Arts & Entertainment:
* Film & Television: Walt Disney, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Clint Eastwood, Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lawrence, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Tina Fey, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Sandra Bullock, Dwayne Johnson, Emma Watson, Ryan Reynolds, Will Smith
* Music: Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, The Beach Boys, Nirvana, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Drake, Kendrick Lamar
* Literature: Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck, Hunter S. Thompson, Bret Easton Ellis, Joan Didion, Stephen King, Ursula K. Le Guin
* Visual Arts: Andy Warhol, Chuck Close, David Hockney, Richard Diebenkorn, Ed Ruscha
Business & Technology:
* Tech Giants: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos (though Amazon is headquartered in Washington state, Bezos has significant ties to California)
* Entrepreneurs: Mark Zuckerberg, Evan Spiegel, Jack Dorsey, Reed Hastings, Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, Nathan Blecharczyk, Travis Kalanick, Garrett Camp, Brian Acton, Jan Koum, Elon Musk (again, for Tesla and SpaceX)
* Finance: Warren Buffett, Carl Icahn, Peter Thiel
* Hollywood: David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg (again), George Lucas (again)
Politics & Law:
* Presidents: Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger (Governor)
* Politicians: Jerry Brown (former Governor), Gavin Newsom (current Governor), Dianne Feinstein (Senator), Kamala Harris (Vice President, former Senator), Nancy Pelosi (former Speaker of the House)
* Supreme Court Justices: Stephen Breyer (retired), Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan
* Social Activists: Cesar Chavez, Harvey Milk, Angela Davis, Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan
Science & Academia:
* Scientists: Albert Einstein (worked at Caltech for a time), Richard Feynman, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Jane Goodall, Francis Crick (co-discoverer of DNA structure)
* Academics: Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Michelle Obama, Malcolm Gladwell
Sports:
* Baseball: Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, Sandy Koufax, Clayton Kershaw
* Basketball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, LeBron James (though he primarily played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat)
* Football: Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Tom Brady (though he primarily played for the New England Patriots)
* Surfing: Kelly Slater, Laird Hamilton, Bethany Hamilton
Other:
* Writers: Mark Twain (lived in California for a period), Jack London, Bret Harte
* Artists: Frida Kahlo (visited and drew inspiration from California), Georgia O'Keeffe
* Architects: Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry
This list is by no means exhaustive, and there are many other notable individuals who have made their mark on California's history and culture. It's important to note that some individuals may be associated with multiple categories.
I encourage you to research these figures further and explore other influential Californians who have shaped the state's identity.