The Bay Area has long been a diverse and unique cultural hotspot that consistently produces some of the most innovative minds and biggest stars in the world: Steve Jobs, Tom Hanks, Stevie Nicks, Robin Williams, Kristi Yamaguchi, Tom Brady, MC Hammer, Brandi Chastain, Carlos Santana, Winona Ryder, Marshawn Lynch, Too $hort, Daveed Diggs, and more.
But lately, it seems like the Bay is dominating the spotlight across sports, music, and film. We don’t know what they’re infusing in the water, but these Bay Area superstars are the moment.
The Young, Scrappy Bay FC & Golden State Valkyries
As more women’s sports cities are established, San Francisco is setting the tone on how to show up. Bay FC made history last summer at San Francisco’s Oracle Park — the soccer team held the most-attended women’s professional sports match in NWSL history with over 40,000 attendees, according to The San Francisco Standard.
The Golden State Valkyries also made history last year when they became the first expansion team to reach the playoffs in their inaugural season, set the WNBA record for most wins by an expansion franchise in their inaugural season, and broke attendance records by selling out all 22 of their regular-season home games. After that shocking trade at the 2026 WNBA Draft, we’ll have to wait and see what the Valkyries have up their sleeve for their sophomore season.
Alysa Liu
After winning historic Olympic gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics, figure skater Alysa Liu recently received the key to her city. Getting the key to Oakland is an exclusive honor — less than 10 public figures have received it since 1979. And Liu is more than deserving, as the hometown hero took every opportunity in Milan to shout out her Bay Area roots.
Zendaya
Zendaya is having one of the biggest years of her career, starring in five projects releasing in 2026: The Drama, season three of Euphoria, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Dune: Part Three, and The Odyssey. She’s likely to break the internet repeatedly this year with all of her red carpet and premiere looks, and we cannot wait.
Kehlani
Grammy-winning singer Kehlani, who performed at Alysa Liu’s Olympic homecoming celebration in support of her fellow Bay Area native, recently dropped her long-awaited fifth studio album, self-titled Kehlani, just in time for her 31st birthday.
The Cast & Crew of Sinners
Photo Credit: Eli Adé
Sinners shattered record after record at the 2026 Oscars, and the entire production was basically a Bay Area linkup. Oscar-winning filmmaker Ryan Coogler and his wife, Oscar-nominated producer Zinzi Coogler, are proud Oaklanders who led the Sinners team through an unprecedented awards season and box office run. Sinners cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who also hails from the Bay Area, became the first woman of color and the first woman in history to win the Best Cinematography Oscar. Oscar-nominated actor and scene-stealer Delroy Lindo also grew up in San Francisco.
MEET KAITLYN MCNAB
Kaitlyn McNab is a contributing writer for TOGETHXR.com and an award-winning culture reporter and editor. Her creative mission is to celebrate and articulate diverse experiences across all narrative mediums.
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