List of people from Nashville, Tennessee

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

Native Nashvillians[]

People born in Nashville:

Name Birth year Notability Reference
John Adams 1825 Brigadier General during the American Civil War [1]
Duane Allman 1946 Guitarist and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band [2]
Gregg Allman 1947 Singer, keyboardist and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band [3]
Casey Atwood 1980 NASCAR driver [4]
Frank Maxwell Andrews 1884 Important figure in U.S. military aviation [5]
Alfred Bartles 1930 Composer of jazz/classical crossover music [6]
Bill Belichick 1952 Football coach of 6-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots [7]
Madison Smartt Bell 1957 Novelist [8]
Julian Bond 1940 Civil rights activist [9]
Robert Earl Bonney 1882 U.S. Navy Medal of Honor recipient, 1910 [10]
Linn Boyd 1800 Member of Congress from Kentucky and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives [11]
Beverly Briley 1914 Mayor of Nashville, 1963–1975 [12]
David Briley 1964 Mayor of Nashville, 2018 [13]
Marvelyn Brown 1984 HIV/AIDS activist [14]
Young Buck 1981 Rapper [15]
Kitty Cheatham 1864 Singer and actress [16]
Sara Ward Conley 1859 Artist [17]
James Craig 1912 Actor [18]
Miley Cyrus 1992 Actress and singer [19][20]
Anne Dallas Dudley 1876 Women's suffrage activist [21]
Thomas Fletcher 1817 Arkansas politician [22]
Colin Ford 1996 Actor [23]
Bill Frist 1952 Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader [24]
John Gordy 1935 Tennessee Volunteers and Detroit Lions football player
Dick Griffey 1938 Record executive & promoter
Red Grooms 1937 Artist [25]
Noodles Hahn 1879 Major League Baseball player [26]
Bobby Hamilton 1957 NASCAR driver
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 [27]
Claude Jarman, Jr. 1934 Actor
Randall Jarrell 1914 Poet and writer
Jeff Jarrett 1967 Professional wrestler
Caleb Joseph 1986 Major League Baseball player
Claude Jonnard 1897 was a professional baseball player for the New York Giants
Lucille La Verne 1872 Actress [28]
Margaret Landis 1890 Silent screen actress [29]
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 [30]
Ron Mercer 1976 Professional basketball player
Tom Moran 1899 Football player [31]
William Morrison 1860 Dentist, inventor of cotton candy
Alice Oates 1849 actress and pioneer of American musical theatre [32]
Chord Overstreet 1989 Singer, songwriter, TV actor
Bettie Page 1923 Pin-up model [33]
Keith Paskett 1964 Professional football player for Green Bay Packers [34]
James B. Pearson 1920 U.S. Senator [35]
Annie Potts 1952 Actress [36][note 1]
Shelton Quarles 1971 Professional football player for Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Emily J. Reynolds 1956 Former Secretary of the U.S. Senate [37]
Robert Ryman 1930 Visual artist [38]
Hillary Scott 1986 Singer-songwriter, member of country music trio Lady Antebellum
John Seigenthaler 1927 Journalist, writer, and political figure
Nate Simpson 1954 Football player
Ahmaad Smith 1983 Football player
Turkey Stearnes 1901 Baseball player [39]
Samuel Stritch 1887 First American member of the Roman Curia
Phillip Supernaw 1990 NFL player [40]
Andrea True 1943 Pornstar and disco singer [41]
Anthony Van Leer 1783 A prominent Iron works owner in Tennessee
Eric Volz 1979 Magazine publisher convicted of murder in Nicaragua
Lark Voorhies 1974 Television actress [42]
Charlie Wade 1950 Football player
Chuck Wagner 1958 Actor [43]
William Walker 1824 Journalist, adventurer, and briefly the President of Nicaragua [44]
Kitty Wells 1919 Musician and singer, commonly referred to as the Queen of Country Music [45]
Hank Williams III 1972 Singer and musician [46]
Del Wood 1920 Ragtime, gospel, and country music pianist [47]

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 and songwriter; co-founder (with Fred Rose) of the Acuff-Rose publishing house
  • Trace Adkins – country music singer and songwriter
  • Dean Alexander – country singer and songwriter
  • Chet Atkins – country guitarist and record producer
  • The Band Perry – country pop band
  • Dave Barnes – acoustic singer and 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
  • 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 and 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 and 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 and songwriter
  • Tommy Emmanuel – guitarist, native to Australia but lives in Nashville
  • The Everly Brothers - pop music duo
  • Zac Farro – drummer
  • Fisk Jubilee Singers – African-American 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
  • Kathy Lee Gifford - Television host, singer, songwriter, actress, and author
  • Josh Gracin – country singer
  • Amy Grant – singer and songwriter known for Christian themes
  • Neal Morse – singer and songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader and progressive rock composer based in Nashville
  • 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[48]
  • 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 and songwriter
  • Waylon Jennings – country singer and guitarist
  • Naomi Judd – mother-daughter (with Wynonna Judd) country music singer and songwriter
  • Wynonna Judd – mother-daughter (with Naomi Judd) country music singer and songwriter
  • Kesha – pop singer
  • Kings of Leon – rock musicians
  • Robert Knight – R&B singer best known for the hit "Everlasting Love"
  • Kris Kristofferson – country songwriter, singer, 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 and songwriter
  • Barbara Mandrell – country singer and songwriter
  • Chris Marion – member of classic rock's Little River Band
  • Martina McBride – singer and songwriter
  • Tim McGraw – country music singer, songwriter and actor
  • Reba McEntire – country music singer and actress
  • Roger Miller – country singer and songwriter, known for "King of the Road"
  • 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
  • Roy Orbison – singer and 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 and songwriter
  • Millard Powers – member of Counting Crows, musician, songwriter, producer, engineer
  • Rascal Flatts – country music trio
  • 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
  • Mandisa – Christian music artist
  • Michael W. Smith – Christian music artist
  • Soccer Mommy – indie rock back fronted by Sophie Allison
  • Edwin Starr – '70s funk singer
  • Chris Stapleton – award-winning country/bluegrass/rock musician
  • Starlito – rapper
  • 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[48]
  • Taylor Swift – one of the world's top-selling pop singer-songwriters
  • Jamie Teachenor – multi-platinum country singer and songwriter
  • Poppy – pop singer and songwriter
  • Thompson Square – country music duo
  • Ernest Tubb – singer and songwriter, one of the pioneers of country music
  • Shania Twain – country music singer and songwriter
  • Steven Tyler – lead singer/songwriter of rock band Aerosmith
  • 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 and songwriter
  • Dottie West – country singer and 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 and 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
  • Jet Jurgensmeyer - teen actor and musician
  • St. Louis Jimmy Oden, blues pianist, was born here in 1903

Political figures[]

Al Gore

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
  • 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
  • – 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[49]
  • James K. Polk – former U.S. President
  • Fred Thompson – former U.S. Senator and actor

Local[]

See also: List of mayors of Nashville, Tennessee

Other Nashvillians[]

Artists and writers[]

Business leaders[]

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)[50]
  • James Lawson – civil rights leader and Methodist minister
  • 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[51][52]

Entertainers[]

  • 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
  • Kathie Lee Gifford - Television personality and former star of NBC's "Today" show
  • Phil Harris – comedian, actor, singer, and jazz musician
  • 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 briefly in Nashville
  • Minnie Pearl (Sarah Cannon) – country comedian who appeared frequently on the Grand Ole Opry
  • 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
  • Reese Witherspoon – Academy Award-winning actress
  • Evan Rachel Wood – actress, musician, and star of TV series Westworld
  • Oprah Winfrey – talk show host, movie producer, and entrepreneur

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
  • John Seigenthaler, Jr. – MSNBC news anchor; son of John Seigenthaler, Sr.

Religious leaders[]

Sportspeople[]

  • Mookie Betts – baseball player
  • Scott Hamilton - World champion and Olympic Gold medalist ice skater
  • 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
  • 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[56][57]
  • Marcia Trimble – victim of an infamous child murder case

Other[]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Some sources list Potts' birthplace as Franklin, Kentucky, rather than Nashville.

References[]

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