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Here are the 50 most famous people born in Alabama

There are tons of mega-famous people who are synonymous with life in Alabama. The great state has produced talents in all realms of endeavors, including sports, education, film and music. But if you were to play a game of chance could you accurately identify which of the most famous people in the U.S. were born in Alabama? Here's your first hint, as awesome as Bear Bryant was, he isn't one of them. Whether they stuck around to enjoy the state or not, here's 50 of our nation's household names, who took their first breath in Alabama. Some of them may surprise you!

More on famous Alabamians:

Vintage photos of famous Alabamians when they were younger

19 actors you probably didn't know were from Alabama

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Channing Tatum

Birthplace: Cullman

Occupation: Actor, Dancer, Model

Born: April 26, 1980

Famous Fact: Tatum is dyslexic.

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Mia Hamm

Birthplace: Selma

Occupation: Soccer star

Born: March 17, 1972

Famous Fact: Hamm played for the U.S. Women's Soccer team for 17 years

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Rosa Parks

Birthplace: Tuskegee

Occupation: Activist

Born: February 4, 1913

Died: October 24, 2005

Famous Fact: Parks had been in an encounter with the same bus driver who famously asked her to give up her seat, a decade before she made history. He had a reputation for antagonizing blacks. In 1943, he prevented Parks from entering the 'whites only' side of the bus and drove off before she could get back in.

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Lionel Richie

Birthplace: Tuskegee

Occupation: Singer-songwriter

Born: June 20, 1949

Famous Fact: The refrain "Tam bo li say de moi ya, hey jambo jambo!" from Richie's 1983 song "All Night Long" means nothing, as Richie simply made up an African-sounding phrasing to save time.

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Laverne Cox

Birthplace: Mobile

Occupation: Actress, activist

Born: May 29, 1984

Famous Fact: Laverne was born with an identical twin brother, M Lamar, who stepped in to play Lavern's "Orange is the New Black" character, Sophia, in scenes that detail Sophia's life before transitioning into a woman.

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Robin Roberts

Birthplace: Tuskegee

Occupation: Television journalist

Born: November 23, 1960

Famous Fact: Roberts' older sister, Sally Ann, also worked in television news.

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Jesse Owens

Birthplace: Oakville

Occupation: Track and Field Athlete

Born: September 12, 1913

Died: March 31, 1980

Famous Fact: Owens was born with the name James Cleveland Owens, for which his family affectionately referred to him as "J.C.". However, after moving to Cleveland, Ohio, a yong Owens' had a teacher who misheard his southern accent, thinking his name was Jessie. Owens was too shy to correct her, and the name stuck.

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Hank Aaron

Birthplace: Mobile

Occupation: Baseball player

Born: February 5, 1934

Famous Fact: Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record of 714 home runs in 1974, finishing with a career total of 755.

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Helen Keller

Birthplace: Tuscumbia

Occupation: Educator, Activist, Author

Born: June 27, 1880

Died: June 1, 1968

Famous Fact: Keller was among the founders of the ACLU in 1920.

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Harper Lee

Birthplace: Monroeville

Occupation: Author

Born: April 28, 1926

Died: February 19, 2016

Famous Fact: Lee, who was characteristically responsible with her funds, had an affinity for quarter slot machines.

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Roy Wood, Jr.

Birthplace: Birmingham

Occupation: Comedian, actor

Born: December 11, 1978

Famous Fact: Wood began working at Birmingham's 95.7 JAMZ after Rickey Smiley left the station. He became popular for his prank calls.

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Courteney Cox

Birthplace: Mountain Brook

Occupation: Actress

Born: June 15, 1964

Famous Fact: Cox co-hosted a television dance program called "This Week's Music" in the 1980s.

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Charles Barkley

Birthplace: Leeds

Occupation: Basketball player

Born: February 20, 1963

Famous Fact: Barkley was the leading scorer for the U.S. Olympic Basketball Team in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

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Tim Cook

Birthplace: Robertsdale

Occupation: CEO of Apple, Inc.

Born: November 1, 1960

Famous Fact: Cook began working at Apple in 1998, at a time when its foothold in the tech industry was less than favorable, compared to giants like Hewlett-Packard and Dell. Cook admits that he was apprehensive about accepting a leadership position within the company.

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Coretta Scott King

Birthplace: Heiberger

Occupation: Activist

Born: April 27, 1927

Died: January 30, 2006

Famous Fact: Scott King died in a rehabilitation center in Rosarito, Mexico, just 16 miles south of San Diego.

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Paul Natkin

Emmylou Harris

Birthplace: Birmingham

Occupation: Singer

Born: April 2, 1947

Famous Fact: Harris played saxophone, clarinet and piano as a child.

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Bo Jackson

Birthplace: Bessemer

Occupation: Professional football and baseball athlete

Born: November 30, 1962

Famous Fact: 1989 Nintendo Entertainment System football video game Tecmo Bowl features a version of Bo Jackson that is famously invincible. A video uploaded to YouTube aims to prove Jackson's outlandish ability in the game by using him to run circles around the field for the entire first quarter without being tackled.

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George Wallace

Birthplace: Clio

Occupation: Politician, Governor

Born: August 25, 1919

Died: September 13, 1998

Famous Fact: While campaigning for the U.S. presidency in 1972, Wallace was shot by an attempted assassin in Maryland. His injuries paralyzed him from the waist down.

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Mae C. Jemison

Birthplace: Decatur

Occupation: Astronaut, physician

Born: October 17, 1956

Famous Fact: Jemison was a Peace Corps medical officer in Sierra Leone and Liberia

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Lucas Black

Birthplace: Decatur

Occupation: Actor

Born: November 29, 1982

Famous Fact: Black goes by the nickname "Lucky."

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Neil Leifer

Carl Lewis

Birthplace: Birmingham

Occupation: Track and Field athlete

Born: July 1, 1961

Famous Fact: In the 1984 Olympics, Lewis matched a feat achieved by fellow Alabamian Jesse Owens at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games by winning four gold medals at a single Olympic Games.

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Tom Joyner

Birthplace: Tuskegee

Occupation: Radio host

Born: November 23, 1949

Famous Fact: The Tom Joyner Morning Show is syndicated in more than 100 cities nationwide.

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Joe Louis

Birthplace: La Fayette

Occupation: Boxer

Born: May 13, 1914

Died: April 12, 1981

Famous Facts: Nicknamed the "Brown Bomber", Louis held the national heavyweight title a record 12 years and defended it 25 times.

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Nat King Cole

Birthplace: Montgomery

Occupation: Singer

Born: March 17, 1919

Died: February 15, 1965

Famous Fact: Nat King Cole was the first black host of a television variety series in 1956.

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Zelda Fitzgerald

Birthplace: Montgomery

Occupation: Author

Born: July 24, 1900

Died: March 10, 1948

Famous Fact: The Legend of Zelda, of the world's most popular video games series, is named after Fitzgerald. Creator, Shigeru Miyamoto felt Fitzgerald's first name had a ring to it.

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Roy Moore

Birthplace: Gadsden

Occupation: Judge, politician

Born: February 11, 1947

Famous Fact: In 2004, a play about two gay men getting married in California and returning to their families in Alabama began touring under the title "Judge Roy Moore is Coming to Dinner."

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Willie Mays

Birthplace: Westfield

Occupation: Baseball player

Born: May 6, 1931

Famous Fact: Mays, who was friends and teammates with Bobby Bonds, is Barry Bonds' godfather. Bonds and Mays are tied at third for all-time home runs in the MLB.

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Terrell Owens

Birthplace: Alexander City

Occupation: Football star

Born: December 7, 1973

Famous Fact: Owens played basketball and ran track at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

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Satchel Paige

Birthplace: Mobile

Occupation: Baseball player

Born: July 7, 1906

Died: June 8, 1982

Famous Fact: Paige alleges that he had played for over 250 teams in the Negro Leagues, but records are not available to verify the claim.

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Condoleezza Rice

Birthplace: Birmingham

Occupation: Politician

Born: November 14, 1954

Famous Fact: Rice's first name derives from Italian phrase "con dolcezza", which means "with sweetness".

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Brittany Howard

Birthplace: Athens

Occupation: Singer, guitar player

Born: October 2, 1988

Famous Fact: Howard attended East Limestone High School in Athens along with her bandmates in the Shakes.

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Hank Williams, Sr.

Birthplace: Mount Olive

Occupation: Country singer

Born: September 17, 1923

Died: January 1, 1953

Famous Fact: Williams' daughter, Jett Williams, was not aware of who her father was, or that he was famous, until her twenties.

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Octavia Spencer

Birthplace: Montgomery

Occupation: Actress

Born: May 25, 1970

Famous Fact: Spencer authors the children's book series Ninja Detective and has released two books in the series with The Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit in 2013, and The Sweetest Heist in History in 2015.

