30 Famous People From Alaska You’ll Actually Recognize

Alaska gets all the attention for its wilderness — but the state has quietly produced some genuinely surprising famous people. From musicians and athletes to politicians and reality TV legends, famous people from Alaska have made their mark in almost every field imaginable.

We’ve spent over 20 years working across Alaska on shows like Deadliest Catch, Life Below Zero, and Port Protection — so we know the state’s culture as well as its landscape. Here are 30 famous Alaskans worth knowing about.

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Quick Reference Table

Name	Category	Alaska Connection
Carlos Boozer	Athlete	Grew up in Juneau
Matt Carle	Athlete	Born in Anchorage
Mario Chalmers	Athlete	Born in Anchorage
Mark Schlereth	Athlete	Born in Anchorage
Susan Butcher	Athlete	Four-time Iditarod champion
Lydia Jacoby	Athlete	Olympic gold medalist, from Seward
Curt Schilling	Athlete	Born in Anchorage, Hall of Fame pitcher
Jewel	Musician	Born and raised in Homer
Portugal. The Man	Musician	Formed in Wasilla
Lincoln Brewster	Musician	Born in Fairbanks
Annie Parisse	Actor	Born in Anchorage
James Morrison	Actor	Raised in Alaska
Rudy Pankow	Actor	Born in Ketchikan, Netflix’s Outer Banks
Bob Ross	Artist	Developed his style in Anchorage
Ray Troll	Artist	Based in Ketchikan
Mary Peltola	Politician	First Alaska Native in U.S. Congress
Sarah Palin	Politician	Former Governor of Alaska
Jimmy Doolittle	Historical	Grew up in Nome
Wyatt Earp	Historical	Lived and worked in Nome
Gary Muehlberger	Reality TV	Port Protection Alaska
Sig Hansen	Reality TV	Deadliest Catch
Shawn Pomrenke	Reality TV	Bering Sea Gold
Atz Lee Kilcher	Reality TV	Alaska: The Last Frontier
Sue Aikens	Reality TV	Life Below Zero

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Here’s our list of famous people that were either born in Alaska or had strong ties to the state at some point. We’ve broken the list down into a couple categories to help showcase the broad spectrum of celebrity that comes from Alaska.

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Famous People from Alaska: Athletes

Alaska doesn’t produce many professional athletes — the geography alone makes it hard to get noticed. No major leagues, limited recruiting pipelines, and scouts who genuinely don’t know where Juneau is. The athletes on this list made it to the highest levels of their sports from one of the most overlooked states in the country. That’s worth something.

Carlos Boozer

While Carlos Boozer was born abroad in west Germany he grew up in Juneau, Alaska, where he led his high school team, the Juneau-Douglas High Bears, to back to back state titles. He played college basketball at Duke University before having a successful NBA career with several teams, including the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Utah Jazz. He’s also a gold medalist, so yeah, this famous person from Alaska can ball!

Matt Carle

Matt Carle is probably the most famous Hockey player from Alaska. He was born in Anchorage and played in the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from the state. Carle went on to play college hockey at the University of Denver before entering the NHL, where he had a very successful career with various teams, including the San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Philadelphia Flyers. The famous Alaskan made the Stanley cup finals twice and has since been inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame.

Mario Chalmers

Arguably the most famous person from Alaska, in terms of championships, Mario Chalmers was born in Anchorage. He gained prominence as the starting point guard for the University of Kansas, where his late game heroics won them a championship in 2008. During his time in the NBA, Chalmers played for the Miami Heat helped and them win two championships, in 2012 and 2013.

Mark Schlereth

Most people today recognize Mark Schlereth as a sports analyst for Fox or ESPN. But before he became one of the most famous people from Alaska, he was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska and almost completely overlooked by scouts. Due to the states remoteness, he struggled to get much attention as a football prospect, but he took advantages of his opportunities and ended up having a very successful football career. He played 12 seasons in the NFL, primarily with the Washington Redskins where he won multiple super bowls.

Curt Schilling

Born in Anchorage, Curt Schilling is one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball history and a strong Hall of Fame candidate. He won World Series rings with three different teams: the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001 (where his co-MVP performance against the Yankees is one of the most memorable in Series history), and the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and 2007. The 2004 run included the famous “bloody sock” game, where Schilling pitched through a sutured tendon injury to help the Red Sox end their 86-year championship drought. Not bad for a kid from Anchorage.

Susan Butcher

Known for her bad ass skills and determination in long distance dog sled racing, Butcher played a massive role in women’s participation in sports. She became the first woman to win the Iditarod in 1986 and went on to secure additional victories in 1987, 1988, and 1990. While she was born in Massachusetts, her contribution to women in sports make her stand out on any list of famous people from Alaska.

Lydia Jacoby

Lydia Jacoby grew up in Seward, Alaska and shocked the swimming world at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when she won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke at just 17 years old. She beat the reigning world champion in the final, becoming the first Alaskan to win an individual Olympic gold medal in swimming. The entire town of Seward watched the race together at 2am Alaska time and lost their minds. It’s one of the great Alaska sports stories.

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Famous People from Alaska: Musicians, Bands, and Singer Songwriters

Alaska isn’t exactly known as a music industry hub — the nearest major label is about 3,000 miles away. But the state has a way of producing artists with something to say, probably because spending a winter in the dark with nothing but your thoughts either breaks you or makes you creative. Usually both.

Jewel

Arguably Alaska’s most famous person, and certainly the states best known musical performer would have to be Jewel. She emerged from the small town of Homer to become a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter. Along with her father, she sang the theme song for her family’s show on the Discovery Channel, “Alaska, the Last Frontier”. During long winter months of working on the show, I would frequently ask myself, “who will save my soul“?

Her debut album Pieces of You is still worth a listen.

Portugal. The Man (John Gourley)

Grammy winners and all around general badasses, Portugal. The Man is an alternative rock band that originated in Wasilla, Alaska. The bands origins can be traced back to 2001 when frontman John Gourley and Zachary Scott Carothers started playing together at Wasilla high. Known for their eclectic sound and genre-blending approach, Portugal. The Man has shot many of their music videos in Alaska and continues to keep close ties to the state. These dudes have my vote for the coolest famous people from Alaska.

They live in Portland, OR now and all their music is worth checking out.

Lincoln Brewster

Lincoln Brewster, born in Fairbanks, Alaska, is a renowned American Christian musician and guitarist. Growing up he played for cruise ship tourists with his mother in Homer. He rose to fame at a young age when he toured with artists like Steve Perry. He transitioned into Christian music and its rumored that he still wears his hair like that.

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Famous People from Alaska: Actors/Actress

Hollywood and Alaska don’t feel like natural neighbors, but the connection runs deeper than most people realize. The state has quietly sent some legitimate talent into film and television — and if you’ve watched any primetime drama in the last 20 years, there’s a decent chance an Alaskan was in it.

Annie Parisse

Annie Parisse was born in Anchorage and is mostly known for her work on the hit television show “Law & Order”. After 279 seasons the production ran out of actors that hadn’t played a role on the show and the casting department traveled to Alaska in search for fresh talent. That a of course is not true, she is a fantastic actress and her film credits include “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and “National Treasure.” A very famous Alaskan indeed.

Rudy Pankow

Rudy Pankow was born in Ketchikan, Alaska and went on to become one of the breakout stars of Netflix’s Outer Banks, playing the fan-favorite character JJ. The show became one of Netflix’s most-watched original series and launched Pankow into genuine teen idol territory. He’s probably the most Googled famous person from Alaska among anyone under 25.

James Morrison

James Morrison is another famous person that was raised but not born in Alaska. He is an accomplished theater actor, director, published poet, yoga teacher, and singer-songwriter. This multi talented famous person from Alaska has had an extensive television career that includes roles in series like “Law and Order SVU”, “The X-Files”, and a notable portrayal of CTU Director Bill Buchanan on “24”. Just look at that stare!

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Famous People from Alaska: Artists

Alaska does something to people who pay attention to it. The light, the scale, the silence — it gets into you whether you planned on it or not. The artists connected to this state have spent careers trying to put that feeling into something you can actually look at.

Sydney Laurence

The most famous Alaska painter, full stop. Born in Brooklyn, arrived in Alaska in 1903 and spent the rest of his life painting the state’s landscapes. His paintings of Denali are iconic. He painted the mountain more than any other artist in history and essentially defined how the world visualized Alaska for decades. His work hangs in museums across the state and originals sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you’ve ever seen a moody, atmospheric oil painting of Denali with low clouds and golden light, there’s a decent chance it’s a Sydney Laurence.

Ray Troll

Few artists are so iconic you that you can instantly recognize their work. Ray Troll is one of those guys, and he celebrates Alaska just as much as Alaska celebrates him. Though not originally from Alaska, Troll has become a staple within the state’s art scene. In the late 1970s, he moved to Ketchikan, and blended science, art, and humor to become one of the most famous people from Alaska. Check out his most iconic painting “Dive Bar”

For more Alaska art, check out our in depth article: Alaska Artists & Art Museums: Curating the Last Frontier’s Creators

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Famous People from Alaska: Politicians

Alaska’s political history is colorful, to put it diplomatically. The state has produced figures who shaped national conversations, held significant federal power, and made themselves impossible to ignore. This section is a judgment-free zone. Mostly.

Mary Peltola

Mary Peltola is a Yup’ik Alaska Native from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and in 2022 became the first Alaska Native elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, a historic milestone for both Alaska and Indigenous representation in Congress. She won the seat in a special election, defeating Sarah Palin in the same race, which felt like a very Alaska thing to happen. She has been a strong advocate for Alaska Native communities, commercial fishing rights, and rural Alaska issues. Whatever your politics, her story is genuinely significant.

Sarah Palin

Always seemingly entangled in controversy, Sarah Palin would probably fit better under the category of “infamous people from Alaska”. She was the state’s ninth governor and gained national attention when she became the Republican nominee for vice president in the 2008 election. She is largely blamed for the Republicans loss that election cycle. Post-politics, Palin elected to be in a reality show “Sarah Palin’s Alaska”. Recently she stepped back into the political fold to run and lose the 2022 Alaska at-large congressional district special election.

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Famous People from Alaska: Historical

Before statehood, before the pipeline, before anyone was filming anything up here — Alaska was already producing people worth remembering. These are the names that ended up on mountains, streets, and history books, and the stories behind them are usually stranger than the textbook version.

Elizabeth Peratrovich 

Elizabeth Peratrovich was a Tlingit civil rights leader who fought for the passage of Alaska’s Anti-Discrimination Act in 1945, one of the first anti-discrimination laws in the United States, passed three years before President Truman desegregated the military. Her testimony before the Alaska Territorial Legislature is considered one of the most powerful speeches in Alaska history. She’s on the Alaska state quarter. February 16th is Elizabeth Peratrovich Day in Alaska. If you only add one person from this list, make it her.

Jimmy Doolittle

James “Jimmy” Doolittle was born in California, grew up in Nome, and was one of the first famous people from Alaska. He was a highly influential American aviator and military officer that played a crucial role in the state’s aviation history as a pioneering pilot. Doolittle received the Medal of Honor for leading the Doolittle Raid during World War II, a daring bombing mission on Tokyo in 1942. He also received The Presidential Medal of Freedom.

William Seward 

You can’t talk about Alaska history without mentioning William Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million. At the time it was widely mocked as “Seward’s Folly” and “Seward’s Icebox.” The city of Seward is named after him. History has been extremely kind to the man.

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Famous People From Alaska: Reality TV Stars

Look, I’m going to try not to be biased here. I’ve spent years working alongside some of these people on location across Alaska. Key word: try.

Gary Muehlberger — Port Protection 

Gary was the heart and soul of Port Protection, a show about people who live in one of Alaska’s most remote communities. He was beloved for his warmth, quirkiness, ingenuity, and the kind of quiet toughness that Port Protection demands. Gary passed away in 2021. He’s worth knowing about.

I can’t say enough good things about Gary. He taught me a lot about Alaska, and a little about life too. Producers are always hunting for a “moment” — drama, conflict, something to cut to. When things didn’t go Gary’s way on camera he’d just shrug and say something like “well, that’s just part of it” Producers hated it. I loved it. That was Gary — completely himself.

Sig Hansen — Deadliest Catch 

Captain of the Northwestern and the face of one of the longest-running reality shows on television, Sig Hansen has been fishing Alaska’s Bering Sea since he was a teenager. A fourth-generation Norwegian fisherman, he became captain of the Northwestern at 22 and has been the anchor of Deadliest Catch since its very first season. If you’ve ever watched someone pull crab pots in 50-foot seas at 2am and thought “that looks insane” — Sig is why.

I worked on Deadliest Catch with Jake Anderson’s crew, so our paths with Sig were limited — but spend any time in Dutch Harbor and his name is everywhere. Hard to ignore a guy who basically owns the place.

Shawn Pomrenke — Bering Sea Gold 

Known as “Mr. Gold,” Shawn Pomrenke runs Nome. It’s that simple. He grew up mining with his father Steve, inherited the operation, and turned it into the largest on the water. While other miners scramble to break even, Shawn is usually the one they’re all trying to keep up with.

I actually worked with Vernon Adkison on Bering Sea Gold rather than Shawn — and Vernon rode me pretty hard out there. But honestly, that’s just the attitude of gold miners in Nome. If you’re not being pushed, you’re probably not doing it right. I did manage to have a drink with Shawn though, and I can confirm — what you see on TV is exactly what you get. The guy who runs Nome on screen runs Nome in real life too.

Atz Lee Kilcher — Alaska: The Last Frontier 

Part of the extended Kilcher family, Atz Lee grew up homesteading outside Homer, Alaska and carried that life onto Discovery Channel for 11 seasons of Alaska: The Last Frontier. The show followed the family’s subsistence lifestyle on their 600-acre homestead, and Atz Lee became known for his dry humor and genuine connection to the land.

Full disclosure — Atz Lee is a genuine friend, so take my bias here as a five-star endorsement. Of all the cast members I’ve worked with across Alaska, he’s one of the most authentic people I’ve met in this industry. Most cast members treat crew like people that just work for them, Atz Lee treated us like friends, he sort of expected us to be friends. Thats pretty neat.

He’s also a talented musician and still creates content on YouTube — worth following if you want a real look at life in Alaska. [Check out his YouTube channel here.]

Sue Aikens — Life Below Zero 

Sue Aikens lives 197 miles north of the Arctic Circle, alone, and has done so for decades. Her nearest neighbor is 300 miles away for nine months of the year. She survived a grizzly bear mauling and waited ten days alone for help to arrive. She’s been on Life Below Zero since its first season in 2013 and recently wrote a memoir called North of Ordinary. The title tracks.

I worked with Sue quite a bit over the years and she is genuinely one of a kind — completely made for television and loves every second of it. The camera doesn’t intimidate her, it energizes her. That said, I have to be honest: anyone who chooses to live on the North Slope voluntarily is absolutely out of their mind. Sue knows this, embraces it, and probably takes it as a compliment.

Famous People Shaped by Alaska

Alaska has a way of leaving a mark on people who spend real time there. These figures weren’t born in the state — but Alaska got into them anyway, and what they became is inseparable from the time they spent there.

Bob Ross

While not originally from Alaska, Bob Ross spent much of his adult life in the state and in return the state molded him into the famous celebrity he was. While working in the military, he took an art class at the Anchorage U.S.O. club. He honed his skills, and made enough money to retire from the military by painting Alaskan landscapes on gold-mining pans. (I wonder how much those things go for!?) He eventually left Alaska and moved to Florida and became the tv celebrity we all know today. But the tranquility and beauty of the Alaskan wilderness always stayed with him, inspiring many of the “happy little trees” and serene landscapes that became his signature in the art world.

John Muir 

John Muir visited Alaska multiple times between 1879 and 1899 and what he found there fundamentally changed American conservation. The glaciers, the scale, the silence — Alaska radicalized his already strong convictions about wilderness preservation. He wrote some of his most powerful work about Alaska, and the arguments he developed there helped lay the groundwork for the national park system. Glacier Bay exists as a protected place in part because of what Muir saw and wrote about it.

Jack London 

Jack London spent time in Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 and the experience defined his literary career. The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and dozens of short stories came directly from what he witnessed in the North. He arrived as a young man looking for gold and left with something more valuable — a voice. Alaska made Jack London.

For more Literature about the final frontier, check out our article 100 Books About Alaska

Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp was born in Illinois, but I like to include him on the famous people from Alaska list because he embodies the states gunslinger independent attitude. He was part of the Klondike Gold Rush era in the late 19th century and lived in Nome, where he ran a saloon. Although his time in Alaska was relatively short, Wyatt Earp’s mustache alone, left a presence on the state’s history.

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Famous People From Alaska: Honorable Mention

For good measure we’ve provided a list of some other notable famous people that are either from Alaska, were born here, or had an impact on the state or the state had an impact on them.

• Douglas J. Eboch (Juneau) -American screenwriter, author and educator
• Colonel Archie Van Winkle (Juneau) – Medal of Honor
• Chris Kuper (Anchorage) – Offensive guard for the Denver Broncos
• Larry Sanger (Anchorage) – Co-Founder of Wikipedia (Thanks dude!)
• Holly Madison (Craig) – Boned Hugh Hefner
• Steve Smith (Anchorage) – NFL Wide Receiver
• Ted Stevens (Fairbanks) – U.S. Senator

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What It’s Actually Like to Work With Alaska’s Famous

I’m not sure if the cast members on the reality shows we’ve done in Alaska are famous people, infamous, or somewhere in between. But being on television in front of millions of people has an effect on them, and some of them handle it better than others; and everyone has a bad day from time to time, famous or not.

So suffice it to say, helping the people we film from Alaska become famous has been interesting. It doesn’t always happen, but if a show does well and gets multiple seasons, we have a front row seat to the strange social experiment that is, celebrity.

If I had to pick a favorite story about an experience I had with a famous person from Alaska, I’d have to say it was the time I tried to mic up Jewel.

Part of my job on some of these tv shows is to mic up the “talent”. During one season of filming Discovery Channel’s Alaska the Last Frontier, Jewel came up to shot a couple episodes with her family; and it was my job to make sure she was mic’d up.

Now most Alaskans don’t know how to work a lavaliere microphone, but famous grammy nominated Alaskans do. So needless to say I looked pretty silly trying to tell Jewel what to do with the mic I had in my hand. She kindly took the microphone from me, rigged it up under her shirt in less than 3 seconds, looked at me and said “thanks kid, I know how to mic myself”.

I wish I had another mic to give to her so she could’ve dropped it.

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Famous People From Alaska FAQs

Who is the most famous person from Alaska?

Jewel is probably the most universally recognized famous person from Alaska — a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter who grew up on a homestead outside Homer and went on to sell over 30 million albums worldwide.

Is Jewel actually from Alaska?

Yes — Jewel Kilcher was born in Payson, Utah but grew up on her family’s homestead outside Homer, Alaska.

What famous musicians are from Alaska?

Jewel is the most famous, followed by Portugal. The Man — the Grammy-winning alternative rock band fronted by John Gourley and Zachary Carothers, who met at Wasilla High School.

What famous athletes are from Alaska?

Alaska has produced several notable professional athletes — Mario Chalmers (NBA, born in Anchorage), Carlos Boozer (NBA, grew up in Juneau), Matt Carle (NHL, born in Anchorage), Mark Schlereth (NFL, born in Anchorage), and Susan Butcher, four-time Iditarod champion.

Is Sarah Palin from Alaska?

Sarah Palin was born in Sandpoint, Idaho but moved to Alaska as an infant and grew up in Skagway and Wasilla. She served as Mayor of Wasilla, then as Alaska’s ninth governor from 2006 to 2009, before becoming John McCain’s vice presidential pick in 2008.

What reality TV shows are set in Alaska?

Alaska has been the setting for more reality TV than almost any other state. The biggest shows include Deadliest Catch, Life Below Zero, Alaska: The Last Frontier, Bering Sea Gold, and Port Protection Alaska. We’ve worked on all of these shows.

Who is Gary Muehlberger?

Gary Muehlberger was one of the central figures on Port Protection Alaska, a National Geographic show about people living in one of Alaska’s most remote communities.

Are there any famous people from Juneau Alaska?

Yes — Carlos Boozer grew up in Juneau and led his high school team to back-to-back state basketball titles before going on to Duke and a successful NBA career. Colonel Archie Van Winkle, a Medal of Honor recipient, was also from Juneau.

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More Alaska Guides Worth Reading

• Filming in Alaska — what it’s actually like to make television in the Last Frontier
• Alaska Photography & Filming Hub — all our filming and creator guides
• Movies About Alaska — the best Alaska films worth watching
• 100 Books About Alaska — literature from and about the state
• Bear Viewing From Homer — Jewel’s hometown, one of Alaska’s best experiences
• Best Places to Live in Alaska — if the famous people made you curious about living there
• 100 Fun Facts About Alaska — more surprising Alaska stories
• Alaska Quotes — what famous people have said about the state