#1Famous people · Asheville
Writers and artists stand out among the 46 famous people born in Asheville
Thomas Wolfe, the American writer, is the most widely known, written about in 59 languages. Behind the leader come Kenneth Noland and Sierra McCormick. Between 1920 and 1969, 24 were born, the most of any period. Per head, the list is long: 4.9 for every 10,000 residents, where the typical town in North Carolina has 1.8.
Born here
46
notable people
Best known
Thomas Wolfe
in 59 Wikipedia languages
First
1892
Ward Greene
Youngest
1997
Sierra McCormick
Most common field
Writing & Arts
11 people
Also called it home
7
notable residents
What stands out about Asheville’s famous people
A town of writers and artistsAmong the 46 people born here, 11 are writers and artists: 2.4 times the usual share.Known worldwideThomas Wolfe is written about in 59 languages.Still making namesThe most recent birth on the list came in 1997, among 23 since 1950.A chosen home7 more notable people chose to live here, Cormac McCarthy among them.
★ What stands out · Known for
What Asheville is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as writers and artists, at 2.4 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Asheville
Writers and artists take two of the three places.
#1KN#2
SM#3
Film, TV & Stage
Sierra McCormick
born 1997American actress and model
29 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Asheville’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1920s come out on top, with 7 births.
Writing & ArtsSportsFilm, TV & StageScience & MedicinePolitics & LawMusicFaithNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Asheville
43 more, best known first.
Franklin Graham
born 1952American Christian evangelist and missionary, son of Billy Graham
FaithWikipedia ↗
Jonathan Williams
1929–2008American poet, publisher, essayist and photographer
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Michael Robinson
1924–2006American Reform rabbi, civil rights activist, and human rights activist
FaithWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
A chosen home
Also called Asheville home
7 notable people born elsewhere made the town home, Cormac McCarthy the best known.
The town’s pick
Town Square →Who’s the most famous person from Asheville?
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Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
2 towns around it have someone on record.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Asheville and whose English Wikipedia article agrees, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. People known mainly for crimes, and adult performers, aren’t listed. “The usual town” = everyone born in the towns gathered so far.
Photo credits (15)
- Thomas Wolfe: Carl Van Vechten, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Bellamy Young: Mingle MediaTV, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Dorothy Hansine Andersen: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Barbara Loden: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Madison Cawthorn: House Creative Committee, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Franklin Graham: council.gov.ru, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dash Wilder: Carter Sterling, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Chalk: Greg2600, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Tydings: United States Congress, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Duncan Trussell: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cormac McCarthy: From dust jacket: "Photograph of Cormac McCarthy by David Styles", Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edge: zuko1312, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Beth Phoenix: Miguel Discart, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Angel Olsen: Stian Schløsser Møller, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Justin Fontaine: Zach Catanzareti, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons