29.9548° N, 90.0749° W

NEW ORLEANS

Most Famous People Born in New Orleans, United States

Notable people
1,804
Peak decade
1940s
Median birth year
1943
Most distinctive
Bandleader 45.7×

The birthplace of jazz, and the numbers make it obvious. New Orleans's distinctive professions are bandleaders, rappers, and musicians at concentrations unmatched by any other city in the dataset — the statistical footprint of Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Fats Domino, Louis Prima, and the Marsalis family all growing up within a few streetcar stops of each other, with Lil Wayne and Master P extending the line into hip-hop. Baseball and basketball round out the sporting bench, and Truman Capote, Anne Rice, and Lillian Hellman hold down the literary side.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1940s with 198 notable births.

What New Orleans Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is New Orleans's biggest profession — 13% of all notables (233).

New Orleans over-indexes on bandleader45.7× the global rate.

New Orleans under-produces painter — only 0.5× the global rate.

  1. Football233
  2. Music175
  3. Actor133
  4. Politician125
  5. Singer94
  6. Lawyer94
  7. Basket80
  8. Baseball77
  1. Bandleader2345.7×
  2. Rapper2814.2×
  3. Music1756.8×
  4. Baseball773.8×
  5. Basket803.5×
  6. Lawyer943.0×
  7. Singer942.5×
  1. Painter250.5×
  2. Politician1250.6×
  3. Writer400.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Music
  • Politics & Law
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Art & Design
  • Other
All1,804
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Showing 140 of 1,804 notable people

0007 KILLER

Lee Harvey Oswald

1939 - 1963

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0019 WRITER

John Kennedy Toole

1937 - 1969

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0030 SINGER

Allen Toussaint

1938 - 2015

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0039 POLITICIAN

Andrew Young

Born 1932

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0057 SCREENWRITER

Bob Clark

1939 - 2007

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0078 SINGER

Shirley Verrett

1931 - 2010

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0081 SINGER

Larry Williams

1935 - 1980

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0089 CLARINET

Pete Fountain

1930 - 2016

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0100 MUSIC

Idris Muhammad

1939 - 2014

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0108 PIANIST

Ellis Marsalis Jr.

1934 - 2020

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0131 SINGER

James Booker

1939 - 1983

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0134 SINGER

Earl King

1934 - 2003

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0139 GUITAR

Snooks Eaglin

1936 - 2009

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0140 FILM

Paul Carr (actor)

1934 - 2006

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0155 BOXER

Willie Pastrano

1935 - 1997

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0159 ACTOR

Marco St. John

Born 1939

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0160 SINGER

Clarence "Frogman" Henry

Born 1937

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0167 SINGER

Johnny Adams

1932 - 1998

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0177 POLITICIAN

Moon Landrieu

Born 1930

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0207 MUSIC

Huey "Piano" Smith

Born 1934

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0218 PIANIST

James "Sugar Boy" Crawford

1934 - 2012

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0223 WRITER

Alice Borchardt

1939 - 2007

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0241 MATHEMATICIAN

John B. Conway

Born 1939

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0264 ART DIRECTOR

Gretchen Rau

1939 - 2006

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0272 MUSIC

Shirley Goodman

1936 - 2005

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0274 SINGER

Art Neville

1937 - 2019

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0295 PIANIST

Baby Face Willette

1933 - 1971

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0323 MUSIC

Lionel Batiste

1931 - 2012

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0325 PHYSICIST

James Charles Phillips

Born 1933

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0328 MUSIC

Alvin Batiste

1932 - 2007

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0340 MUSIC

Ernie K-Doe

1936 - 2001

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0362 COMPOSER

Harold Battiste

1931 - 2015

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0370 SONGWRITER

Wardell Quezergue

1930 - 2011

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0373 PHOTOGRAPHER

George Dureau

1930 - 2014

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0388 MUSIC

Benny Powell

1930 - 2010

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0406 MUSIC

Charles Neville (musician)

1938 - 2018

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0409 SINGER

Jessie Hill

1932 - 1996

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0440 BOXER

Ralph Dupas

1935 - 2008

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0503 SINGER

Biff Rose

Born 1937

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0511 MATHEMATICIAN

Peter Duren

Born 1935

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0516 COLUMNIST

Betty DeGeneres

Born 1930

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0519 PRIEST

John Favalora

Born 1935

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0531 POLITICIAN

Richard Alvin Tonry

1935 - 2012

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0544 JAZZ

Bob French (jazz musician)

1938 - 2012

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0567 MUSIC

Germaine Bazzle

Born 1932

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0575 MUSIC

Connie Jones

1934 - 2019

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0590 FOOTBALL

Richie Petitbon

Born 1938

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0610 SINGER

Li'l Millet

1935 - 1997

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0624 MUSIC

Herman Riley

1933 - 2007

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0655 PRODUCER

Melvin Lastie

1930 - 1972

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0688 LAWYER

A. J. McNamara

1936 - 2014

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0719 MUSIC

June Gardner

1930 - 2010

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0722 MUSIC

Smokey Johnson

1936 - 2015

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0739 VOCALIST

Fillmore Slim

Born 1935

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0753 JOURNALIST

Hodding Carter III

Born 1935

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0754 PRIEST

Joseph Nunzio Latino

Born 1937

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0759 HISTORIAN

Marietta LeBreton

1936 - 2009

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0767 MUSIC

Nat Perrilliat

1936 - 1971

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0795 PROFESSOR

Henry C. Dethloff

1934 - 2019

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0813 LAWYER

Harry Lee (sheriff)

1932 - 2007

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0841 DRUMMER

Charles Connor

Born 1935

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0852 PAINTER

Rolland Golden

1931 - 2019

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0865 MUSIC

Robert Parker (singer)

1930 - 2020

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0866 MUSIC

Jack Delaney (musician)

1930 - 1975

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0885 LAWYER

Ben Toledano

Born 1932

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0920 LAWYER

John Trice Nixon

1933 - 2019

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0921 FOOTBALL

L. G. Dupre

1932 - 2001

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0937 AUTHOR

Albert E. Cowdrey

Born 1933

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0940 BUSINESS

Benjamin M. Rosen

Born 1933

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0962 BIOLOGIST

Wyatt Anderson

Born 1939

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0975 SAILOR

Barton Jahncke

Born 1939

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0986 BUSINESS

Joseph Medill Patterson Albright

Born 1937

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1004 SCREENWRITER

Judith Paige Mitchell

1932 - 2010

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1028 SINGER

Little Sonny Jones

1931 - 1989

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1040 BASEBALL

Earl Robinson (baseball)

1936 - 2014

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1044 BASEBALL

Al Schroll

1932 - 1999

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1084 COMPOSER

Rick Abao

1939 - 2002

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1089 ATTORNEY

John Grenier

1930 - 2007

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1107 LAWYER

Michael O'Keefe (Louisiana politician)

Born 1932

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1119 SINGER

Pervis Jackson

1938 - 2008

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1126 LAWYER

Pascal F. Calogero Jr.

1931 - 2018

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1136 PHYSICIST

Fred Cummings

Born 1931

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1154 POLITICIAN

Peggy Wilson (Louisiana politician)

Born 1937

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1162 BASEBALL

Hal Bevan

1930 - 1968

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1165 BASEBALL

Dave Hill (baseball)

1937 - 2018

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1169 FOOTBALL

Roosevelt Taylor

1937 - 2020

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1212 POLITICIAN

Joe Sampite

1931 - 2012

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1218 SINGER

Tony Allen (Sänger)

Born 1932

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1224 SINGER

Joe August (musician)

1931 - 1992

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1227 LAWYER

Ed Karst

1931 - 1992

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1228 LAWYER

Robert Frederick Collins

Born 1931

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1229 LAWYER

Eldon E. Fallon

Born 1939

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1240 POLITICIAN

John J. Hainkel Jr.

1938 - 2005

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1244 FOOTBALL

Errol Linden

1937 - 1983

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1250 PHOTOGRAPHER

Curtis Graves

Born 1938

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1265 COMPOSER

Eugénie Rocherolle

Born 1936

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1272 ACTOR

Anne Kimbell

1932 - 2017

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1277 COMPOSER

Leonard Lee

1936 - 1976

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1312 SWIMMER

William Dudley (swimmer)

1931 - 1978

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1313 ENGINEER

P. L. Thibaut Brian

1930 - 2018

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1318 PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR

Gordon Novel

1938 - 2012

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1328 POLITICIAN

Barbara Boggs Sigmund

1939 - 1990

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1338 PRODUCER

Deanne Barkley

1931 - 2013

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1341 LAWYER

Fritz Windhorst

Born 1935

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1363 GUITAR

George Davis junior

1938 - 2008

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1395 FOOTBALL

Al Richardson (end)

1935 - 1977

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1410 TRUMPET

Frank Assunto

1932 - 1974

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1418 CHEF

Richard Brennan (restaurateur)

1931 - 2015

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1419 LAWYER

Nat G. Kiefer

1939 - 1985

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1438 CIVIL RIGHTS

Oretha Castle Haley

1939 - 1987

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1439 ARCHITECT

R. Terry Schnadelbach

Born 1939

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1458 FOOTBALL

Dalton Truax

1935 - 2019

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1465 INVESTMENT

Peter M. Wolf

Born 1935

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1482 LAWYER

Andrew G. T. Moore II

1935 - 2018

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1483 POLITICIAN

Junior Rodriguez

1935 - 2018

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1497 LAWYER

Inez Smith Reid

Born 1937

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1541 FOOTBALL

Bernie Darre

1939 - 2006

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1545 LAWYER

Edward S. Bopp

1930 - 2015

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1546 OFFICER

Bernard P. Randolph

Born 1933

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1556 PSYCHIATRIST

Charles P. O'Brien

Born 1939

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1558 WINEMAKER

Iris Rideau

Born 1937

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1577 OFFICER

Monroe W. Hatch Jr.

Born 1933

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1581 MUSIC

Ray Johnson (Musiker)

1930 - 2013

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1593 FOOTBALL

Ernie Danjean

Born 1934

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1609 BUSINESS

Peter H. Dailey

1930 - 2018

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1636 ARMY

George Kenneth Lucey Jr.

Born 1937

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1639 SINGER

Prince La La

1936 - 1963

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1650 LAWYER

John Volz

1936 - 2011

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1681 BIOLOGIST

Anna Epps

Born 1930

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1694 BASKET

E. W. Foy

1937 - 2014

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1711 POLITICIAN

Karl Jaffary

Born 1936

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1719 MILITAR

Hezekiah Leonard Clark Jr.

Born 1937

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1724 FOOTBALL

Al Ecuyer

1937 - 2012

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1733 PIANIST

Ronnie DuPont

1937 - 2015

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1737 BUSINESS

Clyde F. Bel Jr.

1932 - 2014

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1742 DRUMMER

Art Lewis

Born 1936

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1756 BOXER

Joseph Dorsey Jr.

1935 - 2004

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1779 ARCHITECT

E. Eean McNaughton

Born 1931

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1798 PHOTOGRAPHER

William W. Cates

1939 - 2018

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1804 POLITICIAN

Frances Fredericks

Born 1935

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