List of people from Asheville, North Carolina

This is a list of notable persons who were born in and/or have lived in the American city of Asheville, North Carolina.

Living

• Chad Allegra, professional wrestler; currently signed to WWE under ring name Karl Anderson
• Sarah Addison Allen, New York Times bestselling author; born and raised in Asheville
• Dorothy Hansine Andersen, physician; first person to identify cystic fibrosis; inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2002 for her scientific work
• Harry Anderson (born 1952), actor, starred in 9 seasons of NBC's Night Court^[1]
• John Avery (born 1976), football player in the NFL, XFL, and CFL; attended Asheville High School^[2]
• Mark Boswell (born 1960)
• Crezdon Butler (born 1987), National Football League cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers; born and raised in Asheville; led Asheville High School to 2006 state championship^[3]
• Greg Cartwright (born 1970), rock musician; relocated to Asheville^[4]
• Chris Chalk, television, film, and theater actor, born in Asheville and graduated from Asheville High School.
• Adam "Edge" Copeland (born 1973), retired professional wrestler, author, relocated to Asheville
• Brad Daugherty (born 1965), retired NBA basketball player; current ESPN NASCAR analyst^[5]
• Jennifer Pharr Davis (born 1982), long-distance hiker; currently unofficial record holder of fastest thru-hike of Appalachian Trail
• Lawson Duncan (born 1964), former Grand Prix tennis tour player
• Jim Eason (born 1935), radio talk show host
• John Ehle (born 1925), author
• Roberta Flack (born 1937), singer, born in Asheville^[6]
• Sallie Ford, of Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, singer^[7]
• Charles Frazier (born 1950), author, born in Asheville and graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill^[8]
• Eileen Fulton (born 1933), actress, starred on the CBS soap As the World Turns, 1960–2010; born in Asheville^[9]
• Gail Godwin (born 1938), novelist, spent her early years in Asheville with her mother Kathleen Krahenbuhl Cole
• Joel Goffin (born 1981), film composer, music producer
• Perla Haney-Jardine (born 1997), actress
• Warren Haynes (born 1960), musician, spent his formative years in Asheville^[10]
• Darren Holmes (born 1966), MLB player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves
• David Holt (born 1946), folk musician, lives near Asheville^[11]
• Caleb Johnson (born 1991), American Idol Season 13 winner
• Gary Jules (born 1969), singer-songwriter, known for his rendition of "Mad World" for the film Donnie Darko
• Loyd King (born 1949), retired professional basketball player
• Hope Larson (born 1982), Eisner Award-winning illustrator/cartoonist and author of graphic novels Salamander Dream and Chiggers^[12]
• Leonard Little (born 1974), NFL football player with the St. Louis Rams; born and raised in Asheville^[13]
• Andie MacDowell (born 1958), actress, lived for several years in Biltmore Forest, adjacent to Asheville^[14]
• Cameron Maybin (born 1987), Major League Baseball player with the Atlanta Braves; has also played with the San Diego Padres; born and raised in Asheville^[15]
• Rashad McCants (born 1984), former NBA basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings; former Erwin High School basketball player^[16]
• Sierra McCormick (born 1997), actress
• William Murdock (born 1955), author; co-founder of Eblen Charities, Eblen Center for Social Enterprise; social entrepreneur;^[17] National Wrestling Hall of Fame / Dan Gable Museum Hall of Fame Inductee 2007;^[18] Mother Teresa Global Peace Prize Recipient 2014 ^[19]
• Bryan Lee O'Malley (born 1976), award-winning Canadian cartoonist and creator of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series^[20]
• Buzz Peterson (born 1963), former director of player personnel for the Charlotte Bobcats; now men's head basketball coach at UNC Wilmington;^[21] born and raised in Asheville^[22]
• Robert Pressley (born 1959), retired NASCAR driver, born in Asheville^[23]
• Paul Schneider (born 1976), actor
• Angela Shelton (born 1972), actress and producer^[24]
• Ronnie Silver (born 1951), NASCAR driver^[25]
• Brett Swain (born 1986), NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
• Joe West (born 1952), MLB umpire
• Roy Williams (born 1950), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill basketball coach, raised in Asheville^[26]
• William Winkenwerder, Jr. (born 1954), Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (2001–2007)^[27]
• Bellamy Young (born 1970), actress, co-star of television series Scandal; born and raised in Asheville
• Rei Haycraft (born 1988), singer for hard rock band Raimee, artist, illustrator, and filmmaker; created documentary on living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: "But You Don't Look Sick: Living With Chronic Pain" used to raise awareness for the disease by the Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation as well as other sufferers; born and raised in Asheville.^[28][29]

Deceased

• Backwards Sam Firk (1943 – 2007), country blues singer, fingerstyle guitarist, songwriter, and record collector^[30]
• Donald V. Bennett (1915–2005), former commanding general of the US Army Pacific Command
• Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910), first recognized woman doctor in the United States
• Joe Bowman (1925–2009), bootmaker and marksman of American West entertainment; grew up in Asheville but left for Houston, Texas, in 1937
• William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925), 20th-century politician, presidential candidate^[31]
• Ruth and Latrobe Carroll (1899–1999) (1894–1996), children's authors and illustrators
• Olive Tilford Dargan (1869–1968), proletarian novelist of the 1930s under the pen name "Fielding Burke"
• Wilma Dykeman (1920–2006), author and Southern liberal activist
• Joe Eblen (1925–2013), philanthropist, co-founder of Eblen Charities, Eblen Center for Social Enterprise^[32]
• Zelda Fitzgerald (1900–1948), wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald; died in a fire with eight other women at Highland Hospital, an Asheville mental institution in the Montford district
• Edythe J. Gaines (1922–2006), educator and school superintendent, born in Asheville
• Edwin Wiley Grove (1850–1927), patent medicine inventor, builder and owner of the Grove Park Inn
• Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908), architect; final resting place at the Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville
• Dorothy Hart (1922–2004), screen actress, known mostly for supporting roles
• William S. Hart (1864–1946), cowboy actor in early Hollywood; resided in Asheville around 1900 and coached shows at the Asheville Opera House^[33]
• Shirley Hemphill (1947–1999), stand-up comedian and actress, best known for What's Happening!!, 1976–79
• O. Henry (1862–1910), pen name of author William Sydney Porter; lived for a while in Asheville and is buried in Riverside Cemetery
• Hugh B. Hester (1895–1983) retired Army general who opposed the Vietnam War and the Cold War.
• Charlton Heston (1923–2008), Oscar-winning actor, managed the Asheville Community Theatre with his wife Lydia in 1947
• Hughie Jennings (1869–1928), Major League Baseball player and manager, 1891–1925
• Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice (1924–2003), professional football player
• Howard Kester (1904–1977), author and organizer of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union
• Bascom Lamar Lunsford (1882–1973), folklorist, musician, folk festival founder
• Bill Monroe (1911–1996), musician, known as "the father of bluegrass"; lived in Asheville; had a show on a local radio station in 1939
• Dorothy Montgomery (1924–2009), All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
• Robert Moog (1934–2005), pioneer of electronic music, inventor of the Moog synthesizer
• Robert Morgan (1918–2004), pilot of the Memphis Belle, the famed World War II B-17 bomber
• Doan Ogden (1908–1989), nationally noted landscape architect during the 20th century
• Kenneth Noland (1924–2010), abstract painter, one of the best-known American Color Field painters
• William Dudley Pelley (1890–1965), leader of the "Silver Shirt" fascist movement in the 1930s and 1940s
• Marjorie Rambeau (1889–1970), Hollywood actress; was married to Francis A. Gudger, a resident of Asheville; resided in Asheville in the winter from 1932 to the mid-1940s^[34]
• Robert Rice Reynolds (1884–1963), U. S. Senator of isolationist sympathies in World War II
• Jimmie Rodgers, singer, known as "the father of country music"; lived in Asheville; had a show on a local radio station in 1927^[35]
• Kiffin Rockwell (1892–1916), aviator; pilot in the Lafayette Escadrille; first American to shoot down an enemy aircraft
• Root Boy Slim, aka Foster Mackenzie III (1945–1993), blues musician
• Nina Simone (1933–2003), jazz singer, attended Allen Home School for Girls in Asheville^[36]
• Don Thompson (1923–2009), Major League Baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers
• George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914), entrepreneur, founder of the Biltmore Estate
• Thomas Wolfe (1900–1938), author, born and raised in Asheville, buried in Riverside Cemetery

See also

• List of people from North Carolina

References