Famous People Born in Alabama a to z

Considered one of the best baseball players of all time, Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's home run record when he hit his 715th home run in 1974, before setting a new Major League Record with 755 home runs in the same year.

Ralph D. Abernathy was a Baptist minister who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was a close adviser to Martin Luther King Jr.

Mel Allen was a sportscaster and lead announcer for the New York Yankees baseball team from 1940 to 1964. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978.

Stage and screen actress Tallulah Bankhead starred in the plays They Knew What They Wanted and The Little Foxes. She was also in Hitchcock’s Lifeboat.

Retired NBA player Charles Barkley was part of the 1992 U.S. Olympic "Dream Team" and was named one of the league's 50 greatest players in 1996.

Alva Belmont was a wealthy socialite who used her fortune to advance the women's rights movement of the early 1900s.

Nat King Cole became the first African-American performer to host a variety TV series in 1956. He's best known for his soft baritone voice and for singles like "The Christmas Song," "Mona Lisa" and "Nature Boy."

Teacher Marva Collins was one of the most influential education activists of the 20th century, working to gain equal access for minorities to quality education.

Tim Cook took over for the late Steve Jobs as Apple's CEO in August 2011. Prior to that, Cook served as Apple's chief operating officer.

Courteney Cox is an actress best known for her role on the hit TV series Friends and Cougar Town.

Donna D'Errico is an actress who shot to stardom as a lifeguard on TV's Baywatch.

Willie Davenport was an Olympic athlete and medal winner and one of only a few Americans to compete in both the Summer and Winter games.

Angela Davis is an activist, scholar and writer who advocates for the oppressed. She has authored several books, including Women, Culture & Politics.

Donna Godchaux was a back-up singer for the Grateful Dead, and was married to the band's former keyboardist, Keith Godchaux. She continues to perform as a singer today.

Mia Hamm is a former American soccer player who has scored more international goals than any other player, male or female.

W.C. Handy was an African-American composer and a leader in popularizing blues music in the early 20th century, with hits like "Memphis Blues" and "St. Louis Blues."

Taylor Hicks is an American singer-songwriter who rose to fame after his win on the fifth season of American Idol.

Boxer Evander Holyfield fought in the Olympics and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1990 to 1992, and again from 1993 to 1994. In an infamous bout in 1996, Holyfield's ear was bitten by Mike Tyson.

Anthropologist and novelist Zora Neale Hurston was a fixture of the Harlem Renaissance before writing her masterwork, Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Bo Jackson came to fame in the 1980s as a multitalented athlete, who excelled in baseball, football, and track at an early age.

Katherine Jackson is best known for being the mother of international pop superstar Michael Jackson.

Doctor Mae C. Jemison is the first African-American woman ever to be a U.S. astronaut. In 1992, she flew into space aboard the Endeavour.

Lonnie G. Johnson is an engineer and inventor who worked on the Cassini mission to Jupiter and invented the Super Soaker.

African-American chemist Percy Julian was a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs such as cortisone, steroids and birth control pills.

American educator Helen Keller overcame the adversity of being blind and deaf to become one of the 20th century's leading humanitarians, as well as co-founder of the ACLU.

Coretta Scott King was an American civil rights activist and the wife of 1960s civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Painter Simmie Knox is the first African-American artist to create an official U.S. presidential portrait. He debuted his portrait of President Bill Clinton in 2004.

Harper Lee is best known for writing the Pulitzer Prize-winning best-seller To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)—her one and only published novel.

The world heavyweight boxing champion from June 22, 1937, until March 1, 1949, Joe Louis held the title longer than anyone else in history.

Civil rights leader, social activist and minister Joseph Lowery has fought against prejudice and discrimination against African-Americans for more than 50 years.

Willie Mays played professional baseball for the Giants and the Mets. He was one of the best batters and fielders at the time.

Thomas H. Moorer was a U.S. Navy admiral and naval aviator who later served as chief of naval operations (1967-70), and then as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1970-4).

Actor and singer Jim Nabors came to fame playing the lovable and bumbling Gomer Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show and later on the spinoff sitcom Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

Lorenzo Nichols was one of the top drug lords in New York City in the 1980s. He is currently serving time in a New York State corrections facility.

American track-and-field athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. His long jump world record stood for 25 years.

Terrell Owens is a longtime National Football League wide receiver whose career has been marked by Hall of Fame numbers and controversial statements.

Legendary pitcher Satchel Paige became the oldest player to join Major League baseball, with a career that spanned 40 years.

Walker Percy was a novelist known chiefly for his first novel, The Moviegoer, which explored spiritual emptiness.

American record producer Sam Phillips is best known for discovering musicians Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Howlin' Wolf, among other blues, country and rock 'n' roll artists. He is also known for revolutionizing the music industry and introducing rock 'n' roll to the world throughout the 1950s.

Experimental jazz pianist, songwriter, composer and bandleader Sun Ra formed the band Arkestra in the 1950s and played in it until his death in 1993.

James T. Rapier served in Congress as a U.S. Representative from Alabama. He was one of only three black congressmen during Reconstruction and helped to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1875.

Martha Reeves is an American pop and R&B singer best remembered as the lead singer of the group Martha and the Vandellas.

Condoleezza Rice is the first black woman to serve as the United States' national security adviser, as well as the first black woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State (2005-09).

Civil rights activist Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger, spurring the Montgomery boycott and other efforts to end segregation.

Sonia Sanchez formed the Broadside Quartet. She was an activist for racial equality, pioneered black studies and has written poetry, plays and kids’ books.

Former San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith is regarded as one of the greatest defensive players in baseball history.

After years of scene-stealing small acting roles, Octavia Spencer rose to fame with her award-winning performance in 2011's The Help.

Ruben Studdard is a R&B, pop, and gospel singer. He rose to fame as winner of the second season of American Idol.

Channing Tatum is an American actor who's starred in films like Coach Carter, 21 Jump Street and Dear John.

American entrepreneur Jimmy Wales co-founded Wikipedia, a free Internet-based encyclopedia operating under an open-source management style.

Hank Williams became one of America's first country music superstars, with hits like "Your Cheatin' Heart," before his early death at 29.