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Famous People From North Carolina
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.- Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American-British actress and author. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her ...more
- Evan Rachel Wood (born September 7, 1987) is an American actress, model, and musician. She is the recipient of a Critics' Choice Television Award as well as three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and ...more
- Jaime Elizabeth Pressly (born July 30, 1977) 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 ...more
- William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist, a prominent evangelical Christian figure, and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became ...more
- Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress and singer. Gardner was signed to a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941, and appeared mainly in small roles ...more
- Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American professional wrestling promoter and executive, American football executive, and businessman. Since taking over the company from his ...more
- Zachary Knight Galifianakis (; born October 1, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and writer who came to prominence with his Comedy Central Presents special in 2001 and presented his own show ...more
- Emily Mallory Procter (born October 8, 1968) is an American actress. She played Ainsley Hayes in the NBC political drama The West Wing (2000–02, 2006) and Det. Calleigh Duquesne in the CBS police ...more
- Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, singer-songwriter, painter, and musician. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. He ...more
- Michael Carlyle Hall (born February 1, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Dexter Morgan, a serial killer and blood spatter analyst in the Showtime series Dexter and as ...more
- Ronald Owen Perelman (; born January 1, 1943) is an American banker, businessman, investor, and philanthropist. MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated, his company, has invested in companies with interests ...more
- Starlet Marie Jones (born March 24, 1962) is an American lawyer, journalist, television personality, fashion designer, author, and women's and diversity advocate. She is best known as one of the ...more
- Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), ...more
- Christopher Adam Daughtry (born December 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Daughtry and as the ...more
- Soupy Sales
- Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician and a leader in the conservative movement. He served from 1973 until 2003, and was elected five times as a ...more
- John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use ...more
- Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and record executive. He was born in Asheville, North Carolina and was raised in Atlanta. He has ...more
- George Edward Clinton (born July 22, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer. His Parliament-Funkadelic collective (which primarily recorded under the distinct band ...more
- Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne; May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849) was the wife of James Madison, President of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for holding Washington social functions in ...more
- Curtis Lee "Curt" Brown Jr. (born March 11, 1956) is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Air Force colonel.
- Sam Irvin (born June 14, 1956) is an American film and television director, producer, screenwriter, actor, author and film teacher. Irvin's directing credits include Guilty as Charged, Oblivion, ...more
- Robert Alton Harris (January 15, 1953 - April 21, 1992) was an American car thief, burglar, kidnapper and murderer who was executed at San Quentin State Prison in 1992 for the 1978 murders of two ...more
- Linda Marie McMahon (née Edwards; born October 4, 1948) is an American former professional wrestling executive who served as the 25th Administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2017 to ...more
- Charles Louis Brown (August 22, 1936 – May 16, 2012) was an American guitarist, bandleader and singer who has garnered the honorific nickname "The Godfather of Go-Go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk ...more