List of people from Winston-Salem, North Carolina

This is a list of notable past and present residents of the U.S. city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and its surrounding metropolitan area.

Academics

 * Stuart Bondurant, professor and dean emeritus at the UNC School of Medicine
 * Coy Cornelius Carpenter, dean of the School of Medicine of Wake Forest University
 * Adelaide Fries, foremost scholar of the history and genealogy of the Moravians
 * Robert Huntley, president of Washington and Lee University
 * Jacquelyne Jackson, sociologist and academic
 * Harold L. Martin, chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
 * William T. Miller, professor of organic chemistry at Cornell University
 * Virginia Newell, math professor at Winston-Salem State University and alderman of Winston-Salem
 * Len Preslar, business educator and Distinguished Professor of Practice at Wake Forest University
 * Florence Wells Slater, entomologist and schoolteacher
 * Norman Adrian Wiggins, president of Campbell University
 * Tanya Zanish-Belcher, director of Special Collections and Archives at the Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University

Art and architecture

 * Earline Heath King, sculptor who specialized in portraits and statues
 * Eleanor Layfield Davis, artist
 * Helen Copenhaver Hanes, significant figure in the founding of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts
 * Frank L. Horton, museum director and antiques dealer
 * Megan LeCrone, dancer and soloist with the New York City Ballet
 * Willard C. Northup, architect
 * Kathryn Reynolds, photographer
 * William Roy Wallace, architect

Business

 * Celeste Beatty, first Black woman to own a brewery in the United States
 * Jack O. Bovender Jr., former chairman and CEO of HCA Healthcare from 2002 to 2009
 * Stuart Epperson, chairman of Salem Communications Corporation
 * Bowman Gray Sr., president and chairman of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
 * Anne Cannon Forsyth, Cannon textiles and R.J. Reynolds tobacco families heiress and founder and president of the North Carolina Fund
 * Francis Henry Fries, textile businessman and industrialist
 * James A. Gray Jr., president and chairman of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem and North Carolina Senate
 * John Wesley Hanes, founder of Hanes clothing brand
 * Phil Hanes, businessman, conservationist, and patron of the arts
 * Velma Hopkins, labour rights activist who organized a strike against R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
 * Rufus L. Patterson Jr., founder of the American Machine and Foundry and a vice president of the American Tobacco Company.
 * R. J. Reynolds, founder of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
 * William Neal Reynolds, businessman with R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
 * Lewis Rudolph, co-founder of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
 * Vernon Rudolph, co-founder of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
 * Moranda Smith, labor organizer and unionist
 * Paul Trevithick, client partner and senior director at EPAM

Entertainment

 * John L. Adams, actor, comedian and director
 * Ramin Bahrani, film director and screenwriter
 * Elizabeth Campbell, public television executive
 * Jerrod Carmichael, stand-up comedian, actor, and writer
 * Howard Cosell, sportscaster
 * Carter Covington, television show creator, writer, story editor and producer
 * Bosley Crowther, film critic
 * Jennifer Ehle, actress
 * Nia Franklin, Miss America 2019
 * Emily V. Gordon, writer and producer
 * Charles Grant, actor
 * Kathryn Grayson, actress and operatic soprano singer
 * Pam Grier, actress
 * Julianna Guill, actress
 * Rosemary Harris, actress; Golden Globe, Emmy and Tony Award winner
 * Jackée Harry, actress and comedian
 * Burgess Jenkins, actor
 * Darwin Joston, actor
 * Tom Kent, nationally syndicated radio personality
 * Allyn King, vaudeville actress and a Ziegfeld Follies performer
 * Kelly-Anne Lyons, actress
 * Angus MacLachlan, screenwriter
 * Rusty Mills, Emmy-winning animator and director
 * Cullen Moss, actor
 * Harold Nicholas, film dancer, entertainer
 * Jacqueline Novak, comedian and actress
 * Daniel Peddle, film director and screenwriter
 * Jeryl Prescott, actress
 * Stuart Scott, sportscaster
 * Stephen A. Smith, sports journalist, Winston-Salem State University alum, radio host, analyst for ESPN First Take
 * Meg Steedle, actress
 * Tasha Marbury, reality show personality and cast member of Basketball Wives
 * Jill Wagner, actress and TV host
 * Rolonda Watts, television personality and actress
 * Colleen Williams, news anchor with KNBC in Los Angeles
 * Danny McBride, actor, NCSA 94-96
 * Geno Segers, actor, graduated from East Forsyth
 * Jada Pinkett Smith, actress and wife of Will Smith, attended NCSA
 * George C. Stoney, documentary filmmaker
 * Kenneth Utt, film producer and unit production manager
 * Rolonda Watts, television and talkshow host
 * Michael Wilson, director

