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Reference · Originally published by Josh Liljenquist. KitGlade presents this as reference material.

Minnesota city reference

Famous People From Duluth, Minnesota

Seven people with documented Duluth relationships, with birthplace, upbringing and formative years kept distinct.

7 verified people6 public fieldsAlphabetical, not ranked

Who are some notable people from Duluth?

Maria Bamford, Bob Dylan, Robert R. Gilruth, Kara Goucher, C.J. Ham, Don LaFontaine, Peter Stauber each have a specifically documented Duluth relationship in this directory. The labels below distinguish birthplace, upbringing, hometown, school years and formative or early work instead of treating them as interchangeable.

How to read the directory

City relationship and public relevance are verified separately

A person qualifies through a reliable source for a precise Duluth relationship and a documented public career. Later residence alone is not enough. Every source is visible on the record it supports.

View the machine-readable dataset.

Fields represented

  • Comedy and television
  • Film, television and voice performance
  • Music and literature
  • Public and civic life
  • Science and spaceflight
  • Sports

Complete directory

7 source-backed records

Records are ordered alphabetically by surname. The sequence is not a fame ranking.

Music and literature · Evidence: established

Bob Dylan

Born in Duluth; raised in Hibbing

Singer-songwriter, author and Nobel Prize in Literature laureate.

City relationship
The Nobel Prize biography records Dylan's Duluth birth and Hibbing upbringing.
Boundary
Duluth is the birthplace; Hibbing is the documented upbringing community.

Read Bob Dylan’s Minnesota origin and career profile.

Sources
Nobel Prize: Bob Dylan biographical note (OFFICIAL INSTITUTION)
State of Minnesota: Bob Dylan Day proclamation (OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT)

Science and spaceflight · Evidence: established

Robert R. Gilruth

Teen and school years in Duluth

Aeronautical engineer and the first director of NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center.

City relationship
Smithsonian's biography documents Gilruth's teenage model-airplane work in Duluth; NASA records his Minnesota birth and spaceflight leadership.
Boundary
Gilruth was born in Nashwauk, Minnesota; this record uses his documented formative Duluth years.

Sources
Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine: The Quiet Force Behind Apollo (INDEPENDENT INSTITUTIONAL)
NASA: Robert R. Gilruth (OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT)

Sports · Evidence: established

Kara Goucher

Raised in Duluth; Duluth East graduate

Two-time U.S. Olympic distance runner and World Championships medalist.

City relationship
University and athletics sources document her move to Duluth at age four and her 1996 graduation from Duluth East High School.
Boundary
Goucher was born in New York City; Duluth is her documented upbringing and school connection.

Sources
University of Colorado Boulder: Kara Goucher: A Running Life (OFFICIAL INSTITUTION)
University of Wisconsin–Superior: Olympian Kara Goucher to headline event (OFFICIAL INSTITUTION)

Sports · Evidence: established

C.J. Ham

Grew up in Duluth; Denfeld graduate

NFL fullback who played ten seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.

City relationship
The Vikings document Ham's move from Chicago to Duluth when he was young and identify Duluth as his hometown.
Boundary
Ham was born in Chicago; Duluth is his documented upbringing and hometown relationship.

Sources
Minnesota Vikings: C.J. Ham Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee (OFFICIAL PROFESSIONAL TEAM)

Film, television and voice performance · Evidence: established

Don LaFontaine

Born in Duluth

Voice actor recognized for thousands of movie trailers and television promotions.

City relationship
The Television Academy identifies LaFontaine as a Duluth native and documents his voice-over career.
Boundary
The record makes a Duluth birthplace/native claim; it does not claim a complete school history.

Sources
Television Academy: Don LaFontaine (OFFICIAL INDUSTRY INSTITUTION)
SAG-AFTRA Foundation: In Memory of Don LaFontaine (OFFICIAL INDUSTRY FOUNDATION)

Public and civic life · Evidence: established

Peter Stauber

Born in Duluth; Denfeld graduate

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives and former Duluth police officer.

City relationship
The U.S. House history office records Stauber's Duluth birth and 1984 graduation from Denfeld High School.
Boundary
This is a documented birthplace and school relationship, not a statement about current residence.

Sources
U.S. House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives: STAUBER, Peter (OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT)

Method and limitations

This is a bounded public-source directory, not a census of everyone connected to Duluth. A person may appear in both this city resource and a broader Greater Minnesota directory while retaining one canonical identity. Conflicting or weakly supported candidates remain outside the public roster.

Last reviewed .