effects artist
Kam Heskin, actress
Hillary Kempenich, painter and studio artist
Ezra Kire, guitarist for Choking Victim and Leftöver Crack
Nicole Linkletter, winner of the 5th Cycle of America's Next Top Model
Stuart McDonald, former editorial cartoonist, Grand Forks Herald
Dickie Peterson, founding member of heavy metal rock band Blue Cheer ("Summertime Blues")
Alan Ritchson, actor, singer, model
James Rosenquist, artist
Richard St. Clair, classical composer
Margaret Strobel, academic
Corin Tucker, singer songwriter in Sleator-Kinney
Natalie West, actress, Roseanne

Greg Brockman, co-founder, chairman, and President of OpenAI
Thomas D. Campbell, 1928 Time Magazine "Man of the Year," and largest U.S. farmer at the time
Ralph Engelstad, Las Vegas casino owner, philanthropist
Andrew Freeman, invented the block heater; manager of Minnkota Power Cooperative^{[citation needed]}
Sally J. Smith, president and CEO of Buffalo Wild Wings

James M. Edie, philosopher
Marilyn Hagerty, author and writer for the Grand Forks Herald
Al McIntosh, newspaper editor, columns were featured in The War
Jennie Shortridge, novelist
Edward Kramer Thompson, editor of Life
Era Bell Thompson, editor of Ebony^[1]
George H. Walsh, newspaper editor, publisher, founding role with the University of North Dakota
Walter Wangerin, Jr., author of religious novels and children's books

Brooks Bollinger, American football player
T. J. Frier, American football player
Andrew Hampsten, champion cyclist
Virgil Hill, boxer, Olympic silver medalist (1984)^{[citation needed]}
Ken Hunt, Major League Baseball outfielder
Tim Johnson, Major League Baseball player and manager
Tyler Johnson, basketball player with the NBL's Brisbane Bullets
Jocelyne Lamoureux, women's ice hockey Olympic gold medalist
Monique Lamoureux, women's ice hockey Olympic gold medalist
Roger Maris, right fielder with the New York Yankees, hit record-breaking 61 home runs in 1961
Doug McDermott, basketball player with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs
Lute Olson, NCAA Champion college basketball coach of Arizona Wildcats
Tim Olson, baseball player with the Colorado Rockies
Ryan Potulny, assistant coach for the University of Minnesota men's ice hockey
Cliff Purpur, first North Dakota native to become an NHL player
Andy Schneider, defenseman with the Adler Mannheim
Andrew Towne, member of the team that completed the first human-powered transit of the Drake Passage

^ "Era Bell Thompson, 80, Dies; Novelist and Editor at Ebony". New York Times. 3 January 1987. p. 8. Retrieved 3 September 2020.