аÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis at Sasquatch! Music Festival (2011). Photo by Christopher Dube –

10 Most Famous people from Seattle

Seattle is the largest city in the state of Washington as well as the Pacific Northwest region of North America.

It is a metropolitan area with a population is 4.02 million people. This makes it the 15th-largest city in the United States.

The history of the city comes from the boom-and-bust cycles and has a lot of natural and mineral resources. This city has beaten the odds several times and risen to the top rebuilding its infrastructure.

Famous landmarks here are Starbucks, the grunge music scene, the Seahawks, the Space Needle, and Pike Place Market.

There are several Award-winning and famous people that call Seattle home. They include actors, rappers, philanthropists, authors, innovators, philosophers, politicians and chefs.

Listed below are 10 of the most famous people from Seattle.

1. Mario Batali – Chef

Mario Batali. Photo by Charles Haynes –

Mario Batali is a famous chef, restaurateur and media personality who owns a chain of restaurants in Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Singapore and Connecticut.  

Furthermore, Batali Mario hosted a popular TV series, The Chew and has also been featured in different shows on the Food Network.

Batali is a recipient of several awards including ‘Man of the Year’ by GQ magazine in 1999. He has also published three books; ‘Simple Italian Cooking’, ‘The Babbo Cookbook’ and ‘Mario Batali Holiday Food’.

However, in 2017, Mario was accused of multiple sexual misconducts. This led to the closure of several of his restaurant businesses.

He was also forced to step down from his role as an ambassador for The Lunchbox.

2. Amanda Knox – Author

Amanda Knoxx in 2016. Photo by Geraldbostrum –

Amanda is a famous author, activist, and journalist. She became famous in 2007 after she was arrested and convicted for murder in Italy.

After graduating from high school, Amanda moved to Perugia, Italy. Perugia is more local and has fewer tourists, it is popular with foreign students.

While studying at the local university in Perugia, Amanda shared accommodation with one foreign student and two Italian trainee lawyers.

Her roommate, Meredith Kercher, came from Britain and they met for the first time in September 2007. The two would occasionally hang out with two of their neighbours who are Italian.

Unfortunately, Meredith was murdered and Amanda was accused of being responsible even though she had alibis.

During her interrogation, Amanda claimed that she was hit by Italia policewomen.

About 7 years later, Amanda was acquitted by the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation. After she returned home, she published her memoir, ‘Waiting to Be Heard’ which became a bestseller.

3. Jeffrey Dean Morgan – Actor

Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Photo by Red Carpet Report –

It took a while for Jeffrey to make it as an actor. His big break was in the hit TV series, Grey’s Anatomy, as Denny Duquette.

He grew up in Seattle and pursued a career in basketball while in Skagit Valley College. Unfortunately, this ambition was cut short after he suffered a leg injury.

Jeffery took upon his other interests such as writing and painting. While helping a friend move to Los Angeles, his love for acting sparked and he decided to pursue it professionally.

Some of his lead roles were in Supernatural (2005-2007) as Jean Winchester, Denny Duquette in Grey’s Anatomy (2006–2009), the Comedian in Watchmen (2009), Clay in The Losers (2010), and Harvey Russell in Rampage (2018).

4. Gary Locke – Politician

Gary is a famous politician and diplomat. He currently serves as the interim president of Bellevue College, Washington.

He was the first Chinese American to serve as the U.S. ambassador to China and the only Chinese American ever to have served as a governor of any state.

This is one of the largest institutions that make up the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system.

He worked as the 21^st governor of Washington between 1997 and 2005. Part of his diplomatic mission was as the 10^th United States ambassador to China (2011–2014).

Furthermore, he also served in the Obama administration as United States Secretary of Commerce (2009 – 2011).

5. Greg Valentine – Wrestler

Greg Valentine. Photo by Luigi Novi –

Greg is famously known as Greg ‘Hammer’ Valentine. He has been a wrestler for more than five decades and has won more than 40 championships.

Greg was trained by Stu Hart and his debut match was in July 1970. His first fight was against Angelo Mosca but he lost. He went to Detroit to complete his training under the Sheik.

Having come from a lineage of wrestlers, Greg used a different stage name from his father.

Between 1971 and 1974 he was part of the Fargo Brothers and they competed in Buffalo and Cleveland before moving to Texas.

Additionally, Greg has appeared in TV shows like Hulk, Insane Clown Posse Theatre.

6. Kenny G – Saxophonist

Kenny G’s most famous album, Duotones, was released in 1986. To date, he is one of the best-selling artists and has sold over 75 million records worldwide.

He started his career as a sideman for Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra in 1973. G was only 17 and still in high school.

After graduating from high school, G continued to play professionally while studying accounting at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Kenny graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, he only needed to pass the CPA exam to get into practice.

In 2019, he was featured on the Kanye West gospel album Jesus Is King, on the song “Use This Gospel”.

He also contributed is to the soundtrack of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run in 2021. A documentary on his life, ‘Listening to Kenny G’, was released in 2021.  

7. Josie Bissett – Actress

Josie became famous for her role as Jane Mancini on the television series Melrose Place (1992–1999). She has made several TV appearances for over 30 years.

Her big break on TV was in 1989 in the horror film Hitcher in the Dark. One challenge she faced was the pronunciation of her surname; she ended up using her mother’s maiden name.

In 1990, she had recurring roles in the sitcom The Hogan Family for two seasons. Then in 1992, she got a role in the soap opera Melrose Place for five seasons.

Additionally, she has also hosted a TV series on parenting and has been featured in several popular magazines.

8. Jean Smart – Actress

Jean Smart. Photo by Gage Skidmore –

Jean began her career in a regional theatre in the Pacific Northwest. She also appeared on Broadway in 1981 as Marlene Dietrich in the biographical play Piaf.

In the following year, she got a leading role in the sitcom Designing Women as Charlene Frazier Stillfield from 1986 to 1991.

Smart was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress for her role in the 2000 Broadway revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner.

Jean won her 3^rd Emmy Award for her supporting role as Regina Newley on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? (2007–09).

Additionally, Jean won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Hacks.

9. Macklemore – Rapper

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis at Sasquatch! Music Festival (2011). Photo by Christopher Dube –

You probably know him as Macklemore but his birth name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty.

He collaborated with producer Ryan Lewis they became known as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis in 2009.

They released their first album The Heist in 2012. It was featured on the US Billboard 200 at no. 2 and sold more than 78,000 copies.

In 2013, they released a single ‘Thrift Shop’ that became the first song since 1994 to top the Hot 100 chart without the support of a major record label.

As a solo artist, Macklemore has one mixtape, three EPs, and four albums. He is also an ardent fan of Seattle Supersonics.

10. Rainn Wilson – Actor

You probably know him from his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom The Office.

This has been one of the most successful roles that earned him three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Rainn grew up in Seattle and started acting while at the University of Washington. He worked in theatre in New York after graduating.

Other than acting, Rainn is a published author and a co-founder of a digital media company, SoulPancake and loves to play Chess.