List of people from Tallahassee, Florida
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This is a list of notable people who were either born or raised, or have lived for a significant period of time in the Tallahassee, Florida metropolitan area.
Academics, education, and research[edit]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Konrad_Bloch_1963.jpg/220px-Konrad_Bloch_1963.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/G._Gabrielle_Starr_delivering_the_2023_Pomona_College_State_of_the_College_speech_%28slightly_cropped%29.jpg/220px-G._Gabrielle_Starr_delivering_the_2023_Pomona_College_State_of_the_College_speech_%28slightly_cropped%29.jpg)
- Roy Baumeister – psychologist of self-control
- Konrad E. Bloch – Nobel Prize-winning biochemist, who helped learn about the functioning of cholesterol
- Mark Frederick Boyd - malariologist and writer
- James M. Buchanan – winner of Nobel Prize in economics
- Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte – attorney, civil-rights activist, former dean of the Florida State University Law School, former president of Florida State University, president of the American Bar Association and the American Judicature Society
- Paul Dirac – Nobel Prize-winning physicist whose theories predicted antimatter
- Sylvia Earle – former chief scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Neil Frank – former director of the National Hurricane Center
- Fred Gainous – former president of Florida A & M University, 2002–2004; former chancellor of the Alabama College System's Department of Postsecondary Education; associate vice president of St. Petersburg College
- Robert A. Holton – chemist and inventor of Taxol
- Tim Howard – president and founder of Cambridge Graduate University international, former head of doctorate program of Law & Policy at Northeastern University, former Assistant Attorney General of Florida
- Sir Harold Kroto – Nobel Prize-winning chemist who helped discover fullerenes
- Max Mayfield – former director of the National Hurricane Center
- Alfred Mele – philosopher of free will
- Robert S. Mulliken – physicist and chemist who won both the Priestley Medal and the Nobel Prize
- Michel Oksenberg – China scholar, member of National Security Council
- X. William Proenza – former director of the National Hurricane Center
- Michael Ruse – philosopher, historian of science, noteworthy atheist
- Robert Schrieffer – Nobel Laureate, BCS Theory of Superconductivity
- E. Lee Spence – underwater archeologist
- G. Gabrielle Starr – president of Pomona College[1]
Space exploration[edit]
- Carolyn S. Griner – former director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
- Winston Scott – NASA astronaut
- Norman Thagard – NASA astronaut; flew on three different U.S. Space Shuttles, and on one Russian mission to the Mir space station
Authors[edit]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Robert_Olen_Butler_2016.jpg/220px-Robert_Olen_Butler_2016.jpg)
- Jesse Bullington – Fantasy novelist; also published as Alex Marshall
- Robert Olen Butler – Pulitzer Prize-winning author for A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain (fiction)
- Lisa De Pasquale – political writer and columnist
- Doug Marlette – Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist
- Leora Bettison Robinson (1840-1914) – author, educator
- Jeff Shaara – New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction
- Michael Shaara – Pulitzer prize-winning author (for The Killer Angels)
- Jeff VanderMeer – World Fantasy Award-winning author (for the novella The Transformation of Martin Lake)
Aviation[edit]
- Jerrie Mock – aviator and first woman to fly around the world solo
Business[edit]
- Wally Amos – founder of the "Famous Amos" chocolate chip cookie brand; actor
- Eugene Figg – engineer for such bridges as Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Linn Cove Viaduct, and Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge
- Robert B. Hilton – Tallahassee newspaper owner and Confederate congressman during the American Civil War
Film, television, and radio[edit]
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- Red Barber – sportscaster, Radio Hall of Fame member
- Jim Cramer – host of CNBC's Mad Money
Acting[edit]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Faye_Dunaway_at_the_1985_Golden_Globes.jpg/220px-Faye_Dunaway_at_the_1985_Golden_Globes.jpg)
- Kay Aldridge – model and actress
- Matt Battaglia – actor and former NFL player
- Cathy Jenéen Doe – actress
- Brad Davis – actor (Midnight Express, Querelle)
- Kyan Douglas – the "grooming expert" from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
- Faye Dunaway – actress, Academy Award winner for Network
- Tony Hale – actor, played Byron "Buster" Bluth on Arrested Development
- Cheryl Hines – actress, two-time Emmy nominee for Curb your Enthusiasm, director, married to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
- Polly Holliday – actress, Golden Globe winner (for television series Alice)
- Will Kirby – Big Brother 2 (2001) winner
- Christine Lahti – film actress and director, winner of Academy Award for Leiberman in Love, two Golden Globes and Emmy for Chicago Hope
- Burt Reynolds – Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning, Oscar-nominated actor, attended FSU
- Anika Noni Rose – Tony Award-winning actress, as Emmie Thibodeaux in Caroline, or Change
- Sonny Shroyer – actor who played deputy sheriff on The Dukes of Hazzard
- Roy Wood, Jr. – comedian and actor on The Daily Show
Writing and production[edit]
- Jim Butterworth – documentary filmmaker, winner of DuPont-Columbia Award for Seoul Train
- Ron J. Friedman – writer of Disney's Academy Award-nominated film Brother Bear
Government and politics[edit]
- Art Agnos – former mayor of San Francisco, California
- Reubin Askew – politician, former governor of Florida
- Bobby Brantley – lieutenant governor of Florida 1987–1991
- Lawton Chiles – politician and FSU research fellow; former US Senator and Governor of Florida
- LeRoy Collins – politician and Governor of Florida; the only Tallahassee native to serve as Florida's governor
- Parris Glendening – former Governor of Maryland
- Carla Hayden – 14th Librarian of Congress
- Scott Maddox – former mayor of Tallahassee
- John Marks – Mayor of Tallahassee 2003-2014
- Kenneth Minihan – former director of the National Security Agency
- Nell Foster Rogers – lobbyist
- Orson Swindle – commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission
- Gregory Tony (born 1978) – Sheriff of Broward County, Florida
- Craig Waters – spokesman for the Florida Supreme Court
Historical people[edit]
- Catherine Willis Gray Murat – great-grandniece of George Washington
- Prince Achille Murat – nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte
- Charles Kenzie Steele – clergyman and civil rights activist
- Ernest I. Thomas – raiser of the original flag at Iwo Jima[2]
Infamy[edit]
- Marshall Ledbetter – protester who took over the Florida capitol building
Music[edit]
- Luh Tyler – rapper, songwriter
- Cannonball Adderley – jazz alto saxophone player, Grammy Award winner
- Nat Adderley – jazz cornet and trumpet player
- Ethel Cain (Hayden Anhedönia) – singer-songwriter, artist
- George Clinton – musician, founder of Funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic
- Rita Coolidge – Grammy Award-winning singer, "From the Bottle to the Bottom" and "Lover Please"
- Janice Harsanyi – vocalist and teacher
- Kenny Howes – rock musician
- K. Michelle (born Kimberly Michelle Pate) – reality TV personality and R&B singer
- Jim Morrison – lead singer and lyricist of The Doors
- Marcus Roberts – jazz pianist
- T-Pain (born Faheem Najm) – hip hop and R&B singer
- Butch Trucks (Claude Hudson Trucks) – drummer, member of the Allman Brothers band
- Mayday Parade - Formed in 2005, the band was a result of a merger between two local Tallahassee bands, Kid Named Chicago and Defining Moment.
