# Who is the most famous person BORN in your state? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 11, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341 "2010-11-11T18:41:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/161 "2010-11-14T00:57:32Z")
I think a lot of the debate here is over the defintion of fame. I think there’s two distinct kinds of fame: contemporary fame and historical fame. Contemporary fame is when you’re in People magazine. Historical fame is when you’re in schoolbooks. ---
**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:** [November 14, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/162 "2010-11-14T01:17:39Z")
Liberace ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/163 "2010-11-14T01:25:07Z")
How about Laura Ingalls Wilder for Wisconsin? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/164 "2010-11-14T02:00:55Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Florida would probably be Pat Boone (Jacksonville) or Tom Petty (Gainesville). Petty is worth bonus points. IMO these two are the most internationally famous Floridians. Don’t forget Jim Morrison. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/165 "2010-11-14T07:20:45Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Then I don’t understand your definition of fame. If more people recognize the name of a singer than a blind person, that makes them more famous, in my book. Uniqueness doesn’t enter into it for me. I don’t think more people _have_ heard of Capote/Cole/Cox/Parks than Helen Keller. That’s my point. For instance, I’d imagine that you get a lot less name recognition of Courtney Cox in people over 60. And a lot less of Nat King Cole in people under 40. The name recognition of Helen Keller (indeed, anyone who’s been dead for a century or so) is cross-generational. That’s why she gets more points from me. The only other truly cross-generational fame on that list of four above would be Rosa Parks, and hers is more US-specific fame (IMNSHO - feel free to disagree) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/166 "2010-11-14T19:39:52Z")
The three most famous people born in th town I currently live in, Englewood, New Jersey, are Anne Morrow Lindbergh, John Travolta and Bruce Harper. I’m very good friend with Bruce and met Travolta once. I would so loved to have talked with Anne Morrow Lindbergh. ---
**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:** [November 14, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/167 "2010-11-14T19:45:55Z")
I think it’s impossible to pick one person unless your state is only 10 years old. There is no way to pick only one person unless they single handily stopped the destruction of Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/168 "2010-11-14T22:17:33Z")
Except for a recent U.S. president. I doubt that that there’s anyone born in Connecticut who is more famous than George W. Bush, or anyone born in Arkansas is more famous than Bill Clinton or anyone born in Hawaii is more famous than Barack Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/169 "2010-11-15T01:15:25Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > I don’t think more people _have_ heard of Capote/Cole/Cox/Parks than Helen Keller. That’s my point. For instance, I’d imagine that you get a lot less name recognition of Courtney Cox in people over 60. And a lot less of Nat King Cole in people under 40. The name recognition of Helen Keller (indeed, anyone who’s been dead for a century or so) is cross-generational. That’s why she gets more points from me. The only other truly cross-generational fame on that list of four above would be Rosa Parks, and hers is more US-specific fame (IMNSHO - feel free to disagree) I think Helen Keller is the winner for Alabama for world-wide and historical purposes (although Forrest Gump has to be up there as well). ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/170 "2010-11-15T14:46:43Z")
I don’t necessarily disagree that Brando is the most famous Nebraska-born person, but I do think that Gerald Ford should probably rate a place in [Arnold’s “Disputed” list.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13136138&postcount=134) ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/171 "2010-11-15T15:05:09Z")
John Maynard Keynes Oliver Cromwell William Paley Richard Attenborough Hereward the Wake ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/172 "2010-11-15T17:52:24Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > In my original home, uh commonwealth, I might mention Stan Musial and Bill Cosby. The only president, James Buchanan, was a disaster, but I guess that’s a kind of fame. Oh yeah, Jim Thorpe. I’m also from Pennsylvania, and I’d say the most famous living person from there, at least for the present moment would be Vice-President Joe Biden. There are scores of others, but I’d say some of the other best-known Pennsylvanians would include Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, Andrew Wyeth, Andy Warhol, and Benjamin Franklin. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/173 "2010-11-15T18:52:33Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I’m also from Pennsylvania, and I’d say the most famous living person from there, at least for the present moment would be Vice-President Joe Biden. There are scores of others, but I’d say some of the other best-known Pennsylvanians would include Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, Andrew Wyeth, Andy Warhol, and Benjamin Franklin. Ben Franklin would be way up there for most states but he is originally from Massachusetts, not Pennsylvania and was born in Boston. As a matter of fact, he could proabably give JFK himself a run for the most famous person born in Massachusetts. ---
**Author:** ![InterestedObserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@InterestedObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InterestedObserver)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/174 "2010-11-15T19:18:23Z")
> [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](#): > > I’ll go with Matt Groening for Oregon. > > Runners up: > > Beverly Cleary > Raymond Carver > Brent Musberger > Sally Struthers > Linus Pauling > > If we ever have an “infamous” thread, I suppose Tonya Harding would top the list. Oh, good, I was drawing a blank on my current “home state” of Oregon. 😃 (BTW, EVERYONE who’s ANYONE knows that Springfield is in OREGON (just like many character names come from Portland area streets or places…this link left out (Rev.) Lovejoy): > **[Matt Groening Map of Portland - Creator of The Simpsons](https://movingtoportland.net/matt_groening_map.htm)** As for my actual home state of Texas, if the standard is the person most likely to be recognized by the most people around the world, I doubt LBJ would cut the mustard, esp. at this late date. :dubious: I’d go with one of the below or one of the other many actors or musicians who’ve sprung from the region: (in no particular order): Buddy Holly Stevie Ray Vaughn Janis Joplin Beyonce Renee Zellweger Farrah Fawcett Forrest Whitaker Joan Crawford I just think that given the standard of worldwide recognition, it is much more likely that a person on the street in say, Zimbawe, would be more likely to recognize Beyonce or even Farrah Fawcett than LBJ. We live in a pop culture world. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/175 "2010-11-16T00:56:06Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Ben Franklin would be way up there for most states but he is originally from Massachusetts, not Pennsylvania and was born in Boston. As a matter of fact, he could proabably give JFK himself a run for the most famous person born in Massachusetts. D’oh! :smack: You’re right. I knew that, too. I learned it in elementary school, somewhere in about the 5th grade. I’m embarrased I didn’t retain that knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/176 "2010-11-16T01:10:06Z")
Not a state but a country–I think it’s probably pretty safe to say that the most famous person born in Ecuador (to non-Ecuadorians, that is) is **Mike Judge** (of _Office Space_ and Beavis & Butthead fame). ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/177 "2010-11-16T15:09:26Z")
For Rhode Island, how about Ambrose Burnside - not for his military prowess, but his contribution to facial fashion. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/178 "2010-11-16T18:06:33Z")
We haven’t done my current state of Arizona, yet. I’ll start. Senator and Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, born in Phoenix. In 1909, yet, when Arizona was still a territory. Singers Stevie Nicks, from Phoenix, and Linda Ronstadt, from Tucson. Lynda Carter, aka Wonder Woman, Phoenix. “I Dream of Jeannie” star Barbara Eden, from Tucson. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/179 "2010-11-23T00:00:28Z")
Names included up to post 178. List one: my choices for US States (reflecting my biases - e.g. I don’t follow sports). Also I usually give preference to movie personalities vs. TV personalities because movie personalities are usually more known internationally. List two: US territories since Colibri brought it up. List three: candidates that have been brought up and might, IMHO, be defensible. I’ve omitted a bunch of names that don’t come close. The toughest states for me so far have been Delaware, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Texas, Utah. Can’t make up my mind. **List 1** State / Most famous person born in that state Alabama / Helen Keller or James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens Alaska / Curtis Montague Schilling Arkansas / William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton or John R. “Johnny” Cash Arizona / Linda Ronstadt or Stephanie Lynn “Stevie” Nicks California / Norma Jeane Baker aka Marilyn Monroe or Richard Milhous Nixon Colorado / William Harrison “Jack” Dempsey Connecticut / George Walker Bush Delaware / George Thorogood or Judge Reinhold Florida / James Douglas “Jim” Morrison Georgia / Martin Luther King or James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Hawaii / Barack Hussein Obama Idaho / Sarah Louise Palin Illinois / Ronald Wilson Reagan or Miles Dewey Davis Indiana / Michael Joseph Jackson (trumps Mellencamp because of MJ’s extreme worldwide fame) Iowa / Marion Mitchell Morrison aka John Wayne Kansas / Amelia Earhart Kentucky / Abraham Lincoln Louisiana / Louis Daniel Armstrong Maine / Stephen Edwin King Maryland / Frank Vincent Zappa or George Herman Ruth aka “Babe” Ruth Massachussetts / John Fitzgerald Kennedy or Benjamin Franklin Michigan / Henry Ford or Madonna Louise Ciccone Minnesota / Robert Allen Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan Mississippi / Elvis Aaron Presley Missouri / Samuel Langhorne Clemens aka Mark Twain (Walt Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois!) Montana / Frank James “Gary” Cooper Nebraska / Marlon Brando New Hampshire / Franklin Pierce or Dan Brown or Ronald James Padavona aka Ronnie James Dio New Jersey / Francis Albert “Frank” Sinatra New Mexico / John Denver or Demi Gene Guynes aka Demi Moore or Geronimo or Alfred “Al” Unser New York / Franklin Delano Roosevelt aka FDR North Carolina / Andy Samuel Griffith or William Franklin “Billy” Graham North Dakota / Warren Minor Christopher or Angie Dickinson Ohio / Thomas Alva Edison or Steven Allan Spielberg Oklahoma / William Penn Adair “Will” Rogers or William Bradley “Brad” Pitt Oregon / Matthew Abram “Matt” Groening or Linus Carl Pauling or Raymond Clevie Carver Pennsylvania / Grace Patricia Kelly or Andrew Warhola aka Andy Warhol South Dakota / Sitting Bull or Thomas John “Tom” Brokaw Tennessee / Dolly Rebecca Parton or David Crockett Texas / Lyndon Baines Johnson aka LBJ or Howard Robard Hughes or Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower Utah / Roseanne Cherie Barr or Butch Cassidy or Jewel Kilcher Vermont / Joseph Smith Virginia/ George Washington (I’ll accept him even though the state didn’t exist yet) Washington / William Henry “Bill” Gates III (beats Jimi Hendrix) Washington, DC / Albert Arnold “Al” Gore (being a political figure, he deserves to be the most famous native) West Virginia / Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager Wisconsin / George Orson Welles or Frank Lloyd Wright Wyoming / Paul Jackson Pollock **List 2** Territories American Samoa Canal Zone - John Sidney McCain Puerto Rico / José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón aka José Ferrer or Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez aka Benicio del Toro **List 3** Other suggestions that don’t quite make the cut IMHO Arizona / Barry Morris Goldwater Delaware / Elisabeth Judson Shue Florida / Thomas Earl Petty aka Tom Petty Kentucky / John Christopher “Johnny” Depp Maryland / Michael Fred Phelps Nebraska / Gerald Rudolph Ford New Hampshire / Sarah Kate Silverman New Mexico / Jeffrey Preston “Jeff” Bezos or William Henry “Bill” Mauldin New York / Michael Jeffrey Jordan North Dakota / Louis Dearborn L’Amour or Philip Douglas “Phil” Jackson or Lawrence Welk Ohio / LeBron Raymone James Oklahoma / Troyal Garth Brooks or Mickey Charles Mantle South Dakota / Thomas Andrew Daschle Tennessee / Aretha Louise Franklin or Morgan Porterfield Freeman Texas / Vermont / Theodore Robert “Ted” Bundy Wisconsin / Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder Puerto Rico / Rita Moreno or Raúl Rafael Juliá y Arcelay aka Raúl Juliá or Roberto Clemente Walker ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341/180 "2010-11-23T00:04:51Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > We don’t have North Dakota yet. > > I’m not sure which of these might be most famous, but my guess that currently it would be Phil Jackson. Sacajawea might top him for being on a coin, but I doubt she is well known outside the US. > > Sacajawea, guide to Louis and Clark > Warren Christopher, Secretary of State > Angie Dickenson, actress > Louis L’Amour, author > Phil Jackson, basketball coach > Roger Maris, baseball player > Lawrence Welk, bandleader Roger Maris was not born in North Dakota according to Wikipedia. I chose Warren Christopher or Angie Dickinson (amarone voted for Angie Dickinson). > [@Aspidistra](#): > > Geronimo is a recognisable name, but I don’t know anything\* about\* him Well, I assume you know that he was a Native American that fought against the US government, right? That counts as name recognition in my book. But thanks a lot for the non-US perspective, that really helps a lot! I’m going to use non-US perspectives to settle what I consider to be the tie-breakers. For Alabama: > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Is she more famous than [Hank Aaron](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Aaron), [Jimmy Buffett](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Buffett), [Truman Capote](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truman_Capote), [Nat King Cole](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_King_Cole), [Courteney Cox](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courteney_Cox), [Rosa Parks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks), [Condoleezza Rice](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice), or [Hank Williams](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Williams)? > [@Aspidistra](#): > > Well, **Arnold W** seemed to think so! Well, I didn’t compare her to all those others! In most cases, I am letting other posters do the research. But IMHO, Helen Keller still wins because every child going to school in the US (and many children in other countries) will be taught about her story, as far as I know. Guaranteeing that almost everyone will know who she is. Which is not the case for any of those other people. > [@Colibri](#): > > For another US Territory, NFL All-Star Junior Seau is almost certainly the most famous person from American Samoa. Born in California, according to Wikipedia. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think a lot of the debate here is over the defintion of fame. I think there’s two distinct kinds of fame: contemporary fame and historical fame. Contemporary fame is when you’re in People magazine. Historical fame is when you’re in schoolbooks. Actually, my definition of fame is “who has the most name recognition today, if you do a representative poll of people worldwide”. It just so happens that most People magazine hall-of-famers will top the list today and be gone in five years, whereas someone like Genghis Khan or Alexander the Great is in for the long haul. > [@InterestedObserver](#): > > I just think that given the standard of worldwide recognition, it is much more likely that a person on the street in say, Zimbawe, would be more likely to recognize Beyonce or even Farrah Fawcett than LBJ. We live in a pop culture world. Beyonce, maybe, but not Farrah Fawcett. And I think there would be a generation gap there, younger people (30 or less) might recognize Beyonce, but older people likely have no idea who that is. > [@WreckingCrew](#): > > For Rhode Island, how about Ambrose Burnside - not for his military prowess, but his contribution to facial fashion. :dubious: Would someone care to weed out the nobodies from [Wikipedia’s list of famous Rhode Islanders](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Rhode_Island) and present some good choices? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-born-in-your-state/560341.md?page=10)