The most famous celebrities who were born in San Antonio
Jeph Duarte December 3, 2021
By San Antonio Current Staff
A bevy of celebrities are repping the 2-1-0 in Hollywood and beyond. Whether they were born in the Alamo City and quickly moved away, or stayed here for the long haul, many of them are at the top of their game in film, music and TV.
Megan Thee Stallion
She may have grown up in Houston, but Megan Thee Stallion was actually born in San Antonio in 1995. The rapper, singer and songwriter made a huge splash in 2020 with her hit single “Savage” and for collaborating with Cardi B on the summer-shattering, sex-positive anthem “WAP.”
Photo by Jaime Monzon
Nicholas Gonzalez, Central Catholic High School
Nicholas Gonzalez didn’t originally plan to be an actor, but we’re glad he became one. He was born in San Antonio in 1976 and went to Central Catholic HS before going to Stanford to study English. While he was there, a professor who saw him in a one-man theater performance convinced him to pursue acting, and the rest is history. In addition to appearances on Pretty Little Liars, How To Get Away With Murder and Being Mary Jane, the TV star plays Dr. Neil Melendez on ABC’s The Good Doctor. and U.S. Air Force Pilot Capt. Levi Delgado on NBC’s La Brea..
Photo via NBC / Sarah Enticknap
Ada Vox
Drag queen Ada Vox made a splash on American Idol in 2018, reaching the top 10 in that year’s competition. Vox was born Adam Sanders in San Antonio in 1993, and went to South San Antonio High School. In December 2021, she joined 14 fellow drag queens on the new Paramount+ series Queen of the Universe, singing live to compete for a $250,000 prize.
Photo courtesy of Disney / ABC Press
Carole Baskin
When Netflix’s true crime series Tiger King (which now has a second season!) thrust Carole Baskin into viral fame in the spring of 2020, we were as surprised as anyone to find out that she was born in San Antonio. The CEO of Florida’s Big Cat Rescue, who Joe Exotic tried to have killed in a murder-for-hire plot, revealed on YouTube that she was born at Lackland Air Force Base in 1961 and lived in a house on Wharton St. on the South Side. It’s unclear for how long Baskin lived in SA, but it appears her family moved away when she was still a baby.
Photo via Netflix / Tiger King
New York Times best-selling author, journalist and former teacher proudly reps San Antonio – more specifically the South Side. Widely known for his addicting Twitter personality, Serrano was born in SA in 1981 and graduated from Southwest HS. In 2021, his comedy series Primo was picked up by IMDb TV, with The Good Place‘s Michael Schur attached to executive produce.
Photo via Instagram / laramiserranophoto
Michelle Rodriguez
Action star Michelle Rodriguez came out kicking in San Antonio in 1978, and lived in Texas until she was 8. Her family later moved to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Rodriguez may be best known for playing Letty in the Fast & Furious movies, but she’s also appeared in other iconic franchises including Machete and Resident Evil.
Photo via Universal Pictures
Though he’s starred in hit TV series from Desperate Housewives to Scandal, Ricardo Chavira arguably landed his greatest role yet in 2019: playing Tejana queen Selena’s father Abraham Quintanilla Jr. in Netflix’s new series about the pop star. Chavira was born in San Anto in 1971 and graduated from LEE High School — then named Robert E. Lee — and later attended the University of the Incarnate Word.
Photo via YouTube / Netflix
Anthony Alabi
Born in San Antonio in 1981, Anthony Alabi went on to attend Antonian College Preparatory High School before moving on to play college football at Texas Christian University. First snagged by the Miami Dolphins in the 2005 NFL draft, Alabi played professional football untill 2009, when he retired to pursue acting. Most recently, Alabi has been featured on Disney’s Raven’s Home as Coach Spitz and starred opposite Tia Mowry-Hardict in Netflix’s Family Reunion.
Photo via Netflix / Family Reunion
Chrystabell
Songstress and longtime David Lynch collaborator Chrystabell has roots right here in the Alamo CIty — she was born in San Antonio and went to Alamo Heights High School. Though her work with the enigmatic filmmaker originally began in the music sphere, she made her screen debut as FBI Agent Tammy Preston in the hotly anticipated 2017 return of Lynch’s iconic TV series Twin Peaks. Her forthcoming album Midnight Star drops in January 2022.
