Fellow Texan!
by lezliegoodwin-143-663289 | created - 01 Jul 2019 | updated - 1 month ago | Public
1. Katherine Helmond
Actress | Overboard
Katherine Marie Helmond was born on July 5, 1929, in Galveston, Texas. After her parents divorced, she was raised by her mother, Thelma (nee Malone) Helmond, and her maternal grandmother, both of Irish Catholic descent. She attended Catholic school, and appeared in numerous school plays and ...
2. Rip Torn
Actor | Men in Black
Rip Torn was born Elmore Rual Torn Jr. on February 6, 1931 in Temple, Texas, the son of Thelma Mary (Spacek) and Elmore Rudolph Torn, who was an agriculturalist and economist, credited with popularizing the custom of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. "Rip" is a family name, taken by ...
3. Rex Reed
Actor | Superman
Rex was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in Louisiana. He became one of the most prolific movie critics in the country, and for decades has written entertainment columns for The New York Observer.
In 1970, Rex made his movie debut, playing Myron in Myra Breckinridge (1970) - Myron was the ...
4. Dan Blocker
Actor | Bonanza
Dan Blocker is one of the true television immortals, having played Hoss Cartwright -- the heart and soul of Bonanza (1959) -- for 13 seasons, before his untimely death in 1972 at the age of 43. "Bonanza" was the most popular TV series of the 1960s, ranked #1 for three straight seasons (1964-65 ...
5. Ray Walston
Actor | Popeye
Ray Walston started his acting career as a spear carrier with a local stock company. When the family moved to Houston, Texas, Walston's father wanted to teach him the oil business, but Walston instead joined a traveling repertory company (selling tickets as well as acting). He went on to associate ...
6. Melora Hardin
Actress | 17 Again
Melora Hardin is an American actress, singer and director from Houston, Texas who is known for playing Jan Levinson from The Office and Trudy Monk from Monk. She also acted in The Rocketeer, 24 Dresses, 17 Again, Hannah Montana: The Movie, Transparent, The Bold Type and The Hot Chick. She had two ...
7. Don 'Red' Barry
Actor | Jesse James' Women
Donald Barry went from the stage to the screen. After four years of playing villains and henchmen at various studios, Barry got the role that changed his image: Red Ryder in the Republic Pictures serial Adventures of Red Ryder (1940). Although he had appeared in westerns for two years or so, this ...
8. Kathy Baker
Actress | Picket Fences
For someone who has made an award-winning impact in all three mediums (stage, film and TV), actress Kathy Baker has been strangely denied all-out stardom, yet continues to demonstrate her versatility in whatever material comes her way.
The comely blonde was born Katherine Whitton Baker in Midland, ...
9. William Utay
Actor | Species
William Utay was born on September 7, 1947 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He is an actor, known for Species (1995), Night Court (1984) and Cobb (1994).
10. Caroline Williams
Actress | Renfield
Caroline Williams began her career in Texas, co-starring for revered cinema master Louis Malle in his Corpus Christi-based film, Alamo Bay (1985). She worked opposite stars Ed Harris and Amy Madigan in what was her first feature film, after only six months of training at the Studio For Actors, ...
11. Lisa Whelchel
Actress | The Facts of Life
Lisa Whelchel was born in Littlefield, Texas, USA on Wednesday, May 29, 1963. She is the daughter of James "Jimmy" and Virginia "Genny" Whelchel. Her parents divorced in 1981 and her mother married Roy Coleman in 1983. She has a younger brother, James (Cody) Whelchel, and a younger half-brother, ...
12. Mickey Jones
Actor | Total Recall
Mickey Jones was born on June 10, 1941 in Houston, Texas, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Total Recall (1990), Starman (1984) and Sling Blade (1996). He was married to Phyllis Jean Starr and Sandra Joel Davis. He died on February 7, 2018 in Simi Valley, California, USA.
13. George 'Spanky' McFarland
Actor | Bedtime Worries
George 'Spanky' McFarland was born on October 2, 1928 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Bedtime Worries (1933), Beginner's Luck (1935) and Second Childhood (1936). He was married to Paula Jeanne Wilkinson and Doris. He died on June 30, 1993 in Grapevine, Texas, USA.
14. Joan Crawford
Actress | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur on March 23, 1906, in San Antonio, Texas, to Anna Belle (Johnson) and Thomas E. LeSueur, a laundry laborer. By the time she was born, her parents had separated, and by the time she was a teenager, she'd had three stepfathers. It wasn't an easy life; ...
15. Debbie Allen
Producer | Fame
Deborah Kaye Allen was born in Houston, Texas, to African-American parents, Vivian Elizabeth (Ayers), a poet and art director, and Andrew Arthur Allen, an orthodontist. As a child, Debbie, her older brother, Andrew (called Tex), and her older sister, actress Phylicia Rashad, lived in Mexico to ...
16. Jensen Ackles
Actor | Supernatural
Jensen Ross Ackles, better known as simply Jensen Ackles, was born on March 1, 1978, in Dallas, Texas, to Donna Joan (Shaffer) and actor Alan Ackles. He has English, German, and Scottish ancestry. Jensen grew up in Richardson, Texas, together with his older brother, Joshua, and a younger sister, ...
17. William Jackson Harper
Actor | Midsommar
William Jackson Harper was born on February 8, 1980 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Midsommar (2019), The Good Place (2016) and Paterson (2016).
18. Kenny Rogers
Soundtrack | Polar
Born in Houston, Texas on August 21, 1938, Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, actor, record producer and entrepreneur Kenneth Ray Rogers was the fourth of eight children born to a carpenter father who worked in a shipyard and a mother who was a hospital nurse's assistant. Of humble Irish and Native...
19. Ashley Nicole Williams
Actress | Motherland: Fort Salem
A dynamic and versatile performer, Ashley Nicole Williams is quickly emerging as one of the entertainment industry's brightest young talents.
Ashley is most known for her role as 'Abigail Bellweather' on the Freeform series, "Motherland: Fort Salem" which premiered in March 2020 and went 3 seasons.
A...
20. Charlie Spradling
Actress | The Blob
Charlie Lynn Spradling was born and raised in Forth Worth, Texas. Spradling began her show business career acting in plays in and around her home town for nine years after joining a local children's theater group. Charlie eventually left Texas and moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles, California in the ...
21. Burton Gilliam
Actor | Blazing Saddles
Burton Gilliam was born on August 9, 1938 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He is an actor, known for Blazing Saddles (1974), Back to the Future Part III (1990) and Paper Moon (1973). He has been married to Susan Michelle Sandlin since December 17, 1975. He was previously married to Sheila Katherine Brown, ...
22. John Hillerman
Actor | Magnum, P.I.
John Hillerman, who most famously played the impeccably urbane Englishman Jonathan Quayle Higgins III (VC !) -- Tom Selleck's sophisticated majordomo in Magnum, P.I. (1980) --, was of French, German and Austrian descent, raised in a small Texas town and educated at a Catholic high school. He ...
23. Irene Ryan
Actress | The Beverly Hillbillies
Before becoming known to millions as Granny on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Irene Ryan was already an established vaudeville, radio and movie actress, though not as famous prior to her television stint. She accompanied Bob Hope on his famous military tours and she was known as "the gal who makes...
24. Ben McKenzie
Actor | Gotham
Ben McKenzie was born Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan in Austin, Texas on September 12, 1978, to Mary Frances (Victory), a poet, and Pieter Meade Schenkkan, an attorney. His uncle is playwright Robert Schenkkan. Ben is of Dutch Jewish (from his paternal grandfather), English, and Scottish descent. He ...
25. Tamela J. Mann
Actress | Madea Goes to Jail
Tamela J. Mann was born on June 9, 1966 in Limestone County, Texas, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Madea Goes to Jail (2009), Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005) and Meet the Browns (2008). She has been married to David Mann since June 9, 1988. They have four children.
26. David Mann
Actor | Meet the Browns
David Mann was born on August 7, 1966 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Meet the Browns (2009), Meet the Browns (2008) and Madea Goes to Jail (2009). He has been married to Tamela J. Mann since June 9, 1988. They have four children.
27. Cathryn Hartt
Actress | Pink Motel
Cathryn Hartt was born on October 19, 1951 in Dallas, Texas, USA. She is an actress, known for Pink Motel (1982), Futureworld (1976) and The Greatest American Hero (1981).
28. Bruce Hyde
Actor | Star Trek
Bruce Hyde (BA Northwestern University 1963; MS University of North Texas 1984; PhD University of Southern California 1990) divided his SCSU teaching duties between the Department of Theatre, Film Studies and Dance, where he taught Acting, and the Department of Communication Studies, teaching ...
29. G.W. Bailey
Actor | Police Academy
George William Bailey was born on August 27, 1944 in Port Arthur, Texas. Although Bailey started college at Lamar University in Beaumont, he eventually transferred to Texas Tech University in Lubbock. He did not complete his studies. He worked at local theater companies during the mid 1960s until ...
30. Cristela Alonzo
Writer | Cristela Alonzo: Middle Classy
Cristela Alonzo was born on January 6, 1979 in San Juan, Texas, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Cristela Alonzo: Middle Classy (2022), Cristela Alonzo: Lower Classy (2017) and Cars 3 (2017).
32. Renée Zellweger
Actress | Chicago
Renée Kathleen Zellweger was born on April 25, 1969, in Katy, Texas, Her mother, Kjellfrid Irene (Andreassen), is a Norwegian-born former nurse and midwife, of Norwegian, Kven (Finnish), and Swedish descent. Her father, Emil Erich Zellweger, is a Swiss-born engineer. The two married in 1963. Renée ...
33. Matthew McConaughey
Actor | Interstellar
American actor and producer Matthew David McConaughey was born in Uvalde, Texas. His mother, Mary Kathleen (McCabe), is a substitute school teacher originally from New Jersey. His father, James Donald McConaughey, was a Mississippi-born gas station owner who ran an oil pipe supply business. He is ...
34. Eddie Hassell
Actor | The Kids Are All Right
Eddie Hassell was born on July 16, 1990 in Corsicana, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for The Kids Are All Right (2010), Surface (2005) and 2012 (2009). He died on November 1, 2020 in Grand Prairie, Texas, USA.
35. Mark Calaway
Actor | Suburban Commando
Born on March 24, 1965. Best known as "The Undertaker" from World Wrestling Entertainment. He first came to the WWF in 1990 as Ted DiBiase's mystery partner at The Survivor Series (1990). At first, he was a heel, but later turned face, around WrestleMania VIII (1992). He has held the WWF World ...
36. Michelle Forbes
Actress | Kalifornia
Michelle Renee Forbes Guajardo is an American actress who has appeared on television and in independent films. Forbes first gained attention for her dual role in daytime soap opera Guiding Light (1952), for which she received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. She is also a Saturn Award winner with ...
37. Glenn Morshower
Actor | The Resident
Glenn Morshower was born on April 24, 1959 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Resident (2018), Bloodline (2015) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011). He has been married to Carolyn Elizabeth Lindsley since December 30, 1978. They have two children.
38. Rob Stone
Actor | Mr. Belvedere
Rob Stone was born on September 22, 1962 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Mr. Belvedere (1985), Blue Angels: Around the World at the Speed of Sound (1994) and Planet. On. Fire.. He is married to Melissa Chan Stone.
39. Quinn Copeland
Actress | Punky Brewster
Quinn Annabelle Copeland was born 2/24/2012 and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. Quinn grew up in a house full of musicals so it was very exciting when she was cast in Waitress the Musical at the age of 5. After all, she had been singing Sondheim musicals in a British accent since she was 3. She then ...
40. Paul Winfield
Actor | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Signifying intelligence, eloquence, versatility and quiet intensity, one of the more important, critically acclaimed black actors to gain a Hollywood foothold in the 1970s was Paul Winfield. He was born in 1939 in Dallas, Texas, where he lived in his early years before moving with his family to Los...
41. Alan Tudyk
Actor | Rogue One
Alan Tudyk was born in El Paso, Texas, but grew up in Plano, where he attended Plano Sr. High. In 1990, he went on to study drama at Lon Morris Jr. College. While there, he was awarded the Academic Excellence Award for Drama. He was also named Most Likely to Succeed and Sophomore Beau. During this ...
42. Wes Anderson
Director | Fantastic Mr. Fox
Wesley Wales Anderson was born in Houston, Texas. His mother, Texas Ann (Burroughs), is an archaeologist turned real estate agent, and his father, Melver Leonard Anderson, worked in advertising and PR. He has two brothers, Eric and Mel. Anderson's parents divorced when he was a young child, an ...
43. Don Dacus
Actor | Hair
Guitarist and songwriter Donnie Dacus was born October 12, 1951 in Galena Park, Texas. He's noted for his work with Stephen Stills in the early 70s, and a controversial stint with the jazz-rock group Chicago from 1978-1980 (he also had a brief fling with acting, starring in "Hair" in 1979).
His ...
44. Jay O. Sanders
Actor | The Day After Tomorrow
Jay O. Sanders was born on April 16, 1953 in Austin, Texas, USA. He is an actor, known for The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Kiss the Girls (1997) and Edge of Darkness (2010). He has been married to Maryann Plunkett since October 1, 1991. They have one child.
45. Quindon Tarver
Soundtrack | Romeo + Juliet
Quindon Tarver was born on August 4, 1982 in Plano, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Romeo + Juliet (1996), The Big Kahuna (1999) and Soul Train (1971). He died on April 2, 2021 in Texas, USA.
46. Ethan Hawke
Actor | Training Day
Ethan Green Hawke was born on November 6, 1970 in Austin, Texas, to Leslie Carole (Green), a charity worker, and James Steven Hawke, an insurance actuary. His parents were students at the University of Texas at the time but divorced when Ethan was 5 years old. His mother raised him alone for the ...
47. Robert Patrick
Writer | High Tide
Robert Patrick was born on September 27, 1937 in Kilgore, Texas, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for High Tide (1994), Kennedy's Children (1982) and Tricks of the Trade (1968). He died on April 23, 2023 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
48. Stephen Tobolowsky
Actor | Groundhog Day
Character actor Stephen Tobolowsky was born on May 30, 1951 in Dallas, Texas. Over the past three decades, Tobolowsky has racked up a lengthy list of roles in movies and television across many different genres.
While Tobolowsky initially attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas with ...
49. Jared Padalecki
Actor | Supernatural
Jared Padalecki was born in San Antonio, Texas, to Sherri (Kammer), a teacher of English, and Gerald Padalecki, a tax accountant. He is of Polish (father) and German, English, Scottish, and French (mother) descent. Jared started to take acting lessons when he was 12. Then, he won the "Claim to Fame...
50. Michael Nesmith
Soundtrack | The Monkees
Singer, composer, heartthrob, pioneer--all are accurate descriptions of Robert Michael Nesmith. Most easily identified by his trademark blue wool hat with pompom, Nesmith fashioned a diversified career within music and also in film. Born in Saint Joseph's Hospital in downtown Houston, Texas, ...
51. Bill Paxton
Actor | Aliens
Bill Paxton was born on May 17, 1955 in Fort Worth, Texas. He was the son of Mary Lou (Gray) and John Lane Paxton, a businessman and actor (as John Paxton). Bill moved to Los Angeles, California at age eighteen, where he found work in the film industry as a set dresser for Roger Corman's New World ...
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