List of people from Greensboro, North Carolina

This is a list of notable people who were either born in, lived in or are closely associated with Greensboro, North Carolina and have an article on Wikipedia.

Born in Greensboro

• Keenan Allen, NFL wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers; attended Grimsley High School and graduated from Northern Guilford High School
• Lamont Burns, NFL player
• Thomas Berry, ecology spokesman
• Hal "Skinny" Brown, MLB pitcher, Baltimore Orioles
• Tony Brown, record producer
• Joey Cheek, Olympic gold-medal speed skater
• Howard Coble, former member of U.S. House of Representatives (6th District, N.C.)
• Levi Coffin, noted Quaker educator and abolitionist
• Jeff Davis, NFL linebacker for Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Marques Douglas, NFL player
• Donna Edmondson, Playboy Playmate of the year 1987
• Vince Evans, 1977 Rose Bowl most valuable player and NFL quarterback
• Tal Farlow, a pioneering jazz guitarist
• Wes Ferrell, MLB pitcher from 1927-41, two-time All-Star
• Henry Flynt, philosopher, avant-garde musician, anti-art activist and exhibited artist often associated with Conceptual Art, Fluxus and Nihilism (b.1940)
• Inez and Charlie Foxx, rhythm-and-blues and soul duo known for the 1963 hit Mockingbird
• Joey Hackett, NFL tight end
• O. Henry, short-story writer (actually born in Guilford County, outside Greensboro)
• Matt Hill, electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter
• Lou Hudson, NBA All-Star
• John Isner, professional tennis player
• Dr. Frank Jobe, orthopedic surgeon, invented UCL reconstruction known as Tommy John surgery
• J. William Kime, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard
• John Anthony Lennon, composer (b. 1950)
• Caroline Lind, 2008 Olympic women's 8 rowing gold-medal
• Loretta Lynch, Attorney General of the United States
• Dolley Madison, First Lady and wife of President James Madison
• Doug Marlette, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist
• Jack F. Matlock, Jr., U.S. ambassador to U.S.S.R., 1987–1991
• Robert McAdoo, NBA All-Star and college basketball All-American
• Fred "Curly" Neal, basketball player, Harlem Globetrotters
• Ronald Perelman, billionaire investor
• Eddie Pope, soccer player for Real Salt Lake and the US National Soccer Team
• Millard Powers, musician, songwriter, record producer, and Grammy-nominated recording engineer; member of Counting Crows
• George Preddy, World War II ace
• Jeff Varner, Survivor contestant (Season 2)
• Don Vaughan, former state senator and former member of the Greensboro City Council; helped obtain passage in 2010 of Susie's Law
• Gene White, NFL defensive back
• Kelly Wigglesworth, Survivor contestant (Season 1)

Residents

• Rex M. Best, Emmy Award-winning writer for the CBS daytime dramas The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful
• Frances Webb Bumpass, newspaper publisher
• Orson Scott Card, author, journalist and professor; several of his books, including Ender's Game and Shadow Puppets feature settings in and around Greensboro
• Eugene Chadbourne, composer and musician
• Chris Daughtry, American Idol contestant
• Golda Fried, novelist and poet
• Kay Hagan, former U.S. Senator
• H.T. Kirby-Smith, author and poet
• Ed Nelson, actor who played Dr. Michael Rossi on Peyton Place, spent last years in Greensboro and died there in 2014
• Michael Parker, novelist
• Garry Peterson, longtime drummer for the Guess Who
• Ricky Proehl, NFL player
• Nicholas Sparks, author
• Stanley Tanger, founder of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers
• Whitney Way Thore, star of TLC's My Big Fat Fabulous Life

Associated with Greensboro

• Ethan Albright, NFL Pro Bowl long snapper, played for University of North Carolina and NFL's Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, and Washington Redskins; born in Greensboro, graduated from Grimsley High School; coach of Page High School softball team.
• Fantasia Barrino, winner of American Idol season three and Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, briefly lived in Greensboro and is from nearby High Point.
• Jerry Bledsoe, journalist and true-crime author, lives in nearby Asheboro; columnist for Greensboro News & Record, investigative reporting featured in Rhino Times.
• Jeff Bostic, NFL offensive lineman for the Washington Redskins, born in Greensboro, graduated from Ben L. Smith High School.
• Joe Bostic, NFL offensive lineman for the St. Louis (later Arizona) Cardinals, born in Greensboro, graduated from Ben L. Smith High School.
• Ezell Blair, Jr., one of The Greensboro Four, male African-American student from North Carolina A&T State University who in 1960 started the first civil rights sit-in; action eventually led to lunch counters and restaurants being desegregated throughout the Southern United States, attended Dudley.
• Joseph M. Bryan, businessman and philanthropist, lived in Greensboro until his death in 1995.
• Andy Cabic of indie folk band Vetiver lived in Greensboro while a member of indie-rock band The Raymond Brake.
• Spencer Chamberlain, lead vocalist of the band Underoath, was raised in Greensboro.
• Billy "Crash" Craddock, country music legend, born and lives near Greensboro.
• Chris Daughtry, lead singer of the rock band Daughtry and 2006 American Idol finalist, used to live in nearby McLeansville and is a resident of nearby Oak Ridge.
• Jeff Davis (born 1960), NFL player (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), member of Clemson's 1981 national championship team, attended Dudley High School.
• Rick Dees, radio personality, graduated from Grimsley High School.
• Marques Douglas, NFL player, attended Dudley High School.
• Barry Farber, radio talk show host, author and language-learning enthusiast; born in Greensboro, and graduated from Greensboro Senior High School (see Grimsley High School).
• Inez and Charlie Foxx, 1960s rhythm-and-blues and soul duo, known for their hit single Mockingbird, are from Greensboro.
• Brendan Haywood, NBA player for Dallas Mavericks, attended Dudley High School.
• Terrence Holt, NFL safety, played for NC State and Detroit Lions; was born in nearby Gibsonville along with his brother Torry Holt.
• Torry Holt, wide receiver for NC State and All-Pro for the St. Louis Rams, was born in nearby Gibsonville and attended Eastern Guilford High School.
• Randall Jarrell, nationally acclaimed poet, professor at University of North Carolina at Greensboro until his death in 1965; buried near Guilford College campus.
• Haywood Jeffires, NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver for Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints, coach of a Texas semi-pro team.
• Ken Jeong, actor, grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina and graduated from Page High School; starred in NBC sitcom Community.
• Frank Lucas, infamous heroin dealer, subject of American Gangster film starring Denzel Washington.
• Danny Manning, an All-America basketball player for the University of Kansas and NBA star, attended Page High School in Greensboro.
• Franklin McCain, one of The Greensboro Four, male African-American student from North Carolina A&T State University who in 1960 started the first civil rights sit-in; action eventually led to lunch counters and restaurants being desegregated throughout the Southern United States, attended Dudley.
• Joseph McNeil, one of The Greensboro Four, male African-American student from North Carolina A&T State University who in 1960 started the first civil rights sit-in; action eventually led to lunch counters and restaurants being desegregated throughout the Southern United States.
• Edward R. Murrow, famed World War II CBS radio broadcaster and award-winning television journalist, was born outside Greensboro.
• Carl Pettersson, Swedish PGA Tour player, graduated from Grimsley High School.
• Lee Rouson, NFL running back, attended Page High School
• Charlie Sanders, member of Pro Football Hall of Fame and North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, played tight end for Detroit Lions, attended Dudley High School.
• Ski, hip-hop producer and rapper, lived in Greensboro.
• Robert Walden, pioneer NASCAR driver, lives near Greensboro.

External links

• Greensboro-nc.gov
• Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau