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List of Louisiana Creoles

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List of Louisiana Creoles

This is a list of notable Louisiana Creole people. To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Louisiana Creoles or must have references showing they are Louisiana Creoles and are notable.

Contents

Arts, culture, and entertainment

  • Don Albert (1908–1980) – jazz trumpeter and bandleader.
  • Veronica Porché Ali (1955) – actress and psychologist and the former wife of boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
  • Debbie Allen (1950) – actress, dancer, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities
  • Nahshon Dion Anderson (1978) - award winning writer, model and actor as well as Human Rights activist from Altadena, California. Descendant of Creoles from Lafayette Parish and St. Landry Parish
  • Fernest Arceneaux (1940–2008) – Zydeco accordionist and singer from Louisiana.
  • Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin (1915–2007) – accordionist
  • Amede Ardoin (1898–1942) – zydeco musician.
  • Chris Ardoin (1981) – zydeco accordionist and singer.
  • Sean Ardoin (1970) – zydeco musician and singer.
  • K.D. Aubert (1978) – actress and fashion model.
  • Vernel Bagneris (1949) – a playwright, actor, director, singer, and dancer. He is named after his cousin Vernel Fournier.
  • Louis Barbarin (1902–1997) – a New Orleans jazz drummer.
  • Paul Barbarin (1899–1969) – a New Orleans jazz drummer, usually regarded (along with Baby Dodds) as one of the very best of the pre-Big Band era jazz drummers.
  • Achille Baquet (1885–1955) – jazz clarinetist and saxophonist.
  • George Baquet (1881–1949) – jazz clarinetist, known for his contributions to early jazz in New Orleans.
  • Blue Lu Barker (1913–1998) – jazz and blues singer. Her better known recordings included "Don't You Feel My Leg" and "Look What Baby's Got For You.
  • Danny Barker (1909–1994) – jazz banjoist, singer, guitarist, songwriter, ukulele player
  • Richmond Barthé (1901–1989) – sculptor
  • Dave Bartholomew (1920) – musician, band leader, composer and arranger, prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century.
  • Jon Batiste (1986) – singer, multi-instrumentalist, educator, and bandleader from Kenner, Louisiana, United States. Since September 8, 2015, Batiste has been the music director and bandleader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and its band Stay Human.
  • Lionel Batiste (1931–2012) – jazz and blues musician and singer from New Orleans.
  • Sidney Bechet (1897–1959) – jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and composer
  • Troian Bellisario (1985) – actress. She stars as Spencer Hastings in the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars.
  • E.J. Bellocq (1873–1949) – photographer
  • Jimmy Bertrand (1900–1960) – jazz and blues drummer.
  • Barney Bigard (1906–1980) – jazz clarinetist
  • Esther Bigeou (1895–1936) – blues singer. Billed as "The Girl with the Million Dollar Smile", she was one of the classic female blues singers popular in the 1920s.
  • Eddie Bo (1930–2009) – singer and pianist from New Orleans.
  • Peter Bocage (1887–1967) – cornet player, he also played violin professionally, as well as sometimes trombone, banjo, and xylophone. He was a cousin of New Orleans R&B musician Eddie Bo.
  • Denise Boutte (1982) – actress and model
  • John Boutté (1958) – jazz singer
  • Wellman Braud (1891–1966) – jazz upright bassist.
  • Dudley Broussard (1916–1998) – a Creole zydeco musician, known to have played alongside other great musicians such Clifton Chenier.
  • John Brunious (1940) – jazz trumpeter
  • Wendell Brunious (1954) – jazz trumpeter
  • Calvin Carriere (1921–2002) – fiddler.
  • Chubby Carrier (1967–present) – zydeco musician.
  • Roy Carrier (1947–2010) – Zydeco musician.
  • Papa Celestin (1884–1954) – jazz bandleader, trumpeter, cornetist and vocalist.
  • Leah Chase (1923) – chef, author and television personality.
  • Boozoo Chavis (1930-2001) - musician and one of the pioneers of Zydeco music.
  • Clifton Chenier (1925–1987) – zydeco musician
  • C.J. Chenier (1957–present) – zydeco musician and son of the Grammy Award winning "King of Zydeco", Clifton Chenier.
  • Frank Christian (1887–1973) – early jazz trumpeter.
  • Savannah Churchill (1920–1974) – singer of pop, jazz, and blues music
  • Robert Colescott (1925–2009) – painter
  • Warrington Colescott (1921) – artist
  • Florestine Perrault Collins (1895–1988) – photographer
  • Charles Connor (1935) – drummer, best known as a member of Little Richard's band.
  • Louis Cottrell, Jr. (1911–1978) – jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist
  • Coline Creuzot (1985) – singer and Sony ATV songwriter. She is the granddaughter of Percy Creuzot Jr, founder of Frenchy's Chicken, a popular creole restaurant chain based in Houston.
  • Joe Darensbourg (1906–1985) – jazz clarinetist and saxophonist notable for his work with Buddy Petit, Jelly Roll Morton, Charlie Creath, Fate Marable, Andy Kirk, Kid Ory, Wingy Manone, Joe Liggins and Louis Armstrong.
  • Damita Jo DeBlanc (1930–1998) – actress, comedian, and lounge music performer.
  • Edmonde Dede (1829–1903) – composer
