Here are a few folks and items with roots in the Knoxville, Tennessee area.
This list is in no way complete but gives a general overview.
A
Roy Acuff, country singer
James Agee, Pulitzer prize winning writer
Ebenezer Alexander, scholar and diplomat who assisted with the first modern Olympic Games in Athens
Lamar Alexander, TN Governor, U.T. President, U.S. Secretary of Education
Paul Y. Anderson, Pulitzer-winning reporter
Anne Armstrong, novelist, business leader
Howard Armstrong, jazz/blues musician
Victor Ashe, Knoxville Mayor, Ambassador to Poland
Chet Atkins, musician, songwriter, producer
Rodney Atkins, musician
Marilou Awiakta, writer
B
Bob Baird, MLB player
Howard Baker Jr., U.S. Senator, U.S. Ambassador to Japan
Howard Baker Sr., U.S. Congressman
Ava Barber, singer
George Barber, nationally known Victorian architect
"Parson" W.B. Brownlow, journalist and politician, key figure in Reconstruction era
Charlotte Barr, poetry writer
Trevor Bayne, NASCAR racer, 2011 Daytona 500 Winner
Polly Bergen, actress & singer
Brian Bell, Guitarist for music group "Weezer"
Eric Berry, NFL player and former UT football player
William Blount, U.S. Statesman
Rebecca Brandewyne, romance writer
Lloyd Branson, artist
Harvey Broome, conservationist, co-founder of the Wilderness Society
Clarence Brown, prolific MGM director
Ken Burkhart, MLB player and umpire
Frances Hodgson Burnett, novelist
Jake Butcher, banker
Carl Butler, musician
Jerry Butler, musician
C
Frank Callaway, MLB player
Julie Cannon, writer
Brett Carroll, MLB player
Tamika Catchings, WBNA player and former UT Lady Vol basketball player
Col. David C. Chapman, Smokies conservationist, Mount Chapman named after him
Kenny Chesney, country music singer
Henry Cho, comedian
Dustin Colquitt - NFL player
Jimmy Colquitt - NFL player
John Cooper, College Football Hall of Fame member
Mary Costa, voice used in Disney movies
Linda Cousins, writer
Ida Cox, groundbreaking blues singer
Cylk Cozart, actor
John Cullum, actor, TV Series "Northern Exposure", Tony Award winner
Lowell Cunningham, comic book creator of "Men in Black" series
Clifford Curry, soul musician
Kid Curry, a member of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch
D
Mark Davidson, MLB player
Anne May Davis, Smokies conservationist, Mount Davis named after her
Beauford Delaney, artist
Joseph Delaney, artist
George Dempster, former Knoxville Mayor, Dempster Dumpster inventor
Ernest Dickerman, national conservationist
Dale Dickey, movie and television actress
Eleanor Dickinson, artist
Carl Doyle, MLB player
Jess Doyle, MLB player
Tom Dukes, MLB player
Steve Duncan, member of Grand Ole opry
E
Milton Estes, Grand Ole Opry star
Roy Evans, MLB player
Everly Brothers, singing duo
F
Faith Fancher, first African American woman television reporter in Knoxville
David Glasgow Farragut, American Naval Hero during Civil War
Flatt & Scruggs, bluegrass singers/musicians
Dave Foster, writer
Graham Foust, writer
Weston Fulton, inventor/industrialist
G
Justin Gatlin, Olympic Medalist and former track star at UT
Nikki Giovanni, writer
Daryl Green, writer
Jack Green, musician
Ernie Grunfield, former NBA player who played college basketball at UT
H
Alex Haley, American biographer, scriptwriter, famous author of the novel "Roots"
Jack Hanna, zoo director & animal adventurer, guest on TV shows
George Washington Harris, humorist/author
Christina Hendricks, television actress
William Henry Hastie, first black federal judge
Todd Helton, MLB's Colorado Rockies first baseman & former UT baseball player
Nora Hendrix, grandmother of Jimi Hendrix
Bruce Holloway, four-star general in charge of the Strategic Air Command
Homer & Jethro, parody singers
Con Hunley, musician
Dennis Hwang, designs special logos for Google.com
I
Tim Irwin, NFL player, former UT football player
J
