List of people from Asheville, North Carolina

This is a list of notable persons who were born in and/or have lived in the American city of Asheville, North Carolina.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Living

• Tristan Weaver (Born 1999) Baller
• Fin Carter (Born 1999) Deep Web Boy
• Sarah Addison Allen, New York Times bestselling author; born and raised in Asheville
• Dorothy Hansine Andersen, physician; first person to identify cystic fibrosis; inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2002 for her scientific work
• Harry Anderson (born 1952), actor, starred in 9 seasons of NBC's Night Court^[1]
• John Avery (born 1976), football player in the NFL, XFL, and CFL; attended Asheville High School^[2]
• Mark Boswell (born 1960)
• Crezdon Butler (born 1987), National Football League cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers; born and raised in Asheville; led Asheville High School to 2006 state championship^[3]
• Greg Cartwright (born 1970), rock musician; relocated to Asheville^[4]
• Chris Chalk, television, film, and theater actor, born in Asheville and graduated from Asheville High School.
• Adam "Edge" Copeland (born 1973), retired professional wrestler, author, relocated to Asheville
• Brad Daugherty (born 1965), retired NBA basketball player; current ESPN NASCAR analyst^[5]
• Jennifer Pharr Davis (born 1982), long-distance hiker; currently unofficial record holder of fastest thru-hike of Appalachian Trail
• Lawson Duncan (born 1964), former Grand Prix tennis tour player
• Jim Eason (born 1935), radio talk show host
• John Ehle (born 1925), author
• Roberta Flack (born 1937), singer, born in Asheville^[6]
• Sallie Ford, of Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, singer^[7]
• Charles Frazier (born 1950), author, born in Asheville and graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill^[8]
• Eileen Fulton (born 1933), actress, starred on the CBS soap As the World Turns, 1960–2010; born in Asheville^[9]
• Gail Godwin (born 1938), novelist, spent her early years in Asheville with her mother Kathleen Krahenbuhl Cole
• Joel Goffin (born 1981), film composer, music producer
• Perla Haney-Jardine (born 1997), actress
• Warren Haynes (born 1960), musician, spent his formative years in Asheville^[10]
• Darren Holmes (born 1966), MLB player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves
• David Holt (born 1946), folk musician, lives near Asheville^[11]
• Caleb Johnson (born 1991), American Idol Season 13 winner
• Gary Jules (born 1969), singer-songwriter, known for his rendition of "Mad World" for the film Donnie Darko
• Loyd King (born 1949), retired professional basketball player
• Hope Larson (born 1982), Eisner Award-winning illustrator/cartoonist and author of graphic novels Salamander Dream and Chiggers^[12]
• Leonard Little (born 1974), NFL football player with the St. Louis Rams; born and raised in Asheville^[13]
• Andie MacDowell (born 1958), actress, lived for several years in Biltmore Forest, adjacent to Asheville^[14]
• Cameron Maybin (born 1987), Major League Baseball player with the Atlanta Braves; has also played with the San Diego Padres; born and raised in Asheville^[15]
• Rashad McCants (born 1984), former NBA basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings; former Erwin High School basketball player^[16]
• Sierra McCormick (born 1997), actress
• William Murdock (born 1955), author; co-founder of Eblen Charities, Eblen Center for Social Enterprise; social entrepreneur;^[17] National Wrestling Hall of Fame / Dan Gable Museum Hall of Fame Inductee 2007;^[18] Mother Teresa Global Peace Prize Recipient 2014 ^[19]
• Bryan Lee O'Malley (born 1976), award-winning Canadian cartoonist and creator of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series^[20]
• Buzz Peterson (born 1963), former director of player personnel for the Charlotte Bobcats; now men's head basketball coach at UNC Wilmington;^[21] born and raised in Asheville^[22]
• Robert Pressley (born 1959), retired NASCAR driver, born in Asheville^[23]
• Paul Schneider (born 1976), actor
• Angela Shelton (born 1972), actress and producer^[24]
• Ronnie Silver (born 1951), NASCAR driver^[25]
• Brett Swain (born 1986), NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
• Joe West (born 1952), MLB umpire
• Roy Williams (born 1950), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill basketball coach, raised in Asheville^[26]
• William Winkenwerder, Jr. (born 1954), Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (2001–2007)^[27]
• Bellamy Young (born 1970), actress, co-star of television series Scandal; born and raised in Asheville
• Rei Haycraft (born 1988), singer for hard rock band Raimee, artist, illustrator, and filmmaker; created documentary on living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: "But You Don't Look Sick: Living With Chronic Pain" used to raise awareness for the disease by the Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation as well as other sufferers; born and raised in Asheville.^[28][29]

