List of people from Birmingham, Alabama

This is a list of individuals who are natives of, or are notable in association with, the city of Birmingham, Alabama.

Academia

 * Monnie T. Cheves, Samford University professor; member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1952 to 1960; died in Birmingham in 1988
 * Frank Moore Cross, religious scholar
 * Angela Davis, social activist and author
 * Richard Nelson Frye, scholar of Iran and Central Asia
 * Roland Frye, scholar
 * Carol Garrison, ex-president of University of Alabama at Birmingham
 * Zenkei Blanche Hartman, first abbess of the San Francisco Zen Center
 * Freeman Hrabowski III, educator
 * Herman H. Long, president of Talladega College and United Negro College Fund
 * J. Gordon Melton, religious scholar
 * Emil Wolfgang Menzel, Jr. Emeritus Professor in psychology
 * Edward Taub, behavioral neuroscientist and professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
 * Julia Tutwiler, educator and social reformer

Arts and literature

 * Allen Barra, journalist, sportswriter
 * John Beecher, activist poet
 * Edgar Peters Bowron, art historian
 * Joe David Brown, journalist, novelist
 * Mark Childress, author
 * Jon Coffelt, artist
 * Clayton Colvin, artist
 * Dennis Covington, journalist, writer
 * George R. Ellis, author, art historian and director of Honolulu Academy of Arts
 * Fannie Flagg, author
 * Charles Gaines, novelist, screenwriter
 * Charles Ghigna, poet, children's author
 * Christopher Gilbert, poet
 * Gail Godwin, novelist
 * John Green, author
 * Joe Hilley, novelist
 * Caitlín R. Kiernan, novelist and paleontologist
 * Kerry James Marshall, artist
 * Harold E. Martin, Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaperman
 * Spider Martin, photojournalist
 * Robert R. McCammon, novelist
 * Kevin McGowin, novelist, reviewer
 * Diane McWhorter, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
 * Walker Percy, author
 * Howell Raines, New York Times editor
 * James Redfield, novelist
 * John Rhoden, sculptor
 * Sonia Sanchez, poet
 * Rowland Scherman, Grammy-award-winning photographer
 * Melissa Springer, photographer
 * Ann Waldron, author
 * Margaret Walker, poet and author
 * Daniel Wallace, novelist
 * Mary Ware (1828 –1915), poet, prose writer
 * John Weld, newspaper reporter, writer, Hollywood stunt man
 * Tobias Wolff, author

Business and economics

 * Cynthia Bathurst, animal rights activist, former mathematical analyst, founder/director of Safe Humane Chicago and Court Case Dog Program
 * Ashton B. Collins, Sr., inventor, creator of Reddy Kilowatt
 * Newton Collins, businessman and community builder
 * Samuel DiPiazza, former chairman and chief executive officer of PricewaterhouseCoopers
 * A. G. Gaston, African-American businessman
 * Franklin Potts Glass, Sr., newspaper editor
 * Jay Grinney, president and chief executive officer of HealthSouth Corporation
 * John M. Harbert, billionaire and founder of Harbert Corporation
 * Elmer Harris, chief executive officer of Alabama Power
 * Ron Holt, CEO and founder of Two Maids & A Mop
 * Charles Linn, founder of First National Bank of Birmingham (AmSouth Bancorporation)
 * Don Logan, chief executive officer of Time Inc.; chairman of Warner Media; chief executive officer of Southern Progress, owner of Birmingham Barons baseball team
 * Michael K. Powell, Federal Communications Commission chairman
 * Rufus N. Rhodes, founder of Birmingham News
 * Richard M. Scrushy, founder and former CEO of HealthSouth Corporation
 * James Sloss, industrialist and founder of Sloss Furnaces
 * Alvin Vogtle, chairman and CEO of Alabama Power and Southern Company
 * Allen Harvey Woodward, industrialist and baseball team owner

Entertainment

 * Mary Anderson, actress
 * R. G. Armstrong, actor (Pleasant Grove, Alabama)
 * Mary Badham, juvenile actress
 * Candace Bailey, actress
 * Amber Benson, actress
 * Anna Lee Carroll, actress
 * Lynne Carver, actress
 * Nell Carter, actress and singer
 * Courteney Cox, actress (Mountain Brook, Alabama)
 * Paul Finebaum, radio/TV personality
 * Jordan Fisher, actor, singer, and dancer
 * Fannie Flagg, author, actress
 * Louise Fletcher, actress
 * David F. Friedman, director and producer
 * Lili Gentle, actress
 * Betty Lou Gerson, actress
 * Gladys Gillem, wrestler
 * Walton Goggins, actor
 * Hank Green, Internet personality, podcaster
 * Alan Hunter, MTV VJ
 * Tamisha Iman, drag queen
 * Kate Jackson, actress
 * David Jaffe, video game designer (God of War and Twisted Metal)
 * Jasika Nicole, actress, illustrator
 * Gail Patrick, actress, television producer
 * Ibrehem Rahman, Survivor: Palau contestant
 * Rick and Bubba, radio/TV personalities
 * Wayne Rogers, actor
 * Dorothy Sebastian, film actress
 * Daniel Scheinert, music video and film director
 * Glenn Shadix, actor (Bessemer, Alabama)
 * Rickey Smiley, radio personality
 * Trinity the Tuck, drag queen
 * Roy Wood, Jr., comedian
 * Byron York, conservative author and journalist
 * Tom York, television personality

Music

 * Inez Andrews, gospel singer
 * Barry Beckett, pianist and record producer
 * Adolphus Bell, electric blues musician, best known as a one-man band
 * Benny Benjamin, drummer
 * Samm Bennett, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist
 * Bo Bice, singer, American Idol runner-up (Helena, Alabama)
 * Helvetia Boswell, singer with The Boswell Sisters
 * Piney Brown, R&B and blues singer-songwriter
 * Oteil Burbridge, bassist
 * Dorothy Love Coates, gospel singer
 * J.R. Cobb, songwriter and guitarist
 * Sam Dees, soul music singer
 * Diana DeGarmo, American Idol 3rd season runner-up
 * Big Joe Duskin, blues pianist
 * Dennis Edwards, soul music singer
 * Erra, progressive metalcore band
 * Al Gallodoro, jazz saxophonist and clarinetist
 * Gucci Mane, rapper
 * Hardrock Gunter, rockabilly pioneer
 * Lionel Hampton, vibraphonist and bandleader
 * Emmylou Harris, singer
 * Erskine Hawkins, composer, trumpeter and bandleader
 * Haywood Henry, jazz saxophonist / clarinetist
 * Taylor Hicks, soul music singer, American Idol winner
 * Odetta Holmes, folk singer
 * Jo Jones, jazz drummer
 * Bill Justis, musician
 * Eddie Kendricks, soul music singer
 * William King, singer, founding member of The Commodores
 * Baker Knight, songwriter and bandleader
 * Sammy Lowe, jazz trumpeter and arranger
 * Rebecca Luker, Broadway singer, actress
 * Hugh Martin, songwriter and film composer
 * Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, Southern rock/metalcore band
 * Johnny O'Neal, jazz pianist
 * Avery Parrish, composer and jazz pianist
 * Hank Penny, Western swing musician
 * Ray Reach, jazz vocalist and pianist
 * St. Paul and The Broken Bones, neo soul band
 * Dan Sartain, rock musician
 * Johnny Smith, jazz guitarist
 * Ruben Studdard, singer, American Idol winner
 * Sun Ra, jazz composer and bandleader
 * Maria Taylor, singer
 * Through the Sparks, indie rock band
 * Verbena, indie rock band
 * Virgos Merlot, hard rock band
 * Wild Sweet Orange, indie rock band
 * Paul Williams, soul singer
 * Tammy Wynette, country singer
 * YBN Nahmir (Nick Simmons), rap/hip hop artist
 * Jerry Yester, singer

Government, law and politics

 * Arthur Alber, Los Angeles City Council member, 1927–29
 * John Amari, District 10 Circuit Court judge, former member of both houses of the Alabama State Legislature
 * Douglas Arant, attorney and co-founder of Bradley Arant Boult & Cummings
 * Richard Arrington, first African-American mayor of Birmingham
 * B. B. Comer, former governor of Alabama
 * Eugene "Bull" Connor, former Commissioner of Public Safety
 * Hugh Culverhouse, lawyer and owner of Tampa Bay Buccaneers
 * Russell McWhortor Cunningham, Governor of Alabama
 * Mike Fair, Oklahoma state legislator
 * John Grenier, Republican politician in Alabama
 * Art Hanes, mayor of Birmingham
 * Gil Hill, Detroit, Michigan city council president and actor
 * Perry O. Hooper, Sr., 27th chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court; born in Birmingham in 1925; resided in adult life in Montgomery
 * Bernard Kincaid, mayor of Birmingham
 * Michael Landsberry, Marine and math teacher
 * Raymond Lee Lathan, Wisconsin state legislator
 * Chris McNair, Alabama state legislator and businessman
 * Bert Nettles, lawyer in Birmingham; Republican member of the Alabama House of Representatives from Mobile (1969-1974)
 * Charles Redding Pitt, chairman of Alabama Democratic Party
 * Cecil F. Poole, federal judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit
 * Condoleezza Rice, United States Secretary of State
 * George G. Siebels, Jr., first Republican to serve as mayor of Birmingham (1967-1975)
 * Luther Strange, Attorney General of Alabama 2011-2017 and former Senator of Alabama, born in Birmingham
 * Margaret Tutwiler, diplomat
 * Robert S. Vance, chairman of Democratic Party, plaintiff's lawyer, federal judge United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

United States Senate

 * Hugo Black (1927–1937), also Supreme Court Justice (1937–1971)
 * B. B. Comer (1920), also Governor of Alabama (1907–1911)
 * Joseph Forney Johnston (1907–1913)
 * Doug Jones (2018–2021)
 * Richard Shelby (1987–2023)
 * Luther Strange (2017–2018)
 * Oscar W. Underwood (1915–1927)
 * Francis S. White (1914–1915)

United States House of Representatives

 * Truman H. Aldrich (Alabama's 8th congressional district, 1896)
 * Spencer Bachus (6th District, 1993–2015)
 * John H. Bankhead (6th District, 1887–1907)
 * Laurie C. Battle (9th District, 1947–1955)
 * Sydney J. Bowie
 * John H. Buchanan, Jr. (6th District, 1965–1981)
 * Reuben Chapman (6th District, 1843–1847)
 * Newton Nash Clements (6th District, 1880–1881)
 * Williamson Robert Winfield Cobb (6th District, 1847–1861)
 * Artur Davis (7th District, 1982–1992)
 * Edward deGraffenried (6th District, 1949–1953)
 * William Henry Denson (7th District, 1893–1895)
 * Jack Edwards (1st District, 1965–1985)
 * Ben Erdreich (6th District, 1983–1993)
 * Claude Harris, Jr. (7th District, 1987–1993)
 * Thomas Haughey (6th District, 1867–1869)
 * Goldsmith W. Hewitt (6th District, 1876–1879, 1881–1885)
 * Earl F. Hilliard (7th District, 1993–2003)
 * Richmond P. Hobson (6th District, 1907–1915)
 * George Huddleston (9th District, 1913–1935)
 * George Huddleston, Jr. (9th District, 1955–1963)
 * Pete Jarman (6th District, 1937–1949)
 * Burwell Boykin Lewis (6th District, 1879–1880)
 * Elaine Luria (VA 2nd District, 2019–2023), and former United States Navy Commander
 * John Mason Martin (6th District, 1885–1887)
 * John P. Newsome (9th District, 1943–1945)
 * William B. Oliver (6th District, 1915–1937)
 * Luther Patrick (9th District, 1935–1943, 1945–1947)
 * Armistead I. Selden, Jr. (6th District, 1953–1965)
 * Terri Sewell (7th district, 2011–present)
 * Richard Shelby (7th District, 1979–1987)
 * William Crawford Sherrod (6th District, 1869–1871)
 * Joseph Humphrey Sloss (6th District, 1871–1875)
 * Albert L. Smith, Jr. (6th District, 1981–1983)
 * Jesse F. Stallings
 * Louis Washington Turpin (9th District, 1893–1895)
 * Oscar W. Underwood (8th District, 1895–1896; 9th District 1897–1915)

Math, science, and technology

 * Mary Anderson, inventor of windshield wipers
 * Andrew Jackson Beard, inventor of automatic railcar coupling
 * Edward M. Burgess, chemist and inventor of the Burgess reagent
 * Lawrence J. DeLucas, biophysical engineer; Space Shuttle Columbia astronaut
 * Annie Easley, mathematician and rocket scientist
 * Clyde Foster, scientist and mathematician
 * E. O. Wilson, entomologist and author

Medicine

 * James Andrews, orthopedic specialist
 * Tinsley Harrison, editor of first five editions of Harrison's Principals of Internal Medicine, dean of UAB School of Medicine
 * Alan Heldman, interventional cardiologist and pioneer of the drug eluting stent
 * John W. Kirklin, heart surgeon
 * Larry Lemak, orthopedic surgeon, owner of the Lemak Group
 * Albert Pacifico, heart surgeon
 * Michael Saag, AIDS researcher
 * Luther Leonidas Terry, Surgeon General of the United States

Sports

 * Mario Addison, NFL player
 * Mike Anderson, University of Arkansas men's basketball coach
 * Jay Barker, football player, college and pro quarterback
 * Charles Barkley, basketball player, Hall of Famer and TV personality (Leeds, Alabama)
 * Gene Bartow, basketball coach and athletic director for University of Alabama at Birmingham
 * Bruce Benedict, born in Birmingham, Major League Baseball player
 * Cornelius Bennett, NFL Pro-Bowler
 * Eric Bledsoe, basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans
 * Neil Bonnett, born in Birmingham, Hall of Fame NASCAR driver, TV personality
 * Th-resa Bostick, born in Birmingham, IFBB professional bodybuilder
 * Lyman Bostock, born in Birmingham, Major League Baseball player
 * Bobby Bowden, football coach
 * Debbie Bramwell-Washington, IFBB professional bodybuilder
 * Levert Carr, football player
 * Bubba Church, born in Birmingham, Major League Baseball player
 * Jared Cook, born in Birmingham, football player, tight end
 * Ted Cook, football player
 * Jerricho Cotchery, football player, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver
 * Ed Daniel (born 1990), basketball player who plays for Israeli team Maccabi Ashdod
 * Karlos Dansby, football player
 * Marcell Dareus, football player for Buffalo Bills
 * A. J. Davis, NFL player
 * Mike Davis, UAB basketball coach
 * Spud Davis, born in Birmingham, Major League Baseball player
 * Tom Drake, born in Birmingham, Major League Baseball player
 * Vonetta Flowers, bobsledder, Olympic gold medalist
 * Vince Gibson, football coach
 * Harry Gilmer, football player
 * Alex Grammas, born in Birmingham, Major League Baseball player
 * Hubie Green, professional golfer
 * Jerry Hairston, Sr., born in Birmingham, Major League Baseball player
 * Samuel H. Hairston, baseball player
 * Darrin Hancock, NBA player
 * Trey Hardee, NCAA Division I track and field collegiate heptathlon and decathlon record holder, Olympian
 * Walt Harris, MMA fighter
 * Chandler Hoffman, born in Birmingham, United Soccer League player
 * Bobby Humphrey, football player, Alabama and NFL
 * Tina Hutchinson (born 1964/1965), basketball player
 * Bo Jackson, 1985 Heisman Trophy winner, multi-sport athlete
 * Ron Jackson, born in Birmingham, Major League Baseball player
 * Desmond Jennings, baseball player
 * Ken Jordan, football player
 * Smylie Kaufman, golfer
 * Larry Kenon, born in Birmingham, basketball player
 * Corey Kluber, Major League Baseball pitcher, Cy Young Award winner
