At BetKentucky.com, we pride ourselves on keeping you most up-to-date on the latest Kentucky sports betting news and developments. We also love to cover all things Kentucky related.
We wanted to take a hyper-localized approach to see what celebrities who were raised in Kentucky were the most popular. Here’s what we found:
Most Well-Known Celebrities From Kentucky in 2024
Jack Sparrow & The Hunger Games Co-Stars From The Bluegrass State
Owensboro’s Johnny Depp topped the list, probably because he was in a very public, messy, salacious trial with his ex, Amber Heard. It had to be that since it’s been a while since Depp has been in a hit movie.
Especially since the star at No. 2, Louisville’s Tom Cruise was in the biggest movie of his life last year, “Top Gun: Maverick” and will be seen soon in the next installment of “Mission: Impossible.”
Singer/songwriter Jack Harlow has had a big year. He hosted “Saturday Night Live,” appeared in a Super Bowl commercial with Elton John, and he launched a movie career. The Louisville native also released his second hit album.
Actress Jennifer Lawrence from Indian Hills is no longer a Hollywood “It Girl,” but she’s still one of the industry’s top actresses, as she showed in 2022’s “Causeway.” She’s been taking it a little easier since she had a baby but has two films coming, including a controversial comedy where she plays a deflowering prostitute.
Lexington’s George Clooney is No. 5 on the list – another actor working less since he became a dad . . . to twins. His last romcom with Julia Roberts was a bit of a dud and he’ll next be seen with buddy Brad Pitt in the thriller “Wolfs.” Clooney is also a prolific producer with a number of eclectic projects in production.
Singer Chris Stapleton, born in Lexington but from Staffordsville, combines the sounds of country, Americana, and rock in his powerful voice and has become one of the most respected and beloved performers of the past decade. Last April he performed at Kroger Field leading the fundraiser for A Concert Kentucky, An Outlaw State of Kind, with Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, and more.
Reality TV star Chrishell Stause, from Draffenville, is an actress and star of the Netflix real estate series “Selling Sunset.” Stause attended Murray State and has been a series regular on “All My Children” and “Days of Our Lives” and also had a recurring role on “The Young and the Restless.” She was previously married to Justin Hartley (“This Is Us”).
Union’s Josh Hutcherson is an actor-producer best known for his role as Peeta Mellark in “The Hunger Games,” opposite fellow Kentuckian Jennifer Lawrence. Hutcherson also has been commissioned as a Colonel of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Although she was born in Honolulu, Singer-dancer-songwriter Nicole Scherzinger hails from Louisville. She first gained fame in the girl group Eden’s Crush, before gaining more fame with the Pussycat Dolls. She may be best known now as a judge on “The Masked Singer.”
Billy Ray Cyrus, from Flatwoods, is now best known as Miley Cyrus’s dad. But he had a massive hit of his own with “Achy Breaky Heart” and was featured in the remix of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.” He’s also appeared in numerous movies and TV shows, including “Hannah Montana.” He recently became engaged to singer Firerose.
Sports betting is now legal in the Bluegrass state, which means, all sportsbook apps will soon be available to download. Get ahead of the game and read up on all of our Kentucky betting apps before they are ready.
Methodology
BetKentucky.com utilized a weighted system between AhRefs.com Keywords Explorer and Google Trends to look at the most searched Kentucky celebrities over the past 12 months.
After discovering both statistics, they were average to determine the Top 10. Kentucky celebrity was defined as a person who resided in Kentucky in their formative childhood and teenage for over 10 years. Celebrity was broken down to include only living actors/actresses, singer/songwriters, TV personalities, comedians, dancers, and social media influencers.
Honorable Mentions: Actress Ashley Judd, Singer/TV Personality Nick Lachey, Actor Michael Shannon, Singer-Songwriter Tyler Childers, Actor Rob Riggle
Stay with BetKentucky.com as we continue to update you on the expected sports betting launch. Once it launches, we will have all of the best Kentucky sportsbook promos for you to take advantage of.
Most Famous Celebrities From Kentucky FAQ
The top five most famous celebrities from Kentucky are Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise, Jack Harlow, Jennifer Lawrence and George Clooney.
Author
Howard Gensler is a veteran journalist who’s worked at the Philadelphia Daily News, TV Guide and the Philadelphia Inquirer and is a founding editor of bettorsinsider.com.
