Famous Virgoans a to z

Country musician Roy Acuff performed hits suchs as "It Won't Be Long" and "Tennessee Waltz" nearly every weekend on the Grand Ole' Opry during the 1930, 40s and 50s.

Jane Addams co-founded one of the first settlements in the United States, the Hull House in Chicago, Illinois, and was named a co-winner of the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize.

Ahmadou Ahidjo was the first president of the United Republic of Cameroon. He lead one of the few successful attempts at supraterritorial African unity.

As the successor to his father, Hafez, Bashar al-Assad has continued with his father's brutal rule of Syria.

Beginning with his first film in 1911 and in the years leading up to World War II, Hans Albers was one of Germany's most beloved movie stars.

Shaun Alexander is a former running back for the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins who’s one of the leading touchdown scorers in NFL history.

Sherwood Anderson was a U.S. short-story writer and novelist known for his groundbreaking characterization and narrative forms.

Anne of Austria, queen consort of France, was married to the 14-year-old Louis XIII and later mothered Louis XIV.

Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife of Henry VIII. She briefly served as queen of England.

Marc Anthony is a singer, songwriter, and actor of Puerto Rican descent who has made his mark through his Latin and salsa-inspired music.

Fiona Apple is an award-winning singer-songwriter whose self-confessional, literate albums routinely receive critical acclaim.

Yasser Arafat was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization from 1969 until his death in 2004, a tumultuous period in which clashes with neighboring Israel were prevalent.

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.

David Arquette is an actor known for paying quirky roles primarily in films, from Scream to Eight-Legged Freaks to Never Been Kissed.

American economist Kenneth Arrow is known for his contributions to welfare economics and to general economic equilibrium theory. He won a Nobel Prize in 1972.

Ellen Arthur was the wife of Chester A. Arthur, but died just before he became vice president in 1881, and before James Garfield's assassination would have made her first lady.

English singer-songwriter Richard Ashcroft was the lead vocalist for the Verve. After the band broke up, Ashcroft started a new band, RPA & The United Nations of Sound, in 2010.

William Backhouse Astor was the second son of John Jacob Astor and became the richest man in the U.S. upon his father's death.

Mohamed Atta is believed to have been the pilot of the first plane that crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Richard Attenborough is an award-winning actor and director known for helming acclaimed works like Gandhi and Cry Freedom.

American radio commentator Paul Harvey spent a long life delivering conservative broadcasts on current events, reaching, at his peak, 24 million people daily.

Teen idol Frankie Avalon is known for singing the hit "Venus" and for starring in the popular Beach Party film series with Annette Funicello.

Lauren Bacall is an Academy Award-nominated actress known for roles in films like The Big Sleep, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Fan and The Mirror Has Two Faces.

Johann Christian Bach was a galant-style German composer of Italian opera during the early Classical period, and the youngest son of famed Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

Scott Baio is a comedic actor and former teen heartthrob best known for his television roles as Chachi on Happy Days and as Charles on Charles in Charge.

Anne Bancroft was an Oscar Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress famous for her roles in The Miracle Worker and The Graduate. She was married to comedian and film director Mel Brooks.

Jean-Louis Barrault was a French actor director, and mime. He is best known for his role in the film The Children of Paradise (1945).

Edward Bates was a 19th century politician and lawyer who served as U.S. attorney general under President Abraham Lincoln.

Hall of Fame NBA forward Elgin Baylor was a prolific scorer and rebounder for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers.

Robert Benchley was an American humorist, drama critic and film actor who is best known for his small roles in over 40 films, including How To Sleep.

David Berger was a lawyer who won large settlements in several high-profile class-action lawsuits as a pioneer in the practice of such suits.

Ingrid Bergman was one of the most popular motion-picture actresses in the United States from the 1940s until her death in 1982. She was also an international star across Europe.

Leonard Bernstein was one of the first American-born conductors to receive worldwide fame. He composed the score for the Broadway musical West Side Story.

Media magnate Conrad Black once owned The London Daily Telegraph and The Chicago Sun Times, before he was convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice.

Film and TV actor Jack Black appeared in the popular comedy films Shallow Hal, High Fidelity and Tropic Thunder, and is the voice of Kung Fu Panda.

Robert Blake is an Emmy-winning actor known for his film roles and as the star of the '70s cop drama Baretta. He's also known for the murder trial of his second wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley.

Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon I's third surviving brother, was king of Holland from 1806 to 1810.

Tony, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress Shirley Booth was in both the play and film versions of Come Back, Little Sheba, and the television show Hazel.

Charles Boyer was an Oscar-nominated French actor of stage, film and television with a career that spanned almost six decades.

Timothy Bradley is an American boxing champion, who has won WBO and WBC titles. In June 2012,  Bradley won a bout against multi-title champion Manny Pacquia, spurring disbelief among thousands of fans and wide media speculation. 

One of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, Terry Bradshaw has spent much of his life playing, reporting, and commenting on football.

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

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

Republican Scott Brown was elected to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate in 2010.

Jessica Brown Lindsay is a British actress best known for her role as Lady Sybil Crawley on the hit TV series Downton Abbey.

In 1949, mathematician Marjorie Lee Browne became one of the first two African-American women to earn a Ph.D. in her field.

Jerry Bruckheimer is an American film and television producer who brought audiences the film Top Gun and the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Kobe Bryant is an NBA athlete who's one of the leading players in career points, having earned multiple championship rings. He has also won two Olympic gold medals with the U.S. basketball team.

Known as the "Oracle of Omaha," Warren Buffett is an investment guru and one of the richest and most respected businessmen in the world.

James "Whitey" Bulger has been on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list since 1999, number two, behind Osama bin Laden.

Freddie Mercury is best known as the rock worlds most versatile and engaging performers and for his mock operatic masterpiece, Bohemian Rhapsody.

Brooke Burke is an entrepreneur and television celebrity best known as the co-host of ABC's hit show Dancing with the Stars. Burke is also well known as a fitness model.

Macfarlane Burnet was an Australian physician and researcher who made groundbreaking discoveries in the fields of immunology and virology.

Director, producer and screenwriter Tim Burton is known for such films as Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, which blend themes of fantasy and horror.

Louis C.K. is a comedian and star of the cable television show Louie. His comedy draws from his life as a single, aging dad.

Sid Caesar is a comedian and the creator of the classic Emmy Award-winning television variety program Your Show of Shows.

Actress, singer, television personality and arts advocate Kitty Carlisle is best known for her long run as a panelist on the television show To Tell The Truth.

Ben Carson overcame his troubled youth in inner-city Detroit to become a gifted neurosurgeon famous for his work separating conjoined twins.

Helen Carter is best known as a performer in The Carter Family band.

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.

Robert Cascoyne-Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood, is best known as one of the chief architects behind the League of Nations.

Dave Chappelle is a comedian whose Comedy Central show Chappelle's Show became a smash hit in the mid-2000s.

Agatha Christie was a mystery writer who was one of the world's top-selling authors with works like Murder on the Orient Express and The Mystery of the Blue Train.

Chris Christie is best known for his combative style as the Republican governor of traditionally Democratic New Jersey.

After writing radio and television plays for the BBC, British playwright Caryl Lesley Churchill penned the controversial theatrical play Seven Jewish Children.