These celebrities have been spotted at Delaware beaches

When it comes to nationally known personalities visiting Delaware's beaches, President Joe Biden hasn't been the only one turning heads over the years.

Each summer, celebrities slip into town to take advantage of The First State's best summertime playgrounds.

Sometimes they are spotted and their visits land on social media and news reports. Sometimes they fly under the radar and the general public never even knows about their under-the-radar Delaware getaway.

Even so, enough have been noticed by fans over the years to create an impressive list of A-listers and others who have been seen dining in Rehoboth Beach restaurants, drinking in Dewey Beach bars and more.

The biggest names include actor Denzel Washington and basketball legend Michael Jordan.

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In 2004, Washington attended performances during the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival, bringing some major star power to the beach. Director Spike Lee also was seen there. Comedian/actor Chris Tucker also attended the festival in 2001.

Washington and Jordan also had visited Sydney's Blues & Jazz Restaurant in downtown Rehoboth with Washington even taking a photograph with employees after a private late night meal. Jordan, who can often be found in Ocean City, Maryland, for the White Marlin Open during the summertime, also visited Dewey Beach's The Rusty Rudder in 2003.

Washington once told the parents of Wilmington native Bill Marsilii, screenwriter of Washington's 2005 film "Deja Vu," that Rehoboth Beach is an "undiscovered gem."

Also in 2004, actress Sandra Bullock was spotted with then-boyfriend and West Coast Choppers founder Jesse James mingling with patrons at The Starboard in Dewey Beach during its closing weekend, along with dining at Bethany Blues BBQ in Bethany Beach. Both are co-owned by Bullock family friend Steve "Monty" Montgomery.

Another major star landed here in 2005: actor Matthew McConaughey, who filmed scenes for "Failure to Launch" at Cape Henlopen State Park and was later seen at Striper Bites in Lewes. When asked by a DelawareOnline/The News Journal reporter how he was enjoying Lewes, he replied, "I've only been here for a day, but it's beautiful. I've been on the board. I'm in the water. And I'm getting paid for it. Not bad."

In 2013, a trio of big names were in town, albeit separately. Actor Richard Gere was in Rehoboth Beach and eating a private lunch at Rehoboth's Cultured Pearl Restaurant & Sushi Bar, in the area for his son's baseball tournament in Georgetown. Actor Luke Wilson was bar-hopping in Dewey Beach (just like he did in 2008) and took photos with fans in the Bottle & Cork and The Starboard in Dewey Beach and Mango's in Bethany Beach. And Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor ate fish and shrimp tacos at El Dorado restaurant on Del. 24 near Rehoboth Beach.

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During a break from filming "Wedding Crashers" on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson partied in Dewey Beach on Memorial Day weekend in 2004 with Vaughn even hosting a comedy show at the Bottle & Cork featuring filmmaker/actor Jon Favreau.

And actor and New Castle native Ryan Phillippehas been seen at the beaches plenty in recent years now that he owns a home near Bethany Beach, and is usually seen wearing his now-trademark Dewey Beach Surf Shop cap.

Another Dewey Beach visitor has been ESPN's "SportsCenter" host Scott Van Pelt, who has visited The Starboard enough that he has his own sandwich on the menu: the Scott Van Melt. Also actor Wesley Snipes was seen hanging out with friends at The Rusty Rudder in 2006.

And don't forget about Lewes, where actress Brooke Shieldsdined at The Gate House in 2015.

For a while, Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl landed at the beaches each summer for vacation like clockwork, although reports of sightings have dried up in recent years. He was mostly spotted in Rehoboth Beach when in Delaware.

Rehoboth got another major shot of rock 'n' roll when former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant visited Dogfish Head in 2012 before being honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. Also in Rehoboth, "Today" co-anchor Hoda Kotb and former co-host Kathie Lee Gifford have been seen in over the years with each having family with homes in town.

And sometimes, a celebrity look-a-like can even make a splash at the beaches, like in 2016 when a man who looked very much like Jack Nicholson took photos with fans at the Crystal Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach.

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Among some other celebrities who have been seen visiting our beaches: actress Winona Ryder, former Vice President Al Gore, actor Matthew Perry, former Disney executive Michael Ovitz, Chelsea Clinton, actor David Caruso, former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe, former University of Maryland head basketball coach Gary Williams, Under Armour founder Kevin Plank and Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Mike Brey, former head basketball coach for both University of Delaware and University of Notre Dame.

Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier) and X (@ryancormier).