List of famous people from Louisville, including photos when available. The people below are listed by their popularity, so the most recognizable names are at the top of the list. Some of the people below are celebrities born in Louisville, while others are simply notable locals. If you're from Louisville you might already know that these prominent figures are also from your hometown, but some of the names below may really surprise you. This list includes people who were born and raised in Louisville, as well as those who were born there but moved away at a young age.
List includes Percy Parsons, Henry C. McDowell, Jr. and more.
If you want to answer the questions, "Which famous people are from Louisville?" or "Which celebrities were born in Louisville?" then this list is a great resource for you.1
Jennifer Lawrence
Age: 30Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress. Her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide, and she was the highest-paid actress in the world in 2015 and 2016. Lawrence... more2
Muhammad Ali
Dec. at 74 (1942-2016)Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
Alternative Name: Cassius Clay
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer, activist, and philanthropist. Nicknamed "The Greatest," he is widely regarded as... more- 3
Jennifer Carpenter
Age: 41Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Jennifer Leann Carpenter (born December 7, 1979) is an American actress. She is known for playing Debra Morgan, the adoptive sister of the title character of the Showtime series Dexter, for which she... more - 4
Maggie Lawson
Age: 40Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Margaret Cassidy "Maggie" Lawson (born August 12, 1980) is an American actress who is best known for her role as Detective Juliet "Jules" O'Hara in the TV show Psych. From 2018 - 2019, she held the... more - 5
Sean Young
Age: 61Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
Mary Sean Young (born November 20, 1959) is an American actress. She is best known for her performances in the films Stripes (1981), Blade Runner (1982), Dune (1984), No Way Out (1987), Wall Street... more - 6
Gus Van Sant
Age: 69Birthplace: Louisville metropolitan area, Kentucky, Area code 502, Jefferson County, United States of America
Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American film director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician, and author who has earned acclaim as both an independent and mainstream... more - 7
Ned Beatty
Dec. at 83 (1937-2021)Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor. He was one of the top character actors in film, particularly during the 1970s, and appeared in more than 160 films, including... more - 8
Mark Hudspeth
Age: 52Birthplace: Louisville, Mississippi
Mark Douglas Hudspeth (born November 10, 1968) is an American football coach, currently the head coach at Austin Peay State. Hudspeth was a four-year football letterman at Delta State University,... more - 9
Tommy Kirk
Age: 79Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
Thomas Lee Kirk (born December 10, 1941) is an American former actor and later a businessman. He was best known for his performances in a number of highly popular films made by Walt Disney Studios... more - 10
William Conrad
Dec. at 73 (1920-1994)Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
William Conrad (September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994) was an American World War II fighter pilot, actor, producer, and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television,... more - 11
George M. Whitesides
Age: 82Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
George McClelland Whitesides (born August 3, 1939) is an American chemist and professor of chemistry at Harvard University. He is best known for his work in the areas of NMR spectroscopy,... more - 12
Mia Zapata
Dec. at 27 (1965-1993)Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
Mia Katherine Zapata (August 25, 1965 – July 7, 1993) was an American musician who was the lead singer for the Seattle punk band The Gits. After gaining praise in the nascent grunge scene, Zapata was... more - 13
Mary Travers
Dec. at 72 (1936-2009)Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
Mary Allin Travers (November 9, 1936 – September 16, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter and member of the folk music group Peter, Paul and Mary, along with Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey. Peter,... more - 14
Miss Elizabeth
Dec. at 42 (1960-2003)Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
Elizabeth Ann Hulette (November 19, 1960 – May 1, 2003), best known in professional wrestling circles as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling manager and occasional professional... more 
15Bill Ludwig
Dec. at 65 (1882-1947)Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
William Lawrence Ludwig was a catcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1908.... more- 16
Marsha Norman
Age: 73Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
Marsha Norman (born September 21, 1947) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. She received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play 'night, Mother. She wrote the book and... more - 17
Allen Allensworth
Dec. at 72 (1842-1914)Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
Allen Allensworth (7 April 1842 – 14 September 1914), born into slavery in Kentucky, escaped during the American Civil War and became a Union soldier; later he became a Baptist minister and educator,... more - 18
Charles Mengel Allen
Dec. at 83 (1916-2000)Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
Charles Mengel Allen (November 22, 1916 – January 4, 2000) was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky.... more - 19
Telma Hopkins
Age: 72Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
Telma Louise Hopkins (born October 28, 1948) is an American singer and actress. Hopkins rose to prominence as a member of the 1970s pop music group Tony Orlando and Dawn, which had several number one... more - 20
Clark Adams
Dec. at 37 (1969-2007)Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
Clark Davis Adams (July 23, 1969 – May 21, 2007) was a prominent American freethought leader and activist. Adams was born in Louisville, Kentucky. As a child, he attended Catholic school, but became... more - 21
Rudy Rucker
Age: 75Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
Rudolf von Bitter Rucker (; born March 22, 1946) is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of... more - 22
John Patrick
Dec. at 90 (1905-1995)Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
John Patrick (May 17, 1905 – November 7, 1995) was an American playwright and screenwriter.... more - 23
Rebecca Broussard
Age: 58Birthplace: USA, Kentucky, Louisville
Rebecca Broussard (born January 3, 1963) is an American actress and model. She was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Broussard has two children with actor Jack Nicholson, whom she was with from 1989 to... more - 24
T. Coleman du Pont
Dec. at 66 (1863-1930)Birthplace: Louisville metropolitan area, Kentucky, Area code 502, Jefferson County, United States of America
Thomas Coleman du Pont (December 11, 1863 – November 11, 1930) was an American engineer and politician, from Greenville, Delaware. He was President of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and a... more - 25
William E. Lori
Age: 70Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
William Edward Lori (born May 6, 1951) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who is serving as the Archbishop of Baltimore since 2012. He was previously the fourth Bishop of Bridgeport,... more