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Paul Bearer

Birthplace: Mobile

Occupation: Pro wrestling manager and personality

Born: April 10, 1954

Died: March 5, 2013

Famous Fact: Bearer began his managing career as Percival Pringle, III. Bearer brought Percy back in a short-lived stint on the Total Non-Stop Wrestling promotion from 2002 to 2003.

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Jameis Winston

Birthplace: Hueytown

Occupation: Football player

Born: January 6, 1994

Famous Fact: Winston owns three Buccaneers franchise records: most passing touchdowns by a rookie, most passing yards by a rookie, and most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a single season.

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Mattie Moss Clark

Birthplace: Selma

Occupation: Gospel singer

Born: March 26, 1925

Died: September 22, 1994

Famous Fact: The Clark-Moss clan is one of gospel music's great singing dynasties, with Kiki Clark-Sheard and J. Moss finding success as a third generation of recording artists in the family.

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Rickey Smiley

Birthplace: Birmingham

Occupation: Comedian, Actor, Radio host

Born: August 10, 1968

Famous Fact: Smiley's career exploded after hosting long-running late-night BET stand-up comedy series "Comic View."

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W.C. Handy

Birthplace: Florence

Occupation: Jazz conductor, composer, multi-instrumentalist

Born: November 16, 1873

Died: March 28, 1958

Famous Facts: Handy's famous composition "St. Louis Blues" was based on years he spent in the city, homeless, as a young adult.

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Nell Carter

Birthplace: Birmingham

Occupation: Singer, Actress

Born: September 13, 1948

Died: January 23, 2003

Famous Fact: Carter converted to Judaism in the 1980s.

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AJ McCarron

Birthplace: Mobile

Occupation: Football player

Born: September 13, 1990

Famous Fact: McCarron has a tattoo of Jesus and a cross on his chest, which represents his Christian faith.

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Kate Jackson

Birthplace: Birmingham

Occupation: Actress

Born: October 29, 1948

Famous Fact: Jackson was born with a hole in her heart, a condition known as atrial septal defect. She had it corrected as an adult with open heart surgery.

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Taylor Hicks

Birthplace: Birmingham

Occupation: Singer

Born: October 7, 1976

Famous Fact: Hicks' famous hair began to grey when he was in high school.

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Zora Neale Hurston

Birthplace: Notasulga

Occupation: Author, journalist

Born: January 7, 1891

Died: January 28, 1960

Famous Fact: In the late 1920s, Hurston traveled to New Orleans to research the affects of voodoo rituals, becoming quite enchanted with many of the practices.

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Evander Holyfield

Birthplace: Atmore

Occupation: Boxer

Born: October 19, 1962

Famous Fact: Holyfield took up boxing as a teenager, getting lessons at Warren Memorial Boys Club in Atlanta.

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Katherine Webb

Birthplace: Montgomery

Occupation: Model, pageant queen

Born: April 24, 1989

Famous Fact: Before returning to Alabama, Webb qualified in the Top 15 selections for Miss Georgia in 2007. Webb worked as a training director in Columbus, GA, after graduating from Auburn.

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Felicia Day

Birthplace: Huntsville

Occupation: Actress, comedian

Born: June 28, 1979

Famous Fact: Day was active in the high arts, at an early age. She studies opera, ballet and plays violin.

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Wilson Pickett

Birthplace: Pratville

Occupation: Singer

Born: March 18, 1941

Died: January 19, 2006

Famous Fact: Pickett began his singing career with gospel group, The Violinaires.

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Jim Nabors

Birthplace: Sylacauga

Occupation: Actor, singer

Born: June 12, 1930

Famous Fact: Before finding fame, Nabors worked a desk job for the United Nations in New York City.

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Fannie Flagg

Birthplace: Birmingham

Occupation: Author, actress, comedian

Born: September 21, 1944

Famous Fact: Flagg was nominated for an Oscar in 1992 for "Best Adapted Screenplay" after her 1987 book "Fried Green Tomatoes" was made into a film the year prior.

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Toni Tennille

Birthplace: Montgomery

Occupation: Singer-songwriter

Born: May 8, 1940

Famous Fact: Tennille met her eventual husband, Daryl Dragon, of the Beach Boys while the two worked alongside each other on a play called "Mother Earth." The script was based on ecological sciences.