10 Most Famous People from North Dakota

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10 Most Famous People from North Dakota

It is the 39^th state of the United States of America. It is the geographical center of North America making it a midwestern US state.  It is famous for its Badlands, which are now part of the 70,000-acre Theodore Roosevelt National Park. In the recent past, it had an oil boom extraction which led to a population increase and low unemployment. It boasts of a continental climate with extreme conditions such as hot summers and cold winters. All these are all North Dakota’s fun facts but the main agenda is that mad talents hail from the Peace Garden State. For example, the little sticker on your license plate was first introduced in North Dakota after a single DMV worker named Lenard Milo came up with the idea. Today it is a national requirement for every car on the road! Other world-famous persons call it home and on this list, we shall delve into them.

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1. Josh Duhamel 

Josh Duhamel. Image by Daniel Benavides from Austin- Wikimedia

Duhamel was born in Minot, North Dakota. He is an actor and a former fashion model. his childhood dream was to be a dentist but his grades were not good enough for dental school. He made his debut on ABC’s All My Children, playing the role of Leo du Pres. He is well known for his role in Transformers as one of the protagonists, Captain/Major William Lennox.  He is also a businessman owning a restaurant, 10 North Main, in his hometown. 

2. Peggy Lee

Publicity photo of singer Peggy Lee. Image by General Artists Corporation (management) – Wikimedia

Lee was born in Jamestown, North Dakota. She was a jazz singer, songwriter, composer, and actress. She started as a vocalist on local radio singing with Benny Goodman’s big band. Her singing career spanned more than six decades. She received three Grammys during her lifetime. She was a brand and a successful one at that. She wrote songs for films, acted, and recorded conceptual record albums combining poetry and music.  Before her death in 2002 aged 81 years, she had recorded over 1,100 masters and composed over 270 songs. She is undoubtedly the Queen of Pop!

3. Angie Dickinson

Photo of Angie Dickinson as Pepper Anderson from Police Woman. Image by NBC Television – Wikimedia

Dickinson is an actress who was born in Kulm, North Dakota. She had had roles in more than 50 films. She is best known for her roles in Police Woman and Dressed to Kill. Among her many accolades, Angie has a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, and her work in Police Woman earned her a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series.

4. Wiz Khalifa

Wiz Khalifa. Image by Tore Sætre – Wikimedia

Wiz is a renowned rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His most famous song is See You Again which is featured in the movie Furious 7. The song made it to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 list and stayed there for 12 consecutive weeks. He has seven studio albums, a soundtrack album, and an extended play to his name. He has won several awards including the BET, Billboard Music Awards, and Teen Choice Awards. As an actor, he has appeared in a couple of films and made guest appearances on several TV Shows.

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5. Leslie Bibb

Leslie Bibb. Image by David Shankbone – Wikimedia

Bibb is an actress and model best known for her roles in the TV series Popular and The Big Easy. Thanks to The Oprah Winfrey Show, she got the opportunity to showcase her talent as a model. From then on, she has appeared in numerous high-end magazines including Maxim and FHM. She led a difficult childhood with a single mother and three siblings. The experience made her philanthropic and associated with many charities. She is a supporter of Friends of El Faro, a non-profit organization that helps raise money for the Mexico-based orphanage Casa Hogar Sion. Bibb also partners with the LIFE Foundation where she serves as the national spokesperson for Life Insurance Awareness Month.

6. Greg Raymer

Greg Raymer at the 2008 World Series of Poker. Image by Gene Bromberg – Wikimedia

Greg is from Minot, North Dakota. He is one of the best poker players in the US. Nicknamed “Fossilman” for his unusual glasses, Greg was originally a scientist who played blackjack in graduate school as a way to make some extra income. That soon turned into poker and he went on to win the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2004. In this tournament, he won the title of WSOP Champion in the 2004 World Series of Poker striking several million. As of 2021, his total live tournament winnings exceed $8 million.

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7. Gary Earl Johnson

Gary Johnson. Image by Gage Skidmore – Wikimedia

He is an entrepreneur, author, and politician. He has led a successful career as a politician. He entered politics as the governor of New Mexico in 1994. He served for two consecutive terms. He is known for lowering taxes and balancing the state budget.  He also set a record on the times he used his veto power on more than 750 bills. He remained active in politics and in 2003 he returned as a presidential candidate in the 2012 elections. His stands on the legalization of marijuana did not go well with the Republican Party and so he switched to the Liberation Party. Though he lost to Barrack Obama, he garnered early 1.3 million votes, the most won by a Libertarian presidential ticket. He ran a second time in 2016 but again he lost. In 2018 he bid for the U.S. Senate but was defeated.

8. Douglas Richard McDermott

Doug McDermott.  Image by U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Zachary Cacicia – Wikimedia

Iowa is honored to be associated with Douglas, a professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a son of a coach and his father played a huge role in his upbringing in the basketball world.  He shined his way through college becoming a three-time consensus first-team All-American and national player of the year. He finished his college career with the fifth-most points in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history.  After school, he was drafted by Denver Nuggets. He was traded to the Chicago Bulls and went on to play two and half seasons for the Bulls before being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in February 2017. He also played for the New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks, and Indiana Pacers.

9. Leslie Stefanson

Stefanson is one talented woman. She is an actress, model, and sculptor. She has been on numerous movies, telefilms, and TV series till 2003. Her best work was in The General’s Daughter, 1999. She also tried her hand at modeling but majorly she leaned toward acting. Her passion for sculpting took center stage after 2003. She retired from the acting industry to become a full-time sculptor in Los Angeles and New York City, all her artwork can be found on her website. She sculpts statues of bronze and terracotta. Eroticism is one of her favorite themes. She is married to another renowned actor, James Spader, who plays the lead role of Raymond Reddington, in Blacklist.

10. Louis L’Amour

Author Louis L’Amour. Image by Thomas J. Kravitz, Los Angeles Times – Wikimedia

He was one of the most talented and world-popular novelists who also calls Iowa his home. He was a short-story writer, who primarily wrote Western novels based on his experiences of frontier life. He also concentrated on historical fiction, science-fiction, and non-fiction works. He also had several poems in his bag. Some of his books have ended up as films including the novel Hondo, the Sackett series, and the Hopalong Cassidy series. He has received many accolades and his work has been translated into more than 10 languages. He died in 1988 but his creations still live on even after his death.