 * Carl Lewis, born in Birmingham, multiple Olympic gold-medalist and world champion track-and-field athlete
 * Theodore Long, General Manager of WWE Smackdown
 * Larry Mason (American football), football player
 * Lee May, born in Birmingham, Major League Baseball player
 * Willie Mays, Major League Baseball player, Hall of Famer
 * KJ McDaniels, NBA player
 * Larry McReynolds, announcer for NASCAR on FOX
 * Charlie Moore, baseball player
 * Tony Nathan, football player and coach
 * Gus Niarhos, born in Birmingham, Major League Baseball player
 * Satchel Paige, Major League Baseball player
 * Sam Raben (born 1997), soccer player
 * Chris Richards, born in Birmingham, professional soccer player for Crystal Palace of the English Premier League and the United States national team
 * David Robertson, Major League Baseball player
 * Oliver Robinson, basketball player
 * Erk Russell, football player
 * Ed Salem, football player and Birmingham restaurateur
 * Jason Standridge, Major League Baseball player
 * Ronald Steele, basketball player
 * Rebel Steiner, football player
 * Pat Sullivan, 1971 Heisman Trophy winner and former head football coach at Samford University
 * Dabo Swinney, born in Birmingham, Clemson University head football coach
 * Bryan Thomas, born in Birmingham, linebacker for New York Jets, graduated from Minor High School
 * Dan Thomas, Major League Baseball player for Milwaukee Brewers
 * Andre Tippett, NFL Hall of Fame linebacker
 * Tommy Tolleson, NFL player
 * Virgil Trucks, born in Birmingham, Major League Baseball player
 * Bob Veale, born in Birmingham, Major League Baseball player
 * Dixie Walker, Major League Baseball player
 * Peahead Walker, born in Birmingham, football coach
 * Adam Warren, Major League Baseball pitcher
 * Cat Whitehill, U.S Women’s National Soccer team player
 * Austin Wiley (born 1999), basketball player for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * JaCorey Williams (born 1994), basketball player for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Chris Woods, player of gridiron football
 * Al Worthington, born in Birmingham, Major League Baseball player
 * John Zimmerman, professional pairs figure skater

Other

 * Mel Allen, radio and TV sports personality, primary play-by-play announcer for New York Yankees
 * Mother Angelica, nun and founder of global Catholic network EWTN
 * Robert Joseph Baker, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham
 * Donald Beatty, aviator, explorer and inventor
 * Angela Davis, activist
 * Deidre Downs, Miss America 2005
 * Samantha Francis, contestant on America's Next Top Model, Cycle 8
 * Victor Gold, journalist, formerly with The Birmingham News
 * Hank Green, YouTube blogger, musician and entrepreneur
 * Lola Hendricks, civil rights activist
 * Patti Ruffner Jacobs, suffragist and social reformer
 * Robert B. McNeill, Presbyterian minister
 * James Meissner, World War I flying ace
 * Artemus Ogletree, victim of 1935 unsolved murder in Kansas City
 * Joseph Raya, archbishop and social activist
 * Wallace Rayfield, architect
 * Sonia Sanchez, poet, activist, and educator
 * Jay Sebring, hair stylist, Charles Manson victim, ex-boyfriend of Sharon Tate
 * Courtney Shropshire, founder of Civitan International
 * Fred Shuttlesworth, civil rights activist
 * Haleigh Stidham, Miss Alabama USA 2006
 * Heather Whitestone, Miss America 1995
 * Louise Wooster, famed madam