List of people from Greensboro, North Carolina

This is a list of notable people who were either born in, lived in or are closely associated with Greensboro, North Carolina and have an article on Wikipedia.

A–E

• Ethan Albright, NFL Pro Bowl long snapper, played for University of North Carolina and NFL's Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, and Washington Redskins
• Keenan Allen, NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver for the Los Angeles Chargers
• Tom Alston, former Major League Baseball first baseman and first African-American to play for the St. Louis Cardinals
• Samuel E. Anderson, United States Air Force Four Star General; commanded Fifth Air Force during the Korean War
• Clarence Avant, entertainment industry agent, entrepreneur, mogul
• Patrick Bailey, catcher for the San Francisco Giants
• Fantasia Barrino, winner of American Idol season three and Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, briefly lived in Greensboro and is from nearby High Point
• Thomas Berry, ecology spokesman
• Rex M. Best, Emmy Award-winning writer for the CBS daytime dramas The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful
• Jeff Bostic, NFL offensive lineman for the Washington Redskins
• Joe Bostic, NFL offensive lineman for the St. Louis (later Arizona) Cardinals
• Michael Brooks, NFL defensive back
• Hal "Skinny" Brown, MLB pitcher, member of Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame
• Tony Brown, record producer
• Joseph M. Bryan, businessman and philanthropist, lived in Greensboro until his death in 1995
• Kathleen Price Bryan, philanthropist, was born and lived in Greensboro
• Frances Webb Bumpass, newspaper publisher
• Lamont Burns, NFL offensive lineman
• Sharon Raiford Bush, American television's first African-American female weather anchor of primetime news, in 1975 at WGPR-TV, the world's first black-owned-and-operated television station
• Gianluca Busio, Major League Soccer player
• Andy Cabic, of indie folk band Vetiver; lived in Greensboro while a member of indie-rock band The Raymond Brake
• Orson Scott Card, author, journalist and professor; several of his books, including Ender's Game and Shadow Puppets feature settings in and around Greensboro
• Jimmy Carpenter, electric blues saxophonist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer
• Eugene Chadbourne, composer and musician
• Spencer Chamberlain, lead vocalist of the band Underoath, was raised in Greensboro
• Joey Cheek, Olympic gold medal speed skater
• Howard Coble, former member of U.S. House of Representatives (6th District, N.C.)
• Levi Coffin, Quaker educator and abolitionist
• Tarik Cohen, NFL player, attended North Carolina A&T State University
• Billy "Crash" Craddock, country music singer, born and lives near Greensboro
• Chris Daughtry, American Idol contestant
• Jeff Davis, NFL player for Tampa Bay Buccaneers and member of Clemson's 1981 national championship team; attended Dudley High School
• Rick Dees, radio personality; graduated from Grimsley High School
• Louis DeJoy, current Postmaster of the United States of America and major Republican Party benefactor
• Marques Douglas, NFL player
• James Lamont DuBose, executive television and film producer, BET
• Eric Ebron, NFL tight end; attended Ben L. Smith High School
• Donna Edmondson, 1987 Playboy Playmate of the year
• Vince Evans, NFL quarterback and 1977 Rose Bowl most valuable player

F–J

• Barry Farber, radio talk show host, author and language-learning enthusiast; born in Greensboro, and graduated from Greensboro Senior High School (see Grimsley High School)
• Tal Farlow, pioneering jazz guitarist
• Wes Ferrell, MLB pitcher 1927–41, two-time All-Star
• Henry Flynt (b. 1940), philosopher, avant-garde musician, anti-art activist and exhibited artist often associated with Conceptual Art, Fluxus and Nihilism
• Charles Foster, Olympic track hurdler
• Inez and Charlie Foxx, rhythm-and-blues and soul duo known for the 1963 hit "Mockingbird"
• Golda Fried, novelist and poet
• Elissa Minet Fuchs, ballerina and ballet mistress
• Peter Paul Fuchs, composer and conductor
• Michimasa Fujino, President and CEO of Honda Aircraft Company
• Rhiannon Giddens, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops
• Edwin Forbes Glenn, United States Army officer
• Dino Hackett, NFL linebacker; has jersey number retired by Appalachian State
• Joey Hackett, NFL tight end
• Kay Hagan, former U.S. Senator
• PJ Hairston, played college basketball for North Carolina Tar Heels, 26th pick in the 2014 NBA draft by Charlotte Hornets, now plays for Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League
• Brendan Haywood, NBA player for Dallas Mavericks, attended Dudley High School
• O. Henry, short-story writer.
• John Henson, NBA player for the Cleveland Cavaliers
• David Hickman, last American soldier killed in the Iraq War
• Matt Hill, electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter
• Terrence Holt, NFL safety, played for NC State and Detroit Lions; born in nearby Gibsonville along with his brother Torry Holt
• Torry Holt, wide receiver for NC State and All-Pro for the St. Louis Rams; born in nearby Gibsonville and attended Eastern Guilford High School
• Lindsey Hopkins Jr., businessman, banker, investor, and sportsman
• Lou Hudson, NBA All-Star
• Chanita Hughes-Halbert, psychologist and medical researcher
• Jim Hunt, former 69th and 71st Governor of North Carolina
• John Inman, professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour
• John Isner, professional tennis player
• Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist, minister, politician, attended and graduated from North Carolina A&T University
• Randall Jarrell, nationally acclaimed poet, professor at University of North Carolina at Greensboro until his death in 1965; buried near Guilford College campus
• Haywood Jeffires, NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver for Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints, coach of a Texas semi-pro team
• Ken Jeong, actor, grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina and graduated from Page High School; starred in NBC sitcom Community
• Dr. Frank Jobe, orthopedic surgeon, invented UCL reconstruction known as Tommy John surgery
• Robert Elijah Jones, early African American Bishop in the Methodist Church

K–O

• Paris Kea, All-American basketball player at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, WNBA player for the Indiana Fever
• J. William Kime, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard
• Debra Lee, chief executive officer of BET
• John Anthony Lennon (b. 1950), composer
• Janet Lilly, dancer, choreographer and professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• Caroline Lind, Olympic rower and two-time gold medalist in the women's eight event
• Ann Livermore, former Executive Vice President at Hewlett-Packard
• Frank Lucas, infamous heroin dealer, subject of American Gangster film starring Denzel Washington
• Loretta Lynch, Attorney General of the United States
• Dolley Madison, First Lady and wife of President James Madison
• Carolyn Maloney (née Carolyn Jane Bosher, born 1946), politician serving as U.S. Representative
• Danny Manning, an All-America basketball player for the University of Kansas and NBA star, attended Page High School in Greensboro
• Doug Marlette, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist
• Margaret Maron, author of award-winning mystery novels
• Joyce Martin Dixon, businesswoman and philanthropist
• Jack F. Matlock, Jr., U.S. Ambassador to U.S.S.R., 1987–1991
• Maryhelen Mayfield, ballet dancer and former artistic and executive director of Greensboro Ballet, lived in Greensboro
• Bob McAdoo, NBA All-Star, college basketball All-American, and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame
• Franklin McCain, one of The Greensboro Four, African-American student from North Carolina A&T State University who in 1960 started the first civil rights sit-in; action eventually led to lunch counters and restaurants being desegregated throughout the Southern United States; attended Dudley
• Courtney McClellan, interdisciplinary artist
• Adrian McDonnell, conductor living in France
• Mark McGuinn, country music artist
• Joseph McNeil, one of the Greensboro Four, male African-American student from North Carolina A&T State University who in 1960 started the first civil rights sit-in; action eventually led to lunch counters and restaurants being desegregated throughout the Southern US
• Beth Mitchell, competitive shag dancer
• Jason Miyares, 48th Attorney General of Virginia
• John Motley Morehead, 29th Governor of North Carolina
• Emmanuel Moseley, NFL cornerback
• Cedric Mullins, MLB player for the Baltimore Orioles
• Edward R. Murrow, World War II CBS radio broadcaster and award-winning television journalist; born outside Greensboro
• Fred "Curly" Neal, basketball player, Harlem Globetrotters
• Ed Nelson, actor who played Dr. Michael Rossi on Peyton Place, spent last years in Greensboro and died there in 2014

P–T

• Michael Parker, novelist
• Clara J. Peck, public health nurse and hospital matron
• Ronald Perelman, billionaire investor
• Garry Peterson, longtime drummer for the Guess Who
• Carl Pettersson, Swedish PGA Tour player, graduated from Grimsley High School
• Theo Pinson, NBA player for the Brooklyn Nets
• Eddie Pope, soccer player for Real Salt Lake and the US National Soccer Team
• Millard Powers, musician, songwriter, record producer, and Grammy-nominated recording engineer; member of Counting Crows
• George Preddy, World War II fighter ace
• Ethel Clay Price, nurse and socialite
• Julian Price, insurance executive
• Ricky Proehl, NFL player
• Morgan Radford, journalist and reporter for NBC News and MSNBC
• D.J. Reader, NFL Defensive Tackle
• Eddie Robinson, Major League Soccer (MLS) player
• Mark Robinson, 35th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina
• Lee Rouson, NFL running back, attended Page High School
• Gregory Charles Royal, jazz musician from Duke EllingtonOrchestra, founder of New York Jazz Film Festival
• Virginia Ragsdale, mathematician and creator of the Ragsdale conjecture
• Ski Beatz, music producer
• Charlie Sanders, member of Pro Football Hall of Fame and North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, NFL tight end for Detroit Lions, attended Dudley High School
• H.T. Kirby-Smith, author and poet
• Graham Sharp, musician
• Nicholas Sparks, author
• Wilbur Daniel Steele, author, playwright, Provincetown Players
• Stanley Tanger, founder of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers
• Edwin Teague, Olympic sports shooter
• Sonny Terry, blues musician (1911–1986)
• Whitney Way Thore, star of TLC's My Big Fat Fabulous Life

U–Z

• Jan Van Dyke, dancer and choreographer, resided in Greensboro, taught at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; pioneer for modern dance in Greensboro
• Jeff Varner, Survivor contestant (Season 2)
• Don Vaughan, former state senator and former member of the Greensboro City Council; helped obtain passage in 2010 of Susie's Law
• Nancy Vaughan, 48th mayor of Greensboro
• Robert Walden, pioneer NASCAR driver, lives near Greensboro
• Cody Ware, NASCAR driver
• Allen Webster, MLB pitcher
• Gene White, NFL defensive back
• Kelly Wigglesworth, Survivor contestant (Season 1)
• Aldona Wos, physician and politician who has served in various positions at several U.S. government agencies and nonprofit organizations
• Jerome Young, professional wrestler; born, lived, and died in Greensboro

References

External links

• Greensboro-nc.gov
• Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau