Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.herefordtimes.com
From actors and musicians to sporting stars, the county has produced a host of talents who have gone on to make their mark on the national and international stage.
Here are three of the people you may not realise were born in the county.
Ellie Goulding
The 39-year-old was born in Herefordshire and raised in Lyonshall, and went on to attend Lady Hawkins’ School in nearby Kington, and later studied at Hereford Sixth Form College.
She later attended the University of Kent.
She returned to Lady Hawkins in 2019, meeting Year 11 students on the cusp of sitting their GCSEs, and later making a surprise entrance to a whole-school assembly.
Goulding rose to fame after winning the Critics’ Choice Brit Award aged just 23, and has achieved several number one hits, including her 2015 song Love Me Like You Do.
Frank Oz
Oz, an actor, puppeteer, director and producer, is arguably best known for the roles he played in The Muppets, Sesame Street and Star Wars.
He provided the voices for some of the most famous characters, including Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Yoda.
He was born in the city in 1944, but only lived there for around six months before his parents moved to Belgium.
Five famous faces who you may not know call Herefordshire home
Jarrod Bowen
Premier League footballer Jarrod Bowen was born in 1996 in Herefordshire, and grew up in the market town of Leominster.
Bowen, who plays for West Ham United, began his career at the Leominster Minors club, before continuing to Hereford United.
The 29-year-old married TV star Dani Dyer, daughter of EastEnders actor Danny Dyer, in 2025 in a ceremony in Buckinghamshire.
The pair share twins, Star and Summer, together, along with Dani’s son from a previous relationship, Santi.
