Famous People

You may already know that outsize personalities such as outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, rock stars Buddy Holly and Janis Joplin, former president Lyndon B. Johnson, presidential hopeful H. Ross Perot, and model Jerry Hall hail from Texas. Below is a quick list of other famous folk with Texan roots -- some of them might surprise you.

Lance Armstrong (Plano). Heroic cycling champion -- record-holding all-time champion of the Tour de France -- and inspirational survivor of testicular cancer. Wears a Texas Lone Star on his helmet and one of those ubiquitous "LiveStrong" yellow bracelets on his wrist. He lives in Austin.

Gene Autry (Tioga). A singin' cowboy and A-list film star who made it big with "The Yellow Rose of Texas" in the 1930s.

George W. Bush (Midland). He wasn't born on the prairies of Texas (rather, in blue-state Connecticut), but the former governor clings hard to his Texas heritage, with a ranch in Crawford, outside Waco. He grew up in the midst of the oil business, tried his hand at that, failed, and then went on to purchase the Texas Rangers baseball team before becoming governor of Texas and then president of the United States. His core of closest advisors, like Karl Rove and Karen Hughes, are Texans.

Joan Crawford (San Antonio). Hollywood's Mommie Dearest, from deep in the heart of Texas.

Michael Dell (Austin). This Houston-born whiz-kid and billionaire (he's the 9th-richest American) started Dell Computer Corporation, which today is one of the largest tech companies in the world, in his dorm room at UT in Austin. Though he dropped out of UT, Dell later gave the university $50 million.

Morgan Fairchild (Dallas). Big D principles -- big hair and big boobs -- come to cartoonish life.

Farrah Fawcett (Corpus Christi). 1970s bathing suit pinup, Charlie's hottest angel -- the woman who created the wings hairstyle -- and UT grad recently gone ditzy.

Phyllis George (Denton). Former Miss America, former morning show host, and former wife of the Kentucky governor.

Howard Hughes (Houston). Eccentric billionaire industrialist as famous for his reclusive and weirdo tendencies as his moneymaking prowess, which included planes, movies, and tools.

Terrence Malick (Austin). Inscrutable film director who's made five films in 3 decades -- but what gems, including Badlands, Days of Heaven, and The Thin Red Line.

Steve Martin (Waco). Wild and crazy comedian turned occasionally serious author (Shopgirl) and art collector.

Larry McMurtry (Wichita Falls). Pulitzer prize-winning author of Lonesome Dove, a tale of the cattle drives of the late 1880s, and other novels made into Texas-based movies, including The Last Picture Show and Terms of Endearment.

Meat Loaf (Houston). Monster of a man with a big voice who recorded "Bat Out of Hell." He later slimmed down, cut his stringy locks, and translated his music video experience into an acting career (in The Rocky Picture Horror Show and B-grade action films).

Bill Moyers (Marshall). From student of religion to LBJ press secretary to soft-spoken PBS journalist investigating weighty matters like philosophy, iron men, and dying.

Madalyn Murray O'Hair (Austin). Strident atheist who roared tirelessly to separate church from all things state.

Roy Orbison (Wink). The man with the growl in his classic '60s song "Pretty Woman." Dark specs, amazing angelic voice, and even more amazing hair.

Dan Rather (Wharton). Serious newsman who made anchorman, with a penchant for odd signature sign-offs, down-home aphorisms, and bizarre episodes in his personal life. ("What's the frequency, Kenneth?")

Ginger Rogers (Fort Worth). Fred's favorite dance partner hailed from Cowtown; I bet she did a mean two-step. Née Virginia McMath.

Jaclyn Smith (Houston). Another Charlie's Angel and Kmart spokesperson.

Liz Smith (Fort Worth). Gossip queen and columnist.

Sissy Spacek (Quitman). Sometimes brilliant actress who went from Badlands to a Coal Miner's Daughter to Missing.

Lee Trevino (Dallas). Pro golfer -- and serious rival of Nicklaus and Palmer -- whose folksy language and links style made Tex-Mex cool in the mid-'70s.

Van Cliburn (Kilgore). Accomplished pianist (winner of Tchaikovsky competition in 1958) and namesake of international piano competition held annually in Fort Worth's Bass Performance Hall.