List of people from Memphis, Tennessee

This is a list of notable people who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely connected with Memphis, Tennessee.
This list is in alphabetical order by last name.
A
Johnny Ace (1929-1954) -- rhythm and blues singer
Heather Armstrong (born 1975) -- author and blogger, Dooce.com
Kristin Armstrong (born 1973) -- professional road bicycle racer and three-time Olympic gold medalist
George Awsumb (1880-1959) -- Norwegian-American architect
Gwen Robinson Awsumb (1915-2003) -- first woman elected to Memphis City Council
Estelle Axton (1918-2004) -- co-founder of Stax Records
B
Julien Baker (born 1995) -- singer, songwriter, and guitarist
Michael A. Baker (born 1953) -- astronaut
Adrian Banks (born 1986) -- American-Israeli basketball player, 2011-12 top scorer in the Israel Basketball Premier League
The Bar-Kays (formed in 1966) -- music band
Lloyd Barbee (1925-2002) -- Wisconsin legislator and civil rights activist
Marion Barry (1936-2014) -- mayor of Washington, D.C.
Charles Bartliff (1886-1962) -- soccer player
Kathy Bates (born 1948) -- Academy Award-winning actress
Kenneth Lawrence Beaudoin (1913-1995) -- poet
Michael Beck (born 1949) -- actor, best known for The Warriors and Xanadu
Reginald Becton (born 1991) -- basketball player
William Bedford (born 1963) -- basketball player
Diane Meredith Belcher (born 1960) -- concert organist, teacher, and church musician
Chris Bell (1951-1978) -- musician
William Bell (born 1939) -- singer
Charles T. Bernard (1927-2015) -- businessman and Arkansas politician, died in Memphis in 2015
Big Star (formed in 1971) -- rock band
Blac Youngsta (born 1990) -- rapper; born Samuel Marquez Benson
Greg Bird -- Major League Baseball first baseman
Tarik Black (born 1991) -- basketball player
James Blackwood (1919-2002) -- gospel singer, founding member of quartet The Blackwood Brothers
BlocBoy JB -- rapper
Bobby "Blue" Bland (1930-2013) -- musician
Elizabeth Bolden (1890-2006) -- oldest person in the world during most of 2006
Charles Boyce (born 1949) -- syndicated cartoonist
Cory Branan (born 1974) -- singer/songwriter
Craig Brewer (born 1971) -- movie director
Ben Browder (born 1962) -- actor, best known for Farscape and Stargate SG-1
Dave Brown (born 1946) -- TV meteorologist, professional wrestling announcer
Joe Brown (born 1947) -- politician
Isaac Bruce (born 1972) -- former NFL player
Antonio Burks (born 1980) -- former basketball player
Dorsey Burnette (1932-1979) -- rockabilly pioneer, singer-songwriter
Johnny Burnette (1934-1964) -- rockabilly pioneer, singer-songwriter
Leonard Burton (born 1964) -- NFL player
Mike Butler (1946-2018) -- basketball player
Derrick Byars (born 1984) -- basketball player
Latasha Byears (born 1973) -- basketball player
C
Herman Cain (1945-2020) -- businessman, talk show host, and candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination
Tyrone Calico (born 1980) -- NFL player for the Tennessee Titans
Dixie Carter (1939-2010) -- actress known for Designing Women and Desperate Housewives
Lorenzo Carter (born 1995) -- linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons
Bob Caruthers (1864-1911) -- Major League Baseball player
Kellye Cash (born 1965) -- Miss America 1987
Rosanne Cash (born 1955) -- singer-songwriter
Cy Casper (1912-1968) -- NFL player for the Green Bay Packers, St. Louis Gunners, and Pittsburgh Pirates
Dave Catching (born 1961) -- musician
Alex Chilton (1950-2010) -- musician
NLE Choppa -- rapper
Mary Church Terrell - civil and women's rights activist
Robert Reed Church, Sr. (1839-1912) -- entrepreneur and philanthropist
Ian Clark (born 1991) -- basketball player
Philip Claypool -- musician
Jack Clement -- singer, songwriter, and record/movie producer
Lashundra Trenyce Cobbin (born 1980) -- American Idol contestant
Steve Cohen (born 1949) -- politician
Richard Colbert -- rapper also known as iLoveMemphis or iHeartMemphis
Olivia Cole (1942-2018) -- actress
George Coleman (born 1935) -- musician
Barron Collier (1873-1939) -- businessman
Jazzie Collins (1958-2013) -- African American trans woman activist and community organizer
John Cooper (born 1975) -- musician, Skillet
Zack Cozart -- baseball shortstop and third baseman for the San Francisco Giants
Hank Crawford (1934-2009) -- musician
Steve Cropper (born 1941) -- musician, Booker T. and the M.G.'s and The Blues Brothers
Edward H. Crump (1874-1954) -- political boss and U.S. Representative
Randy Culpepper (born 1989) -- basketball player
D
Chastity Daniels (born 1978) -- musician
Janette Davis (1916-2005) -- singer
Rick Dees (born 1950) -- radio personality
Nancy Denson -- mayor of Athens, Georgia
Duke Deuce -- rapper
Eric Jerome Dickey (1961-2021) -- author
Jim Dickinson (1941-2009) -- musician; producer
Peter C. Doherty (born 1940) -- Nobel laureate; scientist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Shannen Doherty (born 1971) -- actress known for Beverly Hills, 90210
Young Dolph (1985-2021) -- rapper (grew up in Memphis)
Johnny Dowd (born 1948) -- musician
Marcia Van Dresser (1877-1937) -- operatic soprano, recitalist and actress
Drumma Boy (born 1983) -- hip hop music producer
William B. Dunavant (born 1932) -- businessman, CEO of Dunavant Enterprises
Donald "Duck" Dunn (1941-2012) -- musician in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
E
Johanna Edwards (born 1978) -- author
William Eggleston (born 1939) -- photographer
Egypt Central (2002-2014) -- band
Eightball & MJG (established in 1991) -- musicians
F
Ben Ferguson -- nationally syndicated talk radio host
Paul Finebaum -- television and radio sports-talk host
Marjorie Finlay -- opera singer and television personality
Veronica Finn -- pop singer of now-disbanded group Innosense
Ric Flair -- professional wrestler (adopted at six weeks; raised in Minnesota)
Rey Flemings -- music commissioner
Avron Fogelman -- former owner of Kansas City Royals and various Memphis-based sports teams; namesake of southeastern leg of Interstate 240
Shelby Foote -- author
George L. Forbes -- Cleveland City Council President, President of the Cleveland NAACP
Clementine Ford -- actress
Harold Ford, Jr. -- politician
Jacob Ford -- NFL player, Tennessee Titans
Abe Fortas -- politician and U.S. Supreme Court justice
Cary Fowler -- agriculturalist, established the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Morgan Jon Fox -- movie director
Aretha Franklin (1942-2018) -- singer in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Frayser Boy -- Academy Award-winning rapper
Nelson Frazier, Jr. -- wrestler
Morgan Freeman -- Academy Award-winning actor
Judy Freudberg -- writer
John Fry -- music producer, engineer, founder of Ardent Studios
Charlie Feathers, rockabilly musician
G
David Galloway (writer) -- novelist, international art curator, journalist and academic
Gangsta Boo -- rapper
TM Garret -- author, producer, filmmaker, radio personality, activist
The Gentrys -- 1960s rock band with Larry Raspberry and Larry Wall
Cassietta George -- gospel singer and composer
David Gest -- event and concert producer
Lee Giles -- academic and computer scientist
Key Glock -- rapper
Ginnifer Goodwin -- actress
Robert Gordon -- filmmaker and writer
Clare Grant -- actress
Al Green -- singer, musician in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Larkin Grimm -- folk singer
Logan Guleff -- MasterChef Junior Season 2 winner
Gyft -- rapper signed to E1 Music
H
Lucy Hale -- singer and actress
Richard Halliburton -- explorer and author
George Hamilton -- Golden Globe Award-winning actor
Anne Haney -- actress
W.C. Handy -- musician
Rebecca Hanover -- (B.A. English/creative writing 2001), television writer, winner of Daytime Emmy Award for her work on Guiding Light
Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway -- former NBA player, NCAA Basketball coach
E. Hunter Harrison -- CEO of Canadian Pacific Railway
Jimmy Hart -- singer, pro wrestling personality
Jon Hassell -- musician
Isaac Hayes -- actor and Academy Award-winning musician
Olivia Holt -- singer and actress
John Lee Hooker -- blues musician
Benjamin L. Hooks - civil rights activist and executive director of the NAACP
Julia Britton Hooks - musician and civil rights activist
Howlin' Wolf -- blues musician in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Lewis C. Hudson -- brigadier general in the Marine Corps, Navy Cross recipient
John Hulse -- college professor
Andy Hummel -- musician
Alberta Hunter -- singer
I
Ingram Hill -- band
J
Al Jackson, Jr. -- musician
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson -- mixed martial arts fighter
Raji Jallepalli -- Indian-born chef and restaurateur
Antonio D. James (born 1985) -- filmmaker; producer
Jimi Jamison -- singer, songwriter
Roland Janes -- musician, producer
Josh Jasper -- All-American college football placekicker
John Wayles Jefferson -- mixed-race grandson of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, colonel in the Union Army, cotton broker in Memphis after the Civil War
Michael Jeter -- actor
Ashley Jones -- actress
Booker T. Jones -- musician
Leslie Jones -- actress known for Saturday Night Live and Ghostbusters
Mary Harris Jones -- prominent labor and community organizer
Rich Jones (born 1946) -- basketball player
Juicy J -- rapper, producer; member of Three 6 Mafia
Rob Jungklas -- musician
K
The Kat -- professional wrestler
K. Michelle -- singer
Florence Kahn -- early Ibsen actress and wife of Max Beerbohm
Francis M. Kneeland -- early African American physician who located her practice on Beale Street.
Tay Keith -- record producer
Key Glock -- rapper, cousin to Young Dolph
George "Machine Gun" Kelly -- Great Depression-era bank robber and kidnapper
Larry Kenon -- basketball player, led Memphis State to 1973 NCAA title game
Carlton W. Kent -- Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
Albert King -- blues musician
B.B. King -- blues musician, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Betty Klepper - scientist
L
Linda Thompson -- singer, lyricist
Snooky Lanson -- singer and television personality
Chuck Lanza -- NFL player
Brian Lawler -- professional wrestler
Jerry Lawler -- professional wrestler
Arthur Lee (1945-2006) -- singer-songwriter
Fannie Lewis -- Cleveland Ohio's longest serving councilwoman
Furry Lewis -- blues musician
Jerry Lee Lewis -- musician in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Eddie Lightfoot -- minstrel dancer
Alan Lightman -- novelist and physicist
Lil Wyte -- rap singer
Booker Little -- musician
Charles Lloyd -- musician
Andre Lott -- football player
Lord T & Eloise -- Memphis based Aristocrunk rappers and intergalactic travelers
Matt Lucas -- singer-songwriter, drummer
Jimmie Lunceford -- musician
Herb Lusk - NFL player and clergyman
M
Jim Mabry -- Arkansas Razorbacks football All-American
Bill Madlock (born 1951) -- Major League Baseball player
Terry Manning -- music producer, photographer
Nick Marable -- freestyle wrestler who competed for USA's national team
The Mar-Keys -- musicians
Wink Martindale -- radio and television personality
Tim McCarver -- professional baseball player and broadcaster
Hilton McConnico -- designer and artist
Kenneth D. McKellar -- long-serving U.S. Senator
The Memphis Horns -- musicians
Memphis Minnie -- blues singer
Memphis Slim -- musician
Shaun Micheel -- professional golfer
Cary Middlecoff -- professional golfer, Masters and U.S. Open champion
Ryan Miller -- professional hockey player
Lola Mitchell -- musician
Willie Mitchell -- musician and music producer
Chips Moman -- music producer
Sputnik Monroe -- professional wrestler
Lecrae Moore -- musician and music executive
Scotty Moore -- guitarist
Allen B. Morgan, Jr. -- businessman, founded Morgan Keegan
Haley Morris-Cafiero -- photographer
Wendy Moten -- singer
Steven J. Mulroy -- District Attorney General, law professor
David W. Mullins, Jr. -- former Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve
Charlie Musselwhite -- blues musician
Zach Myers -- lead guitarist for rock band Shinedown
N
Hal Needham (1931-2013) - stuntman, film director, actor and writer
Elise Neal (born 1966) -- actress
Pat and Gina Neely -- celebrity chefs on Food Network
Latrivia S. Nelson (born 1980) -- author
Johnny Neumann (1950-2019) -- basketball player and coach
Phineas Newborn Jr. (1931-1989) -- jazz musician
Nights Like These -- Victory Records metalcore band
O
Michael Oher -- NFL player, subject of The Blind Side
Roy Orbison -- singer
P
Woody Paige (born 1946) -- sportswriter, panelist on ESPN's Around the Horn
Hermes Pan (1909-1990) -- dancer and choreographer
Cindy Parlow Cone (born 1978) -- athlete
Chris Parnell (born 1967) -- actor, known for Saturday Night Live
Gilbert E. Patterson (1939-2007) -- bishop of Church of God in Christ
DJ Paul -- rapper
Ann Peebles (born 1947) -- singer
Paul Penczner (1916-2010) -- Hungarian-born artist
Carl Perkins (1932-1998) -- musician
Luther Perkins (1928-1968) -- musician
Elliot Perry (born 1969) -- professional basketball player
Dewey Phillips (1926-1968) -- early rock 'n' roll disc jockey
Sam Phillips (1923-2003) -- founder of Sun Records
Marguerite Piazza (1920-2012) -- opera singer
Danny Pittman (born 1958) -- athlete
David Porter (born 1941) -- musician
Lisa Marie Presley (born 1968) -- singer-songwriter; child of singer and actor Elvis Presley
Project Pat (born 1973) -- rapper
Tommy Prothro (1920-1995) -- football coach, UCLA and Los Angeles Rams
Missi Pyle (born 1972) -- actress and singer
Q
Lisa Quinn (born 1967) -- actress, author, designer
R
Michael Ramirez (born 1961) -- Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist
Jay Reatard (1980-2010) -- musician
Otis Redding -- musician in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Brent Renaud (1971-2011) - journalist and writer
Charlie Rich -- Grammy Award-winning musician
Austin Riley -- MLB Player
Loren Roberts -- professional golfer
Russell Roberts -- economist
Claire Robinson -- television host, author and cook
Kali Rocha (born 1971) -- actress
Adrian Rogers -- former pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church and president of the Southern Baptist Convention
Joe Russell -- former world backgammon champion
Lance Russell -- pro wrestling announcer
S
Saliva -- musical group
Sam and Dave (Sam Moore and David Prater) -- musicians in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Sam the Sham -- musician, leader of Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
William Sanderson -- actor known for Newhart and Blade Runner
J. Peter Sartain -- Archbishop of Seattle
Clarence Saunders -- founder of the world's first self-service supermarket, Piggly Wiggly
