Appalachian Americans
· Noah Adams, reporter, West Virginia
· James Agee, poet and author, born in East Tennessee
· Marilou Awiakta, poet and author, raised in East Tennessee
· Bill Bass, forensic scientist, East Tennessee
· June Carter and the Carter Family, singers and songwriters, Southwest Virginia
· Jennifer Garner, actress, raised in West Virginia
· Henry Louis Gates, scholar, raised in West Virginia
· Mary Lou Retton, Olympic Gold Medal gymnast, raised in West Virginia
· Walter Reuther, one of the most influential labor leaders in the 20th century, born in West Virginia