List of people from Nashville, Tennessee

The following is a list of notable people who have lived in Nashville, Tennessee.

Native Nashvillians

People born in Tennessee:

Musicians and songwriters

With its status as a major hub of music production (especially country and gospel music), Nashville attracts a wide array of musicians, singers, and songwriters.

• Roy Acuff – country singer-songwriter; co-founder (with Fred Rose) of the Acuff-Rose publishing house
• Dean Alexander – country singer-songwriter
• Chet Atkins – country guitarist and record producer
• The Band Perry – country pop band
• Dave Barnes – acoustic singer-songwriter
• Greg Bates – country singer-songwriter
• David Berman – singer-songwriter of Silver Jews
• Beeb Birtles – former member of Little River Band
• Pat Boone (Charles Eugene Boone) – pop singer and actor
• Jordana Bryant – country/pop singer-songwriter, originally from Pennsylvania
• Bully – rock band
• J. J. Cale – songwriter and musician, known for writing "After Midnight" and "Cocaine"
• Glen Campbell – pop and country musician, TV personality and actor, sang "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"
• Johnny Cash – country singer-songwriter and actor, known to his fans as "The Man in Black"
• June Carter Cash – country singer-songwriter, wife of Johnny Cash, and member of the A.P. Carter family
• Desmond Child – hit rock/pop songwriter for Cher, Kiss, Aerosmith, Ricky Martin, Bonnie Tyler, Bon Jovi, and others
• Cimorelli – YouTube girl group, originally from El Dorado Hills, California
• The Civil Wars – folk/Americana duo
• Kelly Clarkson – pop singer-songwriter, first winner of American Idol
• Patsy Cline – country singer-songwriter, first woman in Country Music Hall of Fame
• Kyle Cook – singer-songwriter of Matchbox Twenty
• Rita Coolidge – pop recording artist and songwriter
• Billy Cox – bassist, last surviving member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience
• Sheryl Crow – singer-songwriter, actress
• Billy Ray Cyrus – country singer-songwriter, and actor; father of Miley Cyrus and Noah Cyrus
• Miley Cyrus – country/pop singer-songwriter, star of Hannah Montana; daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and older sister of Noah Cyrus
• Noah Cyrus – singer-songwriter, and actress; daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and younger sister of Miley Cyrus
• Steve Earle – country singer-songwriter
• Tommy Emmanuel – guitarist, native to Australia but lives in Nashville
• The Everly Brothers – pop music duo
• Zac Farro – drummer
• Fisk Jubilee Singers – gospel choir
• Lester Flatt – bluegrass pioneer
• Béla Fleck – banjoist, lived in Nashville most of his young adulthood, originally from New York City
• Dan Fogelberg – singer-songwriter of diverse musical styles, top-selling musician of 1970s–80s
• Ben Folds – singer-songwriter, former frontman of Ben Folds Five
• Framing Hanley – alternative rock band
• Peter Frampton – English rock musician, producer, songwriter, lives in Nashville
• Russ Freeman – lead of award-winning jazz band, The Rippingtons
• Kathy Lee Gifford – television host, singer-songwriter, actress, and author
• Josh Gracin – country singer
• Amy Grant – singer-songwriter known for Christian themes
• Emmylou Harris – country singer-songwriter, and musician
• Kerry Harvick – country singer-songwriter, cast member of the hit reality series Bad Girls Club
• Brandon Heath – Christian singer-songwriter
• Bobby Hebb – R&B/soul songwriter, musician, singer known for the song "Sunny"
• John Hiatt – songwriter and musician
• Faith Hill – country music singer
• Robyn Hitchcock – English alternative-rock musician
• Hot Chelle Rae – popular rock pop band
• Harlan Howard – Music Row songwriter
• David Hungate – bassist for Toto, also recorded with several country artists
• Alan Jackson – country singer-songwriter
• Jelly Roll – musician, songwriter, lyricist
• Struggle Jennings – musician, songwriter, lyricist
• Waylon Jennings – country singer-guitarist
• Naomi Judd – mother-daughter (with Wynonna Judd) country music singer-songwriter
• Wynonna Judd – mother-daughter (with Naomi Judd) country music singer-songwriter
• Jet Jurgensmeyer – teen actor and musician
• Donny Kees – musician and songwriter
• Kesha – pop singer
• Kings of Leon – rock musicians
• Robert Knight – R&B singer best known for the hit "Everlasting Love"
• Kris Kristofferson – country singer-songwriter and actor
• Lady Antebellum – country music trio group
• Brenda Lee – pop singer, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
• Little Big Town – country music group
• Little Richard – rock musician
• Kimberley Locke – pop and R&B singer
• Liam Lynch – musician and co-creator of the television show Sifl and Olly
• Loretta Lynn – country singer-songwriter
• Mandisa – Christian music artist
• Barbara Mandrell – country singer-songwriter
• Chris Marion – member of classic rock's Little River Band
• Martina McBride – singer-songwriter
• Tim McGraw – country music singer-songwriter and actor
• Reba McEntire – country music singer and actress
• Roger Miller – country singer-songwriter, known for "King of the Road"
• Neal Morse – singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader and progressive rock composer based in Nashville
• Dave Mustaine – lead musician for heavy metal band Megadeth
• Willie Nelson – guitarist and country singer, member of the outlaw country movement
• Aaron Neville – soul singer and member of the Neville Brothers; displaced from his native New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina
• The New Schematics – indie rock band
• John Oates – hit rock and soul recording artist from duo Hall & Oates, has homes in Colorado and Nashville
• St. Louis Jimmy Oden – blues pianist, born here in 1903
• Roy Orbison – singer-songwriter, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, known for "Pretty Woman"
• Brad Paisley – country singer-songwriter
• Paramore – rock musicians
• Dolly Parton – country singer-songwriter and actress
• Johnny Paycheck – country singer
• Wayne Perry – country singer-songwriter and producer
• Kellie Pickler – country music singer-songwriter
• Poppy – pop singer-songwriter
• Millard Powers – member of Counting Crows, musician, songwriter, producer, engineer
• Rascal Flatts – country music trio
• Caroline Keating Reed – pianist and music teacher
• Tex Ritter – singing cowboy
• Earl Scruggs – bluegrass banjo player
• Ed Sheeran – English singer, songwriter, producer, actor
• Blake Shelton – country singer, judge on TV series The Voice
• Michael W. Smith – Christian music artist
• Soccer Mommy – indie rock back fronted by Sophie Allison
• Chris Stapleton – country/bluegrass/rock musician
• Starlito – rapper
• Edwin Starr – 1970s funk singer
• Marty Stuart – country/bluegrass musician; host of his own show on RFD-TV
• Donna Summer – disco and R&B singer
• Emma Swift – Australian country/Americana musician
• Taylor Swift – one of the world's top-selling singer-songwriters
• Thompson Square – country music duo
• Ernest Tubb – singer-songwriter, one of the pioneers of country music
• Shania Twain – Canadian country music singer-songwriter and actress
• Steven Tyler – lead singer-songwriter of rock band Aerosmith
• Upchurch – rapper, singer-songwriter, and comedian
• Keith Urban – country music superstar, married to Nicole Kidman
• Townes Van Zandt – folk music singer-songwriter
• Gillian Welch – contemporary "alt-country" songwriter and singer
• Kitty Wells – singer and musician from country music's early days
• Matt Wertz – acoustic singer-songwriter
• Dottie West – country singer-songwriter
• Jack White – guitarist and lead vocalist of The White Stripes
• Hayley Williams – musician, songwriter, lyricist
• Allen Woody – bassist for the Allman Brothers Band and Gov't Mule
• Victor Wooten – virtuoso electric bass guitar player
• Emily Wright – songwriter, producer and engineer
• Tammy Wynette – country singer-songwriter, known for "Stand By Your Man"
• Dwight Yoakam – country musician, songwriter and actor
• Taylor York – musician, songwriter, lyricist
• Young Buck – rapper and member of G-Unit

