List of people from Tallahassee, Florida

This is a list of notable people who were either born or raised, or have lived for a significant period of time in the Tallahassee, Florida metropolitan area.

Academics, education, and research

• Roy Baumeister — psychologist of self-control
• Konrad E. Bloch — Nobel Prize-winning biochemist, who helped learn about the functioning of cholesterol
• James M. Buchanan — winner of Nobel Prize in economics
• Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte — attorney, civil-rights activist, former Dean of the Florida State University Law School, former President of Florida State University, President of the American Bar Association and the American Judicature Society
• Paul Dirac — Nobel Prize-winning physicist whose theories predicted antimatter
• Sylvia Earle — former chief scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Neil Frank — former Director of the National Hurricane Center
• Fred Gainous — former President of Florida A & M University, 2002–2004; former Chancellor of the Alabama College System's Department of Postsecondary Education; Associate Vice President of St. Petersburg College
• Tim Howard — President and founder of Cambridge Graduate University international, former head of doctorate program of Law & Policy at Northeastern University, former Assistant Attorney General of Florida
• Sir Harold Kroto — Nobel Prize-winning chemist who helped discover fullerenes
• Max Mayfield — former Director of the National Hurricane Center
• Alfred Mele — philosopher of free will
• Robert S. Mulliken — physicist and chemist who won both the Priestley Medal and the Nobel Prize
• Michel Oksenberg — China scholar, member of National Security Council
• X. William Proenza — former Director of the National Hurricane Center
• Michael Ruse — philosopher, historian of science, noteworthy atheist
• Robert Schrieffer — Nobel Laureate, BCS Theory of Superconductivity
• E. Lee Spence — underwater archeologist

Space exploration

• Carolyn S. Griner — former Director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
• Winston Scott — NASA astronaut
• Norman Thagard — NASA astronaut; flew on three different U.S. Space Shuttles, and on one Russian mission to the Mir space station

Authors

• Jesse Bullington — Fantasy novelist; also published as Alex Marshall
• Robert Olen Butler — Pulitzer Prize-winning author for A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain (fiction)
• Lisa De Pasquale — political writer and columnist
• Doug Marlette — Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist
• Jeff Shaara — New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction
• Michael Shaara — Pulitzer prize-winning author (for The Killer Angels)
• Jeff VanderMeer — World Fantasy Award-winning author (for the novella The Transformation of Martin Lake)

Aviation

• Jerrie Mock — aviator and first woman to fly around the world solo

Business

• Wally Amos — founder of the "Famous Amos" chocolate chip cookie brand; actor
• Eugene Figg — engineer for such bridges as Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Linn Cove Viaduct, and Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge
• Robert B. Hilton — Tallahassee newspaper owner and Confederate congressman during the American Civil War

Film, television, and radio

• Red Barber — sportscaster, Radio Hall of Fame member
• Jim Cramer — host of CNBC's Mad Money
• Charles Trippy — YouTuber

Acting

• Kay Aldridge — model and actress
• Matt Battaglia — actor and former NFL player
• Cathy Jenéen Doe — actress
• Kyan Douglas — the "grooming expert" from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
• Tony Hale — actor, played Byron "Buster" Bluth on Arrested Development
• Cheryl Hines — actress, two-time Emmy nominee for Curb your Enthusiasm, director, married to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
• Polly Holliday — actress, Golden Globe winner (for television series Alice)
• Will Kirby — Big Brother 2 (2001) winner
• Christine Lahti — film actress and director, winner of Academy Award for Leiberman in Love, two Golden Globes and Emmy for Chicago Hope
• Burt Reynolds — Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning, Oscar-nominated actor, attended FSU
• Anika Noni Rose — Tony Award-winning actress, as Emmie Thibodeaux in Caroline, or Change
• Sonny Shroyer — actor who played deputy sheriff on The Dukes of Hazzard

Writing and production

• Jim Butterworth — documentary filmmaker, winner of DuPont-Columbia Award for Seoul Train
• Ron J. Friedman — writer of Disney's Academy Award nominated film Brother Bear

Government and politics

• Art Agnos — former mayor of San Francisco, California
• Reubin Askew — politician, former Governor of Florida
• Bobby Brantley — Lt. Governor 1987–1991
• Lawton Chiles — politician and FSU research fellow; former US Senator and Governor of Florida.
• Leroy Collins — politician and Governor of Florida; the only Tallahassee native to serve as Florida's governor
• Parris N. Glendening — former Governor of Maryland
• Scott Maddox — former mayor
• John Marks — Mayor of Tallahassee 2003-14
• Kenneth Minihan — former director of the National Security Agency
• Orson Swindle — commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission
• Craig Waters — spokesman for the Florida Supreme Court

