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This is a list of notable Louisiana Creole people.
To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Louisiana Creoles or must have references showing they are Louisiana Creoles and are notable.
Arts, culture, and entertainment
- Don Albert (1908–1980) – jazz trumpeter and bandleader[1]
- Fernest Arceneaux (1940–2008) – zydeco accordionist and singer from Louisiana
- Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin (1915–2007) – accordionist
- Amede Ardoin (1898–1942) – zydeco musician
- Chris Ardoin (born 1981) – zydeco accordionist and singer
- Sean Ardoin (born 1970) – zydeco musician and singer
- K.D. Aubert (born 1978) – actress and fashion model
- Vernel Bagneris (born 1949) – playwright, actor, director, singer, and dancer; named after his cousin Vernel Fournier[2]
- Louis Barbarin (1902–1997) – New Orleans jazz drummer
- Paul Barbarin (1899–1969) – New Orleans jazz drummer, usually regarded (along with Baby Dodds) as one of the best of the pre-Big Band era jazz drummers
- Achille Baquet (1885–1955) – jazz clarinetist and saxophonist
- George Baquet (1881–1949) – jazz clarinetist, known for his contributions to early jazz in New Orleans
- Blue Lu Barker (1913–1998) – jazz and blues singer; her better known recordings included "Don't You Feel My Leg" and "Look What Baby's Got For You"
- Danny Barker (1909–1994) – jazz banjoist, singer, guitarist, songwriter, ukulele player[3][4]
- Richmond Barthé (1901–1989) – sculptor
- Dave Bartholomew (1918–2019) – musician, band leader, composer and arranger, prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century[5]
- Jon Batiste (born 1986) – singer, multi-instrumentalist, educator, and bandleader from Kenner, Louisiana; music director and bandleader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and its band Stay Human[6][7]
- Lionel Batiste (1931–2012) – jazz and blues musician and singer from New Orleans
- Sidney Bechet (1897–1959) – jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and composer
- Troian Bellisario (born 1985) – actress; stars as Spencer Hastings in the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars
- E.J. Bellocq (1873–1949) – photographer
- Jimmy Bertrand (1900–1960) – jazz and blues drummer[8]
- Alex Bigard (1899–1978) – jazz drummer. He was the brother of Barney Bigard and cousin of Natty Dominique and A.J. Piron, and was involved for decades with the New Orleans jazz scene.
- Barney Bigard (1906–1980) – jazz clarinetist[9]
- Esther Bigeou (1895–1936) – blues singer; billed as "The Girl with the Million Dollar Smile"; one of the classic female blues singers popular in the 1920s[10]
- Eddie Bo (1930–2009) – singer and pianist from New Orleans[11]
- Peter Bocage (1887–1967) – cornet player; also played violin professionally, as well as sometimes trombone, banjo, and xylophone; cousin of New Orleans R&B musician Eddie Bo[12][13]
- Denise Boutte (born 1982) – actress and model
- John Boutté (born 1958) – jazz singer[14]
- Wellman Braud (1891–1966) – jazz upright bassist
- Jeffery Broussard (born 1967) – zydeco musician
- John Brunious (born 1940) – jazz trumpeter
- Wendell Brunious (born 1954) – jazz trumpeter
- Calvin Carriere (1921–2002) – fiddler
- Joseph "Bébé" Carrière (1908–2001) – fiddler
- Chubby Carrier (born 1967) – zydeco musician
- Roy Carrier (1947–2010) – zydeco musician
- Inez Catalon (c. 1913–1994) – Creole singer[15]
- Papa Celestin (1884–1954) – jazz bandleader, trumpeter, cornetist and vocalist
- Leah Chase (1923–2019) – chef, author and television personality
- Boozoo Chavis (1930–2001) – musician and one of the pioneers of zydeco music
- Clifton Chenier (1925–1987) – zydeco musician
- C.J. Chenier (born 1957) – zydeco musician and son of the Grammy Award-winning "King of Zydeco", Clifton Chenier
- Frank Christian (1887–1973) – early jazz trumpeter
- Savannah Churchill (1920–1974) – singer of pop, jazz, and blues music
- Robert Colescott (1925–2009) – painter[16]
- Warrington Colescott (1921–2018) – artist[16]
- Florestine Perrault Collins (1895–1988) – photographer[17]
- Charles Connor (1935–2021) – drummer, best known as a member of Little Richard's band[18][19]
- Louis Cottrell, Jr. (1911–1978) – jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist
- Coline Creuzot (born 1985) – singer and Sony ATV songwriter; granddaughter of Percy Creuzot Jr, founder of Frenchy's Chicken, a popular creole restaurant chain based in Houston
- Joe Darensbourg (1906–1985) – jazz clarinetist and saxophonist notable for his work with Buddy Petit, Jelly Roll Morton, Charlie Creath, Fate Marable, Andy Kirk, Kid Ory, Wingy Manone, Joe Liggins and Louis Armstrong[20]
- Damita Jo DeBlanc (1930–1998) – actress, comedian, and lounge music performer[21]
- Edmonde Dede (1829–1903) – composer
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- Edgar Degas (1834–1917) – artist famous for his paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings; cousin of Norbert Rillieux; eldest of five children of Célestine Musson De Gas, a Creole from New Orleans, and Augustin De Gas, a banker
- Harold Dejan (1909–2002) – jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader[22][23]
- Geno Delafose (born 1972) – zydeco accordionist
- John Delafose (1939–1994) – zydeco accordionist[24]
- Louis Nelson Delisle (1885–1949) – Dixieland jazz clarinetist
- Sidney Desvigne (1893–1959) – jazz trumpeter.[25][self-published source]
- Faith Domergue (1924–1999) – television and film actress[26]
Faith Domergue - Natty Dominique (1896–1982) – jazz trumpeter
- Fats Domino (1928–2017) – classic R&B and rock and roll singer, songwriter and pianist[27]
- Rockin' Dopsie (1932–1993) – leading zydeco musician and button accordion player who enjoyed popular success first in Europe and later in the United States
- Peter DuConge (1903–1967) – jazz reedist[28][29]
- Lawrence Duhe (1887–1960) – jazz clarinetist and bandleader; member of Sugar Johnnie's New Orleans Creole Orchestra
- Honore Dutrey (1894–1934) – Dixieland jazz trombonist
- Ava DuVernay (born 1972) – film director, producer, screenwriter
- Sheila E. (born 1957) – percussionist, singer, composer and producer[30]
- Mignon Faget (born 1933) – jewelry designer based in her native New Orleans[31]
- Lionel Ferbos (1911–2014) – New Orleans jazz trumpeter
- Lil' Fizz (born 1985) – rapper, former B2K member
- Canray Fontenot (1922–1995) – fiddle player
- Vernel Fournier (1928–2000) – jazz drummer
- Keith Frank (born 1972) – Zydeco musician
- Preston Frank (born 1947) – Zydeco musician
- Gizelle Bryant (born 1970) – reality TV star and author
- D'Jalma Garnier (born 1954) – musician and composer
- Tony Garnier (born 1956) – bassist (both double bass and bass guitar), best known as an accompanist to Bob Dylan, with whom he has played since 1989
- Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau (1859–1915) – model and socialite
- Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829–1869) – composer and pianist, known as a virtuoso performer of his own romantic piano pieces[32]
- George Guesnon (1907–1968) – jazz banjoist, guitarist, composer, and singer
- Joe Hall – la la and Cajun musician
- George Herriman (1880–1944) – cartoonist, known for his comic strip Krazy Kat[33]
- Andrew Hilaire (1899–1935) – jazz drummer
- Marques Houston (born 1981) – singer and actor
- Julien Hudson (1811–1844) – painter and art teacher
- Clementine Hunter (1886–1988) – self-taught folk artist from the Cane River region in Louisiana
- Queen Ida (born 1929) – zydeco accordion player
- Ice-T (born 1958) – musician and actor
- Michelle Jacques – singer and music educator
- Illinois Jacquet (1922–2004) – jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo[34]
- Russell Jacquet (1917–1990) – trumpeter. He was the elder brother of well-known tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet, who he worked with through the years.
- Al Jarreau (1940–2017) – singer and musician. He received a total of seven Grammy Awards and was nominated for over a dozen more. Jarreau is perhaps best known for his 1981 album Breakin' Away.[35][36]
- Beau Jocque (1953–1999) – zydeco musician
- Beverly Johnson (born 1952) – model, actress, and businesswoman[37]
- Ty Granderson Jones (born 1964) – actor, screenwriter and producer
- Leatrice Joy (1893–1985) – actress most prolific during the silent film era
- Ernie K-Doe (1936–2001) – R&B singer best known for his 1961 hit single "Mother-in-Law" which went to No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart in the U.S.[38]
- Freddie Keppard (1890–1993) – jazz cornetist
- Beyoncé Knowles (born 1981) – R&B singer[39]
- Solange Knowles (born 1986) – R&B singer[39]
- Tina Knowles (born 1954) – fashion designer[39]
- The Knux (born 1982 & 1984) – musicians, rappers, singers, record producers
- Dorothy LaBostrie (1929–2007) – songwriter, best known for co-writing Little Richard's 1955 hit "Tutti Frutti"
- Lenny LaCour (born 1932) – record producer, songwriter and performer, particularly active from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s
- Dorothy Lamour (1914–1996) – actress and singer[40][41]
- Vilayna LaSalle – model
- Charles Lucien Lambert (1828–1896) – pianist and composer
- Lucien-Léon Guillaume Lambert (1858–1945) – pianist and composer
- Sidney Lambert (born 1838) – pianist and composer
- Carmen De Lavallade (born 1931) – choreographer, actress
- Sabrina Le Beauf (born 1958) – actress; played Sandra on the television series The Cosby Show
- Jeni Le Gon (1916–2012) – dancer, dance instructor, and actress[42]
- Rosie Ledet (born 1971) – zydeco singer and accordion player
- Harry Lennix (born 1964) – actor; best known for his roles as Terrence "Dresser" Williams in the Robert Townsend film The Five Heartbeats and as Boyd Langton in the Joss Whedon television series Dollhouse
- George Lewis (1900–1968) – jazz clarinetist[43]
- Jules Lion (1809–1866) – photographer
- Branford Marsalis (born 1960) – saxophonist, composer and bandleader[44][45]
- Wynton Marsalis (born 1961) – jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader
- Tristin Mays (born 1990) – actress and singer; played Shaina in the Nickelodeon series Gullah Gullah Island and Robin Dixon in Alias[46]
- Victor-Eugene McCarty (born between 1817 and 1823) – composer
- Rocky McKeon – musician[47]
- Adah Isaacs Menken (1835–1868) – actress, painter, poet
- Michel'le (born 1970) – R&B singer, former girlfriend of Dr. Dre; married to Suge Knight
- Janee Michelle (born 1946) – actress, model, and businessperson best known for her role in the 1974 horror film The House on Skull Mountain[48]
- Lizzie Miles (1895–1963) – blues singer[49]
- Ziggy Modeliste (born 1948) – drummer best known as a founding member of the funk group The Meters
- Allison Montana (1922–2005) – New Orleans cultural icon who acted as the Mardi Gras Indian "chief of chiefs" for over 50 years[50]
- Deacon John Moore (born 1941) – blues, rhythm and blues and rock and roll musician, singer, and bandleader
- Morris W. Morris (1845–1906) – American Civil War soldier of the Louisiana Native Guards; stage actor[51]
- Jelly Roll Morton (1885–1941) – virtuoso pianist, bandleader and composer[52]
- Archibald Motley (1891–1981) – painter[53]
- Idris Muhammad (1939–2014) – jazz drummer who recorded extensively with many musicians, including Ahmad Jamal, Lou Donaldson, Pharoah Sanders, and Tete Montoliu.[54][self-published source][55][self-published source]
- Aaron Neville (born 1941) – soul and R&B singer and musician.
- Albert Nicholas (1900–1973) – jazz reed player[56]
- Wooden Joe Nicholas (1883–1957) – jazz trumpeter and cornetist, active in the early New Orleans jazz scene[56]
- Jimmie Noone (1895–1944) – jazz clarinetist and bandleader[57]
- Brittany O'Grady (born 1996) – actress who plays Simone Davis on the TV series Star[58]
- Kid Ory (1886–1973) – jazz trombonist and bandleader[59]
- Jimmy Palao (1879–1925) – jazz bandleader
- Ernest "Doc" Paulin (1907–2007) – jazz trumpeter and bandleader
- Alcide Pavageau (1888–1969) – jazz guitarist and double-bassist[60]
- Manuel Perez (1871–1946) – clarinetist and bandleader
- Buddie Petit (1890–1931) – early jazz cornetist[61]
- Joseph Petit (1873–1945) – jazz trombonist
- Fats Pichon (1906–1967) – jazz pianist, singer, bandleader, and songwriter
- Alphonse Picou (1878–1961) – jazz clarinetist
- De De Pierce (1904–1973) – trumpeter and cornetist; best remembered for the songs "Peanut Vendor" and "Dippermouth Blues", both with Billie Pierce[62]
- Armand J. Piron (1888–1943) – jazz violinist, band leader, and composer[63]
- Deborah Pratt (born 1951) – actress, writer and television producer
- Prince (1958–2016) – singer-songwriter, musician and producer
- Regis Prograis (born 1989) – professional boxer
- Wardell Quezergue (1930–2011) – music arranger, producer, and bandleader[64]
- Chris Rene (born 1982) – singer-songwriter, musician and producer from Santa Cruz, California
- Googie Rene (1927–2007) – musician and songwriter
- Leon Rene (1902–1982) – music composer of R&B and rock and roll songs in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s
- Dawn Richard (1983) – singer-songwriter
- Robert Ri'chard (born 1983) – actor
- Nicole Richie (born 1981) – television personality, fashion designer[65]
- LaTavia Roberson (born 1981) – singe-songwriter, and actress
- Joe Robichaux (1900–1965) – jazz pianist; nephew of John Robichaux
- John Robichaux (1866–1939) – jazz bandleader, drummer, and violinist; uncle of Joseph Robichaux[66]
- RuPaul (born 1960) – actor, drag queen, model, author, television personality, and recording artist[67]
- Betye Saar (born 1926) – artist known for her work in the field of assemblage[68][69][70]
- Brytni Sarpy (born 1987) – actress best known for her portrayal of Valerie Spencer on the ABC Daytime soap opera General Hospital[71]
- Rockin' Sidney (1938–1998) – R&B, zydeco, and soul musician
- Omer Simeon (1902–1959) – jazz clarinetist
- Terrance Simien (born 1965) – zydeco musician, vocalist, and songwriter
- Lil' Buck Sinegal (1944–2019) – blues and zydeco musician
- Roger Guenveur Smith (born 1955) – actor, director, and writer[72]
- Betty Reid Soskin (born 1921) – Park Ranger with the National Park Service, assigned to the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California
- Tracie Spencer (born 1976) – R&B and pop singer-songwriter, actress, and model[73]
- Johnny St. Cyr (1890–1966) – jazz banjoist and guitarist[74]
- Raven-Symoné (born 1985) – actress and singer
- William J. Tennyson Jr. (1923–1959) – jazz musician
- Andre Thierry (born 1979) – Grammy-nominated zydeco musician; leads the band Zydeco Magic[75][76]
- Lorenzo Tio Jr. (1893–1933) – jazz clarinetist
- Allen Toussaint (1938–2015) – musician, composer, record producer, and influential figure in New Orleans R&B
- Mr. T (born 1952) – actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler[77]
- Vicki Vann (born 1980) – country music artist, model and actress
- Little Walter (1930–1968) – blues musician and singer[78]
- Lynn Whitfield (born 1953) – actress
- Nathan Williams (born 1964) – zydeco accordionist and singer
- Buckwheat Zydeco (1947–2016) – accordionist and zydeco musician
Business
- Danny Bakewell (born 1946) – civil rights activist and entrepreneur; owner of the Bakewell Company, which includes among its holdings the New Orleans radio station WBOK and the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper; Chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association[79]
- Alvin J. Boutte (1929–2012) – founder and CEO of the largest Black-owned bank in the United States, civil rights activist, Chicago civic leader
- Robert Brevelle (born 1977) – entrepreneur, venture capitalist and professor. Councilman of the Adai Caddo Indian Nation and lineal descendant of the founders of historic Isle Brevelle, the birthplace of Louisiana Creole Culture.[80]
- Joseph Eloi Broussard (1866–1956) – pioneer rice grower and miller in Texas
- Jean Pierre Chouteau (1758–1849) – fur trader, merchant, politician and slaveholder
- Marie Couvent (1757–1837) – philanthropist and businesswoman
- Percy Creuzot (1924–2010) – restaurateur who founded Frenchy's Chicken in Houston, Texas; due to his success, he became known as "the black Colonel Sanders"
- Constant C. Dejoie, Sr. (1881–1970) – publisher and founder of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper
- Lurita Doan (born 1958) – businesswoman, political commentator, and former political appointee; administrator of the United States General Services Administration, the government's contracting agency, 2006–2008, during the administration of Republican U.S. President George W. Bush[81]
- Harold Doley (born 1947) – businessman[82]
- Shabazz Farrakhan - businessman, SOCOM officer, part owner of Pittsburgh Penguins & Detroit Red Wings, MMA fighter, athlete and founder of Broadway Ventures. Born in Windsor, Ontario, raised in Detroit and Baldwin, Long Island along with Astoria, Queens. Lineage of Louisiana Creoles & Marine Corps Officer. Franchisee in Detroit, NYC, LA, Chicago, Columbus, Nashville, Boston, New Orleans etc. Vanderbilt, Ohio State and Princeton alumni. Operation Freedom Sentinel Vet. Member of the Penn Club and American Bar Association.
