Montana Kids keeps a list of well-known people with Montana roots, from actors and musicians to scientists and athletes. Updated in 2020, this list highlights Montanans whose work is still well known today in movies, TV, books, science, and sports.
Actors You Might Recognize
Several actors on the Famous Montanans list still appear in shows and movies that families watch today. Lilly Gladstone, listed as a movie and TV actor, went on to star in major films and series and became one of the best-known contemporary Native American actors from Montana. Other names on the list, like Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Michelle Williams, continue to be familiar from long-running TV comedies and award-winning films.
Musicians and Writers
The Famous Montanans page also lists musicians who are still listened to today. Rock fans may recognize Jeff Ament, the bassist for Pearl Jam, and younger listeners might know bands influenced by Montana singer-songwriter Colin Meloy. In books, authors like Christopher Paolini, who wrote the fantasy novel Eragon, remain popular with kids and teens who enjoy dragons and adventure stories.
Science and Sports Heroes
In science, the list includes people whose discoveries are still important today, like vaccine researcher Maurice Hilleman and dinosaur paleontologist John R. (Jack) Horner, whose fossil work in Montana changed what we know about dinosaurs. In sports, more recent names such as football players Colt Anderson and Troy Andersen show that Montanans continue to reach the NFL. These examples help students see how people from their state have shaped medicine, science, and modern sports.
Leaders and Modern Role Models
The Famous Montanans page also highlights leaders in government and public life. It notes that Greg Gianforte became governor of Montana in 2021, representing a current political figure from the state. Students can explore how older names on the list, like Jeannette Rankin or Mike Mansfield, connect to newer leaders to see how Montanans have influenced public decisions for more than a century.
Known for the vibrant, expressive work, Smuin was co-artistic director of the San Francisco Ballet from 1973 to 1985. He danced with that company from 1953 to 1961 and later with the American Ballet Theatre, where he was both a principal dancer and choreographer.
Best known for portraits of Native Americans in the frontier West and for his depiction of the Battle of Little Bighorn in his painting "Custer's Last Stand".
He has amassed over 100 design awards, including gold medals from the Art Directors Clubs of New York and Los Angeles, and an international Typomundus Award for typography.
she became the first Native American to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Legendary motorcycle daredevil and pop-culture icon.
Musicians
Several well-known musicians are strongly associated with Montana but were born elsewhere; this table focuses on Montana-born or closely tied figures by genre.
Christian Parrish Takes the Gun, known professionally as Supaman, is an Apsáalooke rapper and fancy war dancer who grew up in Crow Agency, Montana.
Pop / R&B / Hip Hop / Classical
Montana has many regional performers in country, pop, hip hop, R&B, and classical music, but relatively few widely recognized, Montana-born stars at national "household name" level in these genres.
An artist and writer of children's books. The largest public collection of James' writings, artwork, and personal effects is preserved at the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, Montana.
Known for her Western stories. Three of these were made into films, A Man Called Horse (1970) starring Richard Harris, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) starring John Wayne and James Stewart, and The Hanging Tree (1959) starring Gary Cooper.
McNamer is a 2015 recipient of an Artists Innovation Award from the Montana Arts Council, and a 2022 recipient of the Montana Governor's Award for the Arts.
His writing reflected an increasing devotion to family relationships and relationships with the natural world in the changing American West, primarily Montana,
He developed the microwave powered air purification device for astronauts, and the novel sensors and analytical instrumentation for monitoring and control of life support systems.
Sandberg was recognized with a Montana State University Centennial Alumnae Award. She received several NIH awards including the Merit Award, Special Achievement Award and the Special Act Award.
He was a longtime advocate of a political and economic system of the Japanese and European type, in which governmental involvement in the direction of the economy is far more extensive than is the case in the United States – a model that has come to be known as "Third Way" philosophy.
He played for the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won four American League pennants and two World Series championships between 1966 and 1971.A three-time All-Star, McNally won 20 or more games for four consecutive seasons from 1968 through 1971.
He is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He was twice US national champion, winning the time trial title in 1999 and the road race in 2007, and is an Olympic medalist.
He was an American miner, union leader, and convicted murder-for-hire conspirator. He became president of the United Mine Workers of America union in 1963, serving until 1972.
He was an American entrepreneur, involved with mining, banking, land development mercantile/commercial sales, agriculture and timber enterprises, and railroads. He was also a U.S. senator.
He was a Native American writer, historian and war chief of the Crow Tribe. His writings on Native American history and reservation culture are considered seminal works, but he is best known for his writings and lectures concerning the Battle of the Little Bighorn of 1876.
He was a 19th-century Western lawman and outlaw sheriff accused of leading a robbery gang and hanged by vigilantes
Robert Yellowtail
Lodge Grass
Leadership of the Crow Tribe
He was a leader of the Crow Tribe. Described as a "20th-century warrior",[1] Yellowtail was the first Native American to hold the post of Agency Superintendent at a reservation.
Shep was a Border Collie that watched his master's casket depart by rail from Fort Benton. He then stayed at the station waiting for his owner for five and a half years, until he grew deaf and was killed by an oncoming train in 1942.
Did we miss any famous Montanans? Who should we add? Let us know!
