20 famous people from Mississippi: Meet the local celebrities

Mississippi is a U.S. state that shares a border with Tennessee and Alabama. It is also known as The Hospitality State or The Magnolia State Mississippi. The state has produced some of the most talented individuals over the years. From legendary actors to award-winning musicians and athletes, this state has a rich history of creating talents that shine bright. Discover some of the famous people from Mississippi that you probably didn’t know.

Mississippi is a state with a rich history and culture. It is not only famous for being the hub of industries like agriculture, fishing, manufacturing and mining but also for producing some of the world's most renowned stars.

Famous people from Mississippi

Some of the world's most recognisable names hail from Mississippi. Below are some of the famous people born in Mississippi you can easily recognise.

Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley is among the most famous Mississippi celebrities who lived between 1935 and 1977. He was an American singer and actor who rose to fame in 1954 and was later nicknamed the King of Rock 'N' Roll. Throughout his career, Presley recorded over 700 songs, including Hound Dog, Love Me Tender, and All Shook Up.

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Faith Hill

Faith Hill is an American country singer and actress. She is among the most successful music artists, selling almost 50 million albums worldwide. Her most successful albums include Take Me as I Am (1993), It Matters to Me (1995), Cry (2002) and Fireflies (2005).

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Gail Winfrey is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is recognised for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011. She was the richest African-American of the 20th century and was once the world's only black billionaire.

Britney Spears

Britney Spears, the Princess of Pop, is an American singer known for significantly contributing to the music and entertainment industry. She came into the spotlight in the late 1990s and early 2000s and has since released numerous chart-topping albums and hit singles, including Toxic, Oops!... I Did It Again, and Circus.

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Rick Ross

William Leonard Roberts II, popularly known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur and record executive. He is a popular figure in the hip-hop music industry and is known for his distinctive deep voice, lyrical prowess, and contributions to the rap genre. He released his debut album, Port of Miami, in 2006.

James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones is one of the famous Mississippi celebrities. He is widely considered one of the greatest stage and screen actors. Some of his notable films and TV shows include Coming to America (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), The Sandlot (1993), and The Lion King (1994).

Jimmy Buffet

Jimmy Buffett was a prominent singer, songwriter, musician, author, and businessman celebrated for his laid-back and tropical-themed music. He hailed from Pascagoula. His most well-known songs include Margaritaville, Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, and A Pirate Looks at Forty. He died on 1 September 2023 at the age of 76.

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Jim Henson

James Maury Henson was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved international fame as the creator of the Muppets. He was also recognised for creating Fraggle Rock (1983–1987) and as the director of The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986). He died in 1990 at the age of 53.

B.B. King

Riley B. King, best known as B. B. King, was a legendary American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. B. B. King is widely regarded as one of the most influential and celebrated blues musicians ever. Some of his most famous songs include The Thrill Is Gone, Every Day I Have the Blues and Lucille. He died in 2015 at the age of 89.

Eric Roberts

Erick Roberts is a prominent actor best known for his roles in thrillers such as Star 80, The Dark Knight, and The Expendables. He also appeared in the 1985 film Runaway Train, for which he received nominations for Golden Globe and Academy Awards.

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William Faulkner

William is among the most renowned American literature writers and is often regarded as the most excellent writer of Southern literature. He is best known for his novels The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, and A Rose for Emily. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949. He died on 6 July 1962.

Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter. He wrote numerous classic plays such as A Streetcar Named Desire, Orpheus Descending, The Glass Menagerie, Sweet Bird of Youth, and Summer and Smoke. He is one of the three foremost playwrights of 20th-century American drama. He died in 1983.

Ruby Bridges

Ruby is an American philanthropist and civil rights activist. She became famous for being the first African American child to attend an all-white elementary school in the South, William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1960. She has recently written the New York Times bestseller This Is Your Time.

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Eudora Welty

Eudora was an American short story writer, novelist and photographer who mainly wrote about the American South. Her novel, The Optimist's Daughter, received the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She is also famous for A Worn Path (1940) and The Wide Net (1943). She died in 2001.

Tammy Wynette

Tammy was a country music singer who hailed from Itawamba County. She is considered one of the most influential and celebrated country music singers of her time, and her most popular song, Stand By Your Man, is still played today. She died on 6 April 1998 at the age of 55.

Brandy Norwood

Brandy Rayana Norwood is an American R&B singer-songwriter, actress, model and record producer. She began her music career in her early teens and became famous with her first single, I Wanna Be Down. She has also appeared in various films and TV shows, such as Cinderella, Moesha and The Game.

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Lance Bass

James Lance Bass is a singer, host, actor, producer, writer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and cosmonaut from Laurel. He gained popularity as the bass singer for the American pop boy band NSYNC. He has starred in several films, including On The Line and Zoolander, and has a long resume of TV appearances, including Single Parents, BoJack Horseman and Hollywood Darlings.

Lacey Chabert

Lacey Nicole Chabert is an American actress. She played Claudia on the TV series Party of Five and provided the voice of Eliza Thornberry on the Nickelodeon series The Wild Thornberrys. Her most notable film credits include Mean Girls, Lost in Space, Daddy Day Care and The Pleasure Drivers.

Hayley Williams

Hayley Nichole Williams is an American musician widely known as the lead vocalist and co-founder of the rock band Paramore, in which she also plays the keyboards. Throughout her music career, she has released six studio albums: All We Know Is Falling (2005), Riot! (2007), Brand New Eyes (2009), Paramore (2013), After Laughter (2017), and This Is Why (2023).

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Jerry Rice

Jerry Lee Rice is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He won three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and was named the Super Bowl XXIII MVP. He retired as the NFL's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.

The famous people from Mississippi listed above have made an indelible mark on the globe through immense contributions to shaping modern trends in various spheres.

Legit.ng recently published an article about the 30 most famous people from France. France has been a cradle of culture, intellect, and innovation, nurturing some of history's most iconic and influential individuals.

These remarkable individuals have not only shaped the nation's identity but have also contributed significantly to global knowledge, creativity, and progress. Learn more about the French celebrities who have put their country on the global map.

Source: Legit.ng