- Jean Baptiste Point du Sable (?–1818) – businessman and founder of Chicago[83]
- Roy F. Guste – author of ten Louisiana French-Creole cuisine cookbooks; fifth-generation proprietor of New Orleans' famed Antoine's Restaurant, established in 1840
- Thomy Lafon (1810–1893) – businessman, philanthropist, and human rights activist
- Austin Leslie (1934–2005) – internationally famous New Orleans chef whose work defined "Creole Soul"
- Miriam Leslie (1836–1914) – publisher and author[84][85][86]
- Marie Thérèse Coincoin (1742–1816) – médecine, planter, and businesswoman in Natchitoches Parish
- Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba (1795–1874) – businesswoman[87]
- Mary Ellen Pleasant (between 1814 and 1817–1904) – entrepreneur and human rights activist[88]
- Iris Rideau (born 1937) – winemaker, businesswoman and activist
- Charles Rochon (1673–1733) – French colonist and was one of the four founders of modern-day Mobile, Alabama.
- Rosette Rochon (1767) – daughter of Pierre Rochon, a shipbuilder from a Québécois family (family name was Rocheron in Québec), and his mulâtresse slave-consort Marianne, who bore him five other children. Rochon came to speculate in real estate in the French Quarter; she eventually owned rental property, opened grocery stores, made loans, bought and sold mortgages, and owned and rented out (hired out) slaves.
- Desiree Rogers (born 1959) – former White House Social Secretary and businesswoman[89]
- Peter A. Sarpy (1804–1865) – businessman
- Jacques Telesphore Roman (1800–1848) – businessman
- Virginie de Ternant (1818–1887) – businesswoman
Education
- Earl Barthe (1922–2010) – plasterer and plastering historian
- Brian J. Costello (born 1966) – historian, author, archivist and humanitarian. He is an 11th generation resident of New Roads, Louisiana, seat of Pointe Coupee Parish. He is three-quarters French and one-quarter Italian in ethnicity. He is a recognized, and one of the few remaining, speakers of Louisiana Creole French, having been immersed in childhood in the dialect spoken in Pointe Coupee Parish.[90]
- Toi Derricotte (born 1941) – poet and professor of writing at the University of Pittsburgh
- Edouard Dessommes (1845–1908) – French language writer
- Caroline Durieux (1896–1989) – lithographer, and Professor Emeritus of Fine Arts at Louisiana State University[91]
- Alcée Fortier (1856–1914) – late 19th-century professor of languages and folklore; influential in preservation of the French language in Louisiana
- Norman Francis (born 1931) – President of Xavier University of Louisiana
- Sheryl St. Germain (born 1954) – poet, essayist, and professor
- Andrew Jolivette – author and lecturer; associate professor in American Indian Studies and instructor in Ethnic Studies, Educational Leadership, and Race and Resistance Studies at San Francisco State University
- Sybil Kein – poet, playwright, scholar and musician
- Suzette M. Malveaux (born 1966) – Professor of Law and former Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America
- Camille Nickerson (1888–1982) – pianist, composer, arranger, collector, and Howard University professor from 1926 to 1962
- Etnah Rochon Boutte (1880-1973) – educator, pharmacist, an activist; executive secretary of the Circle for Negro War Relief; co-founder, NAACP Anti-Lynching Crusaders
- Gilbert L. Rochon – 6th president of Tuskegee University, 2010–2013
- Neal Ferdinand Simeon (1916–1963) – mechanical engineer and teacher
Journalism
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- Dean Baquet (born 1956) – Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist; executive editor of The New York Times[92][93]
- Chris Broussard (born 1968) – sports analyst for ESPN, who mainly covers the NBA; columnist for ESPN Magazine and ESPN.com; makes appearances on ESPN's NBA Fastbreak as an analyst[94]
- Merri Dee (born 1936) – philanthropist and former television journalist[95]
- Bryant Gumbel (born 1948) – television journalist
- Greg Gumbel (born 1946) – television sportscaster
