List of Famous people born in Mississippi, United States of America

Basil Glen Ballard Jr. is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's 1995 album Jagged Little Pill, which won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album and Album of the Year, and was ranked by the Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. He is also well known for his collaborations with composer Alan Silvestri. He was involved in the recording and writing of Michael Jackson's albums Thriller, Bad and Dangerous. As a writer, he co-wrote songs including "Man in the Mirror" (1987) and "Hand in My Pocket" (1995). He is the founder of Java Records. He won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for "Believe".

Commodore Shelton Cochran was an American athlete, winner of a gold medal in 4 × 400 m relay at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

Velma Jean Terrell is an American R&B and jazz singer. She replaced Diana Ross as the lead singer of The Supremes in January 1970.

Donald Earl "Slick" Watts is an American former basketball player. "Slick" Watts attended Xavier University of Louisiana from 1970 to 1973, where he would play under coach Bob Hopkins, and alongside his teammate, and future ABA and NBA star, Bruce Seals. For the 1972 season, Watts and Seals would lead the Gold Rush to its first NAIA District 30 Men's Basketball championship defeating Nicholls State University 85-83, but would go on to lose to Westmont in the 1972 NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament semi-finals 71-59. During his final season, Watts lead the Gold Rush to their second consecutive NAIA District 30 Championship, defeating Dillard University 101-80. In the 1973 NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament Watts and his teammates would upset Sam Houston State University, 67-60, in the second round. At the time, the Bearkats were ranked first in the country in all college division polls and had gone 34 games, over a two-year period, without a loss. The Xavier Gold Rush would eventually lose in the semi-finals to Maryland-Eastern Shore 87-80.

Alice Ruth Bolton, known as Ruthie Bolton, is an American former professional women's basketball player. Born in Lucedale, Mississippi, she played at the collegiate, Olympic and professional levels of women's basketball. Bolton played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 through 2004 with the Sacramento Monarchs. She played collegiately at Auburn University, teaming with her older sister, Mae Ola Bolton. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. Bolton has also served as a first lieutenant in the United States Army Reserves as a transportation officer.

Haley Reeves Barbour is an American attorney, politician, and lobbyist who served as the 63rd Governor of Mississippi from 2004 to 2012. A member of the Republican Party, he served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1993 to 1997.

Elizabeth Becker "Beth" Henley is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress. Her play Crimes of the Heart won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 1981 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play, and a nomination for a Tony Award. Her screenplay for Crimes of the Heart was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

William Hughes Miller is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and a leading researcher in the field of theoretical chemistry.

Charles Burnett is an American film director, film producer, writer, editor, actor, photographer, and cinematographer. His most popular films include Killer of Sheep (1978), My Brother's Wedding (1983), To Sleep with Anger (1990), The Glass Shield (1994), and Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation (2007). He has been involved in other types of motion pictures including shorts, documentaries, and a TV series.

Samuel Hodges, professionally known as Eddie Hodges, is an American former child actor and recording artist, who left show business as an adult.