Cherokee: Encyclopedia II - Cherokee - Famous Cherokees

Cherokee - Famous Cherokees

There were several famous Cherokees in American history, including Sequoyah, who invented the Cherokee writing system. Sequoyah is one of few people in history to invent a widely used writing system singlehandedly. Sequoyah never learned to speak, read or write the English language.

Famous Cherokee politicians include Chad "Corntassel" Smith, Wilma Mankiller and Ross Swimmer. The American blues-rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix was of Cherokee descent via his paternal grandmother, Nora Rose Moore. Oral Roberts, a Pentecostal evangelist in the 1950's through the 1990's, is also of Cherokee descent.

Others who have identified aspects of their bloodline as Cherokee include:

• Tori Amos, singer (maternal grandfather was part Eastern Cherokee - an Eastern Cherokee with some European ancestry)
• Kim Basinger, actress (Swedish, German, Cherokee)
• James Brown, singer (Black, Cherokee)
• Bryan Callen, actor (1/2 Cherokee, 1/4 Scottish, 1/4 Irish)
• Ward Churchill, activist, writer and academic claims Cherokee ancestry on his mother's side although this disputed (see article)
• Rita Coolidge, singer
• Kevin Costner, actor (Cherokee, Irish, German)
• Johnny Depp, actor (mother half-Irish/half-Cherokee, father German)
• Carmen Electra, actress (Irish, German, Cherokee)
• Jerry Ellis, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his 1991 book Walking the Trail, One Man's Journey Along the Cherokee Trail of Tears
• Shannon Elizabeth, actress (Syrian-Lebanese father and mixed Cherokee mother)
• James Garner, actor
• Rebecca Gayheart, actress (Irish, Italian, German and Cherokee descent)
• Jimi Hendrix, guitarist, singer (Black, Caucasian, Cherokee)
• Val Kilmer, actor (Mongolian, Irish, Scottish, Cherokee, German, Sephardic, Swedish ancestors, paternal great-grandmother was Cherokee)
• Eartha Kitt, singer (Caucasian father & Black-Cherokee mother)
• Sonny Landham, Hollywood and pornographic actor (Cherokee and Seminole)
• Hawk Littlejohn, Native American flute maker and player.
• Karen McDougal, model, Playboy Playmate of the Year 1998 (Cherokee and Irish ancestors)
• Mandy Moore, singer and actrees (English, Irish, Cherokee)
• Charlie Musselwhite, blues harmonica player and bandleader
• Wayne Newton, actor and singer (Irish-Powhatan father and German-Cherokee mother)　
• Joe Nichols, country singer
• Chuck Norris, actor and martial artist (both parents are half Cherokee and half Irish)
• Elvis Presley, singer, actor (Welsh, English, Scottish, Irish, French, Dutch, German, Jewish and Cherokee ancestors)
• Burt Reynolds, actor (Cherokee, Irish, Italian)
• Salli Richardson, actress (Black-Cherokee mother & Italian-Irish father)
• Robert Rauschenberg, painter (German, Cherokee)
• Ronnie Spector, singer (Caucasian father & Black-Cherokee mother)
• Tina Turner, singer (Black, Cherokee, Navajo)
• Liv Tyler, actress (father Steven Tyler is Cherokee, Russian, and Italian, mother Bebe Buell is of French descent)
• Steven Tyler, singer of Aerosmith (Cherokee, Russian, Italian)
• Michelle White, singer (father Tony Joe White is Caucasian, Cherokee)
• Tony Joe White, singer (Caucasian, Cherokee)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Famous Cherokees", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki