List of people from Memphis, Tennessee

This is a list of notable people who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Memphis, Tennessee.

This list is in alphabetical order by last name.

A

 * Johnny Ace (1929–1954) — rhythm and blues singer
 * Mo Alexander (born 1970) — comedian
 * Heather Armstrong (1975–2023) — author and blogger, Dooce.com
 * Kristin Armstrong (born 1973) — professional road bicycle racer and three-time Olympic gold medalist
 * George Awsumb (1880–1959) — Norwegian-American architect
 * Gwen Robinson Awsumb (1915–2003) — first woman elected to Memphis City Council
 * Estelle Axton (1918–2004) — co-founder of Stax Records

B

 * Julien Baker (born 1995) — singer, songwriter, and guitarist
 * Michael A. Baker (born 1953) — astronaut
 * Adrian Banks (born 1986) — American-Israeli basketball player
 * The Bar-Kays (formed in 1966) — musicians
 * Lloyd Barbee (1925–2002) — Wisconsin legislator and civil rights activist
 * Marion Barry (1936–2014) — mayor of Washington, D.C.
 * Charles Bartliff (1886–1962) — soccer player
 * Daren Bates (born 1990) — NFL player
 * Kathy Bates (born 1948) — Academy Award-winning actress
 * Kenneth Lawrence Beaudoin (1913–1995) — poet
 * Michael Beck (born 1949) — actor, best known for The Warriors and Xanadu
 * Reginald Becton (born 1991) — basketball player who currently plays for Yokohama B-Corsairs of the B. League
 * William Bedford (born 1963) — basketball player
 * Diane Meredith Belcher (born 1960) — concert organist, teacher, and church musician
 * Chris Bell (1951–1978) — musician
 * William Bell (born 1939) — singer
 * Charles T. Bernard (1927–2015) — businessman and Arkansas politician, died in Memphis in 2015
 * Big Scarr (born 2000) — rapper
 * Big Star (formed in 1971) — rock band
 * Big30 — rapper
 * Greg Bird — Major League Baseball first baseman
 * Blac Youngsta (born 1990) — rapper; born Samuel Marquez Benson
 * Tarik Black (born 1991) — basketball player
 * James Blackwood (1919–2002) — gospel singer, founding member of quartet The Blackwood Brothers
 * Bobby "Blue" Bland (1930–2013) — musician
 * BlocBoy JB — rapper
 * Elizabeth Bolden (1890–2006) — oldest person in the world during most of 2006
 * Charles Boyce (born 1949) — syndicated cartoonist
 * Cory Branan (born 1974) — singer/songwriter
 * Craig Brewer (born 1971) — film director
 * Ben Browder (born 1962) — actor, best known for Farscape and Stargate SG-1
 * Dave Brown (born 1946) — TV meteorologist, professional wrestling announcer
 * Joe Brown (born 1947) — politician
 * Isaac Bruce (born 1972) — former NFL player
 * Antonio Burks (born 1980) — former basketball player
 * Dorsey Burnette (1932–1979) — rockabilly pioneer, singer-songwriter
 * Johnny Burnette (1934–1964) — rockabilly pioneer, singer-songwriter
 * Leonard Burton (born 1964) — NFL player
 * Mike Butler (1946–2018) — basketball player
 * Derrick Byars (born 1984) — basketball player
 * Latasha Byears (born 1973) — basketball player