- Aristide Laurent (1941–2011) – publisher and LGBT civil rights advocate; co-founded The Los Angeles Advocate (now known as The Advocate) in 1967 with Sam Allen, Bill Rau, and Richard Mitch
- Charlie LeDuff (born 1966) – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and writer[96]
- Don Lemon (born 1966) – television news anchor; host of CNN Tonight[97]
- Suzanne Malveaux (born 1966) – television news reporter[98]
- Arthel Neville (born 1962) – journalist and television personality
Law and politics
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- Caesar Antoine (1836–1921) – Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, businessman, soldier, editor
- Larry Bagneris, Jr. (born 1946) – social and political activist from New Orleans[99]
- Sidney Barthelemy (born 1942) – former mayor of New Orleans
- Armand Julie Beauvais (1783–1843) – 7th governor of Louisiana[100]
- Pierre Evariste Jean-Baptiste Bossier (1797–1844) – Louisiana state senator, 1833–1843; namesake of Bossier Parish, Louisiana[101]
- Henry Braden (1944–2013) – lawyer, lobbyist, and Democratic politician from his native New Orleans, Louisiana.[102][self-published source]
- Donna Brazile (born 1959) – author, academic, and political analyst; Vice Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee[103]
- Allen Broussard (1929–1996) – judge who rose to become a justice of the California Supreme Court[104]
- LaToya Cantrell (born 1972) – current mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana
- Ward Connerly (born 1939) – former University of California regent, moderate conservative political activist, and businessman[105]
- Don Cravins, Jr. (born 1972) – Democratic politician from the State of Louisiana[106]
- Pierre Derbigny (1769–1829) – 6th governor of Louisiana
- Dan Desdunes (1870–1929) – civil rights activist and musician in New Orleans and Omaha
- Rodolphe Desdunes (1849–1928) – civil rights activist, poet, historian, journalist, and customs officer primarily active in New Orleans
- Jean Noel Destrehan (1754–1823) – politician in Louisiana and one-time owner of Destréhan Plantation, one of Louisiana's most famous antebellum historical landmarks
- Antoine Dubuclet (1810–1887) – State Treasurer of Louisiana
- Jacques Dupre (1773–1846) – 8th Governor of Louisiana[107]
- Edwin Edwards (1927–2021) – served as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1980, 1984–1988 and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as any other Louisiana chief executive
- Keith Ellison (born 1963) – U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district[108][109][110]
- William Freret (1804–1864) – mayor of New Orleans, 1840–1842, and 1843–1844
- Charles Gayarré (1805–1895) – lawyer, judge, politician, historian, essayist, dramatist and novelist[111]
- Curtis Graves (born 1938) – politician and photographer
- Paul Octave Hebert (1818–1880) – 14th Governor of Louisiana from 1853 to 1856 and a general in the Confederate Army[112]
- Alexis Herman (born 1947) – politician; 23rd U.S. Secretary of Labor, serving under President Bill Clinton; previously Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement[113]
- Valerie Jarrett (born 1956) – senior advisor and assistant to the president for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Obama administration; lawyer and businesswoman. Jarrett is a descendant of French colonist Charles Rochon[114][115]
- Paul Lafargue (1842–1911) – French revolutionary Marxist socialist journalist, literary critic, political writer and activist[116][117]
- Eric LaFleur (born 1964) – Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate; first elected in 2007; previously member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 38 (Evangeline and St. Landry parishes), 2000–2008; first elected without opposition to an open seat vacated by Dirk Deville; re-elected four years later in 2003 with 81% of the vote[118]
- Mary Landrieu (born 1955) – politician, entrepreneur, and former U.S. Senator from the state of Louisiana.
