20 of Our Favorite Celebrities from Atlanta

Atlanta is a city known for its celebrities. From athletes to actors, many famous faces hailing from the ATL. Being a celebrity in Atlanta comes with its perks. You get to live in one of the country’s most vibrant and exciting cities. Plus, you can always count on the city to show you a good time. These celebrities were born in Atlanta but have made a name for themselves worldwide. Here are 20 of our favorite Atlanta celebrities.

20. Steven Soderbergh (Director, Producer)

Steven Soderbergh is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for directing the films Ocean’s Eleven, Traffic, Erin Brockovich, and Contagion. He has also won an Academy Award for his work on Traffic. according to Wikipedia, he was born on January 14, 1963, in Atlanta, Georgia, and his sign is Capricon.

19. Kelly Rowland

Kelly Rowland is an American singer-songwriter best known as a member of the girl group Destiny’s Child. Rowland has also released several solo albums, including Ms. Kelly and Talk a Good Game. In addition to her music career, Rowland is a television personality, actress, and businesswoman. She currently hosts the reality competition series The Voice U.K. and co-hosts America’s Got Talent with Simon Cowell. As a talent manager, she has helped establish the careers of such artists as Misha B and Naughty Boy. Rowland is married to manager Tim Witherspoon and has two children. In 2019, Rowland was ranked number 21 on Forbes magazine’s list of the highest-paid women in music.

18. David Cross (Stand-up comedian, ActorActor)

David Cross is an American stand-up comedian, Actor, and writer. He is known as Tobias Fünke in the Fox series Arrested Development. Cross was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but Cross began performing stand-up comedy after moving to Los Angeles. He has appeared on numerous television shows, including The Ben Stiller Show, Mr. Show, and Arrested Development. Cross has also had roles in Men in Black II, Scary Movie 2, and Ghost World.

17. Gladys Knight (Singer-Songwriter)

Gladys Knight is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She is best known for her work with Gladys Knight & the Pips, a singing group she formed with her brother and cousin. The Pips also included Bubba Knight and Edward Patten. After the group split up in 1989, she continued her solo career with success on the Adult Contemporary and Urban Contemporary charts. According to Wikipedia, Knight has won seven Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, three American Music Awards, and an NAACP Image Award. (Gladys Knight ) She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 along with The Pips. In 2019, she received Kennedy Center Honors.

16. Kenan Thompson (Actor)

Kenan Thompson was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and began his acting career as a child on the Nickelodeon show All That. He later joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, where he has become one of the show’s most popular and enduring performers. Thompson has also appeared in films such as Fat Albert, Snakes on a Plane, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Thompson is one of the longest-running cast members on Saturday Night Live, having been with the show since 2003.

15. Playboi Carti (Rapper)

Atlanta-born rapper Playboi Carti has been heating the music scene since his first mixtape release in early 2017. His signature sound – a mix of Southern drawl and experimental trap – has earned him a loyal following and collaborations with some of the biggest names in music, including A$AP Rocky, Travis Scott, and Wiz Khalifa. Carti is also known for his high-energy live performances, leaving fans wanting more.

14. Ed Helms (Actor)

Ed Helms is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker known for his roles in the T.V. series The Office and The Hangover trilogy. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 24, 1974. Helms attended Oberlin College in Ohio before making his way to Hollywood. According to Wikipedia, he started in television with a recurring role on the N.B.C. sitcom The Daily Show before landing a starring role on the popular mockumentary series The Office. Helms has also appeared in films such as The Hangover, and We’re the Millers and Tag.

13. Lil Baby (Rapper)

Born in Atlanta, Lil Baby started his rap career at the young age of 18. He released his first solo mixtape in 2017 and has since been gaining popularity with tracks like “My Dawg” and “Freestyle.” Lil Baby is known for its melodic flow and hard-hitting lyrics. In March 2018, he signed a record deal with Quality Control Music; Lil Baby’s net worth is estimated to be $4 million.

12. Dwight Howard (Basketball Player)

Dwight Howard is an American professional basketball player. He has played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (N.B.A.), including the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, and Charlotte Hornets. Howard, a 6’10” center, was drafted first overall by the Orlando Magic in 2004. He played eight seasons with the Magic before being traded to the Lakers in 2012. He signed with the Rockets as a free agent in 2013 and then signed with the Hornets in 2016.

11. Future (Rapper)

Future (born Nayvadius Cash) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Atlanta, Future first became involved in music as a teenager, making mixtapes with his friends. He released his debut album, Pluto, in April 2012 to critical acclaim. The album spawned the hit singles “Good Morning” and “Turn On the Lights,” which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

10. André 3000 (Rapper)

André 3000 was born André Benjamin in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 27, 1975. His mother, Sharon Benjamin-Hodo, was a professional singer; his father, Lawrence Walker, was a retired military man and a jazz trumpeter. André has a sister, Patrice, and a brother, Brad. According to his Wikipedia biography, André 3000 was interested in music from an early age; he started playing the piano at six years old and taught himself to play the guitar by the time he was 14. He met Antwan “Big Boi” Patton at Tri-Cities High School in Atlanta, and the two soon began working together.

9. Young Thug (Rapper)

Young Thug is an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He is best known for his songs “Lifestyle,” “About the Money,” and “Check.” Young Thug has collaborated with several popular artists, including Lil Wayne, Future, Travis Scott, and Juicy J. He is also the founder of the record label Y.S.L. Records. In August 2016, Young Thug announced that he had changed his stage name to “No, My Name Is Jeffery.” He explained that he switched “to keep my fan base and make music for them.”

8. Cam Newton (American Football Player)

Cam Newton is an American football player born in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (N.F.L.). Cam played college football at Auburn University and was drafted as the first overall pick by the Panthers in the 2011 N.F.L. Draft. He is a three-time Pro Bowl selection and was named the NFL MVP in 2015.

7. Spike Lee (Film director)

Lee was born on March 20, 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia. His father, Bill Lee, was a jazz musician and his mother, Jacquelyn Mitchell, was a teacher. Lee attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he studied filmmaking. After graduation, he worked as a production assistant on television commercials. His films are known for their controversial subject matter and often deal with race relations, crime, and the African-American experience. He has won numerous awards for his work, including an Academy Award for best original screenplay and two Emmy Awards.

6. Brittany Murphy (Actress)

Britanny Murphy was an American actress and singer. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Murphy moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to pursue a career in acting. She made her film debut in the coming-of-age drama Clueless (1995), followed by supporting roles in independent films such as Freeway (1996) and Basquiat (1996). Her breakthrough role was in the comedy 8 Mile (2002), for which she received critical acclaim. Murphy then appeared in a series of dramas, including Don’t Say a Word (2001), Cold Mountain (2003), and Sin City (2005). Her final film was the animated 3D feature Happy Feet 2 (2011). Murphy died of pneumonia on December 20, 2009. She was married to British screenwriter Simon Monjack from 2007 until her death.

5. Chris Tucker (Actor, Comedian)

Tucker began his acting career in 1992 with small roles in House Party 3 and Bobby Brown’s rap music video “My Prerogative.” His first film role was in the 1994 film House Party 3, where he played the role of Rusty. He has also appeared in films such as The Fifth Element (1997), Jackie Brown (1997), Rush Hour (1998), Rush Hour 2 (2001), Silver Linings Playbook (2012), and Django Unchained (2012). He is known for playing the role of Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour film series. Tucker became a frequent stand-up performer on Def Comedy Jam in the 1990s. He came to prominence in 1995, starring in the hit movie Friday alongside Ice Cube.

4. T.I. (Hip-hop Artist)

T.I. is one of the most successful hip-hop artists in the world. He was born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. on September 25, 1980, in Atlanta, Georgia. As a youngster, he was very interested in music and began rapping at age 8. He adopted the stage name T.I.P. when he joined the rap group Pimp Squad Click (P.S.C.) in the late 1990s. In 2001, T.I. released his debut solo album, I’m Serious, which spawned the hit single “U Don’t Know Me.” Over the next several years, he released a series of chart-topping albums, including Urban Legend (2004), King (2006), T.I. vs. T.I.P. (2007), Paper Trail (2008), and No Mercy (2010). His eighth studio album, Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head, was released in 2012 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

3. Chloe Grace Moretz (Actress)

Chloe Grace Moretz is an American actress and model. She began her acting career in 2004 at the age of seven, and her first film role was in The Amityville Horror (2005). She has since appeared in several films, including Hugo (2011), Dark Shadows (2012), Carrie (2013), If I Stay (2014), and The Equalizer (2014). In 2010, Moretz launched her own production company, Karz Entertainment, and she has since produced the films The 5th Wave (2016), November Criminals (2017), and Suspiria (2018). Moretz has also starred in the T.V. series 30 Rock (2010), The Carrie Diaries (2013–14), and American Horror Story: Hotel (2015). In 2014, she was named one of the Young Hollywood Awards’ “Top 20 Actors Under 20”. She has also been praised for her activism, including her work with the Clinton Foundation.

2. Martin Luther King Jr. (Civil Rights Activist, Minister)

Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. Born in Atlanta, King is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, tactics his Christian upbringing gave him. King led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, serving as its first president. With the SCLC, he led an unsuccessful 1962 struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgia (the Albany Movement) and helped organize the 1963 nonviolent protests in Birmingham, Alabama. He also helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

1. Kanye West (Rapper, Developer (Chipmunk Soul” Sampling Style)

Kanye West is an American rapper and record producer. He is also the founder and C.E.O. of the GOOD Music record label. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he worked with Jay-Z on his seminal album The Blueprint (2001). He later gained fame as a rapper with his debut album The College Dropout (2004), which included the hip-hop hits “All Falls,” “Jesus Walks,” and “Diamonds From Sierra Leone.” Wikipedia states that West has been involved in various controversies, most notably the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards incident, in which he interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for the “Best Female Video” award. He has also been outspoken on political issues, including his support for U.S. President Donald Trump.

Conclusion

All the artists, as mentioned above, have helped make Atlanta the music mecca today. They have all contributed to the city’s rich musical history and have helped put Atlanta on the map as a major player in the music industry. We are sure that many more talented artists call Atlanta home, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for Atlanta’s music scene.

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