Famous Mississippians
Excerpts from same name at Ocean Springs Website
and The City of Ocean Springs Website
 

Entertainers

Bo Carter (Armenter Chatmon), Musician, born in Bolton, Hinds County - Renowned blues guitarist and vocalist of the 1930s. Along with brothers, Lonnie and Sam Chatmon, was a member of the Mississippi Sheiks.

Lonnie Chatmon, Musician, lived in Bolton, Hinds County - Noted blues fiddler of the early 20th Century; founder of the Mississippi Sheiks, a popular blues band of the 1930s.

Sam Chatmon, Musician, born in Bolton, Hinds County - Blues singer; also played guitar, banjo, bass, mandolin, and harmonica; along with his two brothers, Lonnie Chatmon and Bo Carter, was a member of the Mississippi Sheiks in the early 1900s.

Eddie Cotton, Musician, born in Clinton, Hinds County, lived in Jackson, Hinds County -  Blues singer/guitarist; solid guitar work with a vocal style reminiscent of Al Green or George Benson.

Johnny Crocker, Musician, was born or lived in Jackson, Hinds County - Pop/rock saxophonist.

Cynthia Geary, Actor, born in Jackson, Hinds County - Starred in Northern Exposure.
 
Mark Gray, Musician, born in Jackson, Hinds County - Country singer/songwriter.

Fred Knobloch, Musician, born in Jackson, Hinds County - Country singer/guitarist/songwriter.

Dorothy Moore, Musician, born in Jackson, Hinds County - Singer.

Steve, Newman, Musician, lived in Jackson, Hinds County - Guitarist; venerable sideman for numerous pop, rock, country and blues bands, including The Bluz Boys and The Nick Parker Band.

Leann Rimes, (Margaret Rimes), Musician, born in Jackson, Hinds County - Country music singer.

Fingers Taylor, (Greg Taylor), Musician, born in Jackson, Hinds County - Singer and harmonica player; famed as one of Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band.

Johnnie Taylor, Musician, lived in Jackson, Hinds County - Versatile singer, who sang blues, pop, doo wopp, gospel, Memphis Soul and disco; originally from Arkansas, he signed with Malaco Records later in his career.

Keith Thibodeaux,  Actor, lived in Laurel, Jones County, lived in Jackson, Hinds County - Played Little Ricky on I Love Lucy. Long-time drummer for Laurel rock & gospel band, David and the Giants, recording 12 albums with them.

Walter Vinson,  Musician, born in Bolton, Hinds County - Accomplished blues guitarist and member of the 1930s band, the Mississippi Sheiks, along with the Chatmon brothers, Sam, Lonnie, and Bo.

Cassandra Wilson,  Musician, born in Jackson, Hinds County - Jazz singer.

Nannette Workman,  Musician, born or lived in Jackson, Hinds County - Popular Canadian singing star.

Charlie Worsham, Musician, born in Jackson, Hinds County - Plays fiddle, banjo and piano, appeared on the Grand Ole Opry at age 14.

Playwright

Beth Henley, (Elizabeth Becker Henley), Playwright, born in Jackson, Hinds County - Playwright and screenwriter whose most notable piece was 'Crimes of the Heart,' for both stage and screen.

Writers

Willie Morris, (William Morris), Writer, born in Jackson, Hinds County, lived in Yazoo City, Yazoo County - Prolific novelist, editor of the Texas Observer and Harper's Magazine, and a Rhodes Scholar. Three of his novels have been made into movies, including My Dog Skip, Ghosts of Mississippi, and The River Pirates.

Richard Ford,  Writer, born in Jackson, Hinds County.

Jim Fraiser,  Writer, born in Greenwood, Leflore County, lived in Jackson, Hinds County - Author and actor; played veterinarian in Willie Morris's My Dog Skip.

Mildred D. Taylor, Writer, born in Jackson, Hinds County - 1977 Newberry Award Winner.

Margaret Walker Alexander, Poet, lived in Jackson, Hinds County.

Eudora Welty, Writer, born in Jackson, Hinds County - Writer, photographer, PR agent for the WPA, 1973 winner of Pulitzer Prize

Richard Wright, Writer, born in Natchez, Adams County, lived in Jackson, Hinds County - One of the 20th Century's best-known novelists

Sports

Jeff Brantley,  Sports Figure, lived in Clinton, Hinds County - Closing pitcher for Pittsburgh.

 
Journalists

Hodding Carter,  Journalist, lived in Jackson, Hinds County, and in Greenville, Washington County - Outspoken editor of the Delta Democrat-Times who advocated racial justice and condemned demagoguery and the militancy of both blacks and whites from the 1940s to the 1960s, a time when such views were extremely unpopular in Mississippi. However, it earned him the Pulitzer Prize twice and the William Allen White citation as the outstanding newspaperman of the year.

 
Inventors

James Dotson Byrd,  Inventor, born in Clinton, Hinds County - Polymer scientist, holder of seven U.S. patents, who developed the plastic used as a heat shield in the NASA Space Program.

Harry Cole, (Harry A. Cole, Sr.), Inventor, born in Jackson, Hinds County - Inventor of Pine Sol
 

 Educators

William R. Ferris, Jr.,  Educator, born in Vicksburg, Warren County, lived in Jackson, Hinds County, lived in Oxford, Lafayette County - Former associate professor at Jackson State University and founder of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi

Entrepreneurs

James Barksdale,  Entrepreneur, born in Jackson, Hinds County - Former CEO of Netscape

Bernard J. Ebbers, Entrepreneur, born in Jackson, Hinds County, lived in Brookhaven, Lincoln County - CEO of WorldCom

 
Civil Rights Leader

Medgar Wiley Evers, Civil Rights Leader, born in Decatur, Newton County, lived in Jackson, Hinds County - NAACP field secretary who was assassinated by Byron de la Beckwith