List of people from Fort Worth, Texas

The following are people of note who were born in, live in, or have formerly resided in Fort Worth, Texas.

Sports

• Lance Cole Barrett (born 1984), Major League Baseball umpire
• Tom Buckman (born 1947), professional football player
• Beau Burrows (born 1996), MLB pitcher
• Chennedy Carter (born 1998), professional basketball player for Atlanta Dream
• Raymond Clayborn (born 1955), NFL football player
• Kyle Crick, professional baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates
• Donald Curry, former undisputed world welterweight boxing champion
• John Douglas (1945–2005), NFL player
• Brandon Finnegan, professional baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Monarchs
• Jack Haden (1914–1996), football player
• Phil Handler (1908–1968), NFL football player and coach
• Brad Hawpe (born 1979), professional baseball player
• Irv Hill (1908–1978), American football running back in the NFL for the Chicago Cardinals and Boston Redskins
• Brock Holt (born 1988), professional baseball player
• Rogers Hornsby (1896–1963), Hall of Fame baseball player
• Keith Langford, professional basketball player
• Yale Lary (1930–2017), Football Hall of Famer
• Rod Manuel (born 1974), football player
• Rags Matthews (1905–1999), football player for TCU
• Suzanne Mitchell, director of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
• Jeff Newman, MLB All-Star baseball player and manager
• William Paulus, swimmer and former world record holder in the 100m Butterfly
• Hunter Pence (born 1983), MLB baseball player
• Mike Renfro (born 1955), former NFL player
• Bryan Reynolds (born 2001), soccer player who represented the United States national team
• Chuck Reynolds (born 1946), football player
• Mike Richardson (born 1946), NFL player
• A'Shawn Robinson (born 1995), NFL player; attended Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth
• John Roderick (born 1944), professional football player
• Johnny Rutherford (born 1938), race car driver, three-time winner of Indy 500
• Denise Rutkowski (born 1961), professional bodybuilder
• By Saam (1914–2000), sportscaster
• Annie Sanders (born 2007), professional rock climber
• Kelly Shoppach (born 1980), Major League Baseball catcher (2005–2013)
• Slick (1957–), WWE wrestling manager
• AJ Smith-Shawver, professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves
• Hurley Tarver (born 1975), football player
• Jeana Yeager (born 1952), broke distance records during her (and Dick Rutan's) 1986 nonstop flight around the world in an experimental Voyager
• Tylan Wallace (born 1999), NFL football player, attended South Hills High School
• Allyson Simpson (born 2000), American professional ice hockey defenceman for the New York Sirens

Politics and law

• Lawrence A. Alexander (born 1943 in Fort Worth), law professor
• Betty Andujar (1912–1997), first Republican woman in Texas State Senate (1973–1983)
• H.S. Broiles (1845–1913), 6th Mayor of Fort Worth, Texas
• Joel Burns (born 1969), politician
• Reby Cary (1920–2018), educator, historian, and member of the Texas House of Representatives
• Nicole Collier (born 1972), member of the Texas House of Representatives
• L. Clifford Davis (1924–2025), civil rights attorney and judge
• Charlie Geren (born 1949), member of Texas House of Representatives from District 99 in Tarrant County
• Pete Geren (born 1952), former member of U.S. House of Representatives; former U.S. Secretary of the Army; director of Sid W. Richardson Foundation
• Craig Goldman (born 1968), member of Texas House of Representatives from District 97 in Fort Worth
• Kay Granger (born 1943), U.S. Representative and former mayor of Fort Worth
• John Hodgson (fl. 2022), Kentucky state representative born in Fort Worth
• Debra Lehrmann, Texas Supreme Court justice, Place 3
• Joe K. Longley, former President of the Texas State Bar
• Dario Lorenzetti (born 1970) CIA Officer killed in Afghanistan
• Lorraine Miller, first woman president of the NAACP, Interim president and CEO, 2014
• John T. Montford (born 1943), businessman and former member of the Texas Senate
• "Pappy" O'Daniel (1890–1969), Governor of Texas, U.S. Senator and radio personality
• Bill Owens (born 1950), former Governor of Colorado (1999–2007)
• Hugh Parmer (1939–2020), mayor of Fort Worth 1977 to 1979; member of both houses of Texas State Legislature
• Bennett Ratliff (born 1961), state representative from District 115 in Dallas County; civil engineer
• Tom Schieffer (born 1947), U.S. Ambassador to Japan, candidate for governor
• Mark M. Shelton (born 1956), pediatrician and politician
• Jonathan Stickland (born 1983), state representative from Tarrant County
• Bascom N. Timmons (1890–1987), journalist and political advisor
• Daniel E. Walker (1927–2009), civil servant, rescued remains of flag burned in protest at 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas
• Jim Wright (1922–2015), U.S. Congressman from Texas and Speaker of the House
• Marc Veasey (born 1971), U.S. representative for Texas

