Writers from Brooklyn

American writer and biochemist (1920–1992)

Heywood "Woody" Allen is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and comedian. In a career spanning eight decades, he has written for film, television, and theater. Allen has received many accolades, including the most wins and nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He has won four Academy Awards, ten BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Grammy Award, as well as nominations for an Emmy Award and a Tony Award. Allen has also received numerous honors, including an Honorary Golden Lion in 1995, the BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, an Honorary Palme d'Or in 2002, and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2014. Two of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

American poet, essayist and journalist (1819–1892)

American astrophysicist, cosmologist and author (1934–1996)

United States Senator from Vermont

American playwright and essayist (1915–2005)

Michael Gerard Tyson is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005, and again in 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, and one of the most intimidating men in boxing history. He reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990.

Edward Regan Murphy is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is widely recognized as one of the most influential Black artists in the entertainment industry, and one of the greatest comedians of all time. He had his breakthrough as a stand-up comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; He has received several accolades including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, and an Emmy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2023, and the 51st AFI Life Achievement Award in 2026.

Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and musician. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, his accolades include an Independent Spirit Award, alongside nominations for three Grammy Awards, seven Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, eight Golden Raspberry Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2023, Sandler was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

American novelist (1891–1980)

American comedian, actress, and television host (1933–2014)

Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. He was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe in 2023. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, Jay-Z is known for his complex lyricism that often uses double entendres, wordplay, and braggadocio. His music is built on a rags to riches narrative. He is the wealthiest musical artist in history, worth US$2.8 billion as of 2026.

American television and radio host (1933–2021)

Melvin James Brooks is an American actor, filmmaker, comedian, songwriter, and playwright. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. A recipient of numerous accolades, he is one of 28 entertainers to win the EGOT, which includes an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. He received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2009, a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2010, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2013, a British Film Institute Fellowship in 2015, a National Medal of Arts in 2016, a BAFTA Fellowship in 2017, and an Honorary Academy Award in 2024.

American comedian, writer and actor (born 1947)

American author of Indian origin (born 1967)

American actor (1920–2014)

American attorney and politician (born 1944)

American writer

American filmmaker (born 1957)

American comedian and actor

American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer, and director

American actress (1920–2006)

American writer, futurist and businessman

American political philosopher (1938–2002)

American composer, composition teacher, writer, and conductor (1900-1990)

American filmmaker (born 1969)

Priscilla Ann Presley is an American businesswoman and actress. She was married to singer Elvis Presley from 1967 to 1973. Presley later co-founded and chaired Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), which oversaw the public opening of Graceland as a museum. As an actress, she portrayed Jane Spencer in the Naked Gun film series (1988–1994) and Jenna Wade on the television series Dallas (1983–1988).

James Christian Kimmel is an American television host and comedian. He is best known as the host and executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which has aired on ABC since 2003. Kimmel has hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards three times, in 2012, 2016 and 2020, and the Academy Awards four times, in 2017, 2018, 2023, and 2024.

American talk show host and comedian (born 1974)

American historian, playwright, and socialist thinker (1922–2010)

American journalist, social activist, and Catholic convert (1897-1980)

American filmmaker

American illustrator and writer of children's books (1928-2012)

American director, writer, and producer (born 1940)

American author (1914–1986)

Irish-American teacher and Pulitzer Prize–winning writer

American science fiction writer and editor (1919–2013)

American writer (1928–2005)

American author

American writer (1913–1984)

American futurist and self-described social engineer

American novelist (born 1977)

American actor and director

American author, futurist, and agnostic mystic (1932-2007)

American political scientist (born 1953)

American actor (1939–2022)

American writer (1937-2010)

American crime novelist (1918–2006)

American writer and filmmaker (1928-2017)

American cartoonist, writer and entrepreneur (1917–2005)

American filmmaker (born 1969)

American speculative fiction writer and editor (born 1935)

American football player, coach, and executive (1913-1970)

American actor and playwright

American central banker and politician

American novelist, short story writer

Alan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer and law professor known for his work in U.S. constitutional and criminal law. From 1964 to 2013, he taught at Harvard Law School, where he was appointed as the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law in 1993. Dershowitz is a regular media contributor, political commentator, and legal analyst.

American Baptist minister, activist and talk show host

American attorney, journalist and talk show host