List of people from Tallahassee, Florida

This is a list of notable people who were either born or raised, or have lived for a significant period of time in the Tallahassee, Florida metropolitan area.

Academics, education, and research

 * Roy Baumeister – psychologist of self-control
 * Konrad E. Bloch – Nobel Prize-winning biochemist, who helped learn about the functioning of cholesterol
 * Mark Frederick Boyd - malariologist and writer
 * James M. Buchanan – winner of Nobel Prize in economics
 * Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte – attorney, civil-rights activist, former dean of the Florida State University Law School, former president of Florida State University, president of the American Bar Association and the American Judicature Society
 * Paul Dirac – Nobel Prize-winning physicist whose theories predicted antimatter
 * Sylvia Earle – former chief scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
 * Neil Frank – former director of the National Hurricane Center
 * Fred Gainous – former president of Florida A & M University, 2002–2004; former chancellor of the Alabama College System's Department of Postsecondary Education; associate vice president of St. Petersburg College
 * Robert A. Holton – chemist and inventor of Taxol
 * Tim Howard – president and founder of Cambridge Graduate University international, former head of doctorate program of Law & Policy at Northeastern University, former Assistant Attorney General of Florida
 * Sir Harold Kroto – Nobel Prize-winning chemist who helped discover fullerenes
 * Max Mayfield – former director of the National Hurricane Center
 * Alfred Mele – philosopher of free will
 * Robert S. Mulliken – physicist and chemist who won both the Priestley Medal and the Nobel Prize
 * Michel Oksenberg – China scholar, member of National Security Council
 * X. William Proenza – former director of the National Hurricane Center
 * Michael Ruse – philosopher, historian of science, noteworthy atheist
 * Robert Schrieffer – Nobel Laureate, BCS Theory of Superconductivity
 * E. Lee Spence – underwater archeologist
 * G. Gabrielle Starr – president of Pomona College

Space exploration

 * Carolyn S. Griner – former director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
 * Winston Scott – NASA astronaut
 * Norman Thagard – NASA astronaut; flew on three different U.S. Space Shuttles, and on one Russian mission to the Mir space station

Authors

 * Jesse Bullington – Fantasy novelist; also published as Alex Marshall
 * Robert Olen Butler – Pulitzer Prize-winning author for A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain (fiction)
 * Lisa De Pasquale – political writer and columnist
 * Doug Marlette – Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist
 * Leora Bettison Robinson (1840-1914) – author, educator
 * Jeff Shaara – New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction
 * Michael Shaara – Pulitzer prize-winning author (for The Killer Angels)
 * Jeff VanderMeer – World Fantasy Award-winning author (for the novella The Transformation of Martin Lake)

Aviation

 * Jerrie Mock – aviator and first woman to fly around the world solo

Business

 * Wally Amos – founder of the "Famous Amos" chocolate chip cookie brand; actor
 * Eugene Figg – engineer for such bridges as Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Linn Cove Viaduct, and Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge
 * Robert B. Hilton – Tallahassee newspaper owner and Confederate congressman during the American Civil War

Film, television, and radio

 * Red Barber – sportscaster, Radio Hall of Fame member
 * Jim Cramer – host of CNBC's Mad Money

Acting

 * Kay Aldridge – model and actress
 * Matt Battaglia – actor and former NFL player
 * Cathy Jenéen Doe – actress
 * Brad Davis – actor (Midnight Express, Querelle)
 * Kyan Douglas – the "grooming expert" from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
 * Faye Dunaway – actress, Academy Award winner for Network
 * Tony Hale – actor, played Byron "Buster" Bluth on Arrested Development
 * Cheryl Hines – actress, two-time Emmy nominee for Curb your Enthusiasm, director, married to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
 * Polly Holliday – actress, Golden Globe winner (for television series Alice)
 * Will Kirby – Big Brother 2 (2001) winner
 * Christine Lahti – film actress and director, winner of Academy Award for Leiberman in Love, two Golden Globes and Emmy for Chicago Hope
 * Burt Reynolds – Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning, Oscar-nominated actor, attended FSU
 * Anika Noni Rose – Tony Award-winning actress, as Emmie Thibodeaux in Caroline, or Change
 * Sonny Shroyer – actor who played deputy sheriff on The Dukes of Hazzard
 * Roy Wood, Jr. – comedian and actor on The Daily Show

Writing and production

 * Jim Butterworth – documentary filmmaker, winner of DuPont-Columbia Award for Seoul Train
 * Ron J. Friedman – writer of Disney's Academy Award-nominated film Brother Bear

Government and politics

 * Art Agnos – former mayor of San Francisco, California
 * Reubin Askew – politician, former governor of Florida
 * Bobby Brantley – lieutenant governor of Florida 1987–1991
 * Lawton Chiles – politician and FSU research fellow; former US Senator and Governor of Florida
 * LeRoy Collins – politician and Governor of Florida; the only Tallahassee native to serve as Florida's governor
 * Parris Glendening – former Governor of Maryland
 * Carla Hayden – 14th Librarian of Congress
 * Scott Maddox – former mayor of Tallahassee
 * John Marks – Mayor of Tallahassee 2003-2014
 * Kenneth Minihan – former director of the National Security Agency
 * Nell Foster Rogers – lobbyist
 * Orson Swindle – commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission
 * Gregory Tony (born 1978) – Sheriff of Broward County, Florida
 * Craig Waters – spokesman for the Florida Supreme Court

Historical people

 * Catherine Willis Gray Murat – great-grandniece of George Washington
 * Prince Achille Murat – nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte
 * Charles Kenzie Steele – clergyman and civil rights activist
 * Ernest I. Thomas – raiser of the original flag at Iwo Jima

