Did You Know?
The Bluegrass State has been quietly producing Hollywood royalty, music legends, and cultural icons for decades.
George Clooney
Two-time Oscar Winner
Lexington, KY
Jennifer Lawrence
Oscar Winner — Highest-paid actress (2015–16)
Louisville, KY
Johnny Depp
Three-time Oscar Nominee
Owensboro, KY
Tom Cruise
Three-time Oscar Nominee
Louisville, KY
Ashley Judd
Actress & Activist
Kentucky
Josh Hutcherson
The Hunger Games
Union, KY
Michael Shannon
Two-time Oscar Nominee
Lexington, KY
Gus Van Sant
Oscar-Nominated Director
Louisville, KY
John Carpenter
Master of Horror
Carthage, TN — raised in KY
The talent concentration in Lexington alone is phenomenal: George Clooney, Chris Stapleton, Tinashe, two Backstreet Boys (Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell), and beloved comedian Jim Varney — the legendary Ernest P. Worrell — are all Lexington natives. That’s a marketing flex no other mid-size American city can match.
Kentucky is also the literal birthplace of an entire musical genre: bluegrass, thanks to the “Father of Bluegrass,” Bill Monroe. And it’s home to country royalty like Loretta Lynn and The Judds, alongside modern powerhouses Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers, and Sturgill Simpson.
Chris Stapleton
Lexington, KY
Tyler Childers
Lawrence Co., KY
Sturgill Simpson
Jackson, KY
Jack Harlow
Louisville, KY
Tinashe
Lexington, KY
Loretta Lynn
Butcher Hollow, KY
