I'm part of a writer's discord group, and a guy came on who had written an entire novel with real life people in it. He was asking us questions about how he would handle radio interviews. I'll let you interpret our reactions from there.
It ended up that so many people tried to unravel everything he was asking about (from legality to how he'd handle his fame from self-publishing his first book) that the Mod had to shut the server down for 30 minutes and block the guy.
All that to say, more trouble than it's worth.
Besides, it's so much fun to create your own characters and bring them to life! I think people are missing out of the fun, pride and wonder of that experience if they opt to just write someone who exists. Sure, take inspiration from real life, but don't stop there.