People
Public figures of Yorkshire.
Adrian Edmondson
Known for: film actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director, television actor, musician
Adrian Charles Edmondson is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter, who came to fame as part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s. He and his comedy partner Rik Mayall starred in the television sitcoms The Young Ones (1982–1984), Filthy Rich & Catflap (1987) and Bottom (1991–1995), the last of which was written by Edmondson and Mayall, as well as the comedy feature film Guest House Paradiso (1999), which Edmondson directed and co-wrote. Edmondson and Mayall also appeared in The Comic Strip Presents... series of films throughout the 1980s and 1990s. For two episodes of this they created the spoof heavy metal band Bad News, and for another Edmondson played his nihilistic alter-ego Eddie Monsoon, an offensive South African television star.
Anne Bronte
Known for: poet, novelist, governess, writer
Anne Brontë was an English novelist and poet. A member of the Brontë literary family, she was the younger sister of Charlotte, Emily, and Branwell. Anne is known for her 1847 novel Agnes Grey and for her 1848 novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which is considered to be one of the first feminist novels.
Ben Fogle
Known for: explorer, television presenter, writer, broadcaster, television director
Benjamin Myer Fogle is an English broadcaster, writer and adventurer, best known for his presenting roles on programmes shown on British television channels Channel 5, BBC and ITV.
Beryl Burton
Known for: sport cyclist
Beryl Burton OBE was an English racing cyclist who dominated the women's sport, winning more than 90 domestic championships and seven world titles, and setting numerous national records. In 1967, she set a world record for the 12-hour time-trial which exceeded the men's record for two years.
Bram Stoker
Known for: writer, journalist, novelist, theatre critic, screenwriter, clerk, theatre manager
Abraham Stoker was an Irish writer, barrister, literary critic, and theatre manager. He was the author of the Gothic horror novel Dracula (1897) and the creator of the fictional character Count Dracula. The work and its antagonist are regarded as milestones in the fields of Gothic and vampire literature.
Christian Prudhomme
Known for: journalist, sports executive
Christian Prudhomme is a French journalist and general director of the Tour de France since 2007.
Corinne Bailey Rae
Known for: singer-songwriter, singer, guitarist, jazz musician, artist, recording artist, composer, musician
Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae is a British singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2006. She released her debut album, Corinne Bailey Rae, in February 2006, and became the fourth female British act in history to have her first album debut at number one. The album has sold over four million copies. In 2007, Bailey Rae was nominated for three Grammy Awards and three Brit Awards, and won two MOBO Awards. In 2008, she won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Dara O Briain
Known for: television presenter, comedian, actor, screenwriter
Dara Ó Briain is an Irish comedian and television presenter based in the United Kingdom. He is noted for performing stand-up comedy shows all over the world and for hosting topical panel shows such as Mock the Week, The Panel, and The Apprentice: You're Fired!. In 2009, the Irish Independent described Ó Briain as "Terry Wogan's heir apparent as Britain's 'favourite Irishman'".
Frankie Boyle
Known for: comedian, autobiographer, journalist, writer, stand-up comedian, television presenter, screenwriter
Francis Martin Patrick Boyle is a Scottish comedian and writer. Boyle first gained widespread recognition as a regular panellist on the comedy show Mock the Week from 2005 until 2009. He then created and starred in the Channel 4 sketch show Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights (2010) and BBC Two's chat show Frankie Boyle's New World Order (2017–2022). In 2020, he presented a four-part series on BBC Two, Frankie Boyle's Tour of Scotland. He has toured and released several stand-up specials. Boyle has been involved in public controversies due to his humour.
Gareth Southgate
Known for: association football player, association football coach
Sir Gareth Southgate is an English former professional football manager and player, who played as a defender and midfielder. He managed the England national team from 2016 to 2024.
Helen Skelton
Known for: actor, television presenter
Helen Elizabeth Skelton is an English television presenter who appears regularly on BBC1's Morning Live.
J. B. Priestley
Known for: novelist, playwright, librettist, writer, journalist, literary critic, science fiction writer, children's writer, poet
John Boynton Priestley was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator.
JMW Turner
Known for: painter, landscape painter, draftsperson, printmaker, architectural drafter, visual artist, illustrator, artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner, known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter and elevated the status of landscape painting. Turner is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential British painters, as well as a precursor to Impressionism.
Joseph Whitwell
Known for: cricketer
Joseph Fry Whitwell was an English amateur first-class cricketer, who played one match for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, against Nottinghamshire, at Trent Bridge in 1890.
Julie Hesmondhalgh
Known for: actor, film actor
Julie Claire Hesmondhalgh is an English actress and narrator who is best known for her role as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street between 1998 and 2014. For this role she won "Best Serial Drama Performance" at the 2014 National Television Awards and "Best Actress" at the 2014 British Soap Awards.
Kay Mellor
Known for: screenwriter, actor, film director
Kay Mellor was an English actress, scriptwriter, producer and director. She was known for creating television series such as Band of Gold, Fat Friends, and The Syndicate, as well as co-creating CITV's children's dramas Children's Ward (1989–2000) and Just Us (1992–94).