Actor Paul Adelstein (Prison Break, Private Practice) went to North Star Camp in Hayward, Wisc.
Actor, Academy Award-winning director and screenwriter Ben Affleck is an alumnus of Crossroads for Kids, a summer camp and leadership program in Massachusetts.
Filmmaker Daren Aronofsky attended Camp Rising Sun in Red Hook, New York.
Actor Hank Azaria went to Camp Towanda in Honesdale, Pa.
Babyface attended CYO Camp Rancho Framasa in Brown County, Indiana.
Canadian radio host Andy Barrie got his start doing morning announcements over a public address system at a summer camp as a kid.
Actor/author/interior designer Bryan Batt (Mad Men) went to Camp Chippewa in Bemidji, Minnesota.
NBC-TV sportscaster Bruce Beck was a camper, waiter, counselor and Color War General at Tyler Hill Camp in Pennsylvania.
Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresin, one half of alternative hip hop duo Chiddy Bang worked as a cook at Camp Galil in Ottsville, Pennsylvania.
Economist Ben Bernanke went to Camp Ramah.
Musician Black Francis (aka Frank Black and Charles Thompson by birth) attended a Christian summer camp, which was where he first encountered the music of Larry Norman, an early influence on the future Pixies frontman. Know the name of the camp? Email us.
Journalist Wolf Blitzer attended Camp Ramah.
Actor Adrien Brody attended Long Lake Theater Camp in New York.
Filmmaker, comedian, screenwriter and actor Mel Brooks (Melvin Kaminsky) attended Camp Sussex in New Jersey as a kid.
Country star Zac Brown is a former summer camper and staff member and recently founded a new summer camp.
Actor Kirk Cameron (Growing Pains) co-founded the summer camp Camp Firefly in Agoura Hills, Cal. with his wife and actress Chelsea Noble.
Singer Mariah Carey has a summer camp in Fishkill, N.Y., named after her – Camp Mariah. The camp provided the setting for her music video “Always Be My Baby.”
Actor Joseph Charles (The Good Wife) attended Stagedoor Manor in New York.
Comedian and actor Chevy Chase attended Camp Tamakwa in Ontario.
Linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky attended Camp Massad in Pennsylvania.
Television personality and Bravo TV executive Andy Cohen spent six summers at Camp Nebagamon in Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin.
Canadian singer/songwriter, musician, poet and novelist Leonard Cohen attended Camp Hiawatha in the Laurentians north of Montreal as a kid and worked as a counselor at Pripstein’s Camp Mishmar in the Laurentians, Camp B’nai B’rith near Ottawa and Camp Sunshine.
Musician Tre Cool (Green Day) attended Camp Winnarainbow.
Comedian and TV actor Dave Coulier (Full House) attended Camp Highlands in Wisconsin.
Actress Courteney Cox attended Camp Mac in Munford, Alabama.
Motivational speaker Reggie Dabbs attended and worked at summer camp.
NFL executive Al Davis went to Camp Roosevelt in Monticello, New York.
Sports writer and college basketball TV analyst Seth Davis went to Camp Equinunk in Pennsylvania.
Dell Computers founder Michael Dell attended Camp Ramah.
Actress Paz de la Huerta went to Buck’s Rock Camp in New Milford, Connecticut.
Actor Patrick Dempsey went to Camp Wekeela in Maine.
Singer-songwriter Brett Dennen attended and worked at Camp Jack Hazard in San Francisco.
Lawyer and political commentator Alan Dershowitz attended Camp Massad in Pennsylvania.
Actress and musician Zoey Deschanel attended French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts summer camp in Hancock, New York.
Singer Neil Diamond attended Surprise Lake Camp in Cold Spring, New York.
Actor Robert Downey Jr. went to French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts summer camp in Hancock, New York and Stage Door Manor in Massachusetts.
Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan went to Herzl Camp in Webster, Wisconsin.
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner spent summers at Camp Keewaydin.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel attended summer camp as a kid in Israel.
Baseball executive Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs, attended West End House Camp in Maine.
