List of people from Nashville, Tennessee

The following is a list of notable people who have lived in Nashville, Tennessee.

Native Nashvillians
People born in Nashville:

Musicians and songwriters
With its status as a major hub of music production (especially country and gospel music), Nashville attracts a wide array of musicians, singers, and songwriters.


 * Roy Acuff – country singer-songwriter; co-founder (with Fred Rose) of the Acuff-Rose publishing house
 * Dean Alexander – country singer-songwriter
 * Chet Atkins – country guitarist and record producer
 * The Band Perry – country pop band
 * Dave Barnes – acoustic singer-songwriter
 * Greg Bates – country singer-songwriter
 * David Berman – singer-songwriter of Silver Jews
 * Beeb Birtles – former member of Little River Band
 * Pat Boone (Charles Eugene Boone) – pop singer and actor
 * Jordana Bryant – country/pop singer-songwriter, originally from Pennsylvania
 * Bully – rock band
 * J. J. Cale – songwriter and musician, known for writing "After Midnight" and "Cocaine"
 * Glen Campbell – pop and country musician, TV personality and actor, sang "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"
 * Johnny Cash – country singer-songwriter and actor, known to his fans as "The Man in Black"
 * June Carter Cash – country singer-songwriter, wife of Johnny Cash, and member of the A.P. Carter Family
 * Desmond Child – hit rock/pop songwriter for Cher, Kiss, Aerosmith, Ricky Martin, Bonnie Tyler, Bon Jovi, and others
 * Cimorelli – YouTube girl group, originally from El Dorado Hills, California
 * The Civil Wars – folk/Americana duo
 * Kelly Clarkson – pop singer-songwriter, first winner of American Idol
 * Patsy Cline – country singer-songwriter, first woman in Country Music Hall of Fame
 * Kyle Cook – singer-songwriter of Matchbox Twenty
 * Rita Coolidge – pop recording artist and songwriter
 * Billy Cox – bassist, last surviving member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience
 * Sheryl Crow – singer-songwriter, actress
 * Billy Ray Cyrus – country singer-songwriter, and actor; father of Miley Cyrus and Noah Cyrus
 * Miley Cyrus – country/pop singer-songwriter, star of Hannah Montana; daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and older sister of Noah Cyrus
 * Noah Cyrus – singer-songwriter, and actress; daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and younger sister of Miley Cyrus
 * Steve Earle – country singer-songwriter
 * Tommy Emmanuel – guitarist, native to Australia but lives in Nashville
 * The Everly Brothers – pop music duo
 * Zac Farro – drummer
 * Fisk Jubilee Singers – gospel choir
 * Lester Flatt – bluegrass pioneer
 * Béla Fleck – banjoist, lived in Nashville most of his young adulthood, originally from New York City
 * Dan Fogelberg – singer-songwriter of diverse musical styles, top-selling musician of 1970s–80s
 * Ben Folds – singer-songwriter, former frontman of Ben Folds Five
 * Framing Hanley – alternative rock band
 * Peter Frampton – English rock musician, producer, songwriter, lives in Nashville
 * Russ Freeman – lead of award-winning jazz band, The Rippingtons
 * Kathy Lee Gifford – television host, singer-songwriter, actress, and author
 * Josh Gracin – country singer
 * Amy Grant – singer-songwriter known for Christian themes
 * Emmylou Harris – country singer-songwriter, and musician
 * Kerry Harvick – country singer-songwriter, cast member of the hit reality series Bad Girls Club
 * Brandon Heath – Christian singer-songwriter
 * Bobby Hebb – R&B/soul songwriter, musician, singer known for the song "Sunny"
 * John Hiatt – songwriter and musician
 * Faith Hill – country music singer
 * Robyn Hitchcock – English alternative-rock musician
 * Hot Chelle Rae – popular rock pop band
 * Harlan Howard – Music Row songwriter
 * David Hungate – bassist for Toto, also recorded with several country artists
 * Alan Jackson – country singer-songwriter
 * Waylon Jennings – country singer-guitarist
 * Naomi Judd – mother-daughter (with Wynonna Judd) country music singer-songwriter
 * Wynonna Judd – mother-daughter (with Naomi Judd) country music singer-songwriter
 * Donny Kees – musician and songwriter
 * Jet Jurgensmeyer – teen actor and musician
 * Kesha – pop singer
 * Kings of Leon – rock musicians
 * Robert Knight – R&B singer best known for the hit "Everlasting Love"
 * Kris Kristofferson – country singer-songwriter and actor
 * Lady Antebellum – country music trio group
 * Brenda Lee – pop singer, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
 * Little Big Town – country music group
 * Little Richard – rock musician
 * Kimberley Locke – pop and R&B singer
 * Liam Lynch – musician and co-creator of the television show Sifl and Olly
 * Loretta Lynn – country singer-songwriter
 * Mandisa – Christian music artist
 * Barbara Mandrell – country singer-songwriter
 * Chris Marion – member of classic rock's Little River Band
 * Martina McBride – singer-songwriter
 * Tim McGraw – country music singer-songwriter and actor
 * Reba McEntire – country music singer and actress
 * Roger Miller – country singer-songwriter, known for "King of the Road"
 * Neal Morse – singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader and progressive rock composer based in Nashville
 * Dave Mustaine – lead musician for heavy metal band Megadeth
 * Willie Nelson – guitarist and country singer, member of the outlaw country movement
 * Aaron Neville – soul singer and member of the Neville Brothers; displaced from his native New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina
 * The New Schematics – indie rock band
 * John Oates – hit rock and soul recording artist from duo Hall & Oates, has homes in Colorado and Nashville
 * St. Louis Jimmy Oden – blues pianist, born here in 1903
 * Roy Orbison – singer-songwriter, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, known for "Pretty Woman"
 * Brad Paisley – country singer-songwriter
 * Paramore – rock musicians
 * Dolly Parton – country singer-songwriter and actress
 * Johnny Paycheck – country singer
 * Wayne Perry – country singer-songwriter and producer
 * Kellie Pickler – country music singer-songwriter
 * Poppy – pop singer-songwriter
 * Millard Powers – member of Counting Crows, musician, songwriter, producer, engineer
 * Rascal Flatts – country music trio
 * Caroline Keating Reed – pianist and music teacher
 * Tex Ritter – singing cowboy
 * Earl Scruggs – bluegrass banjo player
 * Ed Sheeran – English singer, songwriter, producer, actor
 * Blake Shelton – country singer, judge on TV series The Voice
 * Paul Sikes – singer-songwriter and record producer
 * Michael W. Smith – Christian music artist
 * Soccer Mommy – indie rock back fronted by Sophie Allison
 * Chris Stapleton – country/bluegrass/rock musician
 * Starlito – rapper
 * Edwin Starr – 1970s funk singer
 * Marty Stuart – country/bluegrass musician; host of his own show on RFD-TV
 * Donna Summer – disco and R&B singer
 * Emma Swift – Australian country/Americana musician
 * Taylor Swift – one of the world's top-selling singer-songwriters
 * Thompson Square – country music duo
 * Ernest Tubb – singer-songwriter, one of the pioneers of country music
 * Shania Twain – Canadian country music singer-songwriter and actress
 * Steven Tyler – lead singer-songwriter of rock band Aerosmith
 * Keith Urban – country music superstar, married to Nicole Kidman
 * Townes Van Zandt – folk music singer-songwriter
 * Gillian Welch – contemporary "alt-country" songwriter and singer
 * Kitty Wells – singer and musician from country music's early days
 * Matt Wertz – acoustic singer-songwriter
 * Dottie West – country singer-songwriter
 * Jack White – guitarist and lead vocalist of The White Stripes
 * Hayley Williams – musician, songwriter, lyricist
 * Allen Woody – bassist for the Allman Brothers Band and Gov't Mule
 * Victor Wooten – virtuoso electric bass guitar player
 * Emily Wright – songwriter, producer and engineer
 * Tammy Wynette – country singer-songwriter, known for "Stand By Your Man"
 * Dwight Yoakam – country musician, songwriter and actor
 * Taylor York – musician, songwriter, lyricist
 * Young Buck – rapper and member of G-Unit

