# List of people from Greensboro, North Carolina

This is a list of notable people who were either born in, lived in or are closely associated with Greensboro, North Carolina and have an article on Wikipedia.

## A–E

* Ethan Albright, NFL Pro Bowl long snapper, played for University of North Carolina and NFL's Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, and Washington Redskins
* Elreta Alexander-Ralston, judge and attorney
* Keenan Allen, NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver for the Los Angeles Chargers
* Tom Alston, former Major League Baseball first baseman and first African-American to play for the St. Louis Cardinals
* Samuel E. Anderson, United States Air Force Four Star General; commanded Fifth Air Force during the Korean War
* Clarence Avant, entertainment industry agent, entrepreneur, mogul
* Patrick Bailey, catcher for the San Francisco Giants
* Fantasia Barrino, winner of American Idol season three and Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, briefly lived in Greensboro and is from nearby High Point
* Thomas Berry, ecology spokesman
* Rex M. Best, Emmy Award-winning writer for the CBS daytime dramas The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful
* Jake Bloss, Major League Baseball pitcher
* Jeff Bostic, NFL offensive lineman for the Washington Redskins
* Joe Bostic, NFL offensive lineman for the St. Louis (later Arizona) Cardinals
* Alan Branson, American politician
* Michael Brooks, NFL defensive back
* Hal "Skinny" Brown, MLB pitcher, member of Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame
* Tony Brown, record producer
* Joseph M. Bryan, businessman and philanthropist, lived in Greensboro until his death in 1995
* Kathleen Price Bryan, philanthropist, was born and lived in Greensboro
* Frances Webb Bumpass, newspaper publisher
* Lamont Burns, NFL offensive lineman
* Sharon Raiford Bush, American television's first African-American female weather anchor of primetime news, in 1975 at WGPR-TV, the world's first black-owned-and-operated television station
* Gianluca Busio, soccer player
* Andy Cabic, of indie folk band Vetiver; lived in Greensboro while a member of indie-rock band The Raymond Brake
* Jonathan Campbell, soccer player
* Orson Scott Card, author, journalist and professor; several of his books, including Ender's Game and Shadow Puppets feature settings in and around Greensboro
* Jimmy Carpenter, electric blues saxophonist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer
* Eugene Chadbourne, composer and musician
* Spencer Chamberlain, lead vocalist of the band Underoath, was raised in Greensboro
* Joey Cheek, Olympic gold medal speed skater
* Howard Coble, former member of U.S. House of Representatives (6th District, N.C.)
* Levi Coffin, Quaker educator and abolitionist
* Tarik Cohen, NFL player, attended North Carolina A&T State University
* Billy "Crash" Craddock, country music singer, born and lives near Greensboro
* Chris Daughtry, American Idol contestant
* Jeff Davis, NFL player for Tampa Bay Buccaneers and member of Clemson's 1981 national championship team; attended Dudley High School
* Rick Dees, radio personality; graduated from Grimsley High School
* Louis DeJoy, current Postmaster of the United States of America and major Republican Party benefactor
* Marques Douglas, NFL player
* James Lamont DuBose, executive television and film producer, BET
* Eric Ebron, NFL tight end; attended Ben L. Smith High School
* Donna Edmondson, 1987 Playboy Playmate of the year
* Vince Evans, NFL quarterback and 1977 Rose Bowl most valuable player

## F–J

* Barry Farber, radio talk show host, author and language-learning enthusiast; born in Greensboro, and graduated from Greensboro Senior High School (see Grimsley High School)
* Tal Farlow, pioneering jazz guitarist
* Wes Ferrell, MLB pitcher 1927–41, two-time All-Star
* Henry Flynt (b. 1940), philosopher, avant-garde musician, anti-art activist and exhibited artist often associated with Conceptual Art, Fluxus and Nihilism
* Charles Foster, Olympic track hurdler
* Inez and Charlie Foxx, rhythm-and-blues and soul duo known for the 1963 hit "Mockingbird"
* Golda Fried, novelist and poet
* Elissa Minet Fuchs, ballerina and ballet mistress
* Peter Paul Fuchs, composer and conductor
* Michimasa Fujino, President and CEO of Honda Aircraft Company
* Rhiannon Giddens, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops
* Ethel Darlene Guest, African American women artist
* Edwin Forbes Glenn, United States Army officer
* Dino Hackett, NFL linebacker; has jersey number retired by Appalachian State
* Joey Hackett, NFL tight end
* Kay Hagan, former U.S. Senator
* PJ Hairston, played college basketball for North Carolina Tar Heels, 26th pick in the 2014 NBA draft by Charlotte Hornets, now plays for Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League
* Brendan Haywood, NBA player for Dallas Mavericks, attended Dudley High School
* O. Henry, short-story writer.
* John Henson, NBA player for the Cleveland Cavaliers
* David Hickman, last American soldier killed in the Iraq War
* Matt Hill, electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter
* Terrence Holt, NFL safety, played for NC State and Detroit Lions; born in nearby Gibsonville along with his brother Torry Holt
* Torry Holt, wide receiver for NC State and All-Pro for the St. Louis Rams; born in nearby Gibsonville and attended Eastern Guilford High School
* Lindsey Hopkins Jr., businessman, banker, investor, and sportsman
* Lou Hudson, NBA All-Star
* Chanita Hughes-Halbert, psychologist and medical researcher
* Jim Hunt, former 69th and 71st Governor of North Carolina
* John Inman, professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour
* John Isner, professional tennis player
* Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist, minister, politician, attended and graduated from North Carolina A&T University
* Randall Jarrell, nationally acclaimed poet, professor at University of North Carolina at Greensboro until his death in 1965; buried near Guilford College campus
* Haywood Jeffires, NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver for Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints, coach of a Texas semi-pro team
* Ken Jeong, actor, grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina and graduated from Page High School; starred in NBC sitcom Community
* Dr. Frank Jobe, orthopedic surgeon, invented UCL reconstruction known as Tommy John surgery
* Robert Elijah Jones, early African American Bishop in the Methodist Church

