This is a list of notable Louisiana Creole people.
To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Louisiana Creoles or must have references showing they are Louisiana Creoles and are notable.
List
Arts, culture, and entertainment
- Don Albert (1908âÂÂ1980) â jazz trumpeter and bandleader
- Fernest Arceneaux (1940âÂÂ2008) â zydeco accordionist and singer from Louisiana
- Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin (1915âÂÂ2007) â accordionist
- Amede Ardoin (1898âÂÂ1942) â zydeco musician
- Chris Ardoin (born 1981) â zydeco accordionist and singer
- Sean Ardoin (born 1970) â zydeco musician and singer
- K.D. Aubert (born 1978) â actress and fashion model
- Vernel Bagneris (born 1949) â playwright, actor, director, singer, and dancer; named after his cousin Vernel Fournier
- Louis Barbarin (1902âÂÂ1997) â New Orleans jazz drummer
- Paul Barbarin (1899âÂÂ1969) â New Orleans jazz drummer, usually regarded (along with Baby Dodds) as one of the best of the pre-Big Band era jazz drummers
- Achille Baquet (1885âÂÂ1955) â jazz clarinetist and saxophonist
- George Baquet (1881âÂÂ1949) â jazz clarinetist, known for his contributions to early jazz in New Orleans
- Blue Lu Barker (1913âÂÂ1998) â jazz and blues singer; her better known recordings included "Don't You Feel My Leg" and "Look What Baby's Got For You"
- Danny Barker (1909âÂÂ1994) â jazz banjoist, singer, guitarist, songwriter, ukulele player
- Richmond Barthé (1901âÂÂ1989) â sculptor
- Dave Bartholomew (1918âÂÂ2019) â musician, band leader, composer and arranger, prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century
- Jon Batiste (born 1986) â singer, multi-instrumentalist, educator, and bandleader from Kenner, Louisiana; music director and bandleader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and its band Stay Human
- Lionel Batiste (1931âÂÂ2012) â jazz and blues musician and singer from New Orleans
- Sidney Bechet (1897âÂÂ1959) â jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and composer
- Barney Bigard (1906âÂÂ1980) â jazz clarinetist
- Esther Bigeou (1895âÂÂ1936) â blues singer; billed as "The Girl with the Million Dollar Smile"; one of the classic female blues singers popular in the 1920s
- Eddie Bo (1930âÂÂ2009) â singer and pianist from New Orleans
- Peter Bocage (1887âÂÂ1967) â cornet player; also played violin professionally, as well as sometimes trombone, banjo, and xylophone; cousin of New Orleans R&B musician Eddie Bo
- Denise Boutte (born 1982) â actress and model
- John Boutté (born 1958) â jazz singer
- Wellman Braud (1891âÂÂ1966) â jazz upright bassist
- Jeffery Broussard (born 1967) â zydeco musician
- John Brunious (born 1940) â jazz trumpeter
- Wendell Brunious (born 1954) â jazz trumpeter
- Calvin Carriere (1921âÂÂ2002) â fiddler
- Joseph "Bébé" Carrière (1908âÂÂ2001) â fiddler
- Chubby Carrier (born 1967) â zydeco musician
- Roy Carrier (1947âÂÂ2010) â zydeco musician
- Blue Ivy Carter (born 2012) - dancer
- Inez Catalon (c. 1913âÂÂ1994) â Creole singer
- Papa Celestin (1884âÂÂ1954) â jazz bandleader, trumpeter, cornetist and vocalist
- Leah Chase (1923âÂÂ2019) â chef, author and television personality
- Boozoo Chavis (1930âÂÂ2001) â musician and one of the pioneers of zydeco music
- Clifton Chenier (1925âÂÂ1987) â zydeco musician
- C.J. Chenier (born 1957) â zydeco musician and son of the Grammy Award-winning "King of Zydeco", Clifton Chenier
- Frank Christian (1887âÂÂ1973) â early jazz trumpeter
- Savannah Churchill (1920âÂÂ1974) â singer of pop, jazz, and blues music
- Robert Colescott (1925âÂÂ2009) â painter
- Warrington Colescott (1921âÂÂ2018) â artist
- Florestine Perrault Collins (1895âÂÂ1988) â photographer
- Charles Connor (1935âÂÂ2021) â drummer, best known as a member of Little Richard's band
- Louis Cottrell, Jr. (1911âÂÂ1978) â jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist
- Coline Creuzot (born 1985) â singer and Sony ATV songwriter; granddaughter of Percy Creuzot Jr, founder of Frenchy's Chicken, a popular creole restaurant chain based in Houston
- Joe Darensbourg (1906âÂÂ1985) â jazz clarinetist and saxophonist notable for his work with Buddy Petit, Jelly Roll Morton, Charlie Creath, Fate Marable, Andy Kirk, Kid Ory, Wingy Manone, Joe Liggins and Louis Armstrong
- Damita Jo DeBlanc (1930âÂÂ1998) â actress, comedian, and lounge music performer
- Edmonde Dede (1829âÂÂ1903) â composer
- Edgar Degas (1834âÂÂ1917) â artist famous for his paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings; cousin of Norbert Rillieux; eldest of five children of Célestine Musson De Gas, a Creole from New Orleans, and Augustin De Gas, a banker
- Harold Dejan (1909âÂÂ2002) â jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader
- Geno Delafose (born 1972) â zydeco accordionist
- John Delafose (1939âÂÂ1994) â zydeco accordionist
- Louis Nelson Delisle (1885âÂÂ1949) â Dixieland jazz clarinetist
- Sidney Desvigne (1893âÂÂ1959) â jazz trumpeter.
- Faith Domergue (1924âÂÂ1999) â television and film actress
- Natty Dominique (1896âÂÂ1982) â jazz trumpeter
- Fats Domino (1928âÂÂ2017) â classic R&B and rock and roll singer, songwriter and pianist
- Rockin' Dopsie (1932âÂÂ1993) â leading zydeco musician and button accordion player who enjoyed popular success first in Europe and later in the United States
- Peter DuConge (1903âÂÂ1967) â jazz reedist
- Lawrence Duhe (1887âÂÂ1960) â jazz clarinetist and bandleader; member of Sugar Johnnie's New Orleans Creole Orchestra
- Honore Dutrey (1894âÂÂ1934) â Dixieland jazz trombonist
- Ava DuVernay (born 1972) â film director, producer, screenwriter
- Sheila E. (born 1957) â percussionist, singer, composer and producer
- Mignon Faget (born 1933) â jewelry designer based in her native New Orleans
- Lionel Ferbos (1911âÂÂ2014) â New Orleans jazz trumpeter
- Lil' Fizz (born 1985) â rapper, former B2K member
- Canray Fontenot (1922âÂÂ1995) â fiddle player
- Vernel Fournier (1928âÂÂ2000) â jazz drummer
- Keith Frank (born 1972) â Zydeco musician
- Preston Frank (born 1947) â Zydeco musician
- D'Jalma Garnier (born 1954) â musician and composer
- Tony Garnier (born 1956) â bassist (both double bass and bass guitar), best known as an accompanist to Bob Dylan, with whom he has played since 1989
- Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau (1859âÂÂ1915) â model and socialite
- Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829âÂÂ1869) â composer and pianist, known as a virtuoso performer of his own romantic piano pieces
- George Guesnon (1907âÂÂ1968) â jazz banjoist, guitarist, composer, and singer
- Adah Isaacs Menken (1835âÂÂ1868) â actress, painter, poet
- Michel'le (born 1970) â R&B singer, former girlfriend of Dr. Dre; married to Suge Knight
- Janee Michelle (born 1946) â actress, model, and businessperson best known for her role in the 1974 horror film The House on Skull Mountain
- Lizzie Miles (1895âÂÂ1963) â blues singer
- Ziggy Modeliste (born 1948) â drummer best known as a founding member of the funk group The Meters
- Allison Montana (1922âÂÂ2005) â New Orleans cultural icon who acted as the Mardi Gras Indian "chief of chiefs" for over 50 years
- Deacon John Moore (born 1941) â blues, rhythm and blues and rock and roll musician, singer, and bandleader
- Morris W. Morris (1845âÂÂ1906) â American Civil War soldier of the Louisiana Native Guards; stage actor
- Jelly Roll Morton (1885âÂÂ1941) â virtuoso pianist, bandleader and composer
- Archibald Motley (1891âÂÂ1981) â painter
- Idris Muhammad (1939âÂÂ2014) â jazz drummer who recorded extensively with many musicians, including Ahmad Jamal, Lou Donaldson, Pharoah Sanders, and Tete Montoliu.
- Aaron Neville (born 1941) â soul and R&B singer and musician.
- Albert Nicholas (1900âÂÂ1973) â jazz reed player
- Wooden Joe Nicholas (1883âÂÂ1957) â jazz trumpeter and cornetist, active in the early New Orleans jazz scene
- Jimmie Noone (1895âÂÂ1944) â jazz clarinetist and bandleader
- Brittany O'Grady (born 1996) â actress who plays Simone Davis on the TV series Star
- Kid Ory (1886âÂÂ1973) â jazz trombonist and bandleader
- Jimmy Palao (1879âÂÂ1925) â jazz bandleader
- Ernest "Doc" Paulin (1907âÂÂ2007) â jazz trumpeter and bandleader
- Alcide Pavageau (1888âÂÂ1969) â jazz guitarist and double-bassist
- Manuel Perez (1871âÂÂ1946) â clarinetist and bandleader
- Louis Lucien Pessou (1824âÂÂ1886) â printmaker, early color lithographer
- Buddie Petit (1890âÂÂ1931) â early jazz cornetist
- Joseph Petit (1873âÂÂ1945) â jazz trombonist
- Fats Pichon (1906âÂÂ1967) â jazz pianist, singer, bandleader, and songwriter
- Alphonse Picou (1878âÂÂ1961) â jazz clarinetist
- De De Pierce (1904âÂÂ1973) â trumpeter and cornetist; best remembered for the songs "Peanut Vendor" and "Dippermouth Blues", both with Billie Pierce
- Armand J. Piron (1888âÂÂ1943) â jazz violinist, band leader, and composer
- Deborah Pratt (born 1951) â actress, writer and television producer
- Prince (1958âÂÂ2016) â singer-songwriter, musician and producer
- Regis Prograis (born 1989) â professional boxer
- Wardell Quezergue (1930âÂÂ2011) â music arranger, producer, and bandleader
- Chris Rene (born 1982) â singer-songwriter, musician and producer from Santa Cruz, California
- Googie Rene (1927âÂÂ2007) â musician and songwriter
- Leon Rene (1902âÂÂ1982) â music composer of R&B and rock and roll songs in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s
- Dawn Richard (1983) â singer-songwriter
- Robert Ri'chard (born 1983) â actor
- Nicole Richie (born 1981) â television personality, fashion designer
- LaTavia Roberson (born 1981) â singe-songwriter, and actress
- Joe Robichaux (1900âÂÂ1965) â jazz pianist; nephew of John Robichaux
- John Robichaux (1866âÂÂ1939) â jazz bandleader, drummer, and violinist; uncle of Joseph Robichaux
- Erica Blaire Roby (born 1983)- Food Network BBQ Brawl Champion
- RuPaul (born 1960) â actor, drag queen, model, author, television personality, and recording artist
- Betye Saar (born 1926) â artist known for her work in the field of assemblage
- Brytni Sarpy (born 1987) â actress best known for her portrayal of Valerie Spencer on the ABC Daytime soap opera General Hospital
- Rockin' Sidney (1938âÂÂ1998) â R&B, zydeco, and soul musician
- Omer Simeon (1902âÂÂ1959) â jazz clarinetist
- Terrance Simien (born 1965) â zydeco musician, vocalist, and songwriter
- Lil' Buck Sinegal (1944âÂÂ2019) â blues and zydeco musician
- Roger Guenveur Smith (born 1955) â actor, director, and writer
- Betty Reid Soskin (1921âÂÂ2025) â Park Ranger with the National Park Service, assigned to the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California
- Tracie Spencer (born 1976) â R&B and pop singer-songwriter, actress, and model
- Johnny St. Cyr (1890âÂÂ1966) â jazz banjoist and guitarist
- Raven-Symoné (born 1985) â actress and singer
- William J. Tennyson Jr. (1923âÂÂ1959) â jazz musician
- Andre Thierry (born 1979) â Grammy-nominated zydeco musician; leads the band Zydeco Magic
- Lorenzo Tio Jr. (1893âÂÂ1933) â jazz clarinetist
