12 Most Famous UWS Residents – #7 Will Surprise You

The Upper West Side has long been one of New York’s most culturally influential neighborhoods, attracting writers, musicians, actors, activists, and public figures for more than a century. Its landmark apartment houses, broad avenues, and proximity to Central Park made it especially appealing to people whose work shaped American culture. The list below moves from more recent icons back through earlier generations, showing how deep the neighborhood’s famous-resident history really goes.

1. Jerry Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld is one of the most recognizable modern UWS residents, thanks to his long association with the area and the real-life Beresford at 211 Central Park West. StreetEasy notes that he lives at the Beresford and that his fictional apartment was at 129 West 81st Street. He belongs on this list because his real and fictional New York identities both helped cement the UWS as a comedy landmark.

2. Tina Fey

Tina Fey has lived at 300 West End Avenue for years, making her one of the neighborhood’s most established contemporary residents. StreetEasy reports that she later bought the apartment above hers, turning her home into a duplex. She was selected because her career in television comedy and her long-term roots on the UWS make her one of its most visible present-day cultural figures.

3. John Lennon

John Lennon lived at the Dakota at 1 West 72nd Street beginning in 1973. His death outside the building in 1980 made the Dakota and the surrounding area permanently part of New York cultural memory. Lennon is included because his residence there is one of the most famous celebrity-home stories in the neighborhood’s history.

4. Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall lived in the Dakota for 53 years, making her one of the longest-tenured celebrity residents in the building’s history. She was born Betty Joan Perske and became a major film star before returning to New York for later-stage work on Broadway and in theater. She was chosen because her long residence at the Dakota turned her into a symbol of old-school Upper West Side glamour.

5. Miles Davis

Miles Davis bought a brownstone at 312 West 77th Street in 1958 and lived there for 25 years. The move was significant because he became the first African American to buy a brownstone on the Upper West Side. He belongs on the list because his UWS home connects the neighborhood to jazz innovation and to a major breakthrough in Black residential history.

6. Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker spent much of her early life and adult life on the Upper West Side, with residences including 214 West 72nd Street, 57 West 68th Street, and 230 West 103rd Street. She is one of the neighborhood’s most important literary figures, known for her wit, criticism, and influence on New York’s cultural scene. Parker was selected because her life reflects the UWS’s long role as a home for writers and sharp-edged intellectuals.

7. James Dean

James Dean lived on West 68th Street, and the West 68th Street Block Association identifies him as one of the street’s most notable residents. He is remembered as a defining mid-century film star, especially for Rebel Without a Cause. Dean belongs on the list because his short but mythic career made his UWS address part of classic New York celebrity history.

8. Rosalind Russell

Rosalind Russell lived in Pomander Walk during her time on the Upper West Side. She was a major actress known especially for sharp comic roles and for the film His Girl Friday. Her inclusion makes sense because she represents the neighborhood’s long attraction to accomplished stage and screen performers.

9. Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth lived at 345 West 88th Street, near Riverside Drive on the Upper West Side, from roughly 1929 to 1940; some sources also note an earlier connection to 173 Riverside Drive. He was selected because he is one of the most famous athletes in American history, and his UWS home became part of New York sports lore. The building is a prewar co-op, and Ruth and his family occupied a large apartment there during the final decade-plus of his Yankees career.

10. Judy Collins

Judy Collins lived at 845 West End Avenue while building her career as a folk singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence with songs such as Both Sides, Now and became an important figure in the 1960s music scene. She was selected because her UWS home places the neighborhood firmly within the history of American folk music and social activism.

11. Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte lived for decades in the same Upper West Side building as Tina Fey, 300 West End Ave. He is one of the most important performers and activists of the 20th century, known for his music, acting, and civil rights work. Belafonte belongs on the list because his long UWS presence linked the neighborhood to both entertainment and political activism.

12. Barack Obama

Obama lived at 622 West 114th Street in Morningside Heights in the mid-1980s, after graduating from Columbia, and also lived at 142 West 109th Street during his Columbia years. The building at 622 West 114th Street is described as a six-story prewar co-op, and the apartment was later marketed as Obama’s former home. He belongs on the broader UWS list because Morningside Heights is often included in Upper West Side neighborhood histories, and his New York story is tied to that part of the west side of Manhattan

If you are adventurous check out our Self-guided tour of the Most Popular UWS Buildings for Celebrities. https://exploringtheupperwestside.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=4768&action=edit.