35.2064° N, 90.0889° W

MEMPHIS

Most Famous People Born in Memphis, United States

Notable people
950
Peak decade
1940s
Median birth year
1953
Most distinctive
Rapper 16.4×

The 7.4× songwriter over-index is Stax and Sun Studio in one number — the city where Aretha Franklin was born and Elvis is buried still disproportionately manufactures the people who write American pop. The 16.4× rapper multiplier is a newer chapter, Three 6 Mafia and a generation of Memphis horror-rap running through the same neighborhoods that taught Morgan Freeman his accent.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Memphis during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1940s with 127 notable births.

What Memphis Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Memphis's biggest profession — 15% of all notables (140).

Memphis over-indexes on rapper16.4× the global rate.

Memphis under-produces politician — only 0.6× the global rate.

  1. Football140
  2. Basket91
  3. Actor69
  4. Singer68
  5. Politician67
  6. Music61
  7. Baseball57
  8. Lawyer25
  1. Rapper1716.4×
  2. Basket917.6×
  3. Songwriter137.4×
  4. Baseball575.3×
  5. Music614.5×
  6. Pianist114.3×
  7. Singer683.5×
  8. Lawyer251.5×
  1. Politician670.6×
  2. Writer200.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Memphis's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Music
  • Film & TV
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Other
Politician67
Sort By

Showing 67 of 950 notable people

0071 POLITICIAN

Harold Ford Jr.

Born 1970

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0078 POLITICIAN

Steve Cohen

Born 1949

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0096 POLITICIAN

Stephen Fincher

Born 1973

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0118 POLITICIAN

David Kustoff

Born 1966

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0120 POLITICIAN

Jim Sasser

Born 1936

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0142 POLITICIAN

Kirk Fordice

1934 - 2004

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0143 POLITICIAN

John Sharp Williams

1854 - 1932

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0149 POLITICIAN

Harold Ford Sr.

Born 1945

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0156 POLITICIAN

Miles Poindexter

1868 - 1946

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0179 POLITICIAN

Smith W. Brookhart

1869 - 1944

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0188 POLITICIAN

Larry Combest

Born 1945

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0205 POLITICIAN

Mallory Hagan

Born 1988

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0280 POLITICIAN

Daniel I. J. Thornton

1911 - 1976

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0287 POLITICIAN

William Vollie Alexander Jr.

Born 1934

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0304 POLITICIAN

Thomas B. Turley

1845 - 1910

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0312 POLITICIAN

W. W. Herenton

Born 1940

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0354 POLITICIAN

James P. Walker

1851 - 1890

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0380 POLITICIAN

Bill Slavick

Born 1927

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0387 POLITICIAN

Robert B. Hawley

1849 - 1921

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0405 POLITICIAN

Charles Stewart (Texas politician)

1836 - 1895

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0432 POLITICIAN

John P. Newsome

1893 - 1961

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0450 POLITICIAN

Ken A. Miller

Born 1966

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0480 POLITICIAN

Janet Cowell

Born 1968

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0485 POLITICIAN

Lee Harris (politician)

Born 1978

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0499 POLITICIAN

Jim Kyle

Born 1950

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0522 POLITICIAN

Brian Kelsey

Born 1977

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0543 POLITICIAN

Mary Flake de Flores

Born 1950

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0570 POLITICIAN

James Pulliam

1863 - 1934

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0584 POLITICIAN

John Ford (Tennessee politician)

Born 1942

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0590 POLITICIAN

Lloyd Barbee

1925 - 2002

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0601 POLITICIAN

Ophelia Ford

Born 1950

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0611 POLITICIAN

Joe Towns

-

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0616 POLITICIAN

Karen Camper

Born 1958

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0633 POLITICIAN

Lois DeBerry

1945 - 2013

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0636 POLITICIAN

Larry Miller (Tennessee politician)

Born 1954

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0641 POLITICIAN

Greg Davis (Mississippi politician)

Born 1966

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0646 POLITICIAN

Watkins Overton

1894 - 1958

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0650 POLITICIAN

Nancy Denson

-

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0655 POLITICIAN

Eva McCall Hamilton

1871 - 1948

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0676 POLITICIAN

Mike Roos

Born 1945

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0678 POLITICIAN

Al Alquist

1908 - 2006

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0699 POLITICIAN

George L. Forbes

Born 1931

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0718 POLITICIAN

Raumesh Akbari

-

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0723 POLITICIAN

Reginald Tate (politician)

1954 - 2019

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0724 POLITICIAN

Thomas S. Boyland

1942 - 1982

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0731 POLITICIAN

Emmitt Ford

1943 - 2014

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0758 POLITICIAN

Bill Stone (politician)

Born 1965

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0774 POLITICIAN

Nathaniel Exum

Born 1940

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0779 POLITICIAN

Beverly Marrero

Born 1939

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0785 POLITICIAN

Debra Silverstein

Born 1966

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0802 POLITICIAN

Mac Huddleston

Born 1943

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0829 POLITICIAN

David Parker (Mississippi politician)

Born 1969

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0836 POLITICIAN

W. L. Clapp

1851 - 1901

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0852 POLITICIAN

Steve Hettinger

Born 1945

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0857 POLITICIAN

Amy Sheldon

Born 1966

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0868 POLITICIAN

Russell Sugarmon

1929 - 2019

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0869 POLITICIAN

Floy Clements

1909 - 1973

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0899 POLITICIAN

Henry Green Madison

1843 - 1912

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0910 POLITICIAN

Holly Rehder

Born 1969

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0912 POLITICIAN

Lloyd McCuiston

Born 1918

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0914 POLITICIAN

E. William Henry

Born 1929

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0938 POLITICIAN

Bob Hawks (Tennessee politician)

Born 1926

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0942 POLITICIAN

Shea Flinn

Born 1973

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0943 POLITICIAN

Curtis S. Person Jr.

1934 - 2020

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0944 POLITICIAN

George E. Young

-

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0947 POLITICIAN

E. C. Tully

-

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0950 POLITICIAN

Harper Brewer Jr.

Born 1937

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