The beach cities have been home to all kinds of important people over the years. Here are 25 famous, infamous and simply interesting individuals who have made the beach cities their home, or simply were here for a long period of time.

Michelle Kwan: A competitive ice skater in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, Kwan was born July 7, 1980, in Torrance. Kwan has won four national titles and an Olympic silver medal. She spends most of her time training at Lake Arrowhead, but lives in Manhattan Beach.

Traci Lords: Spending only one semester at Redondo High School in 1984, Nora Kuzman, a.k.a. Traci Lords, was said to have run with a bad crowd. Lords dropped out of school and became a nude centerfold model for adult magazines. Lords then pursued a career as a porn star at the age of 15. She is now an actress in mainstream films.

Charles Lindbergh: Famous flier Charles Lindbergh’s stay in the city of Redondo Beach was short-lived, but he did enroll at Redondo Beach Union High School in the winter of 1916. He left town in the spring of 1917 after his mother got word his grandmother had cancer. Born Feb. 4, 1902, in Detroit, Mich., Lindbergh attended 11 different schools in the 10 years prior to his time in the South Bay. In 1927, Lindbergh’s trans-Atlantic trip in his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis made him world-famous.

Tiger Woods: Although he spends at least 70 percent of his time in Florida as a way of taking advantage of the best tax breaks from the millions he earns each year, professional golfer Tiger Woods is a Manhattan Beach homeowner.

David Benoit: Born in Bakersfield, Calif., in 1953, Benoit, an internationally famed jazz pianist, grew up in Hermosa Beach and studied composition at El Camino College.

Howard Rumsey: Rumsey, who now resides in Newport Beach, once lived in Redondo Beach and formed the Lighthouse All-Stars jazz group. The group helped put Hermosa Beach on the map as an international West Coast jazz center. Trumpeter Miles Davis talked about his road trip with Charlie Mingus and Max Roach to Hermosa Beach and the Lighthouse Cafe in his autobiography

Demi Moore: The star of movies like “Ghost” and “St. Elmo’s Fire,” Moore attended Redondo Union High School in 1977 during her sophomore year.

Jason Kendall: Kendall, currently the third highest-paid catcher in professional baseball, now plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kendall owns a house in Manhattan Beach.

Leonard Wibberley: Wibberley authored the book “The Mouse that Roared” as well as many others. He lived in Hermosa Beach for more than 30 years.

William Jennings Bryan: Bryan spent six weeks in Hermosa Beach upon retiring as Woodrow Wilson’s secretary of state. His son settled down in town and Bryan spoke to various city organizations during his stay.

Ozzie and Harriet Nelson: Ozzie and Harriet were the stars of the television sit-com series, “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.” The Nelson family, which also included sons Ricky and David, became a household name in the 1950s. The family lived in Hermosa Beach.

Shaquille O’Neal: Standing tall at 7 feet 3 inches, O’Neal plays center for the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. O’Neal is a former Manhattan Beach homeowner.

Chet Baker: Famed jazz trumpeter Chet Baker was said to have lived an extremely erratic lifestyle after attending Redondo Union High School in the 1940s. Baker played in Charlie Parker’s group and then joined Gerry Mulligan’s quartet. Baker loved his temporary hometown of Hermosa Beach where he sat in with the Lighthouse All-Stars. After overcoming a heroin addiction, Baker made a comeback in the 1970s but died in 1988, after mysteriously falling out of a window in Amsterdam.

James Sikking: As a co-star in the 1980s series “Doogie Howser M.D.”, Sikking played Doogie’s — Neil Patrick Harris’ character — father. Sikking also played a small role in the 1962 sit-com, “McHale’s Navy.”

Squeaky Fromme: Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme was known as an introverted girl at Redondo Union High School. She lived in town with her abusive father and during her last year in school, Fromme attempted suicide. She met Charles Manson at Venice Beach and joined his followers soon after. She was never implicated in the murders of seven people including actress Sharon Tate, but Fromme is currently serving a life sentence for pointing and shooting an empty .45-caliber handgun at then-President Gerald Ford.

Robinson Jeffers: Considered by some critics to be the greatest 20th-century poet, Jeffers was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1887. He started to visit Hermosa Beach in 1903 and often rented a room at 431 24th St.

Kurt Rambis: Rambis lived in Manhattan Beach and once played for the Los Angeles Lakers during its championship era in the 1980s with James Worthy and Magic Johnson.

Thomas Pynchon: Known by many, as the reclusive author of “Gravity’s Rainbow” and “Mason & Dixon,” Pynchon has avoided the press for the last four decades and once lived in Manhattan Beach. The only photo circulating of Pynchon is one that dates back to the 1950s.

Rob Blake: A Canadian native, Blake was born Dec. 10, 1969, and represented his home country in five world hockey championships, and at the 1998 and 2002 Olympic Games. He is a four-time all-star for the Los Angeles Kings and lives in Manhattan Beach.

Warren Miller: Born in Hollywood, Calif., in 1924, Miller moved to Hermosa Beach with his family and is known for his full-length feature films highlighting the sports of surfing, snowboarding and skiing.

Mike Piazza: The former Los Angeles Dodgers baseball player is the highest-paid catcher in the league and lived in Manhattan Beach prior to being traded to the New York Mets.

Jack Black: Black is a member of the duo acoustic rock group, Tenacious D, and has starred in such movies as “High Fidelity” and “Orange County.” Black was born and raised in Hermosa Beach.

Smothers Brothers: The comics Richard and Tom Smothers became famous for their show, “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.” Both Dick and Tom were graduates of Redondo High School, in 1955 and 1957, respectively. The brothers were involved in athletics at Redondo High, specifically track.

Marty McSorley: McSorley is known as the bad boy of hockey. He was found guilty of intent to commit bodily injury when he hit another player in the head, rendering him unconscious. McSorley lived in Manhattan Beach and was once considered to be Wayne Gretsky’s right-hand man while playing for the Los Angeles Kings. He can often be seen playing beach volleyball with friends in the beach cities.