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Famous People from California

Can you name these famous Californians based on a short clue?
Includes people who moved to California as adults
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: December 5, 2019
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First submittedOctober 16, 2012
Times taken9,352
Average score62.5%
Rating4.13
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From Los Angeles
Governator
Arnold
Schwarzenegger
"Morning in America"
president
Ronald Reagan
She stole Brad Pitt
Angelina Jolie
"The Shining" actor
Jack Nicholson
Mrs. Robinson tried to
seduce him
Dustin Hoffman
"Titanic" actor
Leonardo DiCaprio
 
 
From San Francisco
Current governor
Jerry Brown
HOF running back and
murder suspect
O.J. Simpson
House minority leader
Nancy Pelosi
First openly gay
elected official
Harvey Milk
Grateful Dead leader
Jerry Garcia
From Other Cities
Apple founder
Cupertino
Steve Jobs
"Dirty Harry"
Piedmont
Clint Eastwood
U can't touch him
Oakland
MC Hammer
Had 3,141 hits for the Padres
Long Beach
Tony Gwynn
"Gin & Juice"
Long Beach
Snoop Dogg
Woody from "Toy Story"
Concord
Tom Hanks
"Not a crook" president
Whittier
Richard Nixon
Patriots Quarterback
San Mateo
Tom Brady
She was Hannibal's Clarice
Longmont
Jodie Foster
Movie star born Norma Jean
Los Angeles
Marilyn Monroe
"Blood & Guts" WWII general
San Gabriel
George S. Patton
Sundance Film Festival
Van Nuys
Robert Redford
"The Grapes of Wrath" author
Salinas
John Steinbeck
+2
Level 65
Oct 13, 2012
Really? That's the clue for Jack Nicholson?
+3
Level 43
Oct 15, 2012
That's what I was thinking. He's not one of the most famous and successful actors of all time, or anything. His definitive claim to fame is as a Lakers fan.
+2
Level 75
Aug 3, 2014
He was, but the odd leftfield clue keeps ya on your toes
+2
Level 29
Nov 24, 2014
I thought the same thing. What an appalling disrespect to the guy.
+2
Level 75
Jan 16, 2015
Agree.
+4
Level 81
Jul 10, 2015
I'm not offended by the clue, but he's also included in the quiz of famous folks from New Jersey, so I didn't guess him here - shouldn't it be one or the other?
+3
Level 79
Aug 4, 2015
The clue for Nicholson is brilliant. Maybe because I live in California, but either way it was a great clue. For me there was no other answer. Nicholson came immediately to mind.
+2
Level 75
Aug 4, 2015
If one isn't from California or a basketball fan, it's not so obvious.
+2
Level 83
Aug 4, 2015
I'm neither a basketball fan nor from California but I got it. I don't know why I know this but Nicholson is always sitting courtside at Lakers games..
+2
Level 39
Aug 4, 2015
I thought it was clever way to put him on the quiz
+2
Level 51
Mar 10, 2016
i never would've guessed that. I guessed Khloe Kardashian first because Lamar Odom played for the lakers
+2
Level 26
Oct 14, 2012
You have Schwarzenegger spelled wrong.
+2
Level ∞
Oct 16, 2012
Fixed, but you could have spelled it a hundred different ways (including the correct one) and still gotten it right.
+2
Level 75
Jan 16, 2015
Even so, I still managed two that weren't accepted before finally getting one that was. Thank you for being lenient.
+3
Level 36
Mar 13, 2015
Robert Redford--Van Nuys? Are you serious? I'm not buying it. Did he rent an apartment there for a few months when he was starting out? He lives in Utah, I think, for many decades.....Sundance? He was born and raised in Santa Monica, not Van Nuys.
+3
Level ∞
Mar 14, 2015
Why don't you just look it up!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Redford

