Trent Reznor: How New Orleans Shaped the Sound of Nine Inch Nails
The Man Who Made Noise Into ArtMichael Trent Reznor was born in Mercer, Pennsylvania, in 1965, but he built Nine Inch Nails in New Orleans, recorded some of his most important work here, and turned...
Big Freedia: The Queen of Bounce Who Took New Orleans to Beyoncé
The Queen of BounceFreddie Ross Jr. was born on January 28, 1978, in New Orleans and grew up in the Third Ward — the neighborhood that stretches from Tremé toward Mid-City and has been a center of ...
Wendell Pierce: Pontchartrain Park’s Favorite Son
Wendell Pierce: Pontchartrain Park’s Favorite SonWendell Pierce is the actor who plays New Orleans better than anyone. Born in 1963 and raised in Pontchartrain Park—the first African-American middl...
Jon Batiste: The Joy Machine from Kenner
Jon Batiste: The Joy Machine from KennerJonathan Michael Batiste is joy in human form. Born in 1986 in Kenner and raised in a New Orleans musical dynasty—the Batiste family has been making music in...
Ellen DeGeneres: Metairie’s Gift to American Comedy
Ellen DeGeneres: Metairie’s Gift to American ComedyEllen DeGeneres grew up in Metairie, the sprawling suburb just west of New Orleans, and honed her comedy chops performing stand-up in the clubs an...
Master P: The Calliope Projects to a $250 Million Empire
Master P: The Calliope Projects to a $250 Million EmpirePercy Robert Miller—Master P—is one of the most remarkable self-made success stories in American business history, and he built it all from t...
Ruth Fertel: The Single Mom Who Built a Steak Empire
Ruth Fertel: The Single Mom Who Built a Steak EmpireRuth Fertel had no restaurant experience, no business degree, and no money to spare when she mortgaged her house in 1965 to buy a small steakhous...
Madame LaLaurie: The Monster on Royal Street
Madame LaLaurie: The Monster on Royal StreetDelphine LaLaurie is the darkest chapter in New Orleans history. A wealthy Creole socialite who hosted lavish parties in her mansion at 1140 Royal Street...
Jean Lafitte: The Pirate Who Saved America
Jean Lafitte: The Pirate Who Saved AmericaJean Lafitte is the most romantic figure in New Orleans history—a pirate, privateer, smuggler, spy, and unlikely war hero who operated out of the swamps an...
Trombone Shorty: The Future of New Orleans Music
Trombone Shorty: The Future of New Orleans MusicTroy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews got his nickname because he started playing a trombone nearly as big as he was when he was four years old. By six, he ...
Harry Connick Jr.: New Orleans’ Favorite Son
Harry Connick Jr.: New Orleans’ Favorite SonHarry Connick Jr. is what happens when New Orleans raises a kid right. Born in 1967 to a family steeped in both music and public service—his father, Harr...
Wynton Marsalis: The Man Who Brought Jazz Home
Wynton Marsalis: The Man Who Brought Jazz HomeWynton Marsalis is the most decorated jazz musician of his generation and arguably the most important ambassador the music has ever had. Born in Kenner...
Lil Wayne: Hollygrove’s Greatest Export
Lil Wayne: Hollygrove’s Greatest ExportDwayne Michael Carter Jr. was nine years old when he recorded his first song. By fifteen, he had a platinum album. By his mid-twenties, he was the biggest rap...
Michael Lewis: The Newman School Kid Who Explained the World
The Newman School Kid Who Explained the WorldMichael Monroe Lewis was born on October 15, 1960, in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father was a corporate attorney, his mother a community activist, and ...
Dave Bartholomew: The Man Behind Every Hit You Think Fats Domino Made Alone
The Man Behind Every Hit You Think Fats Domino Made AloneDave Bartholomew was born on Christmas Eve, 1918, in Edgard, Louisiana, a small town on the River Road between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. ...
Al Hirt: The King of Bourbon Street Had a Trumpet and a Smile
The King of Bourbon Street Had a Trumpet and a SmileAlois Maxwell Hirt was born on November 7, 1922, in New Orleans to a police officer's family. He got his first trumpet at age six from a local pa...
Douglas Brinkley: The Historian Who Wrote New Orleans Through the Storm
The Historian Who Wrote New Orleans Through the StormDouglas Brinkley arrived in New Orleans the way a lot of people do — following someone brilliant. In the early 1990s, he came to the University ...
Ken Thompson: The New Orleans Kid Who Co-Created Unix and Built the Internet's Foundation
The New Orleans Kid Who Built the Internet's FoundationKenneth Lane Thompson was born on February 4, 1943, in New Orleans, and he grew up to co-create Unix — the operating system that became the fo...
P.B.S. Pinchback: America's First Black Governor Called New Orleans Home
America's First Black GovernorPinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback was born free in Macon, Georgia, on May 10, 1837, the son of a white Mississippi planter and a formerly enslaved woman he had freed. ...
Reese Witherspoon: The New Orleans-Born Star Who Became Hollywood's Most Powerful Woman
Born in New Orleans, Raised Everywhere, Southern to the CoreLaura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon was born in New Orleans on March 22, 1976, while her father — a military surgeon — was stationed at the ci...
