# List of people from Nashville, Tennessee

The following is a list of notable people who have lived in Nashville, Tennessee.

## Native Nashvillians

People born in Tennessee:
| Name | Birth year | Notability |
| John Adams | 1825 | Brigadier General during the American Civil War |
| Shak Adams | 1998 | Soccer player |
| Duane Allman | 1946 | Guitarist and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band |
| Gregg Allman | 1947 | Singer, keyboardist and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band |
| Frank Maxwell Andrews | 1884 | Important figure in U.S. military aviation |
| Casey Atwood | 1980 | NASCAR driver |
| Alfred Bartles | 1930 | Composer of jazz/classical crossover music |
| Bill Belichick | 1952 | Former head coach of six-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots |
| Madison Smartt Bell | 1957 | Novelist |
| Julian Bond | 1940 | Civil rights activist |
| Robert Earl Bonney | 1882 | U.S. Navy Medal of Honor recipient, 1910 |
| Linn Boyd | 1800 | Member of Congress from Kentucky and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives |
| Beverly Briley | 1914 | Mayor of Nashville, 1963–1975 |
| David Briley | 1964 | Mayor of Nashville, 2018 |
| Marvelyn Brown | 1984 | HIV/AIDS activist |
| Kitty Cheatham | 1864 | Singer and actress |
| Sara Ward Conley | 1859 | Artist |
| James Craig | 1912 | Actor |
| Anne Dallas Dudley | 1876 | Women's suffrage activist |
| Thomas Fletcher | 1817 | Arkansas politician |
| Colin Ford | 1996 | Actor |
| Morris Frank | 1908 | Founder, the Seeing Eye, first guide dog training school |
| Bill Frist | 1952 | Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader |
| John Gordy | 1935 | Tennessee Volunteers and Detroit Lions football player |
| Dick Griffey | 1938 | Record executive and promoter |
| Red Grooms | 1937 | Artist |
| Noodles Hahn | 1879 | Major League Baseball player |
| Bobby Hamilton | 1957 | NASCAR driver |
| Demonte Harper | 1989 | American basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League |
| Bobby Hebb | 1938 | R&B/soul songwriter, singer, musician known for the hit "Sunny" |
| Les Hunter | 1942 | Center of 1963 Loyola Ramblers basketball national championship team |
| Thomas Setzer Hutchison | 1875 | Military officer, police commissioner, civil reformer, author, inventor |
| Lillian Jackson | 1919 | All-American Girls Professional Baseball League founding member |
| Marion James | 1934 | Blues singer |
| Claude Jarman Jr. | 1934 | Actor |
| Randall Jarrell | 1914 | Poet and writer |
| Jeff Jarrett | 1967 | Professional wrestler |
| Claude Jonnard | 1897 | Professional baseball player for the New York Giants |
| Caleb Joseph | 1986 | Major League Baseball player |
| Lucille La Verne | 1872 | Actress |
| Margaret Landis | 1890 | Silent screen actress |
| Mary Louise Lester | 1921 | All-American Girls Professional Baseball League founding member |
| Kathy Liebert | 1967 | World Series of Poker bracelet winner |
| Beth Littleford | 1968 | Comedian and actress |
| Ellen McLain | 1952 | Voice actress |
| Ron Mercer | 1976 | Professional basketball player |
| Tom Moran | 1899 | Football player |
| William Morrison | 1860 | Dentist, inventor of cotton candy |
| Alice Oates | 1849 | Actress and pioneer of musical theatre |
| Chord Overstreet | 1989 | Singer, songwriter, TV actor |
| Bettie Page | 1923 | Pin-up model |
| Keith Paskett | 1964 | Professional football player for Green Bay Packers |
| James B. Pearson | 1920 | U.S. Senator |
| Antoinette Van Leer Polk | 1847 | French baroness |
| Annie Potts | 1952 | Actress |
| Shelton Quarles | 1971 | Professional football player for Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Emily J. Reynolds | 1956 | Former Secretary of the U.S. Senate |
| Robert Ryman | 1930 | Visual artist |
| Hillary Scott | 1986 | Singer-songwriter, member of country music trio Lady Antebellum |
| John Seigenthaler | 1927 | Journalist, writer, and political figure |
| Jackie Shane | 1940 | Soul and rhythm and blues singer; among first black transgender musicians to chart |
| Nate Simpson | 1954 | Football player |
| Ahmaad Smith | 1983 | Football player |
| Edwin Starr | 1942 | Motown soul and R&B singer/songwriter |
| Turkey Stearnes | 1901 | Baseball player |
| Samuel Stritch | 1887 | First American member of the Roman Curia |
| Phillip Supernaw | 1990 | NFL player |
| Andrea True | 1943 | Pornstar and disco singer |
| Anthony Van Leer | 1783 | Prominent iron works owner in Tennessee |
| Carlos Clark Van Leer | 1865 | United States Army officer and Chief of Personnel at Department of the Treasury |
| Eric Volz | 1979 | Magazine publisher wrongfully convicted of murder in Nicaragua |
| Lark Voorhies | 1974 | Television actress |
| Charlie Wade | 1950 | Football player |
| Chuck Wagner | 1958 | Actor |
| William Walker | 1824 | Journalist, adventurer, and briefly the President of Nicaragua |
| Gretchen Walsh | 2003 | Swimmer |
| Kitty Wells | 1919 | Musician and singer, commonly referred to as the Queen of Country Music |
| Hank Williams III | 1972 | Singer and musician |
| Del Wood | 1920 | Ragtime, gospel, and country music pianist |
| Young Buck | 1981 | Rapper |

## Musicians and songwriters

With its status as a major hub of music production (especially country and gospel music), Nashville attracts a wide array of musicians, singers, and songwriters.
* Roy Acuff – country singer-songwriter; co-founder (with Fred Rose) of the Acuff-Rose publishing house
* Dean Alexander – country singer-songwriter
* Chet Atkins – country guitarist and record producer
* The Band Perry – country pop band
* Dave Barnes – acoustic singer-songwriter
* Greg Bates – country singer-songwriter
* David Berman – singer-songwriter of Silver Jews
* Beeb Birtles – former member of Little River Band
* Pat Boone (Charles Eugene Boone) – pop singer and actor
* Jordana Bryant – country/pop singer-songwriter, originally from Pennsylvania
* Bully – rock band
* J. J. Cale – songwriter and musician, known for writing "After Midnight" and "Cocaine"
* Glen Campbell – pop and country musician, TV personality and actor, sang "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"
* Johnny Cash – country singer-songwriter and actor, known to his fans as "The Man in Black"
* June Carter Cash – country singer-songwriter, wife of Johnny Cash, and member of the A.P. Carter Family
* Desmond Child – hit rock/pop songwriter for Cher, Kiss, Aerosmith, Ricky Martin, Bonnie Tyler, Bon Jovi, and others
* Cimorelli – YouTube girl group, originally from El Dorado Hills, California
* The Civil Wars – folk/Americana duo
* Kelly Clarkson – pop singer-songwriter, first winner of American Idol
* Patsy Cline – country singer-songwriter, first woman in Country Music Hall of Fame
* Kyle Cook – singer-songwriter of Matchbox Twenty
* Rita Coolidge – pop recording artist and songwriter
* Billy Cox – bassist, last surviving member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience
* Sheryl Crow – singer-songwriter, actress
* Billy Ray Cyrus – country singer-songwriter, and actor; father of Miley Cyrus and Noah Cyrus
* Miley Cyrus – country/pop singer-songwriter, star of Hannah Montana; daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and older sister of Noah Cyrus
* Noah Cyrus – singer-songwriter, and actress; daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and younger sister of Miley Cyrus
* Steve Earle – country singer-songwriter
* Tommy Emmanuel – guitarist, native to Australia but lives in Nashville
* The Everly Brothers – pop music duo
* Zac Farro – drummer
* Fisk Jubilee Singers – gospel choir
* Lester Flatt – bluegrass pioneer
* Béla Fleck – banjoist, lived in Nashville most of his young adulthood, originally from New York City
* Dan Fogelberg – singer-songwriter of diverse musical styles, top-selling musician of 1970s–80s
* Ben Folds – singer-songwriter, former frontman of Ben Folds Five
* Framing Hanley – alternative rock band
* Peter Frampton – English rock musician, producer, songwriter, lives in Nashville
* Russ Freeman – lead of award-winning jazz band, The Rippingtons
* Kathy Lee Gifford – television host, singer-songwriter, actress, and author
* Josh Gracin – country singer
* Amy Grant – singer-songwriter known for Christian themes
* Emmylou Harris – country singer-songwriter, and musician
* Kerry Harvick – country singer-songwriter, cast member of the hit reality series Bad Girls Club
* Brandon Heath – Christian singer-songwriter
* Bobby Hebb – R&B/soul songwriter, musician, singer known for the song "Sunny"
* John Hiatt – songwriter and musician
* Faith Hill – country music singer
* Robyn Hitchcock – English alternative-rock musician
* Hot Chelle Rae – popular rock pop band
* Harlan Howard – Music Row songwriter
* David Hungate – bassist for Toto, also recorded with several country artists
* Alan Jackson – country singer-songwriter
* Waylon Jennings – country singer-guitarist
* Naomi Judd – mother-daughter (with Wynonna Judd) country music singer-songwriter
* Wynonna Judd – mother-daughter (with Naomi Judd) country music singer-songwriter
* Donny Kees – musician and songwriter
* Jet Jurgensmeyer – teen actor and musician
* Kesha – pop singer
* Kings of Leon – rock musicians
* Robert Knight – R&B singer best known for the hit "Everlasting Love"
* Kris Kristofferson – country singer-songwriter and actor
* Lady Antebellum – country music trio group
* Brenda Lee – pop singer, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
* Little Big Town – country music group
* Little Richard – rock musician
* Kimberley Locke – pop and R&B singer
* Liam Lynch – musician and co-creator of the television show Sifl and Olly
* Loretta Lynn – country singer-songwriter
* Mandisa – Christian music artist
* Barbara Mandrell – country singer-songwriter
* Chris Marion – member of classic rock's Little River Band
* Martina McBride – singer-songwriter
* Tim McGraw – country music singer-songwriter and actor
* Reba McEntire – country music singer and actress
* Roger Miller – country singer-songwriter, known for "King of the Road"
* Neal Morse – singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader and progressive rock composer based in Nashville
* Dave Mustaine – lead musician for heavy metal band Megadeth
* Willie Nelson – guitarist and country singer, member of the outlaw country movement
* Aaron Neville – soul singer and member of the Neville Brothers; displaced from his native New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina
* The New Schematics – indie rock band
* John Oates – hit rock and soul recording artist from duo Hall & Oates, has homes in Colorado and Nashville
* St. Louis Jimmy Oden – blues pianist, born here in 1903
* Roy Orbison – singer-songwriter, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, known for "Pretty Woman"
* Brad Paisley – country singer-songwriter
* Paramore – rock musicians
* Dolly Parton – country singer-songwriter and actress
* Johnny Paycheck – country singer
* Wayne Perry – country singer-songwriter and producer
* Kellie Pickler – country music singer-songwriter
* Poppy – pop singer-songwriter
* Millard Powers – member of Counting Crows, musician, songwriter, producer, engineer
* Rascal Flatts – country music trio
* Caroline Keating Reed – pianist and music teacher
* Tex Ritter – singing cowboy
* Earl Scruggs – bluegrass banjo player
* Ed Sheeran – English singer, songwriter, producer, actor
* Blake Shelton – country singer, judge on TV series The Voice
* Michael W. Smith – Christian music artist
* Soccer Mommy – indie rock back fronted by Sophie Allison
* Chris Stapleton – country/bluegrass/rock musician
* Starlito – rapper
* Edwin Starr – 1970s funk singer
* Marty Stuart – country/bluegrass musician; host of his own show on RFD-TV
* Donna Summer – disco and R&B singer
* Emma Swift – Australian country/Americana musician
* Taylor Swift – one of the world's top-selling singer-songwriters
* Thompson Square – country music duo
* Ernest Tubb – singer-songwriter, one of the pioneers of country music
* Shania Twain – Canadian country music singer-songwriter and actress
* Steven Tyler – lead singer-songwriter of rock band Aerosmith
* Upchurch – rapper, singer-songwriter, and comedian
* Keith Urban – country music superstar, married to Nicole Kidman
* Townes Van Zandt – folk music singer-songwriter
* Gillian Welch – contemporary "alt-country" songwriter and singer
* Kitty Wells – singer and musician from country music's early days
* Matt Wertz – acoustic singer-songwriter
* Dottie West – country singer-songwriter
* Jack White – guitarist and lead vocalist of The White Stripes
* Hayley Williams – musician, songwriter, lyricist
* Allen Woody – bassist for the Allman Brothers Band and Gov't Mule
* Victor Wooten – virtuoso electric bass guitar player
* Emily Wright – songwriter, producer and engineer
* Tammy Wynette – country singer-songwriter, known for "Stand By Your Man"
* Dwight Yoakam – country musician, songwriter and actor
* Taylor York – musician, songwriter, lyricist
* Young Buck – rapper and member of G-Unit

## Political figures
### National

* Edward Carmack – former U.S. Senator, newspaper editor, and attorney
* Bill Frist – former U.S. Senate Majority Leader
* Al Gore Jr. – former U.S. Vice President and Senator; recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
* Tipper Gore – Second Lady of the United States 1993–2001
* Sam Houston – U.S. Congressman, Governor of both Tennessee and Texas, and President of the Republic of Texas; for whom the city of Houston is named
* Andrew Jackson – former U.S. President
* Andrew Johnson – former U.S. President and Vice President
* John Lewis – civil rights leader, U.S. Congressman (GA 5th Dist.), and former SNCC chairman
* Fred Meyer – treasurer of Aladdin Industries in Nashville, pre-1971; chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, 1988–1994; president of Tyler Corporation in Dallas, 1983–1986; native of suburban Chicago
* James K. Polk – former U.S. President
* Fred Thompson – former U.S. Senator and actor

### Local

* Megan Barry – first female mayor of Nashville; first female mayor of Nashville to resign office
* Phil Bredesen – mayor of Nashville 1991–99, governor of Tennessee 2003–2011
* John Ray Clemmons (born 1977) – member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing the 55th district, in West Nashville
* Karl Dean – former mayor of Nashville
* John Jay Hooker – attorney, perennial candidate, and political gadfly
* Diane Neighbors – vice mayor of Nashville, 2007–2015

## Other Nashvillians
### Artists and writers

* Emelie C. S. Chilton - writer, editor
* Greg Downs – Flannery O'Connor Award-winning short story writer
* Tony Earley – novelist and short story writer
* Karen Kingsbury – novelist
* Harmony Korine – filmmaker and artist
* Rachel Korine – actress and photographer, married to Harmony Korine
* Alan LeQuire – sculptor
* Jon Meacham - Pulitzer-prize winning writer, reviewer, historian and presidential biographer
* Ann Patchett – novelist
* T. M. Schleier – early photographer
* Robert Penn Warren – Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet
* Tennessee Williams – foremost playwright of 20th-century drama, lived briefly in Nashville

### Business leaders

* Mike Curb – founder of Curb Records, former Lieutenant Governor of California
* George A. Dickel – liquor distributor
* Dick Griffey – record producer, music promoter
* Wallace Rasmussen – businessman, philanthropist, CEO of Beatrice Foods
* Preston Taylor – minister, businessperson, philanthropist

### Civic leaders

* William N. Bilbo – attorney, lobbyist for passage of the 13th Amendment, ending slavery
* William Driver – nicknamed the U.S. flag "Old Glory"
* Francis Guess – Nashville businessman and member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights (1983–1989)
* James Lawson – civil rights leader and Methodist minister
* John Lewis - civil rights leader and Congressman from Georgia's 5th Congressional District
* Z. Alexander Looby – lawyer active in the American Civil Rights Movement
* Dan May – civic leader
* Diane Nash – civil rights leader
* Azariah Southworth – former host of a Christian television show; LGBT rights advocate

### Entertainers

* Nate Bargatze – comedian
* Kristin Chenoweth – Tony Award-winning Broadway actress
* Rachel DiPillo – actress, currently stars in NBC's Chicago Med
* Doug the Pug – famous dog
* Natalia Dyer – actress
* Ralph Emery – country music disc jockey and television host
* Eddie Frierson – voice actor, playwright
* Kathie Lee Gifford – television personality and former star of NBC's Today show
* Phil Harris – comedian, actor, singer, and jazz musician
* Melissa Joan Hart – actress
* Ashley Judd – actress and political activist
* Demetria Kalodimos – Emmy Award-winning anchor for WSMV-TV
* Nicole Kidman – actress
* Sondra Locke (1944–2018) – Oscar-nominated actress from Shelbyville, Tennessee lived in Nashville most of her young adulthood
* Minnie Pearl (Sarah Cannon) – country comedian who appeared frequently on the Grand Ole Opry
* Jason Priestley - actor who starred on the television series "Beverly Hills, 90210"
* Dinah Shore – singer, actress, and television personality
* Richard Speight Jr. – actor
* Mary Steenburgen – actress, songwriter wife of Ted Danson
* Frank Sutton – actor, played Sergeant Carter on the hit TV series Gomer Pyle
* Austin Swift – actor, brother of Taylor Swift
* Niki Taylor – supermodel and TV presenter
* Adair Tishler – actress
* Jim Varney – actor, known for his character Ernest P. Worrell
* Dawn Wells – actress, Gilligan's Island
* William Wilkerson – founder of Flamingo Las Vegas hotel, Ciro's nightclub
* Oprah Winfrey – talk show host, movie producer, and entrepreneur
* Reese Witherspoon – Academy Award-winning actress
* Evan Rachel Wood – actress, musician, and star of TV series Westworld
* Patricia Heaton - actress
* Dwayne Johnson - actor, professional wrestler, alumni of both Glencliff High School and McGavock High School.

### Journalists and talk show hosts

* Tomi Lahren – political commentator for Fox News
* Jon Meacham – Pulitzer Prize-winning author; former Newsweek editor
* Dave Ramsey – talk radio host and author
* Grantland Rice – sportswriter
* Fred Russell – sportswriter
* Pat Sajak - DJ, TV weather reporter, and game show host for "Wheel of Fortune"
* John Seigenthaler Jr. – MSNBC news anchor; son of John Seigenthaler Sr.

### Religious leaders

* Richard Henry Boyd – founder and head of the National Baptist Publishing Board
* Virginia E. Walker Broughton – African American author and Baptist missionary
* James T. Draper Jr. – president of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1982–1984; president of Nashville-based LifeWay Christian Resources, 1991–2006
* W. T. Handy, Jr. – United Methodist bishop, died in Nashville

### Sportspeople

* Mookie Betts – baseball player
* Tracy Caulkins – three-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer
* Eddie George – Heisman Trophy winner, four-time Pro Bowl NFL running back, businessman and professional actor
* Sonny Gray – Major League Baseball pitcher
* Scott Hamilton – world champion and Olympic gold medalist ice skater
* Demonte Harper (born 1989) - basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
* Mike Hasenfratz – National Hockey League referee
* Adam Hooker – 2008 Slamball League MVP and starting stopper for Champion Slashers
* Andy Kirby – NASCAR driver
* Jessica Kresa – professional wrestler, known as ODB
* Herb Rich (1928–2008), 2x All-Pro NFL football player
* Wilma Rudolph – track star and Olympic gold medalist
* Martin Strel – long-distance swimmer, Big River Man and actor from Slovenia

### Criminals and victims

* Jesse James – notorious outlaw and bank robber
* Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, fka Carlos Leon Bledsoe – committed the 2009 jihadi Little Rock military recruiting office shooting
* Paul Dennis Reid - Serial killer nicknamed “The Fast Food Killer”
* Oscar Franklin Smith - Convicted murderer on Tennessee’s death row
* Marcia Trimble – victim of an infamous child murder case

### Other

* Mary R. Calvert (1884–1974) – astronomical computer and astrophotographer
* Joseph Fuisz – attorney, inventor, and entrepreneur; founder of Fuisz Pharma LLC
* Richard Fuisz – physician, inventor, and entrepreneur, with connections to the United States military and intelligence community
* Amelia Laskey – ornithologist
* Nat Love – famous African-American cowboy and hero of the Old West
* Ronal W. Serpas – Chief of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, 2004–2010