Among those who were born in the London Borough of Brent, or have dwelt within the borders of the modern borough are ''(alphabetical order)'':

Notable residents

Academia and Research

Raymond Gosling Raymond George Gosling (15 July 1926 – 18 May 2015) was a British scientist. While a PhD student at King's College, London he worked under the supervision of Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin. The crystallographic experiments of Frankli ...

– scientist, born in and attended school in Wembley

Arts and Entertainment

* Tubby T - Anthony Robinson, 9 September 1974 – 22 May 2008 Most loved artist of 90/00s with hits like “Tales of the hood” *

General Levy Paul Scott Levy (born 28 April 1971), also known as General Levy, is an English ragga deejay, regularly employed on studio tracks by drum and bass DJs. He is best known for the track "Incredible" which he recorded with M-Beat. A remixed versio ...

– ragga deejay original junglist massive, formative years Harlesden and Wembley *

Riz Ahmed Rizwan Ahmed (; ; born ) is a British actor and rapper. As an actor, he has won an Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards, and as a rapper he has won an Academy Award for the short ...

– actor, rapper and activist, born in Wembley * Ricardo P Lloyd – actor from Harlesden and who grew up in North-west London *

Chizzy Akudolu Andrea Chizoba "Chizzy" Akudolu (born 7 October 1973) is a British actress. Career In 2002, Akudolu was one of eight new comedy performers who won the BBC Talent Initiative, The Urban Sketch Showcase. All eight performed a comedy sketch sho ...

– actress, born in Harlesden *

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings public ...

– singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter, lives in Kensal Green *

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...

– producer, director and writer, producer of Thunderbirds lived in Kilburn and Neasden, educated at Kingsgate Infants School and

Willesden County Grammar School Capital City Academy (commonly abbreviated to CCA) is a specialist sports and arts Academy in Willesden, North West London, in the borough of Brent. Design The School was designed by architect Sir Norman Foster and engineers Buro Happold, ...

Tracy-Ann Oberman Tracy-Ann Oberman (born Tracy Anne Oberman; 25 August 1966) is an English actress, playwright and narrator. She is widely known for roles including Chrissie Watts in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' (2004–2005) and Valerie Lewis or "Auntie ...

– actress,

Chrissie Watts Chrissie Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Tracy-Ann Oberman. She first appeared on 29 April 2004 and transpired to be the second wife of the show's "most enduring character", Den Watts ( Lesli ...

in EastEnders, born in Brent *

Jane Asher Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)The International Who's Who of Women, 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and has worked extensively in f ...

– actress, author and entrepreneur, ex-girlfriend of

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, born in Willesden *

David Baddiel David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, and author. He is known for his work alongside Rob Newman in ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' and his comedy partnership with Frank Skinner. He has als ...

– comedian, novelist and television presenter, educated at North West London Jewish Day School, lived in Dollis Hill. * Doc Brown – rapper, comedian and actor, born in Kilburn, lived in Willesden *

Keisha Buchanan Keisha Kerreece Fayeanne Buchanan (; born 30 September 1984) is an English singer and a founding member of the girl group Sugababes alongside Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy. With the Sugababes, she had six number one singles and two number ...

– singer-songwriter and member of girl group the

Sugababes Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...

, born and raised in Kingsbury, attended Kingsbury High School *

Mutya Buena Rosa Isabel Mutya Buena (born 21 May 1985) is an English singer and songwriter who rose to fame as a member of girl group the Sugababes. With the Sugababes, Buena had four UK number one singles, an additional six top-ten hits and three multi-p ...

– singer-songwriter and member of girl group the

, born and raised in Kingsbury, attended Kingsbury High School * Grace Carter – singer-songwriter, lives in Kensal Green * Graham Cole – actor, born in Willesden *

Lenora Crichlow Lenora Isabella Crichlow (born 4 January 1985) is a British actress. She became known for her starring roles as Maria "Sugar" Sweet in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series '' Sugar Rush'', Annie Sawyer in the BBC Three supernatural drama series ' ...

– actress, born and raised in Harlesden *

Diana Churchill Diana Spencer-Churchill (11 July 1909 – 20 October 1963) was the eldest daughter of British statesman Sir Winston Churchill and Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill. Personal life Diana Churchill was born at 33 Eccleston ...

– actress, born in Wembley *

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

– actor, lives in Queen's Park *

Sophie Dahl Sophie Dahl (born Sophie Holloway on 15 September 1977, later taking her mother's name for professional reasons) is an English author and former fashion model. Her first novel, ''The Man with the Dancing Eyes'', was published in 2003 followed b ...

– fashion model and author, lives in Kensal Green *

Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer and actress. Her debut studio album, '' Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?,'' was released in 2009 and was certified double platinum in the UK. The album spawned the sin ...

– singer, lives in Kensal Green * Phil Fearon – record producer and former singer (Galaxy) lived in Harlesden, educated at Willesden High School *Ron Goodwin – composer, 633 Squadron, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, film music, Golden Globe nominated, Willesden Grammar School *

Tamsin Greig Tamsin Margaret Mary Greig (; born 12 July 1966) is an English actress, narrator and comedian. She played Fran Katzenjammer in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Black Books'', Dr Caroline Todd in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Green Wing'', Beverly Lincoln in ...

– actress, grew up in Kilburn *

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in '' The Le ...

– actor and comedian, lived in Wembley * Mariah Idrissi – model, lives in Wembley Park *

Tony Kanal Tony Ashwin Kanal (born 27 August 1970) is a British-American musician, record producer, songwriter, and animal rights activist. Kanal is the bassist and co-writer for the American rock bands No Doubt and Dreamcar. His musical work outside of t ...

– born and raised in Kingsbury * Maria Lawson – professional R&B singer and

X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003) ...

, 2004 finalist, educated at Queens Park Community School *

Arthur Lucan Arthur Lucan (born Arthur Towle; 16 September 1885 – 17 May 1954) was an English actor who performed the drag act Old Mother Riley on stage, radio and screen, with a series of comedy films from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Early life ...

– actor, lived at 11 Forty Lane, Wembley * Annie Mac – DJ and presenter, lives in Queen's Park * George Michael – singer-songwriter, lived in Kingsbury, educated at Kingsbury High School *

Sienna Miller Sienna Rosie Diana Miller (born December 28, 1981) is an American-British actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she began her career as a photography model, appearing in the pages of Italian '' Vogue'' and for the 2003 Pirelli c ...

– actress, lives in Kensal Green * Keith Moon – drummer, born and lived in Wembley *

Cillian Murphy Cillian Murphy (; born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. Originally the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the rock band The Sons of Mr. Green Genes, he turned down a record deal in the late 1990s and began acting on stage and in short an ...

– actor, lives in Queen's Park *

Sophie Okonedo Sophie Okonedo (born 11 August 1968) is a British actress and narrator. The recipient of a Tony Award, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, three BAFTA Television Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. She began her f ...

– actress, lived in Kenton *

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut stud ...

– lives in Kensal Green * George the Poet – rapper, born in Neasden * John Neville – actor from Willesden *

Thandiwe Newton Melanie Thandiwe Newton ( ; born 6 November 1972), formerly credited as Thandie Newton, is a British actress. Newton has received various awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for ...

– lives in Kensal Green *

Laura Aikman Laura Holly Aikman (born 24 December 1985) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Debbie in ''Not Going Out'' and '' Gavin and Stacey'' as Sonia. Early life Aikman was born in the London Borough of Brent in 1985, the daught ...

– actress, born in Brent *

Maxine Nightingale Maxine Nightingale (born 2 November 1952) is a British R&B and soul music singer. She is best known for her hits in the 1970s, with the million seller " Right Back Where We Started From" (1975, UK #8 & 1976, U.S. #2), "Love Hit Me" (1977), an ...

– singer from Wembley *

Dev Patel Dev Patel (; born 23 April 1990) is a British actor. His breakthrough came in 2008 with the leading role of Jamal Malik in Danny Boyle's drama ''Slumdog Millionaire'', for which Patel was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Lead ...

– actor, from Sudbury *

Rod Price Roderick Michael Price (22 November 1947 – 22 March 2005) was an English guitarist best known for his work with the rock band Foghat. He was known as 'The Magician of Slide', 'The Bottle', and 'Slide King of Rock and Roll', due to his slide g ...

– guitarist from Willesden * Shane Ritchie – actor, comedian, television presenter and singer, attended Willesden High School *

Julie Rogers Julie Rogers (born Julie Rolls, 6 April 1943, Bermondsey, London, England) is an English pop singer. She is best known for her multi-million selling song, " The Wedding". Career Rogers, the youngest of five children, had piano lessons and star ...

– singer, educated at Kingsbury High School *Gappy Ranks – international musician, artist, Reggae, Dancehall, born Harlesden *

Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor and writer. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Sp ...

– actor, lived in Kilburn *

Jay Sean Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with " Dance with You", which reache ...

– singer-songwriter, born in Harlesden * John Sinclair – keyboardist, born in Wembley *

Zadie Smith Zadie Smith FRSL (born Sadie; 25 October 1975) is an English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. Her debut novel, ''White Teeth'' (2000), immediately became a best-seller and won a number of awards. She has been a tenured professor ...

– novelist, lives in Queen's Park *

Lady Sovereign Louise Amanda Harman (born 19 December 1985), better known by the stage name Lady Sovereign, is a British rapper, best known for the songs "9 to 5" and "Love Me or Hate Me". Early life and family Lady Sovereign grew up in Chalkhill Estate in ...

– rapper, born and lived in Wembley *

John Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious works. Among his best known works are '' The Lamb'' (1982), ''The Protecting Veil'' (1988), and '' Song ...

– composer, born in Wembley * David Tress – artist, born in Wembley *

Twiggy Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949) is an English model, actress, and singer, widely known by the nickname Twiggy. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging '60s in London. ...

