List of people from Memphis, Tennessee

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

Kathy Bates

Bobby "Blue" Bland

Ben Browder

• 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
• Charles Barr (1903–1926) — serial killer known as “The Petting Party Bandit”
• Marion Barry (1936–2014) — mayor of Washington, D.C.
• Charles Bartliff (1886–1962) — soccer player and 1904 Olympian ^[2]
• 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 (2000–2022) — 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, author, illustrator
• 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
• Matt Brucker (born 2004) — soccer player ^[3]
• 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

Alex Chilton

Edward H. Crump

• 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 ^[4]
• 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) — U.S. representative for Tennessee ^[5]
• 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 Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Angels
• 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

Shannen Doherty

Donald "Duck" Dunn

• 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

Aretha Franklin

• 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

Al Green

Logan Guleff

• 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

W.C. Handy

Chris Hardwick

• 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
• Lee Harris – mayor of Shelby County and member of the Tennessee General Assembly ^[6]
• 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
• Ingram Hill — band

J

Mother Jones

• 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
• Shaw Jones (born 1969) — actor
• Juicy J — rapper
• Rob Jungklas — musician

K

Machine Gun Kelly

• 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 ^[7]
• David Kustoff — U.S. representative for Tennessee ^[8]

L

Jerry Lee Lewis

• 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

Wink Martindale

Willie Mitchell

• 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 ^[9]
• Wink Martindale — radio and television personality
• Ryan Masson — actor
• 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 ^[10]
• 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

• Elise Neal (born 1966) — actress
• Hal Needham (1931–2013) — stuntman, film director, actor and writer
• Pat and Gina Neely — celebrity chefs on Food Network
• 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

Otis Redding

• 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
• Arabella Page Rodman — civic leader
• Adrian Rogers — former pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church and president of the Southern Baptist Convention
• Dalton Rushing (born 2001) — MLB player
• Joe Russell — former world backgammon champion
• Lance Russell — pro wrestling announcer

S

Sam and Dave

Cybill Shepherd

Stella Stevens

• 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

Carla Thomas

• 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
• Marvell Thomas — keyboardist
• Rufus Thomas — musician
• Vaneese 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

Ida B. Wells

Junior Wells

Tennessee Williams

• Barbara Jo Walker (1926–2000), Miss America 1947
• 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"
• Luke J. Weathers (1920–2011) — former U.S. Army Air Force officer and member of Tuskegee Airmen ^[11]
• 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
• Paul Young — mayor
• Thaddeus Young — NBA player (grew up in Memphis)
• Young Dolph (1985–2021) — rapper/philanthropist; born: Adolph Robert Thornton Jr.

References

1. Johnny Ace Retrieved 28 November 2022
2. "Charles Bartliff". Olympedia. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
3. "Matt Brucker". High Point Panthers . Retrieved February 14, 2025.
4. Reichler, Joseph L., ed. (1979) [1969]. The Baseball Encyclopedia (4th ed.). New York: Macmillan Publishing. ISBN   0-02-578970-8.
5. "COHEN, Stephen". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
6. Alley, Richard J. (October 25, 2012). "Harris' Legal Career Leans On Desire to Help Community". The Daily News . Retrieved July 20, 2025.
7. Lowry, Joe (September 26, 2018). "Dr. Francis Kneeland – Forgotten Hero". Our Memphis History. Archived from the original on February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
8. "KUSTOFF, David". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
9. Nick Marable - Team USA. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
10. Clark, Kym (April 26, 2013). "Photographer's social experiment gains exposure". WXIX-TV . Retrieved November 20, 2014.
11. "Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster". CAF Rise Above. CAF Rise Above. Retrieved August 11, 2020.