  • Edgar Degas (1834–1917) – artist famous for his paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings. A cousin of Norbert Rillieux, he was the eldest of five children of Célestine Musson De Gas, a Creole from New Orleans, and Augustin De Gas, a banker.
  • Harold Dejan (1909–2002) – jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader.
  • Geno Delafose (1972) – zydeco accordionist
  • John Delafose (1939–1994) – Zydeco accordionist
  • Louis Nelson Delisle (1885–1949) – Dixieland jazz clarinetist
  • Brandon DeShazer (1984) – actor, model
  • Faith Domergue (1924–1999) – television and film actress.
  • Natty Dominique (1896–1982) – jazz trumpeter
  • Fats Domino (born 1928) – classic R&B and rock and roll singer, songwriter and pianist
  • Rockin' Dopsie (1932–1993) – leading Zydeco musician and button accordion player who enjoyed popular success first in Europe and later in the United States
  • Lawrence Duhe (1887–1960) – jazz clarinetist and bandleader. He was a member of Sugar Johnnie's New Orleans Creole Orchestra.
  • Honore Dutrey (1894–1934) – dixieland jazz trombonist
  • Sheila E. (1957) – percussionist, singer, composer and producer
  • Mignon Faget (1933) – jewelry designer based in her native New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • Lionel Ferbos (1911–2014) New Orleans jazz trumpeter.
  • Lil' Fizz (1985) – rapper, former B2K member
  • Canray Fontenot (1922–1995) – fiddle player
  • Vernel Fournier (1928–2000) – jazz drummer
  • D'Jalma Garnier (1954) – musician and composer
  • Tony Garnier (1956) – bassist (both double bass and bass guitar), best known as an accompanist to Bob Dylan, with whom he has played since 1989.
  • Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau (1859–1915) – model and socialite.
  • Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829–1869) – composer and pianist, known as a virtuoso performer of his own romantic piano pieces
  • George Guesnon (1907–1968) – jazz banjoist, guitarist, composer, and singer.
  • George Herriman (1880–1944) – cartoonist, known for his comic strip Krazy Kat
  • Andrew Hilaire (1899–1935) – jazz drummer
  • Julien Hudson (1811–1844) – painter and art teacher.
  • Clementine Hunter (1886–1988) – self-taught folk artist from the Cane River region in Louisiana.
  • Ice-T (born 1958) – musician, actor
  • Queen Ida (1929) – zydeco accordion player
  • Michelle Jacques (???) – singer and music educator
  • Illinois Jacquet (1922–2004) – jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo.
  • Beau Jocque (1953–1999) – zydeco musician
  • Beverly Johnson (1952) – model, actress, and businesswoman.
  • Ty Granderson Jones (1964) – actor, screenwriter and producer.
  • Leatrice Joy (1893–1985) – actress most prolific during the silent film era.
  • Ernie K-Doe (1936–2001) – R&B singer best known for his 1961 hit single "Mother-in-Law" which went to #1 on the Billboard pop chart in the U.S.
  • Freddie Keppard (1890–1993) – jazz cornetist
  • Beyoncé Knowles (born 1981) – R&B singer
  • Solange Knowles (born 1986) – R&B singer
  • Tina Knowles (born 1954) – fashion designer
  • The Knux (born 1982 & 1984) – musicians, rappers, singers, record producers
  • Dorothy LaBostrie (1929–2007) – songwriter, best known for co-writing Little Richard's 1955 hit "Tutti Frutti".
  • Lenny LaCour (1932) – record producer, songwriter and performer, particularly active from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.
  • Delphine LaLaurie (1775–1842) – socialite and murderer
  • Dorothy Lamour (1914–1996) – actress and singer.
  • Vilayna LaSalle (???) – model.
  • Charles Lucien Lambert (1828–1896) – pianist and composer
  • Lucien-Léon Guillaume Lambert (1858–1945) – pianist and composer
  • Sidney Lambert (born 1838) – pianist and composer
  • Carmen De Lavallade (1931) – choreographer, actress
  • Bianca Lawson (1979) – film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for regular roles in the television series Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Goode Behavior and Pretty Little Liars. She has also had recurring roles in the series Sister, Sister, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Steve Harvey Show, Dawson's Creek, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, The Vampire Diaries, and Teen Wolf.
  • Sabrina Le Beauf (born 1958) – actress including role as Sandra on the television series The Cosby Show
  • Jeni Le Gon (1916–2012) – dancer, dance instructor, and actress.
  • Rosie Ledet (1971) – zydeco singer and accordion player
  • Harry Lennix (1964–present) – American actor. He is best known for his roles as Terrence "Dresser" Williams in the Robert Townsend film The Five Heartbeats and as Boyd Langton in the Joss Whedon television series Dollhouse.
  • George Lewis (1900 –1968) – jazz clarinetist
  • Jules Lion (1809–1866) – photographer
  • Branford Marsalis (1960) – saxophonist, composer and bandleader.
  • Tristin Mays (1990) – actress and singer. She has appeared in a number of television series most notably as Shaina in the Nickelodeon series Gullah Gullah Island and as Robin Dixon, the daughter of Marcus Dixon, Carl Lumbly's character in Alias.
  • Victor-Eugene McCarty (born between 1817 and 1823) – composer
  • Rocky McKeon (???) – musician
  • Adah Isaacs Menken (1835–1868) – actress, painter, poet
