Photo: Shutterstock/f11photo

10 Awesome People You Didn't Know Were From Texas

Texas
by Turner Wright Jul 10, 2017

1. Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin got her start singing in the Sixties at Threadgill’s, a converted gas station on the edge of Austin, before moving to North Beach in San Francisco. She went on to become possibly the most revered female rock ‘n’ roll singer in America.

2. Kris Kristofferson

Kristofferson was and is a singer, songwriter, and actor. Recently he appeared alongside Bradley Cooper and Johnny Depp at the Glastonbury Festival.

3. Barbara Jordan

Jordan was the first African American woman elected to the Texas Senate — in 1973. She was one of the first voices to call out for Richard Nixon’s impeachment, and the first African American woman to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.

4. Robin Wright

After inspiring us with her role as Princess Buttercup in The Princess Bride, Wright went on to play several more roles before finding a niche as Claire Underwood in House of Cards. As has Wright, Underwood hails from the south but has worked to filter out her strong accent for the sake of her career.

5. Jim Parsons

His Big Bang Theory character isn’t completely an act. Parsons was born and raised in Houston, and still stars on one of the most popular TV shows in the country. — teaching us about physics one snarky remark at a time.

6. Selena

Born in Lake Jackson, far south of Houston, Selena went on to become the Queen of Tejano music before she was murdered by a friend in a hotel room in Corpus Christi. Her death shocked Texas and the US, and secured her a place in the pantheon of great Texans.

7. Woody Harrelson

When Harrelson appeared on Cheers, he came across way too folksy to be from Boston. We Texas boys just can’t shake that charm. True Detective, Hunger Games, Now You See Me — what’s not to love about this Texas actor?

8. Wes Anderson

No one would have gotten to experience the dry humor in The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, or The Royal Tenenbaums if Texas hadn’t produced Wes Anderson.

9. Jamie Foxx

A post shared by Jamie Foxx (@iamjamiefoxx) on

Are you rethinking of everything you saw in Django Unchained now that you know Foxx is a Texan? Kind of makes him riding off into the sunset with a cowboy hat seem fitting, doesn’t it?

10. Bessie Coleman

Bessie Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas, to Native American and African American parents. She was the first woman of mixed racial heritage to obtain a pilot license back in 1921. She performed in air shows all across the country.

Discover Matador

Save Bookmark

We use cookies for analytics tracking and advertising from our partners.

For more information read our privacy policy.