You will be Surprised these 17 Famous People were Born in Utah

There are many neat people that you might not have known were born in Utah. How many do famous people born in Utah did you already know about?

1) Butch Cassidy – Born as Robert Leroy Parker in Beaver Utah on April 15, 1866, Butch was raised by Mormon pioneer parents. He took a nickname after working in a butcher shop. He did not want to bring shame upon his honest parents and so he chose the last name Cassidy. His Wild Bunch put together the longest sequence of successful bank and train robberies in the history of the American West.

2) Gene Fullmer – Fullmer began his professional boxing career in 1951 and won his first 29 fights, 19 by knockout. Fullmer won the world middleweight championship on January 2, 1957, when he upset the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson by soundly winning a unanimous 15-round decision.

 

3) Roseanne Bar – Roseanne Barr, one of America’s funniest comedians, is one of the most controversial of any actresses. She dropped out of high school when she was 17 years old. She began working at a restaurant as a dishwasher and waitress. Her hilarious comments to the customers she waited on led her to doing standup comedy at the restaurant. After her first TV appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) in 1985, she wound up in her own standup comedy HBO show, On Location: The Roseanne Barr Show (1987). This led to the highly popular sitcomRoseanne (1988) , co-starring John Goodman, which dealt with real-life issues in a lower middle-class working family.

 

4) Jewel – Born in Payson, Utah, but was raised in Homer, Alaska. is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actress, and author/poet. She has received four Grammy Award nominations and, as of 2008, has sold over 27 million albums worldwide.

 

5 and 6) Julianne and Derek Hough – Both born in Utah, this brother and sister duo started making a name for themselves in Dancing with the Stars.  Both have ventured outside the ballroom world as well to include singing and acting.

7) Steve Konowalchuk – Born November 11, 1972, Steve Konowalchuk is a former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the NHL with the Washington Capitals and the Colorado Avalanche. He is currently the head coach for the Seattle Thunderbirds of theWestern Hockey League. Konowalchuk is the first player born and raised in Utah to make it to the NHL level.

8) Steve Young – This 49er quarterback was born in Utah, even though he went to high school in Connecticut. Young was named the Most Valuable Player of the NFL in 1992 and 1994, and the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

9 and 10) Donny and Marie Osmond – Both born in Ogden, Utah, this talented brother and sister duo hosted the TV variety show Donnie and Marie. Both have had extensive singing and acting careers.

11) Wayne “Wing” Sermon – Born in American Fork, Wayne Sermon is the guitarist for Imagine Dragons. With current hits on the radio, Imagine Dragons is touring America and the world.

 

12) David Archuleta – Born December 28, 1990, David Archuleta is an American singer-songwriter and actor who at sixteen years old became one of the youngest contestants on the seventh season of American Idol. He is currently touring and making music.

13) Elaine Bradley – Born October 19, 1984, Elaine Bradley is the drummer for the American rock band Neon Trees.

 

14) John Moses Browning – Born in Ogden, Utah, on January 23, 1855, Browining was an American firearms designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world. He is regarded as one of the most successful firearms designers of the 20th century, in the development of modern automatic and semi-automatic firearms, and is credited with 128 gun patents.

15) Orson Scott Card – An American novelist, critic, public speaker, essayist and columnist. He writes in several genres but is known best for science fiction, including the Ender’s Game series.

16) James Woods – Born on April 18, 1947, in Vernal, Utah, James Woods acted on and off Broadway before turning to film, working in both lead and supporting roles. A versatile actor who often takes on challenging work, he has earned Academy Award nominations for Salvador and Ghosts of Mississippi, and won Emmys for his roles in the films Promise and My Name Is Bill W.

 

17) Frank Zamboni – An American inventor, whose most famous invention is the modern ice resurfacer, with his surname being registered as a trademark for these resurfacers, was born in Eureka Utah.

 

Are there other famous people born in Utah that we missed? Who was the biggest surprise for you? Comment with your answer below!