List of Famous people born in Texas, United States of America
Mark David Chapman
Mark David Chapman is an American criminal who murdered John Lennon, formerly of the Beatles, outside Lennon's apartment at the Dakota, in Manhattan, on December 8, 1980. As Lennon walked into the building's archway with his wife Yoko Ono, Chapman fired five shots at Lennon from several meters away with a Charter Arms Undercover .38 Special revolver. Lennon was hit four times from the back. Chapman remained at the scene reading J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye until he was arrested by police. He planned to cite the novel as his manifesto.
Selena
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was an American singer, songwriter, spokesperson, businesswoman, model, actress, and fashion designer. Referred to as the "Queen of Tejano music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century. Billboard magazine named her the top-selling Latin artist of the 1990s decade, while her posthumous collaboration with MAC cosmetics became the best-selling celebrity collection in cosmetics history. Media outlets called her the "Tejano Madonna" for her clothing choices. She also ranks among the most influential Latin artists of all time and is credited for catapulting a music genre into the mainstream market.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower GCS CCLH KC was an American politician and soldier who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he became a five-star general in the Army and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of Normandy in 1944–45 from the Western Front.
Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith was an American model, actress, and television personality. Smith first gained popularity in Playboy magazine when she won the title of 1993 Playmate of the Year. She modeled for fashion companies, including Guess, H&M, Heatherette and Lane Bryant.
Mckenna Grace
Mckenna Grace is an American actress. She began acting professionally at the age of six, with her earliest roles including Jasmine Bernstein in the Disney XD sitcom Crash & Bernstein (2012–2014) and Faith Newman in the soap opera The Young and the Restless (2013–2015). She is best known for her roles as Penny Kirkman in the series Designated Survivor, Rose Harbenberger in the comedy series Fuller House (2016–2020), Mary Adler in the Marc Webb drama film Gifted (2017), young Theodora Crain in the Netflix supernatural horror series The Haunting of Hill House (2018), and Christmas Flint in the movie Troop Zero (2019).
Bill Paxton
William Paxton was an American actor, musician, director, producer and writer. He appeared in films such as Weird Science (1985), Near Dark (1987), True Lies (1994), Apollo 13 (1995), Twister (1996) and Titanic (1997). He also starred in the HBO drama series Big Love (2006–2011), earning three Golden Globe Award nominations during the show's run. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for portraying Randall McCoy in the History channel miniseries Hatfields & McCoys (2012) and as Detective Frank Roarke in the CBS television series Training Day (2017). His final film appearance was in The Circle (2017), released two months after his death.
Sharon Tate
Sharon Marie Tate Polanski was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover girl. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic and dramatic acting performances, Tate was hailed as one of Hollywood's most promising newcomers.
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to fame in 2002 for winning the inaugural season of American Idol, which earned her a record deal with RCA Records. Her debut single, "A Moment Like This", topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and became the country's best-selling single of 2002. It was included on her pop and R&B debut album, Thankful (2003), which debuted atop the Billboard 200. Trying to reinvent her image, Clarkson parted ways with Idol management and shifted to pop rock for her second studio album, Breakaway (2004). Supported by four US top-ten singles, including "Breakaway", "Since U Been Gone", "Behind These Hazel Eyes", and "Because of You", Breakaway sold over 12 million copies worldwide and won two Grammy Awards.
Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He had a successful college football career at Purdue University, becoming one of the most decorated players in Purdue and Big Ten Conference history. Brees set two NCAA records, 13 Big Ten Conference records, and 19 Purdue University records during his college career. He remains the Big Ten record-holder in several passing categories, including completions (1,026), attempts (1,678), and yards (11,792). Brees was chosen by the San Diego Chargers with the first pick in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. Brees earned the starting job with the Chargers in 2002 and made the Pro Bowl in 2004. Nine months after suffering a dislocation in his right shoulder joint and a tear of the labrum and rotator cuff, Brees signed with the Saints as a free agent in 2006, where he has played since. He experienced immediate success in New Orleans, leading the Saints to their first Super Bowl in Super Bowl XLIV and helping the team to a 31–17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor, producer, and screenwriter. He has had a long association with filmmaker Wes Anderson with whom he shared writing and acting credits for Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), the latter of which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay.