List of people from Asheville, North Carolina
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
This is a list of notable persons who were born in and/or have lived in the American city of Asheville, North Carolina.
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Contents
Living
- Sarah Addison Allen, New York Times bestselling author; born and raised in Asheville
- Dorothy Hansine Andersen, physician; first person to identify cystic fibrosis; inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2002 for her scientific work
- Harry Anderson (born 1952), actor, starred in 9 seasons of NBC's Night Court[1]
- John Avery (born 1976), football player in the NFL, XFL, and CFL; attended Asheville High School[2]
- Mark Boswell (born 1960)
- Crezdon Butler (born 1987), National Football League cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers; born and raised in Asheville; led Asheville High School to 2006 state championship[3]
- Greg Cartwright (born 1970), rock musician; relocated to Asheville[4]
- Chris Chalk, television, film, and theater actor, born in Asheville and graduated from Asheville High School.
- Adam "Edge" Copeland (born 1973), retired professional wrestler, author, relocated to Asheville
- Brad Daugherty (born 1965), retired NBA basketball player; current ESPN NASCAR analyst[5]
- Jennifer Pharr Davis (born 1982), long-distance hiker; currently unofficial record holder of fastest thru-hike of Appalachian Trail
- Lawson Duncan (born 1964), former Grand Prix tennis tour player
- Jim Eason (born 1935), radio talk show host
- John Ehle (born 1925), author
- Roberta Flack (born 1937), singer, born in Asheville[6]
- Sallie Ford, of Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, singer[7]
- Charles Frazier (born 1950), author, born in Asheville and graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill[8]
- Eileen Fulton (born 1933), actress, starred on the CBS soap As the World Turns, 1960–2010; born in Asheville[9]
- Gail Godwin (born 1938), novelist, spent her early years in Asheville with her mother Kathleen Krahenbuhl Cole
- Joel Goffin (born 1981), film composer, music producer
- Perla Haney-Jardine (born 1997), actress
- Warren Haynes (born 1960), musician, spent his formative years in Asheville[10]
- Darren Holmes (born 1966), MLB player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves
- David Holt (born 1946), folk musician, lives near Asheville[11]
- Caleb Johnson (born 1991), American Idol Season 13 winner
- Gary Jules (born 1969), singer-songwriter, known for his rendition of "Mad World" for the film Donnie Darko
- Loyd King (born 1949), retired professional basketball player
- Hope Larson (born 1982), Eisner Award-winning illustrator/cartoonist and author of graphic novels Salamander Dream and Chiggers[12]
- Leonard Little (born 1974), NFL football player with the St. Louis Rams; born and raised in Asheville[13]
- Andie MacDowell (born 1958), actress, lived for several years in Biltmore Forest, adjacent to Asheville[14]
- Cameron Maybin (born 1987), Major League Baseball player with the Atlanta Braves; has also played with the San Diego Padres; born and raised in Asheville[15]
- Rashad McCants (born 1984), former NBA basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings; former Erwin High School basketball player[16]
- Sierra McCormick (born 1997), actress
- William Murdock (born 1955), author; co-founder of Eblen Charities, Eblen Center for Social Enterprise; social entrepreneur;[17] National Wrestling Hall of Fame / Dan Gable Museum Hall of Fame Inductee 2007;[18] Mother Teresa Global Peace Prize Recipient 2014 [19]
- Bryan Lee O'Malley (born 1976), award-winning Canadian cartoonist and creator of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series[20]
- Buzz Peterson (born 1963), former director of player personnel for the Charlotte Bobcats; now men's head basketball coach at UNC Wilmington;[21] born and raised in Asheville[22]
- Robert Pressley (born 1959), retired NASCAR driver, born in Asheville[23]
- Paul Schneider (born 1976), actor
- Angela Shelton (born 1972), actress and producer[24]
- Ronnie Silver (born 1951), NASCAR driver[25]
- Brett Swain (born 1986), NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
- Joe West (born 1952), MLB umpire
- Roy Williams (born 1950), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill basketball coach, raised in Asheville[26]
- William Winkenwerder, Jr. (born 1954), Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (2001–2007)[27]
- Bellamy Young (born 1970), actress, co-star of television series Scandal; born and raised in Asheville
