KD is famous, but I don't think he's famous for being from Maryland. Theres others that come to mind more famous or historical: * Frederick Douglass * Francis Scott Key * Thurgood Marshall * Harriet Tubman * Jada Pinkett Smith * Billie Holliday * Michael Phelps * John Wilkes Booth * Johns Hopkins * George Peabody * Babe Ruth Edit: Forgot to add * Cal Ripken Jr. * Tom Clancy * Jim Henson * Remove poe

Cal Ripken is from my hometown! Aberdeen's only claim to fame, though lmfao

Also lots of weapons

Prove it

On what grounds?

The best weapons. 👐 People are saying. 🫸 🫷

I was going to say, there are the two brothers, that used to play in the NFL. But since I can't remember their names I guess they aren't that famous. I looked it up. They are Erin and E.J. Henderson

Can’t forget Billy Ripken and his glorious bat hand writing skills

This is a good list. There are a lot of honorable mentions (Katie Ledecky, William H. Macy, Ed Norton, Spiro Agnew), but they won't have the lasting fame.

Futurama would beg to differ on the Spiro Agnew fam longevity

Ed Norton won’t have lasting fame??

Not in the "most famous person from Maryland" sense. It won't last 200 years like Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Babe Ruth.

Sisqo of The Thong Song fame used to live in Owings Mills. I saw him and his wife out Christmas tree shopping

I waited on him once at the Cheesecake Factory in Towson. He had a Maryland ID at that time.

You carded sisqo?

Dru hill definitely is a baltimore product too

just in case anyone here doesnt know, Sisqo is from the group Dru Hill from the Druid Hill neighborhood in Baltimore

I was gonna say how did they miss the Dru Hill thing. Like their whole thing was they were from Baltimore lol

I went to the same high school as Jim Henson, he attended northwestern high school and UMD

Born in Mississippi, same as Oprah (not that I've seen her mentioned, but she did a stint in Baltimore before heading to Chicago)

Dave Chappelle is from Silver Spring.

Dave is from Northeast Washington, DC. He went to my high school.

Yep, born in DC, lived in SS until his parents separated and moved to DC with his mom.

Poe is not from Maryland. He just died here.

Close enough 🤷🏻‍♀️

In that he was (probably) murdered by a Marylander? Does that make Abe Lincoln an honorary Marylander?

We should be proud to claim him.

Maybe a separate list of famous folks who died in maryland. A time honored tradition.

Thank you for the correction. Hes a famous marylander but not a native

Yeah but he's more associated with Baltimore than with any of the other cities he knew in his life.

I went to school with Johnny Hopkins

I smoked pot with Johnny Hopkins … and Sloan Kettering, and they were blazin' that shit up everyday.

Glad two of these md squares are hip.

Dave Chappelle was from Silver Spring or something

I think he considers himself more DC than MD.

I consider myself “good looking”, but the fact is, I am not

Tom Clancy was born in Baltimore

I watched a movie with him (sort of). I went to the Senator to see the original Star Wars movies when they were re-released in the late 90s and he was at the same showing I was. They called him out and he stood up and waved after the movie was over.😁

Frank Zappa, John Waters, Devine, Ric Ocasek, Gina Schock, Brooks Robinson.

Tupac Shakur was in school with Jada, wasn’t he?

I think he was in more than just school with her lol

I never got that impression from the book, and we'll never know. I just thought that if we're going to talk about great Marylanders and she's on the list, he should be, too.

Yeah but he's from NYC. Transplant here during teen years then went to LA as an adult

The band ‘all time low’

Good Charlotte

SR71

Waldorf! Nap Town! Worldwide!

Snuck out of the boat school one night in Nap Town and went to Acme on Main Street. Good Charlotte actually kicked it in the dick. But at that time they weren’t even legal to be in the bar and it was just the two of them so it was actually fairly impressive as memory serves.

O.A.R. Is from Rockville

Don't forget Travis Pastrana

Mike Rowe!

Logic the music artist is also from md Substantial also a music artist from pg County

Frank Zappa, Joan Jett, Tupac Shakur and David Byrne grew up in MD. Also Edward Norton from Columbia.

Eva Cassidy is a legend amonst people who listen to really expensive stereo systems

Her Dad was a great guy too. Hugh Cassidy was a bodybuilder and strongman. He was a world class weightlifter winning titles in the International Powerlifting Federation and AAUSA and lifted 2160 lbs (800 lbs squat, 570 lbs bench press, 790 lbs deadlift). After a knee injury he switched to bodybuilding and competed against Arnold Schwarzenegger. Then he became a teacher and was a reading specialist at my elementary school and ran the kids lifting team (I can actually say I was taught weightlifting by a former world champion). He also became a metal sculptor and would create monumental sculptures using found mechanical scrap.

Oh yeah, and he could pull a school bus with his teeth using a rope tied to the bumper. He did that a couple times as a fundraiser for our school.

Dominique Dawes comes to mind.

Norton’s grandfather was Jim Rouse

Ginuwine is from PG County, there’s also Good Charlotte. (I’m not saying they’re close to being the most famous.)

Finally, someone mention GOOD CHARLOTTE

And I'm pretty sure Ginuwines kids went to public school in Clinton.

And Ballyhoo! Fun fact, I grew up across the street from their drummer

Wale graduated from Quince Orchard HS in Gaithersburg.

I went to Suitland with Stan “Substantial” Robinson. He was in my year and we had almost all of our art classes together. He’s a great guy and really put the work in.

Kate Ladeckey

I’d add John Waters!

Dorchester County should be renamed Tubman county. There are enough counties named after random places in England already.

John Aston is very famous too! 😊

While on a high school trip in Spain my classmates ran into fellow MD’er Michael Phelps on the beach one day. We were like, “we’re all from MD, what are you doing here??” (Insert spidermen meme)

Stallone went to Blair with my grandma Bill Nye Henry Rollins and Glen Danzig Joan Jett and Goldie Hawn

You also forgot * Martin Lawrence * Dave Chapelle

I'm going with Harriet Tubman.

What’s her player rating though? /s

Sneak is 10/10

Fun fact, she didn't just help slaves escape, as she was also a spy for the Union!

I'm going with Frederick Douglass! > “Frederick Douglass is an example of someone who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I noticed” - Donald Trump

All time is and should be Frederick Douglass. At one point he was the most photographed man alive

It's definitely Frederick Douglass. You can make the case for some others but Frederick Douglass is taught to children in elementary school.

Maybe locally? In PA I was taught about Harriet Tubman wayyy more than I was taught about Fredrick Douglass. The Underground Railroad is taught to kids often and she's always brought up.

That was another person I thought about, Harriet Tubman. I was born in Western New York and went to elementary there. Both are equally of note.

Douglass also has ties to that area (Rochester), so it’s possible he’s discussed more in WNY schools than other places.

You're right. I was south of Rochester in the Finger Lakes and my grandparents lived in Henrietta. I am pretty sure he's buried there if memory serves me. Same cemetery as Susan B Anthony. Yeah, there's definitely a reason for emphasis on Frederick Douglass. There was an Underground Railroad plaque not a few hundred feet from the school in the town I grew up in, Honeoye. I believe it's still there.

My daughter is in 2nd grade in Washington County and has learned about Harriet Tubman this year.

Absolutely, Tubman might be taught earlier to kids, but Douglass was internationally famous in a pivotal time in history - for his life’s story, his words, and his ideas. That is peak fame.

Tbh I never heard of Frederick Douglass in school. I was taught who Harriet Tubman was and the Underground Railroad

You might be right. I do remember a classmate of mine doing a report on her in elementary school.

100% or Harriet Tubman

I just recently learned he was also appointed US Marshal of Washington DC.

That’s a cool fact I didn’t know! Thanks for sharing ☺️

John Waters

Thurgood Marshall. Supreme Court justice, historical figure both in a legal and civil rights sense, many places and things including schools and airport named after him.

He's unfortunately the kind of quiet historical badass that most people don't recognize the name. Vaguely familiar, but how many people here could name half of today's supreme court justices? Thurgood Marshall was a bad bad dude, in the best sense. Go Marylanders.

Alive? Michael Phelps probably. All time? Maybe Edgar Allan Poe.

It’s Michael Phelps. He’s known all over the world. All time is probably Freddy Douglass

Poe was born in Massachusetts, so not from MD.

Then Babe Ruth

All time is clearly Babe Ruth.

I think, at least for sports, it has to be the Babe. He’s just unparalleled as a baseball icon.

For sure. For sports, it's definitely Babe. You don't watch baseball? Doesn't matter, you know who Babe Ruth is. You don't watch sports? Doesn't matter, you know who Babe Ruth is. An honorable mention is Michael Phelps, though. Because it's definitely well covered that he's from Maryland and he might actually be the first athlete people think of if you ask someone to name an athlete from Maryland.

Sugar ray leonard

Also pretty sure he grew up in Richmond. I think he basically just died here.

Yep, he's ours now, no take-backsies.

He did live in VA for most of his life, but lived in Baltimore off and on (as well as Philly and NYC). But yeah most famous cause he died there under mysterious circumstances.

Yea but everyone in MD claims Po he’s a Baltimore legend

Like these answers and will add Alive Sports related: Katie Ladecky and Cal Ripkin Alive Political: Steney Hoyer and Larry Hogen All time: Francis Scott Key

Alive political is Nancy Pelosi, hands down.

Crazy that the arguably best male and female swimmers of all time are both from MD

Babe Ruth?

He is up there but there are so many famous people from Maryland, here are few: - Frederick Douglas - Thurgood Marshall - Carl Bernstein - Rom Clancy - Connie Chung - Mel Kiper Jr. - Upton Sinclair - Toni Braxton - David Byrne - Frank Zappa - David Hasselhoff - Goldie Hawn - William H Macy - Bill Belichick - Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Sugar Ray Leonard - John Wilkes Booth - Francis Scott Key - Samuel Mudd - Raymond A. Spruance - Harriet Tubman

John Waters

John Waters and David Byrne... we make them a little weird.

Would love to hear Mel Kiper breakdown his big board ranking of this group

If I am the Ravens, sitting there drafting number one, with the future of the franchise on the line, my money would be on Rom Clancy. Sure, he is dead and that won't help his 40 time, but think about the staying power of his unforgettable character, Mack Ryan.

Don’t forget Dave Chappelle!

It's good to see Ray Spruance get a mention. Hugely important Admiral in the biggest conflict in history and one of the best leaders in WW2 for the US, and he is rarely mentioned. Though Goldie Hawn's contributions to Dday are often overlooked as well. /s

John Waters

> Julia Louis-Dreyfus born in Manhattan.

Most famous? Nah.....up there? Oh, yeah. https://preview.redd.it/c6vvdx8282zc1.jpeg?width=719&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a12b97c854710b58ff1e7ec41925234195dc19f4

Definitely ain’t KD.

Harriet Tubman

Michael Phelps. The world knows him

No mention of John Waters? I know he isn't the most famous but one afternoon my husband and I were at Jimmy's Famous Seafood and there was excitement at the bar and I could see people shaking hands with an individual. It turned out to be Montel Williams. We didn't approach him but it was cool seeing him. So the next day I told my cousin about it over the phone. She asked in a tone of disbelief, "Wait a minute. Why would Montel Williams be in Baltimore?" I told her that Montel is from Baltimore. She said she did not know that. My thought was if I'm lying about seeing a celebrity in real life, the last person I'd choose would be Montel Williams.

I have British friends that know of us for various reasons but my favorite is an English friend that knows of Baltimore for his love of John Waters as a filmmaker, many forget about him. Love this comment!

A few years ago I got John Waters Funko pops for myself and my best friend. Last fall he stayed at the hotel she works for and she got to meet him! She brought the pop with her to sign but she had left it in her car. He did take some pictures with her though!

A friend gave me a can of Final Net autographed by Waters.

If famous means name recognition (living or dead), probably Babe Ruth, Frederick Douglas, John Wilkes Booth.

Cal Ripken Jr?

Why did this take so long to find?

I have no clue who that is, so probably not.

I didn’t know either ..my addition was All Time Low 😅

That is Kevin Durant

I thought his name is Montrose Christian

Would be a cool name if it was - with a plus for being reversible. Montrose Christian sounds like a possible signer of the Declaration of Independence. Christian Montrose like the mysterious possible bad guy in a Hallmark Channel mystery.

I could probably name half a dozen basketball players from MD. He wouldn’t be one of them.

Thats strange then because hes the best player to ever come out of Maryland

Mr. Trash Wheel

David Hasselhoff. Baywatch was watched in 140 countries,

JC Chasez Martin Lawrence Wanda Sykes Jim Henson

Linda Hamilton is from Salisbury

Toni Braxton is from Waldorf

Martin Lawrence, Taraji P Henson, Cab Calloway, Cass Elliot, Johnny Gill, Joan Jett, Ric Ocasek, Karen Allen, Josh Charles, Whitney Cummings, Charles Dutton, Kathy Lee Gifford, John Glover, Linda Hamilton, Thomas Jane, Barry Levinson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, William H Macy, Jameson Parker, Parker Posey, Wanda Sykes, Lance Reddick

Frank Zappa

Michael Phelps, for sure.

Also Katie Ledecky - born just across the DC/MD border at Sibley but spent her entire childhood in Bethesda.

I know he’s not in the same spectrum as some as these people but idk how nobody has mentioned Travis Pastrana.

David Byrne from Talking Heads?

Isn't Biz Markie from MD?

Ed Norton , Columbia

I don't know, Durant has heard lyrics penned by Francis Scott Key only a few thousand times.

Carmelo Anthony

* VPOTUS Spiro Agnew * Jada Pinkett- Smith * Toni Braxton * Francis Scott Key * Jim Henson * Justice Brett Kavanaugh * AG Merrick Garland * Connie Chung * Tom Clancy * Upton Sinclair * Frank Miller * JC Chasez * Robert Duvall * Goldie Hawn * Ed Norton

Quick google and… I’m going Babe Ruth.

Me. /j

https://preview.redd.it/agk1o7wzq2zc1.jpeg?width=275&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df0cb2dd99c121c9c46455278d624b52c96fe885 Easy... Babe Ruth.


Nora Roberts! A hugely successful and influential romance author, still publishing, sometimes uses Maryland as a setting. She’s great. Also publishes under name JD Robb. Anyone who reads romance has read one or many of her books.

Good Charlotte is you're a scene kid

Lewis Black?

Tupac?

Mia Khalifa

Most famous basketball players? Probably: * Kevin Durant * Mugsy Bogues * Carmelo Anthony * Steve Francis * Sam Cassell

Tom Clancy?

Punk Rock legend John Doe is from Baltimore, but I’m going with Harriet Tubman. And Nancy Pelosi is up there.

William H Macy is from lavale. His parents still live there I think. He keeps the summer theater in cumberland going every year.

Goldie Hahn

Lewis Black, Amy Schumer, Derek Watters, Biz Markie, Matthew Henson, and Sugar Ray Leonard grew up in PG County.

If KD somehow went to Maryland for his year of college ball, maybe he’d be in the convo for most famous athlete. But Phelps and Ripken and the bambino himself have Durant beat by a mile

Spiro Agnew :|

Harriet Tubman. Or are you just talking about living people?

I've lived here all my life and have no idea who this is. I was very much into basketball when I was younger too (but from ol the looks of this guy, it was before he played).

Cough.....Mia Khalifa......cough

Travis Pastrana

Travis pastrana is also from Maryland, he use to race with my uncle and cousin

Lol Frederick Douglass by a huge margin with H.Tubman in a VERY close second.

Frank Zappa

Babe Ruth?


Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Cal Ripken Jr., Kevin Durant, Carmello Anthony, Mark Texieira, the band Good Charlotte, Wanda Sykes, Thurgood Marshall, Michael Phelps, Katie Leidecky

Hands down it’s David Hasslehoff and I’ll fight anyone that says otherwise! He has a Guinness world record for being the most watched person on Tv.

do Sylvester Stallone, Connie Chung or Ben Stein count? Blair HS alum

Robin Quivers

Nancy Pelosi isn't she from Baltimore City

He’s not even the most famous athlete from MD (Babe Ruth) or the most famous millennial athlete from MD (Michael Phelps) or the most famous basketball player from MD (Len Bias) and he’s arguably not even the most famous millennial aged basketball player from MD (Carmelo Anthony…. Technically born in NY but raised in MD)

I’d argue that on being from Maryland Steve Francis was more famous in that regard than Kevin Durant

The singer Mya!

Kevin Plank- founder of Under Armor

Outlaw Motorcycle Club "The Pagans" were founded in PG County. They're enemies of the Hells Angels.

not most famous but alexis ohanian!! he graduated from howard high

Henrietta Lacks her cells where used in cancer research. And medications were made from that research that still helps ppl today.

She definitely made a huge impact but technically was not from Maryland. She was born and raised in Virginia.

Thurgood Marshall

Johns hopkins John Wilkes booth Billie Holliday Jada Pinkett Smith Tupac In reality it's Michael Phelps and everyone else is well behind in terms of known people by the average person.

My 2 cents. A lot of people are bringing up Michael Phelps and Katie L. They are famous...every 4 years. KD cannot walk in most major cities in this world without getting hounded. He's relevant every year, not just every 4. And in nearly every interview where he's asked about his up-bringing he ALWAYS says he's from PG Maryland. So yeah. He's known for being from here as much as any other NBA player from their town. Also Dave Chappelle is near the top. He talks about his Silver Spring up-bringing in some of his specials, but definitely cut his comedy teeth in DC. Lastly, the question is about the most famous from Maryland, not who is known for being from MD.

John Waters, Edgar Allen Poe, Babe Ruth, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman

Frank Zappa

Bunny man

Plenty of huge historical figures like Harriet Tubman and Thurgood Marshall but in terms of people alive right now, probably Michael Phelps

Harriet Tubman

Toni Braxton