List of people from Winston-Salem, North Carolina

This is an incomplete list of notable people associated with U.S. city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Academics

• Stuart Bondurant, professor and dean emeritus at the UNC School of Medicine ^[1]
• Coy Cornelius Carpenter, dean of the School of Medicine of Wake Forest University
• Adelaide Fries, foremost scholar of the history and genealogy of the Moravians
• Robert Huntley, president of Washington and Lee University
• Jacquelyne Jackson, sociologist and academic
• Harold L. Martin, chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
• William T. Miller, professor of organic chemistry at Cornell University
• Virginia Newell, math professor at Winston-Salem State University and alderman of Winston-Salem
• Len Preslar, business educator and Distinguished Professor of Practice at Wake Forest University
• Florence Wells Slater, entomologist and schoolteacher ^[2]
• Norman Adrian Wiggins, president of Campbell University
• Tanya Zanish-Belcher, director of Special Collections and Archives at the Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University

Art and architecture

• Earline Heath King, sculptor who specialized in portraits and statues
• Eleanor Layfield Davis, artist
• Helen Copenhaver Hanes, significant figure in the founding of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts
• Frank L. Horton, museum director and antiques dealer
• Megan LeCrone, dancer and soloist with the New York City Ballet
• Willard C. Northup, architect
• Kathryn Reynolds, photographer ^[3]
• William Roy Wallace, architect

Business

• Celeste Beatty, first Black woman to own a brewery in the United States
• Jack O. Bovender Jr., former chairman and CEO of HCA Healthcare from 2002 to 2009 ^[4]
• Stuart Epperson, chairman of Salem Communications Corporation
• Bowman Gray Sr., president and chairman of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
• Anne Cannon Forsyth, Cannon textiles and R.J. Reynolds tobacco families heiress and founder and president of the North Carolina Fund
• Francis Henry Fries, textile businessman and industrialist
• James A. Gray Jr., president and chairman of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem and North Carolina Senate
• John Wesley Hanes, founder of Hanes clothing brand
• Phil Hanes, businessman, conservationist, and patron of the arts ^[5]
• Velma Hopkins, labour rights activist who organized a strike against R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
• Rufus L. Patterson Jr., founder of the American Machine and Foundry and a vice president of the American Tobacco Company.
• R. J. Reynolds, founder of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
• William Neal Reynolds, businessman with R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
• Lewis Rudolph, co-founder of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
• Vernon Rudolph, co-founder of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts ^[6]
• Moranda Smith, labor organizer and unionist
• Paul Trevithick, client partner and senior director at EPAM

Entertainment

• John L. Adams, actor, comedian and director
• Ramin Bahrani, film director and screenwriter ^[7]
• Elizabeth Campbell, public television executive ^[8]
• Jerrod Carmichael, stand-up comedian, actor, and writer
• Howard Cosell, sportscaster
• Carter Covington, television show creator, writer, story editor and producer
• Bosley Crowther, film critic
• Jennifer Ehle, actress
• Nia Franklin, Miss America 2019
• Emily V. Gordon, writer and producer
• Charles Grant, actor
• Kathryn Grayson, actress and operatic soprano singer
• Pam Grier, actress ^[9]
• Julianna Guill, actress ^[10]
• Rosemary Harris, actress; Golden Globe, Emmy and Tony Award winner
• Jackée Harry, actress and comedian ^[11]
• Burgess Jenkins, actor
• Darwin Joston, actor ^[12]
• Tom Kent, nationally syndicated radio personality
• Allyn King, vaudeville actress and a Ziegfeld Follies performer
• Kelly-Anne Lyons, actress
• Angus MacLachlan, screenwriter
• Rusty Mills, Emmy-winning animator and director ^[13]
• Cullen Moss, actor ^[14]
• Harold Nicholas, film dancer, entertainer
• Jacqueline Novak, comedian and actress
• Daniel Peddle, film director and screenwriter
• Jeryl Prescott, actress
• Stuart Scott, sportscaster
• Stephen A. Smith, sports journalist, Winston-Salem State University alum, radio host, analyst for ESPN First Take ^[15]
• Meg Steedle, actress
• Tasha Marbury, reality show personality and cast member of Basketball Wives
• Jill Wagner, actress and TV host
• Rolonda Watts, television personality and actress
• Colleen Williams, news anchor with KNBC in Los Angeles
• Danny McBride, actor, NCSA 94-96
• Geno Segers, actor, graduated from East Forsyth
• Jada Pinkett Smith, actress and wife of Will Smith, attended NCSA
• George C. Stoney, documentary filmmaker
• Kenneth Utt, film producer and unit production manager
• Rolonda Watts, television and talkshow host
• Michael Wilson, director

Music

• 9th Wonder, Grammy award-winning hip-hop producer ^[16]
• Sunshine Anderson, singer-songwriter
• B.o.B., hip-hop artist
• Obadiah Carter, member of the "5" Royales
• Mitch Easter, musician and record producer, founder of Drive-In Studio
• Ben Folds, singer-songwriter
• Guitar Gabriel, blues musician ^[17]
• Curtis Hairston, soul/funk vocalist
• George Hamilton IV, country singer
• Byron Hill, songwriter
• Peter Holsapple, singer-songwriter
• Greg Humphreys, singer-songwriter and member of Dillon Fence and Hobex
• Kimberly Marshall, organist and organ scholar
• Chris Murrell, singer and former lead vocalist of the Count Basie Orchestra
• Ben Neill, classical composer
• Clarence Paul, songwriter and record producer
• Dusty Redmon, guitarist
• Louise Siddall, composer
• Sluice, indie rock musician
• Chris Stamey, musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer
• Becca Stevens, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
• Ernest Thompson, blind street musician
• TiaCorine, rapper
• Tichina Vaughn, operatic mezzo-soprano

Literature and journalism

• Bonnie Angelo, journalist and author
• Maya Angelou, poet ^[18]
• Bekah Brunstetter, playwright ^[19]
• John Carroll, journalist and newspaper editor
• Gary Chapman, author
• Clement Eaton, historian and writer ^[20]
• John Ehle, author
• Mary Garber, sports journalist
• Emily V. Gordon, writer, producer, and podcast host ^[21]
• Karen L. Parker, journalist and first Black female graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Melissa Harris-Perry, journalist, political commentator, author
• Charlie Lovett, New York Times best-selling novelist and expert on both the works and life of Lewis Carroll ^[22]
• Sarah McCoy, New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author
• T. R. Pearson, author of A Short History of a Small Place
• James Norwood Pratt, author on topics of tea and tea lore ^[23]
• Riley Redgate, author of young adult fiction ^[24]

Military

• Lincoln Broyhill, record-setting tail gunner in World War II
• Daryl Caudle, Admiral and Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command
• Walter J. Davis Jr., vice admiral in the United States Navy
• Gordon Gray, Secretary of the Army under President Truman and President Eisenhower's National Security Advisor
• Lawrence Joel, United States Army soldier; received Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War
• Henry Johnson, United States Army soldier; posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in World War I ^[25]
• Togo West, United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, United States Secretary of the Army, General Counsel of the Navy
• Earl P. Yates, rear admiral in the United States Navy

Politics and government

• Hannah Atkins, member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1968 to 1980, and the first African-American woman elected to it ^[26]
• Frank Ballance, United States House of Representatives
• Stan Bingham, North Carolina General Assembly
• Burr Brock Sr., North Carolina House of Representatives and the North Carolina Senate
• Jim Broyhill, a Republican politician; served North Carolina in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate
• Ted Budd, former United States Representative and United States Senator from North Carolina ^[27]
• Richard Burr, United States Senator
• Irving E. Carlyle, North Carolina lawyer and state leader
• R. Thurmond Chatham, U.S. House of Representatives
• Linda Combs, Controller of the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President
• H. R. Crawford, Assistant Secretary for Housing Management of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Member of the Council of the District of Columbia
• Cal Cunningham, North Carolina Senate
• Elisabeth Epps, Colorado House of Representatives
• Dale Folwell, North Carolina State Treasurer and North Carolina House of Representatives,
• Linda Garrou, North Carolina Senate
• Voit Gilmore, director of the United States Travel Service and North Carolina Senate
• Peaches Golding, appointed by HM Queen Elizabeth II as High Sheriff of Bristol 2010–2011, awarded the OBE
• John Stephens Graham, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and commissioner for the Internal Revenue Service and Atomic Energy Commission
• James A. Gray Jr., president and chairman of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem and North Carolina Senate
• Lyons Gray, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Revenue and North Carolina House of Representatives
• Kyle Hall, North Carolina House of Representatives
• Mabel Hampton, lesbian activist and contributor to the Lesbian Herstory Archives
• Ed Hanes, North Carolina House of Representatives
• John Wesley Hanes II, investment banker, corporate turnaround specialist, and Under Secretary of the United States Treasury
• John W. Hardwicke, Maryland House of Delegates
• Mark Harris, U.S. representative for North Carolina ^[28]
• William Heaton, former chief of staff to Bob Ney
• Kevin Jennings, assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education
• Mark Johnson, North Carolina's Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Walter E. Johnston III, United States House of Representatives
• Allen Joines, mayor of Winston-Salem
• Annie Brown Kennedy, politician and lawyer; first Black woman to serve in the North Carolina House of Representatives
• Jules Gilmer Korner Jr., judge of the United States Board of Tax Appeals
• Donny Lambeth, North Carolina House of Representatives
• Norman M. Miller, United States Navy officer; one of the most decorated Naval Aviators during World War II ^[29]
• Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell, MLB pitcher for Pirates and Cardinals, and US congressman from 1968 to 1967
• Derwin Montgomery, North Carolina House of Representatives
• Lorraine H. Morton, mayor of Evanston, Illinois
• Roxie Nicholson, career staffer at the United States Department of Labor
• Ray C. Osborne, served as the first Lieutenant Governor of Florida under the state constitution of 1968 ^[30]
• Earline Parmon, North Carolina Senate
• Rufus Lenoir Patterson, Mayor of Salem, North Carolina
• R. J. Reynolds Jr., treasurer of the Democratic National Committee and mayor of Winston-Salem
• Grace Rohrer, Secretary of Administration of North Carolina and Secretary of Cultural Resources of North Carolina
• Anna Harris Stein, First Lady of North Carolina
• Evelyn Terry, North Carolina House of Representatives
• Bennetta Bullock Washington, "first first lady" of Washington, D.C., director of Job Corps for Women at the Department of Labor
• Larry W. Womble, North Carolina General Assembly
• Madie Hall Xuma, president of the African National Congress Women's League

Religion

• J. Neil Alexander, 9th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
• Stuart Epperson, evangelical who was the co-founder and chairman of Salem Media Group
• J. D. Greear, 62nd president of the Southern Baptist Convention
• Herbert Spaugh, Bishop of the Moravian Church

Science and technology

• Roy F. Brissenden, NASA physicist
• Burton C. Gray, co-founder of Scientific Time Sharing Corporation
• Lisa Hensley, microbiologist, associate director of science at the Office of the Chief Scientist of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease
• Joseph Gaither Pratt, psychologist who specialized in parapsychology.
• James Francis Shober, first professionally trained African American physician to practice in North Carolina

Sports

Baseball

• Dustin Ackley, outfielder for the New York Yankees
• Koke Alexander, Negro leagues outfielder
• Fred Anderson, former Major League Baseball player
• Don Cardwell, former Major League Baseball pitcher; World Series champion
• Alvin Crowder, Major League Baseball pitcher; World Series champion
• Alex Crumbley, baseball outfielder in the Negro leagues
• Spencer Davis, baseball infielder in the Negro leagues
• Ryan Dull, Major League Baseball pitcher
• Harvey Gentry, former Major League Baseball player
• Rufe Gentry, former Major League Baseball player for the Detroit Tigers
• Mark Grace, first baseman for Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks, World Series champion, broadcaster and coach
• Tommy Gregg, former Major League Baseball player
• Napoleon Hairston, Negro league outfielder
• Ed Lyons, Major League Baseball second baseman
• D. J. Mitchell, Major League Baseball pitcher
• Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell, MLB pitcher for Pirates and Cardinals, and US congressman from 1968 to 1967
• Howie Nunn, former Major League Baseball player
• Ernie Shore, former Major League Baseball pitcher, two-time World Series champion and sheriff of Forsyth County, North Carolina
• Seth Simmons, professional baseball player
• Bill Slack, professional baseball player, coach, and manager
• Robert Woodard, baseball player and collegiate coach

Basketball

• Cy Alexander, college basketball coach
• Norton Barnhill, professional basketball player
• Randolph Childress, former professional basketball player
• Hubert Davis, head coach of the men's basketball team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, basketball analyst for ESPN, former NBA player
• Rick Duckett, college basketball coach
• Lindsay Edmonds, college basketball coach
• C.E. "Big House" Gaines, head basketball coach of Winston-Salem State University for 47 years; member of Basketball Hall of Fame
• Danny Gathings, retired basketball player
• Harry Giles III, professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers
• Herm Gilliam, professional basketball player
• Happy Hairston, professional basketball player for Los Angeles Lakers; NBA Champion
• C. J. Harris, basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Ricky Hickman, professional basketball player
• Whit Holcomb-Faye, professional basketball player
• Brian Howard, professional basketball player
• Josh Howard, professional basketball player and coach
• Othello Hunter, professional basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Reggie Johnson, professional basketball player
• Rusty LaRue, professional basketball player; NBA champion
• Camille Little, WNBA player
• Caleb Martin, twin brother of Cody Martin, professional basketball player for the Miami Heat
• Cody Martin, twin brother of Caleb Martin, professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets
• John Meeks (born 1999), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Earl Monroe, professional basketball player for New York Knicks and Baltimore Bullets
• Benny Moss, college basketball coach
• Ryan Odom, college basketball coach
• Tyson Patterson, professional basketball player
• Chris Paul, professional basketball player, 12x NBA All-Star and two-time Olympic champion
• Josh Pittman, professional basketball player
• Willie Porter, professional basketball player
• Skip Prosser, professional basketball player.
• Juvonte Reddic, professional basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Brian Robinson, college basketball coach
• Reyshawn Terry, professional basketball player and 2005 NCAA champion with North Carolina
• Kevin Thompson, professional basketball player

Football

• Ray Agnew, professional football player and executive
• Ray Agnew III, professional football player
• Hubbard Alexander, professional football coach
• Bracy Bonham, Canadian Football League player
• Hal Bradley, professional football player
• Kidd Brewer, college football player and administrator
• Alan Caldwell, professional football player
• Tony Covington, professional football player
• Angelo Crowell, professional football player
• Germane Crowell, professional football player
• Donnie Davis, professional football player
• Divine Deablo, professional football player
• Kenny Duckett, professional football player
• Carl Eller, professional football player; member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Clement M. Eyler, college football coach
• Ed Gainey, Canadian Football League player
• Paul Gibson, professional football player
• George Godsey, professional football player
• Chris Hairston, professional football player
• Josh Hawkins, professional football player
• Madison Hedgecock, professional football player
• KJ Henry, professional football player
• Dwayne Ijames, professional football player
• Bill Jackson, professional football player
• Anthony Levine, professional football player and two-time Super Bowl champion
• Alex McCalister, professional football player
• Bill McKoy, professional football player
• Ja'Quan McMillian, professional football player
• Doug Middleton, professional football player
• Paul Miles, professional football player
• Jackie Mitchell, Canadian Football League player
• Aric Morris, professional football player
• A. J. Nicholson, professional football player
• Darrell Nicholson, professional football player
• Derek Nicholson, professional football player and college football coach
• Artimus Parker, professional football player
• Denzel Rice, professional football player
• Sherman Simmons, college football coach
• Darryl Sims, professional football player
• Speedy Speer, football player and coach
• Ramondo Stallings, professional football player
• Ryan Taylor, professional football player
• Steve Videtich, professional football player
• Blake Whiteheart, professional football player
• Bryce Williams, professional football player
• Tory Woodbury, professional football player
• Tom Young, college football coach

Golf

• Cydney Clanton, professional golfer
• Jim Ferree, professional golfer
• Jerry Haas, professional golfer
• Walter Hall, professional golfer
• David Mathis, professional golfer
• Arnold Palmer, professional golfer; attended Wake Forest University

Hockey

• Patrick O'Sullivan, National Hockey League player
• Ben Smith, National Hockey League player and 2013 Stanley Cup champion

Racing

• Dillon Bassett, NASCAR driver
• Ronnie Bassett Jr., NASCAR driver
• Ed Berrier, NASCAR driver
• Richard Childress, NASCAR team owner
• Barry Dodson, NASCAR crew chief
• Bobby Myers, NASCAR racing driver
• Chocolate Myers, NASCAR team principal
• Leon Sales, stock car racing driver

Soccer

• Tanner Beason, defender ^[31]
• John Bradford, defender and coach ^[32]
• Sam Cronin, midfielder ^[33]
• Austin da Luz, midfielder ^[34]
• Matt Spear, coach and sports executive ^[35]
• David Testo, midfielder ^[36]
• Wells Thompson, midfielder ^[37]

Track and field

• Blake Russell, Olympic long-distance runner, competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• J-Mee Samuels, track and field sprinter

Other

• Kathleen Baker, Olympic swimmer, won gold and silver medal at 2016 Summer Olympics
• Michael Blomquist, rower and a former World Champion
• Ric Converse, professional wrestler
• Kimani Griffin, Olympic speed skater, competed at 2018 Winter Olympics
• Marc Johnson, professional skateboarder
• Randy Jones, Olympic bobsledder, won silver medal in the four-man event at 2002 Winter Olympics
• Brian McDonough, Olympic cyclist, competed at 1996 Summer Olympics
• Tab Thacker, NCAA wrestling national champion at NC State and actor ^[38]
• Matthew Thomson, tennis player
• Chris Young, gymnast, won silver medal at 1999 Pan American Games

Other

• Zachary Smith Reynolds, murder victim
• Hattie M. Strong, philanthropist

References

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2. "St. Mary's School Bulletin".
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7. Sciences, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and. "Ramin Bahrani: 5 Movies That Changed Me as a Filmmaker". A.frame. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
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