Deceased

• Donald V. Bennett (1915–2005), former commanding general of the US Army Pacific Command
• Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910), first recognized woman doctor in the United States
• Joe Bowman (1925–2009), bootmaker and marksman of American West entertainment; grew up in Asheville but left for Houston, Texas, in 1937
• William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925), 20th-century politician, presidential candidate^[30]
• Ruth and Latrobe Carroll (1899–1999) (1894–1996), children's authors and illustrators
• Olive Tilford Dargan (1869–1968), proletarian novelist of the 1930s under the pen name "Fielding Burke"
• Wilma Dykeman (1920–2006), author and Southern liberal activist
• Joe Eblen (1925–2013), philanthropist, co-founder of Eblen Charities, Eblen Center for Social Enterprise^[31]
• Zelda Fitzgerald (1900–1948), wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald; died in a fire with eight other women at Highland Hospital, an Asheville mental institution in the Montford district
• Edythe J. Gaines (1922–2006), educator and school superintendent, born in Asheville
• Edwin Wiley Grove (1850–1927), patent medicine inventor, builder and owner of the Grove Park Inn
• Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908), architect; final resting place at the Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville
• Dorothy Hart (1922–2004), screen actress, known mostly for supporting roles
• William S. Hart (1864–1946), cowboy actor in early Hollywood; resided in Asheville around 1900 and coached shows at the Asheville Opera House^[32]
• Shirley Hemphill (1947–1999), stand-up comedian and actress, best known for What's Happening!!, 1976–79
• O. Henry (1862–1910), pen name of author William Sydney Porter; lived for a while in Asheville and is buried in Riverside Cemetery
• Hugh B. Hester (1895–1983) retired Army general who opposed the Vietnam War and the Cold War.
• Charlton Heston (1923–2008), Oscar-winning actor, managed the Asheville Community Theatre with his wife Lydia in 1947
• Hughie Jennings (1869–1928), Major League Baseball player and manager, 1891–1925
• Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice (1924–2003), professional football player
• Howard Kester (1904–1977), author and organizer of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union
• Bascom Lamar Lunsford (1882–1973), folklorist, musician, folk festival founder
• Bill Monroe (1911–1996), musician, known as "the father of bluegrass"; lived in Asheville; had a show on a local radio station in 1939
• Dorothy Montgomery (1924–2009), All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
• Robert Moog (1934–2005), pioneer of electronic music, inventor of the Moog synthesizer
• Robert Morgan (1918–2004), pilot of the Memphis Belle, the famed World War II B-17 bomber
• Doan Ogden (1908–1989), nationally noted landscape architect during the 20th century
• Kenneth Noland (1924–2010), abstract painter, one of the best-known American Color Field painters
• William Dudley Pelley (1890–1965), leader of the "Silver Shirt" fascist movement in the 1930s and 1940s
• Marjorie Rambeau (1889–1970), Hollywood actress; was married to Francis A. Gudger, a resident of Asheville; resided in Asheville in the winter from 1932 to the mid-1940s^[33]
• Robert Rice Reynolds (1884–1963), U. S. Senator of isolationist sympathies in World War II
• Jimmie Rodgers, singer, known as "the father of country music"; lived in Asheville; had a show on a local radio station in 1927^[34]
• Kiffin Rockwell (1892–1916), aviator; pilot in the Lafayette Escadrille; first American to shoot down an enemy aircraft
• Root Boy Slim, aka Foster Mackenzie III (1945–1993), blues musician
• Nina Simone (1933–2003), jazz singer, attended Allen Home School for Girls in Asheville^[35]
• Don Thompson (1923–2009), Major League Baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers
• George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914), entrepreneur, founder of the Biltmore Estate
• Thomas Wolfe (1900–1938), author, born and raised in Asheville, buried in Riverside Cemetery

See also

• List of people from North Carolina

References

1. New York Times – For Harry Anderson, the New Orleans Magic Is Gone; August 30, 2006
2. CFL Roster
3. Crezdon Butler   (2012-12-31). "Crezdon Butler, CB for the Buffalo Bills at". Nfl.com. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
4. "Despite personal tensions and lineup changes, labelmates Lost Sounds and the Reigning Sound push ahead.";
5. "Racer at heart, Daugherty much more than meets eye"
6. Roberta Flack Biography
7. Ryan White (January 7, 2010). "Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside build some buzz". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2011-04-27.
9. Eileen Fulton Biography
10. Mule.net Meet the Band
11. David Holt: About David
12. Zack Smith. "Hope Larson on Chiggers and More". Newsarama. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
13. Leonard Little
14. "The two lives of Andie MacDowell"
15. "Keep an Eye on Roberson High School’s Cameron Maybin"
16. NBADraft.net – Rashad McCants profile
20. Bryan Lee O'Malley|LibraryThing
21. "UNC Wilmington hires Peterson of Appalachian State – ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2010-04-16. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
22. buzzhired
23. Robert Pressley
24. Angela Shelton (I) – Biography
25. "Ronnie Silver". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
26. asheville.com news: Roy Williams
27. Representative Charles H. Taylor – United States Congress – Congressional Record, Thursday, November 29, 2001
28. Rei Haycraft (2012-05-05), But You Don't Look Sick: Living With Chronic Pain (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome), retrieved 2016-02-25
29. "'I can't have sex without dislocating my hip' says student, 19". Mail Online. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
30. National Historic Sites of Asheville, Buncombe County
32. William S. Hart: Projecting the American West – Ronald L. Davis – Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
33. Asheville Citizen-Times w/ photo
34. https://web.archive.org/20130520115145/http://www.jimmierodgers.com:80/biography.html. Archived from the original on May 20, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
35. Tolleson, Robin (January 29, 2010). "To Know Nina". Bold Life. Retrieved September 19, 2012.