and remote work assistance to businesses and citizens in the region. Notable residents Born in Roanoke: Tony Atlas, wrestler Ronde Barber, NFL player Tiki Barber, NFL player Beth A. Brown, NASA astrophysicist George E. Bushnell, Michigan Supreme Court justice Tai Collins, model and actress Lew DeWitt, founding tenor and guitarist of the Statler Brothers Henry H. Fowler, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Dorothy Gillespie, artist, sculptor Antoinette Hale, painter Jim Harrell, professional wrestler K. J. Hippensteel, tennis player Louis A. Johnson, United States Secretary of Defense Danny Karbassiyoon, Arsenal FC soccer player Henrietta Lacks, medical patient George Lynch, NBA player John C. Mather, Astrophysicist and Nobel laureate John Alan Maxwell, artist Walter Muir, International Master of Correspondence Chess John Payne, actor Don Pullen, jazz pianist Billy Sample, MLB outfielder John St. Clair, NFL player Curtis Staples, basketball player Lee Suggs, NFL player Nicholas F. Taubman, former United States Ambassador to Romania Lois Weaver, artist, activist, writer, director and Professor of Contemporary Performance at Queen Mary University of London Eric Weinrich, NHL defenseman Raised in Roanoke: George Canale, MLB player Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the National Rifle Association John McAfee, founder of McAfee Wayne Newton, singer J. J. Redick, NBA player Joshua Strachan, musician One-time resident: Fleming Alexander, minister, businessman and publisher of the Roanoke Tribune Nelson S. Bond, author Sarah Johnson Cocke, writer and civic leader Whitney Cummings, comedian and actress Nidal Hasan, shooter in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting Oliver Hill, civil rights attorney Kermit Hunter, playwright Johan Kriek, tennis player Samuel W. Martien, Louisiana cotton planter and politician Oscar Micheaux, early 20th century filmmaker John Forbes Nash, Mathematician and Nobel laureate Harry Penn, dentist and civic rights activist John Henry Pinkard, businessman, banker and herb doctor G. Samantha Rosenthal, historian, author, and academic Curtis Turner, NASCAR legend, pioneer and Hall of Famer Harriet French Turner, folk artist Nicknames Many businesses and organizations have adopted "Star City" in their names, after the Mill Mountain Star. The older "Magic City" is still used, most prominently by Roanoke's Ford dealership. The city's original name of "Big Lick" is often used in whimsical contexts. Roanoke's status as the largest city in a mountainous area led to the nickname "Capital of the Blue Ridge". Sister cities Roanoke has seven sister cities: Florianópolis, Brazil Kisumu, Kenya Lijiang, China Opole, Poland Pskov, Russia Saint-Lô, France Wonju, South Korea See also National Register of Historic Places