- Allen Toussaint (1938âÂÂ2015) â musician, composer, record producer, and influential figure in New Orleans R&B
- Mr. T (born 1952) â actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler
- Vicki Vann (born 1980) â country music artist, model and actress
- Little Walter (1930âÂÂ1968) â blues musician and singer
- Lynn Whitfield (born 1953) â actress
- Nathan Williams (born 1964) â zydeco accordionist and singer
- Buckwheat Zydeco (1947âÂÂ2016) â accordionist and zydeco musician
Business
- Danny Bakewell (born 1946) â civil rights activist and entrepreneur; owner of the Bakewell Company, which includes among its holdings the New Orleans radio station WBOK and the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper; Chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association
- Alvin J. Boutte (1929âÂÂ2012) â founder and CEO of the largest Black-owned bank in the United States, civil rights activist, Chicago civic leader
- Robert Brevelle (born 1977) â entrepreneur, venture capitalist and professor. Councilman of the Adai Caddo Indian Nation and lineal descendant of the founders of historic Isle Brevelle, the birthplace of Louisiana Creole Culture.
- Joseph Eloi Broussard (1866âÂÂ1956) â pioneer rice grower and miller in Texas
- Jean Pierre Chouteau (1758âÂÂ1849) â fur trader, merchant, politician and slaveholder
- Marie Couvent (1757âÂÂ1837) â philanthropist and businesswoman
- Percy Creuzot (1924âÂÂ2010) â restaurateur who founded Frenchy's Chicken in Houston, Texas; due to his success, he became known as "the black Colonel Sanders"
- Constant C. Dejoie, Sr. (1881âÂÂ1970) â publisher and founder of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper
- Lurita Doan (born 1958) â businesswoman, political commentator, and former political appointee; administrator of the United States General Services Administration, the government's contracting agency, 2006âÂÂ2008, during the administration of Republican U.S. President George W. Bush
- Harold Doley (born 1947) â businessman
- Jean Baptiste Point du Sable (?âÂÂ1818) â businessman and founder of Chicago
- Roy F. Guste â author of ten Louisiana French-Creole cuisine cookbooks; fifth-generation proprietor of New Orleans' famed Antoine's Restaurant, established in 1840
- Thomy Lafon (1810âÂÂ1893) â businessman, philanthropist, and human rights activist
- Austin Leslie (1934âÂÂ2005) â internationally famous New Orleans chef whose work defined "Creole Soul"
- Miriam Leslie (1836âÂÂ1914) â publisher and author
- Marie Thérèse Coincoin (1742âÂÂ1816) â médecine, planter, and businesswoman in Natchitoches Parish
- Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba (1795âÂÂ1874) â businesswoman
- Mary Ellen Pleasant (between 1814 and 1817âÂÂ1904) â entrepreneur and human rights activist
- Iris Rideau (born 1937) â winemaker, businesswoman and activist
- Charles Rochon (1673âÂÂ1733) â French colonist and was one of the four founders of modern-day Mobile, Alabama.
- Rosette Rochon (1767) â daughter of Pierre Rochon, a shipbuilder from a Québécois family (family name was Rocheron in Québec), and his mulâtresse slave-consort Marianne, who bore him five other children. Rochon came to speculate in real estate in the French Quarter; she eventually owned rental property, opened grocery stores, made loans, bought and sold mortgages, and owned and rented out (hired out) slaves.
