Among the notable people from Lake Charles, Louisiana:
- Mark Abraham, state representative for Calcasieu Parish, effective 2016
- Lynda Benglis, sculptor, born in Lake Charlesi>
- Terry Burrows, Major League Baseball pitcher; played for the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres
- James David Cain (b. 1938), former state senator; former state representative for Beauregard Parish whose district included a part of Calcasieu Parish
- Edward M. Carmouche (1921â€"1990), chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party, 1966-1968; ally of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
- Christopher Catrambone (b. 1981), Businessman and Humanitarian, founder of Migrant Offshore Aid Station
- A. C. Clemons (1921â€"1992), trucking executive in Jefferson Davis Parish; first Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate since Reconstruction
- Casey Daigle, baseball pitcher in the Houston Astros organization; husband of softball star Jennie Finch; graduated from Sulphur High School
- Mike Danahay, Democratic state representative for Calcasieu Parish since 2008; sales representative in Lake Charles; graduate of McNeese State University
- Michael E. DeBakey, heart surgeon; first person to successfully implant an artificial heart (1963); member of the Health Care Hall of Fame; recipient of the United Nations Lifetime Achievement Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, and the National Medal of Science; originator of the M.A.S.H. unit concept; born in Lake Charles; graduate of Lake Charles High School
- William Dore, businessman
- Andre Dubus, author and essayist; born in Lake Charles; educated at McNeese State University
- Joe Dumars, former player and current general manager for the Detroit Pistons; played for McNeese State University before going on to have a successful NBA career; named MVP of the 1989 NBA finals; elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006
- Stephen Dwight, incoming Republican member of the Louisiana House for District 35
- David Filo, billionaire; born in Wisconsin but raised partly in Moss Bluff; co-creator of the Internet portal Yahoo!
- Sean Patrick Flanery, actor; starred in The Boondock Saints and The Dead Zone television series; born in Lake Charles
- Dan Flavin, former state representative from Lake Charles
- Ray Fontenot, Major League Baseball pitcher, 1983â€"1986, for the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, and Minnesota Twins
- Matt Forte, starting running back and 2nd round-pick of the Chicago Bears; MVP of the 2008 Senior Bowl
- A. B. Franklin, state representative for Calcasieu Parish since 2008
- Lether Frazar, president of McNeese State University; Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana under Earl Kemp Long, 1956â€"1960; namesake of the McNeese library
- Dominic Gorie, astronaut from Lake Charles
- Johnnie Gray, retired NFL safety, played for the Green Bay Packers
- Nickie Hall, gridiron football player
- Allen "Puddler" Harris, musician with Ricky Nelson, Conway Twitty, and Jimmie Davis; former director of the Lake Charles Civic Center
- T. H. Harris, state superintendent of education, 1908â€"1940; principal of Central High School in Lake Charles in the middle 1890s
- Mike Heinen, professional golfer; has played on the PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour; former winner of the PGA Shell Houston Open
- Bob Hilton, host of the game shows including Truth or Consequences; briefly the announcer for The Price is Right; began his career at KPLC TV
- Harry Hollins, state representative for Calcasieu Parish, 1964-1980
- Brian Johnson, champion track-and-field athlete; college coach
- Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones (b. 1905), president and baseball coach at Grambling State University, 1936-1977; born in Lake Charles
- Robert G. "Bob" Jones, stockbroker in Lake Charles; former member of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature from Calcasieu Parish
- Sam Houston Jones (b. 1897), served as Assistant Parish Prosecutor in Lake Charles for nine years before defeating Earl Kemp Long; governor of Louisiana in 1940; born in Merryville, Louisiana; died in 1978 in Lake Charles, where he is interred at Prien Pines Cemetery
- Claude Kirkpatrick (1917â€"1997), state representative from Jefferson Davis Parish (1952â€"1960); director of the Louisiana Department of Public Works, through which capacity he worked to establish the Toledo Bend Reservoir; grew up in Lake Charles and graduated from Lake Charles High School
- Eddie Kennison, retired NFL player, active (1996-2008) graduated from Washington-Marion High School
- Chuck Kleckley, departing state representative and Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives
- Jesse Knowles, businessman, civic leader, state legislator representing Calcasieu Parish; survivor of the World War II Bataan Death March
- Tony Kushner, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
- Conway LeBleu, represented Calcasieu and Cameron parishes in the Louisiana House, 1964-1988; a Lake Charles native
- Zachary Levi, actor, title character in the NBC series Chuck; born in Lake Charles
- Margaret Lowenthal, first woman to represent Calcasieu Parish in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1980-1988
- Nellie Lutcher, jazz singer, gained some national popularity in the late 1940s and 50s; recorded for Capitol Records
- Ted Lyons, baseball Hall of Famer who pitched for the Chicago White Sox; born in Lake Charles
- Shonda Manuel, humanitarian who served on many boards and bettered Lake Charles; graphic designer for Thrive magazine
- Tommy McBennett, at age 13, recorded first single at Goldband Studios in Lake Charles
- Ron Miller, Maryland politician
- Eddie Mormon, impressionist painter; born in Lake Charles
- Willie Mount, mayor of Lake Charles (1993â€"1999)
- Van Dyke Parks, Mississippi-born composer, singer, musician, and actor; grew up in Lake Charles
- James St. Raymond (born c. 1957), former state representative and businessman in Orleans Parish; formerly resided in Lake Charles
- Eddie Shuler, founder of Goldband Records; recorded swamp pop, Cajun, and other genres of southern music
- Guy Sockrider (1921-2011), industrialist; state senator, 1948-1964
- Isabella Soileau, the first woman to set foot in Lake Charles
- Victor T. "Vic" Stelly (born 1941), former state representative; author of the Stelly Plan
- Dennis Stine, state representative, 1987-1988; state commissioner of administration, 1988-1992; lumber company official
- James Sudduth (1917-1995), mayor of Lake Charles, 1965-1973 and 1989-1993; director of the Port of Lake Charles; former city finance director
- Joe Gray Taylor, distinguished historian of Louisiana and the American South; professor and graduate school dean at McNeese State University
- David William Thomas (1876â€"1961), teacher and school principal in Lake Charles in the late 19th century; later an attorney and mayor of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish
- Justin Vincent, plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers; graduate of Alfred M. Barbe High School in Lake Charles
- Donald Ellsworth Walter, U.S. District Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana; U.S. attorney for the Western District 1969-1977, based in Shreveport; attorney formerly in private practice in Lake Charles
- George H. Wells (1833â€"1905), Northern-born Confederate States of America officer; practiced law in Lake Charles; served in the Louisiana State Senate, 1878-1880
- Lucinda Williams, singer-songwriter born in Lake Charles; recorded the song "Lake Charles" about Clyde Woodward, a boyfriend of hers born in Nacogdoches, Texas, who nevertheless told everybody that he was from Lake Charles
- Bailey Wilson, best dancer in Lake Charles; currently dances at Tammy Palmer Center Stage Dance Company
- Ken Winey, player of gridiron football
- Henry L. Yelverton (1928â€"2009), district and appellate judge based in Lake Charles, 1971â€"2003
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