List of people from Asheville, North Carolina

This is a list of notable persons who were born in and/or have lived in the American city of Asheville, North Carolina.

Architecture

Douglas Ellington, architect
Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908), builder and engineer; final resting place at the Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville
Doan Ogden (1908–1989), nationally noted landscape architect during the 20th century
Richard Sharpe Smith, supervising architect of Biltmore Estate

Art

Murphy Anderson, (1926–2015), comics artist
James Barnhill, (born 1955), artist and sculptor
Andrea Clark, photographer
Evan Dahm, webcomic creator
James Daugherty (1889–1974), modernist painter, muralist, children's book author and illustrator
Spencer Herr (born 1974), artist
Hope Larson (born 1982), Eisner Award-winning illustrator, cartoonist, and author of graphic novels Salamander Dream and Chiggers^[1]
George Masa (1881–1933), professional large-format photographer
Aspen Mays, artist
Kenneth Noland (1924–2010), abstract painter, one of the best-known American Color Field painters
Isaiah Rice (1917–1980), documentary photographer
Donald Sultan (born 1951), painter, sculptor, and printmaker
George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914),art collector, founder of the Biltmore Estate

Business

George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil, owner and chairman of Biltmore Farms
William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil, operator of the Biltmore Estate through his company, The Biltmore Company
John Fleer, chef, cookbook author, and restaurateur
Edwin Wiley Grove (1850–1927), patent medicine inventor, builder and owner of the Grove Park Inn
Howard Kester (1904–1977), author and organizer of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union
Howard W. Mattson, Executive Vice President of the Institute of Food Technologists and director of corporate public relations for Monsanto Company
George Willis Pack, lumberman, philanthropist, and railroad president
Irving Jacob Reuter, general manager and president of Oldsmobile
Fred L. Seely, built the Grove Park Inn with his father-in-law Edwin Wiley Grove
Ashleigh Shanti, chef
David Webb (1925–1975), jeweler and founder of the David Webb company
George Francis Willis, founder of International Proprietaries, Inc., who made a fortune selling a patent medicine called Tanlac

Education

Elizabeth Barnes, professor of philosophy at the Corcoran Department of Philosophy, University of Virginia
Rebel A. Cole, professor of finance in the College of Business at Florida Atlantic University
Jane Sherron De Hart (born 1936), feminist historian and women's studies academic
Sarah Ann Douglas, professor of computer and information science and a member of the Computational Science Institute at the University of Oregon
Edythe J. Gaines (1922–2006), educator and school superintendent
Matthew Hughey, professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut
R. P. Hunnicutt, one of the founders of the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground and historian
Kenneth Lieberthal, professor and political scientist known as an expert on China's elite politics
Edward Hart Lipscombe, professor at Shaw University
Robert Allen Phillips, professor in Business Ethics and Professor of Strategic Management and Public Policy at the Schulich School of Business; York University
Emily Wheelock Reed, director of the Alabama Public Library Service Division during the civil rights movement
John Andrew Rice, founder and first rector of Black Mountain College
Richard M. Weaver, scholar who taught English at the University of Chicago
Luigi Zande, stonemason, educator, and builder who contributed to the settlement school movement of the early 20th century

Entertainment

Harry Anderson (1952–2018), actor, starred in nine seasons of NBC's Night Court^[2]
Clint Basinger (born 1986), YouTuber
Ira Bernstein, dancer and teacher
Mark Boswell (born 1960), film director
Joe Bowman (1925–2009), bootmaker and marksman of American West entertainment; grew up in Asheville but left for Houston, Texas, in 1937
Chris Chalk, television, film, and theater actor, born in Asheville and graduated from Asheville High School
Jim David, stand-up comedian and playwright, both in Asheville^[3]^[4]
Jim Eason (born 1935), radio talk show host
Jennifer Ehle, actress
Maria Fletcher (born 1942), Miss America 1962
Eileen Fulton (born 1933), actress, starred on the CBS soap As the World Turns, 1960–2010; born in Asheville^[5]
Joel Goffin (born 1981), film composer, music producer
Perla Haney-Jardine (born 1997), actress
Dorothy Hart (1922–2004), screen actress, known mostly for supporting roles
William S. Hart (1864–1946), cowboy actor in early Hollywood; resided in Asheville around 1900 and coached shows at the Asheville Opera House^[6]
Shirley Hemphill (1947–1999), stand-up comedian and actress, best known for What's Happening!!, 1976–79
Alina María Hernández, better known in the entertainment world as "Cachita", Cuban transgender television actress
Charlton Heston (1923–2008), Oscar-winning actor, managed the Asheville Community Theatre with his wife Lydia in 1947
Sam Irvin, film and television director, producer, and screenwriter
Taras Kulakov (born 1987), YouTuber
Daliah Lavi, (1942–2017), German singer who lived the last 27 years of her life in Asheville
Barbara Loden, actress and director of film and theater
Stephen Andrew Lynch, early motion picture industry pioneer
Andie MacDowell (born 1958), actress, lived for several years in Biltmore Forest, a suburb of Asheville^[7]
Sierra McCormick (born 1997), actress
Caelynn Miller-Keyes, television personality, model, and beauty pageant titleholder
Caleb Pressley (born 1992), blogger, podcaster, and interviewer for the sports and pop culture blog Barstool Sports
Margaret Qualley, actress
Marjorie Rambeau (1889–1970), Hollywood actress; was married to Francis A. Gudger, a resident of Asheville; resided in Asheville in the winter from 1932 to the mid-1940s^[8]
Adam Reed (born 1970), voice actor, animator, screenwriter, television producer and television director
Chase Rice, country music singer, songwriter, and contestant on Survivor: Nicaragua
Eric Rosen, theater director and playwright
Paul Schneider (born 1976), actor
Angela Shelton (born 1972), actress and producer
Threadbanger YouTube DIY duo consisting of Corinne Leigh and Rob Czar, who reside and own an art gallery in Asheville
Duncan Trussell (born 1974), actor and comedian
Bellamy Young (born 1970), actress, co-star of television series Scandal; born and raised in Asheville
Collier Young, film and television writer and producer

Government

Lewis M. Branscomb, head of the National Bureau of Standards
Moe Davis, White House Chief of Staff and director of the Air Force Judiciary
Julius Patton, superintendent of the Dahlonega Mint
Reuben B. Robertson Jr., United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
William J. Trent, part of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Black Cabinet, serving as Adviser on Negro Affairs

Law

Fred H. Caplan, justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
Judy Clarke, criminal defense attorney
Moe Davis, White House Chief of Staff and director of the Air Force Judiciary
Harry Martin, associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
James A. Washington Jr., Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Literature and journalism

Edward Johnston Alexander, author known by the pen name Katie Gallagher
Sarah Addison Allen, New York Times bestselling author
Alfred Horatio Belo, founder of The Dallas Morning News
Ruth and Latrobe Carroll (1899–1999; 1894–1996), children's authors and illustrators
Nancy Sales Cash, novelist
Andrea Long Chu, writer and critic
C. A. Conrad (born 1966), poet and author
Olive Tilford Dargan (1869–1968), proletarian novelist of the 1930s under the pen name "Fielding Burke"
Gavin Geoffrey Dillard, poet, author, and songwriter
Pamela Duncan, novelist
Wilma Dykeman (1920–2006), author
John Ehle (1925–2018), author
Zelda Fitzgerald (1900–1948), writer and wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald; died in a fire with eight other women at Highland Hospital, an Asheville mental institution in the Montford district
Charles Frazier (born 1950), author
Gail Godwin (born 1937), novelist, spent her early years in Asheville
Ward Greene, writer, editor, journalist, playwright, and comic strip writer
Denise Kiernan, journalist, producer and author
Horatio Sheafe Krans, writer and editor
Michael McFee, poet
Berniece Baker Miracle (1919–2014), writer and half-sister of Marilyn Monroe
O. Henry (1862–1910), pen name of author William Sydney Porter; lived for a while in Asheville and is buried in Riverside Cemetery
William Dudley Pelley, fascist activist, journalist, writer and occultist
Stephanie Perkins, novelist
Marisha Pessl, novelist
Terry Roberts, novelist and writer
Jonathan Williams (1908–1929), poet and publisher
Michael G. Williams, novelist
Allan Wolf, poet and young adult author
Thomas Wolfe (1900–1938), author, born and raised in Asheville, buried in Riverside Cemetery

Medicine and science

Dorothy Hansine Andersen, physician; first person to identify cystic fibrosis; inducted into National Women's Hall of Fame in 2002 for scientific work
Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910), the first recognized woman doctor in the United States
Lena Northern Buckner, pioneer in social work at the Oteen Veterans Administration Hospital
Betty Collette, veterinary pathologist
John E. Exner, psychologist
William Glenn, cardiac surgeon who co-created an early version of an artificial heart
Madelon Battle Hancock, nurse during World War I and the "most decorated woman of World War One"
Howard W. Mattson

