The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Lake Forest, Illinois. For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Lake Forest, Illinois.
Arts
- Sarah Brackett, actress
- Peach Carr, fashion designer; contestant on season 8 of Project Runway
- Wallace Leroy DeWolf, etcher, painter, art collector, and businessman
- Sylvia Shaw Judson, sculptor and teacher; winner of the Logan Prize in 1929 for her sculpture Little Gardener
- Lisel Mueller, poet; winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for poetry
- Rene Romero Schuler, fine arts painter
Architecture
- David Adler, architect
- Edward H. Bennett, architect and city planner
- Howard Van Doren Shaw, architect; lived in Ragdale
- Adrian Smith, architect; led the design of three of the world's ten tallest buildings (Burj Khalifa (tallest in the world), Trump Tower Chicago, Jin Mao Building); resident of Lake Forest
Business
- Andrew Watson Armour III, meatpacking magnate
- J. Ogden Armour, meatpacking magnate (Armour and Company)
- Albert Blake Dick, founder of A.B. Dick Company; licensed autographic printing patents from Thomas Edison; mayor of Lake Forest (1928â€"1931)
- Grace Durand, businesswoman and owner of Crab Tree Dairy Farm
- W. James Farrell, chairman and CEO of Illinois Tool Works
- Marshall Field, owner of Marshall Field's (now Macy's)
- Cyrus H. McCormick, inventor; founder of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became International Harvester
- Peter W. Smith, investment banker
- Charles "Cork" R. Walgreen III, third president of Walgreens
- Miles D. White, CEO of Abbott Laboratories
Marcus a. Lemonis - the profit CNBC, Chairman Camping World
Media and writing
Acting
- Kipleigh Brown, actress
- Kyle Chandler, actor
- Jay Chandrasekhar, actor, director
- Charlie Finn, actor
- Jean Harlow, actress
- Lauren Holly, actress
- John Mahoney, actor
- Mr. T, actor, wrestler
- Vince Vaughn, actor
- Richard Widmark, actor
Directing and production
- James T. Aubrey, Jr., television and film executive
- John Hughes, writer, director, producer
Journalism
- Bill Schulz, journalist (Fox News)
- Sam Weller, author and journalist
Music
- Bix Beiderbecke, jazz cornet player and pianist
- Andrew Bird, musician and songwriter
- Mat Devine, lead singer of Chicago-based alternative rock band Kill Hannah
Writing
- Dave Eggers, writer
- Jen Lancaster, writer
- Rebecca Makkai, writer
Politics and law
- David N. Barkhausen, Illinois state legislator and politician
- Edward J. Brundage, Illinois Attorney General
- Fredrik Herman Gade, mayor of Lake Forest; diplomat from Norway
- Susan Garrett, Illinois Senate state senator representing the 29th District
- Noble Brandon Judah, United States Ambassador to Cuba (1927â€"1929)
- Robert P. Lamont, United States Secretary of Commerce (1929â€"1932)
- William Mather Lewis, mayor of Lake Forest (1915-1917); president of George Washington and Lafayette Universities
- Thomas J. Moran, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court
- William Proxmire, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin
- Judy Baar Topinka, Illinois Comptroller and Illinois State Treasurer
- Pete Wilson, 36th Governor of California (1991-1999); United States Senator (1983-1991); 29th Mayor of San Diego (1971-1983)
- Corrine Wood, 44th lieutenant governor of Illinois
Sciences
- Pamela Darling, library preservation specialist
- Jim Lovell, astronaut on Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13; author of Lost Moon; owner of Lovell's of Lake Forest
- Karl Patterson Schmidt, herpetologist
Socialites and modeling
- Margaret "Peg" Carry, socialite; daughter of Pullman Company president Edward F. Carry; friend of F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Ginevra King, socialite; inspiration for many female characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's work, including Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby
- Edith Rockefeller McCormick, socialite
- Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich, descendant of the Russian Imperial dynasty the House of Romanov
- McKey Sullivan, fashion model and winner of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 11
- Catherine Warren, 2006 Miss Illinois USA
Sports
Baseball
- Mickey Cochrane, catcher for Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers in Baseball Hall of Fame
- Joe Girardi, catcher for Chicago Cubs; manager of New York Yankees
- Mabel Holle (1920-2011), third basewoman and outfielder in All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
- Scott Sanderson, All-Star pitcher for eight MLB teams
- Steve Stanicek, designated hitter for Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies
Basketball
- Steve Kerr, point guard for the Chicago Bulls
- Scottie Pippen, forward for the Chicago Bulls
Driving
- Carl Haas, auto racing impresario
- Steve Seligman, stock car racer
Football
- Jim Covert, offensive lineman for the Chicago Bears
- Jay Cutler, quarterback for the Chicago Bears
- Bobby Douglass, quarterback for the Chicago Bears
- John Fox, head coach for the Chicago Bears
- Rex Grossman, quarterback for the Chicago Bears
- George Halas, head coach of the Chicago Bears
- Cade McNown, quarterback for the Chicago Bears
- Tom Waddle, wide receiver for the Chicago Bears
- Tommy Rees (American football), QB for Notre Dame
- Chris Salvi, safety for Notre Dame
- Lovie Smith, head coach for the Chicago Bears
Golf
- Chip Beck, PGA Tour golfer
- Edith Cummings, golfer; US Women's Amateur Champion (1924)
Hockey
- Jordan Brickner, defenseman for the Connecticut Whale (NWHL)
- Keith Magnuson, defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks, team captain
Swimming
- Matt Grevers, Olympic swimmer; silver medalist (2008), gold medalist (2012)
Sports journalism
- Tim Weigel, sports anchor and reporter