# List of people from West Virginia

This is a list of prominent people from the territory that now makes up the U.S. state of West Virginia.

## Athletes
### A–G

* Michael Barber, professional football player
* Randy Barnes (born 1966), shotputter
* Larry Barnett (born 1945), baseball umpire
* Clair Bee, college basketball coach
* Vern Bickford, professional baseball player
* Brian Bowles, UFC/MMA fighter
* Rich Braham, professional football coach
* George Brett, professional baseball player
* Vicky Bullett, professional basketball player
* Lew Burdette, professional baseball player
* Jesse Burkett, professional baseball player
* Necro Butcher, professional wrestler
* Eddie Cameron, college basketball coach
* Mark Canterbury, professional wrestler
* David Carpenter, professional baseball player
* Bimbo Coles, professional basketball player
* Wilbur Cooper, professional baseball player
* Larry Coyer, professional football coach
* Dan D'Antoni, college basketball coach
* Mike D'Antoni, professional basketball player and coach
* Jack Dempsey, professional boxer
* Aaron Dobson, professional football player
* Jimbo Fisher, college football coach
* Gene Freese, professional baseball player
* George Freese, professional baseball player
* Bob Gain, professional football player
* Frank Gatski, professional football player
* Marshall Goldberg, professional football player
* C. J. Goodwin, professional football player
* Hal Greer, professional basketball player
* Jedd Gyorko, professional baseball player

### H–M

* Dennis Harrah, professional football player
* Cam Henderson, college football, basketball, and baseball coach
* Lou Holtz, Hall of Fame college football coach
* Alexis Hornbuckle, professional basketball player
* Jeff Hostetler, professional football player
* J. R. House, professional baseball and football player
* Chuck Howley, professional football player
* Sam Huff, professional football player
* Bob Huggins, college basketball coach
* Hot Rod Hundley, professional basketball player and broadcaster
* Gary Jeter, professional football player
* James Jett, professional football player
* Dwayne Jones, professional basketball player
* Bill Karr, professional football player
* Jason Kincaid, professional wrestler
* John Kruk, professional baseball player
* Carl Lee, professional football player
* Doug Legursky, professional football player
* Gino Marchetti, professional football player
* Rod Martin, professional football player
* Chris Massey, professional football player
* O. J. Mayo, professional basketball player
* Bill Mazeroski, professional baseball player
* Leo Mazzone, professional baseball player
* Seth McClung, professional baseball player
* John McKay, college and professional football coach
* Leland Merrill, Olympic wrestler, WV's first Olympian
* Renee Montgomery, professional basketball player
* Eric Moss, professional football player
* Randy Moss, professional football player

### N–Z

* Greasy Neale, Hall of Fame college and professional football coach
* Dustin Nippert, professional baseball player
* Jamie Noble, professional wrestler (WWE)
* Buzz Nutter, professional football player
* Peggy O'Neal, Australian Rules football president
* Patrick Patterson, professional basketball player
* Joe Pettini, professional baseball coach
* Kevin Pittsnogle, college basketball player
* Tom Pridemore, professional football player
* Paul Popovich, professional baseball player
* Mary Lou Retton, professional gymnast
* Ira Rodgers, college football coach
* Rich Rodriguez, college football coach
* Nick Saban, professional and college football coach
* Ben Schwartzwalder, Hall of Fame college football coach
* Heath Slater, professional wrestler (WWE)
* Tamar Slay, professional basketball player
* Stephanie Sparks, professional golfer and commentator
* Ray Stevens, professional wrestler
* Emanuel Steward, boxing trainer
* Bill Stewart, college football coach
* Joe Stydahar, professional football player
* Nick Swisher, professional baseball player
* Steve Swisher, professional baseball player
* Ryan Switzer, professional football player
* Rod Thorn, basketball player and executive
* Rick Tolley, college football coach
* Bill Walker, professional basketball player
* Fulton Walker, professional football player
* Robert Walker, professional football player
* Curt Warner, professional football player
* Jerry West, professional basketball player
* Deron Williams, professional basketball player
* Jason Williams, professional basketball player
* Kayla Williams, world champion gymnast
* Alex Wilson, professional baseball player
* Hack Wilson, professional baseball player
* Quincy Wilson, professional football player
* Steve Yeager, professional baseball player
* Fielding H. Yost, Hall of Fame college football coach
* Guy Zinn, professional baseball player

## Business

* Don Blankenship, chief executive officer of Massey Energy
* John T. Chambers, chief executive officer of Cisco Systems
* Carl Keith, inventor
* William Luke, businessman and entrepreneur
* George Preston Marshall, owner and president of Washington Commanders
* William N. Page, civil engineer, entrepreneur, capitalist, businessman, and industrialist
* Milan Puskar, entrepreneur, philanthropist, co-founder of Mylan
* Alex Schoenbaum, founder of Shoney's restaurant chain
* Harry F. Sinclair, industrialist
* Brad D. Smith, chief executive officer of Intuit, Inc.
* Ellsworth Milton Statler, hotel businessman
* Clarence Wayland Watson, businessman
* Allen Harvey Woodward, industrialist

## Entertainment
### A–G

* Hasil Adkins, musician
* Michael Ammar, magician
* Karen Austin, actress
* Charlie Barnett, actor, comedian
* Lina Basquette, actress
* Leon "Chu" Berry, jazz saxophonist
* Chris Booker, radio DJ, TV personality
* Bobby Campo, actor
* Mark Carman, producer, songwriter
* Jean Carson, actress
* Bernie Casey, actor
* Kevin Cassidy, gospel/retired country singer
* Ted Cassidy, actor
* Joe Cerisano, singer-songwriter
* Michael Cerveris, actor, singer-songwriter
* John Davis Chandler, actor
* Larry Combs, clarinetist
* Stoney Cooper, country/bluegrass singer
* Wilma Lee Cooper, country/bluegrass singer
* John Corbett, actor
* Billy Cox, bassist
* George Crumb, composer
* Phyllis Curtin, operatic soprano, NYCO
* Frank De Vol, film composer, actor
* Joyce DeWitt, actress; Three's Company
* Hazel Dickens, bluegrass singer
* Little Jimmy Dickens, country singer; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee
* Brad Divens, vocalist, musician, Wrathchild America, Kix
* Paul Dooley, actor, writer and comedian
* Brad Dourif, actor
* Joanne Dru, actress
* Greg Dulli, singer, The Afghan Whigs
* Virginia Egnor (also known as Dagmar), actress, model, TV personality
* Conchata Ferrell, actress
* Sierra Ferrell, singer-songwriter
* Virginia Fox, silent-film actress; frequent co-star with Buster Keaton
* Jennifer Garner, actress
* Randy Gilkey, singer-songwriter
* Larry Groce, musician, radio personality

### H–M

* Ed Haley, blind professional fiddler
* Joshua Harto, actor, writer, producer
* Steve Harvey, comedian, TV personality
* Hawkshaw Hawkins, country music singer
* Allison Hayes, actress
* Blind Joe Hill, one-man band
* Frank Hutchison, slide guitar player
* Katie Lee Joel, television host
* Johnnie Johnson, blues musician
* Daniel Johnston, musician, artist; subject of film The Devil and Daniel Johnston
* Lawrence Kasdan, director, producer, screenwriter
* Lesli Kay, actress, As The World Turns, The Bold and the Beautiful
* Fuzzy Knight, actor
* Don Knotts, actor
* Shannon Larkin, musician, Godsmack
* Rex Lease, actor
* Jake E. Lee, rock guitarist
* Kristi Lee, TV personality, director of The Bob & Tom Show
* Traci Lords, actress
* Ann Magnuson, actress
* Peter Marshall, musician, actor, host of TV's Hollywood Squares
* Kathy Mattea, country and bluegrass performer
* Charlie McCoy, musician
* Russ McCubbin, actor, stuntman, comedian
* Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, and Griffin McElroy, hosts of My Brother, My Brother and Me
* Elizabeth McLaughlin, actress
* Garnet Mimms, soul singer
* Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., singer, winner of America's Got Talent, Season 6 (2010)
* Lou Myers, actor

### N–Z

* Tim O'Brien, bluegrass musician
* Brooklyn Nelson, actress
* Devon Odessa, producer, actress, My So-Called Life
* Brad Paisley, country singer-songwriter
* Will Pan, rapper, actor
* Sam Pancake, actor
* Squire Parsons, gospel singer
* Johnny Paycheck, country musician
* Rachel Proctor, country singer-songwriter
* Don Redman, jazz musician and bandleader
* Ashlie Rhey, actress, writer
* Jeff Richmond, producer, composer
* Tyler Robertson, bluegrass singer/musician
* Walter E. "Jack" Rollins, songwriter
* Chris Weaver, musician
* Soupy Sales, actor and comedian
* Frank "Poncho" Sampedro, guitarist for Neil Young's band
* Chris Sarandon, actor, activist
* David Selby, actor
* Robert R. Shafer, actor
* Bill Slater, radio personality, host of Twenty Questions
* Connie Smith, country singer, Country Music Hall of Fame inductee
* Fred "Sonic" Smith, guitarist for MC5
* Michael W. Smith, contemporary Christian singer-songwriter
* Red Sovine, country singer
* Morgan Spurlock, film director, screenwriter
* Blaze Starr, stripper and burlesque star
* Aaron Staton, actor; Mad Men
* Eleanor Steber, soprano, The Metropolitan Opera, NYC
* Josh Stewart, actor
* Sam Trammell, actor, True Blood
* Ryan Upchurch, country, rap and rock songwriter
* Teddy Weatherford, jazz pianist
* Patty Weaver, actress
* Donald Ray White, mountain dancer
* Jesse "Jesco" White, mountain dancer
* Steve Whiteman, former Kix singer
* Garland Wilson, jazz pianist
* Melvin Wine, fiddler
* Bill Withers, singer-songwriter
* J. T. Woodruff, Hawthorne Heights singer
* Bobby Wright, country singer
* Frankie Yankovic, polka musician

