List of Famous people born in Arkansas, United States of America
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Prior to his presidency, he served as governor of Arkansas and as attorney general of Arkansas (1977–1979). A member of the Democratic Party, Clinton was known as a New Democrat, and many of his policies reflected a centrist "Third Way" political philosophy. He is the husband of former secretary of state, former U.S. senator, and two-time candidate for president Hillary Clinton.
Paula Jones
Paula Corbin Jones is an American civil servant. A former Arkansas state employee, Jones sued U.S. president Bill Clinton for sexual harassment. The Paula Jones case provided the impetus for Independent Counsel Ken Starr to broaden his on-going investigation into Clinton's pre-presidency financial dealings with the Whitewater Land Company, and resulted in Clinton's impeachment in the House of Representatives and subsequent acquittal by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Specifically, Clinton was asked under oath about Monica Lewinsky in the Jones suit, denied having ever had sexual relations with her, and was accused of perjury after evidence of sexual contact was exposed. The Jones lawsuit also led to a landmark legal precedent by the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled that a sitting U.S. president is not exempt from civil litigation for acts committed outside of public office.
Scottie Pippen
Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr., usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. Pippen, along with Michael Jordan, played an important role in transforming the Bulls into a championship team and in popularizing the NBA around the world during the 1990s.
Jim Bob Duggar
James Robert Duggar is an American real estate agent, politician and television personality, known for the reality series, 19 Kids and Counting, which aired from 2008 to 2015. From 1999 to 2002, he was a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives.
Sarah Sanders
Sarah Elizabeth Sanders, commonly known as Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is an American campaign manager and political adviser who served as White House press secretary under President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019.
Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, filmmaker, and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller One False Move, and received international attention after writing, directing, and starring in the independent drama film Sling Blade (1996), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. He appeared in several major film roles in the 1990s following Sling Blade, including Oliver Stone's neo-noir U Turn (1997), political drama Primary Colors (1998), science fiction disaster film Armageddon (1998), the highest-grossing film of that year, and the crime drama A Simple Plan (1998), which earned him his third Oscar nomination.
Chelsea Clinton
Chelsea Victoria Clinton is an American author and global health advocate. She is the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. She was a special correspondent for NBC News from 2011 to 2014 and now works with the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative, including taking a prominent role at the foundation with a seat on its board.
Jill Duggar
Jill Michelle Dillard is an American television personality. She is known for her appearances on TLC as part of the reality television shows 19 Kids and Counting (2008-2015) and Counting On (2015-2017). She also co-authored a book with her sisters Jana, Jessa, and Jinger titled Growing Up Duggar: It's All About Relationships.
Ashley McBryde
Ashley McBryde is an American country music singer-songwriter. She released her self-titled debut album independently in January 2006. Her second independent album, Elsebound, was released in June 2011. An extended play titled Jalopies & Expensive Guitars was released through Road Life Records in March 2016. She signed with Warner Music Nashville in 2017 and released her major label debut album, Girl Going Nowhere, the following year. The album earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album during the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. She was named New Artist of the Year during 53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards held on November 13, 2019.
Mary Steenburgen
Mary Nell Steenburgen is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for playing the role of Lynda Dummar in Jonathan Demme's 1980 film Melvin and Howard.
Jana Duggar
Jana Marie Duggar is an American television personality. She is known for her appearances on TLC as part of the reality television shows 19 Kids and Counting (2008-2015) and Counting On (2015-).
Wes Bentley
Wesley Cook Bentley is an American actor best known for his roles as Ricky Fitts in American Beauty (1999), which earned him a nomination for a BAFTA Award for Supporting Actor, Seneca Crane in The Hunger Games (2012), Doyle in Interstellar (2014) and Erik in Mission: Impossible - Fallout. He was one of four subjects in the documentary My Big Break (2009), which covered his fame after American Beauty and struggles with substance abuse. Rebuilding his career, he starred in the premiere of Venus in Fur by David Ives in the off-Broadway production in 2010. His other film roles include The Four Feathers (2002), Ghost Rider (2007), P2 (2007), and Pete's Dragon (2016).
Mary Mouser
Mary Matilyn Mouser is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lacey Fleming on the ABC series Body of Proof. She took over the role of Karen Grant, Fitz & Mellie's daughter on Scandal in Season 4. She is currently starring in the Netflix series Cobra Kai.
Malik Monk
Malik Ahmad Monk is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats.
Joycelyn Elders
Minnie Joycelyn Elders is an American pediatrician and public health administrator who served as Surgeon General of the United States from 1993 to 1994. A vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, she was the second woman, second person of color, and first African American to serve as Surgeon General. Elders is best known for her frank discussion of her views on controversial issues such as drug legalization, masturbation, and distributing contraception in schools. She was forced to resign in December 1994 amidst controversy as a result of her views. She is currently a professor emerita of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Tommy Tuberville
Thomas Hawley Tuberville is an American retired college football coach and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Alabama since 2021. Before entering politics, Tuberville was the head football coach at Auburn University from 1999 to 2008. He was also the head football coach at the University of Mississippi from 1995 to 1998, Texas Tech University from 2010 to 2012, and the University of Cincinnati from 2013 to 2016.
Tom Cotton
Thomas Bryant Cotton is an American politician serving as the junior United States Senator from Arkansas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015.
Melinda Dillon
Melinda Ruth Dillon is an American actress. She received a 1963 Tony Award nomination for her Broadway debut in the original production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles as Jillian Guiler in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Teresa in Absence of Malice (1981). Her other film appearances include Bound for Glory (1976), F.I.S.T. (1978), A Christmas Story (1983), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), The Prince of Tides (1991), and Magnolia (1999).
Bobby Bones
Bobby Bones is an American radio and television personality, best known for hosting the nationally syndicated The Bobby Bones Show, originating at WSIX-FM in Nashville, TN, and for his role as a full-time mentor on American Idol on ABC. He was the winner of season 27 of Dancing with the Stars with partner Sharna Burgess. He has also written two New York Times best sellers.
Drew Smyly
Todd Andrew Smyly, nicknamed "Big Shooter", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, and San Francisco Giants. Prior to his professional career, Smyly played college baseball at the University of Arkansas. He competed for the United States national baseball team, winning the silver medal in the 2011 Pan American Games. The Tigers drafted Smyly in the second round of the 2010 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2012.