List of people from Memphis, Tennessee explained

This is a list of notable people who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Memphis, Tennessee.

This list is in alphabetical order by last name.

A

• Johnny Ace (1929–1954)^[1] — rhythm and blues singer
• Mo Alexander (born 1970) — comedian
• Heather Armstrong (1975–2023) — 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
• The Bar-Kays (formed in 1966) — musicians
• 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
• Daren Bates (born 1990) — NFL 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 who currently plays for Yokohama B-Corsairs of the B. League
• 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 Scarr (born 2000) — rapper
• Big Star (formed in 1971) — rock band
• Big30 — rapper
• Greg Bird — Major League Baseball first baseman
• Blac Youngsta (born 1990) — rapper; born Samuel Marquez Benson
• Tarik Black (born 1991) — basketball player
• James Blackwood (1919–2002) — gospel singer, founding member of quartet The Blackwood Brothers
• Bobby "Blue" Bland (1930–2013) — musician
• BlocBoy JB — rapper
• 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) — film 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^[2]
• 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
• Robert Reed Church Sr. (1839–1912) — entrepreneur and philanthropist
• Mary Church Terrell — civil and women's rights activist
• Ian Clark (born 1991) — basketball player
• Philip Claypool — musician
• Jack Clement — singer, songwriter, and record and film producer
• Antonius Cleveland (born 1994) — basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Lashundra Trenyce Cobbin (born 1980) — American Idol contestant
• Steve Cohen (born 1949) — politician
• 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 (1971–2024) — actress known for Beverly Hills, 90210
• Young Dolph (1985–2021) — rapper (grew up in Memphis)
• Johnny Dowd (born 1948) — musician
• Drumma Boy (born 1983) — hip hop music producer
• William B. Dunavant (1932–2021) — 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

• Charlie Feathers — rockabilly musician, died here in 1998
• Ben Ferguson — nationally syndicated talk radio host
• Paul Finebaum — television and radio sports-talk host
• Finesse2tymes — rapper
• 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 — film 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

G

• David Galloway — novelist, international art curator, journalist and academic
• Gangsta Boo (1979–2023) — 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
• GloRilla — 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, known for his single "They Just Don't Know"

H

• Lucy Hale — singer and actress
• Richard Halliburton — explorer and author
• George Hamilton — Golden Globe Award-winning actor
• W.C. Handy — musician
• Anne Haney — actress
• Rebecca Hanover — (B.A. English/creative writing 2001), television writer, winner of Daytime Emmy Award for 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
• Lori Harvey — model
• Jon Hassell — musician
• Isaac Hayes — actor and Academy Award-winning musician
• Samuel Henderson – former slave and Catholic convert
  • Austin Hollins (born 1991) — basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League 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

• iLoveMemphis (real name Richard Colbert) — rapper, also known as iHeartMemphis
• 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 "Mother" Jones — prominent labor and community organizer
• Mary Jane Richardson Jones — abolitionist and activist
• Rich Jones (born 1946) — basketball player
• Juicy J — rapper
• Rob Jungklas — musician

K

• K. Michelle — musician
• Florence Kahn — early Ibsen actress and wife of Max Beerbohm
• The Kat — professional wrestler
• Makky Kaylor — professional songwriter, recording artist, entertainer, and radio personality
• Tay Keith — record producer
• 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
• Key Glock — rapper, cousin to Young Dolph
• Albert King — blues musician
• B.B. King — blues musician, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Betty Klepper — scientist
• Francis M. Kneeland — early African American physician who located her practice on Beale Street^[3]

L

• 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 — rapper
• Booker Little — musician
• Charles Lloyd — musician
• London on da Track — record producer
• Lord T & Eloise — musicians
• Andre Lott — football player
• 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
• The Mar-Keys — musicians
• Nick Marable — freestyle wrestler who competed for USA's national team^[4]
• 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
• Matthew Melton — musician
• 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
• Moneybagg Yo (born 1991) — rapper
• 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^[5]
• 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

• Elise Neal (born 1966) — actress
• Hal Needham (1931–2013) — stuntman, film director, actor and writer
• Pat and Gina Neely — celebrity chefs on Food Network
• Latrivia 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
• Art Pennington (1923–2017) — all-star negro league baseball player
• 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
• Elvis Presley (1935–1977) — singer and actor
• Lisa Marie Presley (1968–2023) — 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
• Kennedy J. Reed (1944–2023) — theoretical atomic physicist
• 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
• Pooh Shiesty (born 1999) — rapper
• 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
• Speech (born 1968) — rapper
• 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
• Tyler Stone (born 1991) — basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Lewis Ossie Swingler — editor of Memphis World, editor and publisher of Tri-State Defender

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
• Adonis Thomas (born 1993) — basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• 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
• 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
• Marcia Van Dresser (1877–1937) — operatic soprano, recitalist and actress
• 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 (1920–2011) — former U.S. Army Air Force officer and member of Tuskegee Airmen^[6]
• 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
• John Shelton Wilder — politician
• Elliot Williams — NBA player
• LaNell Williams — 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)
• Young Dolph (1985-2021) — Rapper/Philanthropist; Born: Adolph Robert Thornton Jr.

Notes and References

1. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/johnny-ace-mn0002591876 Johnny Ace
2. Book: Reichler, Joseph L. . The Baseball Encyclopedia . 1969 . 4th . 1979 . Macmillan Publishing . New York . 0-02-578970-8 . registration .
3. Web site: Dr. Francis Kneeland – Forgotten Hero. Lowry. Joe. September 26, 2018. Our Memphis History. en-US. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200223212941/https://ourmemphishistory.com/dr-francis-kneeland-forgotten-hero/. February 23, 2020. February 23, 2020.
4. https://web.archive.org/web/20151224123026/http://www.teamusa.org/usa-wrestling/athletes/Nick-Marable Nick Marable - Team USA
5. News: Photographer's social experiment gains exposure. Clark. Kym. WXIX-TV. April 26, 2013. November 20, 2014.
6. Web site: Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster . CAF Rise Above . CAF Rise Above . August 11, 2020.