National

 * Edward Carmack – former U.S. Senator, newspaper editor, and attorney
 * Bill Frist – former U.S. Senate Majority Leader
 * Al Gore Jr. – former U.S. Vice President and Senator; recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
 * Tipper Gore – Second Lady of the United States 1993–2001
 * Sam Houston – U.S. Congressman, Governor of both Tennessee and Texas, and President of the Republic of Texas; for whom the city of Houston is named
 * Andrew Jackson – former U.S. President
 * Andrew Johnson – former U.S. President and Vice President
 * John Lewis – civil rights leader, U.S. Congressman (GA 5th Dist.), and former SNCC chairman
 * Fred Meyer – treasurer of Aladdin Industries in Nashville, pre-1971; chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, 1988–1994; president of Tyler Corporation in Dallas, 1983–1986; native of suburban Chicago
 * James K. Polk – former U.S. President
 * Fred Thompson – former U.S. Senator and actor

Local

 * Megan Barry – first female mayor of Nashville; first female mayor of Nashville to resign office
 * Phil Bredesen – mayor of Nashville 1991–99, governor of Tennessee 2003–2011
 * John Ray Clemmons (born 1977) – member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing the 55th district, in West Nashville
 * Karl Dean – former mayor of Nashville
 * John Jay Hooker – attorney, perennial candidate, and political gadfly
 * Diane Neighbors – vice mayor of Nashville, 2007–2015

Artists and writers

 * Emelie C. S. Chilton - writer, editor
 * Greg Downs – Flannery O'Connor Award-winning short story writer
 * Tony Earley – novelist and short story writer
 * Karen Kingsbury – novelist
 * Harmony Korine – filmmaker and artist
 * Rachel Korine – actress and photographer, married to Harmony Korine
 * Alan LeQuire – sculptor
 * Ann Patchett – novelist
 * T. M. Schleier – early photographer
 * Robert Penn Warren – Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet
 * Tennessee Williams – foremost playwright of 20th-century drama, lived briefly in Nashville

