List of Famous people born in Rhode Island, United States of America
Richard Hatch
Richard Holman Hatch Jr. is an American former reality television contestant. In 2000, he won the first season of the CBS reality series Survivor. He was a contestant on a subsequent All-Stars season of Survivor, season 11 of Celebrity Apprentice, and season 17 of The Biggest Loser.
Lou Lamoriello
Louis Lamoriello is an American professional ice hockey executive who is the president of hockey operations and general manager for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is also the former general manager of both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New Jersey Devils of the NHL. Lamoriello's tenure as general manager of the New Jersey Devils from 1987 to 2015 was the third-longest by an NHL general manager with a single team, following those of Conn Smythe and Art Ross. Lamoriello resigned from New Jersey on May 4, 2015, and became the 16th general manager of the Maple Leafs on July 23 of the same year.
Jack Reed
John Francis Reed is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Rhode Island, a seat he was first elected to in 1996. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. Representative for Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district from 1991 to 1997. Reed graduated from the United States Military Academy and Harvard University, serving in the U.S. Army as an active officer from 1971 to 1979. He is the dean of Rhode Island's congressional delegation.
Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy is an American novelist, playwright, short-story writer, and screenwriter. He has written ten novels, two plays, two screenplays, and three short-stories, spanning the Southern Gothic, Western, and post-apocalyptic genres. He is well known for his graphic depictions of violence and his unique writing style, recognizable by its lack of punctuation and attribution. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest contemporary writers.
Barbara Henry
Barbara Henry is a retired American teacher most notable for teaching Ruby Bridges, the first African-American child to attend the all-white William Frantz Elementary School, located in New Orleans.
Matt Hyson
Matthew Jonathan Hyson is a retired American professional wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Spike Dudley. Prior to WWE, Hyson began performing as Spike Dudley in 1990s with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW); the Spike Dudley character being a member of The Dudley Brothers. As part of a storyline, fellow members Buh Buh Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley betrayed the faction to form a separate Dudley Boyz tag-team; resulting in Hyson and members being involved in a subsequent feud with the duo. The Dudley Boyz would eventually leave ECW for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1999. Meanwhile, Hyson remained in ECW, and during his time held two reigns as ECW World Tag Team Champion alongside Balls Mahoney. The promotion fell into bankruptcy in 2001, which led Hyson to join the WWF, where he reconciled with Ray and D-Von. Hyson would appear with his kayfabe brothers on-and-off, as well as capturing the WWF Tag Team Championship with Tazz. Hyson also held the European Championship once and Hardcore Championship eight times in 2002. He would go on to team with Ray and D-Von following this, and would then have a singles career in the promotion from 2004 to 2005, notably holding the Cruiserweight Championship.
Elizabeth Beisel
Elizabeth Lyon Beisel is an American competition swimmer who specializes in backstroke and individual medley events. Beisel placed second in the 400m individual medley at the 2016 US Olympic Swimming Trials, qualifying for her third Olympic team. She has won a total of nine medals in major international competition, four gold, one silver, and four bronze spanning the Olympics, World Aquatics, and the Pan Pacific championships. Beisel competed in the 200-meter backstroke and 400-meter individual medley events at the 2008 Summer Olympics, placing fifth and fourth, respectively, in the world. She won the silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley and bronze in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She competed on season 39 of Survivor, Island of the Idols and placed 9th.
Ryan Westmoreland
Ryan Michael Westmoreland is a former American professional baseball player. An outfielder, he played in minor league baseball in the Boston Red Sox organization. Westmoreland was considered one of the best prospects in baseball. However, his career was limited by a medical condition that has required two brain surgeries.
Nelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer, baritone and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred with soprano Jeanette MacDonald. He was one of the first "crossover" stars, a superstar appealing both to shrieking bobby soxers and opera purists, and in his heyday, he was the highest paid singer in the world.
Gavilán Rayna Russom
Gavilán Rayna Russom known professionally as Rayna Russom, is an American electronic music producer, musician and DJ. Russom has released music under various names, including Black Leotard Front, Black Meteoric Star and The Crystal Ark, as well as collaborative work with Delia Gonzalez and the band LCD Soundsystem. In addition to her musical work, Russom is also a visual artist and a writer. Russom lives in New York City.