Posted in West Virginia March 31, 2015 by

Here Are 20 Awesome Famous People You Might Not Know Are From West Virginia

West Virginia is a pretty small state, but we do have some really amazing people born here! Here are twenty famous men and women that you maybe didn’t know came from our mountain state:

18) Chuck Yeager, born in West Virginia, became the first pilot confirmed to have traveled faster than sound!
DVIDSHUB Flickr
2) Brad Dourif, a famous actor, voice actor, and comedian, is famous for his role as Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and as the voice of Chucky in Child's Play.
Boogeyman 13 Flickr
Brad was born in Huntington, West Virginia. He also portrayed Grima Wormtongue in The Lord of the Rings! How cool!
3) Brad Paisley, born in Glen Dale, West Virginia, is a famous country singer.
Larry Darling Flickr
Brad Paisley holds the record for the most consecutive singles reaching the top spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
4) Conchata Ferrell was born in Charleston, West Virginia.
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Pictured above is Conchata as Berta the housekeeper on Two and a Half Men, for which she is best known for playing. For those that don't know her, she is all the way in the back, wearing the yellow.
5) Deron Williams, a point guard for the Brooklyn Nets, was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia.
Keith Allison Flickr
6) Don Knotts, born in Morgantown, West Virginia, was a famous comedian and actor.
The Bees Knees Daily Flickr
Don Knotts is best known for his roles as Jessie in The Shakiest Gun in the West, Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith Show, and Ralph Furley on Three's Company. He really was one of the greatest actors of all time.
7) George Brett was born in Glen Dale, West Virginia.
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George Brett, now retired, played for the Kansas City Royals MLB team for 21 years!
8) Heath Slater, the one in those sweet, shiny leather pants, was born in Pineville, West Virginia.
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Heath is currently signed with WWE.
9) Homer Hickam, born in Coalwood, WV, is the author of the novel Rocket Boys, which was based on true events.
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Homer is also a Vietnam Veteran and a retired NASA engineer. Wow!
10) Jerry West, now retired, was an American basketball player. He played his entire pro career with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Prayitno Flickr
Jerry was born in Chelyan, West Virginia and also attended West Virginia University from 1956-60. There is so much to say about this amazing basketball player. The NBA even made the silhouette of Jerry West their logo!
11) Joyce DeWitt, most famous for playing Janet on Three's Company, was born in Wheeling, West Virginia.
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12) Mary Lou Retton, born in Fairmont, West Virginia, is a popular American athlete.
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At the '84 Summer Olympics, Retton won a gold medal, two silver medals, and two bronze medals.
13) Nick Saban is a college football couch, currently the head couch of the University of Alabama where he has been since 2007.
Matthew Tosh Flickr
Nick Saban was born in Fairmont, West Virginia.
14) O.J. Mayo, born in Huntington, West Virginia, is a professional basketball player that now plays for the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA.
Danny Bollinger Flickr
Mayo is 6 feet and 5 inches tall! Woah!
15) Pearl S. Buck, born in Hillsboro, West Virginia, is a well-known American writer and novelist.
bettinche Flickr
Pictured above is her home in West Virginia which is now a historic museum that still has some of the original furniture and belongings of her family.
16) Randy Moss, now retired, was an NFL wide receiver who played for 14 seasons. He was born in Charleston, West Virginia.
Keith Allison Flickr
Randy Moss played football for our very own Marshall University, located in Huntington, WV.
17) Steve Harvey, the host of Family Feud, was born in Welch, West Virginia. He is also a published author.
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I think that Steve Harvey is hilarious!
18) Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was a Confederate general during the American Civil War and is the best-known Confederate commander next to General Robert E. Lee. He was born in Clarksburg, which was Virginia at the time but is now West Virginia.
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19) T.D. Jakes is an author and a famous Bishop of The Potter's House, an American megachurch with 30,000 church members. He grew up in Vandalia, West Virginia.
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20) Lou Holtz, born in Follansbee, West Virginia.
Jimmy Emerson DVM Flickr
Holtz is the only college football couch to have lead six different programs to bowl games and the only couch to lead four different programs to the final top 20 rankings. Wow!

I had no idea that so many famous people were from West Virginia, and there are many more! I love that our state can be associated with such amazing actors, actresses, singers, and awesome couches!

Who is your favorite famous West Virginian? Comment below!