List of people from Asheville, North Carolina

This is a list of notable persons who were born in and/or have lived in the American city of Asheville, North Carolina.

Architecture

 * Douglas Ellington, architect
 * Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908), builder and engineer; final resting place at the Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville
 * Doan Ogden (1908–1989), nationally noted landscape architect during the 20th century
 * Richard Sharpe Smith, supervising architect of Biltmore Estate

Art

 * Murphy Anderson, (1926–2015), comics artist
 * James Barnhill, (born 1955), artist and sculptor
 * Andrea Clark, photographer
 * Evan Dahm, webcomic creator
 * James Daugherty (1889–1974), modernist painter, muralist, children's book author and illustrator
 * Spencer Herr (born 1974), artist
 * Hope Larson (born 1982), Eisner Award-winning illustrator, cartoonist, and author of graphic novels Salamander Dream and Chiggers
 * George Masa (1881–1933), professional large-format photographer
 * Aspen Mays, artist
 * Kenneth Noland (1924–2010), abstract painter, one of the best-known American Color Field painters
 * Isaiah Rice (1917–1980), documentary photographer
 * Donald Sultan (born 1951), painter, sculptor, and printmaker
 * George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914),art collector, founder of the Biltmore Estate

Business

 * George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil, owner and chairman of Biltmore Farms
 * William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil, operator of the Biltmore Estate through his company, The Biltmore Company
 * John Fleer, chef, cookbook author, and restaurateur
 * Edwin Wiley Grove (1850–1927), patent medicine inventor, builder and owner of the Grove Park Inn
 * Howard Kester (1904–1977), author and organizer of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union
 * Howard W. Mattson, Executive Vice President of the Institute of Food Technologists and director of corporate public relations for Monsanto Company
 * George Willis Pack, lumberman, philanthropist, and railroad president
 * Irving Jacob Reuter, general manager and president of Oldsmobile
 * Fred L. Seely, built the Grove Park Inn with his father-in-law Edwin Wiley Grove
 * Ashleigh Shanti, chef
 * David Webb (1925–1975), jeweler and founder of the David Webb company
 * George Francis Willis, founder of International Proprietaries, Inc., who made a fortune selling a patent medicine called Tanlac

Education

 * Elizabeth Barnes, professor of philosophy at the Corcoran Department of Philosophy, University of Virginia
 * Rebel A. Cole, professor of finance in the College of Business at Florida Atlantic University
 * Jane Sherron De Hart (born 1936), feminist historian and women's studies academic
 * Sarah Ann Douglas, professor of computer and information science and a member of the Computational Science Institute at the University of Oregon
 * Edythe J. Gaines (1922–2006), educator and school superintendent
 * Matthew Hughey, professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut
 * R. P. Hunnicutt, one of the founders of the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground and historian
 * Kenneth Lieberthal, professor and political scientist known as an expert on China's elite politics
 * Edward Hart Lipscombe, professor at Shaw University
 * Robert Allen Phillips, professor in Business Ethics and Professor of Strategic Management and Public Policy at the Schulich School of Business; York University
 * Emily Wheelock Reed, director of the Alabama Public Library Service Division during the civil rights movement
 * John Andrew Rice, founder and first rector of Black Mountain College
 * Richard M. Weaver, scholar who taught English at the University of Chicago
 * Luigi Zande, stonemason, educator, and builder who contributed to the settlement school movement of the early 20th century

Entertainment

 * Harry Anderson (1952–2018), actor, starred in nine seasons of NBC's Night Court
 * Clint Basinger (born 1986), YouTuber
 * Ira Bernstein, dancer and teacher
 * Mark Boswell (born 1960), film director
 * Joe Bowman (1925–2009), bootmaker and marksman of American West entertainment; grew up in Asheville but left for Houston, Texas, in 1937
 * Chris Chalk, television, film, and theater actor, born in Asheville and graduated from Asheville High School
 * Jim David, stand-up comedian and playwright, both in Asheville
 * Jim Eason (born 1935), radio talk show host
 * Jennifer Ehle, actress
 * Maria Fletcher (born 1942), Miss America 1962
 * Eileen Fulton (born 1933), actress, starred on the CBS soap As the World Turns, 1960–2010; born in Asheville
 * Joel Goffin (born 1981), film composer, music producer
 * Perla Haney-Jardine (born 1997), actress
 * 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
 * Shirley Hemphill (1947–1999), stand-up comedian and actress, best known for What's Happening!!, 1976–79
 * Alina María Hernández, better known in the entertainment world as "Cachita", Cuban transgender television actress
 * Charlton Heston (1923–2008), Oscar-winning actor, managed the Asheville Community Theatre with his wife Lydia in 1947
 * Sam Irvin, film and television director, producer, and screenwriter
 * Taras Kulakov (born 1987), YouTuber
 * Daliah Lavi, (1942–2017), German singer who lived the last 27 years of her life in Asheville
 * Barbara Loden, actress and director of film and theater
 * Stephen Andrew Lynch, early motion picture industry pioneer
 * Andie MacDowell (born 1958), actress, lived for several years in Biltmore Forest, a suburb of Asheville
 * Sierra McCormick (born 1997), actress
 * Caelynn Miller-Keyes, television personality, model, and beauty pageant titleholder
 * Caleb Pressley (born 1992), blogger, podcaster, and interviewer for the sports and pop culture blog Barstool Sports
 * Margaret Qualley, actress
 * 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
 * Adam Reed (born 1970), voice actor, animator, screenwriter, television producer and television director
 * Chase Rice, country music singer, songwriter, and contestant on Survivor: Nicaragua
 * Eric Rosen, theater director and playwright
 * Paul Schneider (born 1976), actor
 * Angela Shelton (born 1972), actress and producer
 * Threadbanger YouTube DIY duo consisting of Corinne Leigh and Rob Czar, who reside and own an art gallery in Asheville
 * Duncan Trussell (born 1974), actor and comedian
 * Bellamy Young (born 1970), actress, co-star of television series Scandal; born and raised in Asheville
 * Collier Young, film and television writer and producer

Government

 * Lewis M. Branscomb, head of the National Bureau of Standards
 * Moe Davis, White House Chief of Staff and director of the Air Force Judiciary
 * Julius Patton, superintendent of the Dahlonega Mint
 * Reuben B. Robertson Jr., United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
 * William J. Trent, part of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Black Cabinet, serving as Adviser on Negro Affairs

Law

 * Fred H. Caplan, justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
 * Judy Clarke, criminal defense attorney
 * Moe Davis, White House Chief of Staff and director of the Air Force Judiciary
 * Harry Martin, associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
 * James A. Washington Jr., Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Literature and journalism

 * Edward Johnston Alexander, author known by the pen name Katie Gallagher
 * Sarah Addison Allen, New York Times bestselling author
 * Alfred Horatio Belo, founder of The Dallas Morning News
 * Ruth and Latrobe Carroll (1899–1999; 1894–1996), children's authors and illustrators
 * Nancy Sales Cash, novelist
 * Andrea Long Chu, writer and critic
 * C. A. Conrad (born 1966), poet and author
 * Olive Tilford Dargan (1869–1968), proletarian novelist of the 1930s under the pen name "Fielding Burke"
 * Gavin Geoffrey Dillard, poet, author, and songwriter
 * Pamela Duncan, novelist
 * Wilma Dykeman (1920–2006), author
 * John Ehle (1925–2018), author
 * Zelda Fitzgerald (1900–1948), writer and wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald; died in a fire with eight other women at Highland Hospital, an Asheville mental institution in the Montford district
 * Charles Frazier (born 1950), author
 * Gail Godwin (born 1937), novelist, spent her early years in Asheville
 * Ward Greene, writer, editor, journalist, playwright, and comic strip writer
 * Denise Kiernan, journalist, producer and author
 * Horatio Sheafe Krans, writer and editor
 * Michael McFee, poet
 * Berniece Baker Miracle (1919–2014), writer and half-sister of Marilyn Monroe
 * O. Henry (1862–1910), pen name of author William Sydney Porter; lived for a while in Asheville and is buried in Riverside Cemetery
 * William Dudley Pelley, fascist activist, journalist, writer and occultist
 * Stephanie Perkins, novelist
 * Marisha Pessl, novelist
 * Terry Roberts, novelist and writer
 * Jonathan Williams (1908–1929), poet and publisher
 * Michael G. Williams, novelist
 * Allan Wolf, poet and young adult author
 * Thomas Wolfe (1900–1938), author, born and raised in Asheville, buried in Riverside Cemetery

Medicine and science

 * Dorothy Hansine Andersen, physician; first person to identify cystic fibrosis; inducted into National Women's Hall of Fame in 2002 for scientific work
 * Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910), the first recognized woman doctor in the United States
 * Lena Northern Buckner, pioneer in social work at the Oteen Veterans Administration Hospital
 * Betty Collette, veterinary pathologist
 * John E. Exner, psychologist
 * William Glenn, cardiac surgeon who co-created an early version of an artificial heart
 * Madelon Battle Hancock, nurse during World War I and the "most decorated woman of World War One"
 * Howard W. Mattson

