List of famous people from North Carolina, 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 North Carolina, while others are simply notable locals. If you're from North Carolina 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 North Carolina, as well as those who were born there but moved away at a young age.
With people ranging from Richard H. Cardwell to Furman Bisher, this is a great starting point for a list of your favorites.
If you want to answer the questions, "Which famous people are from North Carolina?" or "Which celebrities were born in North Carolina?" then this list is a great resource for you.
1
Julianne Mooreage 57 Julianne Moore is an American-British actress and children's author. Prolific in cinema since the early 1990s, Moore is active in both art house and Hollywood films. She is particularly known ...more
2
Evan Rachel Woodage 30 Evan Rachel Wood is an American actress. She began acting in the 1990s, appearing in several television series, including American Gothic and Once and Again. Wood made her début as a ...more
3
Jaime Presslyage 40 Jaime Elizabeth Pressly is an American actress and model. She is best known for playing Joy Turner on the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl, for which she was nominated for two Emmy Awards as well as a ...more
4
Billy Grahamage 99 William Franklin "Billy" Graham Jr., KBE is an American evangelical Christian evangelist, ordained as a Southern Baptist minister, who rose to celebrity status in 1949 reaching a core ...more
5
Ava GardnerDied at 68 (1922-1990) Ava Lavinia Gardner was an American actress. She was signed to a contract by MGM Studios in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers. ...more
6
Vince McMahonage 72 Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, former announcer, commentator, film producer, actor, and occasional professional wrestler currently ...more
7
Zach Galifianakisage 48 Zachary Knight "Zach" Galifianakis is an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his television appearance in his own Comedy Central Presents special. He also starred in films, ...more
8
Emily Procterage 49 Emily Mallory Procter is an American actress. From 2002 to 2012, she played Calleigh Duquesne in the CBS police drama CSI: Miami, and from 2000 to 2002 and in 2006, she played Ainsley Hayes in ...more
9
Jeff Hardyage 40 Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, singer-songwriter, painter and musician who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, He is also known for ...more
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Michael C. Hallage 47 Michael Carlyle Hall is an American actor, known for his role as Dexter Morgan in the Showtime TV Network Dexter, and as David Fisher on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under. In 2010, Hall won a ...more
11
Ronald Perelmanage 75 Mr. Perelman is the founder of MacAndrews Forbes Holdings Inc. and its sole owner. He began his career as an investor and financier in 1978 with the purchase of a stake in retail jewelry store ...more
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Star Jonesage 56 Star Jones is an American lawyer, journalist, writer, television personality, fashion designer, and women's and diversity advocate. She is most well known as one of the original hosts of the ABC ...more
13
Allen Jonesage 40 Allen Neal Jones, better known by his ring name A.J. Styles is an American professional wrestler currently under contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is in his second reign as the ...more
14
Chris Daughtryage 38 Christopher Adam "Chris" Daughtry is an American musician and actor, best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Daughtry and as the fourth-place contestant ...more
15
Soupy SalesDied at 83 (1926-2009) Soupy Sales was an American comedian, actor, radio-TV personality and host, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television show, Lunch with Soupy Sales; a ...more
16
Jesse HelmsDied at 87 (1921-2008) Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was an American politician and leader of the conservative movement. He was elected five times as a Republican to the United States Senate from North Carolina. As ...more
17
John ColtraneDied at 41 (1926-1967) John William Coltrane, also known as "Trane", was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the ...more
18
Jermaine Dupriage 45 Jermaine Dupri Mauldin, known as Jermaine Dupri or JD, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper.
19
George Clintonage 76 George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer. He was the principal architect of P-Funk, the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s ...more
20
Dolley MadisonDied at 81 (1768-1849) Dolley Payne Todd Madison was the wife of James Madison, President of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for her social gifts, which boosted her husband’s popularity as ...more
21
Curtis Brownage 62 Curtis Lee "Curt" Brown, Jr. is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Air Force colonel. Colonel Brown graduated from East Bladen High School in Elizabethtown, North ...more
22
Sam Irvinage 61 Sam Irvin is a film and television director, producer, screenwriter, actor, author and film teacher. Irvin's directing credits include Guilty as Charged, Oblivion, Elvira's Haunted Hills, and ...more
23
Robert Alton HarrisDied at 39 (1953-1992) Robert Alton Harris was an American criminal and murderer who was executed at San Quentin State Prison in 1992 in connection with the 1978 murders of two teenage boys in San Diego. His execution ...more
24
Linda McMahonage 69 Linda Marie McMahon (born October 4, 1948) is an American professional wrestling magnate and government official serving as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration in the Trump ...more
25
Chuck BrownDied at 76 (1936-2012) Charles Louis "Chuck" Brown was an American guitarist and singer who is affectionately called "the Godfather of Go-go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed in and ...more
26
Jim Rashage 47 James "Jim" Rash is an American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for playing Dean Craig Pelton on the NBC sitcom Community. In 2012, he received a Golden Globe ...more
27
Matt OsborneDied at 56 (1957-2013) Matthew "Matt" Wade Osborne was an American professional wrestler. Osborne was a second generation wrestler, being son of Tony Borne, and is best known as being the first and ...more
28
David BrinkleyDied at 83 (1920-2003) David McClure Brinkley was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997. From 1956 through 1970, he co-anchored NBC's top-rated nightly news program, The ...more
29
James Goodnightage 75 James Howard Goodnight is a businessman and software programmer. He co-founded SAS Institute as a faculty member of North Carolina State University in 1976. Since then he has been the CEO for ...more
30
Sidney BlackmerDied at 78 (1895-1973) Sidney Alderman Blackmer was an American actor.
31
Doc WatsonDied at 89 (1923-2012) Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy ...more
32
James Lee BarrettDied at 60 (1929-1989) James Lee Barrett was an American producer, screenwriter, and writer. Barrett, along with Peter Udell and Phillip Rose won the 1975 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Shenandoah, which ...more
33
William B. Harrison, Jr.age 74 William B. Harrison, Jr., born August 12, 1943 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, is the former CEO and Chairman of JPMorgan Chase. He attended high school at Virginia Episcopal School, where he ...more
34
Thelonious MonkDied at 65 (1917-1982) Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer. Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "'Round ...more
35
Angela Sheltonage 45 Angela Shelton is an American screenwriter, actress, and documentary film producer, best known for the film Tumbleweeds and the documentary Searching for Angela Shelton, which she wrote, ...more
36
James E. WebbDied at 86 (1906-1992) James Edwin Webb was an American government official who served as the second administrator of NASA from February 14, 1961 to October 7, 1968. Webb oversaw NASA from the beginning of the Kennedy ...more
37
Billy TaylorDied at 89 (1921-2010) William "Billy" Taylor was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in ...more
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Bruce Matthewsage 56 Bruce Rankin Matthews is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive guard and center in the National Football League for nineteen seasons during the 1980s, ...more
39
Enos SlaughterDied at 86 (1916-2002) Enos Bradsher Slaughter, nicknamed "Country", was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. He played for 19-seasons on four major league teams from 1938–1942 and 1946-1959. He ...more
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Robert Morganage 73 Robert Morgan is an American poet, short story writer, novelist.
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Julius Peppersage 38 Julius Frazier Peppers is an American football player for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He played college football for the University of North Carolina, and was ...more
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B. Everett JordanDied at 78 (1896-1974) Benjamin Everett Jordan was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from North Carolina from 1958 to 1973.
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Charlie PooleDied at 39 (1892-1931) Charlie Poole was an American old time banjo player and country musician and the leader of the North Carolina Ramblers, an American old-time string band that recorded many popular songs between ...more
44
Gene Robertsage 85 Eugene Leslie "Gene" Roberts, Jr. is an American journalist and professor of journalism. He has been a national editor of The New York Times, executive editor of The Philadelphia ...more
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John CockeDied at 77 (1925-2002) John Cocke was an American computer scientist recognized for his large contribution to computer architecture and optimizing compiler design. He is considered by many to be "the father of ...more
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Shirley HemphillDied at 52 (1947-1999) Shirley Ann Hemphill was an American stand-up comedian and actress. A native of Asheville, North Carolina, Hemphill moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s to pursue a career as a stand-up comedian. ...more
47
Charles E. Brady, Jr.Died at 55 (1951-2006) Charles Eldon Brady, Jr. was an American physician, a Captain in the United States Navy and a NASA astronaut.
48
Luther LassiterDied at 70 (1918-1988) Luther Lassiter, born Luther Clement Lassiter, Jr. and nicknamed Wimpy, was a world-renowned American pool player from Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The winner of six world championships and ...more
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Levi CoffinDied at 79 (1798-1877) Levi Coffin was an American Quaker, abolitionist, and businessman. Coffin was deeply involved in the Underground Railroad in Indiana and Ohio and his home is often called "Grand Central ...more
50
Paul GreenDied at 87 (1894-1981) Paul Eliot Green was an American playwright best known for his depictions of life in North Carolina during the first decades of the twentieth century. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama ...more