Music

 * 9th Wonder, Grammy award-winning hip-hop producer
 * Sunshine Anderson, singer-songwriter
 * B.o.B., hip-hop artist
 * Obadiah Carter, member of the "5" Royales
 * Mitch Easter, musician and record producer, founder of Drive-In Studio
 * Ben Folds, singer-songwriter
 * Guitar Gabriel, blues musician
 * Curtis Hairston, soul/funk vocalist
 * George Hamilton IV, country singer
 * Byron Hill, songwriter
 * Peter Holsapple, singer-songwriter
 * Greg Humphreys, singer-songwriter and member of Dillon Fence and Hobex
 * Kimberly Marshall, organist and organ scholar
 * Chris Murrell, singer and former lead vocalist of the Count Basie Orchestra
 * Ben Neill, classical composer
 * Clarence Paul, songwriter and record producer
 * Dusty Redmon, guitarist
 * Louise Siddall, composer
 * Sluice, indie rock musician
 * Chris Stamey, musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer
 * Becca Stevens, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
 * Ernest Thompson, blind street musician
 * TiaCorine, rapper
 * Tichina Vaughn, operatic mezzo-soprano

Literature and journalism

 * Bonnie Angelo, journalist and author
 * Maya Angelou, poet
 * Bekah Brunstetter, playwright
 * John Carroll, journalist and newspaper editor
 * Gary Chapman, author
 * Clement Eaton, historian and writer
 * John Ehle, author
 * Mary Garber, sports journalist
 * Emily V. Gordon, writer, producer, and podcast host
 * Karen L. Parker, journalist and first Black female graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
 * Melissa Harris-Perry, journalist, political commentator, author
 * Charlie Lovett, New York Times best-selling novelist and expert on both the works and life of Lewis Carroll
 * T. R. Pearson, author of A Short History of a Small Place
 * James Norwood Pratt, author on topics of tea and tea lore
 * Riley Redgate, author of young adult fiction

Military

 * Lincoln Broyhill, record-setting tail gunner in World War II
 * Daryl Caudle, Admiral and Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command
 * Walter J. Davis Jr., vice admiral in the United States Navy
 * Gordon Gray, Secretary of the Army under President Truman and President Eisenhower's National Security Advisor
 * Lawrence Joel, United States Army soldier; received Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War
 * Henry Johnson, United States Army soldier; posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in World War I
 * Togo West, United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, United States Secretary of the Army, General Counsel of the Navy
 * Earl P. Yates, rear admiral in the United States Navy

Politics and government

 * Hannah Atkins, member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1968 to 1980, and the first African-American woman elected to it
 * Frank Ballance, United States House of Representatives
 * Stan Bingham, North Carolina General Assembly
 * Burr Brock Sr., North Carolina House of Representatives and the North Carolina Senate
 * Jim Broyhill, a Republican politician; served North Carolina in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate
 * Ted Budd, former United States Representative and United States Senator from North Carolina
 * Richard Burr, United States Senator
 * Irving E. Carlyle, North Carolina lawyer and state leader
 * R. Thurmond Chatham, U.S. House of Representatives
 * Linda Combs, Controller of the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President
 * H. R. Crawford, Assistant Secretary for Housing Management of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Member of the Council of the District of Columbia
 * Cal Cunningham, North Carolina Senate
 * Elisabeth Epps, Colorado House of Representatives
 * Dale Folwell, North Carolina State Treasurer and North Carolina House of Representatives,
 * Linda Garrou, North Carolina Senate
 * Voit Gilmore, director of the United States Travel Service and North Carolina Senate
 * Peaches Golding, appointed by HM Queen Elizabeth II as High Sheriff of Bristol 2010–2011, awarded the OBE
 * John Stephens Graham, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and commissioner for the Internal Revenue Service and Atomic Energy Commission
 * James A. Gray Jr., president and chairman of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem and North Carolina Senate
 * Lyons Gray, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Revenue and North Carolina House of Representatives
 * Kyle Hall, North Carolina House of Representatives
 * Mabel Hampton, lesbian activist and contributor to the Lesbian Herstory Archives
 * Ed Hanes, North Carolina House of Representatives
 * John Wesley Hanes II, investment banker, corporate turnaround specialist, and Under Secretary of the United States Treasury
 * John W. Hardwicke, Maryland House of Delegates
 * William Heaton, former chief of staff to Bob Ney
 * Kevin Jennings, assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education
 * Mark Johnson, North Carolina's Superintendent of Public Instruction
 * Walter E. Johnston III, United States House of Representatives
 * Allen Joines, mayor of Winston-Salem
 * Annie Brown Kennedy, politician and lawyer; first Black woman to serve in the North Carolina House of Representatives
 * Jules Gilmer Korner Jr., judge of the United States Board of Tax Appeals
 * Donny Lambeth, North Carolina House of Representatives
 * Norman M. Miller, United States Navy officer; one of the most decorated Naval Aviators during World War II
 * Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell, MLB pitcher for Pirates and Cardinals, and US congressman from 1968 to 1967
 * Derwin Montgomery, North Carolina House of Representatives
 * Lorraine H. Morton, mayor of Evanston, Illinois
 * Roxie Nicholson, career staffer at the United States Department of Labor
 * Ray C. Osborne, served as the first Lieutenant Governor of Florida under the state constitution of 1968
 * Earline Parmon, North Carolina Senate
 * Rufus Lenoir Patterson, Mayor of Salem, North Carolina
 * R. J. Reynolds Jr., treasurer of the Democratic National Committee and mayor of Winston-Salem
 * Grace Rohrer, Secretary of Administration of North Carolina and Secretary of Cultural Resources of North Carolina
 * Evelyn Terry, North Carolina House of Representatives
 * Bennetta Bullock Washington, "first first lady" of Washington, D.C., director of Job Corps for Women at the Department of Labor
 * Larry W. Womble, North Carolina General Assembly
 * Madie Hall Xuma, president of the African National Congress Women's League

Religion

 * J. Neil Alexander, 9th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
 * Stuart Epperson, evangelical who was the co-founder and chairman of Salem Media Group
 * J. D. Greear, 62nd president of the Southern Baptist Convention
 * Herbert Spaugh, Bishop of the Moravian Church

Science and technology

 * Roy F. Brissenden, NASA physicist
 * Burton C. Gray, co-founder of Scientific Time Sharing Corporation
 * Lisa Hensley, microbiologist, associate director of science at the Office of the Chief Scientist of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease
 * Joseph Gaither Pratt, psychologist who specialized in parapsychology.

Baseball

 * Dustin Ackley, outfielder for the New York Yankees
 * Koke Alexander, Negro leagues outfielder
 * Fred Anderson, former Major League Baseball player
 * Don Cardwell, former Major League Baseball pitcher; World Series champion
 * Alvin Crowder, Major League Baseball pitcher; World Series champion
 * Alex Crumbley, baseball outfielder in the Negro leagues
 * Spencer Davis, baseball infielder in the Negro leagues
 * Ryan Dull, Major League Baseball pitcher
 * Harvey Gentry, former Major League Baseball player
 * Rufe Gentry, former Major League Baseball player for the Detroit Tigers
 * Mark Grace, first baseman for Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks, World Series champion, broadcaster and coach
 * Tommy Gregg, former Major League Baseball player
 * Napoleon Hairston, Negro league outfielder
 * Ed Lyons, Major League Baseball second baseman
 * D. J. Mitchell, Major League Baseball pitcher
 * Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell, MLB pitcher for Pirates and Cardinals, and US congressman from 1968 to 1967
 * Howie Nunn, former Major League Baseball player
 * Ernie Shore, former Major League Baseball pitcher, two-time World Series champion and sheriff of Forsyth County, North Carolina
 * Seth Simmons, professional baseball player
 * Bill Slack, professional baseball player, coach, and manager
 * Robert Woodard, baseball player and collegiate coach

Basketball

 * Cy Alexander, college basketball coach
 * Norton Barnhill, professional basketball player
 * Randolph Childress, former professional basketball player
 * Hubert Davis, head coach of the men's basketball team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, basketball analyst for ESPN, former NBA player
 * Rick Duckett, college basketball coach
 * Lindsay Edmonds, college basketball coach
 * C.E. "Big House" Gaines, head basketball coach of Winston-Salem State University for 47 years; member of Basketball Hall of Fame
 * Danny Gathings, retired basketball player
 * Harry Giles III, professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers
 * Herm Gilliam, professional basketball player
 * Happy Hairston, professional basketball player for Los Angeles Lakers; NBA Champion
 * C. J. Harris, basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Ricky Hickman, professional basketball player
 * Josh Howard, professional basketball player
 * Whit Holcomb-Faye, professional basketball player
 * Brian Howard, professional basketball player
 * Josh Howard, professional basketball player and coach
 * Othello Hunter, professional basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Reggie Johnson, professional basketball player
 * Rusty LaRue, professional basketball player; NBA champion
 * Camille Little, WNBA player
 * Caleb Martin, twin brother of Cody Martin, professional basketball player for the Miami Heat
 * Cody Martin, twin brother of Caleb Martin, professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets
 * Earl Monroe, professional basketball player for New York Knicks and Baltimore Bullets
 * Benny Moss, college basketball coach
 * Ryan Odom, college basketball coach
 * Tyson Patterson, professional basketball player
 * Chris Paul, professional basketball player, 12x NBA All-Star and two-time Olympic champion
 * Josh Pittman, professional basketball player
 * Willie Porter, professional basketball player
 * Skip Prosser, professional basketball player.
 * Juvonte Reddic, professional basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Brian Robinson, college basketball coach
 * Reyshawn Terry, professional basketball player and 2005 NCAA champion with North Carolina
 * Kevin Thompson, professional basketball player