## Frontiersmen

* Patrick Gass, frontiersman
* Morgan Morgan, frontiersman
* Lewis Wetzel, frontiersman

## Journalism

* William E. Chilton, newspaper publisher and politician
* J. R. Clifford, journalist, first African-American lawyer in West Virginia; founder of the Pioneer Press
* George Esper, newspaper reporter; known for his coverage of the Vietnam War for the Associated Press
* John S. Knight, newspaper publisher and editor
* Hoda Kotb, television reporter; host of Today
* Molly Line, news correspondent for Fox News Channel
* Herbert Morrison, radio reporter; known for his coverage of the Hindenburg disaster
* Asra Nomani, Indian-American journalist, author, and feminist
* Mike Patrick, sportscaster
* Michael Tomasky, newspaper writer and editor
* Carter G. Woodson, historian, author, and journalist

## Literature and art

* Allen Appel, novelist
* Annie Latham Bartlett, sculptor
* John Peale Bishop, poet, man of letters
* Florence V. Brittingham, poet and short story writer
* Pearl S. Buck, writer and Nobel Prize winner
* Bob Carroll, historian, author
* Stephen Coonts, novelist
* Rebecca Harding Davis, short story writer
* Alice Mary Dowd, educator and author
* Henry Louis Gates Jr., author, educator, and scholar
* Denise Giardina, author
* Linda Goodman, poet, novelist, best-selling astrology writer
* Davis Grubb, novelist
* Charley Harper, artist
* Homer Hickam, writer
* Craig Johnson, novelist
* John Knowles, novelist
* William Robinson Leigh, artist
* Keith Maillard, novelist, poet
* Scott McClanahan, writer
* Brooke McEldowney, cartoonist; creator of 9 Chickweed Lane comic strip
* Jeannie Blackburn Moran (1842–1929), author, community leader, socialite, and philanthropist
* Ehrman Syme Nadal, author
* Breece D'J Pancake, short fiction writer, author of Trilobites
* Roger Price, creator of Mad Libs and Droodles
* Jedediah Purdy, author and professor
* Mary Lee Settle, author
* Beau Smith, comic book writer
* Jean Edward Smith, biographer
* David Hunter Strother (aka Porte Crayon), artist
* Timothy Truman, writer, artist, and musician
* Jeannette Walls, author and columnist
* Booker T. Washington, political leader, educator, and author
* Tom Wilson, creator of Ziggy comic strip

## Military

* John James Abert, explorer and soldier
* Earl E. Anderson, U.S. Marine Corps general
* John Ashby, frontiersman and soldier
* Woodrow Wilson Barr, U.S. Marine
* Ted Belcher, U.S. Army soldier, Medal of Honor recipient
* Ruby Bradley, most-decorated woman in U.S. military history
* Frank Buckles, last-surviving U.S. veteran of World War I
* Adelbert Rinaldo Buffington, U.S. Army Brigadier General, 10th Chief of Ordnance for the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps
* French Ensor Chadwick, U.S. Navy officer and educator
* Lynndie England, U.S. Army reservist involved in the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal
* Stonewall Jackson, C.S. Army general born in Clarksburg and died before the region was formed into West Virginia
* Albert G. Jenkins, general and politician
* Jonah Edward Kelley, U.S. Army soldier; Medal of Honor recipient
* Edwin Gray Lee, C.S. Army general born in Shepherdstown before it became part of the newly formed West Virginia
* Carwood Lipton, U.S. Army soldier
* John P. Lucas, U.S. Army general; commander at Battle of Anzio
* Jessica Lynch, prisoner of war
* Basil L. Plumley, U.S. Army command sergeant major
* William E. Shuck Jr., U.S. Marine, Medal of Honor recipient
* M. Jeff. Thompson, Mo. State Guard general
* Hershel W. Williams, U.S. Marine, Medal of Honor recipient
* John Yarnall, U.S. Navy officer
* Chuck Yeager, aviator

## Politics and government

* Newton D. Baker, politician
* William Wallace Barron, politician
* John J. Beckley, frontiersman and Librarian of Congress
* Ephraim Bee, frontiersman and politician
* Charles Bent, frontiersman and politician
* Arthur I. Boreman, politician
* Sylvia Mathews Burwell, politician, university president
* Harry F. Byrd, politician
* Robert Byrd, U.S. Senator and majority leader, longest-serving member of Senate (51 years, 5 months, 21 days)
* Gaston Caperton, politician
* Shelley Moore Capito, politician
* Thomas R. Carper, economist and politician
* John J. Cornwell, politician
* Henry G. Davis, politician
* John W. Davis, politician and attorney, Democratic Party nominee for U.S. President (1924)
* Stephen Benton Elkins, politician
* Sarah Feinberg (born 1977), Interim President of the New York City Transit Authority, and former Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration
* Walter Lowrie Fisher, U.S. Secretary of Interior
* Mark Funkhouser, politician; mayor of Kansas City, Missouri
* William E. Glasscock, politician
* Nathan Goff Jr., politician
* Howard Mason Gore, politician
* Henry D. Hatfield, politician
* Ken Hechler, politician and author
* Brad Hoylman (born 1965), New York State Senator
* John J. Jacob, politician
* Evan Jenkins, state senator
* Elizabeth Kee, politician
* John E. Kenna, politician
* Chief Logan, Native-American leader
* William A. MacCorkle, politician
* Joe Manchin, politician
* William C. Marland, politician
* Thomas Massie, congressman
* Bruce Marks (born 1957), politician
* Roy L. McCulty, politician
* Arch A. Moore Jr., politician
* Dwight Morrow, diplomat; father-in-law of Charles Lindbergh
* Matthew M. Neely, politician
* Bob Ney, politician
* William Smith O'Brien, Representative
* Okey L. Patteson, politician
* Francis Harrison Pierpont, politician, "father of West Virginia"
* Nick Rahall, politician
* Jennings Randolph, politician
* Absalom Willis Robertson, politician
* Jay Rockefeller, politician
* Hulett C. Smith, politician
* William E. Stevenson, politician
* Cecil H. Underwood, politician
* Cyrus Vance, U.S. Secretary of State
* Kelli Ward, politician
* Charles Washington, statesman
* Erik Wells, politician and news anchor
* Bob Wise, politician

## Religion

* Alexander Campbell, Restoration Movement leader
* Matthew W. Clair, Methodist Episcopal Church bishop
* Belle Caldwell Culbertson, missionary, author, philanthropist
* T. D. Jakes, televangelist
* B. R. Lakin, evangelist

## Science

* Eugene Aserinsky, discovered rapid eye movement sleep (REM)
* Maurice Brooks, ornithologist
* Earl Lemley Core, botanist
* Homer Hickam, former NASA engineer
* Andrew Delmar Hopkins, entomologist
* Katherine Johnson, mathematician and NASA computer scientist
* Carl D. Keith, chemist, invented three-way catalytic converter
* Angie Turner King, chemist, mathematician and educator
* Mahlon Loomis, inventor of the wireless telegraph
* Robert J. Marks II, electrical engineer
* Joseph Maroon, neurosurgeon
* Jon McBride, NASA astronaut; pilot of Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-G (1984)
* Adrian Melott, physicist and cosmologist
* George A. Miller, psychologist and cognitive scientist
* John Forbes Nash, mathematician
* James Rumsey, inventor and mechanical engineer
* Charles Marstiller Vest, educator and mechanical engineer

## Other

* James J. Andrews, espionage agent
* Bill Blizzard, labor leader
* Julia Bonds, environmental activist; winner of Goldman Prize
* Belle Boyd, espionage agent
* James Caudy, frontiersman and early settler of present day West Virginia
* Larry Gibson, environmental activist; founder of Keeper of the Mountains Foundation
* Nancy Hanks, mother of Abraham Lincoln; distant cousin of Tom Hanks
* Devil Anse Hatfield, patriarch of Hatfield clan of 19th-century Hatfield–McCoy feud
* Sid Hatfield, Matewan police chief, prominent figure in labor history
* Jacob and Samuel Hawken, designers of Hawken rifle
* Kristan Hawkins, activist and President of Students for Life of America
* John Henry, steel-driving man of folklore
* Glen and Bessie Hyde, disappeared raftsmen
* Anna Jarvis, founder of Mother's Day in United States
* Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, labor and community organizer
* Charles Manson, convicted murderer
* Randal McCloy, lone survivor of 2006 Sago Mine disaster
* James Mulroy, Wheeling's prodigal son; environmental advocate
* Stephen Murphy, ex-DEA agent; along with Javier Peña, one of the lead investigators in the manhunt of Colombian drug smuggler Pablo Escobar
* Harry Powers, serial killer
* Patsy Paugh Ramsey, Miss West Virginia; mother of JonBenét Ramsey
* Walter Reuther, labor leader
* Cecil Roberts, United Mine Workers president
* Leon Sullivan, civil rights activist
* Harry R. Truman, volcano victim; owner of lodge at Mount St. Helens
* Jack Whittaker, lottery winner