– model, actress and singer, born in Neasden. Educated at Brondesbury and Kilburn High School * Charles Venn – actor,

Ray Dixon Ray Dixon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Chucky Venn. Ray is an ex-partner of character Bianca Jackson, Bianca Butcher (Patsy Palmer) and the father of her son Morgan Jackson-King, Morgan Butcher (Devon ...

in EastEnders, born in Kilburn *

Sabrina Washington Sabrina Fredrica Washington (born 27 October 1978) is a British singer who originally rose to fame as the lead singer of garage/ R&B girl group Mis-Teeq. Whilst in Mis-Teeq, the singer notched up seven UK top 10 hits and two top 10, double ...

– singer, lead singer of

Mis-Teeq Mis-Teeq were a British girl group, consisting of Alesha Dixon, Su-Elise Nash and Sabrina Washington. They had two top-ten albums and seven consecutive top-ten singles, with chart-topping success on the UK Singles Chart as well as across Eur ...

, from Harlesden * Charlie Watts – drummer and member of

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

, born in Kingsbury, educated at Kingsbury High School, lived in Wembley * Alfred Willmore - actor, designer, dramatist, writer and impresario born in Willesden 25 October 1899 died Dublin 6 March 1978 better known as Micheal Mac Liammoir. *

Lydia Wilson Lydia Wilson (born 30 November 1984) is an English-American actress. Since graduating in 2009 from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she has performed in numerous television and theatre productions including the Olivier Award winning ''Blasted'' ...

– actress, born in and lives in Queen's Park

Business and Finance

Jerry Roberts Captain Raymond C. "Jerry" Roberts MBE (18 November 1920 – 25 March 2014) was a British wartime codebreaker and businessman. During the Second World War, Roberts worked at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park f ...

– code breaker and businessman born in Wembley

Journalism and the Media

Louis Theroux Louis Sebastian Theroux (; born 20 May 1970) is a British-American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received two British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award. After graduating fro ...

– documentary filmmaker and broadcaster, lives in Harlesden * Shaun Wallace – barrister and television personality.

Politics and Government

Luciana Berger Luciana Clare Berger (; born 13 May 1981) is a British former Member of Parliament who was MP for Liverpool Wavertree from 2010 to 2019. Initially a member of Labour Co-op, in 2019 she left and co-founded The Independent Group, later Change UK ...

–

Labour Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidat ...

MP for

Liverpool Wavertree Liverpool Wavertree is a borough constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1997 and every election since has been won by a Labour Party candidate. An earlier constituency of the same name existed between 1918 and ...

since 2010, from Wembley *

Steve Hilton Stephen Glenn Charles Hilton (born 25 August 1969) is a British political commentator and former political adviser. He served as director of strategy for the British Prime Minister David Cameron from 2010 to 2012. Since 2017, Hilton has hosted ...

– former director of strategy for

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

David Cameron, lives in Kensal Green. *

Mick Whelan John Michael Whelan (born 1960) is the General Secretary of the British trade union ASLEF. He is the 18th General Secretary of ASLEF. Early life Whelan was born in Paddington to Irish parents and grew up in North West London. His mother worked ...

– General Secretary of the British trade union

ASLEF The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) is a British trade union representing train drivers. It is part of the International Transport Workers' Federation and the European Transport Workers' Federation. At the end of ...

, lives in Brent.

Sport

Luther Blissett Luther Loide Blissett (born 1 February 1958) is a former professional footballer and manager who played for the England national team during the 1980s. Born in Jamaica, Blissett played as a striker, and is best known for his time at Watford, ...

– ex-footballer, lived in Harlesden and educated at Willesden High School *James DeGale – boxer *

Jerel Ifil Jerel Christopher Ifil (born 27 June 1982) is an English footballer who plays as a defender who plays for Swindon Supermarine. He is the elder brother of fellow footballer Philip Ifil. Born in Wembley, Greater London, to a Greeks mother and ...

– footballer, born in Wembley *

Jacob Murphy Jacob Kai Murphy (born 24 February 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Newcastle United. Murphy made his first-team debut for Norwich City in an FA Cup match against Fulham in January 2014 ...

– footballer, born in Wembley *

Valda Osborn Valda Rosemary Foggin ( Osborn; 17 September 1934 – 28 December 2022) was a British figure skater. She was the 1953 European champion and World bronze medalist. Osborn represented her country at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, wh ...

– figure skater, born in Wembley *

Matt Sparrow Matthew Ronald Sparrow (born 3 October 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder Sparrow made 440 appearances in the Football League across his 17-year-long playing career, notably 369 over two spells with S ...

– footballer, born in Wembley * Kieron St Aimie – footballer, born in Wembley *

Raheem Sterling Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for club Chelsea. Born in Jamaica, he represents the England national team. Born in Jamaica to Jamaican parents, S ...

–

Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football ...

and

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...

footballer, educated at Copland Community School * Jerome Thomas – footballer, born in Wembley * Gary Waddock – footballer, born in Kingsbury, grew up in Alperton. *

Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport. Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...

– ex footballer, lives in Kensal Greeny Yannick bolasie- former Crystal palace and Everton player,lived in willesden

References

{{LB Brent Brent