List of Famous people born in Alabama, United States of America
Pat Sullivan
Patrick Joseph Sullivan was an American professional football player and college coach. An All-American quarterback for the Auburn Tigers, he won the Heisman Trophy in 1971 and then played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins. Sullivan was a head football coach at Samford University, a position he held from 2007 to 2014. He was previously the head football coach at Texas Christian University (TCU) from 1992 to 1997 and the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) from 1999 to 2006. Sullivan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1991.
Justin Tuck
Justin Lee Tuck is a former American football defensive end. He played college football at Notre Dame, and was drafted by the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft, winning two Super Bowl titles with the team, both against the New England Patriots. He also played for the Oakland Raiders. Tuck graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business with an MBA in 2018. He is now an employee of Goldman Sachs.
Mark Matthews
Mark Matthews was an American veteran of the Second World War and a Buffalo Soldier. Born in Alabama and growing up in Ohio, Matthews joined the 10th Cavalry Regiment when he was only 15 years old, after having been recruited at a Lexington, Kentucky racetrack and having documents forged so that he appeared to meet the minimum age of 17. While stationed in Arizona, he joined General John J. Pershing's Mexico expedition to hunt down Mexican general Pancho Villa. He was later transferred to Virginia, where he took care of President Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor's horses and was a member of the Buffalo Soldiers' drum and bugle corps. In his late 40s, he served in combat operations in the South Pacific during World War II and achieved the rank of first sergeant. He was noted as an excellent marksman and horse showman.
T. J. Yeldon
Timothy Antonio "T. J." Yeldon Jr. is an American football running back for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football at Alabama.
Mary Badham
Mary Badham is an American actress who portrayed Jean Louise "Scout" Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. At the time, Badham was the youngest actress ever nominated in this category.
Keith McCants
Alvin Keith McCants was a professional American football linebacker and radio broadcaster who played for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Houston Oilers, and the Arizona Cardinals from 1990 to 1995. He was selected by Tampa Bay in the 1st round of the 1990 NFL Draft.
Percy Lavon Julian
Percy Lavon Julian was an American research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. He was the first to synthesize the natural product physostigmine, plus a pioneer in the industrial large-scale chemical synthesis of the human hormones progesterone and testosterone from plant sterols such as stigmasterol and sitosterol. His work laid the foundation for the steroid drug industry's production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and birth control pills.
O. J. Howard
O'Terrius Jabari "O. J." Howard is an American football tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, and was drafted by the Buccaneers in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Mike Davis
Michael Davis is an American basketball coach. He is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Detroit Mercy, a position he has held since 2018. Davis served as the head men's basketball coach at Indiana University Bloomington from 2000 to 2006, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) from 2006 to 2012, and Texas Southern University from 2012 to 2018.
Debra Marshall
Debra Gale Marshall is an American actress, and retired professional wrestling valet. Well known by her ring name Debra, she is notable for her appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Queen Debra between 1995 and 1998 and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Debra between 1998 and 2002. She began her career in professional wrestling in 1995, accompanying her husband Steve "Mongo" McMichael to the ring in World Championship Wrestling (WCW).