Famous People Born in Texas a to z

Red Adair was an American oil well firefighter best known for completing over 1,000 jobs internationally.

Alvin Ailey was an American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York in 1958.

Wes Anderson is known for the quirky and humorous films The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited and Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Marshall Herff Applewhite was the leader of the Heaven's Gate religious group. He was a self-proclaimed prophet. He died in the group's mass suicide in 1997.

Lance Armstrong is a professional American cyclist and testicular cancer survivor who, in 2012, was stripped of the seven Tour de France titles he won from 1999 to 2005 due to evidence of performance-enhancing drug use.

Entrepreneur Mary Kay, founder of Mary Kay Inc., built a profitable business from scratch that created new opportunities for women to achieve financial success.

Steve Austin, also known as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, is best known as a Championship-winning professional wrestler in the WWF. After retirement, Austin pursued acting with roles on TV and film.

Tex Avery was an American cartoonist best known for creating characters such as Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny, Droopy and Chilly Willy.

Jessica Morales became famous in 1987, when, at 18 months old, she fell down a well in her aunt's backyard. She remained trapped for 58 hours while America watched on CNN.

Outlaw Clyde Barrow and his partner, Bonnie, robbed banks and store owners during the Depression and were believed to be responsible for at least 13 murders.

Tom Bradley was a lawyer and police officer who became the first African-American mayor of Los Angeles, serving from 1973 to 1993.

NFL quarterback Drew Brees plays for the New Orleans Saints. In 2009 he led the franchise to victory in Super Bowl XLIV, earning the game's MVP honors.

Blues Singer Charles Brown belonged to John Moore’s Three Blazers and gained fame when the band released “Driftin’ Blues.”

Willie Brown is a politician who became the first African-American speaker of the California State Assembly in 1980. He later served as mayor of San Francisco.

Betty Buckley is an American actress best known for roles in the television show, Eight is Enough, and later film roles.

Carol Burnett is a comedian and actress who had a long-running sketch and variety show, The Carol Burnett Show, in the 1960s and '70s.

Jeb Bush is an American politician best known for serving as Florida's governor from 1998 to 2007. He is the son of 41st U.S. President George Bush and brother of 43rd U.S. President George W. Bush.

Jenna Bush Hager is the daughter of President George W. Bush. She’s worked as a teacher and journalist, including reporting for the Today Show.

Laura Bush is the wife of 43rd U.S. President George W. Bush. She served as first lady from 2001 to 2009.

Actress Kate Capshaw married director Steven Spielberg, whom she met when she auditioned for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Julian Castro is known for becoming San Antonio's youngest councilman in 2001. He was elected city's mayor in 2009. He also became the first Hispanic to deliver a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2012.

Mark David Chapman is a U.S. convicted murderer and former security guard, best known for shooting and killing Beatles member John Lennon.

Charlie Christian was a pioneering electric jazz guitarist of the mid-20th century who would go on to greatly influence his successors.

Technology entrepreneur James Clark started Silicon Graphics, launched Netscape with Marc Andreessen and created Healtheon, which merged with WebMD.

Appointed Attorney General by President Harry Truman, Tom C. Clark went on to become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Kelly Clarkson is an American Idol winner who went on to record several top ten hits including "Breakaway," "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Because of You."

In 1922, aviator Bessie Coleman became the first African American woman to stage a public flight in America. Her high-flying skills always wowed her audience.

Joan Crawford was an Oscar-winning actress, dancer and executive. She was known for films like Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Mildred Pierce.

Tom Delay was Republican majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives who was convicted of money laundering charges in 2010.

Michael Dell helped launch the personal computer revolution in the 1980s with the creation of the Dell Computer Corporation, now known as Dell Inc.

A controversial figure, U.S. Congressman Martin Dies, Jr. led the Committee to Investigate Un-American Activities from 1937 to 1944, targeting alleged communists.

American football wide receiver Donald Driver, drafted by the Greenbay Packers in 1999, won the 14th season of Dancing with the Stars in May 2012.

Actress and musician Haylie Duff is Hillary Duff’s older sister. Haylie earned national fame as Summer Wheatley in the 2004 cult classic Napoleon Dynamite.

Actress Hilary Duff came to fame as the title character on the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire. Her debut pop record, Metamorphosis, went triple-platinum.

Jeff Dunham is a popular comedian and ventriloquist, known for his crass yet clever antics with his puppets.

Well regarded for her ability to portray quirky and eccentric characters, actress Shelley Duvall has starred in Thieves Like Us, Popeye and The Shining, among other films.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States, promoted Atoms for Peace at the United Nations General Assembly in order to ease Cold War tensions.

Boxer Marlen Esparza is the first American female to qualify in her sport at the Olympics. At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, she won a bronze medal.