Historical people

• Lillian Cox — oldest person to earn a driver's license in the United States
• Catherine Willis Gray Murat — great-grandniece of George Washington
• Prince Achille Murat — nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte
• Charles Kenzie Steele — clergyman and civil rights activist
• Ernest I. Thomas — raiser of the original flag at Iwo Jima

Infamy

• Ted Bundy — serial killer (resident for approximately two weeks)
• Marshall Ledbetter — protester who took over the Florida capitol building

Music

• Cannonball Adderley — jazz alto saxophone player, Grammy Award winner
• Nat Adderley — jazz cornet and trumpet player
• George Clinton — musician, founder of Funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic
• Rita Coolidge — Grammy Award-winning singer, "From the Bottle to the Bottom" and "Lover Please"
• Janice Harsanyi — vocalist and professor
• Kenny Howes — rock musician
• K. Michelle (born Kimberly Michelle Pate) — reality TV personality and R&B singer
• Jim Morrison — lead singer and lyricist of The Doors
• Marcus Roberts — jazz pianist
• T-Pain (born Faheem Najm) — hip hop and R&B singer
• Butch Trucks (Claude Hudson Trucks) — drummer, member of the Allman Brothers band

Composition

• Creed — rock band formed in Tallahassee
• Carlisle Floyd — opera composer, Susannah (1955) and others
• Marcus Roberts — jazz pianist, composer and music professor at Florida State University
• Morgan Sorne — singer-songwriter
• Ernst von Dohnányi — composer and pianist
• Ellen Taaffe Zwilich — Pulitzer prize-winning composer (for Three Movements for Orchestra (Symphony No. 1))

Sports

• Robert "Bobby" C. Bowden — college football coach, winner of two national championships
• Ricky Carmichael — motocross/supercross champion
• Kevin Carter — NFL defensive end
• Bradley Cooper — member of 1984 and 1988 Bahamas Summer Olympics team
• Gene Cox — State of Florida Sports Hall of Fame member (Leon High School football coach)
• Antonio Cromartie — NFL player credited with the longest play in NFL history
• Kim Crosby — NASCAR driver, with a best race finish of 20th, in 2004
• Dwight F. Davis — founder of the international tennis Davis Cup
• Walter Dix — U.S. track team member and medalist at 2008 Beijing Olympics
• Warrick Dunn — FSU and NFL football star
• Carrie Englert (Zimmerman) — member of 1976 U.S. Summer Olympics team
• Corey Fuller — played for FSU's football team, later became a wide receiver for the Vikings, Browns and Ravens
• Michael Gaines — tight end for the Detroit Lions
• DaVanche (Ron) Galimore — member of 1980 U.S. Summer Olympics team
• Willie Galimore — member of College Football Hall of Fame, and NFL football player
• William Gay — NFL cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Althea Gibson — winner of several Wimbledon and US Open tennis championships
• Frances C. Griscom — U.S. Women's Amateur golf champion
• Ken Harnden — hurdler and sprinter who represented Zimbabwe in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games
• Tahesia Harrigan — professional sprinter (BVI)
• Bob Hayes — sprinter and gold medal winner on 1964 U.S. Summer Olympics team; NFL football wide receiver for Dallas Cowboys
• Missy Hyatt — professional wrestling valet and commentator for World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling
• Taylor Jacobs — professional football player, wide receiver with Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers, and Denver Broncos
• Marty Jannetty — professional wrestler, best known for his work with WWE
• Reggie Jefferson — MLB player
• Brad Johnson — NFL quarterback
• Brandy Johnson — member of 1988 U.S. Summer Olympics team
• Desmond Koh — amateur swimmer who represented Singapore in the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Olympic Games
• Nevin McCaskill — NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
• Michelle McCool — World Wrestling Entertainment Diva (formally Diva Champion)
• Fondren Mitchell — football player
• Brian Olson — member of 1996, 2000 and 2004 U.S. Summer Olympics teams
• Burgess Owens — professional football player, member of Oakland Raider team that won Super Bowl XV
• Bill Peterson — college and NFL head football coach
• Zach Piller — NFL guard for the Tennessee Titans
• Elise Ray — gymnast, represented United States in 2000 Olympic Games
• Gabrielle Reece — professional volleyball player, model
• Deion Sanders — FSU football star, NFL cornerback, Major League Baseball outfielder, NFL Network commentator
• Ernie Sims — NFL linebacker
• Dwight Smith — MLB outfielder
• Bobby Thigpen — MLB relief pitcher and coach
• Craphonso Thorpe — NFL wide receiver
• Marion Tinsley — world checkers champion 1955–58, 1975–91
• Charlie Ward — 1993 Heisman Trophy winner
• Pat Watkins — NFL safety for the Dallas Cowboys
• Chris Weinke — 2000 Heisman Trophy winner
• Boo Williams — NFL tight end for the New Orleans Saints
• Jameis Winston — 2014 Heisman winner and quarterback for the Tampa

Visual arts

• Karl Zerbe — expressionist painter using the encaustic painting technique