Texas has produced and is still producing characters whose names and deeds are well known. We’re proud of most of Texas’ sons and daughters, but we can’t deny that there are some who are more infamous than famous.
The one criterion that is absolutely essential to getting on this list is that the individual must have been born within the boundaries of the Great State of Texas.
This list will grow and change with the headlines. If you would like to submit names and data for addition to the list, we will be glad to add them if we are able to confirm your information.
Who’s on the list?
| Name | Description | Hometown | Date of Birth | Date of Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lance Armstrong | Road racing cyclist, 7-time Tour de France Winner | Plano | 09/18/1971 | – |
| Gene Autry | Singer, actor | Tioga | 9/29/1907 | 10/2/1998 |
| Frederick Bean “Tex” Avery | Artist-animator; created Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck | Taylor | 2/27/1908 | 8/26/1980 |
| Joe Don Baker | Actor | Groesbeck | 2/12/1936 | 05/07/2025 |
| Kathy Baker | Actress | Midland | 6/8/1947 | – |
| Marcia Ball | Singer, pianist | Austin | – | – |
| Ernie Banks | Baseball Hall of Famer | Dallas | 1/30/1931 | 01/23/2015 |
| Clyde Barrow | Bank robber (Bonnie and Clyde) | Teleco | 3/21/1909 | 5/23/1934 |
| Don “Red” Barry | Actor (Red Ryder in serials of the same name) | Houston | 1/11/1912 | 7/17/1980 |
| Lou Ann Barton | Singer | Austin | – | – |
| Frank Beard | Singer, guitarist (ZZ Top) | Houston | – | – |
| Gordon Lee “Tex” Beneke | Bandleader; jazzman | Fort Worth | 1/1/1914 | 5/30/2000 |
| Robby Benson | Actor | Dallas | 1/21/1956 | – |
| Dan Blocker | Actor; portrayed Hoss Cartwright on Bonanza | O’Donnell | 12/10/1928 | 5/3/1972 |
| Powers Boothe | Actor | Snyder | 6/1/1948 | 05/14/2017 |
| Edie Brickell | Singer, songwriter; married to Paul Simon | Oak Cliff | 3/10/1966 | – |
| Betty Buckley | Actress, singer; Broadway and movies | Big Spring | 7/3/1947 | – |
| Carol Burnett | Actress, commedienne | San Antonio | 4/26/1933 | – |
| Gary Busey | Actor | Goose Creek | 6/29/1944 | – |
| Kate Capshaw | Actress; married to Steven Spielberg | Austin | 11/3/1953 | – |
| Joe “King” Carrasco | Guitarist, singer | Dumas/Austin | – | – |
| Cyd Charisse | Actress, dancer; married to Tony Martin | Amarillo | 3/8/21 | 06/17/08 |
| Randall “Tex” Cobb | Former pro boxer | Abilene | 1/1/50 | – |
| Arnett Cobb | Jazz musician (tenor sax) | Houston | 08/10/1918 | 03/24/1989 |
| Dabney Coleman | Actor | Austin | 1/2/32 | – |
| Ornette Coleman | Jazz musician (alto sax) | Fort Worth | 05/09/1930 | 06/11/2015 |
| Albert Collins | Guitarist, singer | Leona | 10/1/32 | 11/24/93 |
| Anjanette Comer | Actress | Dawson | 8/7/42 | – |
| Johnny Copeland | Singer, guitarist | Houston | 03/27/1937 | 07/03/1997 |
| Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan | Aviator | Galveston | 1/22/1907 | 12/9/95 |
| Shirley Cothran | Miss America 1975 | Fort Worth | 1953 | – |
| Joan Crawford | Actress | San Antonio | 3/23/1908 | 5/10/77 |
| Christopher Cross | Singer | San Antonio/ Austin | 5/3/51 | – |
| King Curtis | R&B musician (tenor sax) | Fort Worth | 02/07/1934 | 08/13/1971 |
| Bebe Daniels | Actress (20’s & 30’s) | Dallas | 1/14/1901 | 3/16/71 |
| Linda Darnell | Actress | Dallas | 10/17/23 | 4/10/65 |
| Mac Davis | Singer, songwriter | Lubbock | 01/21/42 | 09/29/2020 |
| Jimmy Dean | Singer, songwriter, sausage maker | Plainview | 8/10/28 | 6/13/2010 |
| Jo Carol Dennison | Miss America 1942 | Tyler | 12/16/1923 | 10/18/2021 |
| Sam Donaldson | Network political reporter, anchor | El Paso | 3/11/34 | – |
| Michael Dorn | Actor (Star Trek’s Lt. Cmdr. Worf, etc.) | Luling | 12/9/52 | – |
| Sandy Duncan | Actress; television & Broadway | Henderson | 2/20/46 | – |
| Shelley Duvall | Actress | Houston | 7/7/49 | 07/11/2024 |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | 34th U.S. President | Denison | 10/14/1890 | 3/28/69 |
| Danny Elfman | Hollywood’s hottest film composer | Amarillo | 5/29/53 | – |
| Linda Ellerbee | Actress, producer, writer | Bryan | 8/15/44 | – |
| Joe Ely | Singer, songwriter | Austin | – | – |
| Ron Ely | Actor (15th screen Tarzan, etc.) | Hereford | 6/21/38 | 09/29/2024 |
| Dale Evans | Singer, actress; married to Roy Rogers | Uvalde | 10/31/1912 | 2/7/2001 |
| Morgan Fairchild | Actress | Dallas | 2/3/50 | – |
| Farrah Fawcett | Actress | Corpus Christi | 2/2/47 | 06/25/09 |
| Freddy Fender | Singer | San Benito/ Corpus Christi | 6/4/37 | 10/14/2006 |
| Horton Foote | Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and screenwriter | Wharton | 3/14/16 | 3/4/09 |
| Michelle Forbes | Actress (Star Trek’s Lt. Ro Larin, etc.) | Austin | 2/17/67 | – |
| George Foreman | Former World Heavy-Weight Boxing Champion | Marshall | 1/10/49 | 03/21/25 |
| Robert Foxworth | Actor; married to Elizabeth Montgomery | Houston | 11/1/41 | – |
| Jamie Foxx | Actor, producer (In Living Color, etc.) | Dallas | 12/13/67 | – |
| Lefty Frizzell | Singer | Corsicana | 03/31/1928 | 07/19/1975 |
| Steven Fromholz | Singer, songwriter | Austin | 06/08/1945 | 01/19/2014 |
| Larry Gatlin | Singer (The Gatlin Brothers) | Odessa | 5/2/48 | – |
| Rudy Gatlin | Singer (The Gatlin Brothers) | Odessa | – | – |
| Steve Gatlin | Singer (The Gatlin Brothers) | Odessa | – | – |
| Lynda Day George | Actress (Mission Impossible, etc.) | San Marcos | 12/11/46 | – |
| Phyllis George | Miss America 1971; sportscaster, journalist | Denton | 06/25/1949 | 05/14/2020 |
| Billy Gibbons | Singer, guitarist (ZZ Top) | Houston | – | – |
| Jimmy Dale Gilmore | Singer, songwriter | Amarillo | 1945 | – |
| Peri Gilpin | Actress (Roz on Frasier) | Waco | 5/27/61 | – |
| Pedro Gonzales-Gonzales | Character actor (discovered by Groucho Marx on You Bet Your Life) | Aguilares | 05/24/1925 | 02/06/2006 |
| Salim Grant | Actor; music producer | Houston | – | – |
| Kathryn Grant | Actress; married to Bing Crosby; mother of Mary Frances Crosby (she shot JR) | Houston | 11/25/33 | 09/20/2024 |
| Teresa Graves | Actress (Laughin, Get Christy Love) | Houston | 1/10/49 | 10/10/2002 |
| Corrine Griffith | Silent screen star | Texarkana | 11/24/1894 | 7/13/79 |
| Nancy Griffith | Singer, songwriter | Seguin | 07/06/1953 | 08/13/2021 |
| Texas Guinan | Vaudevillian, actress, personality | Waco | 1/12/1884 | 11/5/33 |
| Jerry Hall | Actress, model; former wife to Mick Jagger | Mesquite | 7/2/56 | – |
| Ann Harding | Actress, leading lady of 20’s & 30’s | Houston | 8/7/1901 | 9/1/81 |
| Catherine Hardwicke | Director (Twilight) | Cameron | 10/21/55 | – |
| Woody Harrelson | Actor | Midland | 7/23/61 | – |
| Lisa Hartman Black | Actress | Houston | 6/1/56 | – |
| Ethan Hawke | Actor | Austin | 11/6/70 | – |
| Don Henley | Singer, songwriter | Linden | 07/22/1947 | – |
| Little Joe Hernandez | Singer, bandleader | Dallas | – | – |
| Patricia Highsmith | Writer | Fort Worth | 1/21/21 | 2/4/95 |
| Dusty Hill | Singer, guitarist (ZZ Top) | Houston | 05/19/1949 | 07/28/2021 |
| Tish Hinojosa | Singer, songwriter | San Antonio | 12/06/1955 | – |
| Ben Hogan | Golf great | Dublin | 8/13/1912 | 7/24/97 |
| Buddy Holly | Cornerstone of rock music | Lubbock | 9/7/36 | 2/3/59 |
| Sam “Lightnin” Hopkins | Guitarist, composer, singer | Centerville/ Houston | 03/15/1912 | 01/30/1982 |
| Lee Horsley | Actor | Muleshoe | 5/15/55 | – |
| Johnny Horton | Singer, guitarist | Tyler | 04/30/1925 | 11/05/1960 |
| Howard Hughes | Aviator, filmmaker, eccentric billionaire | Houston | 12/24/1905 | 4/5/76 |
| Martha Hyer | Actress | Fort Worth | 8/10/24 | 05/31/2014 |
| Waylon Jennings | C&W Singer, songwriter | Littlefield | 6/15/37 | 02/13/2002 |
| Flaco Jiminez | Accordionist | San Antonio | 03/11/1939 | 07/31/2025 |
| Keg Johnson | Jazz musician (trumpet) | Dallas | 11/19/1908 | 11/08/1967 |
| Budd Johnson | Jazz musician (tenor sax) | Littlefield | 6/15/37 | 10/20/1984 |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | 36th U.S. President | Stonewall | 8/27/1908 | 1/22/73 |
| Carolyn Jones | Actress (original Morticia of Adams Family, etc.) | Amarillo | 4/28/29 | 8/3/83 |
| George Jones | C&W Singer | Saratoga | 9/12/31 | 04/26/2013 |
| Tommy Lee Jones | Actor, producer | San Saba | 9/15/46 | – |
| Scott Joplin | Ragtime composer, pianist | Linden | 11/24/1868 | 4/11/1917 |
| Janis Joplin | Singer | Port Arthur | 1/19/43 | 10/4/70 |
| Barbara Jordan | U.S. Congresswoman | Houston | 9/15/36 | 1/17/1996 |
| Freddie King | Guitarist | Gilmer | 09/03/1934 | 12/28/1976 |
| Tom Kite | Pro golfer | Dallas | 12/49 | – |
| Beyonceé Knowles | Pop Singer | Houston | 9/4/1981 | – |
| Kris Kristofferson | Actor, singer, songwriter | Brownsville | 6/22/36 | 09/28/2024 |
| Paul Lambert | Actor | El Paso | 1/1/1923 | 4/27/1997 |
| Richard Linklater | Director | Dallas | 7/30/1960 | |
| Josh Logan | Director, writer, producer (Paint Your Wagon, etc.) | Texarkana | 10/5/1908 | 7/12/1988 |
| Trini Lopez | Singer, actor | Dallas | 5/15/1937 | 08/11/2020 |
| Bessie Love | Actress, film star of the 20’s | Midland | 9/10/1898 | 4/26/1986 |
| Lyle Lovett | Singer, songwriter | Klein | 11/1/1957 | – |
| Barbara Lynn | Singer | Beaumont | 01/16/1942 | – |
| Peter MacNichol | Actor | Dallas | 4/10/1954 | – |
| Barbara Mandrell | C&W Singer | Houston | 12/25/1948 | – |
| Steve Martin | Actor, commedian | Waco | 8/14/1945 | – |
| Mary Martin | Broadway star; mother of Larry Hagman | Weatherford | 12/1/1913 | 11/3/1990 |
| Johnny Mathis | Singer extrordinaire | Gilmer | 9/30/1935 | – |
| Delbert McClinton | C&W Singer | Lubbock / Fort Worth | 11/4/1940 | – |
| Matthew McConaughey | Actor | Uvalde | 11/4/1969 | – |
| Bruce McGill | Actor (Animal House, Oliver Stone’s W) | San Antonio | 07/11/1950 | – |
| George “Spanky” McFarland | Child actor (Our Gang) | Dallas | 10/2/1928 | 6/30/1993 |
| Larry McMurtry | Author (Pulitzer Prize – Lonesome Dove) | Wichita Falls | 6/3/1936 | 03/25/2021 |
| Meat Loaf | Singer, actor | Dallas | 9/27/1951 | 01/20/2022 |
| Ann Miller | Tap dancer extrordinairre | Chireno | 4/12/1919 | 1/22/2004 |
| Roger Miller | Singer, songwriter | Fort Worth | 1/2/1936 | 10/25/1992 |
| Steve Miller | Singer, guitarist | Dallas | – | – |
| Deborah Morehart | Actress | Fort Worth | 7/3/1962 | – |
| Ella Mae Morse | Jazz singer | Mansfield | 9/12/1924 | 10/16/1999 |
| Audie Murphy | Most decorated enlisted man in WWII; actor | Kingston | 6/20/1924 | 5/28/1971 |
| Emilio Navaira | Singer | San Antonio | 08/23/1962 | 05/16/2016 |
| Willie Nelson | C&W singer, songwriter | Abbott | 4/30/1933 | – |
| Michael Nesmith | Singer (The Monkees), songwriter, producer | Houston | 12/30/1942 | 12/10/2021 |
| Fathead Newman | Jazz musician (tenor sax) | Dallas | 02/24/1933 | 01/20/2009 |
| Chester W. Nimitz | Fleet Admiral, USN (during WWII) | Fredericksburg | 2/24/1885 | 2/20/1966 |
| Christopher Null | Journalist, novelist, screenwriter | Houston | 9/7/1971 | – |
| Annette O’Toole | Actress | Houston | 4/1/1952 | – |
| Roy Orbison | Singer, guitarist | Wink | 4/23/1936 | 12/6/1988 |
| Bonnie Parker | Bank robber (Bonnie and Clyde) | Rowena | 10/1/1910 | 5/23/1934 |
| Eva Longoria Parker | Actress (Desperate Housewives) | San Antonio | 03/15/1975 | – |
| Fess Parker | Actor (portrayed Davy Crockett, etc.) | Fort Worth | 4/1/1952 | 3/18/2010 |
| Suzy Parker | Supermodel of 50’s, 60’s, actress | San Antonio | 10/28/1933 | 5/3/2003 |
