When you think of areas like Shreveport, Bossier City, or Webster Parish, celebrity is not normally the word that comes to mind. However, Northwest Louisiana has been home to many famous people through the decades.
The area, nestled next to the borders of Texas and Arkansas, has produced A-List actors, music legends and sports icons.
Take a look at some of the most well-known faces that came from Northwest Louisiana.
Jared Leto
Bossier City native Jared Leto lived there until he was eight years old, before hopping from city to city in the U.S. with his grandfather who was in the Air Force.
Though the enigmatic actor is best known for his roles in American Psycho, Requiem for a Dream,Suicide Squad, House of Gucci, the new Sony Marvel entry Morbius, he also served as the lead singer for 30 Seconds to Mars.
You can currently see Leto portraying controversial WeWorks CEO Adam Neuman in the Apple+ series WeCrashed.
Hank Williams Jr.
The music legend was born in Shreveport in 1949 and went on to be one of the biggest singer-songwriters in country music, following in his father's footsteps.
Contemporary musicians who influenced and taught him as a kid included Merle Haggard, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. With a musical style that blends Southern rock, blues and country Williams found his own place in the music industry.
In August of 2020, he was selected to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and in March of 2022, he released his 56th studio album "Rich White Honky Blues."
Madam C.J. Walker
The African American entrepreneur, philanthropist and political and social activist was born in Delta. She rose from poverty to become one of the wealthiest Black women of her time.
She made her fortune developing and marketing a cosmetics and hair care products line for Black women and used that fortune to donate to organizations she supported. In 1918, the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs honored Walker for making the largest individual contribution to assist in the preservation of Frederick Douglass' Anacostia house.
Before her death, Walker pledged $5,000 (Over $77K in todays money) to the NAACP's anti-lynching fund and at that time was the largest gift from an individual they had received. Even after death Walker continued to give; in her will, she directed two-thirds of future net profits of her estate to charity.
Tim McGraw
Before he was the title of Taylor Swift's debut single, Tim McGraw was born and raised in the unincorporated community of Start, LA.
McGraw is a country music legend releasing 16 successful studio albums, with 10 of them reaching the number one spot on the Top Country Albums chart, since his debut in 1994. He's also shown off his acting skills with roles in The Blindside and the Yellowstone spin-off 1883.
McGraw's annual charity softball event Swampstock attracts over 11,000 fans every year with its celebrity game and a multi-artist concert that have funded new Little League parks and equipment and established scholarships funds for students in northern Louisiana.
Kenny Wayne Shephard
Well-known guitarist, singer and songwriter Kenny Wayne Shepherd was born and raised in Shreveport before going on to become a legend in Blues music.
Shephard has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and winner of two Billboard Music Awards, two Blues Music Awards and two Orville H. Gibson Awards.
Most recently, Shepherd celebrated the 25 year anniversary of his breakout record Trouble Is. . . at the Strand Theatre where the original release party was held.
Terry Bradshaw
Shreveport native Terry Bradshaw spent 14 seasons as the Pittsburg Steelers quarterback and went on to become a tv sports analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday. He was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996 after becoming the first quarterback to win three and four Super Bowls.
Aside from his successful sports career, Bradshaw also starred in the popular rom-com Failure to Launch, and released several country music albums. In 2020, Bradshaw and his family premiered in the new E! reality show The Bradshaw Bunch.
Jericho Brown
The poet and writer was born and raised in Shreveport and has worked as an educator at institutions like University of Houston and San Diego State University.
Brown received his MFA from the University of New Orleans and his PH.D. from the University of Houston where he was also a teaching fellow. He has taught at numerous conferences and workshops and previously worked as a speechwriter for the mayor of New Orleans.
His poems have appeared in The Nation, New England Review, Oxford American, The Best American Poetry and The New Yorker. Brown's third collection of poems The Tradition received him critical acclaim and won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2020.
Kix Brooks
The Shreveport native famous for being one half of country music duo Brooks & Dunn for 20 years before embarking on solo careers. Brooks was a theatre arts major while attending Louisiana Tech University in Ruston before working in advertising in Maine.
In 2005 Brooks was named a "Louisiana Legend" by Louisiana Public Broadcasting and in 2019 Brooks & Dunn were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Brooks has executive produced many films over the years and in 2020 starred as the Spirit of Christmas Past in the 2020 Hallmark film A Nashville Christmas Carol.
Meredith G. White is the arts and culture reporter for the Shreveport Times. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her at mgwhite@gannett.com.
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