Famous Tennesseans
These are just a few of the famous people who were either born in Tennessee or spent some important time in Tennessee.
Gabriel Arthur, explorer
Polly Bergen, singer and actress
Hattie Caraway, first woman U.S. senator
Samuel Powhatan Carter, general and admiral. Carter is the only person in American history to be both an Admiral in the Navy and a General in the Army.
Robert R. Church, Sr., the South's first African-American millionaire
Davy Crockett, U.S. representative and war hero
Billy Ray Cyrus, country singer and actor
Miley Cyrus, actress and singer
Hernando de Soto, explorer
Dario Franchitti, race car driver
Bill Frist, U.S. senator
Jeff Foxworthy, comedian
Al Gore Jr., U.S. senator, presidential candidate, and environmentalist
Al Gore Sr., U.S. senator
Al Green, gospel singer
John Grisham, novelist
Alex Haley, novelist
Mason Hawkins, financier
Faith Hill, country singer
Andrew Jackson, U.S. president
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, ultimate
fighting champion
Andrew Johnson, U.S. president. Johnson
held every elective office at the local, state, and federal levels. He was elected alderman, mayor, state
representative, and state senator from Greeneville. He served as governor and
military governor of Tennessee and U.S. congressman, senator, and vice
president, becoming president of the United States following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Louis Joliet, explorer
Casey Jones, railroad engineer
Jubilee Singers, Negro spiritual group
Ashley Judd, actress
Wyonna Judd, country singer
B. B. King, blues musician
Arthur Laffer, economist, developer of
the Laffer Curve
Loretta Lynn, country singer
Dave Macon, country singer
Jacques Marquette, explorer
Derrick Mason, football player
Tim McGraw, country singer
Steve McNair, football player
Lorenzo Neal, football player
James Needham, explorer
Brad Paisley, country singer
Paramore, rock group
Dolly Parton, country singer
Minnie Pearl, country singer and comedian
Carl Perkins, rockabilly singer
Sam Phillips, recording studio owner
Elvis Presley, rock singer
Jim Reeves, country singer
LeAnn Rimes, country singer
Tex Ritter, actor and country singer
Sequoyah, Cherokee leader, inventor of first alphabet for an Indian language and the only person in history to develop an alphabet on his own.
Bessie Smith, blues singer
William Strickland, architect
Taylor Swift, country singer
John Templeton, mutual fund pioneer and philanthropist
Porter Wagoner, country singer
Kimberly Williams, actress
Kemmons Wilson, founder of Holiday Inns
Sheb Wooley, actor
Alvin York, war hero
