Famous People Born in Mississippi a to z

Henry Armstrong was a U.S. pro boxer who held three championship titles simultaneously. He later became a minister and champion for at-risk youth.

Jim Barksdale is an American entrepreneur and business executive who served as president and CEO of Netscape from 1995 to 1999.

Civil rights activist Marion S. Barry Jr. has served four terms as mayor of D.C., with his career surviving numerous scandals.

Singer and actor James Lance Bass came to fame as a member of the boy band 'N Sync.

R&B singer Brandy rose to fame as a 15-year-old with her No. 1 hit, "I Wanna Be Down."

Ruby Bridges was the first African-American child to attend an all-white public elementary school in the American South.

Jimmy Buffet is a well known folk country singer and songwriter. He wrote the popular songs "Margaritaville" and "Cheeseburger in Paradise."

Sam Cooke, commonly known as the King of Soul, was an African-American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer and songwriter. He had 29 top-40 hits from 1957-1964.

Medgar Evers was a civil rights activist who organized voter-registration efforts, demonstrations and boycotts of companies that practiced discrimination.

Author and activist Myrlie Evers-Williams was the wife of slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers, and served as chair of the NAACP 1995–1998.

William Faulkner was a Nobel Prize-winning novelist of the American South, who wrote challenging prose and created the fictional Yoknapatawpha County. He is known for novels like Sartoris.

Quarterback Brett Favre led the Green Bay Packers to victory in Super Bowl XXXI, and is the all-time leader in career passing yards and touchdowns.

Shelby Foote was an American historian and novelist who wrote The Civil War: A Narrative. He was also a significant contributor to the Ken Burns series The Civil War.

Jeff Fort is an American criminal best known as the founder and leader of the Black P. Stone Nation gang. Other crimes have included misuse of federal funds, drug trafficking and attempted terrorism.

Writer Ellen Gilchrist won the 1984 National Book Award for her short fiction collection Victory Over Japan.

Fannie Lou Hamer was a civil rights activists who helped African Americans register to vote and who cofounded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

Jim Henson was an American puppeteer best known for creating TV characters, including the Muppets, and for his work on the popular children's show Sesame Street.

Faith Hill is a Grammy award-winning singer with numerous hits on the country and pop charts. She's married to Tim McGraw.

Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared during a trip to Aruba in 2005.

Larry Hoover, also known as "King Larry," is the notorious former leader of the Gangster Disciple Nation, a Chicago street gang that spread nationwide.

Howlin’ Wolf was a singer and musician famous for his Mississippi Delta style blues singing, guitar and harmonica playing, which he performed in Chicago clubs.

Robert L. Johnson is an American entrepreneur best known as the founder of the BET channel and as the country’s first African-American billionaire.

Musician Robert Johnson is best known as one of the greatest blues performers of all time, a recognition that came largely after his death at age 27.

James Earl Jones is an American Actor, known as the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies. His film career has been vast.

"King of the Blues" B.B. King began as a disc jockey in Memphis before finding fame as an R&B guitarist, with hits like "The Thrill Is Gone."

James Meredith is a civil rights activist who became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi in 1962.

Anne Moody is an African-American author whose writings about her personal and political struggles during the American Civil Rights Movement became classic.

Mississippi blues guitarist and singer Charley Patton is remembered as the "Father of the Delta Blues." He played with guitarist Willie Brown, and the Chatmons.

Walter Payton was a running back for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League and is in the Football Hall of Fame.

Musician and actor Elvis Presley endured rapid fame in the mid-1950s—on the radio, TV and the silver screen—and continues to be one of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll.

Leontyne Price is a lyric soprano who has been credited as the first African-American singer to achieve an international reputation in opera.

Charley Pride is one of the few black country musicians to have had considerable success in the largely white country music industry, and was the first black musician to perform at the Grand Ole Opry.

Hall of Fame football wide receiver Jerry Rice played for the San Francisco 49ers and is widely considered the greatest ever to play his position.

In the 1990s, Robin Roberts began hosting Sportscenter and appearing as a guest reporter on Good Morning America. In 2005, she was hired as a full-time co-anchor of the morning news program.

Jimmie Rodgers was a country singer who became famous for his style of yodeling. He was one of the first country superstars, and is remembered as the father of country music.

David Ruffin was an American soul singer who rose to fame as one of the lead singers of the Temptations.

Tavis Smiley is a talk show host, political commentator and philanthropist, well-known for work around diversity in journalism. He has hosted various shows on television and radio.

Jamie Lynn Spears is the younger sister of pop singer Britney Spears, best known for her starring role in the Nickelodeon show Zoey 101. She made headlines in 2007 when she announced she was pregnant with her first child at just 16 years old.

William Grant Still was a conductor and composer and the first African-American to conduct a professional symphony orchestra in the U.S.

Ike Turner made a string of R&B hits with singer and wife Tina Turner. He struggled with drug addiction and died of an accidental cocaine overdose.

Conway Twitty was a country singer who scored 55 No. 1 hits over the long expanse of his career.

American singer and guitarist Muddy Waters may have been born in Mississippi, but he defined Chicago blues with songs like "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man."

Ida B. Wells was an African-American journalist and activist who led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s.

Tennessee Williams was an American writer, whose signature works include A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Glass Menagerie.

Singer Mary Wilson, along with friends Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, formed The Supremes in 1961 and soon became a Motown legend.

Billionaire Oprah Winfrey has hosted her own internationally popular talk show since 1986. She is also an actress, philanthropist, publisher, and producer.

Pioneering African-American writer Richard Wright is best known for the classic texts Black Boy and Native Son.

Tammy Wynette was a Grammy Award-winning country music singer who recorded the hit "Stand By Your Man." She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1998.