List of people from Monroe, Louisiana

This is a list of people from Monroe, Louisiana and includes notable persons who were born in and/or have lived in Monroe, Louisiana, United States. For a list of people who have studied at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, see List of University of Louisiana at Monroe alumni.

Actors and entertainers

 * Clay Jordan, contestant on Survivor: Thailand
 * Valerie Mason, September 2008 Playboy Playmate
 * Mighty Sam McClain, soul blues singer and songwriter
 * Mantan Moreland, actor and comic of the 1930s and 1940s
 * Jesse Pearson, actor and screenwriter; died in Monroe in 1979
 * Parker Posey, film actress
 * Monti Sharp, film and soap opera actor
 * Susan Ward, film and soap opera actress

Businesspeople

 * Samuel B. Fuller (1905–1988), entrepreneur and journalist, founder of Fuller Products Company
 * Collett E. Woolman (1889–1966), an original director and founder of Delta Air Service

Journalists

 * Frank McGee, television journalist

Musicians

 * Fred Anderson, jazz saxophonist and club owner
 * Hamid Drake, jazz drummer and percussionist
 * Doug Duffey, singer, songwriter, pianist, bandleader, music arranger, record producer, music publisher, poet, diarist, photographer and visual artist
 * Carl Fontana, jazz trombonist
 * Kevin Griffin, lead singer of Better Than Ezra
 * Andy Griggs, country music singer
 * Ivory Joe Hunter, rhythm and blues musician
 * Rickey Minor, music director, composer, music producer, and music director and bandleader for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
 * Webb Pierce, country musician
 * Frank Ticheli, composer, conductor, Professor Emeritus of Music at University of Southern California

Politicians

 * Edwards Barham, former member of the Louisiana State Senate from Morehouse Parish
 * William Denis Brown III (1931–2012), attorney, businessman, and state senator, floor leader in first term of Governor Edwin Washington Edwards
 * William Derwood Cann Jr. (1919–2010), World War II lieutenant colonel; interim mayor of Monroe 1978–1979
 * Donnie Copeland (born 1961), Pentecostal pastor in North Little Rock, Arkansas, and Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, 2015 to 2017, born in Monroe
 * James L. Dennis (born 1936), Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
 * Jimmy Dimos, former Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives and retired judge
 * William C. Feazel (1895–1965), interim U.S. Senator in 1948; member of the Louisiana House of Representatives 1932–1936; father-in-law of Shady R. Wall
 * W. L. "Jack" Howard (1911–1994), former mayor of Monroe and owner with his brother, Alton Hardy Howard of the former Howard Brothers Discount Stores
 * Marcus Hunter (born 1979), member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 17 in Ouachita Parish
 * Vance McAllister, businessman and U.S. representative elected in Louisiana's 5th congressional district special election, 2013
 * Newt V. Mills, U.S. representative from Louisiana's 5th congressional district 1937–1943; resided in Monroe
 * Jay Morris, state representative from Ouachita and Morehouse parishes, 2012–
 * Huey P. Newton (1942–1989) co-founder of the Black Panther Party, born in Monroe
 * James A. Noe, short-term governor of Louisiana in 1936; founder of WNOE and KNOE radio and TV stations
 * Abe E. Pierce III (1934–2021), mayor of Monroe 1996–2000, first African American in the position; Ouachita Parish educator
 * Robert E. Powell (1923–1997), mayor of Monroe 1979–1996
 * Melvin Rambin (1941–2001), mayor of Monroe 2000–2001, only Republican in the position since Reconstruction; banker in Baton Rouge and Monroe; interred in Baton Rouge
 * Frank Spooner, oil and natural gas producer and Republican politician, moved to Monroe in 1967
 * Jeff R. Thompson, former insurance agent in Monroe; state representative from Bossier Parish; incoming 26th Judicial District Court judge
 * J. Robert Wooley (born 1953), Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance, 2000–2006; spent his high school and college years in Monroe

Athletes

 * Brian Bateman, PGA golfer, 2007 Buick Open winner
 * Benoit Benjamin, NBA center for the Cleveland Cavaliers
 * Bubby Brister, Denver Broncos quarterback
 * Ronnie Coleman, retired professional bodybuilder; former middle linebacker Grambling State University
 * John David Crow, late coach of the ULM Warhawks; professional football player
 * LaceDarius Dunn, basketball guard with Bnei HaSharon in Israel
 * Billy Joe DuPree, tight end for the Dallas Cowboys
 * Chuck Finley, MLB All-Star pitcher, California Angels, Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals; ex-spouse of Tawny Kitaen
 * Ralph Garr, All-Star MLB outfielder
 * Larry Gordon, football player
 * James Harris, NFL quarterback
 * Gerrod Henderson, basketball player for the Anwil Włocławek 2007–09
 * Tyree Hollins, football player
 * Cardia Jackson, Louisiana–Monroe Warhawk and Green Bay Packers linebacker
 * Bradie James, LSU and Dallas Cowboys linebacker
 * Shawn King, ULM/LSU and Carolina Panthers defensive end
 * Lynn McGlothen, MLB pitcher
 * Paul Millsap, power forward for Louisiana Tech University and the Atlanta Hawks
 * Rudy Niswanger, LSU and Kansas City Chiefs center
 * Cassidy O'Reilly, professional wrestler, WWE TNA
 * Joe Profit, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints running back
 * Phil Robertson, quarterback for Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
 * Johnny Robinson, LSU and Kansas City Chiefs safety
 * Barry Rubin (born 1957), Head Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs in the National Football League
 * Bill Russell, NBA center for the Boston Celtics), Basketball Hall of Famer
 * Ben Sheets, MLB All-Star Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics and Atlanta Braves pitcher; played at NLU, now ULM
 * Cam Sims, Alabama and wide receiver for Las Vegas Raiders
 * Storm Warren (born 1988), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Sammy White, football player, GSU and Offensive Rookie of Year receiver for Minnesota Vikings
 * Andrew Whitworth, LSU and Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle
 * Jonathan Wilhite, Auburn and New England Patriots cornerback
 * Aeneas Williams, St. Louis Rams free safety
 * Pat Williams, NFL defensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings
 * Ralph Williams, gridiron football player
 * Don Wilson, MLB pitcher for the Houston Astros
 * Larry Wright, GSU and NBA guard for the Washington Bullets

Writers

 * Harry W. Addison, writer and humorist
 * Dixon Hearne, writer and poet
 * Speed Lamkin, novelist and playwright

Others

 * Guy Banister, career employee of the FBI and private investigator; alleged co-conspirator in assassination of John F. Kennedy
 * James E. Cofer, president of the University of Louisiana at Monroe 2002–2010
 * Bruce M. Davis, Manson family member serving life sentence for murder
 * Robert Pershing Foster, MD, a subject of Isabel Wilkerson's book The Warmth of Other Suns
 * W. C. Friley, Baptist clergyman; second president of Louisiana College; pastor in Monroe in the early 1880s
 * Hugh H. Goodwin, vice admiral in the United States Navy
 * Marguerite Littman, American-British socialite and HIV/AIDS activist
 * Rowena Spencer, MD; first female pediatric surgeon
 * Marc Swayze, comic book writer and illustrator
 * Emily H. Vokes, malacologist and Tulane University professor
 * A. Wilberforce Williams (1865–1940), African American physician, teacher, and journalist; born in Monroe and raised on a plantation