- Desiree Rogers (born 1959) â former White House Social Secretary and businesswoman
- Peter A. Sarpy (1804âÂÂ1865) â businessman
- Jacques Telesphore Roman (1800âÂÂ1848) â businessman
- Virginie de Ternant (1818âÂÂ1887) â businesswoman
Education
- Earl Barthe (1922âÂÂ2010) â plasterer and plastering historian
- Brian J. Costello (born 1966) â historian, author, archivist and humanitarian. He is an 11th generation resident of New Roads, Louisiana, seat of Pointe Coupee Parish. He is three-quarters French and one-quarter Italian in ethnicity. He is a recognized, and one of the few remaining, speakers of Louisiana Creole French, having been immersed in childhood in the dialect spoken in Pointe Coupee Parish.
- Toi Derricotte (born 1941) â poet and professor of writing at the University of Pittsburgh
- Edouard Dessommes (1845âÂÂ1908) â French language writer
- Caroline Durieux (1896âÂÂ1989) â lithographer, and Professor Emeritus of Fine Arts at Louisiana State University
- Alcée Fortier (1856âÂÂ1914) â late 19th-century professor of languages and folklore; influential in preservation of the French language in Louisiana
- Norman Francis (born 1931) â President of Xavier University of Louisiana
- Sheryl St. Germain (born 1954) â poet, essayist, and professor
- Andrew Jolivette â author and lecturer; associate professor in American Indian Studies and instructor in Ethnic Studies, Educational Leadership, and Race and Resistance Studies at San Francisco State University
- Sybil Kein â poet, playwright, scholar and musician
- Suzette M. Malveaux (born 1966) â Professor of Law and former Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America
- Camille Nickerson (1888âÂÂ1982) â pianist, composer, arranger, collector, and Howard University professor from 1926 to 1962
- Etnah Rochon Boutte (1880-1973) â educator, pharmacist, an activist; executive secretary of the Circle for Negro War Relief; co-founder, NAACP Anti-Lynching Crusaders
- Gilbert L. Rochon â 6th president of Tuskegee University, 2010âÂÂ2013
- Neal Ferdinand Simeon (1916âÂÂ1963) â mechanical engineer and teacher
Journalism
Law and politics
- Caesar Antoine (1836âÂÂ1921) â Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, businessman, soldier, editor
- Larry Bagneris, Jr. (born 1946) â social and political activist from New Orleans
- Sidney Barthelemy (born 1942) â former mayor of New Orleans
- Armand Julie Beauvais (1783âÂÂ1843) â 7th governor of Louisiana
- Pierre Evariste Jean-Baptiste Bossier (1797âÂÂ1844) â Louisiana state senator, 1833âÂÂ1843; namesake of Bossier Parish, Louisiana
- Henry Braden (1944âÂÂ2013) â lawyer, lobbyist, and Democratic politician from his native New Orleans, Louisiana.