- Rei Haycraft (born 1988), singer for hard rock band Raimee, artist, illustrator, and filmmaker; created documentary on living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: "But You Don't Look Sick: Living With Chronic Pain" used to raise awareness for the disease by the Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation as well as other sufferers; born and raised in Asheville.[28][29]
Deceased
- Backwards Sam Firk (1943 – 2007), country blues singer, fingerstyle guitarist, songwriter, and record collector[30]
- Donald V. Bennett (1915–2005), former commanding general of the US Army Pacific Command
- Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910), first recognized woman doctor in the United States
- Joe Bowman (1925–2009), bootmaker and marksman of American West entertainment; grew up in Asheville but left for Houston, Texas, in 1937
- William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925), 20th-century politician, presidential candidate[31]
- Ruth and Latrobe Carroll (1899–1999) (1894–1996), children's authors and illustrators
- Olive Tilford Dargan (1869–1968), proletarian novelist of the 1930s under the pen name "Fielding Burke"
- Wilma Dykeman (1920–2006), author and Southern liberal activist
- Joe Eblen (1925–2013), philanthropist, co-founder of Eblen Charities, Eblen Center for Social Enterprise[32]
- Zelda Fitzgerald (1900–1948), wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald; died in a fire with eight other women at Highland Hospital, an Asheville mental institution in the Montford district
- Edythe J. Gaines (1922–2006), educator and school superintendent, born in Asheville
- Edwin Wiley Grove (1850–1927), patent medicine inventor, builder and owner of the Grove Park Inn
- Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908), architect; final resting place at the Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville
- Dorothy Hart (1922–2004), screen actress, known mostly for supporting roles
- William S. Hart (1864–1946), cowboy actor in early Hollywood; resided in Asheville around 1900 and coached shows at the Asheville Opera House[33]
- Shirley Hemphill (1947–1999), stand-up comedian and actress, best known for What's Happening!!, 1976–79
- O. Henry (1862–1910), pen name of author William Sydney Porter; lived for a while in Asheville and is buried in Riverside Cemetery
- Hugh B. Hester (1895–1983) retired Army general who opposed the Vietnam War and the Cold War.
- Charlton Heston (1923–2008), Oscar-winning actor, managed the Asheville Community Theatre with his wife Lydia in 1947
- Hughie Jennings (1869–1928), Major League Baseball player and manager, 1891–1925
- Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice (1924–2003), professional football player
- Howard Kester (1904–1977), author and organizer of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union
- Bascom Lamar Lunsford (1882–1973), folklorist, musician, folk festival founder
- Bill Monroe (1911–1996), musician, known as "the father of bluegrass"; lived in Asheville; had a show on a local radio station in 1939
- Dorothy Montgomery (1924–2009), All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
- Robert Moog (1934–2005), pioneer of electronic music, inventor of the Moog synthesizer
- Robert Morgan (1918–2004), pilot of the Memphis Belle, the famed World War II B-17 bomber
- Doan Ogden (1908–1989), nationally noted landscape architect during the 20th century
- Kenneth Noland (1924–2010), abstract painter, one of the best-known American Color Field painters
- William Dudley Pelley (1890–1965), leader of the "Silver Shirt" fascist movement in the 1930s and 1940s
- Marjorie Rambeau (1889–1970), Hollywood actress; was married to Francis A. Gudger, a resident of Asheville; resided in Asheville in the winter from 1932 to the mid-1940s[34]
- Robert Rice Reynolds (1884–1963), U. S. Senator of isolationist sympathies in World War II
- Jimmie Rodgers, singer, known as "the father of country music"; lived in Asheville; had a show on a local radio station in 1927[35]
- Kiffin Rockwell (1892–1916), aviator; pilot in the Lafayette Escadrille; first American to shoot down an enemy aircraft
- Root Boy Slim, aka Foster Mackenzie III (1945–1993), blues musician
- Nina Simone (1933–2003), jazz singer, attended Allen Home School for Girls in Asheville[36]
- Don Thompson (1923–2009), Major League Baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers
- George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914), entrepreneur, founder of the Biltmore Estate
- Thomas Wolfe (1900–1938), author, born and raised in Asheville, buried in Riverside Cemetery
See also
References
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