List of people from Adelaide

See also: Category:People from Adelaide

This is an incomplete list of notable people from Adelaide.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Arts and music

Prominent intellectuals, writers, artists, bands, and musicians to hail from Adelaide include:

Actors

• Dame Judith Anderson AC DBE – Rebecca, And Then There Were None; Tony and Emmy Award winner
• Elspeth Ballantyne – Prisoner
• Holly Brisley – Home and Away
• Sam Clark – Neighbours
• Kate Fischer – Sirens
• Sir Robert Helpmann CBE – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
• Nicholas Hope – Bad Boy Bubby
• Dichen Lachman – Neighbours, Dollhouse
• Anthony LaPaglia – Without a Trace
• Jonathan LaPaglia – Seven Days, The District
• Glenn McMillan – Wonderland, Power Rangers Ninja Storm
• John Noble – Fringe
• Ben Oxenbould – Hey Dad..!
• Teresa Palmer – December Boys, I Am Number Four
• Lois Ramsey – Road to Nhill, Home and Away
• Xavier Samuel – The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
• Hugh Sheridan – Packed to the Rafters
• Sarah Snook – Succession; Golden Globe winner
• Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog; Oscar-nominated actor
• Sonia Todd – McLeod's Daughters
• Adam Tuominen – Power Rangers Ninja Storm, Underbelly: Razor, Escape from Pretoria
• Melanie Vallejo – Winners and Losers, Power Rangers Mystic Force
• Samara Weaving

Comedians

• Anthony Lehmann – aka "Lehmo" Lehmann
• Richard Marsland
• Shaun Micallef
• Greig Pickhaver AM – aka "H.G. Nelson"
• Roy Rene – aka "Mo McCackie"
• Frank Woodley

Film directors

• Mario Andreacchio
• David James Campbell
• Alex Frayne
• Rolf de Heer
• Scott Hicks
• Pip Karmel
• Justin Kurzel
• Anthony Maras
• Michael James Rowland
• Murali K. Thalluri
• Eddie White

Humanities

• Graeme Hugo – demographer and Federation Fellow (2002)
• J. J. C. Smart – philosopher
• Hugh Stretton – historian and sociologist
• Peter Sutton – anthropologist
• Wesley Wildman – philosopher, theologian, ethicist
• Ghil'ad Zuckermann – linguist and revivalist

Journalists

• Annabel Crabb – political writer and commentator
• Brady Haran OAM – independent video journalist and Internet personality
• Jenni Hogan – TV reporter and host, Emmy Award winner
• Christian Kerr – political commentator and journalist
• David Kosh – financial journalist and former presenter of Sunrise
• Bruce McAvaney OAM – sports broadcaster
• Hamish McLachlan – television sports commentator for the Seven Network
• David Penberthy – editor-in-chief of the Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph

Musicians and bands

• Allday
• The Angels
• At Sunset
• Atlas Genius
• The Audreys
• Jimmy Barnes
• The Beards
• Beeb Birtles
• Bit By Bats
• David Campbell
• Wes Carr
• Julian Cochran
• Cold Chisel
• Beccy Cole
• Michael Crafter
• Delta
• Fraternity
• Funkoars
• Peter Furler
• Dave Graney
• Angie Hart
• Hilltop Hoods
• The Hot Lies
• I Killed the Prom Queen
• Jim Keays
• Paul Kelly
• Rachael Leahcar
• Lowrider
• Tkay Maidza
• The Mark of Cain
• The Masters Apprentices
• Reece Mastin
• Sarah McLeod
• Sister Janet Mead
• Rudy Nikkerud
• Orianthi Panagaris
• Redgum
• Aleesha Rome
• Guy Sebastian
• Glenn Shorrock
• Sia
• Benjamin Speed
• The Superjesus
• Swanee
• Michelle Tumes
• The Twilights
• Universum
• Virgin Black
• Wolf & Cub

Visual artists

• James Ashton – painter and arts educator
• Dorrit Black – modernist printmaker and painter
• Michal Dutkiewicz – comic book artist and illustrator, three-time winner of the Stanley Award
• Robert Hannaford AM – portrait artist, three-time winner of the People's Choice Award of the Archibald Prize
• Barbara Hanrahan – artist, printmaker and writer
• Sir Hans Heysen OBE – landscape painter, nine-time winner of the Wynne Prize
• Nora Heysen AM – portrait artist, first female winner of the Archibald Prize
• Ondrej Mares – sculptor and furniture maker
• Joseph Stanislaus Ostoja-Kotkowski AM – painting, photography, film-making, theatre design, fabric design, murals, kinetic and static sculpture, stained glass, vitreous enamel murals, op-collages, computer graphics, and laser art
• Geoffrey Proud – portrait and landscape painter, sculptor, winner of the 1990 Archibald Prize, winner of the 1975 Sulman Prize
• Jeffrey Smart AO – precisionist landscape painter
• Susan Dorothea White – painter, sculptor and printmaker

Writers

• Malcolm Afford – playwright and novelist
• Guy Boothby – novelist and travel writer
• James Bradley – novelist and critic
• Brian Castro – novelist
• Nancy Cato – author
• J. M. Coetzee – novelist and essayist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
• Aidan Coleman – poet
• David Conyers – science fiction author
• Geoffrey Dutton AO – poet, author and historian, winner of the Grace Leven Prize for Poetry
• Max Fatchen AM – journalist and children's author
• Mem Fox AM – educator and children's author
• Peter Goldsworthy AM – novelist, poet and scriptwriter, winner of the Helpmann Award
• Christine Harris – children's and young adult author
• Max Harris AO – poet, critic and columnist
• Vernon Knowles – fantasy author
• Kym Lardner – children's author, illustrator, and storyteller
• Caleb Lewis – playwright
• DBC Pierre – novelist, winner of the Man Booker Prize
• Gillian Rubinstein – children's author and playwright
• Bel Schenk – poet
• Tony Shillitoe – fantasy author
• Tim Sinclair – poet and novelist
• Hugh Stretton – historian and sociologist
• Anne Summers – feminist writer and editor
• Colin Thiele AC – children's author and educator, winner of the Dromkeen medal
• David Thorne – humorist and satirist
• Russel Ward – historian and author of The Australian Legend
• Sean Williams – science fiction author
• Ben Winch – novelist
• Nan Witcomb – poet
• Laetitia Withall – poet, author and suffragette

Business and media

• Rick Allert AO – accountant, company director and chairperson
• Balfours family – bakery founders
• Barr Smith family – businessmen and philanthropists
• Matt Barrie – entrepreneur, CEO Freelancer Limited
• Shaun Bonétt – property developer, entrepreneur and philanthropist
• Cooper family – brewery founders
• Thomas Elder GCMG – pastoralist, politician and philanthropist
• Gerard family – founders of Clipsal
• Edward Hayward Kt – owner and manager of John Martins
• Sir Sidney Kidman – pastoralist, entrepreneur and landowner
• Matthew and Zbigniew Michalewicz – entrepreneurs and co-founders of SolveIT Software
• Rupert Murdoch AC – media mogul, chairperson and CEO of News Corporation
• Mary Penfold – winemaker
• John Spalvins – managing director of Adelaide Steamship Company
• Robert Stigwood – impresario, entertainment entrepreneur and film producer
• Michael Tunn – radio announcer and program director
• Gary Turner – producer, record company owner and founder of LearnToPlayMusic.com

Law and politics

• Julie Bishop – Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia
• Sir John Langdon Bonython KCMG – member of the first Australian parliament
• Sir John Lavington Bonython – mayor and Lord Mayor of Adelaide
• Michael Bradley – mayor of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
• James Crawford – Legal academic and Judge of the International Court of Justice (2014)
• Mario Despoja – leader of the Croatian community in Australia
• Natasha Stott Despoja AM – senator and leader of the Australian Democrats
• Alexander Downer AC – Foreign Affairs Minister and Leader of the Opposition
• Alexander Downer, Sr. KBE – member of the House of Representatives and High Commissioner to London
• John Downer KCMG KC – twice Premier of South Australia
• John Finnis – Professor of Law at University College, Oxford
• Julia Gillard – prime minister and leader of the Australian Labor Party
• Janine Haines – senator and leader of the Australian Democrats
• Sir Charles Kingston – Premier of South Australia and Minister for Trade and Customs in the first Commonwealth parliament
• Dame Roma Mitchell AC DBE CVO – Australia's first female QC, first female judge, and first female Governor
• Christopher Pyne – Minister for Defence
• Catherine Helen Spence – suffragist, electoral reformer, prohibitionist, and first female political candidate in Australia
• Ian Wilson AM – member of the Australian House of Representatives and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs
• Sir Keith Wilson CBE – senator and member of the Australian House of Representatives
• List of mayors and lord mayors of Adelaide
• List of premiers of South Australia
• Category: Federal politicians from South Australia

Science

World-renowned Adelaide scientists include:

• Len Beadell OAM BEM – surveyor, roadbuilder and explorer; asteroid 3161 Beadell is named after him
• William Henry Bragg OM KBE PRS – physicist, chemist and mathematician, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics
• William Lawrence Bragg CH OBE MC FRS – physicist and crystallographer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics and youngest Nobel Laureate
• Rodney Brooks – roboticist, director of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and founding member of the iRobot corporation
• Baron Howard Florey OM FRS FRCP – pharmacologist and pathologist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• Basil Stuart Hetzel AC – medical researcher who made a major contribution to combating iodine deficiency
• Cecil Madigan – geologist and meteorologist, member of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition
• Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA – geologist and explorer, leader of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition
• Sir Mark Oliphant AC KBE FRS FAA – nuclear physicist, winner of the Hughes Medal and the Faraday Medal
• Enid Lucy Robertson AM – botanist, conservationist
• Reg Sprigg AO – geologist and conservationist
• George Szekeres FAA AM – mathematician, after whom the George Szekeres Medal is named
• Terence Tao FRS FAA – mathematician, winner of the Fields Medal
• Andy Thomas AO – aerospace engineer and NASA astronaut
• David Unaipon – inventor and writer, commemorated on the Australian fifty-dollar note
• Robin Warren AC – pathologist and researcher, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine
• Sir Hubert Wilkins – Antarctic aviation pioneer, Arctic explorer, ornithologist and geographer
• Col Bailey – naturalist

Sport

Internationally and nationally recognised sports people from Adelaide include:

Aerobatics

• Chris Sperou – thirteen-time National Aerobatics Champion, and five-time participant in the FAI World Aerobatic Championships

Archery

• Simon Fairweather OAM – Olympic gold medalist

Athletics

• Matthew Clarke (born 1995) – distance runner
• Jessica Stenson (born 1987) – distance runner

Australian rules football

• Nathan Buckley – captained the Collingwood Football Club, winner of the Brownlow Medal
• Adam Cooney – player for the Western Bulldogs and the Essendon Football Club, winner of the Brownlow Medal
• Matthew Pavlich – captained the Fremantle Football Club
• Adelaide Football Club players
• Port Adelaide Football Club players

Basketball

• Mark Bradtke – played one season in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers, played in the NBL for the Adelaide 36ers, Melbourne Tigers and Brisbane Bullets
• Lindsay Gaze – played for the Australian Boomers in three Olympics and coached the team in four Olympics
• Joe Ingles – plays for the Orlando Magic in the NBA
• Ben Madgen – plays in the NBL for the Sydney Kings
• Brett Maher – played in the NBL for the Adelaide 36ers
• Mike McKay – played in the NBL for the West Adelaide Bearcats, Adelaide 36ers, Brisbane Bullets, Canberra Cannons and Wollongong Hawks
• Brad Newley – plays in Spain for CB Gran Canaria, drafted to the NBA by the Houston Rockets
• Erin Phillips – plays in the WNBA for the Phoenix Mercury, played for the Connecticut Sun
• Luke Schenscher – played in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls and the Portland Trail Blazers
• Phil Smyth AM – played in the NBL for the St Kilda Saints, Canberra Cannons, Adelaide 36ers and Sydney Kings

Brazilian jiu-jitsu

• Craig Jones – two-time ADCC silver medalist (2019–2022)

Cricket

• Greg Blewett – played for the Australian national cricket team
• Sir Donald Bradman AC – captained Australia, all-time highest Test batting average of any player with 99.94 (Note: Bradman was born in Cootamundra, New South Wales in 1908 and moved to Adelaide in 1934)
• Greg Chappell MBE – captained Australia
• Ian Chappell – captained Australia
• Trevor Chappell – played for Australia
• Albert Gillespie – played first-class cricket in England
• Jason Gillespie – played for Australia
• George Goodfellow – played first-class cricket in England
• Clem Hill – captained Australia
• David Hookes – played for Australia
• Barry Jarman OAM – captained Australia
• Arthur G. Jenkins – first South Australian to umpire a cricket Test match
• Darren Lehmann – played for Australia; current (2015) coach of the Australian team
• Wayne Phillips – played for Australia
• Vic Richardson OBE – captained Australia; won Magarey Medal (Australian Rules Football) and represented Australia in Baseball; grandfather of Ian, Greg and Trevor Chappell
• Shaun Tait – plays for Australia

Cycling

• Alex Edmondson – Commonwealth Games Team pursuit champion, World individual pursuit champion 2014
• Annette Edmondson – Commonwealth Games gold medalist 2014, Olympic bronze medalist in the omnium 2012
• Matthew Glaetzer – Olympic gold, silver and bronze medalist for the Australian Cyclist team since 2009
• Alexandra Manly – professional cyclist at Orica-AIS
• Stephanie Morton – Commonwealth Games Individual Sprint Champion 2014
• Stuart O'Grady OAM – Olympic gold medalist in the Men's Madison, silver and bronze medalist in the 4000m Team Pursuit, bronze medalist in the Points Race, and four-time second-place finisher in the Tour de France
• Michael Turtur OAM – Olympic gold medalist in the Team Pursuit, and Race Director of the Tour Down Under
• Kimberley Wells – two-time national criterium champion, and current professional cyclist
• Sam Willoughby – Olympic silver medalist in the men's BMX and UCI BMX world champion

Darts

• Rob Modra – two-time Geelong Open Darts Championships

Golf

• Geoff Ogilvy – U.S. Open winner and three-time World Golf Championships winner
• Adam Scott – U.S. Masters winner and World number one

Kickboxing

• Frank Giorgi – two-time Australian champion and world Super Middleweight champion
• Paul Slowinski – four-time Muay Thai world champion

Motor sports

• John Boulger – two-time Australian Speedway Champion, nine-time South Australian Champion, captained Australia to win the Speedway World Team Cup
• Jeremy Burgess – MotoGP engineer, helped Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi to 12 World Championships
• Garrie Cooper – founder of Elfin Sports Cars, Australian 1½ Litre Champion, Australian Sports Car Champion and Singapore Grand Prix winner
• Daniel Falzon – two-time Australian Superbike Champion
• Steve Martin – Superbike World Championship veteran and World Endurance Champion
• Billy McConnell – competes in the British Supersport Championship
• Nick Percat – V8 Supercar driver, Australian Formula Ford Champion and Bathurst 1000 winner
• Vern Schuppan – Formula One driver, 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year
• Johnnie Walker – Australian Drivers' Champion and Australian Grand Prix winner
• Jack Young – two-time Speedway World Champion and nine-time South Australian Champion

Professional wrestling

• Bronson Reed – billed from Black Forest, signed to the WWE, former NXT North American Champion
• Rhea Ripley – signed to the WWE, current 2023 Women's Royal Rumble winner; former 1/2 of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions; former Raw Women's Champion former NXT Women's Champion and former NXT UK Women's Champion (as well as being the inaugural champion for the latter)

Soccer

• Dianne Alagich – played in the Women's United Soccer Association for the San Jose CyberRays, played for the Matildas
• John Aloisi – played in La Liga, Premier League and Serie A, played for the Socceroos at the FIFA World Cup
• Charlotte Grant – plays for the Matildas
• Diana Hall – played for the Matildas
• Awer Mabil – plays for FC Midtjylland
• Joel Porter – played for the Socceroos
• Alex Tobin – captained the Socceroos
• Aurelio Vidmar – captained the Socceroos
• Tony Vidmar – played for the Socceroos
• Adelaide United FC players

Sport aerobics

• Kylie Halliday – placed second at the Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships

Swimming

• Kyle Chalmers – 2016 Summer Olympics gold medalist in the 100m freestyle
• Emily Seebohm – 2012 Summer Olympics gold medalist in the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay and 2008 Summer Olympics gold medalist in the 4 × 100 metre medley relay

Tennis

• Darren Cahill – Australian Open doubles finalist, US Open singles semi-finalist
• Lleyton Hewitt – U.S. Open and Wimbledon winner and World number one
• Thanasi Kokkinakis
• Alicia Molik – Australian Open and French Open doubles winner, reached World top ten singles ranking
• Mark Woodforde OAM – two-time Australian Open, one-time French Open, six-time Wimbledon, and three-time French Open doubles winner; Olympic gold and silver medalist; World number one

Trampoline gymnastics

• Blake Gaudry – 2012 Summer Olympics competitor, Australian Gymnastics Championships Winner

Volleyball

• Tania Gooley-Humphry (born 1973) – beach volleyball and indoor volleyball player
• Tamsin Hinchley (born 1980) – volleyball player
• Becchara Palmer (born 1988) – beach volleyball player
• Kerri Pottharst OAM (born 1965) – Olympic gold and bronze medalist in beach volleyball
• Andrew Schacht (born 1973) – beach volleyball player

Other

• Garry Gordon Cooper – retired airline captain, ex RAAF pilot
• Gladys Elphick – Australian Aboriginal active in Aboriginal affairs
• David Hicks – former Guantanamo Bay inmate, falsely convicted of 'providing material support to terrorism'
• Mohammad Tawhidi (b. 1982 or 1983), also known as the Imam of Peace, influencer and Imam

See also

• List of University of Adelaide people