Military

Donald V. Bennett (1915–2005), former commanding general of the US Army Pacific Command
Kathleen M. Gainey (born 1956), retired US Army lieutenant general
Hugh B. Hester (1895–1983), retired Army general who opposed the Vietnam War and the Cold War
Dorothy Swain Lewis, aviator who trained Navy pilots and flew with the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program during World War II
Homer I. Lewis, major general in the United States Air Force who served as Commander of the United States Air Force Reserve Command
Robert Morgan (1918–2004), pilot of the Memphis Belle, the famed World War II B-17 bomber
Kiffin Rockwell (1892–1916), aviator; pilot in the Lafayette Escadrille; first American to shoot down an enemy aircraft
Francis Bowditch Wilby, major general in the United States Army who served as the 39th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy
Zachary Taylor Wood (1860–1915), Assistant Commissioner of North-West Mounted Police and Commissioner of Yukon Territory
Robert Nicholas Young, lieutenant general in the United States Army

Musicians

Eric Bachmann, musician and producer
Lisa Bevill, contemporary Christian musician
Greg Cartwright (born 1970), rock musician; relocated to Asheville^[9]
Luke Combs, country music singer-songwriter, graduated from A.C. Reynolds High School
Jermaine Dupri (born 1972), rapper
Backwards Sam Firk (1943–2007), country blues singer, fingerstyle guitarist, songwriter, and record collector^[10]
Roberta Flack (born 1937), Grammy Award-winning singer, born in Asheville^[11]
Sallie Ford, of Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, singer^[12]
Rayna Gellert, fiddler, acoustic guitarist, singer, and songwriter specializing in old-time music
River Guerguerian, multi-percussionist and composer
Talib Rasul Hakim, composer
Warren Haynes (born 1960), guitarist, member of The Allman Brothers Band, spent formative years in Asheville^[13]
Steven Heller, composer and producer
Malcolm Holcombe, singer-songwriter
David Holt (born 1946), folk musician, lives near Asheville^[14]
Don Howland, underground musician
Caleb Johnson (born 1991), American Idol Season 13 winner
Billy Jonas, singer-songwriter, percussionist, and multi-instrumentalist
Gary Jules (born 1969), singer-songwriter, known for their rendition of "Mad World" for the film Donnie Darko
Christine Kane, folk singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist
Bascom Lamar Lunsford (1882–1973), folklorist, musician, folk festival founder
Mary Lattimore, harpist
MJ Lenderman (born 1999), singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
Valorie Miller, singer-songwriter
Bill Monroe (1911–1996), musician, known as "the father of bluegrass"; lived in Asheville; had a show on a local radio station in 1939
Robert Moog (1934–2005), pioneer of electronic music, inventor of the Moog synthesizer
Cameron Moore, singer-songwriter
Rex Nelon, gospel singer
Frances Nero, soul and jazz singer
Angel Olsen (born 1987), musician^[15]
Squire Parsons, singer and songwriter
Rainey Qualley, singer under the name Rainsford
Tyler Ramsey, singer-songwriter
Chase Rice (born 1985) country music singer, songwriter, and contestant on Survivor: Nicaragua,
Jimmie Rodgers, singer, known as "the father of country music"; lived in Asheville; had a show on a local radio station in 1927^[16]
Chris Rodrigues, contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist
Jonathan Scales, steel pannist and composer
Chris Sharp, singer-songwriter
Nina Simone (1933–2003), jazz singer, attended Allen Home School for Girls in Asheville^[17]
Arthur Lee "Red" Smiley, bluegrass and country musician,
Root Boy Slim, aka Foster Mackenzie III (1945–1993), blues musician
Moses Sumney (born 1992), singer-songwriter
Bryan Sutton, flatpicking acoustic guitar player
John Widman, luthier who makes high-end, hand-built guitars
David Wilcox (born 1958), folk musician and singer-songwriter
Kat Williams, blues singer

