List of Famous people born in Kentucky, United States of America
Johnny Depp
John Christopher Depp II is an American actor, producer, and musician. He has been nominated for ten Golden Globe Awards, winning one for Best Actor for his performance of the title role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), and has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Actor, among other accolades. Depp made his film debut in the 1984 film A Nightmare on Elm Street, before rising to prominence as a teen idol on the television series 21 Jump Street (1987–1990). He had a supporting role in Oliver Stone's 1986 war film Platoon and played the title character in the 1990 romantic fantasy Edward Scissorhands.
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence is an American actress. The films she has acted in have grossed over $6 billion worldwide, and she was the world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016. Lawrence appeared in Time's 100 most influential people in the world list in 2013 and in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2014 and 2016.
Chrishell Stause
Terrina Chrishell Stause is an American actress and real estate agent. She is known for her role on the Netflix reality show Selling Sunset, along with previous television roles as Amanda Dillon on All My Children and Jordan Ridgeway on Days of Our Lives.
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter and philanthropist. He is the recipient of three Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards, one for acting in Syriana (2006) and the other for co-producing Argo (2012). In 2018, he was the recipient of the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award.
Carly Pearce
Carly Pearce is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her material contains elements of both traditional and contemporary country-pop music. Pearce began performing professionally in her teens, appearing on several albums of bluegrass material in the 2000s. After moving to Nashville, Tennessee, she began gaining more widespread notice.
Chris Stapleton
Christopher Alvin Stapleton is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky, until moving to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2001 to pursue a career in music writing songs. Subsequently, Stapleton signed a contract with Sea Gayle Music to write and publish his music.
Jennifer Carpenter
Jennifer Leann Carpenter is an American actress. She is known for playing Debra Morgan in the Showtime series Dexter, for which she earned a Saturn Award in 2009, and also for playing Rebecca Harris in the CBS television series Limitless. In 2019, she began playing Erica Shepherd, the lead role in the NBC drama The Enemy Within.
Tommy Kirk
Thomas Lee Kirk is an American former actor and later a businessman. He was best known for his performances in a number of highly popular films made by Walt Disney Studios such as Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Swiss Family Robinson, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, as well as the beach-party films of the mid-1960s.
Nick Lachey
Nicholas Scott Lachey is an American actor, singer, and television personality and host. He rose to fame as the lead singer of the multi-platinum-selling boyband 98 Degrees, and later starred in the reality series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica with his then-wife, Jessica Simpson. He has released four solo albums: SoulO, What's Left of Me, A Father's Lullaby, and Soundtrack of My Life. He also had a recurring role on the television series Charmed. He hosted NBC's The Sing-Off, co-hosted VH1's Big Morning Buzz Live from 2014 to 2015, and now hosts Nickelodeon's America's Most Musical Family, and co-hosts the Netflix show Love is Blind with his wife Vanessa Lachey.
Jack Harlow
Jackman Thomas Harlow is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is signed to Don Cannon and DJ Drama's Generation Now record label and Atlantic Records. He is also the co-founder of his own musical collective, Private Garden. He is best known for his 2020 single "Whats Poppin", which peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. His debut album, Thats What They All Say, was released on December 11, 2020, and peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200.
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American singer songwriter. In a career which spans six decades in country music, Lynn has released multiple gold albums. She is famous for hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough ", "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' ", "One's on the Way", "Fist City" and "Coal Miner's Daughter" along with the 1980 biographical film of the same name.
Adam Duvall
Adam Lynn Duvall is an American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman and is currently a free agent. He played college baseball at the University of Louisville. Duvall was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 11th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Giants, Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves. He made his MLB debut in 2014. He was an All-Star in 2016.
Rajon Rondo
Rajon Pierre Rondo is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Rondo played two years of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats before he was drafted 21st overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 2006 NBA draft. He was subsequently traded to the Celtics, where he played a supporting role during his rookie season. Rondo, a four-time NBA All-Star, had led the league in assists per game three times. He was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2011–12 and has earned four NBA All-Defensive Team honors, twice on the First Team. During his time in Boston, Rondo helped the Celtics advance to the NBA Finals in 2008 and 2010, winning a championship in 2008 as the team's starting point guard. Rondo has long been known as an elite facilitator in the NBA, ranking fourth in Celtics history in assists and third in steals. He is also considered a stat-sheet stuffer, ranking 11th in NBA history for triple-doubles with 32 in the regular season, to go with 10 in the playoffs.
Phil Maton
Phillip Louis Maton III is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Louisiana Tech University. Maton was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 20th round of the 2015 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2017. He previously played for the Padres and Cleveland Indians.
Miles Heizer
Miles Dominic Heizer is an American actor. On television, he is known for portraying Alex Standall in the Netflix original series 13 Reasons Why and Drew Holt in the NBC drama series Parenthood. He has also appeared in the films Rails & Ties (2007), The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015), Nerve (2016) and Love, Simon (2018).
Billy Ray Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and became the first single ever to achieve triple platinum status in Australia. It was also the best-selling single in the same country in 1992. Due to the song's music video, the line dance rose in popularity.
Gina Haspel
Gina Cheri Walker Haspel is an American intelligence officer who served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2018 to 2021. She is the first woman to hold the post on a permanent basis and was previously the Deputy Director under Mike Pompeo during the early presidency of Donald Trump.
Damien Harris
Damien Harris is an American football running back for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama.
Shaun King
Jeffery Shaun King is an American writer, civil rights activist and co-founder of Real Justice PAC. King uses social media to promote social justice causes, including the Black Lives Matter movement.
Justin Thomas
Justin Louis Thomas is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and is former World Number One. In 2017, Thomas experienced a breakout year, winning five PGA Tour events, including the PGA Championship, his maiden major championship, and also winning the FedEx Cup championship. In May 2018, Thomas became the 21st player to top the Official World Golf Ranking.