| Bill Paxton | Actor | Fort Worth | 5/17/1955 | 02/25/2017 |
| Ross Perot | Self-made man | Texarkana | 6/27/1930 | 07/08/2019 |
| Valerie Perrine | Actress | Galveston | 9/3/1944 | – |
| Esther Phillips | Singer | Galveston | 12/23/1935 | 08/07/1984 |
| Mary Kay Place | Actress | Port Arthur | 9/23/1941 | – |
| Katherine Ann Porter | Author (Pulitzer Prize – Collected Stories) | Indian Creek | 5/15/1890 | 9/18/1980 |
| Wiley Post | Aviator (first solo global flight) | Grand Saline | 11/22/1898 | 8/15/1935 |
| Glen Powell | Actor | Austin | 10/21/1988 | – |
| Paula Prentiss | Actress; married to Richard Benjamin | San Antonio | 3/4/1939 | – |
| Billy Preston | – | Houston | 9/9/1946 | 6/6/2006 |
| Ray Price | Singer | Perryville | 01/12/1926 | 12/16/2013 |
| Randy Quaid | Actor | Houston | 10/1/1950 | – |
| Dennis Quaid | Actor | Houston | 4/9/1954 | – |
| Tomas Ramirez | Jazz musician (tenor sax) | South Texas | – | – |
| Phylicia Rashad | Actress | Houston | 6/19/1948 | – |
| Dan Rather | ex-CBS National News anchor | Wharton | 10/31/1931 | – |
| Dewey Redman | Jazz musician (tenor sax) | Fort Worth | 05/17/1931 | 09/02/2006 |
| Rex Reed | Critic, personality | Fort Worth | 2/10/1938 | – |
| Jim Reeves | C&W Singer | Panola County | 08/20/1923 | 07/31/1964 |
| Debbie Reynolds | Actress; mother of Carrie Fisher | El Paso | 4/1/1932 | 12/28/2016 |
| J. P. (Big Bopper) Richardson | Singer | – | – | 2/3/1959 |
| Jennie C. Riley | C&W Singer | Anson | – | – |
| Tex Ritter | C&W Singer, actor | Murvaul | 1/12/1905 | 1/2/1974 |
| Gene Roddenberry | Creator of Star Trek, producer | El Paso | 8/19/1921 | 10/24/1991 |
| Johnny Rodriguez | Singer, songwriter | Sabinal | 12/10/1951 | 05/09/2025 |
| Robert Rodriguez | Director | San Antonio | 06/20/1968 | – |
| Kenny Rogers | Singer | Houston | 8/21/1938 | 03/20/2020 |
| Brad Rushing | Filmmaker | Houston | 10/27/1964 | – |
| Keri Russell | TV actress; former Mouseketeer | Dallas | 3/23/1976 | – |
| Nolan Ryan | Legendary Pitcher | Refugio County | 1/31/1947 | – |
| Irene Ryan | Actress (Granny of Beverly Hillbillies, etc.) | El Paso | 10/17/1902 | 4/26/1973 |
| Zachary Scott | Actor | Austin | 2/21/1914 | 10/3/1965 |
| Selena (Quintanilla Perez) | Tejano songstress | Lake Jackson | 4/16/1971 | 3/31/1995 |
| Joan Severance | Model, actress | Houston | 12/23/1958 | – |
| Ann Sheridan | Actress | Denton | 2/21/1915 | 1/21/1967 |
| Anna Nicole Smith | Model, actress | Houston | 11/28/1967 | 02/08/2007 |
| Jaclyn Smith | Actress, model | Houston | 10/26/1947 | – |
| Buster Smith | Jazz musician (alto sax, clarinet) | Dallas | 08/24/1904 | 08/10/1991 |
| Liz Smith | Celebrity journalist | Fort Worth | 2/2/1923 | 11/12/2017 |
| Sissy Spacek | Actress; cousin of Rip Torn | Quitman | 12/25/1949 | – |
| Aaron Spelling | Television producer; father of Tori Spelling | Dallas | 4/22/1928 | 6/23/2006 |
| Brent Spiner | Actor (Star Trek’s Data, etc.) | Houston | 2/2/1949 | – |
| Nick Stahl | Actor | Harlingen | 12/5/1979 | – |
| Stephen Stills | Singer, songwriter | Dallas | 1/3/1945 | – |
| Gale Storm | Singer, film & TV actress (My Little Margie) | Bloomington | 4/5/1921 | 6/27/2009 |
| George Strait | C&W Singer | Poteet | 5/18/1952 | – |
| Angela Strehli | Singer | Lubbock/ Austin | 11/22/1945 | – |
| Patrick Swayze | Actor | Houston | 8/18/1952 | 09/14/2009 |
| Sharon Tate | Actress; murdered by Manson Family | Dallas | 1/24/1943 | 8/9/1969 |
| Jack Teagarden | Jazz trombone virtuoso | Venon | 8/20/1905 | 1/15/1964 |
| B. J. Thomas | Singer, songwriter | Houston | 8/7/1942 | 05/29/2021 |
| Henry Thomas | Actor (E.T., Valmont, etc.), musician | San Antonio | 9/9/1971 | – |
| Hank Thompson | C&W Singer, guitarist | Waco | 09/03/1925 | 11/06/2007 |
| Floyd Tillman | Singer, songwriter | Post | 12/08/1914 | 08/22/2003 |
| Stephen Tobolowsky | Actor | Dallas | 5/30/1951 | – |
| Rip Torn | Actor; Sissy Spacek’s cousin | Temple | 2/6/1931 | 07/09/2019 |
| Lee Trevino | Championship pro golfer | Dallas | 12/1/1939 | – |
| Ernest Tubb | C&W Singer | Crisp | 2/9/1914 | 9/6/1984 |
| Tanya Tucker | C&W Singer | Seminole | 10/10/1958 | – |
| Tommy Tune | Broadway director, choreographer | Wichita Falls | 2/28/1939 | – |
| Jack Valenti | Longtime President of the MPAA | Houston | 09/05/1921 | 04/26/2007 |
| Jimmy Vaughan | Rock musician | Dallas/Austin | – | – |
| Stevie Ray Vaughan | Rock musician | Dallas/Austin | 10/3/1954 | 8/27/1990 |
| King Vidor | Pioneer film director, producer | Galveston | 2/8/1894 | 11/1/1982 |
| Aaron “T-Bone” Walker | Guitarist, singer | Linden/Dallas | 05/28/1910 | 03/16/1975 |
| Charles Denton “Tex” Watson | Manson family member serving life in prison | Collin County | 1945 | – |
| Lisa Whelchel | Former Mouseketeer; TV infomercials | Fort Worth | 5/29/1963 | – |
| Forest Whitaker | Actor | Longview | 7/15/1961 | – |
| Lt. Col. Edward H. White II | Astronaut; first to walk in space (1965) | – | 11/14/1930 | 1/27/1967 |
| Charles Whitman | Texas Tower shooter; Eagle Scout | 6/24/1941 | 8/1/1966 | 8/1/66 |
| JoBeth Williams | Actress | Houston | 12/6/1948 | – |
| Van Williams | Actor | Fort Worth | 2/27/1934 | 11/28/2016 |
| Bob Wills | Bandleader; fiddler | Turkey | 3/6/1906 | 5/13/1975 |
| Chill Wills | Actor | Seagoville | 7/18/1903 | 12/15/1978 |
| Andrew Wilson | Actor | Dallas | 08/22/1964 | – |
| Luke Wilson | Actor | Dallas | 09/21/71 | – |
| Owen Wilson | Actor | Dallas | 11/18/1968 | – |
| Robin Wright | Actress | Dallas | 4/8/1966 | – |
| Babe Didrikson Zaharias | Olympic medalist, 1932; American pioneer sportswoman | Port Arthur | 6/26/1914 | 1956 |
| Renee Zellweger | Actress | Katy | 4/25/1969 | – |