Politics

Terry Bellamy, mayor of Asheville
Cecil Bothwell, Asheville City Council
Charles Robin Britt, United States House of Representatives
William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925), United States Secretary of State and U.S. House of Representatives^[18]
Alice A. W. Cadwallader (1832–1910), philanthropist and temperance activist
Madison Cawthorn (born 1995), U.S. House of Representatives
Mark B. Childress (born 1959), former United States Ambassador to Tanzania and former Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning in the administration of President Obama
R. L. Clark, North Carolina Senate
James M. Clarke, United States House of Representatives
Lillian Exum Clement, first woman elected to the North Carolina General Assembly
Marie Colton (1922–2018), first female Speaker Pro Tempore of the North Carolina House of Representatives
H. K. Edgerton (born 1948), neoconfederate activist and President of the Asheville, North Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Joe Felmet, civil rights activist
Susan C. Fisher, North Carolina House of Representatives
D. Bruce Goforth, North Carolina House of Representatives
V. Lamar Gudger, United States House of Representatives
Bill Hendon (1944–2018), author, POW/MIA activist, and two-term U.S. Congressman from North Carolina
Herbert Hyde, North Carolina Senate and North Carolina House of Representatives
Bill Jackson, Georgia State Senate and Georgia House of Representatives
Horace R. Kornegay, U.S. House of Representatives
Helen Morris Lewis, suffragist who was the first woman in North Carolina to seek elected office,
Esther Manheimer, mayor of Asheville
Julie Mayfield, North Carolina Senate
Floyd McKissick, lawyer and civil rights activist who led the Congress of Racial Equality for a time and founded Soul City, North Carolina
Dan K. Moore (1906–1986), 66th Governor of North Carolina 1965–1969^[19]
Martin Nesbitt, North Carolina Senate
Mary Cordell Nesbitt (1911–1979), served in the North Carolina House of Representatives^[20]
Leonard Outerbridge, Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland
Richmond Pearson, U.S. House of Representatives
William Dudley Pelley (1890–1965), leader of the "Silver Shirt" fascist movement in the 1930s and 1940s
Lindsey Prather, North Carolina House of Representatives
J. E. Rankin (1845–1928), mayor of Asheville and chair of the Buncombe County Commissioners for 26 years
James W. Reid (1917–1972), served as the Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina
Robert R. Reynolds (1884–1963), U.S. Senator of isolationist sympathies in World War II
Michael Robinson (1924–2006), American Reform rabbi and civil rights activist
Jim Roddey, chief executive of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Caleb Rudow, North Carolina House of Representatives
Thomas A. Rymer, Maryland House of Delegates and judge of the Calvert County Circuit Court
Wilma M. Sherrill, North Carolina General Assembly
George A. Shuford, U.S. House of Representatives and North Carolina House of Representatives
Charles Manly Stedman, U.S. House of Representatives and Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina
John Shorter Stevens, North Carolina House of Representatives
Brian Turner, North Carolina House of Representatives

Joseph Tydings (1928–2018), lawyer and politician
Terry Van Duyn, North Carolina Senate
Robert Brank Vance, U.S. House of Representatives
Zebulan Vance, Governor of North Carolina and United States Senator
Lewis B. Whitworth, Florida House of Representatives and Miami-Dade County circuit court judge
William Winkenwerder Jr. (born 1954), Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (2001–2007)^[21]

Religion

Franklin Graham, Christian evangelist and missionary
Kevin S. Brown, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware
George Way Harley, Methodist medical missionary
Lewis Pease, Methodist clergyman
Michael Robinson, reform rabbi, civil rights activist, and human rights activist known for his association with Martin Luther King Jr.
G. Porter Taylor, Episcopal Bishop of Western North Carolina

Sports

Baseball

Jack Alexander, minor league baseball player and college football coach
Tom Bradley, professional baseball player and coach
Bob Chakales, professional baseball player
Dave Cheadle, professional baseball player
Harry Courtney, professional baseball and football player
Braxton Davidson, professional baseball players
Darren Holmes (born 1966), MLB player for eight teams
Mel Ingram, professional baseball player
Hughie Jennings (1869–1928), Major League Baseball player and manager, 1891–1925
Johnny Lanning, professional baseball players
Cameron Maybin (born 1987), Major League Baseball player with Los Angeles Angels; born and raised in Asheville^[22]
Larry McCall, professional baseball player
Joel McKeithan, professional baseball coach
Dorothy Montgomery (1924–2009), All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
Chris Narveson (born 1981), MLB pitcher
Buck Redfern, professional baseball player
Mike Roberts, professional baseball player and college baseball coach
Sammy Stewart, professional baseball player
Don Thompson (1923–2009), Major League Baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Joe West (born 1952), MLB umpire for record-breaking 40 seasons
Pete Whisenant, professional baseball player

