List of people from Raleigh, North Carolina
Introduction This is a list of people who were born in, lived in, or are closely associated with '''Raleigh, North Carolina'''.
Academia Daniel McFaddenJames E. Shepard*Carrie Lougee Broughton (1879–1957), librarian and first woman State Librarian*John Chavis (1763–1838), African-American educator and theologian; early integrationist (Raleigh's Chavis Park is named for him)*Anna J. Cooper (1858–1964), author, educator and scholar; fourth African-American woman to earn doctoral degree (in 1924)*Phillip Griffiths, mathematician, known for his work in the field of geometry*John E. Ivey, Jr., educator and founder of Southern Regional Education Board; co-creator of Peace Corps*Daniel McFadden, economist*Michael Munger, economist, Duke University political science professor*Mary Jane Patterson, first African-American women to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree*Tom Regan, philosopher and animal-rights advocate*Vermont C. Royster (1914–1996), managing editor of ''Wall Street Journal'', Pulitzer Prize winner, recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom*James E. Shepard, pharmacist, civil servant and educator, the founder of what would become North Carolina Central University*Blake R. Van Leer, university president, dean of NC State University, inventor and civil rights advocate*James W. York, mathematical physicist; recipient of Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics from American Physical Society
Arts *Juliana Royster Busbee (died 1962) and Jaques Busbee (died 1947), artists and founders of Jugtown Pottery*Paul Friedrich, visual artist and cartoonist*Herb Jackson, painter*Renaldo Kuhler, scientific illustrator for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences*Rachel Nabors, gURL.com graphic designer*Martha Nichols, choreographer and dance instructor*Hunter Schafer, model and actress. *Mel Tomlinson, ballet and modern dancer*Lea Ved, dancer and choreographer*Ariana DeBose, actor and dancer
Athletes Chris ArcherDarrius BarnesPete MaravichWebb SimpsonJohn Wall Carson Wentz*Nazmi Albadawi, professional soccer player*Loy Allen Jr., NASCAR Cup Series driver*Chris Archer, MLB pitcher for Pittsburgh Pirates*Hannah Aspden, youngest swimmer on Team USA to medal at either the Olympics or Paralympics in 2016*John Baker Jr. (1935–2007), National Football League athlete and longtime Wake County sheriff*Scott Bankhead, MLB player and pitcher for Team USA in the 1984 Olympic Games*Darrius Barnes, Major League Soccer (MLS) player for New England Revolution*Bates Battaglia, NHL player, played for Carolina Hurricanes 1997–2003*Braxton Berrios, NFL wide receiver*Rod Brind'Amour, NHL player, former Carolina Hurricanes player and current head coach*Bucky Brooks, former NFL athlete*Willie Burden, professional Canadian football player with Calgary Stampeders of Canadian Football League*Everett Case (1900–1966), NC State University men's basketball coach, member of N.C. Sports Hall of Fame and College Basketball Hall of Fame*Isadora Cerullo, Olympic rugby player for Brazil; graduated from Enloe High School*Bill Cowher, former professional American football coach and player*Randy Denton, NBA player*Ike Delock, Major League Baseball player *James L. Dickey III (born 1996), basketball player for Hapoel Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League*Donald Evans, former NFL defensive end*Ron Francis, NHL player (Carolina Hurricanes) 1998–2004, member of Hockey Hall of Fame*David Fox, Olympic gold medalist in swimming*Jeff Galloway, Olympic long-distance runner and author*Justin Gatlin, Olympic sprinter*Michael Gracz, professional poker player*TJ Graham, NFL wide receiver with New York Jets*Brian Gutekunst, NFL scout with Green Bay Packers*Chesson Hadley, professional golfer*Josh Hamilton, Major League Baseball player*Hardy Boyz, Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy, professional wrestlers*Antwan Harris, NFL player for New England Patriots' Super Bowl team*Leroy Harris, NFL player for Tennessee Titans*Bret Hedican, NHL player, played for Carolina Hurricanes 2001–2008*Gregory Helms, professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)*Anne Henning, Olympic speed skater, 1972 gold and bronze medalist*Ryan Jeffers, MLB player*Curt Johnson, professional soccer player*Marion Jones, disgraced Olympic track athlete*Craig Keith, NFL player*Chad Larose, NHL player, played for Carolina Hurricanes 2005–2013*Roy Lassiter, professional soccer player for D.C. United and United States men's national soccer team*Pete Maravich (1947–1988), Hall of Fame basketball player; attended high school in Raleigh*Bruce Matthews, former NFL player for Tennessee Titans; 14-time Pro Bowl participant, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee*Daniel McCullers, NFL defensive lineman*Nate McMillan, NBA player and head coach of Atlanta Hawks*Richard Medlin, NFL player*Ben Youssef Meite, sprinter, 3-time African champion in 100m*Jackie Moreland (1938–1971), pro basketball player*Kevin "PPMD" Nanney, professional ''Super Smash Bros.'' player*Chuck Nevitt, NBA player*Caleb Norkus, professional soccer player*Bob Perryman, NFL player for New England Patriots and Denver Broncos*Brandon Phillips, second baseman for Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds*Landon Powell, MLB player (Oakland Athletics)*Shavlik Randolph, NBA player (Philadelphia 76ers)*Greg Raymer, professional poker player*Shawan Robinson, professional basketball player with Newcastle Eagles in the British Basketball League*Randolph Ross, track athlete, 2020 Olympic gold medalist in the 4x400m relay*Anthony Rush, NFL player for the Atlanta Falcons*Paul Shuey, MLB pitcher*Webb Simpson, PGA Tour golfer *Isaiah Todd, NBA G-League player*Leigh Torrence, NFL player with Washington Redskins*P. J. Tucker (born 1985), NBA player and 2008 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP*Jim Valvano (1946–1993), NC State University men's basketball coach, 1983 NCAA champion, TV commentator*John Wall, NBA player for Houston Rockets*Pat Watkins, MLB outfielder*Carson Wentz, quarterback for NFL's Indianapolis Colts*Chris Wilcox, NBA athlete*Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic figure skater, married to Bret Hedican*Danny Young, NBA player*Kay Yow (1942–2009), NC State University women's basketball coach, member of Women's Basketball Hall of Fame*Duane Underwood Jr., Professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Business Louis Bacon*Louis Bacon, hedge fund manager*Jim Baen (1943–2006), science fiction writer; founded his own publishing house, Baen Books, in 1983*Cliff Bleszinski, lead designer of the popular Xbox 360 game ''Gears of War'' and co-founder of Boss Key Productions*Anderson Boyd, filmmaker*Needham B. Broughton, printer, temperance activist, and state senator*E. Lee Hennessee, pioneer hedge fund manager*Richard Jenrette, chairman of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and international philanthropist, awarded French Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur (National Order of the Legion of Honor) in 1996*Jesse Lowe, first mayor of Omaha, Nebraska; an important real estate agent in the early city, Lowe is credited with naming the city after the Omaha Tribe*Anand Lal Shimpi, employee of Apple Inc. and former CEO of ''AnandTech''*Hubertus van der Vaart, co-founder/chairman of SEAF (Small Enterprise Assistance Funds)
