This is a list of the people born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with the American city of Columbia, Missouri, and its surrounding metropolitan area.
Attending college in Columbia
Many people have lived in Columbia temporarily, while attending one of the city's institutions of higher education; such people are not included in this list. For lists of people who attended college in Columbia see:
- List of Columbia College alumni
- List of Stephens College alumni
- List of University of Missouri alumni
A–D
- James William Abert – soldier and explorer
- Thomas M. Allen – clergyman
- Benjamin Anderson – economist
- Gary Anderson – football player
- Judy Baker – politician
- Simon Barrett – filmmaker
- Matt Bartle – politician
- Rob Benedict – actor
- Duane Benton – judge
- Rebecca Blank – educator; U.S. Secretary of Commerce
- Philemon Bliss – judge
- John William Boone – musician
- Stratton D. Brooks – college president
- Fleda Brown – poet
- Jessica Capshaw – actress
- Russ Carnahan – politician
- J'den Cox – Olympic freestyle wrestler
- Kevin Croom – UFC Mixed Martial Artist
- Jack D. Crouch – hotelier
- Derek "Deke" Dickerson – musician
E–L
- Carl Edwards – retired NASCAR driver
- Jane Froman – singer; actress
- Nicole Galloway – politician
- Chuck Graham – politician
- Ken Griffin – organist
- Eugene Jerome Hainer – Nebraska politician
- Jeff Harris – politician
- William Least Heat-Moon – writer
- Martin Heinrich – U.S. Senator from New Mexico
- Peter Hessler – journalist
- Darwin Hindman – mayor of Columbia (1995–2010)
- Brett James – singer
- William Jewell – educator, second mayor of Columbia
- Leon W. Johnson – Air Force General
- Tyler Johnson – baseball pitcher
- Daniel Webster Jones – Mormon pioneer
- John Carleton Jones – president of the University of Missouri
- Lloyd E. Jones – United States Army major general
- Kraig Kann – golf commentator
- Henry Kirklin – horticulturalist, first black instructor at the University of Missouri
- Sergei Kopeikin – astrophysicist
- E. Stanley Kroenke – sports mogul
- Ken Lay – chief executive, Enron
- Grace Lee – radio and television personality
- Guy Sumner Lowman, Jr. – linguist
M–S
- Jeff Maggert – golfer
- Howard Wight Marshall – professor, folk historian, fiddler
- William Rainey Marshall – fifth Governor of Minnesota
- Don Nardo – author
- John Neihardt – poet
- William L. Nelson – politician
- Korla Pandit – musician
- Carlos Pena Jr. – singer
- Michael Porter Jr. – basketball player for Denver Nuggets
- James S. Rollins – 19th-century politician
- Jesse M. Roper – 19th-century naval officer
- Charles Griffith Ross – press secretary for U.S. President Harry S. Truman
- Felix Sabates – philanthropist
- Therese Sander – farmer; politician
- Max Schwabe – politician
- Jon Scott – television journalist
- John F. Shafroth – Colorado politician
- Clay Shirky – writer
- Apollo M. O. Smith – aviation executive
- William Smith – actor
- William J. Stone – 28th Governor of Missouri
T–Z
- Blake Tekotte – baseball player
- Malcolm Thomas – basketball player
- Nischelle Turner – television personality
- Zbylut Twardowski – nephrologist
- Charlie Van Dyke – radio personality
- Andrew VanWyngarden – musician
- James "Bud" Walton – co-founder, Wal-Mart
- Sam Walton – co-founder, Wal-Mart
- Edwin Moss Watson – editor; publisher
- Whitney Wegman-Wood – actress
- Norbert Wiener – mathematician
- Lisa Wilcox – actress
- Roger B. Wilson – 52nd Governor of Missouri
