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Shaquille O’Neal by Keith Allison from Wikimedia Commons
10 Most Famous People from Texas
“It! The Terror from Beyond Space ” film by Lt. James Calder nods that “Mars is almost as big as Texas.” Did you know why it is nicknamed the Lone Star State? Tune in. It’s because of the former status of the state as an independent republic. Also, the moniker serves as a reminder of the struggle the state went through to gain independence from Mexico. Now you know.
You’ve perhaps heard them say “Everything’s bigger in Texas”. Right on. By logic, Texas is 268,596 square miles or 695,662 km2. On top of that, it had 29.1 million residents as of 2020. Subsequently making it the second-largest U.S. state by area following Alaska and by population coming after California.
With such a crowd, it comes as no surprise the state is a center of barbecue culture and live music. Though there is no period of terrible weather during the year, summer is the worst time to visit. It gets super hot, especially in the semi-arid and arid areas of the state.
This cracked me up coming across John Hodgman’s, The Areas of My Expertise literature. But here’s a disclaimer Hodgman’s creations are somewhat bizarre with a lot of his creativity made up by himself with less factual grounds.
To paraphrase his words, Hodgman said in Texas, cats are the size of dogs and the dogs are the size of European cars. As for the Texans, he added they are of normal proportions with normal-sized dreams but they happen to own cars that are the size of twenty-five European cars. So, let’s keep up with some of these Texans.
10 Most Famous People from Texas.
1. Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban by TechCrunch from Wikimedia Commons
This successful entrepreneur and the owner of the Dallas Mavericks has an estimated net worth of over 4.7 billion. He is also an investor in start-ups from his shark tank involvement.
He was ranked number 177 on the 2020 Forbes 400 listing following his net worth. He currently resides with his family in Dallas, Texas. You can get to know him better with these top 10 interesting facts about Mark Cuban.
2. Dwight Eisenhower
He was born on October 14, 1890, in Denison Texas. He became the 34th president of the United States on January 20, 1953. Before that, he was part of the troops during the Second World War.
Besides, he also served as a five-star general of the U.S. Army as supreme commander of the allied expeditionary force in Europe before his role as president. Looking to know him better? here are the top 10 facts about Dwight Eisenhower.
3. Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal is a former basketball player. He was born and grew up in San Antonio, Texas. It was where he started playing basketball in high school leading his team to win the state championship.
Shaq stands out with his physical features at slightly above 7 feet in height and about 325 pounds or 147 kg in weight. Additionally, he is known to be one of the greatest basketballers. He boasts of being a four-time NBA champion and playing for six teams over his 19-year career in the NBA (National Basketball Association).
4. Clint Black
Clint Black by John Mathew Smith from Wikimedia Commons
He is a famous country music singer of American descent and was born in Long Branch, New Jersey but grew up in Katy, Texas. Further, he is famed for songwriting, acting, and record production.
Throughout his career, he has received over ten nominations for Grammy Awards. In February 1999, during the 41st Grammy Awards event, he won with others the Best Country Collaboration with Vocals category for the work “Same Old Train”.
Over and above that, he has maintained a commendable standing on the U.S. Billboard country charts. With over 30 singles listed and over 20 dominating position one.
5. George H.W. Bush
Gorge was born and raised in Massachusetts. He later moved to Texas after finishing his studies at Yale. He then established a successful oil company in the area thereafter.
Moreover, he began his political career when he was elected to the 7th congressional district of Texas in 1966. Hence later made it to the top seat as the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993. He died at age 94 in Huston Texas.
6. George W. Bush
He is the son of former president George H. W. Bush. He grew up in Huston Texas. He was elected as the 46th governor of Texas from the year 1995 to 2000. Hence paved the way for him to become the 43rd president of the United States. He currently resides in Dallas, Texas.
7. Michael Dell
Michael Dell, founder & CEO, Dell Inc by Mike and Ryan from Wikimedia Commons
Michael Dell was born in Houston Texas, He started his technology infrastructure company, Dell Technologies while still in his dorm room at the University of Texas in Austin.
He later dropped out of college to focus on the establishment, which grew to be a multi-billion business. He serves in the capacity of the founder, chairman, and CEO of the organization. He also lives in Austin with his family.
8. Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx is his popular name but his official reference is Eric Marlon Bishop and was born on December 13, 1967. He has his craft together and prides several accolades such as an Oscar, a Grammy Award, and a BAFTA ( British Academy Film Award). To add to his achievements are the Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award. He now lives in California but grew up in Texas.
9. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is famously known as Queen Bey. She is popular as the bestselling recording artist of all time. She grew up in Houston but now lives majorly in California in Los angel.
10. Jimmy Dean
He was born on August 10th, 1928 in Texas. He is a famous country music singer, television personality, actor, and also businessman. Many recognize him for his song Big Bad John which sold millions of copies and also clinched the number one spot on Billboard’s pop chart. The 1963’s television series The Jimmy Dean Show was another source of his rise to fame.
On a lighter note, everyone in Texas can make it to be part of this list but here are a few extra notable personalities.
11. Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey at the awards of the Goldene Kamera 2014 in Berlin by Avda from Wikimedia Commons
He was born in Texas in 1969. He became a headline name because of his role in romantic comedies. He enjoys countless awards and nominations. He still resides in Austin with his family.
12. Earl Campbell
Tyler Rose as he is nicknamed was born in 1955. He is a former football player, appreciated for his aggressive style as one of the best NFL running backs. He won the Heisman Trophy and the All-America honors.
What’s more, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in the year 1990 and later into the Pro Football Hall of fame in 1991. He still lives in Austin.
13. Mary Kay Ash
She was born in Cypress Texas. She started the Mary Kay Cosmetics company with a $5,000 investment from Ben Rogers, Jr.(her oldest son). She was 45 years old at the time. She grew the company to 1.3 billion in sales in over 36 countries by the time she died at the age of 83 in Dallas Texas.
14. Jerry Jones
He is an American billionaire and businessman. One of his successful business ventures is the launch of an oil and gas exploration enterprise. Beginning in February 1989, he has held the position of owner and president as well as general manager of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Critics question his controversial management style.
15. Lance Armstrong
He was born on September 18th, 1971 in Texas. He became famous as the most successful cyclist of his time. He won seven times in a row the Tour de France competitions from 1999 up to 2005. Yet was stripped of his titles after a doping scandal.
16. Barbara Mandrell
She was born on December 25, 1948. The American country music songbird also doubles as an actress and author. Her stardom years were in the 1970s and 1980s which brought her to the limelight. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009 in her honor.
17. Willie Nelson
He was born in Texas on April 29, 1933. He is one of the most acknowledged country music artists in history. His album Shotgun Willie catapulted him to fame in the year 1973. The other triumphant albums that made him a star were 1975’s Red Headed Stranger and 1978’s Stardust. To boot, he has also acted in several films and written several books.
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