The following people were either born in and/or are residents of Ottapalam:

DR K G RAVEENDRAN, Renowned Ayurvedic physician and physician to Former President of India & Prime Minister. Former Medical Director of The Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, Vice chairman of AVP Research .
Ottapalam Pappan, Malayalam Drama and Film Actor
Gautham Menon, Tamil Film director
Stephen Devassy, pianist
Lal Jose, Malayalam film director
Anil Radhakrishnan Menon, Malayalam film director
Unni Mukundan,Malayalam, Tamil Film actor
Bhaskar Menon, first Indian to head a multinational corporation, chairman of Lever Brothers (now Unilever)
K. P. S. Menon, first Foreign Secretary of India. He also served pre-independence India as an Agent-General to China
M. G. K. Menon, former Union Minister and Scientific Adviser in the Rajiv Gandhi administration
Lt. General Candeth, was a prominent Lieutenant General in the Indian army
Shivshankar Menon, 4th National Security Advisor and 26th foreign secretary
V. P. Menon, seniormost Indian officer in pre-independence British India administration
M. K. Narayanan, the former chief of the Intelligence Bureau and former National Security Adviser
K. Sankaran Nair, former director of Research and Analysis Wing and former High Commissioner of India to Singapore
C. Venkataraman Sundaram, former director of Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research and Padma Bhushan recipient
Dhruvan, Malayalam Film Actor