Photo via Showtime / Twin Peaks
James Roday Rodriguez
Psych star James Roday Rodriguez recently re-embraced his Latino heritage by retaking his surrname after performing for years under the name James Roday. The San Antonio native was born here in 1976 and went to Taft HS before making his name playing a fake psychic detective on the long-running USA comedy series for eight seasons and three movies. Recently, he also played Gary Mendez on ABC’s A Million Little Pieces.
Photo via ABC / A Million Little Things
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Robert Rodriguez has been repping SA since being born here in 1968. The director, who went ot St. Anthony High School, is known for everything from Machete to Spy Kids, and directed an episode of the second season of the hit Disney+ series The Mandalorian.
Photo via Twitter / Rodriguez
Jared Padalecki
Jared Padalecki’s breakout role may have been playing Dean Forester on Gilmore Girls, but he’ll likely always be remembered for his 15-season run as Sam Winchester on Supernatural. Now, Padalecki stars as the famed Texas Ranger formerly played by Chuck Norris in the TV series reboot Walker. The actor was born in the Alamo City in 1982 and graduated from Madison HS.
Photo via The CW / Walker
Jesse Borrego
Nobody reps the 2-1-0 like Jesse Borrego. Born in San Antonio in 1962, the Harlandale HS graduate still lives here today. While he may be best known for his roles in Fame and Blood In Blood Out, Borrego’s had his share of roles on hit TV series — from Dexter to Fear the Walking Dead — and was mosst recently seen on the third season of Starz series Vida.
Photo courtesy of CineFestival
Born in San Antonio in 1985, Jaremi Carey made his break a the runner-up on the fourth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race as his drag persona Phi Phi O’Hara, and later placed 7th on the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars. However, in 2020 Phi Phi went Bye Bye, as Carey announced his planned retirement of the persona on social media in May. Lately, Carey has been streaming on Twitch as JustJaremi, playing hit games like Overwatch or just chats with fans.
Photo via Twitter / JustJaremi
Born here in 1982, actress Elizabeth Chambers moved away as a toddler, but the actress couldn’t stay out of SA. In 2012, she opened Bird Bakery with her then-husband Armie Hammer in Alamo Heights. In 2020 the couple announced their split, but no need to worry — it doesn’t look like Bird’s tasty cupcakes are going anywhere anytime soon.
Photo via Instagram / elizabethchambers
Born Ally Brooke Hernandez in 1993, San Antonio native Ally Brooke rose to pop stardom as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony. She went to Cornerstone Elementary School, but no high school can claim her since she completed her studies through home-schooling. Since Fifth Harmony went on hiatus in 2018, she has kept busy with work on a solo album, which in 2021 she revealed is recorded entirely in Spanish.
Photo via Twitter / AllyBrooke
Steve Howey
Though he was born in San Antonio in 1977, Steve Howey actually spent most of his childhood on a boat his parents sailed up and down the Pacific Coast before his family settled down in Colorado when he was a teen. Howey starred in Reba from 2001-2007, but most people would likely recognize him as Kevin Ball in Showtime’s Shameless.
Photo via Showtime / Shameless
Carol Burnett
Comedian and actress Carol Burnett helped shatter the entertainment-industry glass ceiling with her groundbreaking and successful TV program The Carol Burnett Show, one of the first comedy variety shows to be hosted by a woman. She went on to a variety of roles on TV, movies and stage, including a guest spot on Mad About You that landed her an Emmy. Although she was born in San Antonio in 1933, Burnett eventually moved with her grandmother to Hollywood, California.
Photo courtesy of Carol Burnett
Henry Thomas
Most often recognized for his breakout role at Elliott in E.T. the Extra-Terresstrial, San Antonio native Henry Thomas has become a horror fixture of late with starring roles in Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor and Midnight Mass. The actor was born in SA in 1971 and went to Central HS.
