There are more famous people from Oregon than you might think! The list of celebrities born in Oregon is quite long. Among them, there are writers, artists, entertainers, politicians, scientists, and more. It’s not surprising that most of the famous people born in Oregon are from Oregon’s largest city, Portland. But, there are lots of famous people from small town Oregon, too. Here are a few of them and the towns from which they come.

1. Ty Berrell (Grants Pass & Applegate)
Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Ty Berrel is an actor who is most famous for his role as Phil Dunphy on the long-running sitcom Modern Family.
Applegate, OR 97527, USA
What To Do In Southern Oregon/Google Reviews
He was born in Grants Pass which isn't that small of a town, but he was raised in Applegate, near the California border, which is much smaller.
2. River Phoenix (Madras)
photo by Alan Light/Wikimedia Commons
River Phoenix was an incredible young actor who died long before his time in 1993 at the age of 23.
Madras, OR 97741, USA
Jonas Viehdorfer/Google Reviews
He was born in Madras, Oregon, north of Bend. His parents moved frequently, though, so he didn't spend much time there.
3. Holly Madison (Astoria)
Holly Madison, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Holly Madison is a television personality who has appeared in several reality television series.
Astoria, OR 97103, USA
www.jodymillerphoto.com/Moment Collection via Getty Images
She was born in Astoria, in the northwest corner of the state, but she and her parents moved to Alaska when she was just two years old.

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4. Doc Severinsen (Arlington)
TriviaKing at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
"Doc" Severinson was born and raised in Arlington, Oregon on the Columbia River. He's a famous jazz trumpeter and has been playing since he was a child, but most people know him as the bandleader on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Arlington, OR 97812, USA
Andy Schott/Google Reviews
Arlington is a very small town on the Columbia River in Central Oregon. Even today, the population is just 600.
5. Johnnie Ray (Dallas)
eBay, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Johnnie Ray was a musician that many consider to be one of the people who ushered in the rock n' roll genre. He was a singer, pianist, and songwriter.
Dallas, OR 97338, USA
Zach Spidell/Google Reviews
Johnnie Ray was born in Dallas, Oregon, and lived there through elementary school; his family moved to Portland at the beginning of WWII and he attended high school there. Dallas is west of Salem.
6. Beverly Cleary (McMinnville & Yamhill)
Cleary Family archive/OPB, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Author Beverly Cleary was born in McMinnville and spent her pre-school years in nearby Yamhill before her family moved to Portland.
Yamhill, OR 97148, USA
Jess Milner/Google Reviews
Yamhill is in the Willamette Valley. Today, it has a population of about 1,100.

Oregon is full of beautiful and charming small towns! It’s no wonder that some of those small towns produced famous folks who ended up being known around the country and across the world.

Want to learn more about famous people in Oregon? Check out this list for several more famous people from our great state!

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