Rock band Evanescence was established in 1995 when teenagers Amy Lee and Ben Moody (former lead guitarist) were at a summer camp in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Actor Peter “Columbo” Falk is listed among the notable alumni of Camp Greylock in Massachusetts and made his stage debut at Camp High Point in upstate New York in a production of Pirates of Penzance at age 12.
Actor and comedian Chris Farley went to Red Arrow Camp in Wisconsin.
Actor Jon Favreau attended French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts summer camp in Hancock, New York.
Actor Ben Feldman (Mad Men) went to Camp Manitou for Boys in Oakland, Maine.
Actor Scott Foley went to Red Arrow Camp in Wisconsin.
Actor James Franco went to Innerspark: California State Summer School for the Arts.
Actress Soleil Moon Frye, who played Punky Brewster in the popular ’80s TV show, went to a now defunct summer camp in Calabasas, California.
Actor Josh Gad (Book of Mormon) went to Blue Ridge Camp in Mountain City, Georgia.
Sportswriter and ESPN personality Peter Gammons attended Camp Timanous.
Actor Willie Garson attended Camp Wekeela in Maine for 11 summers.
Actor Christopher Gartin attended Camp Wildwood in Bridgton, Maine.
Fashion blogger and magazine editor Tavi Gevinson went to Jewish summer camp. Know which camp? Email us.
Actress Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon A Time) attended the URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica, Mississippi.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg attended Camp Che-Na-Wah in Minerva, N.Y.
Speaker, author and blogger Seth Godin spent summers at Camp Arowhon.
Actress Ginnifer Goodwin went to Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica, Miss.
Singer Lesley Gore (“It’s My Party”) went to Camp Scatico in Hudson Valley, New York.
Actress Alicia Gorenson (Roseanne) took summers off from acting to work as a counselor at a YMCA camp in Michigan.
TV personality and legal analyst Nancy Grace was a counselor at Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Georgia.
Actor Bryan Greenberg (How To Make It In America) attended Camp Herzl, where he made his acting debut in a camp production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Actress Fiona Gubelmann was a camp counselor at Camp Hess Kramer/Camp Gindling Hilltop in Malibu, California.
Actor Jake Gyllenhaal attended Camp Walt Whitman in New Hampshire.
Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal attended Camp Walt Whitman in New Hampshire.
Actress Anne Hathaway went to Camp Johnsonburg in Johnsonburg, N.J.
Contemporary Christian musician Brandon Heath attended Malibu Club, a Young Life summer camp in British Columbia.
Author Joseph Heller (Catch-22) attended Surprise Lake Camp in Cold Spring, New York.
Actor Dustin Hoffman went to Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts Camp.
Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison attended Camp Fern in Marshall, Texas.
Singer-songwriter Lia Ices went to a boarding school arts camp as a kid.
NFL football player James Ihedigbo (member of Ravens Super Bowl team in 2013) is an alum of Pinebrook Camp in Massachusetts.
Pop star Michael Jackson attended Camp Billings in Fairlee, Vermont.
Musician Jewel attended Interlochen Center for the Arts Camp in Michigan.
Singer-songwriter Norah Jones attended Interlochen Center for the Arts Camp in Michigan.
Actress and singer Lainie Kazan attended Camp Che-Na-Wah in Minerva, N.Y.
Actor and comedian Gabe Kaplan (Welcome Back, Kotter) attended Camp Sussex in New Jersey.
Author, storyteller, humorist and radio personality Garrison Keiller worked as a dishwasher at YMCA Camp Warren in Eveleth, Minnesota.
Television and radio host Larry King attended Surprise Lake Camp in Cold Spring, New York.
Writer and comedian Julie Klausner went to Camp Scatico in Hudson Valley, New York.
Former 98 Degrees member, Dancing With the Stars winner and actor Drew Lachey was a camp counselor at Camp Joy in Clarksville, Ohio.
Advice columnist Ann Landers attended Camp Louise in Cascade, Maryland.
Actress Louise Lasser (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman) is listed as a notable alumna of Camp Sussex in New Jersey.
Fashion designer and business executive Ralph Lauren attended Camp Massad in Pennsylvania and Camp Roosevelt in Monticello, New York.
Actress Jennifer Lawrence‘s mother, Karen, runs Camp Hi-Ho Day Camp in Shelby County, Ky.
Actor Joey Lawrence attended Southampton Summer Day Camp in Southampton, Pa.
Singer-songwriter, satirist and mathematician Tom Lehrer attended Camp Androscoggin in Wayne, Maine.
Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine went to French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts summer camp.
Actor Samm Levine (Freaks and Geeks, Inglorious Bastards) went to New Jersey “Y” Camps in Milford, Pa.
Director Shawn Levy attended Camp Modin in Belgrade, Maine, and Stagedoor Manor in New York.
Rapper Lil JaXe (Jake Zeldin), went to Camp Timberlane in Halliburton, Ontario, where he was inspired to pursue a rap career.
Singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb attended Camp Champions in Texas.
Screenwriter Jon Lucas attended Camp Becket in Massachusetts.
Singer Barry Manilow attended Camp Billings in Fairlee, Vermont.
Actress Rooney Mara (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) worked as a summer camp counselor for one of her first jobs.
Delaware Governor Jack Markell went to Camp Galil in Ottsville, Pennsylvania.
Actress and director Penny Marshall went to Camp Odetah in Connecticut, Camp Geneva in Lake Como, Pa., and Camp Edgement in Deposit, New York, and worked as a counselor at Camp Diana-Dalmaqua in the Catskills.
Former U.S. Senator and Republic Party Chairman Mel Martinez attended and was a camp counselor at YMCA Camp Wewa in Florida.
Actor Walter Matthau attended Suprise Lake Camp in Cold Spring, New York.
Reggae/hip-hop artist Matisyahu attended Kutsher’s Camp Anawana in Monticello, New York.
Former Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty worked as a ski instructor at ErinDale Acres Camp, a camp his father started.
Actor Burgess Meredith attended Camp Dudley YMCA camp in Westport, New York.
Television producer Lorne Michaels (Saturday Night Live, Kids in the Hall) attended Camp Timberlane in Halliburton, Ontario.
Film producer Kevin Misher went to Camp Equinunk in Equinunk, Pa.
Actor Kenneth Mitchell spent four summers as a camper and eight as a couneslor at Camp Kilcoo in Minden, Ontario.
Art Modell, former owner of the Cleveland Browns NFL team, attended Camps Mohican-Reena in Palmer, Mass.
Marcus Mumford and Winston “Country” Marshall of the British band Mumford & Sons met at summer camp.
Musician Jennifer Nettles, lead singer of Sugarland, was a counselor at Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Georgia for three summers.
Actor Leonard Nimoy attended West End House Camp in Maine.
Model Chandra North attended Camp Fern in Marshall, Texas.
Actor, screenwriter and comedian B.J. Novak (The Office) went to Camp Ramah.
First Lady Michelle Obama worked as a camp counselor at Camp Anita Bliss Coler in New York.
Television talk show host Conan O’Brien went to Cragged Mountain Farm in New Hampshire.
Television host Daphne Oz went to Camp Ramaquois in New Jersey.
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow attended Brown Ledge Camp in Lake Champlain, Vermont.
Actor Jeremy Piven went to Camp Chi in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.
Actress Natalie Portman went to Stage Door Manor in Massachusetts.
Writer Chaim Potok was a former director of Camp Ramah.
Singer-songwriter Joshua Radin went to North Star Camp in Hayward, Wisc.
Actress and comedian Gilda Radner went to Camp Tamakwa in Ontario.
Film director, producer and writer Sam Raimi went to Camp Tamakwa in Ontario.
Blues singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt went to Camp Regis-Applejack in New York.
Actor Christopher Reeve went to Camp Deerwood in Holderness, N.H.
Gov. Bob Riley (R-Alabama) attended Camp Mac in Munford, Alabama.
Sportscaster Jimmy Roberts went to Camp Scatico in Hudson Valley, New York.
Actress Julia Roberts attended summer camp at her uncle’s camp, Camp Birchwood in Minnesota, and volunteered at and raised money for Hole In the Wall Camps.
Businessman and reality TV star Willie Robertson, of Duck Dynasty fame, met his wife, Korie Howard Robertson, at Camp Ch-Yo-Ca in Louisiana in third grade and went on to run the camp for a while before leaving to help grow the Duck Commander business.
Former UPenn president and current president of the Rockefeller Foundation Judith Rodin is an alumna Camp Galil in Ottsville, Pennsylvania.
Actor Seth Rogen attended Camp Miriam.
Drag queen Rupaul attended Camp Cuyamaca as a kid.
Punk band Say Anything‘s drummer (Cody Linder) and singer/songwriter (Max Bemis) attended Camp Ramah.
Musician Pete Seeger attended Camp Rising Sun in Red Hook, New York.
Filmmaker Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) went to Camp Roosevelt in Monticello, New York.
Actor Stephen Schneider went to Camp Avoda in Middleboro, Massachusetts.
Tony award-winning producer Jeffrey Seller (Rent, Avenue Q, In the Heights) went to Camp Tamarack in Michigan.
Cal Shapiro of the musical duo Timeflies attended Camps Kenwood and Evergreen in New Hampshire.
Actor William Shatner attended Camp Massad.
FL agent Howard Shatsky went to Camp Equinunk in Equinunk, Pa.
Television writer and producer David Shore attended Camp White Pine in Halliburton, Ontario.
Culinary expert, food writer and television personality Gail Simmons is an alumna of Camp Walden in Ontario.
Gene Simmons of Kiss attended Surprise Lake Camp in Cold Spring, New York.
Singer/songwriter Carly Simon was a camp counselor in the ’60s at a camp where she met co-writer Jacob Brackman. Know the name of the camp? Email us.
Playwright Neil Simon attended Surprise Lake Camp in Cold Spring, New York.
Actor, humorist, comedian and writer Robert Smigel (TV Funhouse, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog) attended Camp Modin in Belgrade, Maine.
Lyricist and composer Steve Sondheim attended Camp Androscoggin.
Actor Gregory Sporleder was a camp counselor at Camp Wildwood in Bridgeton, Maine.
Sports marketer Brandon Steiner, CEO of Steiner Sports, went to Camp Sussex in New Jersey as a kid.
Radio host Howard Stern went to camp at Camp Wel-Met.
Singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens attended a Methodist summer camp in Michigan. Know the name of it? Email us.
Actor Jerry Stiller attended Surprise Lake Camp in Cold Spring, New York.
Actress Galadriel Stineman (The Middle) attend North Central 4-H Camp in Kentucky.
Journalist Jake Tapper went to Camp Ramah in the Poconos.
Actor Jonathan Tucker attended Camp Chingachgook in Pilot Knob, New York.
British politician Mark Versallion went to Camp Airy in Maryland.
Writer and director David Wain attended Camp Modin in Belgrade, Maine.
Actor Denzel Washington worked as a camp counselor at Camp Sloane YMCA in Lakeville, Connecticut.
Comedian and musician Reggie Watts went to computer camp in Salmon Lake, Montana.
Henry Waxman, U.S. Congressman, attended Camp Ramah.
Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman attended French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts summer camp.
Fall Out Boy lead singer Pete Wentz attended Camp Chippewa in Minnesota.
Sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer attended Camp Louise in Cascade, Maryland.
Actor Gene Wilder went to North Star Camp in Hayward, Wisc.
Actor and filmmaker Alex Winter (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) is listed as a notable alumnus of Camp Sussex in New Jersey.
Rapper Samuel Adams Wisner, aka Sammy Adams, went to Camp Dudley in Westport, New York.
Actress Reese Witherspoon attended Camp Monterey in Tennessee.
Musician Zal Yanofsky, co-founder of the rock band Lovin’ Spoonful, attended Camp Naivelt as a child.
Actress Stephanie Zimbalist went to Brown Ledge Camp in Lake Champlain, Vermont.
Have additions or changes to this list? Email info(at)summercampculture.com
Special Thanks to:
Barbara Wortman
David Sapery
Travis Williams
Celia Baczkowski
Kathry Cabral
Emily Lewis
Allen McBride
Jonathan Cohen
Michael Chauveau
Rebecca Leibowitz
Erin McKinney-Prupis
Lisa Fayne
Brian Glickman
Katherine George
Lori Waldman
Michael Thompson
Rich Schellhase