List of people from Raleigh, North Carolina

This is a list of people from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Notable Raleighites

Natives and near-natives

• Mike Merriam, author Closer Than You Think: Six Fundamental Questions to Ignite Your Personal Evolution
• Clay Aiken, singer/actor, former partner of Eddie Rendleman
• Loy Allen, Jr., NASCAR driver
• Louis Bacon, hedge fund manager
• David W. Bagley (1883–1960), World War II naval hero
• Worth Bagley (1874–1898), naval hero of the Spanish–American War
• John Baker, Jr. (1935–2007), National Football League athlete and longtime Wake County sheriff
• King Mez (Morris W. Ricks II), Rapper Producer and Songwriter
• Scott Bankhead, Olympic athlete and Major League Baseball player
• Darrius Barnes, professional soccer player for New England Revolution
• Edward A. Batchelor, sportswriter
• Jeb Bishop, jazz musician
• William H. Bobbitt (1900–1992), former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
• Dan Briggs, bassist for the metal band Between the Buried and Me
• Bucky Brooks, NFL athlete
• J. Melville Broughton (1888–1949), former Governor of North Carolina
• Willie Burden, professional Canadian football player with Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League
• David J. Burke, screenwriter and film and television director
• Andrew Cadima, composer
• Bill Campbell, two-term mayor of Atlanta
• Ralph Campbell, three-term State Auditor and first African-American to hold a statewide elected office in North Carolina
• Jason Michael Carroll, country musician
• Isadora Cerullo, Olympic rugby player for Brazil
• Chatham County Line, bluegrass band
• Travis Cherry, Grammy-nominated music producer
• Godfrey Cheshire III, film writer, director and critic, former chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• Anna J. Cooper (1858–1964), author, educator and scholar; fourth African-American woman to earn a doctoral degree (in 1924)
• John Anthony Copeland, Jr. (1834–1859), freed slave, abolitionist and political activist
• John Custer, record producer
• Jonathan W. Daniels (1902–1981), author, editor; White House Press Secretary under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman
• Randy Denton, NBA player
• Steve Dobrogosz, pianist and composer
• Donald Evans, NFL player
• James A. Forbes, evangelist preacher, radio host and distinguished senior minister emeritus of The Riverside Church in New York City
• Paul Friedrich, visual artist and cartoonist
• Jim Fulghum (1944–2014), North Carolina physician and state legislator
• Robbie Fulks, alt country singer
• Jeff Galloway, Olympic athlete and author
• TJ Graham, NFL wide receiver with the New York Jets
• Brian Gutekunst, NFL scout with the Green Bay Packers
• Chesson Hadley, professional golfer
• Michael C. Hall, actor
• Josh Hamilton, Major League Baseball player
• Rufus Harley (1936–2006), jazz musician
• Antwan Harris, NFL athlete, New England Patriots Super Bowl team
• Leroy Harris, NFL player for the Tennessee Titans
• Winder R. Harris (1888–1973), Democratic United States Congressman
• William Henry Haywood, Jr. (1801–1852), early Democratic U.S. Senator
• Anne Henning, Olympic speed skater
• D. Kern Holoman, musicologist and conductor
• John E. Ivey, Jr., educator and founder of Southern Regional Education Board; co-creator of the Peace Corps
• Herb Jackson, painter
• Richard Jenrette, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and international philanthropist, awarded the French Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur (National Order of the Legion of Honor) in 1996
• Andrew Johnson (1808–1875), 17th President of the United States
• Randy Jones (born 1952), original Village People cowboy, singer/actor
• Craig Keith, NFL player
• Lauren Kennedy, Broadway actress and singer
• Matt Knudsen, actor
• Mary Robinette Kowal, author
• Jon Lindsay (recording artist, producer, activist)
• I. Beverly Lake, former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
• Roy Lassiter, professional soccer player for D.C. United and United States men's national soccer team
• Sharon Lawrence, actress
• Clarence Lightner (1921–2002), mayor (1973–1975); Raleigh's first popularly elected African-American mayor and first of any major Southern city
• Pete Maravich (1947–1988), NBA athlete
• Tyler Marenyi, aka NGHTMRE, DJ and trap producer
• Bruce Matthews, former NFL athlete with the Tennessee Titans; 14-time Pro Bowl participant, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
• Daniel McFadden, economist
• Nate McMillan, NBA player and coach
• Robert Duncan McNeill, actor, movie and TV director
• Richard Medlin, NFL player
• Tift Merritt, singer/songwriter
• Pee Wee Moore, jazz musician
• Daniella Monet, actress, singer, and Dancer
• Greg Murphy, physician and politician
• Mic Murphy, frontman for the funk/soul group, The System (moved to New York before his career took off)
• Rachel Nabors, gURL.com graphic designer
• Kevin Nanney, professional Super Smash Bros. player
• Caleb Norkus, professional soccer player
• Frances Gray Patton (1906–2000), writer, first woman to enroll at University of North Carolina
• Bob Perryman, NFL player for the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos
• Brandon Phillips, second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds
• Landon Powell, baseball player (Oakland Athletics)
• Ray Price, motorcyclist
• Emily Procter, actress
• Shavlik Randolph, NBA player (Philadelphia 76ers)
• Robert George "Bob" Rankin, IV, Multi-Awarding winning Abstract Artist and Educator
• Olivia Raney, church organist
• Peyton Reed, television and film director
• Blake Richardson, drummer for metal band Between the Buried and Me
• Shawan Robinson, professional basketball player with Newcastle Eagles in the British Basketball League
• Tommy Giles Rogers, Jr., lead vocalist for heavy metal band Between the Buried and Me
• Vermont C. Royster (1914–1996), managing editor of Wall Street Journal, Pulitzer Prize winner, recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom
• Amy Sedaris, actress, writer and satirist
• David Sedaris, author, humorist and satirist
• Webb Simpson, PGA Tour golfer
• Fred Smith, politician
• Jan Cox Speas, author and novelist
• Julia Montgomery Street (1898–1993), children's author and playwright
• Sean D. Sullivan modern innovator, his work in the valve/grease industry has won him multiple national and international awards, mixologist responsible for creating the nu-wave cocktail The Guzzler
• John Tart III, reality TV personality
• Leigh Torrence, NFL player with the Washington Redskins
• P. J. Tucker, professional basketball player
• Avery C. Upchurch (1928–1994), city's longest-serving mayor of the 20th century
• Liz Vassey, actress
• Paul Waggoner, guitarist for the metal band Between the Buried and Me
• John Wall, NBA player
• Gregory Walters, professional soccer player
• Dustie Waring, guitarist for the metal band Between the Buried and Me
• Pat Watkins, former Major League Baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies
• Woody Weatherman, musician
• Whiskeytown, 1990s alternative country band
• Chris Wilcox, NBA athlete
• Evan Rachel Wood, actress
• Ira David Wood III, actor and local theatre director
• Max Yergan, African-American activist, first black college faculty member hired in state of New York
• James W. York, mathematical physicist; recipient of the Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics from the American Physical Society
• Danny Young, NBA player

Current residents

• Alesana, post-hardcore band
• Bates Battaglia, NHL player
• Big Daddy Kane, rapper
• Between the Buried and Me, progressive metal band
• Cliff Bleszinski, lead designer of the popular Xbox 360 game Gears of War
• Bowerbirds, freak folk band
• Rod Brind'Amour, NHL player
• Caitlin Cary, alternative country singer
• The Connells, 1980s indie rock band
• Corrosion of Conformity, heavy metal band
• Daylight Dies, doom metal band
• Ron Francis, NHL player (Carolina Hurricanes), member of Hockey Hall of Fame
• Paul Friedrich, visual artist and cartoonist
• Justin Gatlin, Olympic athlete
• Michael Gracz, professional poker player
• Hardy Boyz, Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy, professional wrestlers
• Bret Hedican, NHL player
• Chad Larose, NHL player
• Dorianne Laux, poet
• Jon Lindsay (recording artist, producer, activist)
• Karin Muller, writer, filmmaker and photographer for National Geographic Society and National Public Radio
• Michael Munger, economist (Duke University political science professor)
• Kevin "PPMD" Nanney, professional Super Smash Bros. player
• Chuck Nevitt, NBA player
• Betsy Newmark, conservative columnist, political blogger and commentator
• Petey Pablo, hip-hop artist
• Pivot, rock band
• Greg Raymer, professional poker player
• Tom Regan, philosopher and animal-rights advocate
• The Rosebuds, indie rock band
• Reginald VelJohnson, actor (part-time resident)
• Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic figure skater, married to Bret Hedican
• Ben Youssef Meite, Professional Athlete, 3 times African Champion 100m, personnal coach Kessy N.

Associated former residents

• Ryan Adams, singer/songwriter
• Jim Baen (1943–2006), science fiction writer
• Andrew Britton (1981–2008), novelist
• Juliana Royster Busbee (died 1962) and Jaques Busbee (died 1947), artists and founders of Jugtown Pottery
• Everett Case (1900–1966), NC State University men's basketball coach, member of N.C. Sports Hall of Fame and College Basketball Hall of Fame
• John Chavis (1763–1838), African-American educator and theologian; early integrationist (Raleigh's Chavis Park is named for him)
• Bill Cowher, television sports commentator, former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach
• Josephus Daniels (1862–1948), newspaper editor and publisher, United States Secretary of the Navy
• Thomas Dixon, Jr. (1864–1946), novelist, playwright, minister and statesman
• John Edwards, former U.S. Senator; 2004 Democratic nominee for Vice President; 2008 Presidential candidate
• Charles Frazier, novelist, author of Cold Mountain
• Kaye Gibbons, writer
• James H. Harris (1832–1891), African-American politician, former slave, co-founder of North Carolina Republican Party
• John Haywood, statesman and the longest-serving North Carolina State Treasurer (40 years)
• Gregory Helms, professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
• Jesse Helms (1921–2008), five-term Republican U.S. Senator
• Curt Johnson, professional soccer player
• Marion Jones, disgraced Olympic athlete
• Eleanor Frances Lattimore, children's writer and illustrator
• Little Brother, rap artist
• Armistead Maupin, writer
• Jackie Moreland (1938–1971), pro basketball player
• Martha Nichols, choreographer and dance instructor
• Brandon Phillips, Major League Baseball second baseman for Cincinnati Reds, 2008 Gold Glove Award winner
• Ainslie Pryor, actor, lived in Raleigh from 1947 to 1953
• Selah Jubilee Singers, 1930s-40s gospel quartet
• Paul Shuey, baseball player
• Lee Smith, writer
• Jim Valvano (1946–1993), NC State University men's basketball coach, 1983 NCAA champion, TV commentator
• James H. Young, African-American politician; founder and editor of the Raleigh Gazette, North Carolina's first black-owned newspaper
• Kay Yow (1942–2009), NC State University women's basketball coach, member of Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
• Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback