The New Jersey Hall of Fame has announced its class of inductees for 2024—and the group includes some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Meryl Streep, who grew up in Bernardsville, Paul Rudd, who was born in Passaic, and Kevin Smith, a Red Bank native, are on this year’s list, which features 18 New Jerseyans who have achieved greatness in categories including performing arts & entertainment, sports, and education & science.
“The 2024 class of inductees of the New Jersey Hall of Fame illustrate the New Jersey ethic of hard work, determination and grit,” Jon F. Hanson, Chairman of the New Jersey Hall of Fame, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to celebrate the contributions of 18 new Inductees so future generations can learn about their journeys.”
Streep, one of our country’s most celebrated actors and a three-time Oscar winner, got her start in a fifth-grade play, then starred in musicals at Bernards High School. Things came full circle for the Jersey native in the late ’90s, when her movie One True Thing filmed for several months in nearby Morristown.
Rudd, of Clueless and Ant-Man fame, spent his early life in Passaic but moved to Kansas City as a kid and attended the University of Kansas—but we’re happy to claim him as our own.
Clerks director Smith has supported New Jersey throughout his career, filming and setting his movies in his home state, including his newest, The 4:30 Movie, which comes out in September. He’s also the owner of the popular comic book store Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash in downtown Red Bank. In recent year he bought his childhood movie theater in Atlantic Highlands and renamed it Smodcastle Cinemas. “It’s a dream come true for a fat kid from New Jersey who spent his childhood at the movies,” he told us in 2022. “I can just go down in my bathrobe and watch the latest releases on my screens.”
The pre-taped induction ceremony is set to air November 13 on Fox 5 My9 and social media.
A full list of inductees is below.
Performing Arts & Entertainment
- Lesley Gore,Tenafly, singer-songwriter of “You Don’t Own Me” and “It’s My Party”
- Warren Littlefield, Montclair, former NBC Entertainment president
- Paul Rudd, Passaic, actor
- Kevin Smith, Red Bank, director, producer, writer
- Meryl Streep, Bernardsville, actress
Arts & Letters
- Gay Talese, Ocean City, journalist
Sports
- Dick Button, Englewood, two-time Olympic gold medalist in figure skating
- Tim Howard, New Brunswick, soccer player
- Ron Johnson, Madison, football player
- Phil Simms, Franklin Lakes, former New York Giants quarterback
Enterprise
- George Cooney, Bogota, chairman emeritus of EUE/Screen Gems Ltd
- Peter Cancro, Point Pleasant, founder of Jersey Mike’s
- Donald Katz, Newark, founder of Audible, Inc.
Education & Science
- Elizabeth Coleman White, Whitesbog, botanist
- John Forbes Nash, Princeton, genius mathematician
- Avi Wigderson, Princeton, computer scientist, mathematician
Public Service
- Father Edwin D. Leahy, Newark, Benedictine monk and Catholic priest, headmaster of St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark
- Geraldine Thompson, Lincroft, founder of VNA Health Group
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