Football

 * Ray Agnew, professional football player and executive
 * Ray Agnew III, professional football player
 * Hubbard Alexander, professional football coach
 * Bracy Bonham, Canadian Football League player
 * Hal Bradley, professional football player
 * Kidd Brewer, college football player and administrator
 * Alan Caldwell, professional football player
 * Tony Covington, professional football player
 * Angelo Crowell, professional football player
 * Germane Crowell, professional football player
 * Donnie Davis, professional football player
 * Divine Deablo, professional football player
 * Kenny Duckett, professional football player
 * Carl Eller, professional football player; member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame
 * Clement M. Eyler, college football coach
 * Ed Gainey, Canadian Football League player
 * Paul Gibson, professional football player
 * George Godsey, professional football player
 * Chris Hairston, professional football player
 * Josh Hawkins, professional football player
 * Madison Hedgecock, professional football player
 * KJ Henry, professional football player
 * Dwayne Ijames, professional football player
 * Bill Jackson, professional football player
 * Anthony Levine, professional football player and two-time Super Bowl champion
 * Alex McCalister, professional football player
 * Bill McKoy, professional football player
 * Ja'Quan McMillian, professional football player
 * Doug Middleton, professional football player
 * Paul Miles, professional football player
 * Jackie Mitchell, Canadian Football League player
 * Aric Morris, professional football player
 * A. J. Nicholson, professional football player
 * Darrell Nicholson, professional football player
 * Derek Nicholson, professional football player and college football coach
 * Artimus Parker, professional football player
 * Denzel Rice, professional football player
 * Sherman Simmons, college football coach
 * Darryl Sims, professional football player
 * Speedy Speer, football player and coach
 * Ramondo Stallings, professional football player
 * Ryan Taylor, professional football player
 * Steve Videtich, professional football player
 * Blake Whiteheart, professional football player
 * Bryce Williams, professional football player
 * Tory Woodbury, professional football player
 * Tom Young, college football coach

Golf

 * Cydney Clanton, professional golfer
 * Jim Ferree, professional golfer
 * Jerry Haas, professional golfer
 * Walter Hall, professional golfer
 * David Mathis, professional golfer
 * Arnold Palmer, professional golfer; attended Wake Forest University

Hockey

 * Patrick O'Sullivan, National Hockey League player
 * Ben Smith, National Hockey League player and 2013 Stanley Cup champion

Racing

 * Dillon Bassett, NASCAR driver
 * Ronnie Bassett Jr., NASCAR driver
 * Ed Berrier, NASCAR driver
 * Richard Childress, NASCAR team owner
 * Barry Dodson, NASCAR crew chief
 * Bobby Myers, NASCAR racing driver
 * Chocolate Myers, NASCAR team principal
 * Leon Sales, stock car racing driver

Soccer

 * Tanner Beason, Major League Soccer player
 * John Bradford, professional soccer coach
 * Sam Cronin, former Major League Soccer player
 * Austin da Luz, professional soccer player
 * Luciano Delbono, professional soccer player
 * Matt Spear, soccer coach and player
 * David Testo, professional soccer player
 * Wells Thompson, former Major League Soccer player

Track and field

 * Blake Russell, Olympic long-distance runner, competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics
 * J-Mee Samuels, track and field sprinter

Other

 * Kathleen Baker, Olympic swimmer, won gold and silver medal at 2016 Summer Olympics
 * Michael Blomquist, rower and a former World Champion
 * Ric Converse, professional wrestler
 * Kimani Griffin, Olympic speed skater, competed at 2018 Winter Olympics
 * Marc Johnson, professional skateboarder
 * Randy Jones, Olympic bobsledder, won silver medal in the four-man event at 2002 Winter Olympics
 * Brian McDonough, Olympic cyclist, competed at 1996 Summer Olympics
 * Tab Thacker, NCAA wrestling national champion at NC State and actor
 * Matthew Thomson, tennis player

Other

 * Zachary Smith Reynolds, murder victim
 * Hattie M. Strong, philanthropist