Infamy

 * Marshall Ledbetter – protester who took over the Florida capitol building

Music

 * Luh Tyler – rapper, songwriter
 * Cannonball Adderley – jazz alto saxophone player, Grammy Award winner
 * Nat Adderley – jazz cornet and trumpet player
 * Ethel Cain (Hayden Anhedönia) – singer-songwriter, artist
 * George Clinton – musician, founder of Funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic
 * Rita Coolidge – Grammy Award-winning singer, "From the Bottle to the Bottom" and "Lover Please"
 * Janice Harsanyi – vocalist and teacher
 * Kenny Howes – rock musician
 * K. Michelle (born Kimberly Michelle Pate) – reality TV personality and R&B singer
 * Jim Morrison – lead singer and lyricist of The Doors
 * Marcus Roberts – jazz pianist
 * T-Pain (born Faheem Najm) – hip hop and R&B singer
 * Butch Trucks (Claude Hudson Trucks) – drummer, member of the Allman Brothers band
 * Mayday Parade - Formed in 2005, the band was a result of a merger between two local Tallahassee bands, Kid Named Chicago and Defining Moment.

Composition

 * Creed – rock band formed in Tallahassee
 * Carlisle Floyd – opera composer, Susannah (1955) and others
 * Marcus Roberts – jazz pianist, composer and music professor at Florida State University
 * Morgan Sorne – singer-songwriter
 * Ernst von Dohnányi – composer and pianist
 * Ellen Taaffe Zwilich – Pulitzer prize-winning composer (for Three Movements for Orchestra (Symphony No. 1))

Sports

 * David Ross (baseball) – MLB catcher
 * Robert "Bobby" C. Bowden – college football coach, winner of two national championships
 * Ricky Carmichael – motocross/supercross champion
 * Kevin Carter – NFL defensive end
 * Bradley Cooper – member of 1984 and 1988 Bahamas Summer Olympics team
 * Gene Cox – State of Florida Sports Hall of Fame member (Leon High School football coach)
 * Antonio Cromartie – NFL player credited with the longest play in NFL history
 * Kim Crosby – NASCAR driver, with a best race finish of 20th, in 2004
 * Dwight F. Davis – founder of the international tennis Davis Cup
 * Walter Dix – U.S. track team member and medalist at 2008 Beijing Olympics
 * Warrick Dunn – FSU and NFL football star
 * Carrie Englert (Zimmerman) – member of 1976 U.S. Summer Olympics team
 * Corey Fuller – played for FSU's football team, later became a wide receiver for the Vikings, Browns and Ravens
 * Michael Gaines – tight end for the Detroit Lions
 * DaVanche (Ron) Galimore – member of 1980 U.S. Summer Olympics team
 * Willie Galimore – member of College Football Hall of Fame, and NFL football player
 * William Gay – NFL cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers
 * Althea Gibson – winner of several Wimbledon and US Open tennis championships
 * Frances C. Griscom – U.S. Women's amateur golf champion
 * Ken Harnden – hurdler and sprinter who represented Zimbabwe in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games
 * Tahesia Harrigan – professional sprinter (BVI)
 * Bob Hayes – sprinter and gold medal winner on 1964 U.S. Summer Olympics team; NFL football wide receiver for Dallas Cowboys
 * Missy Hyatt – professional wrestling valet and commentator for World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling
 * Taylor Jacobs – professional football player, wide receiver with Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers, and Denver Broncos
 * Marty Jannetty – professional wrestler, best known for his work with WWE
 * Reggie Jefferson – MLB player
 * Brad Johnson – NFL quarterback
 * Brandy Johnson – member of 1988 U.S. Summer Olympics team
 * Desmond Koh – amateur swimmer who represented Singapore in the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Olympic Games
 * Nevin McCaskill – NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
 * Mike "11" Martin – All-Time winningest coach in NCAA Division I College Baseball; 2019 inductee in National College Baseball Hall of Fame
 * Michelle McCool – World Wrestling Entertainment diva (formally Diva Champion)
 * Fondren Mitchell – football player
 * Brian Olson – member of 1996, 2000 and 2004 U.S. Summer Olympics teams
 * Burgess Owens – professional football player, member of Oakland Raider team that won Super Bowl XV
 * Bill Peterson – college and NFL head football coach
 * Zach Piller – NFL guard for the Tennessee Titans
 * Don Pumphrey, Jr – offensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
 * Elise Ray – gymnast, represented United States in 2000 Olympic Games
 * Gabrielle Reece – professional volleyball player, model
 * Deion Sanders – FSU football star, NFL cornerback, Major League Baseball outfielder, NFL Network commentator
 * Ernie Sims – NFL linebacker
 * Dwight Smith – MLB outfielder
 * Bobby Thigpen – MLB relief pitcher and coach
 * Craphonso Thorpe – NFL wide receiver
 * Marion Tinsley – world checkers champion 1955–58, 1975–91
 * Charlie Ward – 1993 Heisman Trophy winner
 * Pat Watkins – NFL safety for the Dallas Cowboys
 * Chris Weinke – 2000 Heisman Trophy winner
 * Boo Williams – NFL tight end for the New Orleans Saints
 * Jameis Winston – 2014 Heisman winner and quarterback for the Tampa
 * Woody Woodward – MLB shortstop - Braves, Reds; FSU Baseball Head Coach (1975–78); MLB GM - Yankees, Phillies, Mariners
 * Wally Williams – NFL (1993-2003) Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, and New Orleans Saints (First Franchise Player in Ravens History)

Visual arts

 * Karl Zerbe – expressionist painter using the encaustic painting technique