CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) – A new study looks at who the most famous people born in each state are, from musicians and actors to athletes and politicians.
According to FamousPeople.io, researchers collected data by surveying people across the country in the second quarter of 2023. The researchers said they presented respondents with a series of famous people and asked whether they were familiar with each person.
According to research, the top five celebrities in West Virginia are:
According to research, the most famous celebrity to hail from the Mountain State is country music star Brad Paisley. Born in Glendale, Marshall County in 1972, Paisley made his first country music debut on his scene in 1999. Paisley became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2001. Throughout his career, he has received multiple awards, including three Grammy Awards and two American Music Awards. According to his website, he has won 15 Academy of Country Music Awards and 14 Country Music Association Awards.
Paisley recently returned to the Mountain State to celebrate the construction of the new Herbert Hoover High School after the 2016 flood destroyed the old building. The singer launched a funding program and was deeply involved in helping the Mountain State recover from the historic floods of 2016. He joined Mountain State senators to survey the damage after the flood, including a tour of the former Herbert Hoover High School.
The new school celebration included a ribbon cutting before the Huskies' football scrimmage against John Marshall High School, Paisley's own alma mater.
After Mr. Paisley, Sen. Joe Manchin (D) was ranked as the second most famous person in West Virginia. Manchin was born in Farmington, West Virginia, in 1947 and has served in the state's U.S. Senate since 2010. Manchin served as governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010 before being elected to the Senate. He also previously served as West Virginia Secretary of State. He began his political career in 1982, serving as a member of the West Virginia State Senate and the West Virginia House of Delegates.
The senator currently serves on numerous committees, including the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee, the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Senate Armed Services Committee, and the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
Manchin is an “avid pilot, outdoorsman, hunter, angler, and motorcyclist,” according to his website. Manchin also with the US. Senator Shelley Moore Capito attended the Herbert Hoover High School celebration with Mr. Paisley.
Ranking third on the study's list of most famous West Virginians is pro football player Randy Moss.
Moss was born in 1977 in Rand, West Virginia. He played football, basketball, baseball, and track in high school. He earned a scholarship from the University of Notre Dame, but his scholarship was revoked when Moss was arrested for assault during his senior year at DuPont High School. He then attended Florida State University, but was expelled from the football team for violating his parole. After these two incidents, Moss accepted a scholarship to Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, according to Britannica.
He was drafted into the NFL in 1998. Moss then spent 14 years in the NFL, playing for the Minnesota Vikings, then-Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, and San Francisco 49ers. Moss was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018. According to Britannica, he is considered one of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history, with the second-most total touchdown passes in the NFL and only one player to have been passed over the top. Jerry Rice spot.
After his NFL career, Moss became an analyst for Fox Sports 1 and then ESPN. He is also an entrepreneur who started his own chain of restaurants in Philadelphia, his Chick-A-Boom, one of which is scheduled to open in Huntington soon.
According to research, the fourth most famous person from the Mountain State is Peter Marshall. Peter Marshall was born Ralph LaCock in Huntington, West Virginia in 1926.
Like her sister Joan Drew, Marshall also made a name for herself in show business. He was drafted into the Army in 1944 and became a disc jockey for Armed Forces Radio while stationed in Italy, according to his website.
His stage career spanned both sides of the Atlantic, appearing in “Bye Bye Birdie'' in London's West End, and later on Broadway in “High Button Shoes'' and “The Music Man.'' In 1966, he was chosen as the first host of Hollywood Squares, a role that would become his signature, and he remained as host for 17 years. His role as the show's host earned him multiple Emmy Awards.
Marshall also appeared in films and television, including “The Love Boat,'' “CHiPs,'' “Annie,'' “Hotel,'' and “The Lucy Show.''
Rounding out the top five most famous West Virginians in this study is singer-songwriter Bill Withers. The late Grammy Award winner was born on July 4, 1938 in Slab Fork, Raleigh County, West Virginia, the youngest of six children. According to his website, he joined the Navy at age 17.
In 1967, after nine years on the job, Withers headed to Los Angeles, where he began his musical career. He is best known for writing and recording hits such as “Lean on Me,” “Lovely Day,” and “Ain't No Sunshine,” and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 .
Throughout his career, Withers has also been honored with the American Society of Composers, Writers and Publishers Rhythm and Soul Heritage Award, Soul Train Hall of Fame Award, two NAACP Image Awards, induction into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, and an International Music Award. There is. He won the British Ivor Novello Award. In 2021, Slab Fork Road in his home county was renamed in his honor.
Withers passed away in March 2020 at the age of 81 due to heart complications.
A complete list of each state's top celebrities can be found here.