Jerry Schilling -- associate of Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys
Dan Schneider -- actor
Josey Scott -- musician
Will Shade -- musician
Gwen Shamblin -- author and founder of the Weigh Down Workshop and Remnant Fellowship Church
Paul Shanklin -- personality on Rush Limbaugh's radio program
Cybill Shepherd -- actress known for Moonlighting and Cybill
George Sherrill -- MLB player
Lee Shippey -- journalist
Hampton Sides -- author
McKinley Singleton -- NBA player, New York Knicks
Arthur Smith head coach of the Atlanta Falcons
Bingo Smith (born 1946) -- basketball player
Fred Smith -- founder and chairman of FedEx
Lane Smith -- actor known for My Cousin Vinny and The Final Days
George W. Snedecor (1881-1974) -- mathematician and statistician
Bobby Sowell -- musician
Ben Spies (born 1984) -- motorcycle road racer
Marvin Stamm -- musician
Kay Starr -- singer
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -- NASCAR driver
Jody Stephens -- musician
Andrew Stevens -- actor and producer
Stella Stevens -- Golden Globe Award-winning actress
Jim Stewart -- record producer and co-founder of Stax Records
Frank Stokes -- blues musician
Jarnell Stokes (born 1994) -- basketball player
Lewis Ossie Swingler -- editor of Memphis World, editor and publisher of Tri-State Defender
Pooh Shiesty (born 1999) -- rapper
T
Gary Talley -- musician and singer of The Box Tops
Cliff Taylor -- football player
Raymond Taylor -- catcher in Negro league baseball
Lloyd Thaxton -- television personality
Carla Thomas -- musician and daughter of Rufus Thomas
Danny Thomas -- entertainer, actor and founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Rufus Thomas -- musician
Fred Thompson -- actor and U.S. Senator (alumnus of the University of Memphis)
Harry Thompson -- football player
Linda Thompson -- songwriter and actress
Three 6 Mafia -- Academy Award-winning rap musicians
Justin Timberlake -- Grammy Award-winning musician, actor and record producer
London on da Track -- record producer
Don Trip -- rapper
Leigh Anne Tuohy -- businesswoman and interior designer
Ike Turner -- Grammy Award-winning musician
V
Guillaume de Van (1906-1949) -- Franco-American musicologist
Andrew VanWyngarden -- musician of psychedelic rock group MGMT
Alexey Vermeulen (born 1994) -- cyclist
W
Sam Walton -- football player
Teddy Walton -- composer, producer, writer and DJ
Garrett Wang -- actor
Anita Ward -- singer and schoolteacher; 1979 number one Billboard Hot 100 single "Ring My Bell"
Thomas Waterson -- police officer who captured Machine Gun Kelly in a Memphis raid in 1933
Luke J. Weathers (December 16, 1920 - October 15, 2011), former U.S. Army Air Force officer and prolific Tuskegee Airmen
Ida B. Wells -- civil rights advocate and women's rights advocate
Junior Wells -- musician
David West -- baseball player
Red West -- actor
Kirk Whalum -- musician
Maurice White -- musician, lead singer of Earth, Wind & Fire
Reggie White -- NFL player; began his career with the Memphis Showboats of the USFL
Bobby Whitlock -- musician, keyboardist in Derek and the Dominos
Snootie Wild -- rapper/singer
John Shelton Wilder -- politician
Elliot Williams -- NBA player
LaNell Williams -- American physicist and virologist
Louis Williams -- NBA player
Tennessee Williams -- playwright
Kemmons Wilson -- businessman, founder of Holiday Inn
Mike Wilson -- NBA player
Jesse Winchester -- singer/songwriter
Francis Winkler -- NFL player
Ernest Withers -- photojournalist
Lorenzen Wright -- NBA player
Y
Roy Yeager -- musician
Yo Gotti (born 1981) -- rapper; born Mario Mims
Thaddeus Young -- NBA player (grew up in Memphis)
Moneybagg Yo (born 1991) -- rapper
References
Memphis, Tennessee