Georgia boasts no shortage of famous residents thanks to the Peach Stateās thriving film and television industry, signature hip-hop scene and status as a major producer of athletic talent. At BetGeorgia.com - home to all things Georgia sports betting - we wanted to determine which celebrities that were raised in the state have received the most discussion in the past year.
In order to do this, BetGeorgia.com utilized a weighted system combining AhRefs.com Keywords Explorer and Google Trends to look at the most searched Georgia celebrities over the past 12 months. For transparency, a Georgia celebrity was defined as a person who resided in Georgia during their early life (childhood/teenage years) for over 10 years. Celebrities were limited to include only actors/actresses, singer/songwriters, TV personalities, comedians, dancers, athletes and social media influencers.
Here are the 20 most searched Georgians in 2024:
Weighted Rank | Celebrity | Hometown City | Search Volume Over Past Year |
1 | Julia Roberts, Actress | Smyrna, GA | 1.9M |
2 | Halle Bailey, Actress & Singer | Atlanta, GA | 1.1M |
3 | Dakota Fanning, Actress | Conyers, GA | 964K |
4 | Tyreek Hill, Current NFL Player | Douglas, GA | 955K |
5 | Cody Rhodes, Wrestler | Atlanta, GA | 798K |
6 | Playboi Carti, Rapper | Atlanta, GA | 736K |
7 | Trevor Lawrence, Current NFL Player | Cartersville, GA | 620K |
8 | Future, Rapper | Atlanta, GA | 601K |
9 | Elle Fanning, Actress | Conyers, GA | 597K |
10 | 21 Savage, Rapper | Atlanta, GA | 571K |
11 | Lil Nas X, Singer-Songwriter | Lithia Springs, GA | 458K |
12 | Shannon Sharpe, Pro Football HOFer | Glennville, GA | 455K |
13 | Lil Baby, Rapper | Atlanta, GA | 402K |
14 | Dwight Howard, Former NBA Player | Atlanta, GA | 350K |
15 | Cam Newton, Former NFL Player | Atlanta, GA | 315K |
16 | Young Thug, Rapper | Atlanta, GA | 305K |
17 | Chris Tucker, Actor & Comedian | Atlanta, GA | 289K |
18 | Megan Moroney, Singer-Songwriter | Savannah, GA | 261K |
19 | Ciara, Singer-Songwriter | College Park, GA | 245K |
20 | Laurence Fishburne, Actor | Augusta, GA | 243K |
Actresses, rappers and football players reign supreme when it comes to Georgia celebrities, as nine of the top ten names on the list work in those three professions. Natives of the Atlanta area unsurprisingly dominate the list as well, with 16 of the 20 stars hailing from the metro or city itself.
1. Julia Roberts, Actress, Smyrna. Search Volume: 1.9 M. The A-list actress easily claims the title of most famous Georgian, accounting for over 70 percent more search volume than her closest competitor. The 56-year-old Roberts has appeared in more than four dozen films throughout her career, including Pretty Woman, My Best Friendās Wedding, and the Oceanās trilogy, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2000 for her performance in Erin Brockovich. In total, her movies have grossed over $4 billion worldwide, per TheNumbers.com.
2. Halle Bailey, Actress & Singer, Atlanta. Search Volume: 1.1 M. Born in Atlanta and raised in Mableton, Bailey was the only other Georgia celebrity to eclipse an average search volume of one million. Bailey began acting and singing with her older sister Chloe as a child, parlaying small film roles and YouTube virality into roles on the ABC sitcom Grown-ish plus an accomplished music career as the duo Chloe x Halle. Bailey has since branched out into solo artistry and starred in the live action remake of The Little Mermaid as well as the movie musical The Color Purple in 2023.
3. Dakota Fanning, Actress, Conyers. Search Volume: 964 K. Fanning started her career as a child actor, becoming the youngest ever nominee for a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2001 at the age of seven, and has continued her star ascent into adulthood after 25 years in the business. Credits in her filmography include War of the Worlds, Coraline and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Fanning starred in the miniseries Ripley earlier this year and also appears in the miniseries The Perfect Couple, which just released on Netflix September 5th.
4. Tyreek Hill, Current NFL Player, Douglas. Search Volume: 955 K. The Miami Dolphins star wide receiver grew up in Coffee County in Southeast Georgia. āThe Cheetahā has turned into one of the most dynamic players in NFL history, making the Pro Bowl in each of his first eight seasons. In 2023, Hill led the league in receiving yards with 1799 and tied for the league lead in receiving touchdowns with 13, earning his fifth first team All-Pro nod.
5. Cody Rhodes, Wrestler, Atlanta. Search Volume: 798 K. A former two-time Georgia state high school wrestling champion at 189 pounds, Rhodes has competed across various professional wrestling circuits since 2006. He rose to fame as a part of WWE for ten years before switching to several independent promotions and ultimately joining AEW. Rhodes returned to WWE in 2022 and is currently its undisputed champion after claiming the title from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL in April.
6. Playboy Carti, Rapper, Atlanta. Search Volume: 736 K. Rising from Atlantaās noted trap scene, Cartiās popularity has exploded since his first mixtape dropped in 2017. His second studio album, Whole Lotta Red, topped the Billboard 200 in its first week out and was ultimately named the best album of 2021 by the Washington Post. Carti announced on September 12 that his third studio album, I Am Music, will be released sometime later this year.
7. Trevor Lawrence, Current NFL Player, Cartersville. Search Volume: 620 K. The nationās top ranked recruit in the Class of 2018, Lawrence matriculated from Cartersville High School to Clemson, where he led the Tigers to a national championship as a freshman. After compiling a 34-2 record in three seasons as Clemsonās starting quarterback, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Lawrence with the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He is in fourth season with the Jaguars and helped guide the team to its first playoff appearance in five years in 2022.
8. Future, Rapper, Atlanta. Search Volume: 601 K. A legend of the new generation of Southern hip-hop, Future has been instrumental in keeping Atlanta at the forefront of the rap game. Albums such as DS2 and Hndrxx are now considered landmarks of the trap genre and he has recorded with many other top artists including Drake, Travis Scott and Lil Uzi Vert.
9. Elle Fanning, Actress, Conyers. Search Volume: 597 K. Like her older sister Dakota, Elle Fanning has acted since her early childhood. Her career has flourished as an adult, with roles in fifteen films between 2016 and 2020. Since then, her attention has largely been on television where she starred as Catherine the Great in the Hulu series The Great from 2020 to 2023.
10. 21 Savage, Rapper, Atlanta. Search Volume: 571 K. Savageās infamous arrest by ICE in 2019 revealed to the world that he was actually born in London, England, but the rapper has lived in Atlanta since coming to the states during his youth. He has released three full length albums, two of which reached number one on the charts (the other peaked at second). His latest album, American Dream, came out on January 12th and moved 133,000 album equivalent units in its first week.
11. Lil Nas X, Singer-Songwriter, Lithia Springs. Search Volume: 458 K. Propelled to stardom in 2019 by his smash hit single āOld Town Roadā and its remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, Lil Nas X has broken barriers an openly gay black man whose music blends the elements of hip-hop, country and pop. The two versions of āOld Town Roadā combined to spend a record nineteen weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 while his debut studio album Montero opened at number two on the Billboard 200 when it was released in 2021.
12. Shannon Sharpe, Former NFL Player, Glennville. Search Volume: 455 K. A native of Tattnall County, Sharpe played college football at Savannah State before a 14-year career in the NFL. He became the first tight end in league history to eclipse 10,000 career receiving yards on his journey from seventh round pick to eventual hall of famer. Since retiring, he has stayed in the spotlight through sports media, co-hosting Undisputed with Skip Bayless for seven years before joining First Take last September.
13. Lil Baby, Rapper, Atlanta. Search Volume: 402 K. Another prominent trap artist, Lil Baby arrived on the scene with a series of mixtapes in 2017, leading to his major label debut Harder Than Ever in 2018. His second album, 2020ās My Turn, went quadruple platinum and sold more album equivalent units than any other release that year. He has since put out a collaboration album with Lil Durk and another solo album, both of which hit number one on the Billboard 200.
14. Dwight Howard, Former NBA Player, Atlanta. Search Volume: 350 K. Drafted first overall in the 2004 NBA Draft out of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, Howard was a fearsome presence in the paint throughout his time in the association. An eight-time All-NBA selection, Howard won the Defensive Player of the Year award three straight years from 2009 to 2011 and also led the league in rebounding five times and blocks twice. He is currently on Dancing with the Stars after returning from playing professional basketball in Taiwan, where he went after his NBA career ended in 2022.
15. Cam Newton, Former NFL Player, Atlanta. Search Volume: 315 K. A graduate of Atlantaās Westlake High School, Newton won the 2010 Heisman Trophy as he led Auburn to its first national championship since 1957. He then joined the Carolina Panthers as the number one pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, winning Rookie of the Year that year and ultimately earning NFL MVP in 2015. Newton retired after the 2021 season, but not before finishing his career with the most career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in league history.
16. Young Thug, Rapper, Atlanta. Search Volume: 305 K. Young Thugās success as a rapper has been overshadowed lately by his legal troubles. All three of his solo studio albums have reached the top two of the charts, but he has currently been in jail for over two years after his May 2022 arrest on RICO charges. Thug and several other members of his YSL record label are still on trial, ten months after it started, in what has become the longest running criminal trial in state history.
17. Chris Tucker, Actor & Comedian, Atlanta. Search Volume: 289 K. Tucker started his career as comedian before breaking out as an actor in 1995ās Friday. Best known for his role alongside Jackie Chan in the Rush Hour trilogy, Tucker has mostly returned to his stand-up roots in recent years. His performance in 2023ās Air was his first film appearance since 2016.
18. Megan Moroney, Singer-Songwriter, Savannah. Search Volume: 261 K. A relative newcomer on the country music scene, Moroney was born in Savannah and raised in Douglasville. She moved to Nashville after graduating from the University of Georgia and began releasing music in 2021. Her first two albums, Lucky and Am I Okay?, have both peaked inside the top ten of the country chart.
19. Ciara, Singer-Songwriter, College Park. Search Volume: 245 K. Born in Texas to a military family, Ciara moved to Clayton County as a teenager, graduating from Riverdale High School. Her 2004 debut album Goodies made her an instant star, rising to number one on the R&B chart and third overall on the Billboard 200. She has since released six more albums, three of which reached the top five, while also branching out into acting and a host of various business ventures.
20. Laurence Fishburne, Actor, Augusta. Search Volume: 243 K. The veteran actor got his first part at age 11 and established an iconic career from there. Notable credits of his include roles in Apocalypse Now, Boyz n the Hood and The Matrix. In addition to appearing in more than 80 movies, Fishburne has also done an array of television work, with recurring roles on CSI, Hannibal and Black-ish over the past 15 years.
USA Today photo by Sam Navarro.
Author
Josh Markowitz is a freelance writer for BetGeorgia.com. He is a lifelong sports fan who emphasizes basketball, football, baseball, and the scouting/evaluation process. A graduate of Elon University's School of Communications, Josh also has experience in television production.
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