Photo via Netflix / The Haunting of Bly Manor
Pop star Austin Mahone got his start covering songs on YouTube, and now has a slew of releases under his belt. He was born in SA in 1996 and even went to Jefferson HS for a year before finishing high school in homeschool. He signed with Elektra Recordss in 2019 to produce the follow-up to his 2017 album Dirty Work.
Photo via Instagram / austinmahone
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Gil Birmingham
Actor Gil Birmingham was born in San Antonio in 1953, but wasn’t here for long due to his father’s career in the military. The actor has appeared in everything from the Twilight series to Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and now plays Thomas Rainwater in Paramount’s Yellowstone.
Photo via Paramount / Yellowstone
You may not recognize his face, but you’d definitely recognize his drawings — Pendleton Ward is the brains behind hit Cartoon Network series Adventure Time, which ran on the channel fom 2010-2018. The animator and voice actor was born in San Antonio in 1982 and graduated from now-LEE High School before moving to California to attend CalArts. In 2020 his new animated series The Midnight Gospel hit Netflix, and the spinoff miniseries Adventure Time: Distant Lands debuted on HBO Max.
Photo via Twitter / buenothebear
Noël Wells
Noël Wells was born in SA in 1986, but moved around Texas when she was a kid. The actress and director went to high school in Victoria before studying at the University of Texas at Austin. The SNL aluum is recognizable for her work on Master of None and Mr. Roosevelt, and recengtly lent her voice to the animated series Craig of the Creek and Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Photo via Netflix / Master of None
Born in San Antonio in 1951, singer songwriter Christopher Cross is best known for ’80s yacht rock hits like “Sailing,” “Ride Like the Wind” and “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do).” A graduate of Alamo Heights High School, Cross later made Austin his home. Unfortunately, in 2020 Cross revealed that he not only contracted COVID-19, but developed Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which causes paralysis and can require a year or more for even a partial recovery. The singer has been open about the condition and chronicled his path to recovery on social media.
Photo via Instagram / itsmrcrosss
Emilio Rivera
It’s not often that an actor gets to play the same role on multiple TV shows, but that’s just what Emilio Rivera did as Marcus Alvarez on AMC’s Sons of Anarchy and its spinoff Mayans M.C. Born in San Antonio in 1961, Rivera grew up on the outskirts of L.A. and launched his acting career in the ’90s.
Photo via FX / Emilio Rivera
Madison Davenport
Born in the Alamo City in 1996, Madison Davenport hit the ground running. The young actress was featured in recurring roles in Shameless, Save Me and From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, and recently appeared in the hit HBO miniseries Sharp Objects and Hulu’s Reprisal.
Photo via HBO / Sharp Objects
Kevin Alejandro
Kevin Alejandro was born in SA in 1976 and lived here until he was eight years old. The hunktastic actor has made appearances in True Blood, Arrow and Southland, and played Dan Espinoza in Lucifer. He’s also the voice of Jayce on the animated series Arcane.
Photo via Netflix / Lucifer
Summer Glau
Perhaps best known for roles in Joss Whedon’s series Firefly and Dollhouse, Summer Glau has been kicking ass onscreen for nearly two decades. She was born here in 1981 and homeschooled while she studied ballet, but she moved into acting when her dance career was ended by an injury. The Arrow and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles star recently made an appearance in two episodes of Netflix’s Wu Assassins in 2019.
Photo via The CW / Arrow
Bruce McGill
Yep, this guy is from San Antonio. Actor Bruce McGill was born here back in 1950 and even graduated from MacArthur HS, later attending the University of Texas at Austin. And you undoubtedly recognize him from Animal House, Rizzoli & Isles, MacGyver and so much more.
Photo via Amazon Prime / Suits
Jonathan Joss
You can’t geet much more San Antonio than Jonathan Joss, who was born born in the Alamo City in 1965 as Jonathan Gonzales. Of Spanish, Comanche and White Mountain Apache descent, Joss attended McCollum High School and attended Texas State before leaving the university and finishing his studies at Our Lady of the Lake. The actor played John Redcorn on King of the Hill and Chief Ken Hotate on Parks and Recreation, and recently lent his voice to the video games Days Gone and Wasteland 3.