C

 * Herman Cain (1945–2020) — businessman, talk show host, and candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination
 * Tyrone Calico (born 1980) — NFL player for the Tennessee Titans
 * Dixie Carter (1939–2010) — actress known for Designing Women and Desperate Housewives
 * Lorenzo Carter (born 1995) — linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons
 * Bob Caruthers (1864–1911) — Major League Baseball player
 * Kellye Cash (born 1965) — Miss America 1987
 * Rosanne Cash (born 1955) — singer-songwriter
 * Cy Casper (1912–1968) — NFL player for the Green Bay Packers, St. Louis Gunners, and Pittsburgh Pirates
 * Dave Catching (born 1961) — musician
 * Alex Chilton (1950–2010) — musician
 * NLE Choppa — rapper
 * Robert Reed Church Sr. (1839–1912) — entrepreneur and philanthropist
 * Mary Church Terrell — civil and women's rights activist
 * Ian Clark (born 1991) — basketball player
 * Philip Claypool — musician
 * Jack Clement — singer, songwriter, and record and film producer
 * Antonius Cleveland (born 1994) — basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Lashundra Trenyce Cobbin (born 1980) — American Idol contestant
 * Steve Cohen (born 1949) — politician
 * Olivia Cole (1942–2018) — actress
 * George Coleman (born 1935) — musician
 * Barron Collier (1873–1939) — businessman
 * Jazzie Collins (1958–2013) — African American trans woman activist and community organizer
 * John Cooper (born 1975) — musician, Skillet
 * Zack Cozart — baseball shortstop and third baseman for the San Francisco Giants
 * Hank Crawford (1934–2009) — musician
 * Steve Cropper (born 1941) — musician, Booker T. and the M.G.'s and The Blues Brothers
 * Edward H. Crump (1874–1954) — political boss and U.S. Representative
 * Randy Culpepper (born 1989) — basketball player

D

 * Chastity Daniels (born 1978) — musician
 * Janette Davis (1916–2005) — singer
 * Rick Dees (born 1950) — radio personality
 * Nancy Denson — mayor of Athens, Georgia
 * Duke Deuce — rapper
 * Eric Jerome Dickey (1961–2021) — author
 * Jim Dickinson (1941–2009) — musician; producer
 * Peter C. Doherty (born 1940) — Nobel laureate; scientist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
 * Shannen Doherty (1971–2024) — actress known for Beverly Hills, 90210
 * Young Dolph (1985–2021) — rapper (grew up in Memphis)
 * Johnny Dowd (born 1948) — musician
 * Drumma Boy (born 1983) — hip hop music producer
 * William B. Dunavant (1932–2021) — businessman, CEO of Dunavant Enterprises
 * Donald "Duck" Dunn (1941–2012) — musician in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

E

 * Johanna Edwards (born 1978) — author
 * William Eggleston (born 1939) — photographer
 * Egypt Central (2002–2014) — band
 * Eightball & MJG (established in 1991) — musicians

F

 * Charlie Feathers — rockabilly musician, died here in 1998
 * Ben Ferguson — nationally syndicated talk radio host
 * Paul Finebaum — television and radio sports-talk host
 * Finesse2tymes — rapper
 * Marjorie Finlay — opera singer and television personality
 * Veronica Finn — pop singer of now-disbanded group Innosense
 * Ric Flair — professional wrestler (adopted at six weeks; raised in Minnesota)
 * Rey Flemings — music commissioner
 * Avron Fogelman — former owner of Kansas City Royals and various Memphis-based sports teams; namesake of southeastern leg of Interstate 240
 * Shelby Foote — author
 * George L. Forbes — Cleveland City Council President, President of the Cleveland NAACP
 * Clementine Ford — actress
 * Harold Ford Jr. — politician
 * Jacob Ford — NFL player, Tennessee Titans
 * Abe Fortas — politician and U.S. Supreme Court justice
 * Cary Fowler — agriculturalist, established the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
 * Morgan Jon Fox — film director
 * Aretha Franklin (1942–2018) — singer in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
 * Frayser Boy — Academy Award-winning rapper
 * Nelson Frazier Jr. — wrestler
 * Morgan Freeman — Academy Award-winning actor
 * Judy Freudberg — writer
 * John Fry — music producer, engineer, founder of Ardent Studios

G

 * David Galloway — novelist, international art curator, journalist and academic
 * Gangsta Boo (1979–2023) — rapper
 * TM Garret — author, producer, filmmaker, radio personality, activist
 * The Gentrys — 1960s rock band with Larry Raspberry and Larry Wall
 * Cassietta George — gospel singer and composer
 * David Gest — event and concert producer
 * Lee Giles — academic and computer scientist
 * Key Glock — rapper
 * GloRilla — rapper
 * Ginnifer Goodwin — actress
 * Robert Gordon — filmmaker and writer
 * Clare Grant — actress
 * Al Green — singer, musician in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
 * Larkin Grimm — folk singer
 * Logan Guleff — MasterChef Junior Season 2 winner
 * Gyft — rapper signed to E1 Music, known for his single "They Just Don't Know"

