Mamaroneck Avenue in downtown White Plains, New York. Photo by Brian Logan Photography / Shutterstock.com.
White Plains has been Westchester County’s county seat since the colonial era, but its importance in New York history extends well beyond county government. The community took shape during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and by 1757 it had become Westchester’s county seat. On July 9, 1776, the Fourth Provincial Congress of New York met in White Plains, approved the Declaration of Independence, and renamed itself the Convention of Representatives of the State of New York. That moment is why White Plains has long called itself the birthplace of New York State.
Only a few months later, on October 28, 1776, the Battle of White Plains brought George Washington’s Continental Army and British and Hessian forces into combat across what is now the city and its surrounding hills. The railroad reached White Plains in 1844, helping transform the old village into a growing commercial center. White Plains incorporated as a village in 1866 and became a city in 1916. Its location, government offices, schools, businesses, and proximity to New York City eventually made it one of the most important urban centers in Westchester County.
That history is only part of the White Plains story. The city has also been the birthplace or hometown of an extraordinary collection of musicians, actors, athletes, writers, scientists, journalists, and innovators. For this list, “from White Plains” means a documented connection through birth or upbringing in the city. Here are 25 famous people you may not have known were from White Plains, New York.
1. Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg was born in White Plains in 1984 before growing up in nearby Dobbs Ferry. He went on to co-found Facebook while attending Harvard University, eventually transforming the company into Meta and becoming one of the most influential technology executives of the 21st century. Although White Plains was his birthplace rather than the community where he was raised, his Westchester roots began there.
2. David Harbour
Actor David Harbour was born in White Plains in 1975. After studying at Dartmouth College, he built a long career in theater, film, and television before achieving international fame as Police Chief Jim Hopper on the Netflix series Stranger Things. His film work has included Black Widow, Violent Night, and other major Hollywood productions.
3. Joseph Campbell
Mythologist, writer, and teacher Joseph Campbell was born in White Plains in 1904 before his family later moved to New Rochelle. His best-known book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, examined recurring patterns in mythology and storytelling across cultures. Campbell’s ideas about the hero’s journey became enormously influential in literature and film, most famously through George Lucas and the Star Wars saga.
4. Matisyahu
Matisyahu, born Matthew Paul Miller, spent much of his youth in White Plains after his family settled there. He attended Hebrew school in the city and later White Plains High School before leaving school during his senior year. Blending reggae, hip-hop, rock, and Jewish spiritual themes, Matisyahu became internationally known through recordings including Youth, which earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Reggae Album.
5. Jonathan Larson
Jonathan Larson was born in White Plains in 1960 and graduated from White Plains High School in 1978. While still in school, he participated extensively in music and theater before studying at Adelphi University. Larson later wrote the book, music, and lyrics for Rent, which became one of the defining Broadway musicals of its era. He died unexpectedly in 1996, just before the show’s first Off-Broadway performance, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama posthumously.
6. Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton
Brian Burton, better known professionally as Danger Mouse, was born in White Plains in 1977. He spent portions of his childhood elsewhere, including Spring Valley and later Georgia, before becoming one of the most successful producers of his generation. His career has included Gnarls Barkley, Broken Bells, The Grey Album, and acclaimed production work with artists including The Black Keys, Beck, Gorillaz, and numerous others.
7. James Whitmore
James Whitmore was born in White Plains in 1921 before his family later moved to the Buffalo area. After serving in the Marine Corps during World War II, he became one of America’s most respected character actors. Whitmore won Tony and Emmy Awards and received Academy Award nominations for Battleground and Give ’em Hell, Harry!. Later generations also remember him for his role as Brooks Hatlen in The Shawshank Redemption.
8. Ralph Waite
Ralph Waite was born in White Plains in 1928 and graduated from White Plains High School in 1946. Before becoming an actor, he served in the Marine Corps, attended Bucknell University and Yale Divinity School, worked as a social worker, and became a Presbyterian minister. Television audiences knew him best as John Walton Sr., the family patriarch on The Waltons, a role that earned him an Emmy nomination.
9. Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy
Carolyn Bessette was born in White Plains in 1966 and lived there with her family until her parents divorced when she was eight. She later worked for Calvin Klein and became one of the most closely watched fashion figures of the 1990s after marrying John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1996. Bessette-Kennedy, Kennedy, and her sister Lauren were killed in a plane crash near Martha’s Vineyard in 1999.
10. Art Monk
Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Art Monk was born in White Plains in 1957 and graduated from White Plains High School. After starring at Syracuse University, he joined Washington in the 1980 NFL Draft and became one of the most accomplished receivers of his era. Monk played on three Super Bowl championship teams and retired with 940 career receptions before being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
11. Channing Frye
Former NBA forward and center Channing Frye was born in White Plains in 1983, although he was raised in Arizona. The New York Knicks selected him eighth overall in the 2005 NBA Draft after his college career at the University of Arizona. Frye played 13 NBA seasons and became an NBA champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
12. Dan Duryea
Actor Dan Duryea was born and raised in White Plains and graduated from White Plains High School in 1924. He became one of Hollywood’s most memorable character actors of the 1940s and 1950s, frequently playing cynical villains and dangerous opportunists. His films included The Little Foxes, Scarlet Street, Winchester ’73, and Criss Cross.
13. George E. Smith
Physicist George E. Smith was born in White Plains in 1930. While working at Bell Laboratories with Willard Boyle in 1969, Smith helped invent the charge-coupled device, or CCD, a technology that became fundamental to digital imaging. The invention transformed photography, astronomy, medicine, and countless other fields. Smith and Boyle shared half of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work.
14. John Davidson
Actor, singer, and television host John Davidson was born in Pittsburgh but grew up in White Plains and graduated from White Plains High School in 1959. He became a familiar television personality through programs including That’s Incredible!, Hollywood Squares, and The $100,000 Pyramid, while also building a career on Broadway, in films, and as a recording artist.
15. Kevin Meaney
Comedian and actor Kevin Meaney was born in White Plains in 1956 and grew up in nearby Valhalla. He became a fixture of the American stand-up comedy circuit during the 1980s and 1990s, appearing frequently on late-night television and building a reputation for eccentric characters, musical bits, impressions, and routines drawn from family life.
16. Chris Murphy
United States Senator Chris Murphy was born in White Plains in 1973 before growing up in Connecticut. After serving in the Connecticut legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives, he was elected to the United States Senate in 2012. Murphy has since become one of Connecticut’s most prominent national political figures.
17. Garrick Ohlsson
International concert pianist Garrick Ohlsson grew up in White Plains and graduated from White Plains High School in 1966. He began studying piano at the Westchester Conservatory of Music when he was eight and entered Juilliard at 13. In 1970, Ohlsson became the first and, to date, only American to win the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, launching a major international career.
18. Lawrence Otis Graham
Author and attorney Lawrence Otis Graham grew up in White Plains after his family moved there during his childhood, and he graduated from White Plains High School in 1979. Graham became a nationally recognized writer on race, class, privilege, and American social institutions. His books included Member of the Club and the bestselling Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class.
19. Sloane Crosley
Essayist and novelist Sloane Crosley grew up in White Plains before attending Connecticut College and beginning a career in book publishing. She became a bestselling author with the essay collection I Was Told There’d Be Cake, followed by books including How Did You Get This Number, The Clasp, Cult Classic, and Grief Is for People. Crosley has spoken openly about how growing up just outside New York City helped shape the observational perspective in her writing.
20. Lynn Conway
Computer scientist and electrical engineer Lynn Conway was born in Mount Vernon and grew up in Hartsdale and White Plains, graduating from White Plains High School in 1955. Her work in computer architecture and later at Xerox PARC helped revolutionize very-large-scale integrated circuit design, making modern microchips easier to design and helping shape generations of computing technology. Conway later became a professor at the University of Michigan and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
21. Johnny Farrell
Professional golfer Johnny Farrell was born in White Plains in 1901 and became one of the leading American golfers of the 1920s. His greatest victory came at the 1928 U.S. Open, where he defeated Bobby Jones by one stroke in a 36-hole playoff. Farrell won more than 20 professional tournaments and represented the United States in the first three Ryder Cup competitions.
22. Mike McGlone
Actor, writer, filmmaker, and musician Mike McGlone was born in White Plains. He achieved his breakthrough playing Patrick McMullen in Edward Burns’s 1995 independent film The Brothers McMullen and later appeared in films including She’s the One, One Tough Cop, Dinner Rush, and The Bone Collector.
23. Jennifer Damiano
Broadway actress and singer Jennifer Damiano was born in White Plains in 1991 and remained enrolled in her hometown public schools while beginning her professional career. She made her Broadway debut as a teenager in Spring Awakening and later originated the role of Natalie Goodman in Next to Normal, earning a Tony Award nomination at age 17. Damiano also originated the role of Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.
24. Alfred Romer
Alfred Sherwood Romer was born in White Plains in 1894 and attended White Plains High School before studying at Amherst College and Columbia University. He became one of the most important vertebrate paleontologists and evolutionary biologists of the 20th century. Romer taught at the University of Chicago and Harvard and eventually became director of Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology.
25. Vanessa Rousso
Professional poker player, attorney, and television personality Vanessa Rousso was born in White Plains in 1983. She spent much of her childhood in France and later Florida before becoming one of the best-known women in professional poker. Rousso accumulated millions of dollars in tournament winnings and later reached a broader television audience as a contestant on Big Brother.
Read more about notable people from Westchester and the surrounding region in our guides to 25 Famous People You Didn’t Know Were From Westchester County, New York, 25 Famous People You Didn’t Know Were From New Rochelle, New York, 25 Famous People You Didn’t Know Were From Yonkers, New York, and 25 Famous People You Didn’t Know Were From the Hudson Valley, New York.