Military

 * Donald V. Bennett (1915–2005), former commanding general of the US Army Pacific Command
 * Kathleen M. Gainey (born 1956), retired US Army lieutenant general
 * Hugh B. Hester (1895–1983), retired Army general who opposed the Vietnam War and the Cold War
 * Dorothy Swain Lewis, aviator who trained Navy pilots and flew with the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program during World War II
 * Homer I. Lewis, major general in the United States Air Force who served as Commander of the United States Air Force Reserve Command
 * Robert Morgan (1918–2004), pilot of the Memphis Belle, the famed World War II B-17 bomber
 * Kiffin Rockwell (1892–1916), aviator; pilot in the Lafayette Escadrille; first American to shoot down an enemy aircraft
 * Francis Bowditch Wilby, major general in the United States Army who served as the 39th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy
 * Zachary Taylor Wood (1860–1915), Assistant Commissioner of North-West Mounted Police and Commissioner of Yukon Territory
 * Robert Nicholas Young, lieutenant general in the United States Army

Musicians

 * Eric Bachmann, musician and producer
 * Lisa Bevill, contemporary Christian musician
 * Greg Cartwright (born 1970), rock musician; relocated to Asheville
 * Luke Combs, country music singer-songwriter, graduated from A.C. Reynolds High School
 * Jermaine Dupri (born 1972), rapper
 * Backwards Sam Firk (1943–2007), country blues singer, fingerstyle guitarist, songwriter, and record collector
 * Roberta Flack (born 1937), Grammy Award-winning singer, born in Asheville
 * Sallie Ford, of Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, singer
 * Rayna Gellert, fiddler, acoustic guitarist, singer, and songwriter specializing in old-time music
 * River Guerguerian, multi-percussionist and composer
 * Talib Rasul Hakim, composer
 * Warren Haynes (born 1960), guitarist, member of The Allman Brothers Band, spent formative years in Asheville
 * Steven Heller, composer and producer
 * Malcolm Holcombe, singer-songwriter
 * David Holt (born 1946), folk musician, lives near Asheville
 * Don Howland, underground musician
 * Caleb Johnson (born 1991), American Idol Season 13 winner
 * Billy Jonas, singer-songwriter, percussionist, and multi-instrumentalist
 * Gary Jules (born 1969), singer-songwriter, known for their rendition of "Mad World" for the film Donnie Darko
 * Christine Kane, folk singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist
 * Bascom Lamar Lunsford (1882–1973), folklorist, musician, folk festival founder
 * Mary Lattimore, harpist
 * MJ Lenderman (born 1999), singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
 * Valorie Miller, singer-songwriter
 * Bill Monroe (1911–1996), musician, known as "the father of bluegrass"; lived in Asheville; had a show on a local radio station in 1939
 * Robert Moog (1934–2005), pioneer of electronic music, inventor of the Moog synthesizer
 * Cameron Moore, singer-songwriter
 * Rex Nelon, gospel singer
 * Frances Nero, soul and jazz singer
 * Angel Olsen (born 1987), musician
 * Squire Parsons, singer and songwriter
 * Rainey Qualley, singer under the name Rainsford
 * Tyler Ramsey, singer-songwriter
 * Chase Rice (born 1985) country music singer, songwriter, and contestant on Survivor: Nicaragua,
 * Jimmie Rodgers, singer, known as "the father of country music"; lived in Asheville; had a show on a local radio station in 1927
 * Chris Rodrigues, contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist
 * Jonathan Scales, steel pannist and composer
 * Chris Sharp, singer-songwriter
 * Nina Simone (1933–2003), jazz singer, attended Allen Home School for Girls in Asheville
 * Arthur Lee "Red" Smiley, bluegrass and country musician,
 * Root Boy Slim, aka Foster Mackenzie III (1945–1993), blues musician
 * Moses Sumney (born 1992), singer-songwriter
 * Bryan Sutton, flatpicking acoustic guitar player
 * John Widman, luthier who makes high-end, hand-built guitars
 * David Wilcox (born 1958), folk musician and singer-songwriter
 * Kat Williams, blues singer