## K–O

* Paris Kea, All-American basketball player at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, WNBA player for the Indiana Fever
* J. William Kime, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard
* Debra Lee, chief executive officer of BET
* John Anthony Lennon (b. 1950), composer
* Janet Lilly, dancer, choreographer and professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
* Caroline Lind, Olympic rower and two-time gold medalist in the women's eight event
* Ann Livermore, former Executive Vice President at Hewlett-Packard
* Frank Lucas, infamous heroin dealer, subject of American Gangster film starring Denzel Washington
* Loretta Lynch, Attorney General of the United States
* Dolley Madison, First Lady and wife of President James Madison
* Carolyn Maloney (née Carolyn Jane Bosher, born 1946), politician serving as U.S. Representative
* Danny Manning, an All-America basketball player for the University of Kansas and NBA star, attended Page High School in Greensboro
* Doug Marlette, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist
* Margaret Maron, author of award-winning mystery novels
* Joyce Martin Dixon, businesswoman and philanthropist
* Jack F. Matlock, Jr., U.S. Ambassador to U.S.S.R., 1987–1991
* Maryhelen Mayfield, ballet dancer and former artistic and executive director of Greensboro Ballet, lived in Greensboro
* Bob McAdoo, NBA All-Star, college basketball All-American, and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame
* Franklin McCain, one of The Greensboro Four, African-American student from North Carolina A&T State University who in 1960 started the first civil rights sit-in; action eventually led to lunch counters and restaurants being desegregated throughout the Southern United States; attended Dudley
* Courtney McClellan, interdisciplinary artist
* Adrian McDonnell, conductor living in France
* Mark McGuinn, country music artist
* Joseph McNeil, one of the Greensboro Four, male African-American student from North Carolina A&T State University who in 1960 started the first civil rights sit-in; action eventually led to lunch counters and restaurants being desegregated throughout the Southern US
* Beth Mitchell, competitive shag dancer
* Jason Miyares, 48th Attorney General of Virginia
* John Motley Morehead, 29th Governor of North Carolina
* Emmanuel Moseley, NFL cornerback
* Cedric Mullins, MLB player for the Baltimore Orioles
* Edward R. Murrow, World War II CBS radio broadcaster and award-winning television journalist; born outside Greensboro
* Fred "Curly" Neal, basketball player, Harlem Globetrotters
* Ed Nelson, actor who played Dr. Michael Rossi on Peyton Place, spent last years in Greensboro and died there in 2014

## P–T

* Michael Parker, novelist
* Clara J. Peck, public health nurse and hospital matron
* Ronald Perelman, billionaire investor
* Garry Peterson, longtime drummer for the Guess Who
* Carl Pettersson, Swedish PGA Tour player, graduated from Grimsley High School
* Theo Pinson, NBA player for the Brooklyn Nets
* Eddie Pope, soccer player for Real Salt Lake and the US National Soccer Team
* Millard Powers, musician, songwriter, record producer, and Grammy-nominated recording engineer; member of Counting Crows
* George Preddy, World War II fighter ace
* Ethel Clay Price, nurse and socialite
* Julian Price, insurance executive
* Ricky Proehl, NFL player
* Morgan Radford, journalist and reporter for NBC News and MSNBC
* D.J. Reader, NFL Defensive Tackle
* Eddie Robinson, Major League Soccer (MLS) player
* Mark Robinson, 35th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina
* Lee Rouson, NFL running back, attended Page High School
* Ryan Wesley Routh, suspected attempted assassin of Donald Trump
* Gregory Charles Royal, jazz musician from Duke EllingtonOrchestra, founder of New York Jazz Film Festival
* Virginia Ragsdale, mathematician and creator of the Ragsdale conjecture
* Ski Beatz, music producer
* Charlie Sanders, member of Pro Football Hall of Fame and North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, NFL tight end for Detroit Lions, attended Dudley High School
* H.T. Kirby-Smith, author and poet
* Graham Sharp, musician
* Nicholas Sparks, author
* Wilbur Daniel Steele, author, playwright, Provincetown Players
* Stanley Tanger, founder of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers
* Edwin Teague, Olympic sports shooter
* Sonny Terry, blues musician (1911–1986)
* Whitney Way Thore, star of TLC's My Big Fat Fabulous Life
* Bill Tudor, founder of Tudor's Biscuit World

## U–Z

* Jan Van Dyke, dancer and choreographer, resided in Greensboro, taught at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; pioneer for modern dance in Greensboro
* Jeff Varner, Survivor contestant (Season 2)
* Don Vaughan, former state senator and former member of the Greensboro City Council; helped obtain passage in 2010 of Susie's Law
* Nancy Vaughan, 48th mayor of Greensboro
* Robert Walden, pioneer NASCAR driver, lives near Greensboro
* Cody Ware, NASCAR driver
* Allen Webster, MLB pitcher
* Gene White, NFL defensive back
* Kelly Wigglesworth, Survivor contestant (Season 1)
* Aldona Wos, physician and politician who has served in various positions at several U.S. government agencies and nonprofit organizations
* Jerome Young, professional wrestler; born, lived, and died in Greensboro