Film and television

• Adrienne Ames (1907–1947), actress, radio host
• Texas Rose Bascom (1922–1993), film and television actress, National Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductee 1981
• Patricia Blair (1933–2013), actress
• Wes Brown (born 1982), actor
• Betty Buckley (born 1947), Tony Award-winning actress
• Kate Capshaw (born 1953), actress, married to Steven Spielberg
• Julio Cedillo (born 1970), actor, raised in Fort Worth
• Candy Clark (born 1947), Oscar-nominated actress
• Kenneth Copeland (born 1936), televangelist
• Noah Cottrell, actor
• Shelley Duvall (1949-2024), actress
• George Eads (born 1967), actor
• Richard Gilliland (1950–2021), actor best known as JD Shackleford in Designing Women
• Judy Graubart (born 1943), actress, The Electric Company
• Larry Hagman (1931–2012), actor, son of actress Mary Martin, played J.R. Ewing in Dallas
• Bug Hall (born 1985), actor
• Harriet Sansom Harris (born 1955), actress, Frasier, Desperate Housewives
• Martha Hyer (1924–2014), Oscar-nominated actress
• Jesse Jane (1980-2024), pornographic actor
• Benton Jennings, actor
• Candace Kita, actress and model
• Wallace Langham (born 1965), actor, The Larry Sanders Show, ', and '
• David Mann (born 1966), actor, comedian and gospel singer
• Tamela Mann (born 1966), actor, singer and songwriter
• Lisa McRee (born 1961), television journalist
• Leighton Meester (born 1986), actress
• Lynn Merrick (1919–2007), actress
• Dan Hewitt Owens (born 1947), actor
• Fess Parker (1924–2010), actor
• Bill Paxton (1955–2017), actor, starred in Titanic, Frailty, TV series Big Love; attended Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth
• Richard Rawlings (born 1969), entrepreneur and reality television star
• Rex Reed (born 1938), film critic, actor, television host
• Rod Roddy (1937–2003), television announcer on game shows, like Press Your Luck & The Price is Right
• Ginger Rogers (1911–1995), actress and dancer who moved to Fort Worth at age 9; attended Central (Paschal) High School
• Bob Schieffer (born 1937), journalist, CBS Evening News anchor and Face the Nation host
• Michael "Bear" Taliferro (1961–2006), actor
• Hunter Tylo (born 1962), actress
• Lisa Whelchel (born 1963), actress, The Facts of Life
• Keith L. Williams, actor
• Van Williams (1934–2016), actor, The Green Hornet
• Morgan Woodward (1925–2019), actor, Dallas and Cool Hand Luke
• Carlson Young (born 1990), actress, Scream

Military

• Horace S. Carswell Jr. (1916–1944), USAAF, KIA World War II; posthumous Medal of Honor recipient; namesake of Carswell Air Force Base
• Robert David Law (September 15, 1944 – February 22, 1969), Medal of Honor recipient
• Charles F. Pendleton, posthumous Medal of Honor recipient for actions in the Korea War; R. L. Paschal High School, Class of 1953
• William C. Rogers III (December 13, 1938 – June 30, 2025), United States Navy Captain of the USS Vincennes; involved in the shootdown of Iran Air Flight 655

Music

• Trey Anastasio (born 1964), guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Phish
• Gerry Beckley (born 1952), singer-songwriter, founding member of the band America
• Leon Bridges (born 1989), soul singer and Grammy nominee
• T-Bone Burnett (born 1948), Oscar-winning songwriter, record producer, musician
• Kelly Clarkson (born 1982), Grammy winning singer, original American Idol winner, Emmy winner talk show host
• Van Cliburn (1934–2013), pianist
• Ornette Coleman (1930–2015), jazz musician
• Jeff Current, lead singer of Against All Will
• Bobby Day (1928–1990), musician
• John Denver (born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., 1943–1997), singer-songwriter
• Johnny Dowd (born 1948), musician
• Manet Harrison Fowler (1895–1976), singer, music educator, painter
• Kirk Franklin (born 1970), gospel singer and producer
• Pat Green (born 1972), country musician
• Marcus Haddock (born 1957 in Fort Worth), opera singer
• Taylor Hawkins (1972–2022), drummer for Foo Fighters
• Julius Hemphill (1938–1995), jazz composer and saxophone player
• Jules Hoffman, children's musician
• iayze, rapper and songwriter
• Ronald Shannon Jackson (1940–2013), jazz drummer
• Cody Jinks, country music singer-songwriter
• Prince Lasha (William Lawsha) (1929–2008), jazz saxophonist and flutist
• Vaden Todd Lewis (born 1965), lead vocalist and guitarist for the rock band Toadies
• Samuel S. Losh (1884–1943), vocalist, composer, and music educator
• Kirstin Maldonado (born 1992), singer-songwriter
• Tamela Mann (born 1966), gospel singer and actress
• Delbert McClinton (born 1940), singer-songwriter
• Roger Miller (1936–1992), singer-songwriter
• Gary Morris (born 1948), singer
• Oh, Sleeper, heavy metal band
• Clay Perry (born 1990), songwriter and recording artist
• Dewey Redman (1931–2006), free jazz saxophonist
• Wallace Scott (born 1943) and Walter Scott (1943–2025), twin brothers and lead singers of the R&B group The Whispers
• Townes Van Zandt (1944–1997), country music singer-songwriter
• William Walker (1931–2010), opera singer and director

