Top 10 Most Famous Ohio Celebrities: Famous People From Ohio

Fact Checked by Thomas Leary

Social media, much like television before it, has changed a lot in life, and that includes who is regarded as that most ephemeral and transient of creatures – a “celebrity.” BetOhio.com, typically the home to all things Ohio sports betting, wanted to take a hyper-localized approach to see what notable folks, who were raised in the state of Ohio, were being discussed the most over the past year, with the conclusion that those folks could be called the Buckeye State’s most well-known celebrities.

To make these determinations, BetOhio.com utilized a weighted system combining AhRefs.com Keywords Explorer as well as Google Trends in order to determine the most searched Ohio celebrities over the past 12 months (August 2022 to August 2023). Those two results were averaged to determine the Top 10. 

An Ohio celebrity was defined as a person who resided in Ohio in their formative childhood and teenage period for over five years. The celebrity list was limited to only living actors/actresses, singer/songwriters, TV personalities, comedians, dancers and social media influencers.
 

Ranking the 10 Most Famous Celebrities From Ohio

Celebrity Hometown City Search Volume in Past Year
T1. Katie Holmes Toledo 1.0M
T1. Halle Berry Cleveland 1.0M
3. Steve Harvey Cleveland 982k
4. Sarah Jessica Parker Nelsonville 917k
5. Machine Gun Kelly Cleveland 882k
6. Marilyn Manson Canton 790k
7. Steven Spielberg Cincinnati 754k
8. Jake Paul Westlake 711k
9. Woody Harrelson Lebanon 613k
10. Logan Paul Westlake 495k

Honorable Mentions; Actor Tanner Buchanan, Actress Lili Reinhart, Comedian Matt Rife, Musician Dave Grohl, Actor Rob Lowe 

Katie Holmes, Halle Berry Tie At The Top

With those ground rules in mind, some hugely famous Ohioans, who have passed away, did not make this list, such as first man on the moon Neil Armstrong, six-time Oscar nominated actor Paul Newman, and legendary comedian Bob Hope. Since sports figures are also not included, missing are stars such as gymnast Simone Biles and basketball’s LeBron James, both of whom likely would be favorites to top this list on Ohio betting apps had they been eligible.

Evidence of the power of the internet and of social media chatter is a personality who tied for No. 1 for best-known Ohioan – Katie Holmes of Toledo. On her own, Holmes is a well-regarded actress (TV’s “Dawson’s Creek”) and routinely winds up on most-beautiful-people lists. However, her volume of online clicks may be the result of her former marriage to actor Tom Cruise. That break-up, which occurred over 10 years ago, still generates lots of internet traffic. Holmes’ search volume over the last year was 1.05 million.

Tied for No. 1 with Holmes is veteran actress Halle Berry, of Cleveland. Berry has had an enduring acting career that began in 1989 and is still going strong, with a film project in post-production and another one still in filming. The No. 3 Ohio celebrity has become a ubiquitous presence on TV -- comedian and game show host Steve Harvey, of Cleveland. His search volume for the year was 982,000. It’s a challenge to read Harvey’s name or even visualize his face and not hear the theme song from “Family Feud” in your head.

The No. 4 most well-known Ohioan turned out to be actress Sarah Jessica Parker, of Nelsonville,  who has ridden the “Sex in the City” franchise as Carrie Bradshaw through the decades. Her search volume was 917,000. At No. 5 was musician/rapper Machine Gun Kelly, of Cleveland, with a search volume of 882,00. Kelly’s career has been on track for a little more than a decade, showing he has some staying power.
 

 
21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. In partnership with MGM Northfield Park

Paul Brothers Make Appearances

Two of the remaining Top 10 owe their celebrity largely to a mix of acting, fighting skills and social media influence – the brothers Jake Paul (No. 8, 711,000) and Logan Paul (No. 10, 495,000). The two are from Westlake and a fair amount of their clicks come from controversies and feuds.

Other Ohio celebs on the Top 10 list were: No. 6, musician and singer Marilyn Manson, of Canton, 790,000 search volume; No. 7 Steven Spielberg, of Cincinnati, whose credentials are his catalogue of award-winning films, 754,000 search volume, and No. 9, actor Woody Harrelson, of Lebanon, 613,000 search volume.

Stick with BetOhio.com for occasional research items like this one, and know we're also home to the best Ohio sportsbook promo codes.

 
First Deposit Only. Must be 21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. First time depositors only. T&Cs apply.

Most Famous Celebrities From Ohio FAQ

Author

Bill Ordine was a reporter and editor in news and sports for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Baltimore Sun for 25 years, and was a lead reporter on a team that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News. Bill started reporting on casinos and gaming shortly after Atlantic City’s first gambling halls opened and wrote a syndicated column on travel to casino destinations for 10 years. He covered the World Series of Poker for a decade and his articles on gaming have appeared in many major U.S. newspapers, such as the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald and others.

Cited by leading media organizations, such as:

Scroll to top