# Who do you think of when you think of Famous Southerners? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 14, 2008, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249 "2008-05-14T04:31:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/1 "2008-05-14T04:31:40Z")
For a project I’m working on, who are some of the faces that come to mind immediately when you think Famous Southerners? They can be real or fictional, male or female, human or non. For me, in no particular order, naming the first three of each: MALE Robert E. Lee Foghorn Leghorn Elvis I thought of adding Mark Twain, but whether or not Missouri counts as Southern is too open to debate. Personally I count it as Southern from 1835-1861 [when he lived there] but not as much today. FEMALE Scarlett O’Hara (as portrayed by Vivien Leigh of course) Dolly Parton Fannie Flagg How 'bout y’all? Who do you think of? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/2 "2008-05-14T04:45:19Z")
Male: William Faulkner Robert E. Lee Female: Blanche Dubois Scarlett O’Hara ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/3 "2008-05-14T04:47:54Z")
Truman Capote Tennessee Williams Atticus Finch Loretta Lynn Jimmy Carter ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/4 "2008-05-14T04:52:17Z")
What does it say about me, having been born and bred in the heart of the deep South, that the first “Famous Southerner” I thought of was Colonel Sanders? Male: Colonel Sanders. D’oh! Robert E. Lee John C. Calhoun Hank Williams Female: Dolly Parton Mammy, the Gone with the Wind one Mary Chesnut That’s a weird list, but it’s what sprang from my head. Seriously, Mary Chesnut? \ ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/5 "2008-05-14T04:52:44Z")
Robert E. Lee and other generals are the only ones that come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/6 "2008-05-14T07:07:35Z")
Martin Luther King, Jr Jimmy Carter George Wallace Oprah Winfrey Reese Witherspoon Rosa Parks Do we get to include Texas? 'Cause that could easily make this a book-length list. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/7 "2008-05-14T09:06:53Z")
Male : Boss Hogg, Robert E. Lee ( the General not the car ), Rhett Butler Female : Scarlett O’Hara, Rogue of the X-Men ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/8 "2008-05-14T11:05:57Z")
Oddly enough, Mark Twain was the first to spring to mind for me also. It must be the white suit. Male: Mark Twain Robert E. Lee Jimmy Carter Female: Scarlett O’Hara Eudora Welty Dolly Parton ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/9 "2008-05-14T11:11:01Z")
L.B.J. Flannery O’Connor ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/10 "2008-05-14T11:14:38Z")
Dolly Parton ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/11 "2008-05-14T11:21:00Z")
Colonel Sanders Boss Hog Jimmy Carter Dolly Parton Dolly Parton Dolly Parton Are there others that are southern women? Mother Mabel Lauretta Lynn ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/12 "2008-05-14T12:36:26Z")
Guys Jeff Foxworthy (?!?) Johnny Cash Morgan Freeman Gals June Carter Cash Pat Fordice Mary Ann Mobley ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/13 "2008-05-14T12:54:52Z")
Male: Bubba, the Eternal Bubba Female: Buckhead Betty (basically, when Carrie Fisher is force-fed on Scarlett O"Hara like a goose until her liver explodes) ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/14 "2008-05-14T13:54:15Z")
William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, and Margaret Mitchell were the first three that I thought of. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/15 "2008-05-14T14:31:30Z")
Male: Bear Bryant George Washington Elvis Presley George Kell Ernie Harwell Snuffy Smith Female: Lady Bird Johnson ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/16 "2008-05-14T14:38:04Z")
R.E. Lee, Jeff Foxworthy, Paula Deen, Roy Blount Jr., Tennessee Williams, Andie McDowell, Pat Conroy…okay, 7 oughta do it. The clear trend here is that when most of us think of a Southerner we think of a white Anglo-Celtic male. Discuss? ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/17 "2008-05-14T14:44:24Z")
Col. Sanders and Loretta Lynn. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_Clock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Shot\_Clock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_Clock)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/18 "2008-05-14T15:10:39Z")
Joe South Virginia Woolf Terry Southern Florida Evans Georgia O’Keefe Tennessee Williams I don’t think of: Ollie North Sen. John East Kanye West Dakota Fanning Hannah Montana Nevada Bob ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/19 "2008-05-14T15:28:10Z")
**Sampiro!** ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249/20 "2008-05-14T15:53:42Z")
Forrest Gump Robert E Lee Mark Twain William Faulkner Strom Thurmond Bear Bryant Harper Lee Scarlett O’Hara Loretta Lynn Dolly Parton Delta Burke (?!) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-of-when-you-think-of-famous-southerners/449249.md?page=2)