From Wikipedia

This is a list of prominent people who were born in or lived for a significant period of time in U.S. state of South Dakota.

Actors

• Catherine Bach
• January Jones (born 1978), actress; born in Brookings
• Nicky Katt
• Cheryl Ladd (born 1951), actress, singer; born in Huron
• Dorothy Provine (born 1937), actress, singer, dancer, comedienne; born in Deadwood
• David Soul
• Casey Tibbs
• Mamie Van Doren (born 1931), actress; born in Rowena

Artists

• Harvey Dunn
• James Earle Fraser - sculptor, spent much of his life in Mitchell
• Paul Goble - author and illustrator of children's books, lives in Rapid City
• Mary GrandPré
• Oscar Howe (1915–1983), Native American artist; born in South Dakota
• Roy Braxton Justus (1901–1983), editorial cartoonist; born in Avon ^[1]
• Terry Redlin (born 1937), wildlife artisit; born in Watertown

Authors/Poets

• L. Frank Baum
• Allison Hedge Coke (1958-), American Book Award winning poet, writer, South Dakota resident 1990-1994, and 1996-current; lived in Rapid City, Wagner, Kyle, Porcupine, Sioux Falls...
• Elizabeth Cook-Lynn author.
• Pete Dexter
• David Allan Evans (born 1940), poet laureate of South Dakota
• Joseph Hansen (1923–2004), author, best known for mystery novels; born in Aberdeen
• Cameron Hawley (1905–1969), author, Executive Suite, Cash McCall; born in Howard
• Patrick Hicks (born 1970), poet/writer, Writer-in-Residence at Augustana College
• Bill Johnson (born late 1950s), science fiction writer; born in South Dakota
• Herbert Arthur Krause (1905 - 1976), American historian
• Rose Wilder Lane (1886–1968), journalist, travel writer, novelist; born in De Smet
• Joseph Marshall III (born on Rosebud Reservation) Pen Award winning author. Co-Founder of Sinte Gleska College.
• Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957), author, best known for Little House on the Prairie; lived in De Smet

Business

• Al Neuharth^[2]
• Lee Raymond (born 1938), chemical engineer and long-term Chairman and CEO, Exxon Corporation and Exxon-Mobile, born and attended primary and secondary school in Watertown
• Joseph Robbie
• Ted Waitt (born 1963), co-founder of Gateway, Inc.

Military

• David C. Jones (born 1921), retired U.S. Air Force general, former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff; born in Aberdeen
• Touch the Clouds (ca. 1837 - 1905), native American chief, later Indian Scout and Sergeant in the US army

Music

• Haley Bonar
• Shawn Colvin (born 1956), Grammy Award winning musician; born in Vermillion
• Myron Floren (1919–2005), accordionist, The Lawrence Welk Show; born in Roslyn
• Jess Thomas (1927–1993), opera singer; born in Hot Springs
• Abby Whiteside

Native Americans

• Gertrude Bonnin (Zitkala-Sa) (1876–1938), Lakota writer and activist, born on Yankton Sioux Reservation
• Crazy Horse (c. 1840–1877), Oglala Lakota war leader
• Russell Means (born 1939), Native American activist; born in Pine Ridge
• Maria Pearson (1932–2003), Yankton Sioux activist who helped establish the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
• Rain-in-the-Face (c. 1835–1905), Hunkpapa Lakota chief
• Red Cloud (1822–1909), Oglala Lakota chief
• Sitting Bull (c. 1831–1890), Hunkpapa Lakota chief
• Touch the Clouds (ca.1837–1905), Miniconjou Teton Lakota chief known for his great size
• Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman (1936–2007), musician, activist and actor; born on Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Sioux reservation

Politics/Government

• James Abourezk
• Tom Daschle (born 1947), U.S. Senator from South Dakota; born in Aberdeen
• J. James Exon (1921–2005), Nebraska governor and U.S. senator; born in Geddes
• Joe Foss (1915–2003), Medal of Honor recipient, 20th Governor of South Dakota, first Commissioner of the American Football League; born in Sioux Falls

• Hubert Humphrey (1911–1978), U.S. Senator, 38th Vice President of U.S.; born in Wallace
• Bill Janklow
• Arthur Larson (1910–1993), United States Under Secretary of Labor, lawyer, law professor; born in Sioux Falls
• George McGovern (born 1922), U.S. Senator from South Dakota; born in Avon
• Gladys Pyle

Science

• Ernest O. Lawrence (1901–1958), physicist, Nobel Prize winner, built first cyclotron; born in Canton
• Niels Ebbesen Hansen (1866 - 1950) Horticulturist and botanist^[3]

Sports

• Sparky Anderson (born 1934), baseball player and manager; born in Bridgewater
• Dave Collins
• Mark Ellis
• Terry Francona (born 1959) former baseball player and current manager of the Boston Red Sox, born in Aberdeen
• Chad Greenway
• Becky Hammon
• Jason Kubel (born 1982) designated hitter for the Minnesota Twins; born in Belle Fourche
• Ward Lambert (1888–1958), college basketball coach; born in Deadwood
• Brock Lesnar
• Mike Miller
• Billy Mills^[4]
• Eric Piatkowski
• Norm Van Brocklin (1926–1983), football player; born in Eagle Butte
• Thomas Vanek
• Adam Vinatieri (born 1972), National Football League placekicker, born in Yankton^[5]

Television

• Bob Barker^[6]
• Tom Brokaw (born 1940), television journalist, former NBC Nightly News anchor; born in Webster^[7]
• Mary Hart (born 1951), television personality (Entertainment Tonight); from Madison, and Sioux Falls^[8]
• Pat O'Brien (born 1948), sports commentator, television personality (Access Hollywood); born in Sioux Falls^[9]
• Gary Owens (born 1936), announcer for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, radio disc jockey, voice actor; born in Mitchell

Uncategorized

• Gutzon Borglum
• Seth Bullock
• K. G. William Dahl (1883-1917), Lutheran pastor, author and social advocate
• Billy Etbauer
• John Hamre
• Wild Bill Hickok
• Calamity Jane
• Frank Leahy
• Lawrence Lessig
• Vernon C. Miller
• James "Scotty" Philip
• James Edward Zimmerman
• Korczak Ziółkowski
• Peter Norbeck^[10]

References

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.