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.
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 rapper — 16.4× the global rate.
Memphis under-produces politician — only 0.6× the global rate.
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.
- Sports
- Music
- Film & TV
- Politics & Law
- Writing
- Science
- Other
- Field: Songwriter Clear ×
Kirk Whalum
Born 1958
Hank Crawford
1934 - 2009
Al Jackson Jr.
1935 - 1975
Homer Banks
1941 - 2003
Greg Cartwright
Born 1970
Charles Hodges
Born 1947
Busta Jones
1951 - 1995
Sheri Jones-Moffett
Born 1974
Shea Norman
1971 - 2017
Teddy Walton
Born 1992
Gary Talley
Born 1947
Ted Winn
Born 1970
Lisa Knowles
Born 1983