- Donna Brazile (born 1959) â author, academic, and political analyst; Vice Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee
- Allen Broussard (1929âÂÂ1996) â judge who rose to become a justice of the California Supreme Court
- LaToya Cantrell (born 1972) â current mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana
- Ward Connerly (born 1939) â former University of California regent, moderate conservative political activist, and businessman
- Don Cravins, Jr. (born 1972) â Democratic politician from the State of Louisiana
- Pierre Derbigny (1769âÂÂ1829) â 6th governor of Louisiana
- Dan Desdunes (1870âÂÂ1929) â civil rights activist and musician in New Orleans and Omaha
- Rodolphe Desdunes (1849âÂÂ1928) â civil rights activist, poet, historian, journalist, and customs officer primarily active in New Orleans
- Jean Noel Destrehan (1754âÂÂ1823) â politician in Louisiana and one-time owner of Destréhan Plantation, one of Louisiana's most famous antebellum historical landmarks
- Antoine Dubuclet (1810âÂÂ1887) â State Treasurer of Louisiana
- Jacques Dupre (1773âÂÂ1846) â 8th Governor of Louisiana
- Edwin Edwards (1927âÂÂ2021) â served as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972âÂÂ1980, 1984âÂÂ1988 and 1992âÂÂ1996), twice as many elected terms as any other Louisiana chief executive
- Keith Ellison (born 1963) â U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district
- William Freret (1804âÂÂ1864) â mayor of New Orleans, 1840âÂÂ1842, and 1843âÂÂ1844
- Charles Gayarré (1805âÂÂ1895) â lawyer, judge, politician, historian, essayist, dramatist and novelist
- Curtis Graves (born 1938) â politician and photographer
- Paul Octave Hebert (1818âÂÂ1880) â 14th Governor of Louisiana from 1853 to 1856 and a general in the Confederate Army
- Alexis Herman (born 1947) â politician; 23rd U.S. Secretary of Labor, serving under President Bill Clinton; previously Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement
- Valerie Jarrett (born 1956) â senior advisor and assistant to the president for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Obama administration; lawyer and businesswoman. Jarrett is a descendant of French colonist Charles Rochon
- Paul Lafargue (1842âÂÂ1911) â French revolutionary Marxist socialist journalist, literary critic, political writer and activist
- Eric LaFleur (born 1964) â Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate; first elected in 2007; previously member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 38 (Evangeline and St. Landry parishes), 2000âÂÂ2008; first elected without opposition to an open seat vacated by Dirk Deville; re-elected four years later in 2003 with 81% of the vote
- Mary Landrieu (born 1955) â politician, entrepreneur, and former U.S. Senator from the state of Louisiana.
- Mitch Landrieu (born 1960) â politician and lawyer who is the 61st Mayor of New Orleans. A Democrat, Landrieu served as the 51st Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 2004 to 2010 prior to becoming mayor.
- Moon Landrieu (1930-2022) â served as the 56th Mayor of New Orleans from 1970 to 1978. He also is a former judge. He represented New Orleans' Twelfth Ward in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1960 to 1966 and served on the New Orleans City Council as a member at-large from 1966 to 1970.
- Pierre Caliste Landry (1841âÂÂ1921) â Mayor of Donaldsonville, Louisiana
- Richard W. Leche (1898âÂÂ1965) â 44th governor of Louisiana, 1936âÂÂ1939
- John Willis Menard (1838âÂÂ1893) â U.S. Congressman
- Ernest Nathan Morial (1929âÂÂ1989) â political figure and leading civil rights advocate
- Marc Morial (born 1958) â former mayor of New Orleans; son of Ernest Nathan Morial
- Ray Nagin (born 1956) â former mayor of New Orleans
- Revius Ortique, Jr. (1924âÂÂ2008) â justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, and civil rights activist
- James Pitot (1761âÂÂ1831) â second mayor of New Orleans
- Homer Plessy (1863âÂÂ1925) â plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson
- Geronimo Pratt (1947âÂÂ2011) â human rights activist
- Denis Prieur â 10th mayor of New Orleans
- Robert Rochon Taylor (1899âÂÂ1957), housing activist and banker, first black member of the Chicago Housing Authority, namesake of the Robert Taylor Homes
- Andre B. Roman (1795âÂÂ1866) â 9th governor of Louisiana, cousin of Sen. Pierre Bossier
- Angela Rye (born 1979) â attorney and political commentator, her paternal grandfather was born in Shreveport, Louisiana
- A.P. Tureaud (1899âÂÂ1972) â attorney for the New Orleans chapter of the NAACP
- Jacques Villere (1761âÂÂ1830) â 2nd governor of Louisiana
- Joseph Marshall Walker (1784âÂÂ1856) â 13th governor of Louisiana, 1850âÂÂ1853
- Lionel Wilson (1915âÂÂ1998) â mayor of Oakland, California, serving three terms, 1977âÂÂ1991
- Andrew Young (born 1932) â Congressman from Georgia's 5th congressional district, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and mayor of Atlanta
Literature
Military
Religion
Science and technology
Sports
Other
See also
References