Photo via Netflix / Parks and Recreation
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Patricia Vonne
Sister to Robert Rodriguez, Patricia Vonne is a powerhouse in her own right. The singer and actress, who’s appeared in some of her brother’s films, was born in San Antonio in 1969 and went to St. Anthony High School. She lived in NYC for a while but later returned to the Lone Star State and settled in Austin. She joined forces with fellow Latina singer-songwriters Tish Hinojosa and Stephanie Urbina Jones to form the Texicana Mamas.In 2021, she dropped the Christmas album My Favorite Holiday.
Photo by Mark Del Castillo
Jessica Collins
Collins is known for her roles in the Oscar-winning film Zero Dark Thirty, the AMC television series Rubicon and NBC’s Revolution, and plays Emma Beesley in the TV series Clickbait. She was born in SA in 1983 and went to Tom. C. Clark High School.
Photo via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Zero Dark Thirty
Katie Leclerc
Katie Leclerc was born in San Antonio in 1986, but ended up growing up in Colorado. She starred in the ABC Family series Switched at Birth from 2011-2017.
Photo via Freeform / Switched at Birth
Known best as Selena’s husband, musician Chris Perez was born in San Antonio in 1969 and went to Jefferson HS. Though he’s still active as a musician, Perez has expanded into the food scene, with two pepper sauces he released in collaboration with Cajohn’s Fiery Foods.
Photo via Instagram / chrispereznow
John Allen Nelson
Whether you know him from the original Baywatch or 24, John Allen Nelson is immediately recognizable. The actor was born in San Antonio in 1959 before going on to make a name for himself in Hollywood, and recently took a break from a long string of appearances on police procedurals to do a three-episode stint on The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
Photo via The CW / Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
TV personality Juan Manuel “John” Quiñones was born in the Alamo City in 1952, and attended Brackenridge HS before heading to St. Mary’s University for college, with the help of the Upward Bound program. Now, he’s best known for hosting ABC’s What Would You Do? He has also served as a correspondent on Good Morning America and 20/20.
Photo via Instagram / johnquinones
San Antonio native Sam Sanders went to Clemens High before double majoring in music and political science at UIW. After getting his master’s in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, he joined NPR, where he served as a correspondent and key member of the elections unit and was one of the original co-hosts of NPR’s Politics Podcast. Since 2017, he’s hosted It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders, a twice weekly show that alternates between “deep dive” interviews and news roundups.
Photo via Instagram / samsanders
You may know Rick Riordan for his Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series, but did you know the author’s a tried and true San Antonian? Born and raised in the Alamo City, Riordan went to Alamo Heights High School before heading to college at North Texas State University (now UNT). He transferred to UT Austin to study English and History, then came back to San Antonio and nabbed a teaching certification at UTSA.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons / Rhododendrites
A San Antonio native that went to John Marshall High School, Todd White made his name in Hollywood with work on iconic cartoon series including Tiny Toons and Ren & Stimpy, going on to serve as the lead character designer for SpongeBob SquarePants. White later left animation, concentrating on his skyrocketing solo art career. However, in 2011 things took a turn for the wild, as his longtime gallerist Peggy Howell accused him of shaking her down with hired “goons” and stealing his own art from her. Vanity Fair laid out a confusing web of accusations in a 2012 article, which details White’s claims that Howell was selling forgeries of his giclée prints and that he’d solicited the help of his lawyer and two friends from his martial arts gym to confront her and retrieve his work. According to Vanity Fair, just prior to the article’s publication, Howell and White reached a confidential legal settlement.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons / Jonathan Ales
Marcia Nasatir
Born in San Antonio in 1926, Marcia Nasatir is a pioneer for women in Hollywood – particularly women working as producers. In 1974, Nasatir became the first female vice president of a major Hollywood studio (United Artists). She legit grew up in SA too – she’s opened up about attending Jefferson HS and going to movies at the Majestic and Aztec as a kid.
Photo courtesy of Marcia Nasatir
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Megan Thee Stallion
She may have grown up in Houston, but Megan Thee Stallion was actually born in San Antonio in 1995. The rapper, singer and songwriter made a huge splash in 2020 with her hit single “Savage” and for collaborating with Cardi B on the summer-shattering, sex-positive anthem “WAP.”
Photo by Jaime Monzon
