the Edenton Tea Party (Edenton) Daniel Boone (1734–1820), explorer, lived in the Yadkin River valley of western North Carolina for many years (Mocksville) Fred Brooks (born 1931), software engineer and computer scientist (Durham) Eliza Bryant (1827–1907), humanitarian (Wayne County) Judy Clarke (born 1952), criminal defense attorney in many high-profile cases (Asheville) John Cocke (1925–2002), computer scientist (Charlotte) Chelsea Cooley (born 1983), Miss USA 2005 (Mint Hill) Virginia Dare (1587–unknown), first person of English heritage born in the New World, to the Roanoke Colony, "The Lost Colony" (Roanoke Island) Jennifer Pharr Davis (born 1983), set record for quickest Appalachian Trail hike in 2011 (Hendersonville) Nia Franklin (born 1993), Miss America 2019 (Winston-Salem) Connie Guion (1882–1971), female physician, influential in developing health care systems (Lincolnton) Martha Hunt (born 1989), Model (Wilson) Adam Leroy Lane (born 1964), convicted murderer and serial killer (Jonesville) Jordan Lloyd (born 1986), reality television participant, winner of the Big Brother 11 (Matthews) Leonard McBury, explorer of Tennessee Dan McGalliard (1940–2021), inventor and innovator (Burke County) Gideon Morris (1756–1798), trans-Appalachian pioneer and founder of Morristown, Tennessee (Randolph County) Benjamin Chavis Muhammad (born 1948), civil rights leader (Oxford) Erica Payne, public policy expert, commentator, author and strategist (Raleigh) Conrad Reed (1787–1845), found a large gold nugget while fishing, triggering the first gold rush in the United States (Midland) Rachel Reilly (born 1984), reality television participant, winner of Big Brother 13 (Concord) Afeni Shakur (1947–2016), former Black Panther, philanthropist, and mother of Tupac Shakur (Lumberton) David A. Smith (born 1957), computer scientist, specializing in interactive 3D (Camp Lejeune) North Carolina residents later in life, raised elsewhere A–L Harry Anderson (1952–2018), actor best known as Judge Harry Stone from the television series Night Court, 1984–1992 (Asheville) Maya Angelou (1928–2014), poet, historian, author, actress, playwright, producer, director, and professor at Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem) Joseph Bathanti (born 1953), poet, writer, professor; North Carolina Poet Laureate (Vilas) Frances Bavier (1902–1989), actress, the Andy Griffith Show (Siler City) Marshall Brain (born 1961), technology expert and internet personality at HowStuffWorks.com (Raleigh) Chang and Eng Bunker (1811–1874), the original Siamese twins who performed for audiences in Asia, Europe, and North America before settling in the mountains of North Carolina and marrying two local sisters (Wilkesboro) Orson Scott Card (born 1951), lecturer and author of the award-winning science fiction book Ender's Game (Greensboro) John Carroll (1942–2015), journalist and newspaper editor for the Los Angeles Times and The Baltimore