List of people from Atlanta, Georgia

This is a list of famous people who have lived in the area in and near Atlanta, Georgia, including both natives and residents.

Early Settlers

*Hardy Ivy - First permanent white settler in Atlanta
*Wash Collier - Atlanta's first postmaster and namesake of 'Collier Road'
*John Thrasher - Built the first store

Politicians and activists

tatesmen

*Jimmy Carter - 39th President of the United States (1977–1981), Nobel Peace laureate 2002 and Governor of Georgia (1971–1975)
*Woodrow Wilson - 28th President of the United States (1913–1921),
*Sam Nunn - United States Senator from Georgia (1972 until 1996), particularly influential in defense
*John Lewis - Civil rights leader and Congressman
*Joe Scarborough - former US Congressman and MSNBC personality
*Johnny Isakson - U.S. Senator from Georgia

Jurists

*Griffin Bell - US Attorney General 1976 to 1979 under President Carter, Mr. Blackwell's list of best dressed Americans in 1978
*Rowland Barnes - Fulton County Superior Court Judge

Diplomats

*Andrew Young - Ambassador to the UN under President Carter, Civil rights activist and former mayor of Atlanta
*Dean Rusk - US Secretary of State 1961 to 1969 under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson

Activists

*Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Civil Rights Leader; Nobel Peace Laureate 1964 (he was the youngest man ever to receive this award)
*Charlotte Laws - Animal Rights
*William Luther Pierce - neo-Fascist

Atlanta Mayors

*Maynard Jackson - former mayor
*Ivan Allen Jr. - former mayor

Military

Generals

*Lucius D. Clay - "father" of the Berlin Airlift (1948-49), the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways and the [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1014&hl=y National System of Airports and Airbases] - known as [http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/03mar/05.htm "The Man Who Changed America"]

ports figures

Baseball

*Hank Aaron - Baseball Hall of Famer and the major leagues' home run leader from April 1974 to August 2007
*Chipper Jones - baseball player
*Brett Butler, retired MLB baseball player
*David Justice, retired MLB baseball player
*Phil Niekro, retired MLB baseball player
*Dale Murphy, retired MLB baseball player

Basketball

*Walt Frazier - former NBA player
*Hubie Brown - NBA legendary coach
*Dominique Wilkins - former NBA player
*Spud Webb - former NBA player
*Dwight Howard - current NBA player
*Josh Smith - current NBA player

Football

*John Heisman - coach and college trophy namesake
*Deion Sanders - two-sport athlete (MLB and NFL)

Hockey

*Jean-Marc Pelletier - Goaltender

Golf

*Bobby Jones - only player ever to have won golf's Grand Slam

Boxing

*Evander Holyfield - heavyweight champion boxer

occer

*Kyle Martino - professional soccer player

Wrestling

*Raven - professional wrestler
*Chris Benoit - professional wrestler
*Lita - professional wrestler / valet
*William Regal - professional wrestler
*Fit Finlay - professional wrestler
*Lex Luger - professional wrestler
*Buff Bagwell - professional wrestler
*Hulk Hogan
*James Guffey- Jimmy Rave, professional wrestler
*Demolition Ax- professional wrestler
*Abdullah The Butcher- professional wrestler
*Bull Buchanan

Olympians

*Dick Buerkle - 1976 Olympian featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated

Musicians, actors, artists and entertainers

Music

Producers

*Speech - rapper/singer/producer
*Lil Jon - rapper, producer ("King Of Crunk")
*Keith Sweat-singer/songwriter/producer
*Dallas Austin - music executive/producer
*DJ Toomp - producer
*Mr. Collipark - hip hop producer
*Babyface - singer/producer
*Jermaine Dupri - rapper, producer
*Polow da Don - music producer
*T.I-rapper producer
*Usher- singer, producer

Hip Hop and Rap

*Arrested Development - Conscious Hip Hop group
*Shop Boyz - rap group
*Pastor Troy - rapper
*Andre 3000 - rapper
*B.O.B. - rapper and producer
*Boyz n da Hood - rap group
*Big Boi - rapper
*Big Gee - rapper
*Jim Crowe-rappers (Polo The Don, Cutty, Mr. Mo)
*Jody Breeze - rapper
*DJ Drama DJ.
*Gorilla Zoe - rapper
*Trillville - rap group
*Youngbloodz - rap group
*Ludacris - rapper
*Lil' Scrappy- rapper
*OutKast - hip hop duo
*T.I. - rapper
*Yung Joc - rapper
*Dem Franchize Boyz - rap group
*D4L- rap group
*Ying Yang Twins- hip hop duo
*Killer Mike - rapper
*Bonecrusher - rapper
*Goodie Mob - rap group
*Cee-Lo - rapper
*Crime Mob - rap group
*Kings Ransom - rap trio
*Kanye West - rapper (born in Atlanta raised in Chicago)
*Young Jeezy - rapper
*Fabo - Rapper/Part of D4L
*Kilo Ali - pioneer atlanta rapper
*The Faculty - Rap music collective based in Sandy Springs, Ga
*Unk - rapper
*Gucci Mane - Rapper
*Young Dro - rapper
*Mac Boney - rapper
*Rasheeda

Country

*Jerry Reed - country singer
*Alan Jackson - Country Singer
*Travis Tritt - Country Singer
*Mark Wills - Country Singer
*Trisha Yearwood - Country Singer
*Sugarland - Country Group
*Luke Bryan- Country Singer

R&B

*The-Dream - R&B singer
*Akon- R&B/Hip-Hop Singer - Resides in Atlanta
*Blind Willie McTell - famous for his song, "Statesboro Blues" popularized by The Allman Brothers Band and a major influence to the works of Bob Dylan
*Ciara - R&B singer - raised in Atlanta.
*112 - R&B quartet
*Kelly Rowland - R&B singer and actress
*Raven-Symoné - R&B singer and actress
*Blaque - R&B group
*Bobby Valentino - R&B singer
*TLC- r&b trio
*Sleepy Brown - R&B singer
*Usher - singer
*Ne-yo - singer
*Monica - R&B singer and actress
*B5 R&B/Hip-Hop group

Rock

*The B52's - Punk/Alternative band
*The Black Crowes - Blues Rock band
*Black Lips - Flower Punk band
*Collective Soul - Alt Rock band
*Drivin N Cryin - Folk/Rock band featuring Kevn Kinney
*Cartel - Punk/Power Pop band
*Follow for Now - Black rock band
*Mastodon - Metal/Hardcore band
*Norma Jean - Metalcore band
*The Rock*A*Teens - 90's Indie band
*Sevendust - Alt Metal band
*Sound Tribe Sector 9 - Jam Band
*Injected - Alt Metal band
*Family Force 5 - Crunk Rock band
*Cat Power
*Smoke
*DQE
*Seely
*Toenut,
*Hubcap City
*Nanyana
*Butch Walker
*Magicicada - Experimental
*Deerhunter - Rock
*R.E.M.

Pop

*Gladys Knight & the Pips - popular music act
*Indigo Girls - Folk and Pop duo
*Brenda Lee - Singer
*Shawn Mullins - Singer / Songwriter
*Evan and Jaron - Pop duo
*The Atlanta Rhythm Section - Pop/Rock Band

Jazz

*Duke Pearson - jazz pianist and composer
*Mary Lou Williams - jazz pianist, composer and arranger

Conductors

*Robert Shaw - conductor
*Predrag Gosta - conductor and harpsichordist
*Robert Spano - Grammy winning conductor Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

ingers and Musicians

*Chan Marshall - singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist for Cat Power
*Richard Marx - singer
*Jennifer Paige - singer
*Graham Jackson - the "entertainer of presidents" [http://music.msn.com/artist/?artist=16662044&menu=bio]

Film and acting

*Jennifer Holliday - Broadway Actress/Singer
*Brittany Murphy - actress
*Monica Calhoun - actress
*David Cross - stand-up comedian/actor
*Jeff Foxworthy - actor & comedian
*Oliver Hardy - comedian
*Tyler Perry - playwrite, actor, director
*Joel Chandler Harris - author of the Uncle Remus tales
*Shuler Hensley - Broadway and film actor
*Spike Lee - film director
*Elijah Kelley - actor
*Christopher Massey - actor (Zoey 101)
*Kyle Massey - actor, (Thats So Raven!)
*Chloe Moretz - child actress
*Ty Pennington - actor
*Julia Roberts - actress
*Chris Tucker - film actor
*Robert Patrick - actor, best remembered as the "T-1000" in ""
*Holly Hunter - actress
*Ryan Seacrest - actor
*Dakota Fanning - actress
*Kip Pardue - actor
*Steven Soderbergh - film director
*Kenny Leon - former artistic director of the Alliance Theatre Company
*Raven Symone - actress
*Chris Lowell - actor, "Veronica Mars"
*DeForest Kelley - actor, "Star Trek"
*Devon Werkheiser - actor, (Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide)
*Kenan Thompson - actor, comedian (Saturday Night Live, Fat Albert)
*C. Martin Croker - voice actor, Zorak and Moltar on

Visual Arts

*Gutzon Borglum - sculptor of Mount Rushmore and the first aborted Stone Mountain carving

Radio and Television

*Forrest Sawyer - news anchor and journalist winner of multiple Emmy Awards and the Peabody Award and the Associated Press award and more
*Neal Boortz - talk radio host, author with Congressman John Linder, "The FairTax Book"
*Erika "Nik" Pace - contestant of America's Next Top Model Cycle 5, currently modeling for Ford Models
*Deborah Norville - host of "Inside Edition" previous co-host of "The Today Show" with Bryant Gumbel prior to Katie Couric
*Clark Howard - talk radio host
*Ty Pennington - television personality
*Ryan Seacrest - TV/radio personality and host of American Idol
*Alicia Leigh Willis - actress on "General Hospital"
*Bert Parks - longtime host of the Miss America Pageant and many television game shows
*Patrika Darbo - actress on "Days of our Lives"
*Paula Deen - cooking show host on Food Network

Other

*Baton Bob - cross-dressing street performer
*The Brothers Chaps - Homestar Runner creators
*RuPaul - entertainer
*Dominique Simone - adult entertainer
*George Wallace (comedian) - comedian
*Michael Styles - international icon
*Scarlette Brooke Shannon - multi-media creative visionary

Writers, journalists and photographers

Pulitzer Prize Winners

*Margaret Mitchell - 1937 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel "Gone with the Wind"
*Alice Walker - 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction "The Color Purple"
*Alfred Uhry - 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, 1989 Academy Awards for Best Picture and for Writing Adapted Screenplay and more, "Driving Miss Daisy"
*Ralph McGill - 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing editor of the "Atlanta Constitution", editorial "A Church, A School...." and for his long, courageous and effective editorial leadership
*Daniel Boorstin - 1974 Pulitzer Prize for History "The Americans: The Democratic Experience", Librarian of Congress from 1975 until 1987
*Clark Howell - 1931 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for exposing the Atlanta graft ring
*Mike Luckovich - 1995 and 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning
*George Goodwin - 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting of the "Atlanta Journal" for his story of the Telfair County vote fraud, published in 1947
*"Atlanta Constitution" - 1931 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for a successful municipal graft exposure and consequent convictions.
*Arnold Hardy - 1947 Pulitzer Prize for Photography amateur photographer, Georgia Tech student, for his photo of a woman leaping from a fire in the Winecoff Hotel resulting in national fire safety standards
*Jack Nelson - 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting, Edition Time of the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" for the excellent reporting in his series of articles on mental institutions in Georgia.
*Mike Toner - 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism, "Atlanta Journal-Constitution", for "When Bugs Fight Back," a series that explored the diminishing effectiveness of antibiotics and pesticides.
*Eugene Patterson - 1967 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing "The Atlanta Constitution", for his editorials during the year
*Doug Marlette - 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning, Atlanta Constitution and Charlotte Observer

Historians

*W.E.B. DuBois - Taught at Atlanta University and lived in the city for 6 years, during which he wrote "The Souls of Black Folk"(1903), in which he identified, "The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line".

*Franklin Garrett - Atlanta's official historian wrote the massive "Atlanta and Environs" (1954), the best reference for the city's history.

Journalists

*Lewis Grizzard - journalist and author
*Celestine Sibley - journalist and author
*Henry W. Grady - editor of the Atlanta Constitution

Playwrights and Screenwriters

*Pearl Cleage, playwright and author

Contemporary

*Belle K. Abbott, novelist author of "Leah Mordecai"
*Pat Conroy, contemporary Atlanta-born author of "The Prince of Tides", "Beach Music", and "The Great Santini".
Paul Bowles
*James Dickey, poet and novelist
*Joel Chandler Harris, author of "Uncle Remus"
*Shaunti Feldhahn, author of "For Women Only", "For Men Only", "The Veritas Conflict", and "The Lights of 10th Street"

cientists and Technology

*Will Wright - computer game designer, best known for creating Simcity and The Sims

Business people

Architecture

*John Portman - international architect and developer - designer of the groundbreaking atrium style hotel
*Neel Reid - he "made Atlanta beautiful," a student of École des Beaux-Arts who died at the height of his career

Industry

*John Pemberton - chemist and inventor of Coca-Cola
*Asa Griggs Candler - founder of The Coca-Cola Company
*Robert W. Woodruff - Coca-Cola executive
*Richard Peters - Early Atlanta Railroad, Real Estate, Atlanta Street Railway
*George Adair - Early Atlanta Real Estate
*Lemuel Grant - Early Atlanta Railroad

Media

*Ted Turner - media mogul
*Charles Brewer founder of Mindspring, now known as Earthlink
*Anne Cox Chambers - co-owner of Cox Enterprises
*Arnie Geller - Chairman of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. with sole rights to recover objects from the RMS Titanic and presents both the "Titanic" and "Bodies" exhibitions

Retail

*Arthur Blank - Co-founder of Home Depot and the current owner of the Atlanta Falcons
*Bernard Marcus - Co-founder of Home Depot and primary funding source for the Georgia Aquarium
*S. Truett Cathy - founder of Chick-fil-A

Crime Related

*Leo Frank - Jewish lynching victim
*Wayne Williams - convicted murderer and suspected serial killer
*Jennifer Wilbanks - "the runaway bride"

ee also