Metro Atlanta is a wonderful place to live. In our city and close-by surrounding cities hail some of the world’s most interesting and famous people. This list is not exhaustive; it simply drops the names of some of those whom call Atlanta home (or have called Atlanta home). For a larger list, please find a list of famous people from metro Atlanta on Wikipedia.
- Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States (1977–1981), Nobel Peace laureate 2002 and Governor of Georgia (1971–1975)
- Neal Boortz, talk radio host, author with Congressman John Linder, The FairTax Book
- Alton Brown, Peabody Award-winning creator and host of the Food Network program Good Eats
- Clark Howard, talk radio host
- Ty Pennington, television personality
- Forrest Sawyer, news anchor and journalist
- Ryan Seacrest, TV/radio personality and host of American Idol
- Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore and the first aborted Stone Mountain carving
- Raven-Symoné, actress
- Holly Hunter, actress
- Jane Fonda, actress
- Jeff Foxworthy, actor & comedian
- Lil Jon, rapper, producer
- Keith Sweat, singer/songwriter/produce
- Kilo Ali, pioneer Atlanta rapper
- Andre 3000, rapper
- Arrested Development, hip hop group
- Ray Charles, jazz, blues, soul, and rock-and-roll pianist, songwriter, and singer; born in Georgia, raised in Florida
- John Mayer, singer-songwriter
- Shawn Mullins, singer-songwriter
- Indigo Girls, Folk and pop duo
- The B-52s, punk/alternative band
- The Black Crowes, blues rock band
- R.E.M.
- Gladys Knight & the Pips, popular music act
- Little Richard
- Alan Jackson, country singer
- Travis Tritt, country singer
- Mark Wills, country singer
- Trisha Yearwood, country singer
- Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot and the current owner of the Atlanta Falcons
S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A- Bernard Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot and primary funding source for the Georgia Aquarium
- Ted Turner, media mogul
- Asa Griggs Candler, founder of The Coca-Cola Company
- Robert W. Woodruff, Coca-Cola executive
- John Portman, international architect and developer, designer of thegroundbreaking atrium-style hotel
- Neel Reid, student of École des Beaux-Arts who died at the height of his career
- Pat Conroy, contemporary Atlanta-born author of The Prince of Tides, Beach Music, and The Great Santini.
- James Dickey, poet and novelist
- Joel Chandler Harris, author of Uncle Remus
- Henry W. Grady, editor of the Atlanta Constitution
- Lewis Grizzard, journalist and author
- Margaret Mitchell, 1937 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel Gone with the Wind
- Alice Walker, 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Color Purple
- Hulk Hogan
- Bobby Jones, only player ever to have won golf’s Grand Slam
John Heisman, coach and college trophy namesake- Deion Sanders, two-sport athlete (MLB and NFL)
- Jamal Lewis, Running Back
- Evander Holyfield, heavyweight champion boxer
- Hank Aaron, Baseball Hall of Famer and the major leagues’ home run leader from April 1974 to August 2007
- Chipper Jones, baseball player
- Brett Butler, retired MLB baseball player
- Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil rights leader; Nobel Peace Laureate 1964 (he was the youngest man ever to receive this award)
- Andrew Young, Ambassador to the UN under President Carter, civil rights activist and former mayor of Atlanta
- Dean Rusk, US Secretary of State 1961 to 1969 under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson
