04-03-2025
Celebrities from NH: Can you name them all? These famous faces grew up in New Hampshire
From actors to athletes, New Hampshire has produced a number of big-name celebrities.
There are plenty of famous people with ties to the Granite State — the likes of Jimmy Fallon, Drew Barrymore and Dwyane Wade have frequented the state, according to Travel + Leisure, which named Wolfeboro a "secret celebrity haven."
However, only some celebrities got their start in New Hampshire before finding fame.
Some famous names are known for their New Hampshire roots, while others may surprise you. Here's a list of 20 living celebrities who grew up in New Hampshire.
Sandler, an actor and comedian known for roles in "Grown Ups," "Billy Madison" and a slew of other films, grew up in Manchester.
He has returned to the Granite State several times over the years, including to give a commencement speech at Manchester Central High School in 2010.
The "Saturday Night Live" alumnus was born in Illinois and lived in Michigan until his family moved to Bedford when he was 10 years old.
Last year, Meyers hosted Vermont's Noah Kahan on his show "Late Night with Seth Meyers," where they joked about their shared New England roots.
"You have a line in your song 'Homesick' — 'I am mean because I grew up in New England.' That really resonated for me," Meyers said.
If this list is any indication, New Hampshire has an affinity for producing comedians — Sarah Silverman grew up in Manchester and Bedford.
In a 2021 video for Visit New Hampshire, Silverman said she loves "everything" about the state and is a fan of a few local staples like the Red Arrow Diner, Palace Theater and Bedford Village Inn.
Miller is a decorated former alpine ski racer, having earned six Olympic and five World Championship medals throughout his twenty year career.
He was born in Easton and grew up in Franconia.
Day is the head coach of the Ohio State University football team, which won the College Football Playoff National Championship earlier this year.
Day is from Manchester and graduated from Manchester Central High School and the University of New Hampshire.
He returned to UNH in 2024 to give the commencement speech at the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics.
"Once I got here, I realized there was so much pride in the program from the coaches and players and being from New Hampshire really mattered to me and motivated me a little more," he said in an interview with Paul College.
Day's former colleague and coach, Kelly is also from New Hampshire.
He has been a football coach for more than three decades and was offensive coordinator at Ohio State until recently joining the Las Vegas Raiders as offensive coordinator. He also previously had head coaching stints in the NFL.
Kelly was born in Dover and also grew up in Manchester. He played quarterback and defensive back at UNH, where he graduated with his bachelor's degree in physical education in 1990.
Brown is an author known for writing thriller novels, including "The Da Vinci Code," which became a blockbuster film starring Tom Hanks.
He grew up in Exeter on the campus of Phillips Exeter Academy, where his father was a teacher.
An Exeter native, Irving is an author and screenwriter. He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 72nd Oscars for his script of the film adaptation of "The Cider House Rules."
Irving is an alumnus of Phillips Exeter Academy and the University of New Hampshire.
Coupe is an actress known for roles in "Scrubs," "Happy Endings" and "Quantico."
She grew up in Plymouth and told the York County Coast Star in 2011 that despite living in California, she preferred people from New England.
"I really don't like people from California. They don't have a lot of character. There's something about the people in New England. They're so much more interesting, they have a better sense of humor," she said.
The legendary former MLB player is one of New Hampshire's biggest baseball stars.
Fisk, who played in the league for 24 seasons and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000, grew up in Charlestown.
Another baseball phenom from New Hampshire, Carpenter played in the MLB for 15 seasons, during which he won two World Series and a Cy Young Award.
The former pitcher was born in Exeter, grew up in Raymond and later moved to Bedford.
Bethel is an actor known for roles in "Hart of Dixie," "The Young and the Restless" and Marvel's "Daredevil."
He grew up in Hillsborough and Keene.
One of the former longtime voices behind Boston Red Sox games, Orsillo grew up in Madison.
He graduated from nearby Northeastern University before starting his broadcasting career.
Former NBA player and two-time NBA Champion Bonner is from Concord, where he graduated from Concord High School as his class valedictorian.
He played for the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs.
Fuld, a Durham native, is a former MLB player and general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. He is the team's president of business operations.
His father, Kenneth Fuld, is a former dean at the University of New Hampshire, and his mother, Amanda Merrill, is a former New Hampshire state senator.
Dunn-Luoma is a three-time Olympic medalist in ice hockey. She won gold in 1998, silver in 2002 and bronze in 2006.
She is from Derry and graduated from Pinkerton Academy and the University of New Hampshire.
Though she didn't technically grow up in New Hampshire, Moore makes this list for being born in Nashua.
The actress is known for roles in "This Is Us," "A Walk to Remember" and "The Princess Diaries."
Another New Hampshire-born-but-not-raised celebrity, LaMontagne was also born in Nashua.
The singer has nine studio albums and has been twice nominated for a Grammy Award.
Bradlee Jr., a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and longtime editor at The Boston Globe, was born in Manchester, though he didn't stay there for long — his family moved overseas when he was two years old.
He was portrayed in the 2015 Oscar-winning film "Spotlight" and is the son of former Washington Post Editor Ben Bradlee.
Brown is a television host known for her work on several Travel Channel shows, including Emmy-winning show "Samantha Brown's Places To Love."
She grew up in New Castle and went to Pinkerton Academy in Derry.
Melina Khan is a trending reporter for the USA TODAY Network - New England, which serves more than a dozen affiliated publications across New England. She can be reached at MKhan@
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH celebrities: Do you know them all? Some on this list may surprise you