Business leaders

 * Mike Curb – founder of Curb Records, former Lieutenant Governor of California
 * George A. Dickel – liquor distributor
 * Dick Griffey – record producer, music promoter
 * Wallace Rasmussen – businessman, philanthropist, CEO of Beatrice Foods
 * Preston Taylor – minister, businessperson, philanthropist

Civic leaders

 * William N. Bilbo – attorney, lobbyist for passage of the 13th Amendment, ending slavery
 * William Driver – nicknamed the U.S. flag "Old Glory"
 * Francis Guess – Nashville businessman and member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights (1983–1989)
 * James Lawson – civil rights leader and Methodist minister
 * John Lewis - civil rights leader and Congressman from Georgia's 5th Congressional District
 * Z. Alexander Looby – lawyer active in the American Civil Rights Movement
 * Dan May – civic leader
 * Diane Nash – civil rights leader
 * Azariah Southworth – former host of a Christian television show; LGBT rights advocate

Entertainers

 * Nate Bargatze – comedian
 * Kristin Chenoweth – Tony Award-winning Broadway actress
 * Rachel DiPillo – actress, currently stars in NBC's Chicago Med
 * Doug the Pug – famous dog
 * Natalia Dyer – actress
 * Ralph Emery – country music disc jockey and television host
 * Eddie Frierson – voice actor, playwright
 * Kathie Lee Gifford – television personality and former star of NBC's Today show
 * Phil Harris – comedian, actor, singer, and jazz musician
 * Melissa Joan Hart – actress
 * Ashley Judd – actress and political activist
 * Demetria Kalodimos – Emmy Award-winning anchor for WSMV-TV
 * Nicole Kidman – actress
 * Sondra Locke (1944–2018) – Oscar-nominated actress from Shelbyville, Tennessee lived briefly in Nashville
 * Minnie Pearl (Sarah Cannon) – country comedian who appeared frequently on the Grand Ole Opry
 * Jason Priestley - actor who starred on the television series "Beverly Hills, 90210"
 * Dinah Shore – singer, actress, and television personality
 * Richard Speight Jr. – actor
 * Mary Steenburgen – actress, songwriter wife of Ted Danson
 * Frank Sutton – actor, played Sergeant Carter on the hit TV series Gomer Pyle
 * Austin Swift – actor, brother of Taylor Swift
 * Niki Taylor – supermodel and TV presenter
 * Adair Tishler – actress
 * Jim Varney – actor, known for his character Ernest P. Worrell
 * Dawn Wells – actress, Gilligan's Island
 * William Wilkerson – founder of Flamingo Las Vegas hotel, Ciro's nightclub
 * Oprah Winfrey – talk show host, movie producer, and entrepreneur
 * Reese Witherspoon – Academy Award-winning actress
 * Evan Rachel Wood – actress, musician, and star of TV series Westworld

Journalists and talk show hosts

 * Tomi Lahren – political commentator for Fox News
 * Jon Meacham – Pulitzer Prize-winning author; former Newsweek editor
 * Dave Ramsey – talk radio host and author
 * Grantland Rice – sportswriter
 * Fred Russell – sportswriter
 * John Seigenthaler Jr. – MSNBC news anchor; son of John Seigenthaler Sr.

Religious leaders

 * Richard Henry Boyd – founder and head of the National Baptist Publishing Board
 * Virginia E. Walker Broughton – African American author and Baptist missionary
 * James T. Draper Jr. – president of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1982–1984; president of Nashville-based LifeWay Christian Resources, 1991–2006

Sportspeople

 * Mookie Betts – baseball player
 * Tracy Caulkins – three-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer
 * Eddie George – Heisman Trophy winner, four-time Pro Bowl NFL running back, businessman and professional actor
 * Sonny Gray – Major League Baseball pitcher
 * Scott Hamilton – world champion and Olympic gold medalist ice skater
 * Demonte Harper (born 1989) - basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Adam Hooker – 2008 Slamball League MVP and starting stopper for Champion Slashers
 * Andy Kirby – NASCAR driver
 * Jessica Kresa – professional wrestler, known as ODB
 * Herb Rich (1928–2008), 2x All-Pro NFL football player
 * Wilma Rudolph – track star and Olympic gold medalist
 * Martin Strel – long-distance swimmer, Big River Man and actor from Slovenia

Criminals and victims

 * Jesse James – notorious outlaw and bank robber
 * Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, fka Carlos Leon Bledsoe – committed the 2009 jihadi Little Rock military recruiting office shooting
 * Marcia Trimble – victim of an infamous child murder case

Other

 * Mary R. Calvert (1884–1974) – astronomical computer and astrophotographer
 * Joseph Fuisz – attorney, inventor, and entrepreneur; founder of Fuisz Pharma LLC
 * Richard Fuisz – physician, inventor, and entrepreneur, with connections to the United States military and intelligence community
 * Amelia Laskey – ornithologist
 * Nat Love – famous African-American cowboy and hero of the Old West
 * Ronal W. Serpas – Chief of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, 2004–2010