Political figures

National

• Edward Carmack – former U.S. senator, newspaper editor, and attorney
• Bill Frist – former U.S. Senate majority leader
• Lance Gooden – U.S. representative for Texas
• Al Gore Jr. – former U.S. vice president and senator; recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
• Tipper Gore – Second Lady of the United States 1993–2001
• Bill Hagerty – U.S. senator; former U.S. ambassador to Japan
• Sam Houston – U.S. congressman, governor of both Tennessee and Texas, and president of the Republic of Texas; namesake of the city of Houston
• Andrew Jackson – former U.S. president
• Andrew Johnson – former U.S. president and vice president
• John Lewis – civil rights leader, U.S. congressman (GA 5th Dist.), and former SNCC chairman
• Andy Ogles – U.S. representative for Tennessee
• James K. Polk – former U.S. president
• James T. Rapier – former U.S. congressman for the 2nd District of Alabama and 19th-century African-American activist
• Fred Thompson – former U.S. senator and actor
• Matt Van Epps – U.S. representative for Tennessee

Local

• Megan Barry – first female mayor of Nashville; first female mayor of Nashville to resign office
• Phil Bredesen – mayor of Nashville 1991–99, governor of Tennessee 2003–2011
• John Ray Clemmons (born 1977) – member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing the 55th district, in West Nashville
• Karl Dean – former mayor of Nashville
• John Jay Hooker – attorney, perennial candidate, and political gadfly

Other Nashvillians

Artists and writers

• Emelie C. S. Chilton – writer, editor
• Greg Downs – Flannery O'Connor Award-winning short story writer
• Tony Earley – novelist and short story writer
• Karen Kingsbury – novelist
• Harmony Korine – filmmaker and artist
• Rachel Korine – actress and photographer, married to Harmony Korine
• Alan LeQuire – sculptor
• Jon Meacham – Pulitzer-prize winning writer, reviewer, historian and presidential biographer
• Ann Patchett – novelist
• T. M. Schleier – early photographer
• Robert Penn Warren – Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet
• Tennessee Williams – foremost playwright of 20th-century drama, lived briefly in Nashville

Business leaders

• Mike Curb – founder of Curb Records, former Lieutenant Governor of California
• George A. Dickel – liquor distributor
• Dick Griffey – record producer, music promoter
• Wallace Rasmussen – businessman, philanthropist, CEO of Beatrice Foods
• Preston Taylor – minister, businessperson, philanthropist

Civic leaders

• William N. Bilbo – attorney, lobbyist for passage of the 13th Amendment, ending slavery
• William Driver – nicknamed the U.S. flag "Old Glory"
• Francis Guess – Nashville businessman and member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights (1983–1989)
• James Lawson – civil rights leader and Methodist minister
• John Lewis – civil rights leader and congressman from Georgia's 5th Congressional District
• Z. Alexander Looby – lawyer active in the American Civil Rights Movement
• Dan May – civic leader
• Diane Nash – civil rights leader
• Azariah Southworth – former host of a Christian television show; LGBT rights advocate

Entertainers

• Nate Bargatze – comedian
• Kristin Chenoweth – Tony Award-winning Broadway actress
• Rachel DiPillo – actress, currently stars in NBC's Chicago Med
• Doug the Pug – famous dog
• Natalia Dyer – actress
• Ralph Emery – country music disc jockey and television host
• Eddie Frierson – voice actor, playwright
• Kathie Lee Gifford – television personality and former star of NBC's Today show
• Phil Harris – comedian, actor, singer, and jazz musician
• Melissa Joan Hart – actress
• Patricia Heaton – actress
• Dwayne Johnson – actor, professional wrestler, alumni of both Glencliff High School and McGavock High School
• Ashley Judd – actress and political activist
• Demetria Kalodimos – Emmy Award-winning anchor for WSMV-TV
• Nicole Kidman – actress
• Sondra Locke (1944–2018) – Oscar-nominated actress from Shelbyville, Tennessee lived in Nashville most of her young adulthood
• Minnie Pearl (Sarah Cannon) – country comedian who appeared frequently on the Grand Ole Opry
• Jason Priestley – actor who starred on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210
• Dinah Shore – singer, actress, and television personality
• Richard Speight Jr. – actor
• Mary Steenburgen – actress, songwriter wife of Ted Danson
• Frank Sutton – actor, played Sergeant Carter on the hit TV series Gomer Pyle
• Lee Summers – actor and theatre producer
• Austin Swift – actor, brother of Taylor Swift
• Niki Taylor – supermodel and TV presenter
• Adair Tishler – actress
• Jim Varney – actor, known for his character Ernest P. Worrell
• Dawn Wells – actress, Gilligan's Island
• William Wilkerson – founder of Flamingo Las Vegas hotel, Ciro's nightclub
• Oprah Winfrey – talk show host, movie producer, and entrepreneur
• Reese Witherspoon – Academy Award-winning actress
• Evan Rachel Wood – actress, musician, and star of TV series Westworld

Journalists and talk show hosts

• Tomi Lahren – political commentator for Fox News
• Jon Meacham – Pulitzer Prize-winning author; former Newsweek editor
• Dave Ramsey – talk radio host and author
• Grantland Rice – sportswriter
• Fred Russell – sportswriter
• Pat Sajak – DJ, TV weather reporter, and former host of game show Wheel of Fortune
• John Seigenthaler Jr. – MSNBC news anchor; son of John Seigenthaler Sr.

Religious leaders

• Richard Henry Boyd – founder and head of the National Baptist Publishing Board
• Virginia E. Walker Broughton – author and Baptist missionary
• James T. Draper Jr. – president of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1982–1984; president of Nashville-based LifeWay Christian Resources, 1991–2006
• W. T. Handy, Jr. – United Methodist bishop, died in Nashville

Sportspeople

• Mookie Betts – baseball player
• Tracy Caulkins – three-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer
• Eddie George – Heisman Trophy winner, four-time Pro Bowl NFL running back, businessman and professional actor
• Sonny Gray – Major League Baseball pitcher
• Scott Hamilton – world champion and Olympic gold medalist ice skater
• Demonte Harper (born 1989) – basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Mike Hasenfratz – National Hockey League referee
• Adam Hooker – 2008 Slamball League MVP and starting stopper for Champion Slashers
• Andy Kirby – NASCAR driver
• Jessica Kresa – professional wrestler, known as ODB
• Herb Rich (1928–2008) – 2x All-Pro NFL football player
• Wilma Rudolph – track star and Olympic gold medalist
• Martin Strel – long-distance swimmer, Big River Man and actor from Slovenia

Criminals and victims

• Jesse James – notorious outlaw and bank robber
• Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, fka Carlos Leon Bledsoe – committed the 2009 jihadi Little Rock military recruiting office shooting
• Paul Dennis Reid – serial killer nicknamed “The Fast Food Killer”
• Oscar Franklin Smith – convicted murderer on Tennessee's death row
• Marcia Trimble – victim of an infamous child murder case

Other

• Mary R. Calvert (1884–1974) – astronomical computer and astrophotographer
• Joseph Fuisz – attorney, inventor, and entrepreneur; founder of Fuisz Pharma LLC
• Richard Fuisz – physician, inventor, and entrepreneur, with connections to the United States military and intelligence community
• James N. Hardin Jr. – Germanist
• Amelia Laskey – ornithologist
• Nat Love – famous African-American cowboy and hero of the Old West
• Ronal W. Serpas – chief of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, 2004–2010

See also

• List of people from Tennessee

Notes

References