Entertainment Michael C. HallEmily ProcterEvan Rachel Wood*Tyler Barnhardt, actor*Priscilla Block, singer*David J. Burke, screenwriter, film and television director*Godfrey Cheshire, film writer, director and critic, former chairman of New York Film Critics Circle Awards*Grady Cooper, director, producer, and Emmy nominated film editor*Aubrey Dollar, actress*Caroline Dollar, actress*Rhoda Griffis, actress*Michael C. Hall, actor, ''Dexter'', ''Six Feet Under''*MrBeast, famous YouTuber*Lauren Kennedy, Broadway actress and singer*Sharon Lawrence, actress, ''NYPD Blue''*Beth Leavel, Tony award-winning Broadway actress*Brandi Love, pornography actress*Robert Duncan McNeill, actor, movie and TV director*Daniella Monet, actress, singer and dancer*Karin Muller, writer, filmmaker and photographer for National Geographic Society and National Public Radio*Emily Procter, actress, ''CSI: Miami''*Peyton Reed, film director, ''Ant-Man'', ''The Break-Up'', ''Bring It On''*Hunter Schafer, model, actress, activist, Euphoria*Amy Sedaris, actress, writer and satirist*Liz Vassey, actress, ''CSI''*Reginald VelJohnson, actor (part-time resident)*Evan Rachel Wood, actress, ''Westworld''*Ira David Wood III, actor and local theatre director*Reginald VelJohnson, actor, Family Matters*Ariana DeBose, actor and dancer, West Side Story ,Hamilton (musical)
Military Oscar F. Peatross*David W. Bagley (1883–1960), admiral in the United States Navy during World War II *Worth Bagley (1874–1898), United States Navy officer during the Spanish–American War*Josephus Daniels (1862–1948), newspaper editor and publisher, United States Secretary of the Navy during World War I*George A. Fisher Jr. (born 1942), former United States Army officer*Vernon V. Haywood (1920–2003), former U.S. Army Air Force officer, combat fighter pilot/jet pilot, and commanding officer of Tuskegee Airmen's  302nd Fighter Squadron*Oscar F. Peatross (1916–1993), major general in the United States Marine Corps and recipient of the Navy Cross*Leonidas Polk (1806–1864), lieutenant-general in the Confederate States Army, killed at the Battle of Marietta, Georgia*Millie Dunn Veasey (1918–2018), served in the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) and later NAACP president of Wake County chapter
Musicians Clay AikenTift Merritt*Ryan Adams, singer-songwriter*Clay Aiken, singer/actor*Jeb Bishop, jazz musician*Dan Briggs, bassist for metal band Between the Buried and Me*Andrew Cadima, composer*Jason Michael Carroll, country musician*Caitlin Cary, alternative country singer*Travis Cherry, Grammy-nominated music producer*Cordae, hip-hop artist*John Custer, record producer*Steve Dobrogosz, pianist and composer*Robbie Fulks, alt country singer*Rajan Somasundaram, Composer, Songwriter whose album made in collaboration with Durham Symphony and Academy nominated singer Bombay Jayashri became an Amazon Top#10 International Best seller *Rufus Harley (1936–2006), jazz musician*D. Kern Holoman, musicologist and conductor*Randy Jones (born 1952), original Village People cowboy, singer/actor*Jon Lindsay, recording artist, producer, activist*Little Brother, rap group*Tift Merritt, singer-songwriter*Pee Wee Moore, jazz musician*Mic Murphy, frontman for funk/soul group The System, moved to New York before career took off*Tyler Marenyi, aka NGHTMRE, DJ and trap producer*Anne-Claire Niver, singer-songwriter*Petey Pablo, hip-hop artist*Kate Rhudy, folk-pop and country singer-songwriter and musician*Blake Richardson, drummer for metal band Between the Buried and Me*Tommy Giles Rogers, Jr., lead vocalist for heavy metal band Between the Buried and Me*Toosii, rapper and singer*Paul Waggoner, guitarist for metal band Between the Buried and Me*Dustie Waring, guitarist for metal band Between the Buried and Me*Woody Weatherman, musician===Bands and music groups===*Alesana, post-hardcore band*American Aquarium, alternative country band*Between the Buried and Me, progressive metal band*Bowerbirds, freak folk band*Chatham County Line, bluegrass band*Corrosion of Conformity, heavy metal band*Daylight Dies, doom metal band*Pivot, rock band*Selah Jubilee Singers, 1930s–40s gospel quartet*The Connells, 1980s indie rock band*The Rosebuds, indie rock band*Troop 41, hip-hop ensemble*Whiskeytown, 1990s alternative country band*Glass Moon, 1980's progressive rock band
Politics and law Andrew Johnson*William H. Bobbitt (1900–1992), former Chief Justice of North Carolina Supreme Court*Alice Willson Broughton (1889–1980), former First Lady of North Carolina*J. Melville Broughton (1888–1949), former Governor of North Carolina*Bill Campbell, two-term mayor of Atlanta*Ralph Campbell, three-term State auditor and first African-American to hold statewide elected office in North Carolina*Paul Coble, 36th Mayor of Raleigh (2006–2014)*Cate Edwards, attorney*Stormie Forte, lawyer, politician, radio host, and first African-American woman and first openly LGBTQ woman to serve on the Raleigh City Council*Jim Fulghum (1944–2014), physician and state legislator*James H. Harris (1832–1891), African-American politician, former slave, co-founder of North Carolina Republican Party*Winder R. Harris (1888–1973), Democratic United States Congressman*John Haywood, statesman and the longest-serving North Carolina State Treasurer (40 years)*William Henry Haywood, Jr. (1801–1852), early Democratic U.S. Senator*Jesse Helms (1921–2008), five-term Republican U.S. Senator*George Holding, Republican United States Congressman*Andrew Johnson (1808–1875), 17th President of the United States*Calvin Jones (1775–1846), Mayor of Raleigh, Adjutant General of North Carolina, and founder of Wake Forest College*I. Beverly Lake, former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court*Clarence Lightner (1921–2002), mayor (1973–1975); Raleigh's first popularly elected African-American mayor and first of any major Southern city*Greg Murphy, physician and politician*Fred Smith, politician*Avery C. Upchurch (1928–1994), city's longest-serving mayor of 20th Century*Charles D. Walton (born 1948), first African American to serve in the Rhode Island Senate*George Smedes York, 33rd Mayor of Raleigh (1979–1983)*James H. Young, African-American politician; founder and editor of ''Raleigh Gazette'', North Carolina's first black-owned newspaper
Writers *Edward A. Batchelor, sportswriter*Andrew Britton (1981–2008), novelist*Jonathan W. Daniels (1902–1981), author, editor; White House Press Secretary under presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman*Thomas Dixon, Jr. (1864–1946), novelist, playwright, minister and statesman*Charles Frazier, novelist, author of ''Cold Mountain''*Kaye Gibbons, writer*Katherine Indermaur, writer, poet, editor*Mary Robinette Kowal, author*Eleanor Frances Lattimore, children's writer and illustrator*Dorianne Laux, poet*Armistead Maupin, writer*Frances Gray Patton (1906–2000), writer, first woman to enroll at University of North Carolina*David Sedaris, author, humorist and satirist*Lawson A. Scruggs, early African-American physician in North Carolina and noted publisher of biographies on African-American women*Lee Smith, writer*Jan Cox Speas, author and novelist*Julia Montgomery Street (1898–1993), children's author and playwright
Other *Jennifer Berry, Miss America 2006 from Oklahoma*Bob Caudle, longtime WRAL news personality and host of ''Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling'', later headed the Raleigh constituent office of U.S. Senator Jesse Helms*John Anthony Copeland, Jr. (1834–1859), freed slave, abolitionist and political activist*James A. Forbes, evangelist preacher, radio host*T. Adelaide Goodno, president, North Carolina Woman's Christian Temperance Union*Jacob Johnson, father of U.S. president Andrew Johnson*Cornelia Alice Norris, socialite and genealogist*Ray Price, motorcyclist*Olivia Raney, church organist *Jacob Tobia, LGBTQ activist*Max Yergan, African-American activist, first black college faculty member hired in state of New York
References