Hollywood is the place people flock to from every single state to get in on the action. We are sure you are aware that not only people from Los Angeles were born stars. However, Hollywood stars come from all kinds of different backgrounds and different locations. You never know, one could have been your neighbor.
Below, we have created a list of the most famous stars from each state in the country, like Jennifer Lawrence who calls Kentucky her home, or Emma Stone who was born in Arizona. Find out who is from where and see if you have any celebs from your hometown!
Channing Tatum – Alabama
Talent: Actor
Age now: 40
Age he became famous: 20 (2000)
Tatum’s first role was in Ricky Marin’s music video as a dancer; he was paid $400 for that job. He went from modeling for clients such as Armani to television commercials. The first movie he ever acted in was She’s the Man with Amanda Bynes in 2006. From there on, the doors only opened for him.
Nathan West – Alaska
Talent: Actor
Age now: 41
Age he became famous: 16 (1994)
Nathan’s debut film was a movie called D2: The Mighty Ducks, where he played an Iceland goalie. Nathan acted in six or more other independent films as well as television shows such as ER, Smart Guy, 7th Heaven, Grey’s Anatomy and much more.
Emma Stone – Arizona
Talent: Actress
Age now: 32
Age she became famous: 16 (2004)
Emma was one of the highest-paid actresses in the world in 2017 and was featured as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Emma began acting in a theatre production when she was a child in 2000. When she was a teenager, she moved to LA with her mother and made her movie debut in Superbad in 2007.
Ne-Yo – Arkansas
Talent: Singer, songwriter and record producer.
Age now: 41
Age he became famous: 19 (1998)
Ne-Yo (Shaffer Chimere Smith) gained his fame through his songwriting ability. His first hit was ‘Let me love you’ for singer Mario. He then released a solo single called ‘Stay’ which was released in 2005.
Leonardo DiCaprio – California
Talent: Actor, film producer, environmentalist.
Age now: 46
Age he became famous: 15 (1989)
Leonardo has won an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. Leonardo started by appearing in television commercials in the 1980s. The first movie he did was Critters 3 in 1991. He began acting in various films and had his break-through after the Titanic.
Tim Allen – Colorado
Talent: Actor, standup comedian and author
Age now: 67
Age he became famous: 22 (1975)
I’m sure when you see this face, it takes you back to Christmas memories. Allen started his career because of a dare from his friends, to participate in a comedy night. Allen had nearly served a life sentence back in 1978 but he cooperated and got a smaller sentence. After he got out of jail, he turned his life around and became the amazing actor we know today.
Ryan Phillippe – Delaware
Talent: Actor
Age now: 46
Age he became famous: 18 (1992)
Ryan became famous in the 90s after appearing as Billy Douglas on a soap opera called One Life to Live. After this, he began to star in a string of movies. Many of you may recognize him from the horror film called I know what you did last summer.
Ariana Grande – Florida
Talent: Singer and songwriter
Age now: 28
Age she became famous: 15 (2008)
Ariana is a multi-platinum, Grammy award-winning record artist. She began her carrier by performing in a Broadway musical when she was just 13 years old. Ariana then became famous by starring in Nickelodeon TV shows for kids. She wanted to pursue her music career, so she signed with Republic Records and released the first album ‘Yours Truly,’ in 2013.
Julia Roberts – Georgia
Talent: Actress and producer
Age now: 53
Age she became famous: 20 (1987)
Julia has established herself as a leading woman in Hollywood after breaking headlines with her lead role in Pretty Woman in 1990. She has won eight nominations, three Golden Globe Awards and has been nominated for four Academy Awards for her movie roles. She also won for best acting for her role in Erin Brockovich in 2000.
Nicole Kidman – Hawaii
Talent: Actress and producer
Age now: 53
Age she became famous: 16 (1983)
Nicole is a recipient of multiple awards, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, an Academy Award and five Golden Globe Awards. Nicole began her acting career back in Australia in 1983 in Bush Christmas and BMX Bandits. Her breakthrough moment was in 1989, staring in the thriller Dead Calm. She made her debut in the racing movie Days of Thunder.
Aaron Paul – Idaho
Talent: Actor
Age now: 41
Age he became famous: 19 (1998)
Aaron is well known for his role in Breaking Bad, for which he won several awards. Aaron began his career with roles in numerous music videos and guest roles in television shows.
Jesse Williams – Illinois
Talent: Actor, model, and activist
Age now: 40
Age he became famous: 25 (2006)
Jessie is known for his role in the ABC series Grey’s Anatomy in 2009 until now. He appeared in a movie called Cabin in the Woods in 2012, The Butler in 2013, and in Band Aid in 2017.
Trevor Jackson – Indiana
Talent: Actor, rapper, singer, songwriter, and dancer
Age now: 24
Age he became famous: 10 (2006)
At the age of 8, young Trevor decided he would like to be in the entertainment business. In 2004, he won the role of Simba in the national tour of The Lion King musical in which he remained. From there, his career snowballed.
Ashton Kutcher – Iowa
Talent: Actor, producer, and entrepreneur
Age now: 42
Age he became famous: 20 (1998)
Ashton began his acting career with the Fox Sitcom That 70s Show. He then made his film debut in the romantic movie called Coming soon in 1999 followed by Dude, Where’s my car? in 2000, Just Married, My Boss’s Daughter, and so on.
Kirstie Alley – Kansas
Talent: Actress and spokesmodel
Age now: 69
Age she became famous: 27 (1978)
Kirstie was first recognized in 1982 from the science fiction film Star Trek 2. Kirstie earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Alley has appeared in numerous movies such as Look Who’s Talking, and much more.
Jennifer Lawrence – Kentucky
Talent: Actress
Age now: 30
Age she became famous: 16 (2006)
As a child, Jennifer performed in church plays and school musicals. At 14, she was spotted by a scout while she was on vacation in New York with her family. She then moved to LA and began her career; she played guest roles in television shows. Jen has acted in a lot of movies since and her films have grossed way over $6 billion worldwide.
Reese Witherspoon – Louisiana
Talent: Actress, producer, and entrepreneur
Age now: 44
Age she became famous: 15 (1991)
Reese began her career as a teenager. She made her debut in The Man in the Moon in 1991. Her breakthrough was in 1999 for her role in Cruel Intentions. Reese has won numerous accolades, an Academy Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. She was featured multiple times as one of the highest-paid actresses in the world.
Anna Kendrick – Maine
Talent: Actress and singer
Age now: 35
Age she became famous: 13 (1998)
Anna began her career as a child actress in theatre productions. She performed in the 1998 Broadway musical called High Society. Following that, she made her debut in the comedy-musical Camp in 2003. Anna then rose to prominence with her role in The Twilight Saga.
Michael Phelps – Maryland
Talent: Olympics swimmer
Age now: 34
Age he became famous: he became famous: 15 (2000)
Michael is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time, he holds 28 medals and holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals. With Michael retiring twice already, he finally retired in 2016.
Mark Wahlberg – Massachusetts
Talent: Actor, businessman, model, rapper, songwriter and producer
Age now: 48, he became famous: 19 (1990)
Mark was previously known as Marky Mark with the ‘Funky Bunch,’ his band. He released albums such as ‘Music for the People’ and ‘You Gotta Believe.’ After being a rapper, he shortly transitioned to acting. His first debut was in ‘Renaissance Man’ in 1993.
Serena Williams – Michigan
Talent: Professional tennis player
Age now: 37, she became famous: 14 (1995)
Serena started playing tennis at the age of four years old after she moved to Crompton. Serena’s father home-schooled her and her sister, from there on, the sisters received extensive training and practice in tennis, hence her mad skills today.
Jessica Biel – Minnesota
Talent: Actress
Age now: 37, she became famous: 12 (1994)
Jessica used to be a singer in musical productions up until the day she was offered to play the role of Mary Camden in a family drama series called ‘7th Heaven’ in 1996. From this point on, Jess started acting in movies.
Britney Spears – Mississippi
Talent: Singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress
Age now: 37, she became famous: 11 (1992)
Britney started as a kid at the age of eleven appearing on stage productions and television series. At age 16, Britney then singed with Jive Records where she made her first two albums called ‘Baby One More Time’ and ‘Oops.’ Britney became the best-selling teenage artist ever, globally.
Jon Hamm – Missouri
Talent: Actor and producer
Age now: 48, he became famous: 25 (1996)
Jon started by making appearances in television series such as ‘Providence,’ ‘The Division,’ ‘What About Brian’ and ‘Related.’ In 2000, he made his debut film in ‘Space Cowboys’ then ‘Kissing Jessica Stein.’ Jon is best known for playing the advertising executive in Mad Men in 2007. Jon has continued staring in independent movies, since.
Michelle Williams – Montana
Talent: Actress
Age now: 38, she became famous: 13 (1993)
Michelle began her career at a seemingly young age. She made guest appearances on television. She then made her debut film in the movie called ‘Lassie’ in 1994. Michelle is now known for her small-scale independent productions with tragic or dark themes.
Gabrielle Union – Nebraska
Talent: Musician, singer, songwriter, and actor
Age now: 46, she became famous: 21 (1993)
Gabriella started in the ’90s in television sitcoms before she began doing supporting roles in the movies ‘She’s All That,’ ’10 Things I Hate About You’. Gaby’s breakthrough was in the film ‘Bring it on.’ Since then, she has stared in numerous big movies. Her latest was ‘Breaking In.’
Jena Malone – Nevada
Talent: Actress, musician, and photographer.
Age now: 34, she became famous: 12 (1996)
Jena began her acting career in independent films and mainstream blockbuster features. Jenna convinced her mom to move to LA, where she auditioned for several casts. Jena was then featured in the movie ‘Bastard out Of Carolina‘ in 1996. Jenna has featured in films such as ‘Hunger Games‘ and ‘Nocturnal Animals.’
Mandy Moore – New Hampshire
Talent: Singer-songwriter and actress
Age now: 35, he became famous: 14 (1998)
Before Mandy started acting, she had an interest in being a singer. She signed with Epic Records back in 1999. Madey made her first debut film back in 2001 with Dr. Dolittle 2 before he stared in The Princess Diaries.
Meryl Streep – New Jersey
Talent: Actress
Age now: 70, she became famous: 20 (1969)
Often described as best actress of her generation, she has been nominated for the record of 21 Academy Awards, she has won three. She also received 31 Golden Globe nominations, of which she won eight! Impressive lady Meryl, we love you!
Demi Lovato – New Mexico
Talent: Singer, songwriter, actress, author, and activist
Age now: 26, she became famous: 10 (1992)
Demi made her debut by staring in ‘Barney and Friends.’ She then rose even higher by acting in the Disney movie called ‘Camp Rock’ and the sequel ‘Camp Rock 2.’ Demi has also released six studio albums gaining seven top-20 singles on the billboard hot 100.
Jennifer Lopez – New York
Talent: Actress, singer, dancer, fashion designer, producer and businesswoman
Age now: 50, she became famous: 17
Back in 1991, Jennifer appeared as a Fly Girl dancer on ‘In Living Color’ until he pursued her acting career in 1993. Do you all remember the movie ‘Anaconda’ from 1997? She acted in it! Jenifer ventured into her music career in 1999.
Zack Galifianakis – North Carolina
Talent: Stand-up comedian, actor, television and a writer
Age now: 49, he became famous: 1996 (Debatable)
Zachary came to prominence with his ‘Comedy Central Presents’ special in 2001. He then had his own late-night show called ‘Late World with Zach.’ He acted in the trilogy ‘Hangover’, ‘Due Date,’ ‘the campaign,’ ‘Masterminds’ and ‘The Lego Batman Movie.’
Cameron Jibril Thomaz (Wiz Khalifa) – North Dakota
Talent: Rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor
Age now: 31, he became famous: 18 (2005)
Wiz Khalifa is known for his rapping and for being married to Kylie Jenner, one of the Kardashian sisters. Wiz released his debut album back in 2006 and then went on to sign with Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His biggest hit of all time was ‘Black and Yellow.’
John Legend – Ohio
Talent: Singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, theatre director, philanthropist, film producer, and a keyboardist
Age now: 40, he became famous: 22 (2000)
Before John’s debut album called ‘Get Lifted,’ he collaborated with Kanye West and Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. In 2007, John received the ‘Hal David Starlight Award’ from the Songwriters Hall of Fame amongst many other nominations and awards.
Brad Pitt – Oklahoma
Talent: Actor and film producer
Age now: 55, he became famous: 24 (1987)
Brad began his career with a debut film called ‘Thelma & Louise’ in 1991. His first leading role was in the movie ‘A River Runs through It’ in 1992. There are numerous amounts of films he starred in afterward such as ‘Fight Club,’ ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ (plus sequels), ‘Troy,’ ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’, \World War Z’ and so on.
Ty Burrell – Oregon
Talent: Actor and comedian
Age now: 51, he became famous: 33 (2000)
Ty began his career staring in several roles on Broadway such as Macbeth. His first feature film was ‘Evolution‘ in 2001. He has also acted in ‘Dawn of the Dead‘, ‘Muppets Most Wanted‘ and the ‘Incredible Hulk‘. Burrell is best known for his role as Phil Dunphy in the ABC sitcom ‘Modern Family‘.
Will Smith – Pennsylvania
Talent: Actor, rapper, producer, writer, and media personality
Age now: 50, he became famous: 17 (1985)
In the 1980s, Will achieved fame as a rapper under the name ‘The Fresh Prince.’ Will got a significant kick in his career while staring in the television series ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.’ From there, his career unfolded in front of him with Forbes naming him the most bankable star worldwide.
Mena Suvari – Rhode Island
Talent: Actress, fashion designer, and model
Age now: 40, she became famous: 16 (1995)
Mena started her career as a model and guest-starred in several television series, she made a debut film “Nowhere” in 1997. She then went on to be recognized for her role in the romantic drama movie ‘American Beauty.’ Many of you probably know her from three of the ‘American Pie‘ original movies.’
Chris Rock – South Carolina
Talent: Comedian, actor, writer, producer, and director
Age now: 54, he became famous: 19 (1984)
Chris started as a cast member on the ‘Saturday Night Live‘ in the ’90s. From there, he went on to play significant roles in movies such as, ‘Down to Earth‘, ‘Head of State‘, ‘The Longest Yard‘, ‘Madagascar‘, ‘Grown-Ups‘, ‘Top Five‘ and so on.
January Jones – South Dakota
Talent: Actress and model
Age now: 41, she became famous:
January is best known for acting in Mad Men as Betty Draper in 2007. She was then nominated for two Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. Other shows and movies she has acted in are ‘Last Man on Earth,’ ‘American Wedding,’ ‘We Are Marshall,’ ‘Unknown,’ Seeking Justice‘ and ‘X-Men.’
Justin Timberlake – Tennessee
Talent: Singer, songwriter, actor, dancer and record producer
Age now: 38, he became famous: 11 (1992)
As a child, Justin appeared in Star Search and Mickey Mouse Club. In the ’90s, Justin was one of the two lead vocalists of NSYNC which became one of the best boy-bands of all time. From that point, Justin started to establish himself as an independent artist. Justin has also acted in some great movies such as The Social Network, Bad Teacher, Friends with Benefits and In Time.
Beyoncé – Texas
Talent: Singer, actress, songwriter, record producer, director, model, dancer, fashion designer, and a businesswoman.
Age now: 37, she became famous: 16 (1997)
Beyoncé performed in a few sing and dance competitions when she was a kid. She then rose to fame being the lead vocalist of Destiny’s Child, one of the bestselling girl bands in the world. After the breakup of her girl group, she went on to release a solo album and pursued her acting career too.
Chrissy Teigen – Utah
Talent: Model, television personality and author
Age now: 33, she became famous: 21 (2006)
Chrissy made her debut in the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues back in 2010. She appeared on the cover alongside Nina Agdal and Lily Aldridge in 2014. She now co-hosts Lip Sync Battle with LL Cool J since 2015.
Jay Hayden – Vermont
Talent: Actor
Age now: 32, he became famous: 24 (2011)
I’m sure we all recognize him from Grey’s Anatomy, right? Well, he started his career in 2011, he played the lead in a horror film called ‘State of Emergency.’ In 2012, he starred in a comedy-drama series called ‘Battleground.’ He is working his way up by part taking in commercials, movies, and TV series.
Camila Mendes – Virginia
Talent: Actress
Age now: 25, he became famous: 23 (2017)
Camila’s first acting job was for an IKEA commercial. In 2016, she was cast for the teen drama series Riverdale as Veronica Lodge. Shortly after, Camila was featured on the cover of MensHealth magazine in December 2017 and then Cosmopolitan in 2018. She has made her debut feature film in ‘The New Romantic.’
Kurt Cobain – Washington
Talent: was an American singer, songwriter, and musician
Died April 5, 1994 (aged 27)
Best known as the guitarist and frontman of the rock band Nirvana. He is remembered as one of the most iconic and influential rock musicians in the history of alternative music. He was ranked 7th by MTV in the “22 Greatest Voices in Music”
Steve Harvey – West Virginia
Talent: Comedian, radio host, television host, producer, radio personality, actor and author
Age now: 62, he became famous: 28 (1985)
As you are all probably aware, Steve is hosts The Steve Harvey Morning Show, the Steve talk show, Family Feud, Celebrity Family Feud, Little Big Shots, and its spinoff Little Big Shots: Forever Young, Steve Harvey’s Funderdome, Showtime at the Apollo and the Miss Universe pageant since 2015
Mark Ruffalo – Wisconsin
Talent: Actor and film producer
Age now: 51, he became famous: 22 (1989)
Mark gained fame from his work in Kenneth Lonergan’s plays in the early ’90s. After this, he went on to staring in the romantic comedy 13 going on 30. Since then, he’s gained wider recognition.
Travis Rice – Wyoming
Talent: Professional Snowboarder
Age now: 37, he became famous: 18 (2001)
The 37-year-old snowboarder has featured in a more than 20 snowboarding films. Travis was named the best contemporary snowboarder in the whole world by Red Bull.