This is a list of famous people who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Memphis, Tennessee and other towns of the Mid-south.

• Johnny Ace – musician
• Stephen Adams – United States Congressman and United States Senator
• Traci Adell – Playboy centerfold
• Richard "Pistol" Allen, drummer who was one of the Funk Brothers that played on the Motown hits in the 1960s
• Estelle Axton – co-founder of Stax Records
• Archbishop LeRoy Bailey; Senior Pastor of The First Cathedral, A Megachurch in Bloomfield, Connecticut; Clergy
• The Bar-Kays – musicians
• Kathy Bates – actress
• Kenneth Lawrence Beaudoin – poet
• Big Daddy V; Wrestler
• Chris Bell – musician
• Bobby "Blue" Bland – musician
• Elizabeth Bolden – oldest person in the world during most of 2006
• Charles Boyce – syndicated cartoonist
• Craig Brewer – film director
• Judge Joe Brown – politician
• Isaac Bruce – NFL player for the San Francisco 49ers
• Charles Bulfinch, architecht and designer of Massachusetts General Hospital
• John Calipari – coach of the University of Memphis men's basketball team
• Dixie Carter – actress
• Bob Caruthers – major league baseball player
• Johnny Cash – musician
• Kellye Cash – Miss America 1987
• David Catching – musician
• Alex Chilton – musician
• Philip Claypool – musician
• Lashundra Trenyce Cobbin – American Idol Contestant
• Steve Cohen, politician
• George Coleman – musician
• Barron Collier – businessman
• Hank Crawford – musician
• Steve Cropper – musician
• Edward H. Crump – political boss and U.S. Representative
• John Daly – professional golfer
• Rick Dees – former disc jockey
• Shannen Doherty – actress
• Michael Douglas Air Force member
• Donald "Duck" Dunn – musician
• Johnny Dowd – musician
• Johanna Edwards – author
• William Eggleston – photographer
• Eightball & MJG – musicians
• Ben Ferguson – nationally- syndicated talk radio host
• Veronica Finn - former pop singer of the now disbanded group innosense
• Ric Flair – professional wrestler (adopted at six weeks; raised in Minnesota)
• Rey Flemings – music commissioner
• Shelby Foote – author
• Harold Ford, Jr. – politician
• Abe Fortas – politician and U.S. Supreme Court justice
• Aretha Franklin – singer
• Morgan Freeman – actor
• David Gest – event and concert producer
• Ginnifer Goodwin; actress
• Al Green – musician
• The Gentrys – 1960's Rock band with Larry Raspberry and Larry Wall
• Larkin Grimm – folk singer
• Richard Halliburton – explorer and author
• George Hamilton – actor
• W.C. Handy – musician
• Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway – professional basketball player
• E. Hunter Harrison (CEO)
• Jimmy Hart – singer, pro wrestling personality
• Jon Hassell – musician
• Isaac Hayes – Academy Award-winning musician
• John Lee Hooker – blues musician
• John Hulse – Porn Star
• Howlin' Wolf – blues musician
• Al Jackson, Jr. – musician
• Quinton "Rampage" Jackson – Mixed martial arts fighter
• Michael Jeter – actor
• Ashley Jones – actress
• Booker T. Jones – musician
• Carlton W. Kent – Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
• B.B. King – musician
• Brian Lawler – professional wrestler
• Jerry Lawler – professional wrestler
• Jerry Lee Lewis – musician
• Alan Lightman – novelist and physicist
• Booker Little – musician
• Charles Lloyd – musician
• Jim Mabry – Arkansas Razorbacks football All-American
• The Mar-Keys – musicians
• Wink Martindale – disc jockey and television personality
• Tim McCarver – professional baseball player and broadcaster
• Hilton McConnico – designer & artist
• Kenneth D. McKellar – long-serving U.S. Senator
• The Memphis Horns – an American horn section
• Shaun Micheel – professional golfer
• Memphis Slim – musician
• Dr. Cary Middlecoff – professional golfer
• Willie Mitchell – musician
• Chips Moman – music producer
• Sputnik Monroe – professional wrestler
• Charlie Musselwhite – blues musician
• Phineas Newborn, Jr. – jazz musician
• Nights Like These – Victory Records metalcore band
• Woody Paige- sports writer and guest on ESPN's Around the Horn
• Cindy Parlow – athlete
• Chris Parnell – actor
• Gilbert E. Patterson – bishop of the Church of God in Christ
• Luther Perkins – musician
• Elliot Perry – professional basketball player
• Dewey Phillips – early rock 'n' roll disc jockey
• Sam Phillips – founder of Sun Records
• Abe Plough – businessman
• David Porter – musician
• Elvis Presley – musician and actor
• Tommy Prothro – former football coach at UCLA
• Lisa Quinn – actress, author, designer
• Michael Ramirez – Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist
• Otis Redding – musician
• Charlie Rich – musician
• Loren Roberts Professional Golfer
• Adrian Rogers – former pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church and president of the Southern Baptist Convention
• Steve Ross – actor
• Lance Russell – pro wrestling announcer
• Saliva – musical group
• Sam and Dave – Sam Moore and David Prater, musicians
• Sam the Sham – musician, leader of Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
• William Sanderson – actor
• Clarence Saunders – inventor and businessman, founder of the world's first self-service supermarket, Piggly Wiggly
• Josey Scott – musician
• Dan Schneider – actor
• Will Shade – musician
• Paul Shanklin – voiceover artist and creator of song parodies heard on the Rush Limbaugh radio program
• Cybill Shepherd – actress & model
• Fred Smith – Founder and Chairman FedEx
• Lane Smith – actor
• Andrew Stevens – actor
• Stella Stevens – actress
• Jim Stewart – record producer and co-founder of Stax Records
• Bobby Sowell – musician
• Carla Thomas – musician and daughter of Rufus Thomas
• Danny Thomas – entertainer and founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• Rufus Thomas – musician
• Fred D. Thompson – actor and former U.S. Senator (alumnus of the University of Memphis)
• Justin Timberlake – musician and actor
• Ike Turner – musician
• Andrew VanWyngarden – musician lead singer and songwriter of Brooklyn-based indie rock duo MGMT
• Anita Ward – Disco/Dance singer and school teacher; Became famous in 1979 for her number one Billboard Hot 100 single "Ring My Bell."
• Ida B. Wells – civil rights advocate and women's rights advocate
• Junior Wells – musician
• David West – former baseball player
• Red West – actor
• Kirk Whalum – musician
• Reggie White – NFL player; began his career with the Memphis Showboats of the USFL
• Maurice White – musician
• Bobby Whitlock – musician, keyboardist in Derek and the Dominoes
• Tennessee Williams – playwright
• Kemmons Wilson – businessman, founder of Holiday Inn
• Roy Yeager – musician
• Shawn Lane – musician
• Three 6 Mafia – Academy Award-winning rap musicians
• Garrett Wang – actor
• Louis Williams – NBA player
• Egypt Central – musicians

And two infamous persons from Memphis

• George "Machine Gun" Kelly – Great Depression-era bank robber and kidnapper
• Miles Williamson Jordan - known streaker and bass player