Academics and writing

• Mel Bradford (1934–1993), literary critic
• Heloise Bowles Cruse (1919–1977), syndicated columnist, Hints from Heloise
• James T. Draper, Jr. (born 1935), author, Baptist leader
• Clare B. Dunkle (born 1964), author, librarian
• Beth Haller, journalism professor
• Patricia Highsmith (1921–1995), author of Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr Ripley
• Lillian B. Horace (1880–1965), author, educator, librarian
• Dan Jenkins (1929–2019), sports journalist and author
• Sally Jenkins (born 1960), sports journalist and author
• Mary Daggett Lake (1880–1955), historian, botanist, and educator
• Robert L. Lynn (1931–2020), journalist, poet, and retired college president
• Blanche McVeigh (1895–1970), printmaker and art educator
• Hazel Harvey Peace (1907–2008), educator, activist, and humanitarian
• Jenny Lind Porter (1927–2020), poet and educator
• Theresa A. Powell (1952–2023), academic administrator
• Ben H. Procter (1927–2012), historian
• Rex Reed (born 1938), film critic
• Lenora Rolla (1904–2001), activist, educator, and historian
• Jennie Scott Scheuber (1860–1944), public library pioneer and Fort Worth's first librarian
• Liz Smith (1923–2017), journalist, syndicated columnist
• Blake R. Van Leer (1897–1956), colonel, civil rights icon, and president of Georgia Institute of Technology
• John Graves (1920-2013), author of Goodbye to a River and other books

Science

• Alan Bean (1932–2018), artist, retired NASA astronaut (1981); R. L. Paschal High School, Class of 1950; carried Paschal High School's flag to the Moon
• Robert Bruce Merrifield (1921–2006), biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1984
• Clyde Snow (1928–2014), forensic anthropologist

Business and philanthropy

• Sid Bass (born 1943), billionaire, Sundance Square developer, major stockholder in The Walt Disney Company
• Electra Carlin (1912–2000), art dealer
• Amon G. Carter (1879–1955), civic booster, philanthropist, creator and publisher of Fort Worth Star-Telegram
• T. Cullen Davis (born 1933), millionaire tried and acquitted for 1976 murders of Stan Farr and Andrea Wilborn
• Edna Gladney (1886–1961), founder of Edna Gladney Home
• Brad Hunstable (born 1978), founder of Ustream
• Hazel Vaughn Leigh (1897–1995), founder of the Fort Worth Boys Club
• Bill Noël (1914–1987), oil industrialist and philanthropist from Odessa, born in Fort Worth
• Sid W. Richardson (1891–1959), oilman, cattleman and philanthropist
• Lucille Elizabeth Bishop Smith (1892–1985), entrepreneur, chef, and inventor
• A. Latham Staples (born 1977), CEO of EXUSMED, civil rights activist and founder of Empowering Spirits Foundation

Criminals

• Ronald and James Allridge, Serial killer brothers; Ronald was executed in 1995 and James in 2004
• Mark David Chapman (born 1955), assassin of John Lennon
• Joe Michael Ervin (1951–1981), serial killer
• Kenneth Granviel (1950–1996), serial killer and rapist
• Ricky Lee Green (1960–1997), serial killer
• Edward Lagrone (1957–2004), serial killer and rapist

Other

• Opal Lee, activist promoting the Juneteenth federal holiday
• G. Craige Lewis (born 1969), Christian minister
• Gretchen Polhemus, Miss Texas USA 1989 and Miss USA 1989
• Skratch (born 1972), pinstripe artist and fabricator
• Randy Souders (born 1954), visual artist and disability rights advocate

References