7 Famous People You Didn’t Know Were From El Paso

El Paso is known for its sunsets, food, and border-town culture, but did you know some of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces, award-winning talents, and cult favorites all got their start in the Sun City? From Oscar winners to Disney voices, here are some famous El Pasoans that might surprise you.

1. F. Murray Abraham

Yes, that F. Murray Abraham, the Academy Award-winning actor who played Salieri in Amadeus, was born right here in El Paso. He even grew up performing in school plays at UTEP before heading to Hollywood. Beyond the Oscar, you’ve seen him everywhere: Tony Montana’s shady pal Omar in Scarface, the dignified Mr. Moustafa in The Grand Budapest Hotel, and the sharp-tongued Bert in HBO’s White Lotus. Fun fact? Abraham also voiced Khonshu, the Egyptian moon god, in Marvel’s Moon Knight. From Shakespeare to superheroes, this El Pasoan has done it all.

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2. Alan Tudyk

Beloved in the nerd universe, Alan Tudyk is basically Hollywood’s secret weapon. Born in El Paso, he became known as the wise-cracking pilot Wash in Firefly before going full droid sass as K-2SO in Rogue One. But Tudyk’s voice work is where things get wild:

• Hei Hei the chicken in Moana (yes, every cluck was him).

• King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph.

• KnowsMore, the pop-up ad search engine in Ralph Breaks the Internet.

• The Duke of Weselton in Frozen and Duke Weaseltown in Zootopia.

• Iago the parrot in Disney’s live-action Aladdin.

• Tuk Tuk the armadillo/pill bug creature in Raya and the Last Dragon.

• Pico the toucan in Encanto.

• Joker in HBO’s Harley Quinn.

• Clayface in HBO’s Harley Quinn and in DCU’s upcoming Creature Commandos.

• Mr. Nobody in DC’s Doom Patrol.

• Sonny, the robot in I, Robot.

• Steve the Pirate in Dodgeball.

• Hoban “Wash” Washburne in Firefly and Serenity.

• Van Wayne (Bruce Wayne’s cousin) in Powerless.

• Alpha in Dollhouse.

• Wat in A Knight’s Tale.

• Dutch in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

And that’s just scratching the surface. Tudyk has voiced dozens of random animals and background characters in nearly every modern Disney animated film (Zootopia, Big Hero 6, Frozen II, Strange World, yep, he’s in all of them). If you’ve watched a Disney movie in the last decade, odds are you’ve heard Tudyk without even knowing it.

Most recently, Tudyk became a major part of James Gunn’s new DC Universe. In Superman (2025), he voiced “4,” one of Superman’s robot servants, but here’s a fun fact: Tudyk actually ad-libbed the line where “4” decides he’d rather be called Gary, a moment that Gunn loved so much he kept it in the final cut. It’s little touches like that that show off Tudyk’s improvisational brilliance.

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3. Debbie Reynolds

The original Hollywood sweetheart was born in El Paso before her family relocated to California during the Great Depression. She was discovered at age 16 after winning a beauty pageant, which catapulted her into Singin’ in the Rain and beyond. Reynolds later became known to a new generation as Aggie Cromwell in Disney Channel’s Halloweentown movies. Trivia gem: She had one of the largest Hollywood memorabilia collections in the world, including costumes from The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music.

4. Lupe Ontiveros

Born in El Paso, Ontiveros spent much of her career playing maids and working-class characters, a fact she openly spoke about with both frustration and pride. Over her 30-year career, she racked up more than 150 roles, including:

• Yolanda Saldívar in Selena (a performance burned into every Texan’s memory).

• A recurring role in Desperate Housewives.

• Real Women Have Curves, where she played opposite America Ferrera.

Trivia nugget: Ontiveros once estimated she had played a maid more than 300 times in film and television, but she owned every role with depth and dignity, making her one of the most respected Latina actresses of her generation.

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5. Lorenzo Lamas

El Paso-born Lorenzo Lamas became a soap opera icon in the 1980s as Lance Cumson on Falcon Crest, later revving up the action on Renegade. Trivia bonus: He once competed on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (answer: no, he wasn’t). Also, his flowing mullet became so famous in the ’90s it had its own fan following.

6. Gabriel Iglesias (Close Enough…)

While “Fluffy” is more strongly tied to California, Gabriel Iglesias spent time in El Paso growing up with extended family and has shouted out the city in multiple comedy specials. Trivia fun: He once voiced Speedy Gonzales’s cousin in The Looney Tunes Show and also voiced characters in Coco. And yes, he’s one of the few comedians with his own Netflix sitcom simply called Mr. Iglesias.

7. Ron Stallworth

If you’ve seen Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, you know the story: a Black police officer infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan over the phone while a white officer plays him in person. That man, Ron Stallworth, was born in El Paso. Trivia gem: Stallworth still has his original KKK membership card, issued under his real name, because the group never caught on. Talk about receipts.

8. Gene Roddenberry

Yes, the man who created Star Trek has an El Paso connection. Gene Roddenberry was born in El Paso in 1921 before his family eventually moved to Los Angeles. While he didn’t grow up here, the Sun City can still claim bragging rights as his birthplace.

Roddenberry’s Star Trek debuted in 1966 and went on to become one of the most influential science fiction franchises in history, inspiring generations of scientists, writers, and dreamers. The show broke barriers with its diverse cast and progressive themes, famously featuring TV’s first interracial kiss between Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura.

Beyond the original series, Roddenberry’s vision spawned an entire universe, from The Next Generation to countless films, spin-offs, and now streaming shows. His work has shaped not only pop culture but also real-world technology, inspiring everything from cell phones to space exploration.

For El Paso, it’s a little surreal to think that the birthplace of Star Trek’s creator is right here in the desert. There is now an entire planetarium named after him in the city, where generations of El Paso students have learned to look up at the stars, just as Roddenberry invited audiences to do.

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El Paso might not have the nonstop Hollywood spotlight, but its stars shine everywhere, from Oscar stages to cult classics to Disney sound booths. Next time someone asks what’s special about the Sun City, remind them: some of the world’s most unforgettable performers got their start here.