JFG Coffee
Caledonia Johnson, a slave who became Knoxville's first millionaire
Glory Johnson, WBNA player and former UT Lady Vol basketball player
Judybats, band
K
Min Kao, inventor
Estes Kefauver, statesman/presidential candidate
David Keith, actor, won golden globe for "An Officer and a Gentlemen" in 1982
Bernard King, former NBA player who played college basketball at UT
Joseph Knaffl, photographer
General Henry Knox, military, city named after him
Johnny Knoxville (P.J. Clapp), actor and MTV funnyman
Charles Krutch, photographer
Joseph Wood Krutch, writer
L
Buddy Landel, NWA & WWF Wrester known as the "Nature Boy"
Jack Landry, television actor
Kara Lawson, WBNA player and former UT Lady Vol basketball player
Phil Leadbetter, musician
David Lilienthal, TVA director, head of the Atomic Energy Commisssion
M
Johnny Majors, UT football coach, runner up for Heisman Trophy in 1956
Peyton Manning, NFL player, former UT football player
Carl Martin, jazz/blues musician
Lowell Mason, "World's Smallest Gospel Singer"
Mayfield Dairy
Horace Maynard, Reconstruction Republican congressman and ambassador to Turkey
William Gibbs McAdoo, U.S. Secretary of Treasury, California senator, founder of United Artists
Cormac McCarthy, novelist
Harry McClintock, influential folksinger
Lee McClung, NFL player
Walter "Brownie" McGhee, guitarist & songwriter
Reggie McKenzie, NFL player, former UT football player
Raleigh McKenzie, NFL player, former UT football player
George McMillan, writer & reporter
Scott Miller, musician for the "Blue Collar TV" series
Ashley Monroe, musician and songwriter
Arthur Morgan, well-known reformer, TVA chief
Mountain Dew, soft drink
Ryan Murphy, creator "Nip/Tuck" and "Glee"
N
Patricia Neal, actress
Lindsey Nelson, national sportscaster
O
Adolph Ochs, owned the New York Times
P
Candace Parker, WBNA player and former UT Lady Vol basketball player
Lara Parker, TV actress
Dolly Parton, country music star, song writer, actress, author, owner of Dollywood
Chad Pennington, NFL football player
Petro's Chili & Chips, restaurant began at 1982 Worlds Fair in Knoxville
James Pope, Idaho senator, worked for TVA
Dr. Jerry Punch, analyst on ESPN
R
Brad Renfro, movie actor, biggest movie "The Client"
John Rogers Sr., judge
Mitch Rouse, comedian & tv actor
S
Doris Sams, one of the first female baseball players
Edward Terry Sanford, Supreme Court Justice
John Sevier,
Bessie Smith, blues singer
Michelle Snow, WBNA player and former UT Lady Vol basketball player
Morgan Stevens, television actor
Pat Summitt, all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history
Lynn Swann, NFL player
T
Quentin Tarantino, actor & director of "Pulp Fiction" & "Kill Bill"
John Tate, WBA Heavyweight Champion
Bernard Taylor, One-Time Olympian and Former Top Featherweight Contender
Eddie Taylor, famous billiard player known as the "Knoxville Bear"
Robert Taylor, governor, US senator, fiddler, and motivational icon
Tennessee Marble, largely exported marble
Bob Thomas, actor, radio announcer, writer
Dave Thomas, Wendy's Restaurant creator, worked at Regas Restaurant
Jake Thomas, actor on "Lizzie McGuire" TV show
Joyce Carol Thomas, writer
Bubba Trammell, MLB player
W
Cas Walker, City mayor, grocery store owner, television/radio personality
Joseph Reddeford Walker, founded Walker's Pass in Yosemite
James Melvin Washington, writer
Maurice Weisner, a 4-star U.S. Navy Admiral who was commander in chief of Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force operations in the Pacific in the late 1970s
Tina Wesson, won $1 million dollars on TV's "Survivor" in 2001
Hugh Lawson White, political leader
Reggie White, NFL player, former UT football player
Don Whitehead, Pulitzer-winning reporter
Catherine Wiley, impressionist
Ralph Wiley, Sports Illustrated & ESPN sports journalist