A skyline shot of Austin, TexasPhoto by Mitchell Kmetz on Unsplash
Austin has become a pretty popular place to be. Besides being a great place to live, it's also home to many famous people. From the sporting world to music, and acting; a lot of talent comes from this city.
This is a quick look at just some of the famous people from the city. Some you may know, and some may surprise you. Here we go in no particular order.
Owen Wilson
An actor beloved by everyone, Owen Wilson actually comes from Austin. He's been in some famous movies including Zoolander, Wedding Crashers, and most recently appeared in the Loki series on Disney+.
Wilson was born in Dallas but then would move to Austin and attended The University of Texas at Austin.
Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan has done a bit of everything: he's been a standup comedian, actor, MMA commentator, and is now most known for having one of the most successful podcasts in the world.
Rogan has lived all over. He was born in New Jersey but lived in California, Boston, and Colorado. He then moved himself and the podcast to Texas and lives on Lake Austin.
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock is an Acadamy Award winner and has appeared in many popular movies. Some of her most popular movies include Speed, While You Were Sleeping, Gravity, Miss Congeniality, The Blind Side, and Crash.
She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and has also won Screen Actor Guild awards along with Golden Globes.
Dan Rather
Dan Rather is one of the most famous news anchors of all time. He started his journalism career in 1950 when he worked in Huntsville, Texas for the Associated Press.
Rather also did some football play-by-play work for the University of Houston. He moved to New York in the 60s and began work for CBS. He has covered some of the most significant moments in American history including the Kennedy assassination and Watergate.
Some of his most well-known work was as the anchor for the CBS evening news.
Mark Henry
The world's strongest man. Mark Henry was born in Silsbee, Texas in 1971. He now resides in Austin and has had a remarkable life.
He started out as a powerlifter and appeared at two different Olympics. He also won gold, silver, and bronze at the Pan Am games. Henry is also a two-time U.S. national champion in powerlifting.
He then moved to the world of sports entertainment and began with the then WWF in 1996. Today he works for the new All Elite Wrestling.
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Speaking of professional wrestlers, possibly the greatest ever is from Austin. Born as Steve Williams in 1964, Austin is the hometown of the wrestling great.
Williams went through several wrestling organizations, and names, before landing in the then WWF. His wife gave him the nickname "stone cold," as she once told him to drink his tea before it turned stone cold.
Austin changed the trajectory of modern professional wrestling and brought more eyes to the sport than at any other time. He was a key figure of the Attitude Era and a pivotal part of the "Monday Night Wars" between WWE and WCW.
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey has appeared in some of the most popular movies of all time. He was born in Uvalde, Texas in 1969, and attended the University of Texas at Austin.
He then attended law school but found a love of acting. He has starred in romantic comedies such as The Wedding Planner and appeared in classics such as Dazed and Confused.
Some other notable movies include Dallas Buyers Club, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Interstellar. He now resides in Austin and is also a minority owner of Austin FC of Major League Soccer.
Willie Nelson
It doesn't get more famous than Willie Nelson. Born in 1933, Nelson is an icon in the world of music. He dabbled in music from a young age but didn't feel it was going anywhere. He quit and actually started selling bibles from door to door.
After returning to music, he moved to Nashville in 1960 where he was able to sign with a record label. He moved to Austin in 1972 and his popularity there helped to spread his particular style of country music.
He released one of his biggest albums, "Red Headed Stranger" in 1975 and never looked back. Today, Willie Nelson is regarded as a true American Icon.
Wrapping it Up
This list just scratches the surface, but you can see how much talent comes from the city of Austin. It's not as big as places like New York, or Los Angeles, but the talent that comes from here is truly world-class.
This is a city that is full of household names and people who have shaped significant parts of popular culture.
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