- Mitch Landrieu (born 1960) – politician and lawyer who is the 61st Mayor of New Orleans. A Democrat, Landrieu served as the 51st Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 2004 to 2010 prior to becoming mayor.
- Moon Landrieu (born 1930) – served as the 56th Mayor of New Orleans from 1970 to 1978. He also is a former judge. He represented New Orleans' Twelfth Ward in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1960 to 1966 and served on the New Orleans City Council as a member at-large from 1966 to 1970.[119]
- Pierre Caliste Landry (1841–1921) – Mayor of Donaldsonville, Louisiana
- Richard W. Leche (1898–1965) – 44th governor of Louisiana, 1936–1939
- Ivan L. R. Lemelle (born 1950) – United States federal judge
- Bernard de Marigny (1785–1868) – politician
- François Xavier Martin (1762–1846) – jurist and author, the first Attorney General of State of Louisiana, and longtime Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
- John Willis Menard (1838–1893) – U.S. Congressman[120]
- Ernest Nathan Morial (1929–1989) – political figure and leading civil rights advocate[121]
- Marc Morial (born 1958) – former mayor of New Orleans; son of Ernest Nathan Morial
- Ray Nagin (born 1956) – former mayor of New Orleans[122]
- Revius Ortique, Jr. (1924–2008) – justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, and civil rights activist[123]
- James Pitot (1761–1831) – second mayor of New Orleans
- Homer Plessy (1863–1925) – plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson[124]
- Geronimo Pratt (1947–2011) – human rights activist[125][126]
- Denis Prieur – 10th mayor of New Orleans
- Robert Rochon Taylor (1899–1957), housing activist and banker, first black member of the Chicago Housing Authority, namesake of the Robert Taylor Homes
- Andre B. Roman (1795–1866) – 9th governor of Louisiana, cousin of Sen. Pierre Bossier
- Angela Rye (born 1979) – attorney and political commentator, her paternal grandfather was born in Shreveport, Louisiana
- A.P. Tureaud (1899–1972) – attorney for the New Orleans chapter of the NAACP[127]
- Jacques Villere (1761–1830) – 2nd governor of Louisiana
- Joseph Marshall Walker (1784–1856) – 13th governor of Louisiana, 1850–1853
- Lionel Wilson (1915–1998) – mayor of Oakland, California, serving three terms, 1977–1991[128]
- Andrew Young (born 1932) – Congressman from Georgia's 5th congressional district, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and mayor of Atlanta[129]
Literature
- Arna Bontemps (1902–1973) – poet; noted member of the Harlem Renaissance
- Anatole Broyard (1920–1990) – native of New Orleans, 20th-century writer and critic who worked in New York City
- Kate Chopin (1850–1904) – author, forerunner to feminism
- Marcus Bruce Christian (1900–1976) – poet, writer, historian and folklorist
- Nahshon Dion (born 1978) – award-winning creative nonfiction writer
- Sidonie de la Houssaye (1820–1894) – writer
- Armand Lanusse (1810–1867) – poet and educator
- Willard Motley (1909–1965) – writer
- Alice Dunbar Nelson (1875–1935) – poet, journalist and political activist[130]
- Anais Nin (1903–1977) – author[131]
- Brenda Marie Osbey (born 1957) – poet[132]
- John Kennedy Toole (1937–1969) – author; won a Pulitzer Prize for his Picaresque novel A Confederacy of Dunces (1980)
- Jean Toomer (1894–1967) – poet and novelist[citation needed]
- Victor Sejour (1817–1874) – writer
- Fatima Shaik (born 1952) – writer of children's and adult literature
- Jesmyn Ward (born 1977) – novelist and an associate professor of English at Tulane University. She won the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction and a 2012 Alex Award with her second novel Salvage the Bones, a story about familial love and community covering the 10 days preceding Hurricane Katrina, the day of the cyclone, and the day after.[133]
Military
- Edward Gabriel Andre Barrett (1827–1880) – Commodore in the United States Navy
- P. G. T. Beauregard (1818–1893) – general for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War; writer, civil servant and inventor[134]
- Renato Beluche (1780–1860) – Venezuelan merchant and privateer
- Placide Bossier (d. 1861) – planter's son, died in Battle of Wilson's Creek[135]
- Sherian Cadoria (born 1943) – retired General in the United States Army[136]
- Andre Cailloux (1825–1863) – officer in the Confederate and Union armies
- Claire Lee Chennault (1893–1958) – military aviator
- Jerome G. Cooper (born 1936) – former officer of the United States Marine Corps; Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs), 1989–1992; United States Ambassador to Jamaica, 1994–1997[137]
- Russel L. Honoré (born 1947) – commanding general of the U.S. First Army in Fort Gillem, Georgia, and commander of Joint Task Force Katrina responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina-affected areas across the Gulf Coast[138]
- John A. Lejeune (1867–1942) – 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps[139]
- Stephen W. Rochon – Rear Admiral; former Director of the Executive Residence; White House Chief Usher[140]
Religion
- Henriette Delille (1812–1862) – founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family, declared venerable by the Pope in 2010
- Curtis J. Guillory (born 1943) – Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont, Texas
- Marie Laveau (1794–1881) – practitioner of voodoo[141]
- Leonard Olivier (1923–2014) – retired auxiliary bishop for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington
- Harold Robert Perry (1916–1991) – auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans
- John Ricard (born 1940) – prelate of the Roman Catholic Church; fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee
Science and technology
- John James Audubon (1785–1851) – ornithologist, naturalist, and painter[142]
- Antoine Philippe de Marigny (1721–1779) – geographer and explorer
- Paul Du Chaillu (1831–1903) – French-American traveler, zoologist, and anthropologist; became famous in the 1860s as the first modern European outsider to confirm the existence of gorillas, and later the Pygmy people of central Africa; researched the prehistory of Scandinavia[143]
- Barthelemy Lafon (1769–1820) – notable Creole architect, engineer, city planner, and surveyor in New Orleans
- Jean Alexandre LeMat (1824–1883) – best known for the percussion cap revolver that bears his name (LeMat revolver)[144][145]
- Norbert Rillieux (1806–1894) – inventor and engineer[146]
- Jean-Louis Dolliole (1779–1861) – architect-builder in New Orleans, Louisiana
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Sports
- Laila Ali (born 1977) – former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007; daughter of the late heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali with his third wife, Veronica Porché Ali; the eighth of her father's nine children[147]
- Jonathan Babineaux (born 1981) – former defensive tackle for the National Football League
- Jordan Babineaux (born 1983) – former safety for the National Football League
- Daniel Cormier (born 1979) – mixed martial artist (UFC) and former Olympic wrestler
- Jimmy Doyle (1924–1947) – welterweight boxer
- Joe Dumars (born 1963) – retired basketball player in the National Basketball Association; played for the Detroit Pistons 1985–1999[148][149]
- Ralph Dupas (1935–2008) – boxer from New Orleans; won the world light middleweight championship[150]
- Brett Favre (born 1969) – Hall of Fame NFL Quarterback[151][152]
- Matt Forte (born 1985) – running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League
- Jermaine Kearse (born 1990) – football player
- Oliver Marcelle (1895–1949) – professional baseball player
- Tyrann Mathieu (born 1992) – free safety for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League
- Boyd Melson (born 1981) – light middleweight boxer
- Paul Charles Morphy (1837–1884) – chess master, lawyer[153]
- Kelly Oubre Jr. (born 1995) – professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA)
- Xavier Paul (born 1985) – professional baseball outfielder; has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks[154]
- Regis Prograis (born 1989) – professional boxer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Prograis is currently the WBC interim light-welterweight champion.[155][156]
- Don Prudhomme (born 1941) – professional drag racer and 4-time NHRA Funny Car champion.[157]
- CC Sabathia (born 1980) – professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees[158]
- Paul Sentell (1879–1923) – professional baseball player[159]
Other
- Charles Deslondes (1777–1811) – one of the slave leaders of the 1811 German Coast uprising, a slave revolt that began on January 8, 1811, in the Territory of Orleans[160]
- Delphine LaLaurie (1787–1849) – socialite and murderer
- Sinnamon Love (born 1973) – pornographic actress[161]
- Jean Saint Malo (d. 1784) – leader of a group of runaway slaves, known as maroons, in Spanish Louisiana[162]
- Lulu White (1868–1931) – brothel madam, procuress and entrepreneur in New Orleans during the Storyville period
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