Santa Clarita (/ˌsæntə kləˈriːtə/; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and occupies 70.75 square miles (183.2 km2)[12] of land in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Two silent film superstars called what is now the city of Santa Clarita home : William S. Hart and Harry Carey. Hart has a presence throughout the city, with his former ranch house now William S. Hart Regional Park, and a high school and a school district bearing his name. At least 60 pictures feature him as director or actor. Harry Carey's former home is now Tesoro Adobe Historic Park; he appeared in over 250 films. His son Harry Carey Jr. was a well known character actor. More modern audiences will recognize Cesar Milan, celebrity dog trainer whose facility is in northern Santa Clarita; and Naya Rivera, star of Glee, whose life was tragically cut short.
Santa Clarita is a powerhouse in modern times for athletics. Indycar racer Colton Herta, and his father Bryan Herta, both hail from Santa Clarita. Shane Vereen has a super bowl ring from his time with the New England Patriots.
Santa Clarita is well known for baseball, and her high schools have produced many major league players. Three World Series champions - Kevin Millar, known for helping the Red Sox break their curse by playing in the world series, Mike Montgomery, who saved game 7 of his series for the Chicago Cubs, and Bob Walk, rookie winning pitcher in game 1 of his series. World Series participants include Tyler Glasnow, currently a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and a 2024 all star; Trevor Bauer, an all star and Cy Young Award winner; James Shields, who played in 2008 for the Tampa Bay Rays, then in 2014 for the Kansas City Royals; Danny Worth, current coach of the Waves at Pepperdine University; and Todd Zeile, who shares with Tommy Milone the distinction of having played for 11 teams in his career.
Santa Clarita has also produced several Olympians, including Crystl Bustos, two-time gold medal winner with the softball team as a designated hitter; Alysia Montaño, track and field star with a bronze medal in 2012; Cory Snyder, part of the 1984 silver medal team for baseball; and Abbey Weitzeil, a swimmer with six Olympic medals.