Top 10 Famous people from Mississippi

Top 10 Famous people from Mississippi

Mississippi played an important role in the United States Civil War. It is the top producer of farm-raised catfish, sweet potatoes, cotton and pulpwood.

One popular landmark from this state is the Mississippi river. Several movies have been filmed all over the state, especially in Canton which has been fondly called the City of Lights.

It was in this state that President Theodore Roosevelt got his nickname teddy bear; the president had refused to kill a bear during a hunting trip. 

This may come as a surprise to some people but Mississippi is home to the rock n roll king Elvis Presley, Oprah Winfrey, Jim Henson, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, B.B. King, and Jimmy Buffett.

These are just a few famous people that hail from the state. They are some of the richest and most influential people in the world.

Read more about the top 10 famous people from Mississippi.

1. Elvis Presley – Rock n Roll artist

Photo sourced from Wikimedia

Elvis Presley was born on Jan. 8, 1935, in Tupelo. He is popularly known as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. He is credited with making rock n roll music popular.

Presley began his music career in 1954 at Sun Records in Memphis. In 1956, he released his first single Heartbreak Hotel. That same year, Elvis had his first on-screen acting role in Love me Tender.

In all his performances, Elvis artistically blended energy and erotic sensuousness.

Most of his music was greatly influenced by African-American singers like Arthur Crudup. This made Presley’s music cut across racial prejudices. Presley ended up being a controversial figure because of this.  

Elvis received several music awards and was inducted into several music halls of fame. He was also the best-selling solo artist in the history of music.  

2. William Faulkner – Author

William Faulkner has written several novels, screenplays, poems, and short stories.  He is best remembered for his novels The Sound and the Fury (1929), As I Lay Dying (1930), Sanctuary (1931), and Absalom, Absalom!

In 1949, Faulkner won the Nobel Prize in Literature; this was the first time anyone from Mississippi had won the prestigious award.

He also won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novels A Fable (1954) and The Reivers (1962).

As an author, he experimented with his writing style and paid attention to diction and tempo.

Most of his writing was highly emotional, subtle, cerebral, complex, and sometimes melodramatic or outlandish.

Faulkner died from a heart attack in 1962 after he fell from a horse.

3. James Earl Jones – Actor

Earl has had a successful career in the acting industry for more than 7 decades. He has been described as one of the most eminent and flexible actors of all time.

James excelled in film, theatre, and television, becoming one of the greatest actors in American history. Additionally, it has been said that he possesses the best-known voice in show business.

He has done voice-overs for commercials, voice acting and live-action acting. One will find it hard to believe that he used to have a stutter when he was younger.

When Earl was in college, he was a pre-med major and also served in the United States Army during the Korean War before pursuing a career in acting.

Jones has won three Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award. He was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1985.

4. Sam Cooke – Musician

Photo by RCA Victor Records – Wikimedia

Samuel Cooke is regarded as the pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time. Known professionally as Sam Cooke, he is fondly called the King of Soul.

He has distinctive vocals and had greatly contributed to the genre, making him highly significant in popular music.

His influence gave rise to the likes of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Billy Preston.

Apart from music, Cooke was on the front line of the Civil Rights Movement. Cooke used his influence to fight for the cause. He was very popular among the white and black population.

5. Tennessee Williams – Playwright

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Thomas Lanier Williams III known by his pen name Tennessee Williams was an American playwright and screenwriter.

Tennessee is regarded as one of the 3 leading playwrights of 20th-century American drama alongside Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller.

He shot into fame at the age of 33, after publishing the Glass Menagerie (1944) in New York. Before this, His work was not known. The play was inspired by his upbringing which he regarded as unhappy.

This was the start of his fame as his other plays: A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), and The Night of the Iguana (1961) became a success.

Most of his work has been adapted into a film. He also wrote short stories, poems and essays. Williams was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1979.

6. Brandy Norwood – Singer

Brandy Norwood is a quintessential R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. Her music career began in her early teens. She rose to fame with her first single ‘I Wanna Be Down’.

Norwood comes from a family of singers where her cousin, Snoop Dogg, is a popular rapper.

In 1994, Brandy released her self-titled debut album and sold more than 6 million copies.

Additionally, Brandy is a talented actress and was featured in the sitcom Moesha. She was the lead character, a role that brought her several accolades.  

Her popular hit songs include The Boy is Mine feat. Monica, Never Say Never, Afrodisiac.

Brandy won a Grammy Award for her album ‘Never Say Never.

7. Oprah Winfrey – Business Woman

Photo by Bill Ebbesen – Wikimedia

She needs no introduction. Oprah is known for her phrase you get a car! you get a car! everyone gets a car! Oprah is an internationally influential self-made billionaire African-American woman.

She is an accomplished talk show host, actress, author and entrepreneur. Winfrey grew up in poverty and was raised by her grandmother.

Her childhood was filled with painful upbringing, sexual assault and mistreatment.

After high school, she contested in a local beauty pageant and won. This was also a blessing for her as she joined radio.

With time she became popular and was given her show. It was followed by a national talk show that became a phenomenon.

Today, Oprah owns a television and radio network, and a magazine.

8. LeAnn Rimes – County Singer

Margaret LeAnn Rime Cibrian is a country and pop singer who gained popularity at the young age of 14. She was one of the youngest country music stars of America.

Her love for music began when she was 5 years old. Margaret was enrolled on singing classes by her parents.

As a teen, she performed in theatres and cable television shows. Margaret’s first album, Blue, earned her two Grammy awards.

When she started, Margaret sang country music but later transitioned to contemporary music, pop and rock.

Most of Margaret’s work is credited to Patsy Cline, who had a similar style of music. 

9. Ruby Bridges – Activist

Photo sourced from Wikimedia

You have seen a photo of a young African American girl carrying her book bag and being escorted out of a school building by four men, her bodyguards. Well, that little 6-year-old is Ruby Bridges.

Ruby was the first African-American child to join the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana. This was during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis on November 14, 1960.

Bridges were born during the middle of the Civil Rights Movement.

During this time, the court had declared the process of separating schools for black children and white children unconstitutional. Unfortunately, many white people did not want schools to be integrated.

Ruby was bullied in school and her father lost his job. Furthermore, they were not able to buy groceries from any store.

She has been immortalized in the Rockwell painting was displayed in the West Wing of the White House.

10. Eudora Welty – Author

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Eudora Alice Welty is known for her novel The Optimist’s Daughter which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973.

She has also received several awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of the South.

Eudora was the first author alive to have her works published by the Library of America.

Her house in Jackson, Mississippi, is now a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as a house museum.

Welty taught at Harvard University and later adapted her talks as a three-part memoir titled One Writer’s Beginnings.

She died in 2001 and was buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson.