The following people were all born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Little Rock (categorized by area in which each person is best known):
Broncho Billy Anderson (1880–1971), born in Little Rock, actor, writer, director, and producer
Frank Bonner (1942–2021), actor and television director best known for playing sales manager Herb Tarlek on the classic TV sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati[1]
Tammy Graham (born 1968), singer and pianist, born in the city
Lee Elhardt Hays (1914–1981), folk singer and songwriter for The Weavers, born in the city
Al Hibbler (1915–2001), blind singer who worked eight years with Duke Ellington before becoming a soloist; civil rights activist in 1950s and 1960s, was born in the city
Cory Brandan Putman (born 1976), lead vocalist for Grammy-nominated band Norma Jean and ex-guitarist for Living Sacrifice, a metal band based in Little Rock
Harry Thomason (born 1940), film and television producer and director best known for TV series Designing Women; was a Little Rock high school speech teacher and football coach.
Kevin McReynolds (born 1959), outfielder/designated hitter who played for San Diego Padres and New York Mets, was born in the city.[8]
Brooks Robinson (1937-2023), began his career at Lamar Porter Field, Hall of Fame third baseman for Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977; born in Little Rock in 1937[7][9]
Drew Smyly (born 1989), Major League Baseball pitcher
Hubert Ausbie (born 1938), longtime player with the Harlem Globetrotters[10]
Derek Fisher (born 1974), professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder, former head coach for the New York Knicks[11]
Jamaal Anderson (born 1986), defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL; former high school football star for Little Rock Parkview[14]
Walt Coleman, National Football League referee and owner and operator of Coleman Dairy; known for playoff game between Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots which incorporated the "Tuck Rule"
Jeff Gorton (born 1968), General manager of the New York Rangers ice hockey team.
John Kocinski (born 1967), motorcycle road racer who won 1990 250cc World Championship and 1997 World Superbike title, was born in the city[citation needed]
Jermain Taylor (born 1978), professional boxer and Middleweight Champion of the World in 2005, was born in the city.[21]
Michael Tinsley (born 1984), professional track runner specializing in the 400m hurdles; silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2013 World Championships.
Margot Adler (1946–2014), journalist born in Little Rock.
Daisy Bates (1914–1999), civil rights leader, journalist, publisher, and author who lived in the city.
Joe Bob Briggs, pseudonym and persona of John Irving Bloom (born 1953), a syndicated film critic, writer and actor, was raised in the city.
Dee Brown (1908–2002), novelist and historian whose most famous work is Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, grew up partly in the city.
Helen Gurley Brown (1922–2012), author, publisher, and businesswoman who was editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years, lived in the city.[22]
John Gould Fletcher (1886–1950), Pulitzer Prize-winning Imagist poet and author, was born in the city.
Fred Graham (1931–2019), chief anchor and managing editor of Court TV, was born in the city.
E. Lynn Harris (1955–2009), gay, black author with five novels that hit The New York Times Best Seller list, was raised in Little Rock.
Mercer Mayer (born 1943), author and illustrator of children's book Little Critter series and There's a Nightmare in My Closet.
Robert Palmer (1945–1997), a journalist, author of books about music and a musician, was born in the city.
Charles Portis (1933-2020), novelist, was born in El Dorado but lived most of his life in the city.
Alison Rogers (born 1966), journalist and real estate broker, author of Diary of a Real Estate Rookie, was born and bred in Little Rock.
Charles Willeford (1919–1988), author of detective novels and other books, was born in the city.
Roswell Beebe (1795–1856), mayor, alderman, benefactor, president of Cairo and Fulton Railroad.[23]
Shelby Brewer (1937–2015), top nuclear official in Reagan Administration from 1981 to 1984.[24]
Drew Bowers (1886–1985), Little Rock lawyer, Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1926 and 1928.
Preston Bynum (1939–2018), lobbyist and former Republican former member of Arkansas House.
Marvin Childers (born 1961), former Arkansas state representative from Mississippi County, lawyer and poultry industry lobbyist in Little Rock.
Wesley Clark (born 1944), 2004 presidential candidate; North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Commander; born in Chicago but a graduate of Hall High School in Little Rock[25]
Bill Clinton (born 1946), 42nd President of the United States and previously Governor of Arkansas, lived in the city.
Hillary Clinton (born 1947), U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Senator from New York, 2016 presidential candidate, wife of Bill Clinton, former first lady of state and U.S.; lived in the city.
Thomas James Churchill (1824–1905), Confederate general, governor; moved to the city in 1848.
Osro Cobb (1904–1996), lawyer, Republican politician from Montgomery County and later Little Rock.
Sterling R. Cockrill (1925–2022), Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives, 1967-1968; Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, 1970.
Les Eaves (born 1967), member of the Arkansas House of Representative for White County, former Little Rock resident.[27]
Orval Faubus (1906–1994), a six-term Arkansas governor known for his 1957 stand against integration of Little Rock schools in defiance of United States Supreme Court rulings.
Clay Ford (1938–2013), member of Arkansas House of Representatives from 1975 to 1976; member of Florida House of Representatives from 2007 until his death.
Vivian Flowers (born c. 1969), member of Arkansas House of Representatives; diversity officer at UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock.[28]
Carlos Hathcock (1942–1999), a legendary Marine sniper during the Vietnam War.
Kenneth Henderson (born c. 1963), Republican member of Arkansas House of Representatives; real estate developer in Russellville, former resident of Little Rock and graduate of UALR.[29]
Thomas C. Hindman (1828–1868), U.S. Representative representing Arkansas and a major general for Confederacy during the American Civil War; assassinated in 1868.
Missy Irvin (born 1971), Republican member of Arkansas State Senate from Stone County since 2011; born in Little Rock.
Jim Keet (born 1949), state legislator from Little Rock, Republican gubernatorial nominee against incumbent Mike Beebe in 2010 general election[30]
Allen Kerr (born 1954), Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Pulaski County; insurance agent in his native Little Rock; state insurance commissioner.
Douglas MacArthurGCB (1880–1964), United States Army general and Medal of Honor recipient, Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in the South West Pacific Area[31]
Charles B. MacDonald (1922–1990), United States Army officer of World War II, and military historian.
Richard Mays (born 1943), Democratic member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Pulaski County (1973–1977); associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court (1979–1980)[32]
Sheffield Nelson (born 1941), businessman and Republican politician.
Frank Pace Jr. (1912–1988), first president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Albert Pike (1809–1891), attorney, soldier, writer, Freemason; only Confederate military figure honored with a statue in Washington D.C., once lived in Little Rock.
John Selden Roane (1817–1867), Governor of Arkansas and Confederate general; died in Pine Bluff and is buried at Oaklawn Cemetery in Little Rock.
Tommy F. Robinson (born 1942), former member of the U.S. House of Representatives[33]
David J. Sanders (born 1975), Republican state senator from District 15, Baptist education official in Little Rock.
Ben M. Bogard (1868–1951), clergyman, founder of American Baptist Association, pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, a founder of Missionary Baptist Seminary, both in Little Rock[34]
James E. Cofer (born 1949), former professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; president of Missouri State University in Springfield 2010-2011
E. Fay Jones (1921–2004), architect, designer and an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright[35]
David Levering Lewis (born 1936), historian, Julius Silver University professor and Professor of History at New York University and recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes[36]
Elsie M. Lewis (1912-1992), first african-american woman to become a historian.
Wade Rathke (born 1948), founder and chief organizer of Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN); he started the non-profit organization in Little Rock.
^"Samuel P. Massie Jr". Atomic Heritage Foundation. Atomic Heritage Foundation in association with the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
^"Talk of the Town: Brave New World," New Yorker, Aug. 25, 2014, p. 19.
Biography
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