H

 * Lucy Hale — singer and actress
 * Richard Halliburton — explorer and author
 * George Hamilton — Golden Globe Award-winning actor
 * W.C. Handy — musician
 * Anne Haney — actress
 * Rebecca Hanover — (B.A. English/creative writing 2001), television writer, winner of Daytime Emmy Award for Guiding Light
 * Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway — former NBA player, NCAA Basketball coach
 * E. Hunter Harrison — CEO of Canadian Pacific Railway
 * Jimmy Hart — singer, pro wrestling personality
 * Lori Harvey — model
 * Jon Hassell — musician
 * Isaac Hayes — actor and Academy Award-winning musician
 * Samuel Henderson – former slave and Catholic convert
 * Austin Hollins (born 1991) — basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Olivia Holt — singer and actress
 * John Lee Hooker — blues musician
 * Benjamin L. Hooks — civil rights activist and executive director of the NAACP
 * Julia Britton Hooks — musician and civil rights activist
 * Howlin' Wolf — blues musician in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
 * Lewis C. Hudson — brigadier general in the Marine Corps, Navy Cross recipient
 * John Hulse — college professor
 * Andy Hummel — musician
 * Alberta Hunter — singer

I

 * iLoveMemphis (real name Richard Colbert) — rapper, also known as iHeartMemphis
 * Ingram Hill — band

J

 * Al Jackson Jr. — musician
 * Quinton "Rampage" Jackson — mixed martial arts fighter
 * Raji Jallepalli — Indian-born chef and restaurateur
 * Antonio D. James (born 1985) — filmmaker; producer
 * Jimi Jamison — singer, songwriter
 * Roland Janes — musician; producer
 * Josh Jasper — All-American college football placekicker
 * John Wayles Jefferson — mixed-race grandson of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, colonel in the Union Army, cotton broker in Memphis after the Civil War
 * Michael Jeter — actor
 * Ashley Jones — actress
 * Booker T. Jones — musician
 * Leslie Jones — actress known for Saturday Night Live and Ghostbusters
 * Mary Harris "Mother" Jones — prominent labor and community organizer
 * Mary Jane Richardson Jones — abolitionist and activist
 * Rich Jones (born 1946) — basketball player
 * Juicy J — rapper
 * Rob Jungklas — musician

K

 * K. Michelle — musician
 * Florence Kahn — early Ibsen actress and wife of Max Beerbohm
 * The Kat — professional wrestler
 * Tay Keith — record producer
 * George "Machine Gun" Kelly — Great Depression-era bank robber and kidnapper
 * Larry Kenon — basketball player, led Memphis State to 1973 NCAA title game
 * Carlton W. Kent — Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
 * Key Glock — rapper, cousin to Young Dolph
 * Albert King — blues musician
 * B.B. King — blues musician, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
 * Betty Klepper — scientist
 * Francis M. Kneeland — early African American physician who located her practice on Beale Street

L

 * Snooky Lanson — singer and television personality
 * Chuck Lanza — NFL player
 * Brian Lawler — professional wrestler
 * Jerry Lawler — professional wrestler
 * Arthur Lee (1945–2006) — singer-songwriter
 * Fannie Lewis — Cleveland Ohio's longest serving councilwoman
 * Furry Lewis — blues musician
 * Jerry Lee Lewis — musician in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
 * Eddie Lightfoot — minstrel dancer
 * Alan Lightman — novelist and physicist
 * Lil Wyte — rapper
 * Booker Little — musician
 * Charles Lloyd — musician
 * London on da Track — record producer
 * Lord T & Eloise — musicians
 * Andre Lott — football player
 * Matt Lucas — singer-songwriter, drummer
 * Jimmie Lunceford — musician
 * Herb Lusk — NFL player and clergyman

M

 * Jim Mabry — Arkansas Razorbacks football All-American
 * Bill Madlock (born 1951) — Major League Baseball player
 * Terry Manning — music producer, photographer
 * The Mar-Keys — musicians
 * Nick Marable — freestyle wrestler who competed for USA's national team
 * Wink Martindale — radio and television personality
 * Tim McCarver — professional baseball player and broadcaster
 * Hilton McConnico — designer and artist
 * Kenneth D. McKellar — long-serving U.S. Senator
 * The Memphis Horns — musicians
 * Memphis Minnie — blues singer
 * Memphis Slim — musician
 * Shaun Micheel — professional golfer
 * Cary Middlecoff — professional golfer, Masters and U.S. Open champion
 * Ryan Miller — professional hockey player
 * Lola Mitchell — musician
 * Willie Mitchell — musician and music producer
 * Chips Moman — music producer
 * Moneybagg Yo (born 1991) — rapper
 * Sputnik Monroe — professional wrestler
 * Lecrae Moore — musician and music executive
 * Scotty Moore — guitarist
 * Allen B. Morgan Jr. — businessman, founded Morgan Keegan
 * Haley Morris-Cafiero — photographer
 * Wendy Moten — singer
 * Steven J. Mulroy — District Attorney General, law professor
 * David W. Mullins Jr. — former Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve
 * Charlie Musselwhite — blues musician
 * Zach Myers — lead guitarist for rock band Shinedown

N

 * Elise Neal (born 1966) — actress
 * Hal Needham (1931–2013) — stuntman, film director, actor and writer
 * Pat and Gina Neely — celebrity chefs on Food Network
 * Latrivia Nelson (born 1980) — author
 * Johnny Neumann (1950–2019) — basketball player and coach
 * Phineas Newborn Jr. (1931–1989) — jazz musician
 * Nights Like These — Victory Records metalcore band

O

 * Michael Oher — NFL player, subject of The Blind Side
 * Roy Orbison — singer

P

 * Woody Paige (born 1946) — sportswriter, panelist on ESPN's Around the Horn
 * Hermes Pan (1909–1990) — dancer and choreographer
 * Cindy Parlow Cone (born 1978) — athlete
 * Chris Parnell (born 1967) — actor, known for Saturday Night Live
 * Gilbert E. Patterson (1939–2007) — bishop of Church of God in Christ
 * DJ Paul — rapper
 * Ann Peebles (born 1947) — singer
 * Paul Penczner (1916–2010) — Hungarian-born artist
 * Art Pennington (1923–2017) — all-star negro league baseball player
 * Carl Perkins (1932–1998) — musician
 * Luther Perkins (1928–1968) — musician
 * Elliot Perry (born 1969) — professional basketball player
 * Dewey Phillips (1926–1968) — early rock 'n' roll disc jockey
 * Sam Phillips (1923–2003) — founder of Sun Records
 * Marguerite Piazza (1920–2012) — opera singer
 * Danny Pittman (born 1958) — athlete
 * David Porter (born 1941) — musician
 * Elvis Presley (1935–1977) — singer and actor
 * Lisa Marie Presley (1968–2023) — singer-songwriter; child of singer and actor Elvis Presley
 * Project Pat (born 1973) — rapper
 * Tommy Prothro (1920–1995) — football coach, UCLA and Los Angeles Rams
 * Missi Pyle (born 1972) — actress and singer

Q

 * Lisa Quinn (born 1967) — actress, author, designer

R

 * Michael Ramirez (born 1961) — Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist
 * Jay Reatard (1980–2010) — musician
 * Otis Redding — musician in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
 * Kennedy J. Reed (1944–2023) — theoretical atomic physicist
 * Brent Renaud (1971–2011) — journalist and writer
 * Charlie Rich — Grammy Award-winning musician
 * Austin Riley — MLB Player
 * Loren Roberts — professional golfer
 * Russell Roberts — economist
 * Claire Robinson — television host, author and cook
 * Kali Rocha (born 1971) — actress
 * Adrian Rogers — former pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church and president of the Southern Baptist Convention
 * Joe Russell — former world backgammon champion
 * Lance Russell — pro wrestling announcer

S

 * Saliva — musical group
 * Sam and Dave (Sam Moore and David Prater) — musicians in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
 * Sam the Sham — musician, leader of Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
 * William Sanderson — actor known for Newhart and Blade Runner
 * J. Peter Sartain — Archbishop of Seattle
 * Clarence Saunders — founder of the world's first self-service supermarket, Piggly Wiggly
 * Jerry Schilling — associate of Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys
 * Dan Schneider — actor
 * Josey Scott — musician
 * Will Shade — musician
 * Gwen Shamblin — author and founder of the Weigh Down Workshop and Remnant Fellowship Church
 * Paul Shanklin — personality on Rush Limbaugh's radio program
 * Cybill Shepherd — actress known for Moonlighting and Cybill
 * Pooh Shiesty (born 1999) — rapper
 * George Sherrill — MLB player
 * Lee Shippey — journalist
 * Hampton Sides — author
 * McKinley Singleton — NBA player, New York Knicks
 * Arthur Smith — head coach of the Atlanta Falcons
 * Bingo Smith (born 1946) — basketball player
 * Fred Smith — founder and chairman of FedEx
 * Lane Smith — actor known for My Cousin Vinny and The Final Days
 * George W. Snedecor (1881–1974) — mathematician and statistician
 * Bobby Sowell — musician
 * Speech (born 1968) — rapper
 * Ben Spies (born 1984) — motorcycle road racer
 * Marvin Stamm — musician
 * Kay Starr — singer
 * Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — NASCAR driver
 * Jody Stephens — musician
 * Andrew Stevens — actor and producer
 * Stella Stevens — Golden Globe Award-winning actress
 * Jim Stewart — record producer and co-founder of Stax Records
 * Frank Stokes — blues musician
 * Jarnell Stokes (born 1994) — basketball player
 * Tyler Stone (born 1991) — basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Lewis Ossie Swingler — editor of Memphis World, editor and publisher of Tri-State Defender

T

 * Gary Talley — musician and singer of The Box Tops
 * Cliff Taylor — football player
 * Raymond Taylor — catcher in Negro league baseball
 * Lloyd Thaxton — television personality
 * Adonis Thomas (born 1993) — basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Carla Thomas — musician and daughter of Rufus Thomas
 * Danny Thomas — entertainer, actor and founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
 * Rufus Thomas — musician
 * Fred Thompson — actor and U.S. Senator (alumnus of the University of Memphis)
 * Harry Thompson — football player
 * Linda Thompson — songwriter and actress
 * Three 6 Mafia — Academy Award-winning rap musicians
 * Justin Timberlake — Grammy Award-winning musician, actor and record producer
 * Don Trip — rapper
 * Leigh Anne Tuohy — businesswoman and interior designer
 * Ike Turner — Grammy Award-winning musician

V

 * Guillaume de Van (1906–1949) — Franco–American musicologist
 * Marcia Van Dresser (1877–1937) — operatic soprano, recitalist and actress
 * Andrew VanWyngarden — musician of psychedelic rock group MGMT
 * Alexey Vermeulen (born 1994) — cyclist

W

 * Sam Walton — football player
 * Teddy Walton — composer, producer, writer and DJ
 * Garrett Wang — actor
 * Anita Ward — singer and schoolteacher; 1979 number one Billboard Hot 100 single "Ring My Bell"
 * Thomas Waterson — police officer who captured Machine Gun Kelly in a Memphis raid in 1933
 * Luke J. Weathers (1920–2011) — former U.S. Army Air Force officer and member of Tuskegee Airmen
 * Ida B. Wells — civil rights advocate and women's rights advocate
 * Junior Wells — musician
 * David West — baseball player
 * Red West — actor
 * Kirk Whalum — musician
 * Maurice White — musician, lead singer of Earth, Wind & Fire
 * Reggie White — NFL player; began his career with the Memphis Showboats of the USFL
 * Bobby Whitlock — musician, keyboardist in Derek and the Dominos
 * Snootie Wild — rapper
 * John Shelton Wilder — politician
 * Elliot Williams — NBA player
 * LaNell Williams — physicist and virologist
 * Louis Williams — NBA player
 * Tennessee Williams — playwright
 * Kemmons Wilson — businessman, founder of Holiday Inn
 * Mike Wilson — NBA player
 * Jesse Winchester — singer/songwriter
 * Francis Winkler — NFL player
 * Ernest Withers — photojournalist
 * Lorenzen Wright — NBA player

Y

 * Roy Yeager — musician
 * Yo Gotti (born 1981) — rapper; born Mario Mims
 * Thaddeus Young — NBA player (grew up in Memphis)