List of Famous people born in Kentucky, United States of America
Tinashe
Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe, known mononymously as Tinashe, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Los Angeles as a child to pursue a career in entertainment. Her notable roles included as a motion-capture model in the animated film The Polar Express (2004), Robin Wheeler in the Cartoon Network television series Out of Jimmy's Head (2007–2008), and a recurring role in the CBS series Two and a Half Men (2008–2009).
Jarrett Stidham
Jarrett Ryan Stidham is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). After transferring from Baylor, he played college football at Auburn and was selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Chuck Woolery
Charles Herbert Woolery is an American former game show host, talk show host, and musician. He has had long-running tenures hosting several game shows. Woolery was the original host of Wheel of Fortune (1975–1981), the original incarnation of Love Connection (1983–1994), Scrabble, Greed on Fox from 1999 to 2000, and Lingo on Game Show Network from 2002 to 2007.
Lee Roy Reams
Lee Roy Reams is an American musical theatre actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, and director.
Sturgill Simpson
John Sturgill Simpson is an American country music singer-songwriter and actor. As of October 2020, he has released six albums as a solo artist. His first two albums, High Top Mountain and Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, were independently released in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The latter was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Americana Album, listed 18th on Rolling Stone's "50 Best Albums of 2014," and named among "NPR's 50 Favorite Albums of 2014." His third album, A Sailor's Guide to Earth, was released on Atlantic Records and was Simpson's first major-label release, later earning him Best Country Album at the 59th Grammy Awards while also being nominated for Album of the Year. Simpson's fourth album, Sound & Fury, was released on September 27, 2019. He released two albums of bluegrass music in 2020. Simpson's style has been met with critical favor and frequent comparisons to outlaw country.
Jordan Smith
Jordan Mackenzie Smith is an American singer, songwriter, and musician from Harlan, Kentucky. Smith began singing in his church choir and continued through his college education at Lee University.
Artimus Pyle
Thomas Delmer "Artimus" Pyle is an American musician who played drums with Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1974 to 1977 and from 1987 to 1991. He and his Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
Kevin Richardson
Kevin Scott Richardson is an American singer, songwriter, actor and model, best known as a member of the vocal group the Backstreet Boys. Richardson was inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame along with his cousin and bandmate Brian Littrell on April 10, 2015.
Brian Littrell
Brian Thomas Littrell is an American singer, songwriter and actor, best known as a member of the vocal group the Backstreet Boys. He is a contemporary Christian music artist, and released the solo album, Welcome Home, in 2006. He is also the father of country singer Baylee Littrell.
Don Blankenship
Donald Leon Blankenship is an American business executive and politician. He was Chairman and CEO of the Massey Energy Company—the sixth-largest coal company in the United States—from 2000 until an explosion at one of his coal mines in 2010, costing him his position. He was a candidate for the United States Senate in West Virginia in 2018. He was the Constitution Party candidate in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.