Basketball

Brad Daugherty (born 1965), retired NBA basketball player, 5-time All-Star, ESPN NASCAR analyst^[23]
Harry Hartsell, head football and basketball coach at North Carolina State University
Loyd King (born 1949), professional basketball player
Henry Logan, college basketball player who won the gold medal in the 1967 Pan American Games
Rhonda Mapp (born 1969), WNBA player
Rashad McCants (born 1984), NBA basketball player for Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings; former Erwin High School basketball player^[24]
Rashanda McCants (born 1986), WNBA player
Christian Moody, college and professional basketball player
Buzz Peterson (born 1963), former director of player personnel for NBA's Charlotte Bobcats; former men's head basketball coach at UNC Wilmington, University of Tennessee, Appalachian State University, University of Tulsa, and Coastal Carolina University;^[25] born and raised in Asheville^[26]
Roy Williams (born 1950), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill basketball coach, raised in Asheville^[27]

Football

LeRoy Abernethy, college football player
Jack Alexander, college football coach and minor league baseball player
John Avery (born 1976), football player in NFL, XFL, and CFL; attended Asheville High School^[28]
Kent Briggs, college football coach
Crezdon Butler (born 1987), NFL cornerback for Pittsburgh Steelers; born and raised in Asheville; led Asheville High School to 2006 state championship^[29]
Joey Clinkscales, professional football player and executive
Harry Courtney, professional football and baseball player
Jonathan Crompton, professional football player
Rico Dowdle (born 1998), NFL running back
Claude "Hoot" Gibson, professional football player
Harry Hartsell, head football and basketball coach at North Carolina State University
Dan Hill, college football player and All-American
Martese Jackson, professional gridiron football player
Ralph James, college football coach
Ben Johnson, professional football coach
Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice (1924–2003), professional football player
Eku Leota, professional football player
Leonard Little (born 1974), NFL football player with St. Louis Rams; born and raised in Asheville^[30]
Eddie McGill, professional football player
Harold Olson, professional football player
Jeoffrey Pagan, professional football player
Ray Roberts (born 1969), retired NFL player
James Rosecrans, professional football player
Jonathan Rush (born 1989), college football player
Bill Russo, college football coach
Red Sanders, college football coach
George Stephens, college football player
Brett Swain (born 1986), NFL player for Green Bay Packers
Aydan White, college football player
Johnny White, professional football player

Racing

Jack Ingram, retired NASCAR driver
Stephen Leicht (born 1987), NASCAR driver
Robert Pressley (born 1959), retired NASCAR driver, born in Asheville^[31]
Ronnie Silver (born 1951), NASCAR driver^[32]
Roy Trantham, stock car racing driver

Soccer

Hunter Gilstrap, professional soccer player
Nate Torbett (born 1994), professional soccer player for Coomera Colts SC and coach

Swimming

Mary Montgomery, swimmer
Stephen Rerych (born 1946), Olympic gold medalist in swimming^[33]

Professional wrestling

Karl Anderson, professional wrestler; signed to WWE
Adam "Edge" Copeland (born 1973), professional wrestler, author, relocated to Asheville
Eddie Golden (born 1973), professional wrestler, resides in Asheville
Evan Golden (born 2000), professional wrestler, born and raised in Asheville
Beth Phoenix (born 1980), real name Elizabeth Copeland; retired professional wrestler, four-time women's champion, and commentator; relocated to Asheville
K. C. Thunder, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer
Cash Wheeler (born 1987), real name Daniel Wheeler; professional wrestler for All Elite Wrestling; born and raised in Asheville, where he currently resides

Other

Stacey Bentley, competitive bodybuilder
Joe Bowman, marksman
Matt Carpenter, ultramarathoner as a trail runner and in high altitude marathons
Cameron Cogburn, cyclist
Jennifer Pharr Davis (born 1982), long-distance hiker; unofficial record holder of fastest through-hike of Appalachian Trail
Lawson Duncan (born 1964), former Grand Prix tennis tour player
Kelly Grieve, member of the United States women's national softball team she won 2011 World Cup of Softball
Willow Koerber, mountain biker
Rachel Kuehn, amateur golfer
Frank Messer, sportscaster that was best known for his eighteen seasons announcing New York Yankees baseball games

Other

Terry Hyatt, serial killer
Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt, heiress who inherited the Biltmore Estate

References

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List of people from Asheville, North Carolina

Contents

Architecture

Art

Business

Education

Entertainment

Government

Law

Literature and journalism

Medicine and science

Military

Musicians

Politics

Religion

Sports

Baseball

Basketball

Football

Racing

Soccer

Swimming

Professional wrestling

Other

Other

See also

References