Politics

 * Terry Bellamy, mayor of Asheville
 * Cecil Bothwell, Asheville City Council
 * Charles Robin Britt, United States House of Representatives
 * William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925), United States Secretary of State and U.S. House of Representatives
 * Alice A. W. Cadwallader (1832–1910), philanthropist and temperance activist
 * Madison Cawthorn (born 1995), U.S. House of Representatives
 * Mark B. Childress (born 1959), former United States Ambassador to Tanzania and former Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning in the administration of President Obama
 * R. L. Clark, North Carolina Senate
 * James M. Clarke, United States House of Representatives
 * Lillian Exum Clement, first woman elected to the North Carolina General Assembly
 * Marie Colton (1922–2018), first female Speaker Pro Tempore of the North Carolina House of Representatives
 * H. K. Edgerton (born 1948), neoconfederate activist and President of the Asheville, North Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
 * Joe Felmet, civil rights activist
 * Susan C. Fisher, North Carolina House of Representatives
 * D. Bruce Goforth, North Carolina House of Representatives
 * V. Lamar Gudger, United States House of Representatives
 * Bill Hendon (1944–2018), author, POW/MIA activist, and two-term U.S. Congressman from North Carolina
 * Herbert Hyde, North Carolina Senate and North Carolina House of Representatives
 * Bill Jackson, Georgia State Senate and Georgia House of Representatives
 * Horace R. Kornegay, U.S. House of Representatives
 * Helen Morris Lewis, suffragist who was the first woman in North Carolina to seek elected office,
 * Esther Manheimer, mayor of Asheville
 * Julie Mayfield, North Carolina Senate
 * Floyd McKissick, lawyer and civil rights activist who led the Congress of Racial Equality for a time and founded Soul City, North Carolina
 * Dan K. Moore (1906–1986), 66th Governor of North Carolina 1965–1969
 * Martin Nesbitt, North Carolina Senate
 * Mary Cordell Nesbitt (1911–1979), served in the North Carolina House of Representatives
 * Leonard Outerbridge, Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland
 * Richmond Pearson, U.S. House of Representatives
 * William Dudley Pelley (1890–1965), leader of the "Silver Shirt" fascist movement in the 1930s and 1940s
 * Lindsey Prather, North Carolina House of Representatives
 * J. E. Rankin (1845–1928), mayor of Asheville and chair of the Buncombe County Commissioners for 26 years
 * James W. Reid (1917–1972), served as the Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina
 * Robert R. Reynolds (1884–1963), U.S. Senator of isolationist sympathies in World War II
 * Michael Robinson (1924–2006), American Reform rabbi and civil rights activist
 * Jim Roddey, chief executive of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
 * Caleb Rudow, North Carolina House of Representatives
 * Thomas A. Rymer, Maryland House of Delegates and judge of the Calvert County Circuit Court
 * Wilma M. Sherrill, North Carolina General Assembly
 * George A. Shuford, U.S. House of Representatives and North Carolina House of Representatives
 * Charles Manly Stedman, U.S. House of Representatives and Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina
 * John Shorter Stevens, North Carolina House of Representatives
 * Brian Turner, North Carolina House of Representatives


 * Joseph Tydings (1928–2018), lawyer and politician
 * Terry Van Duyn, North Carolina Senate
 * Robert Brank Vance, U.S. House of Representatives
 * Zebulan Vance, Governor of North Carolina and United States Senator
 * Lewis B. Whitworth, Florida House of Representatives and Miami-Dade County circuit court judge
 * William Winkenwerder Jr. (born 1954), Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (2001–2007)

Religion

 * Franklin Graham, Christian evangelist and missionary
 * Kevin S. Brown, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware
 * George Way Harley, Methodist medical missionary
 * Lewis Pease, Methodist clergyman
 * Michael Robinson, reform rabbi, civil rights activist, and human rights activist known for his association with Martin Luther King Jr.
 * G. Porter Taylor, Episcopal Bishop of Western North Carolina

Baseball

 * Jack Alexander, minor league baseball player and college football coach
 * Tom Bradley, professional baseball player and coach
 * Bob Chakales, professional baseball player
 * Dave Cheadle, professional baseball player
 * Harry Courtney, professional baseball and football player
 * Braxton Davidson, professional baseball players
 * Darren Holmes (born 1966), MLB player for eight teams
 * Mel Ingram, professional baseball player
 * Hughie Jennings (1869–1928), Major League Baseball player and manager, 1891–1925
 * Johnny Lanning, professional baseball players
 * Cameron Maybin (born 1987), Major League Baseball player with Los Angeles Angels; born and raised in Asheville
 * Larry McCall, professional baseball player
 * Joel McKeithan, professional baseball coach
 * Dorothy Montgomery (1924–2009), All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
 * Chris Narveson (born 1981), MLB pitcher
 * Buck Redfern, professional baseball player
 * Mike Roberts, professional baseball player and college baseball coach
 * Sammy Stewart, professional baseball player
 * Don Thompson (1923–2009), Major League Baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers
 * Joe West (born 1952), MLB umpire for record-breaking 40 seasons
 * Pete Whisenant, professional baseball player

