Favorite Celebrities Born in the Southeast

1. Ava Gardner

Ava Lavina Gardner was born on December 24, 1922 in Grabtown, North Carolina, to Mary Elizabeth (née Baker) and Jonas Bailey Gardner. Born on a tobacco farm, where she got her lifelong love of earthy language and going barefoot, Ava grew up in the rural South. At age 18, her picture in the window ...

Born: Ava Lavinia Gardner December 24, 1922 in Grabtown, North Carolina, USA

2. Bettie Page

Actress | The Dr. Susan Block Show

Bettie Page's life was filled with cult myth, mystery and sadness. Her image captured the imagination of a generation with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality, during an era of strong sexual repression. She was the quintessential pin-up, tacked up on walls in military barracks and garages; ...

Born: Betty Mae Page April 22, 1923 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Died: December 11, 2008 (age 85) in Los Angeles, California, USA

3. Don Knotts

Actor | The Andy Griffith Show

Don Knotts, the legendary television character actor, was born Jesse Donald Knotts on July 21, 1924 in Morgantown, West Virginia, to William Jesse Knotts and the former Elsie Luzetta Moore. He was the youngest of four sons in a family that had been in America since the 17th century.

His first stint ...

4. Wayne Rogers

Actor | M*A*S*H

Tough around the edges and with a handsome durability, Alabama-bred Wayne Rogers was born in Birmingham on April 7, 1933. He graduated from Princeton with a history degree in 1954 and joined the Navy before giving acting a thought. During his military service, however, he became associated with ...

Born: William Wayne McMillan Rogers III April 7, 1933 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA

Died: December 31, 2015 (age 82) in Los Angeles, California, USA

5. Shirley MacLaine

Actress | Terms of Endearment

Shirley MacLaine was born Shirley MacLean Beaty in Richmond, Virginia. Her mother, Kathlyn Corinne (MacLean), was a drama teacher from Nova Scotia, Canada, and her father, Ira Owens Beaty, a professor of psychology and real estate agent, was from Virginia. Her brother, Warren Beatty, was born on ...

Born Shirley MacLean Beaty on April 24, 1934

6. Diane Ladd

Actress | Wild at Heart

The amazingly gifted and versatile, Ms. Diane Ladd, received immense praise for her dramatic efforts throughout the course of her electric and unique seventy-year career. Her timeless offbeat charm and beauty reminiscent of a lamented Hollywood Golden Era actress gleam in the most understated roles...

Born: Rose Diane Ladnier November 29, 1935 in Meridian, Mississippi, USA

7. Loretta Lynn

Soundtrack | The New Mutants

Loretta Lynn was born on April 14, 1932 in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, USA. She was a music artist and actress, known for The New Mutants (2020), High Crimes (2002) and Logan Lucky (2017). She was married to Oliver Lynn. She died on October 4, 2022 in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, USA.

Born: Loretta Webb April 14, 1932 in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, USA

8. Morgan Freeman

Actor | Driving Miss Daisy

With an authoritative voice and calm demeanor, this ever popular American actor has grown into one of the most respected figures in modern US cinema. Morgan was born on June 1, 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, to Mayme Edna (Revere), a teacher, and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, a barber. The young Freeman...

9. Tina Turner

Soundtrack | Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

With almost fifty years in the music business, Tina Turner became one of the most commercially successful international female rock stars. Her sultry, powerful voice, her incredible legs, her time-tested beauty and her unforgettable story all contributed to her legendary status.

Born to a ...

Born: Anna Mae Bullock November 26, 1939 in Nutbush, Tennessee, USA

10. Conchata Ferrell

Actress | Two and a Half Men

It took 30 years since it was first predicted, but Conchata Ferrell finally achieved television stardom, albeit of the supporting variety, as the housekeeper "Berta" in the situation-comedy Two and a Half Men (2003). Ferrell originally had been tipped for stardom with her turn as the prostitute "...

Born: Conchata Galen Ferrell March 28, 1943 in Charleston, West Virginia, USA

11. Tim Reid

Actor | WKRP in Cincinnati

Gaining fame on TV first, he was born Timothy Lee Reid on December 19, 1944, in Norfolk and raised in Chesapeake, Virginia. Coming from a troubled, impoverished childhood, he straightened out his life enough to attend Norfolk State College (now University) and graduate with a business ...

Born: December 19, 1944 in Norfolk, Virginia, USA

12. Blake Clark

Actor | 50 First Dates

For the last 20 or so years, Clark has been doing stand-up comedy on the club circuit, on "The Tonight Show", on HBO comedy specials, on [error] and Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993). In addition, he has been in over 50 feature motion pictures and hundreds of episodic TV shows. A decorated ...

Born: February 2, 1946 in Macon, Georgia, USA

13. Kathy Bates

Actress | Misery

Multi-talented, multi-award-winning actress Kathleen (Doyle) Bates was born on June 28, 1948, and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. She is the youngest of three girls born to Bertye Kathleen (Talbot), a homemaker, and Langdon Doyle Bates, a mechanical engineer. Her grandfather was author Finis L. Bates...

Born: Kathleen Doyle Bates June 28, 1948 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA

14. Pam Grier

Actress | Jackie Brown

Pam Grier was born in Winston-Salem, NC, one of four children of Gwendolyn Sylvia (Samuels), a nurse, and Clarence Ransom Grier Jr., an Air Force mechanic. Pam has been a major African-American star from the early 1970s. Her career started in 1971, when Roger Corman of New World Pictures launched ...

Born: Pamela Suzette Grier May 26, 1949 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

15. William H. Macy

Actor | Fargo

William Hall Macy Jr. is an American actor. His film career has been built on appearances in small, independent films, though he has also appeared in mainstream films. Macy has won two Emmy Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards, while his performance in Fargo earned a nomination for the ...

Born: William Hall Macy Jr. March 13, 1950 in Miami, Florida, USA

16. Linda Thompson

Soundtrack | The Bodyguard

Linda Thompson was born in Memphis, Tennessee. She attended Kingsbury High School where she was Homecoming Queen, and after graduation, she attended Memphis State University for 4 years, majoring in English and Drama. Linda was named Miss Tennessee Universe 1972, Miss Liberty Bowl, Miss Shelby ...

Born: Linda Diane Thompson May 23, 1950 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA

17. Glenn Shadix

Actor | Beetlejuice

William G. Scott was born in 1952 in Bessemer, Alabama. He attended Birmingham-Southern College for two years. He lived in New York City prior to moving to Hollywood in the late 1970s.

Changing his name to Glenn Shadix, he made his film debut in the poorly received The Postman Always Rings Twice (...

Born: William Glenn Scott April 15, 1952 in Bessemer, Alabama, USA

Died: September 7, 2010 (age 58) in Birmingham, Alabama, USA

18. Frances Conroy

Actress | Six Feet Under

Award-winning stage actress Frances Conroy was introduced and encouraged by her parents to explore the elements of theater. Born Frances Hardman Conroy in Monroe, Georgia, she attended high school in Long Island and experienced classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse as a teenager. The pale, ...

Born: November 13, 1953 in Monroe, Georgia, USA

19. Kim Basinger

Actress | L.A. Confidential

Kim Basinger was born December 8, 1953, in Athens, Georgia, the third of five children. Both her parents had been in entertainment, her dad had played big-band jazz, and her mother had performed water ballet in several Esther Williams movies. Kim was introspective, from her father's side. As a ...

Born: Kimila Ann Basinger December 8, 1953 in Athens, Georgia, USA

20. Wayne Knight

Actor | Jurassic Park

Actor Wayne Knight achieved television immortality assaying the role of the frenetic mailman, "Newman", nemesis of the eponymous lead character in the classic TV series Seinfeld (1989). He also appeared in Jurassic Park (1993) as "Dennis Nedry" and in one of the most notorious scenes in American ...

Born: Wayne Eliot Knight August 7, 1955 in Cartersville, Georgia, USA

21. Andie MacDowell

Actress | Groundhog Day

Andie MacDowell was born Rosalie Anderson MacDowell on April 21, 1958 in Gaffney, South Carolina, to Pauline Johnston (Oswald), a music teacher, and Marion St. Pierre MacDowell, a lumber executive. She was enrolled at Winthrop College located in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Initially discovered by a ...

Born: Rosalie Anderson MacDowell April 21, 1958 in Gaffney, South Carolina, USA

22. Catherine Keener

Actress | Being John Malkovich

Catherine Keener is an American actress, Oscar-nominated for her roles in the independent films Being John Malkovich (1999) and Capote (2005). Acclaimed in her community for her quirky roles in independent film and mainstream such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Keener got her start as a casting ...

Born: Catherine Ann Keener March 23, 1959 in Miami, Florida, USA

23. Quentin Tarantino

Writer | Reservoir Dogs

Quentin Jerome Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. His father, Tony Tarantino, is an Italian-American actor and musician from New York, and his mother, Connie (McHugh), is a nurse from Tennessee. Quentin moved with his mother to Torrance, California, when he was four years old.

In January of...

Born: Quentin Jerome Tarantino March 27, 1963 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

24. Johnny Depp

Actor | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II was born on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, to Betty Sue Palmer (née Wells), a waitress, and John Christopher Depp, a civil engineer. He was raised in Florida. He dropped out of school when he was 15, and fronted a series of music-garage bands, including one ...

Born: John Christopher Depp II June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA

25. Lori Petty

Actress | Tank Girl

After this feisty, highly offbeat actress from Chattanooga, Tennessee, broke into TV in the 1980s, she immediately set herself apart from the norm with a prime role as new owner Bud Cort's female friend in the bizarre mini-movie Bates Motel (1987). This rather inauspicious beginning would also set ...

Born: Lori Lee Petty October 14, 1963 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

26. Mary-Louise Parker

Actress | Weeds

Southern-bred Mary-Louise Parker was born on August 2, 1964 in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, the youngest of four children of Judge John Morgan Parker, and the former Caroline Louise Morell. She is of mostly Swedish, English, and Scottish descent. Her father's occupation took the family both around...

Born: August 2, 1964 in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, USA

27. Chris Hardwick

Producer | Talking Dead

Chris Hardwick was born on November 23, 1971 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Talking Dead (2011), @midnight (2013) and The Wall (2016). He has been married to Lydia Hearst since August 20, 2016. They have one child.

Born: Christopher Ryan Hardwick November 23, 1971 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA

28. Maya Rudolph

Actress | Bridesmaids

Maya Rudolph was born on July 27, 1972 in Gainesville, Florida, to Richard Rudolph, a music producer, and soul singer Minnie Riperton. Her mother was African-American and her father is Ashkenazi Jewish (from a family from Lithuania, Russia, Germany, and Hungary). In 1973, Maya, her parents, and her...

Born: Maya Khabira Rudolph July 27, 1972 in Gainesville, Florida, USA

29. Eva Mendes

Actress | The Other Guys

Eva Mendes is an American actress, model and businesswoman. She began acting in the late 1990s. After a series of roles in B movies such as Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998) and Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000), she made a career-changing appearance in Training Day (2001). Since then, ...

Born: March 5, 1974 in Miami, Florida, USA

30. Logan Marshall-Green

Actor | The Invitation

Logan is a native of Charleston, South Carolina. His parents are both drama teachers. His mother, Lowry Marshall, is the artistic director of Brown University's repertory theatre department.

Logan graduated with a Master's in Fine Arts from New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch ...

Born: November 1, 1976 in Charleston, South Carolina, USA

31. Wes Bentley

Actor | American Beauty

Wes Bentley is an American actor who first became well-known via his role in the Oscar-winning film American Beauty (1999), in which he played the soulful, artistic next-door neighbor Ricky Fitts. He also portrayed game-maker Seneca Crane in The Hunger Games (2012), and co-stars in Lovelace (2013) ...

Born: September 4, 1978 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA

32. Britney Spears

Soundtrack | Crossroads

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981 in McComb, Mississippi & raised in Kentwood, Louisiana. As a child, Britney attended dance classes, and she was great at gymnastics, winning many competitions and the like. But, most of all, Britney loved to sing. At age 8, Britney tried out for The ...

Born: Britney Jean Spears December 2, 1981 in McComb, Mississippi, USA

33. Laverne Cox

Actress | Promising Young Woman

Laverne Cox is a three time Emmy-nominated actress, Emmy winning documentary film producer and a prominent equal rights advocate. Laverne's role of Sophia Burset in the critically acclaimed Netflix original series "Orange is The New Black" brought her to the attention of diverse audiences all over ...

Born: Roderick Laverne Cox May 29, 1984 in Mobile, Alabama, USA

34. AnnaLynne McCord

Actress | Excision

AnnaLynne McCord is an American actress, writer, director and former model. Known for playing vixen-type roles. McCord first gained prominence in 2007 as the scheming Eden Lord on the FX television series Nip/Tuck (2003), and as the pampered Loren Wakefield on the MyNetworkTV telenovela American ...

Born: July 16, 1987 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

35. Danielle Brooks

Actress | Peacemaker

Danielle Brooks was born on September 17, 1989 in Augusta, Georgia, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Peacemaker (2022), Orange Is the New Black (2013) and Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia (2021). She has been married to Dennis Gelin since January 13, 2022. They have one child.

Born: September 17, 1989, Augusta, Georgia

36. Jennifer Lawrence

Actress | The Hunger Games

As the highest-paid actress in the world in 2015 and 2016, and with her films grossing over $5.5 billion worldwide, Jennifer Lawrence is often cited as the most successful actress of her generation. She is also the first person born in the 1990s to have won an acting Oscar.

Jennifer Shrader Lawrence...

Born: Jennifer Shrader Lawrence August 15, 1990 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA

37. Allie Grant

Actress | Fanboys

At the age of 10, Allie and her mother left their native Mississippi to pursue Allie's inherent dream of becoming an actor. After arriving in Los Angeles, she began auditioning and soon found herself on the Showtime pilot "Weeds" as a guest star, little did she know she would later become a series ...

Born: February 14, 1994 in Tupelo, Mississippi, USA

38. Dakota Fanning

Actress | War of the Worlds

Hannah Dakota Fanning was born on the 23rd of February 1994, in Conyers, Georgia, USA, to Heather Joy (Arrington) and Steven Fanning. Her mother played professional tennis, and her father, now an electronics salesman, played minor league baseball. She is of German, Irish, English, French, and ...

Born: Hannah Dakota Fanning February 23, 1994 in Conyers, Georgia, USA

39. Chloë Grace Moretz

Actress | Kick-Ass

Moretz is best known for her work in the sci-fi thriller series The Peripheral, created by Scott B. Smith; the Mattson Tomlin-directed sci-fi thriller Mother/Android; Neil Jordan's thriller Greta; Roseanne Liang's Shadow in the Cloud, which claimed the Midnight Madness People's Choice Award at the ...

Born: February 10, 1997 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

40. Elle Fanning

Actress | Super 8

Mary Elle Fanning was born on the 9th of April 1998 in Conyers, Georgia, USA, to Heather Joy (Arrington) and Steven J. Fanning. Her mother played professional tennis, and her father, now an electronics salesman, played minor league baseball. She is of German, Irish, English, French, and Channel ...

Born: Mary Elle Fanning April 9, 1998 in Conyers, Georgia, USA