  • Michel'le (born 1970)  – R&B singer, former girlfriend of Dr. Dre; married to Suge Knight
  • Janee Michelle (1946) – actoress, model, and businessperson best known for her role in the 1974 horror film The House on Skull Mountain.
  • Lizzie Miles (1895–1963) – blues singer
  • Ziggy Modeliste (1948) – drummer best known as a founding member of the funk group The Meters.
  • Allison Montana (1922–2005) – New Orleans cultural icon who acted as the Mardi Gras Indian "chief of chiefs" for over 50 years.
  • Deacon John Moore (1941–present) – blues, rhythm and blues and rock and roll musician, singer, and bandleader.
  • Morris W. Morris (1845–1906) – American Civil War soldier of the Louisiana Native Guards; stage actor.
  • Jelly Roll Morton (1885–1941) – virtuoso pianist, bandleader and composer;.
  • Archibald Motley (1891–1981) – painter
  • Aaron Neville (1941) – soul and R&B singer and musician.
  • Albert Nicholas (1900–1973) – jazz reed player.
  • Wooden Joe Nicholas (1883–1957) – jazz trumpeter and cornetist, active on the early New Orleans jazz scene.
  • Jimmie Noone (1895–1944) – jazz clarinetist and bandleader.
  • Kid Ory (1886–1973) – jazz trombonist and bandleader.
  • Jimmy Palao (1879 –1925) – jazz bandleader
  • Jim Parsons (1973) – actor best known for playing Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.
  • Ernest "Doc" Paulin (1907–2007) – jazz trumpeter and bandleader
  • Alcide Pavageau (1888–1969) – jazz guitarist and double-bassist.
  • Manuel Perez (1871–1946) – clarinetist and bandleader
  • Buddie Petit (1890–1931) – early jazz cornetist.
  • Joseph Petit (1873–1945) – jazz trombonist.
  • Fats Pichon (1906–1967) – jazz pianist, singer, bandleader, and songwriter.
  • Alphonse Picou (1878–1961) – jazz clarinetist
  • De De Pierce (1904–1973) – trumpeter and cornetist. He is best remembered for the songs "Peanut Vendor" and "Dippermouth Blues", both with Billie Pierce.
  • Armand J. Piron (1888–1943) – jazz violinist, band leader, and composer.
  • Robin Power (???) – music producer, singer, rapper, actress and songwriter
  • Deborah Pratt (1951) – actress, writer and television producer.
  • Prince (1958–2016) – musician.
  • Wardell Quezergue (1930–2011) – music arranger, producer, and bandleader
  • Phylicia Rashād (1948) – Tony Award winning actress and singer, best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show.
  • Chris Rene (1982–present) – singer-songwriter, musician and producer from Santa Cruz, California.
  • Googie Rene (1927–2007) – musician and songwriter.
  • Leon Rene (1902–1982) – music composer of R&B and rock and roll songs in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.
  • Dawn Richard (1983) – singer-songwriter.
  • Robert Ri'chard (1983) – actor
  • Nicole Richie (1981) – television personality, fashion designer
  • LaTavia Roberson (1981) – singer, songwriter, and actress.
  • Joe Robichaux (1900–1965) – jazz pianist. He was the nephew of John Robichaux.
  • John Robichaux (1866–1939) – jazz bandleader, drummer, and violinist. He was the uncle of Joseph Robichaux.
  • RuPaul (1960) – actor, drag queen, model, author, television personality, and recording artist.
  • Betye Saar (1926) – artist known for her work in the field of assemblage.
  • Brytni Sarpy (1987) – actress best known for her portrayal of Valerie Spencer on the ABC Daytime soap opera General Hospital.
  • Rockin' Sidney (1938–1998) – American R&B, zydeco, and soul musician
  • Omer Simeon (1902–1959) – jazz clarinetist
  • Terrance Simien (1965) – zydeco musician, vocalist, songwriter.
  • Roger Guenveur Smith (1955) – actor, director, and writer.
  • Jake Smollett (1989) – actor.
  • Jurnee Smollett (1986) – actress. She is known for the role of Jess Merriweather on the television series Friday Night Lights, as well as roles in the films Eve's Bayou and The Great Debaters.
  • Jussie Smollett (1983) – actor, singer and photographer. In 2015, Smollett began starring as Jamal Lyon in the Fox music-industry primetime soap opera Empire.
  • Tracie Spencer (1976–present) – R&B and pop singer-songwriter, actress, and model.
  • David Starfire (???) – producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and DJ based in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
  • Johnny St. Cyr (1890–1966) – jazz banjoist and guitarist.
  • Raven-Symoné (1985–present) – actress and singer
  • William J. Tennyson Jr. (1923–1959) – jazz musician.
  • Andre Thierry (1979) – a Grammy-nominated Zydeco musician. He leads the band Zydeco Magic.
  • Lorenzo Tio Jr. (1893–1933) – jazz clarinetist
  • Allen Toussaint (1938–2015) – musician, composer, record producer, and influential figure in New Orleans R&B.
  • Mr. T (1952) – actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler.
  • Vicki Vann (1980) – American country music artist, model and actress.
  • Little Walter (1930–1968) – blues musician and singer
  • Nathan Williams (1964–present) – Zydeco accordionist and singer.
  • Shailene Woodley (1991) – actress. She portrayed Amy Juergens in the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008–2013) and co-starred alongside George Clooney in the 2011 film The Descendants.
  • Buckwheat Zydeco (1947–2016) – accordionist and zydeco musician.

    • Business

  • Danny Bakewell (1946) – an American civil rights activist and entrepreneur. He is the owner of The Bakewell Company, which includes among its holdings the New Orleans radio station WBOK and the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper. He is currently Chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association.
  • Joseph Eloi Broussard (1866–1956) – pioneer rice grower and miller in Texas.
  • Jean Pierre Chouteau (1758–1849) – fur trader, merchant, politician and slaveholder.
  • Marie Couvent (1757–1837) – philanthropist and businesswoman
  • Percy Creuzot (1924–2010) – restaurateur who founded Frenchy's Chicken in Houston, Texas. Due to his success, he became known as "the black Colonel Sanders."
  • Constant C. Dejoie, Sr. (1881–1970) – publisher and founder of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper
  • Lurita Doan (1958) – businesswoman, political commentator, and former political appointee who was the administrator of the United States General Services Administration, the government's contracting agency, from May 31, 2006, to April 29, 2008, during the administration of Republican U.S. President George W. Bush.
  • Harold Doley (1947–) – businessman
  • Jean Baptiste Point du Sable (?–1818) – businessman and founder of Chicago.
  • Roy F. Guste – author of 10 Louisiana French-Creole cuisine cookbooks and a past fifth generation proprietor of New Orleans' famed Antoine's Restaurant, established in 1840.
  • Thomy Lafon (1810–1893) – businessman, philanthropist, and human rights activist.
  • Austin Leslie (1934–2005) – an internationally famous New Orleans chef whose work defined 'Creole Soul'.
  • Miriam Leslie (1836–1914) – publisher and author.
  • Marie Therese Metoyer (1742–1816) – médecine, planter, and businesswoman in Natchitoches Parish.
  • Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba (1795–1874) – businesswoman
  • Mary Ellen Pleasant (between 1814 and 1817–1904) – entrepreneur and human rights activist
  • Iris Rideau (1937–) – winemaker, businesswoman and activist
  • Desiree Rogers (1959–) – former White House Social Secretary and businesswoman
  • Peter A. Sarpy (1804–1865) – businessman
  • Jacques Telesphore Roman (1800–1848) – businessman
  • Virginie de Ternant (1818–1887) – businesswoman
  • Lulu White (1868–1931) – brothel madam, procuress and entrepreneur in New Orleans, Louisiana during the Storyville period

    • Education

  • Earl Barthe (1922–2010) – plasterer and plastering historian.
  • Toi Derricotte (1941) – poet and a professor of writing at the University of Pittsburgh
  • Edouard Dessommes (1845–1908) – French language writer
  • Caroline Durieux (1896–1989) – lithographer, and Professor Emeritus of Fine Arts at Louisiana State University.
  • Alcée Fortier (1856–1914) – late 19th-century professor of languages and folklore; influential in preservation of the French language in Louisiana.
  • Norman Francis (1931) – president of Xavier University of Louisiana.
  • Sheryl St. Germain (1954) – poet, essayist, and professor.
  • Andrew Jolivette – author and lecturer who is employed at San Francisco State University as an associate professor in American Indian Studies and an instructor in Ethnic Studies, Educational Leadership, and Race and Resistance Studies.
  • Sybil Kein – poet, playwright, scholar and musician.
  • Suzette M. Malveaux (1966) – Professor of Law and former Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America.
  • Camille Nickerson (1888–1982) – pianist, composer, arranger, collector, and Howard University professor from 1926–1962
  • Gilbert L. Rochon (???) – the 6th president of Tuskegee University, serving from November 1, 2010 – October 21, 2013.
  • Neal Ferdinand Simeon (1916–1963) – mechanical engineer and teacher.

    • Fictional characters

  • Aveline de Grandpré (1747–1800) – main protagonist of the video game Assassin's Creed: Liberation.

    • Journalism

  • Dean Baquet (1956–) – Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and the executive editor of The New York Times.
  • Chris Broussard (1968) – sports analyst for ESPN, who mainly covers the NBA. He also is a columnist for ESPN Magazine and ESPN.com. Broussard also makes appearances on ESPN's NBA Fastbreak as an analyst.
  • Merri Dee (1936–) – philanthropist and former television journalist.
  • Bryant Gumbel (1948–) – television journalist
  • Greg Gumbel (1946–) – television sportscaster
  • Aristide Laurent (1941–2011) – publisher and LGBT civil rights advocate. He co-founded The Los Angeles Advocate (now known as The Advocate) in 1967 with Sam Allen, Bill Rau, and Richard Mitch.
  • Charlie LeDuff (1966–) – Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and writer
  • Don Lemon (1966) – television news anchor. He is based in New York City and currently hosts CNN Tonight.
  • Suzanne Malveaux (1966–) – television news reporter
  • Arthel Neville (1962–) – journalist and television personality.

    • Law and politics

  • Caesar Antoine (1836–1921) – Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, businessman, soldier, editor
  • Larry Bagneris, Jr. (1946) – social and political activist from New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • Diana Bajoie (1948) – director of community relations for the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans and a Democratic former member of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature.
  • Sidney Barthelemy (1942–) – former Mayor of New Orleans
  • Armand Julie Beauvais (1783–1843) – 7th Governor of Louisiana.
  • Pierre Evariste Jean-Baptiste Bossier (March 22, 1797–April 24, 1844) – Senator for the Louisiana State Senate from 1833 to 1843.
  • Donna Brazile (1959–present) – author, academic, and political analyst who is Vice Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.
  • Allen Broussard (1929–1996) – judge who rose to become a justice of the California Supreme Court.
  • Ward Connerly (1939–) – former University of California regent, moderate conservative political activist, and businessman
  • Don Cravins, Jr. (1972–) – Democratic politician from the State of Louisiana.
  • Robert DeBlieux (1933–2010) – historian, preservationist, painter, an author, businessman, and a former Democratic mayor of Natchitoches, the oldest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana
  • Pierre Derbigny (1769–1829) – 6th Governor of Louisiana
  • Dan Desdunes (1870–1929) – civil rights activist and musician in New Orleans and Omaha.
  • Rodolphe Desdunes (1849–1928) – civil rights activist, poet, historian, journalist, and customs officer primarily active in New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • Jean Noel Destrehan (1754–1823) – politician in Louisiana and one-time owner of Destréhan Plantation, one of Louisiana's most famous antebellum historical landmarks.
  • Antoine Dubuclet (1810–1887) – State Treasurer of Louisiana
  • Jacques Dupre (1773–1846) – 8th Governor of Louisiana.
  • Edwin Edwards (1927–) – served as the 50th Governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1980, 1984–1988 and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as any other Louisiana chief executive.
  • Keith Ellison (1963–) – U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district.
  • William Freret (1804–1864) – Mayor of New Orleans from May 10, 1840 to April 4, 1842, and again from February 27, 1843 to May 12, 1844.
  • Charles Gayarré (1805–1895) – lawyer, judge, politician, historian, essayist, dramatist and novelist
  • Paul Octave Hebert (1818–1880) – 14th Governor of Louisiana from 1853–56 and a General in the Confederate Army.
  • Alexis Herman (1947–) – politician who served as the 23rd U.S. Secretary of Labor, serving under President Bill Clinton. Prior to her appointment, she was Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.
  • Valerie Jarrett (1956–) – senior advisor and assistant to the president for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Obama administration, lawyer and businesswoman.
  • Paul Lafargue (1842–1911) – French revolutionary Marxist socialist journalist, literary critic, political writer and activist
  • Eric LaFleur (1964) – Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate. He was first elected in 2007. Earlier he was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 38 (Evangeline and St. Landry parishes) from 2000 to 2008. He was first elected without opposition to an open seat vacated by Dirk Deville. He was re-elected four years later in 2003 with 81 percent of the vote.
  • Pierre Caliste Landry (1841–1921) – Mayor of Donaldsonville, Louisiana
  • Richard W. Leche (1898–1965) – 44th Governor of Louisiana from 1936 until 1939
  • Ivan L. R. Lemelle (1950–) – United States federal judge
  • Bernard de Marigny (1785–1868) – politician
  • François Xavier Martin (1762–1846) – jurist and author, the first Attorney General of State of Louisiana, and longtime Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
  • John Willis Menard (1838–1893) – U.S. congressman
  • Ernest Nathan Morial (1929–1989) – political figure and leading civil-rights advocate.
  • Marc Morial (1958–) – former Mayor of New Orleans; son of Ernest Nathan Morial
  • Ray Nagin (1956–) – former Mayor of New Orleans
  • Revius Ortique, Jr. (1924–2008) – justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, and civil rights activist.
  • Vincent Pierre (1964) – former businessman from Lafayette, Louisiana, who is a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 44. He has since 2012 represented a portion of Lafayette Parish.
  • James Pitot (1761–1831) – second Mayor of New Orleans.
  • Homer Plessy (1863–1925) – plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson.
  • Geronimo Pratt (1947–2011) – human rights activist.
  • Denis Prieur – the 10th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Condoleezza Rice (1954–) – 66th United States Secretary of State
  • Andre B. Roman (1795–1866) – 9th Governor of Louisiana (a cousin to Sen Pierre Bossier their grandmothers were Barre sisters)
  • A.P. Tureaud (1899–1972) – attorney for the New Orleans chapter of the NAACP
  • Jacques Villere (1761–1830) – 2nd Governor of Louisiana.
  • Joseph Marshall Walker (1784–1856) – 13th Governor of Louisiana, from 1850–1853.
  • Lionel Wilson (1915–1998) – mayor of Oakland, California, serving three-terms as mayor of Oakland from 1977 until 1991.
  • Andrew Young (1932–) – Congressman from Georgia's 5th congressional district, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and Mayor of Atlanta.

    • Literature

  • Arna Bontemps (1902–1973) – poet and a noted member of the Harlem Renaissance.
  • Anatole Broyard (1920–1990) – native of New Orleans, 20th-century writer and critic who worked in New York City, New York
  • Kate Chopin (1850–1904) – author, forerunner to feminism.
  • Marcus Bruce Christian (1900–1976) – poet, writer, historian and folklorist.
  • Sidonie de la Houssaye (1820–1894) – writer
  • Armand Lanusse (1810–1867) – poet and educator
  • Willard Motley (1909–1965) – writer.
  • Alice Dunbar Nelson (1875–1935) – poet, journalist and political activist
  • Anais Nin (1903–1977) – author
  • Brenda Marie Osbey (1957) – poet.
  • John Kennedy Toole (1937–1969) – author; won a Pulitzer Prize for his Picaresque novel A Confederacy of Dunces (1980)
  • Jean Toomer (1894–1967) – poet and novelist
  • Victor Sejour (1817–1874) – writer
  • Fatima Shaik (1952) – writer of children’s and adult literature

    • Military

  • Edward Gabriel Andre Barrett (1827–1880) – a Commodore in the United States Navy.
  • P. G. T. Beauregard (1818–1893) – general for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War; also a writer, civil servant and inventor
  • Renato Beluche (1780–1860) – Venezuelan merchant and privateer
  • Sherian Cadoria (1943) – retired General in the United States Army
  • Andre Cailloux (1825–1863) – officer in the Confederate and Union armies
  • Claire Lee Chennault (1893–1958) – military aviator
  • Jerome G. Cooper (1936) – a former officer of the United States Marine Corps who served as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) from 1989 to 1992, and as United States Ambassador to Jamaica from 1994 to 1997.
  • Russel L. Honoré (born 1947) – commanding general of the U.S. First Army in Fort Gillem, Georgia, and commander of Joint Task Force Katrina responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina-affected areas across the Gulf Coast.
  • John A. Lejeune (1867–1942) – 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps.
  • Stephen W. Rochon (???) – Rear Admiral and former Director of the Executive Residence and White House Chief Usher

    • Religion

  • Henriette Delille (1812–1862) – founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family, declared venerable by the Pope in 2010
  • Curtis J. Guillory (1943) – is the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont,Texas
  • Marie Laveau (1794–1881) – practitioner of voodoo.
  • Leonard Olivier (1923-2014) - retired auxiliary bishop for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington
  • Harold Robert Perry (1916–1991) – auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans
  • John Ricard (1940–present) – prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee

    • Science and technology

  • John James Audubon (1785–1851) – ornithologist, naturalist, and painter
  • Paul Du Chaillu (1831–1903) – French-American traveler, zoologist, and anthropologist. He became famous in the 1860s as the first modern European outsider to confirm the existence of gorillas, and later the Pygmy people of central Africa. He later researched the prehistory of Scandinavia.
  • Barthelemy Lafon (1769–1820) –notable Creole architect, engineer, city planner, and surveyor in New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • Jean Alexandre LeMat (1824–1883) – best known for the percussion cap revolver that bears his name (see LeMat revolver).
  • Norbert Rillieux (1806–1894) – inventor and engineer

    • Sports

  • Laila Ali (1977) – former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007. She is the daughter of the late heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali with his third wife, Veronica Porsche Ali, and is the eighth of her father's nine children.
  • Jimmy Doyle (1924–1947) – an American welterweight boxer.
  • Matt Forte (1985) – running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League.
  • Jermaine Kearse (1990) – Football Player
  • Oliver Marcelle (1895–1949) – professional baseball player.
  • Tyrann Mathieu (1992) – free safety for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL).
  • Boyd Melson (1981) – light middleweight boxer.
  • Paul Charles Morphy (1837–1884) – chess master, lawyer.
  • Xavier Paul (1985) – professional baseball outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks.
  • CC Sabathia (1980) – professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees.
  • Paul Sentell (1879–1923) – professional baseball player

    • Other

  • Antoine Philippe de Marigny (1721–1779) – geographer and explorer
  • Charles Deslondes (1777–1811) – one of the slave leaders of the 1811 German Coast Uprising, a slave revolt that began on January 8, 1811, in the Territory of Orleans
  • Jean Saint Malo (d. 1784) – leader of a group of runaway slaves, known as maroons, in Spanish Louisiana.
  • Betty Reid Soskin (1921) – a Park Ranger with the National Park Service, assigned to the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California.

    • References

    List of Louisiana Creoles Wikipedia
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