Composition[edit]
- Creed – rock band formed in Tallahassee
- Carlisle Floyd – opera composer, Susannah (1955) and others
- Marcus Roberts – jazz pianist, composer and music professor at Florida State University
- Morgan Sorne – singer-songwriter
- Ernst von Dohnányi – composer and pianist
- Ellen Taaffe Zwilich – Pulitzer prize-winning composer (for Three Movements for Orchestra (Symphony No. 1))
Sports[edit]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Walter_Dix.jpg/220px-Walter_Dix.jpg)
- David Ross (baseball) – MLB catcher
- Robert "Bobby" C. Bowden – college football coach, winner of two national championships
- Ricky Carmichael – motocross/supercross champion
- Kevin Carter – NFL defensive end
- Bradley Cooper – member of 1984 and 1988 Bahamas Summer Olympics team
- Gene Cox – State of Florida Sports Hall of Fame member (Leon High School football coach)[3]
- Antonio Cromartie – NFL player credited with the longest play in NFL history
- Kim Crosby – NASCAR driver, with a best race finish of 20th, in 2004
- Dwight F. Davis – founder of the international tennis Davis Cup
- Walter Dix – U.S. track team member and medalist at 2008 Beijing Olympics
- Warrick Dunn – FSU and NFL football star
- Carrie Englert (Zimmerman) – member of 1976 U.S. Summer Olympics team[4]
- Corey Fuller – played for FSU's football team, later became a wide receiver for the Vikings, Browns and Ravens
- Michael Gaines – tight end for the Detroit Lions
- DaVanche (Ron) Galimore – member of 1980 U.S. Summer Olympics team[4]
- Willie Galimore – member of College Football Hall of Fame, and NFL football player
- William Gay – NFL cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers
- Althea Gibson – winner of several Wimbledon and US Open tennis championships
- Frances C. Griscom – U.S. Women's amateur golf champion
- Ken Harnden – hurdler and sprinter who represented Zimbabwe in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games
- Tahesia Harrigan – professional sprinter (BVI)
- Bob Hayes – sprinter and gold medal winner on 1964 U.S. Summer Olympics team; NFL football wide receiver for Dallas Cowboys
- Missy Hyatt – professional wrestling valet and commentator for World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling
- Taylor Jacobs – professional football player, wide receiver with Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers, and Denver Broncos
- Marty Jannetty – professional wrestler, best known for his work with WWE
- Reggie Jefferson – MLB player
- Brad Johnson – NFL quarterback
- Brandy Johnson – member of 1988 U.S. Summer Olympics team
- Desmond Koh – amateur swimmer who represented Singapore in the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Olympic Games
- Nevin McCaskill – NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
- Mike "11" Martin – All-Time winningest coach in NCAA Division I College Baseball; 2019 inductee in National College Baseball Hall of Fame
- Michelle McCool – World Wrestling Entertainment diva (formally Diva Champion)
- Fondren Mitchell – football player
- Brian Olson – member of 1996, 2000 and 2004 U.S. Summer Olympics teams[5]
- Burgess Owens – professional football player, member of Oakland Raider team that won Super Bowl XV
- Bill Peterson – college and NFL head football coach
- Zach Piller – NFL guard for the Tennessee Titans
- Don Pumphrey, Jr – offensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers[6]
- Elise Ray – gymnast, represented United States in 2000 Olympic Games
- Gabrielle Reece – professional volleyball player, model
- Deion Sanders – FSU football star, NFL cornerback, Major League Baseball outfielder, NFL Network commentator
- Ernie Sims – NFL linebacker
- Dwight Smith – MLB outfielder
- Bobby Thigpen – MLB relief pitcher and coach
- Craphonso Thorpe – NFL wide receiver
- Marion Tinsley – world checkers champion 1955–58, 1975–91
- Charlie Ward – 1993 Heisman Trophy winner
- Pat Watkins – NFL safety for the Dallas Cowboys
- Chris Weinke – 2000 Heisman Trophy winner
- Boo Williams – NFL tight end for the New Orleans Saints
- Jameis Winston – 2014 Heisman winner and quarterback for the Tampa
- Woody Woodward – MLB shortstop - Braves, Reds; FSU Baseball Head Coach (1975–78); MLB GM - Yankees, Phillies, Mariners
- Wally Williams – NFL (1993-2003) Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, and New Orleans Saints (First Franchise Player in Ravens History)
Visual arts[edit]
- Karl Zerbe – expressionist painter using the encaustic painting technique
References[edit]
- ^ Xia, Rosanna (9 December 2016). "Pomona College's new president will be the first woman and African American to lead the campus". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ^ van der Vat, Dan (1991). The Pacific Campaign. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-73899-2.
- ^ Tallahassee Treasure Uncovered!
- ^ a b "Tallahassee Tumbling Tots-8". Archived from the original on 2008-08-18. Retrieved 2008-06-17. Tallahassee Tumbling Tots' Olympians
- ^ http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880611021 "Olson vies for fourth straight Olympics in Judo" (Tallahassee Democrat, 11 June 2008)
- ^ "Don Pumphrey: Career Stats at NFL.com". www.nfl.com. Retrieved 2019-07-15.