Basketball

 * Brad Daugherty (born 1965), retired NBA basketball player, 5-time All-Star, ESPN NASCAR analyst
 * Harry Hartsell, head football and basketball coach at North Carolina State University
 * Loyd King (born 1949), professional basketball player
 * Henry Logan, college basketball player who won the gold medal in the 1967 Pan American Games
 * Rhonda Mapp (born 1969), WNBA player
 * Rashad McCants (born 1984), NBA basketball player for Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings; former Erwin High School basketball player
 * Rashanda McCants (born 1986), WNBA player
 * Christian Moody, college and professional basketball player
 * Buzz Peterson (born 1963), former director of player personnel for NBA's Charlotte Bobcats; former men's head basketball coach at UNC Wilmington, University of Tennessee, Appalachian State University, University of Tulsa, and Coastal Carolina University; born and raised in Asheville
 * Roy Williams (born 1950), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill basketball coach, raised in Asheville

Football

 * LeRoy Abernethy, college football player
 * Jack Alexander, college football coach and minor league baseball player
 * John Avery (born 1976), football player in NFL, XFL, and CFL; attended Asheville High School
 * Kent Briggs, college football coach
 * Crezdon Butler (born 1987), NFL cornerback for Pittsburgh Steelers; born and raised in Asheville; led Asheville High School to 2006 state championship
 * Joey Clinkscales, professional football player and executive
 * Harry Courtney, professional football and baseball player
 * Jonathan Crompton, professional football player
 * Rico Dowdle (born 1998), NFL running back
 * Claude "Hoot" Gibson, professional football player
 * Harry Hartsell, head football and basketball coach at North Carolina State University
 * Dan Hill, college football player and All-American
 * Martese Jackson, professional gridiron football player
 * Ralph James, college football coach
 * Ben Johnson, professional football coach
 * Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice (1924–2003), professional football player
 * Eku Leota, professional football player
 * Leonard Little (born 1974), NFL football player with St. Louis Rams; born and raised in Asheville
 * Eddie McGill, professional football player
 * Harold Olson, professional football player
 * Jeoffrey Pagan, professional football player
 * Ray Roberts (born 1969), retired NFL player
 * James Rosecrans, professional football player
 * Jonathan Rush (born 1989), college football player
 * Bill Russo, college football coach
 * Red Sanders, college football coach
 * George Stephens, college football player
 * Brett Swain (born 1986), NFL player for Green Bay Packers
 * Aydan White, college football player
 * Johnny White, professional football player

Racing

 * Jack Ingram, retired NASCAR driver
 * Stephen Leicht (born 1987), NASCAR driver
 * Robert Pressley (born 1959), retired NASCAR driver, born in Asheville
 * Ronnie Silver (born 1951), NASCAR driver
 * Roy Trantham, stock car racing driver

Soccer

 * Hunter Gilstrap, professional soccer player
 * Nate Torbett (born 1994), professional soccer player for Coomera Colts SC and coach

Swimming

 * Mary Montgomery, swimmer
 * Stephen Rerych (born 1946), Olympic gold medalist in swimming

Professional wrestling

 * Karl Anderson, professional wrestler; signed to WWE
 * Adam "Edge" Copeland (born 1973), professional wrestler, author, relocated to Asheville
 * Eddie Golden (born 1973), professional wrestler, resides in Asheville
 * Evan Golden (born 2000), professional wrestler, born and raised in Asheville
 * Beth Phoenix (born 1980), real name Elizabeth Copeland; retired professional wrestler, four-time women's champion, and commentator; relocated to Asheville
 * K. C. Thunder, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer
 * Cash Wheeler (born 1987), real name Daniel Wheeler; professional wrestler for All Elite Wrestling; born and raised in Asheville, where he currently resides

Other

 * Stacey Bentley, competitive bodybuilder
 * Joe Bowman, marksman
 * Matt Carpenter, ultramarathoner as a trail runner and in high altitude marathons
 * Cameron Cogburn, cyclist
 * Jennifer Pharr Davis (born 1982), long-distance hiker; unofficial record holder of fastest through-hike of Appalachian Trail
 * Lawson Duncan (born 1964), former Grand Prix tennis tour player
 * Kelly Grieve, member of the United States women's national softball team she won 2011 World Cup of Softball
 * Willow Koerber, mountain biker
 * Rachel Kuehn, amateur golfer
 * Frank Messer, sportscaster that was best known for his eighteen seasons announcing New York Yankees baseball games

Other

 * Terry Hyatt, serial killer
 * Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt, heiress who inherited the Biltmore Estate