Celebrities Born in the Great State of Alabama Quiz

Answer:

FYI - All incorrect answers are people born in Vermont.

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- Nat King Cole (Montgomery) was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. He was the first African-American to have his own TV show - "The Nat King Cole Show" (1956). He was paid only $5000 for acting in "China Gate" (1957), but he received $75,000 for singing "Three Coins in the Fountain" during the opening credits.

- Lionel Richie (Tuskegee) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He seriously considered becoming an Episcopalian Priest before turning to music. He was inducted into the American Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994 and was inducted into the International Mustache Hall of Fame in 2015 (inaugural class) in the category Music & Arts.

- Harper Lee (Monroeville) was an American novelist whose 1960 novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird", won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and became a classic of modern American literature. She and Truman Capote were childhood friends. She was Capote's personal assistant when he went to Garden City, Kansas, to investigate the Clutter murders in Holcomb, Kansas - which became his bestselling book, "In Cold Blood".

- Octavia Spencer (Montgomery) is an American actress and Academy Award winner for her role in "The Help" (2011). Between 1996 and 2013, she has played a nurse at least 16 different times, including in movies such as "A Time to Kill" (1996) and "Seven Pounds" (2008), as a regular on the television series "City of Angels" (2000), and in guest spots on series like "Chicago Hope" (1994), "The X-Files" (1993), and "Roswell" (1999).

- Courteney Cox (Birmingham) is an American actress and filmmaker. She appeared in Bruce Springsteen's music video for "Dancing in the Dark" when she was a teenager. She was in the front row with her friends when Bruce offered Courteney his hand, pulled her up on stage, and started dancing with her.

- Hank Aaron (Mobile) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1954 through 1976. He broke the long-standing MLB record for career home runs held by Babe Ruth, and remained the career leader for 33 years until Barry Bonds surpassed his famous total of 755 in 2007. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least 15 times (Alex Rodriguez).

- Jesse Owens (Oakville) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. At the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on May 25, 1935, the sophomore speedster turned in a remarkable performance despite a severely injured tailbone. He began the meet by tying the world record in the 100-yard dash. Fifteen minutes later he smashed the world long jump record by nearly six inches. Within the next half-hour, he also set world bests in the 220-yard dash and 220-yard low hurdles.

- Mia Hamm (Selma) is an American former professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. She was the youngest person ever to play for the U.S. National Team when she debuted for the USA in 1987 at 15 years and 140 days. She is part of the owners group (with Eva Longoria, Jennifer Garner, & Natalie Portman) which launched the "National Women's Soccer League" franchise in Los Angeles in 2022.

- Emmylou Harris (Birmingham) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She was her high school class valedictorian, and won a drama scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has won 12 Grammy awards and ranked #22 on VH1's "100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll".

- Condoleeza Rice (Birmingham) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. She was the United States Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. She is a concert-level pianist who has performed with Yo-Yo Ma and speaks fluent Russian.

- George Wallace (Clio) was the 45th governor of Alabama, serving from 1963 to 1967, again from 1971 to 1979, and finally from 1983 to 1987. He was staunchly opposed to integrating Alabama's schools at any level. In 1963 he stood at the door of the admissions office at the University of Alabama and refused to allow two African-American females to enroll at the school. Wallace backed down under pressure from the NAACP and the girls were allowed admission.

- Hank Williams Sr. (Butler County) was an American singer-songwriter. At the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in 1949, the audience begged the "Your Cheatin' Heart" and "Lovesick Blues" singer to perform a record six encores - a record that has never been topped.

- Bo Jackson (Bessemer) is an American former professional baseball and football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in two major North American sports. He became the first player ever to hit a home run and steal a base in the same All-Star game. He is the only player in NFL history to have two rushing touchdowns of 90 yards or more.

- Carl Lewis (Birmingham) is an American former track and field athlete who is considered to be the greatest track and field athlete of all time. He has won 10 medals, including 9 gold, in the Olympics. He was awarded the "Sportsman of the Century Award" by the International Olympic Committee.

- Channing Tatum (Cullman) is an American actor and producer. His big break was being cast in Ricky Martin's music video "She Bangs"; he was paid $400 for the seven-day shoot. Although being an accomplished dancer, he learned 1940s-style tap dancing for the Coen Brothers' film "Hail, Caesar!" (2016). One of his numbers included going from a standing position in front of the bar to a sustained handstand on the edge of the bar, culminating in somersaults to the end of the bar.