Dale Evans was the longtime screen partner and wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers. She wrote several hit songs, including "Happy Trails to You."

Farrah Fawcett was an American actress best known for her role in the TV series Charlie’s Angels. She was also famous for her pin-up status and her signature hairstyle.

When Carly Fiorina was hired as Hewlett-Packard's CEO, she was the first woman to take control of a Fortune 100 company.

Tom Ford is a fashion designer and film director who was the Creative Director of Gucci from 1994-2004. He founded his own Tom Ford fashion label in 2004.

George Foreman is a retired American boxer who twice won boxing's heavyweight championship. After retiring, he became a popular pitchman.

Rube Foster was a baseball player and manager who organized the Negro National League, the first long-lasting professional league for African American players.

Lefty Frizzell is widely recognized as one of the most influential country singers in history. Willie Nelson and Randy Travis count him among their influences.

American Actress Jennifer Garner earned notice for her role on the hit show Felicity, and was subsequently cast as the star of the ABC television drama Alias.

Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which strives to improve global health and education.

Billy Gibbons is the bearded lead guitarist for blues/rock band ZZ Top.

A fixture in the Disney universe of TV shows, movies, and music, Selena Gomez is the star of , on which she plays Alex, a wizard.

Larry Hagman starred opposite Barbara Eden on the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie and played J.R. Ewing on the primetime drama Dallas.

Model and actress Jerry Hall was married to The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger. More recently, she starred in stage productions of Bus Stop and The Graduate.

Angie Harmon is American model and actress who has starred in the series Baywatch Nights, Law & Order and Rizzoli & Isles.

Woody Harrelson is an actor know for his long-running role on TV's Cheers and his many film roles since.

Ethan Hawke is an actor, director, screenwriter and novelist first gained fame playing a prep school student in the 1989 film Dead Poet’s Society.

Don Henley is a musician who was a founding member of the Eagles and later went on to great solo success with such songs as "Boys of Summer."

Jennifer Love Hewitt is an American actress and singer-songwriter best known for her role on the TV show Party of Five and her part in I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Buddy Holly was a singer/songwriter whose records, conveying a sense of the wide-open spaces of West Texas and unstoppable joie de vivre, remain vital today.

Howard Hughes produced and directed movies in the '30s. He had a playboy lifestyle and love of aviation. After a plane accident in 1946, he became reclusive.

Singer and guitarist Casey James became a household name when he appeared and placed third on the ninth season of American Idol.

Musical rebel Waylon Jennings is best remembered for helping to popularize a grittier and more rock-influenced style of outlaw country music.

Jack Johnson, nicknamed "the Galveston Giant," was the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion.

The wife of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Lady Bird Johnson served as first lady from 1963 to 1969.

Lyndon B. Johnson was elected vice president of the U.S. in 1960 and became the 36th president in 1963, following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Rafer Johnson is an American athlete who won a gold medal in the decathlon in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

Country singer and songwriter George Jones was born into poverty, but became a successful musician later in life. His first hit was the 1955 song "Why Baby Why."

Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor known for his roles in Men in Black, The Fugitive, No Country for Old Men and Lincoln (2012).

Singer Janis Joplin rose to fame in the late 1960s and was known for her powerful, blues-inspired vocals. She died of an accidental drug overdose in 1970.

Viewed as the "King of Ragtime," Scott Joplin was the foremost composer of the genre in the early 20th century, known for works like "The Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer."

Barbara Jordan was a U.S. congressional representative from Texas and was the first African American congresswoman to come from the Deep South.

Beyoncé Knowles is a multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning recording artist who's acclaimed for her thrilling vocals, videos and live shows.

Cult leader David Koresh led the Branch Davidians in a deadly 51-day stand-off against the FBI and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Miranda Lambert is a Grammy Award-winning country music star and singer-songwriter. Her 2005 major label debut album, Kerosene, went platinum.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Tom Landry played gridiron football for the New York Giants and was the first ever head coach of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

Meat Loaf is a multi-platinum musician, made famous for his rock opera, Bat Out of Hell. He's acted in cult-hit films, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Fight Club.

Actress Eva Longoria landed her breakthrough role in 2004 as Gabrielle Solis on the hit television series Desperate Housewives.

Lyle Lovett is an eclectic country music singer/songwriter who has also been known to dabble in acting.

American country singer Barbara Mandrell scored No. 1 hits with "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed" and "Years."

Mary Martin was a Tony Award-winning actress and singer famous for her roles in stage productions of Peter Pan, South Pacific and The Sound of Music.

Comedian and comedy writer Steve Martin found fame starring in such films as The Jerk, Little Shop of Horrors, and Father of the Bride.

Republican New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez is best known for her role as the nation's first female Hispanic governor.

Matthew McConaughey is an American actor from Texas known for his laid back persona and good looks. He was named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 2005.