+2
Level 75
Aug 4, 2015
I kept thinking it was Di Capprio.
+5
Level 24
Aug 4, 2015
Arnold lives there but he's from Austria.
+2
Level 88
Sep 14, 2019
If he were to run for President he wouldn't qualify as being from the USA.
+7
Level 18
Aug 4, 2015
Shouldn't Monroe be in the Los Angeles category instead of the other cities category?
+2
Level 67
Aug 7, 2015
Seconded.
+2
Level 82
Dec 25, 2016
Maybe there's another Los Angeles in California?
+3
Level 60
Aug 4, 2015
I'd seriously like to know why Clint Eastwood is the lowest scoring, he is either first or second most well known western film star, depending on if you know John Wayne.
+2
Level 83
Aug 4, 2015
well I don't know if I'd go that far. Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, and quite a few others are at least as well known. But still... 39% vs. Tony Gwynn's 58% or Jerry Brown's 51% or Pelosi's 82% seems incomprehensible.
+5
Level 77
Aug 4, 2015
Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie are Western film stars?? Guess I don't watch enough cowboy movies!
+2
Level 83
Aug 4, 2015
How is Clint Eastwood so little guessed? Especially compared to some of these others.
+3
Level 39
Aug 4, 2015
I don't know dude? Maybe other people have different hobbies and interests than you and never watched the Dirty Harry movies.
+4
Level 83
Aug 4, 2015
I never watched the Dirty Harry movies, either. But I'm culturally literate.
+2
Level 46
Aug 4, 2015
I guess I don't know of the correlation between Redford and Sundance
+2
Level 83
Aug 4, 2015
it's his festival. His company founded it, and he was the original chairman.
+3
Level 88
Sep 14, 2019
Butch Cassidy and the ________ Kid
+3
Level 51
Aug 4, 2015
Surely Mrs Robinson tried to seduce Benjamin Braddock, not Dustin Hoffman?
+3
Level 74
Aug 4, 2015
Jack Nicholson is from New York.

Arnold Schwartzenegger is from Austria.

Ronald Reagan was born in Illinois (though spent most of his life in California).

+2
Level 88
Sep 14, 2019
A lot more than 3 on that list
+4
Level 56
Aug 14, 2015
I feel I should point out that Jodie Foster is not from Longmont, CA because there is no Longmont, CA. There's only one Longmont in the world, and it's in Colorado.
+2
Level 82
Dec 25, 2016
Wikipedia says she's from L.A.
+2
Level 84
Aug 16, 2017
If the answer is the actor's name instead of the character they played, then shouldn't the clue reference the actor's name too? Mrs. Robinson seduced Ben Braddock. Anne Bancroft's character seduced Dustin Hoffman's character.
+6
Level 71
Dec 16, 2017
Why is Monroe listed under "other cities" if she's from LA?
+13
Level 45
Apr 30, 2019
Jerry Brown is no longer the Governor of California
+4
Level 83
Jul 5, 2021
Yeah, this is out of date. I'm not sure how to make the clue more current - Brown is a former governor and Democratic primary candidate for president - not sure if that is unique enough or not.

Also Pelosi is now Speaker of the House - first female Speaker of the House is a good clue that will hold up over time.

+9
Level 81
Jul 19, 2019
Nancy Pelosi's title needs to be updated.
+2
Level 88
Sep 14, 2019
With a state that comprises a disproportionate share of the U.S. population you'd think they'd all actually be from California. It would be easy. Including out-of-staters means naming pretty much any Hollywood actor.
+6
Level 51
Nov 29, 2020
California's governor is now Gavin Newsom.
+1
Level 83
Jul 5, 2021
Lucky for me I put in (Bobby) Brown for the "U Can't Touch This" answer...
+4
Level 78
Feb 19, 2021
Gavin Newsom is now the Governor of California, and Joe McCarthy is now the House minority leader.
+1
Level 85
May 13, 2021
He claims his name is Kevin, but you're right that he's acting a bit more like Joe McCarthy lately.
+2
Level 81
Oct 14, 2021
Update sorely needed
+1
Level 82
Jan 25, 2022
In addition to the governor and house minority clues mentioned above, the quarterback now plays for a different team. It also seems strange that there's another LA resident in the "other cities" block.
+4
Level 75
Apr 7, 2022
This needs an update. Pelosi is speaker now and Newsom is now governor not Brown
+6
Level 66
Apr 19, 2022
Update the goddamn quiz.
+2
Level 34
Jun 28, 2022
outdated. Either give years for Pelosi and Brown or change the answers.
+1
Level 77
Oct 11, 2022
I'm actually surprised 14% of people couldn't figure out "Titanic actor" was DiCaprio lol.
+1
Level 85
Sep 19, 2023
Couldn't figure out why "McCarthy" wasn't working and then I realized the quiz needs an update.