Florida has a long history of attracting the rich, talented and famous, while producing some legends and icons itself. But which one is the most famous?
The USA TODAY Network-Florida is continuing its search for the most famous Floridian. As of Sept. 24, we are down to just five people, including one historic figure and American inventor, three late musicians and singers and one late actor who was an FSU alumnus.
On Aug. 27, we published a staff-created list of 150 famous Floridians: living, deceased, natives, some who owned second or third homes here, and even including celebrities whose lives or careers have impacted Florida culture.
In the first round of polling, readers narrowed down their top 50 from that list. On Wednesday, Sept. 17, we published the fourth round of voting, which narrowed that list down from the top 10 to the top five. The fourth round of voting closed on Sunday, Sept. 21. Now, it’s time to choose the most famous Floridian of them all (see poll below).
Here’s how to vote (our poll is below), along with a list of some notable names that were eliminated from the poll in the first four rounds.
Snubbed! These Floridian celebrities didn’t make our ‘most famous’ list. See some we missed
See rules for ‘Famous Floridians’ 2025 draft, final round of voting
Our staff-created list covered a wide range of people and is not limited to just native Floridians. This list included famous people who once lived here, own second or third homes, and even people whose careers are or were closely tied to the Sunshine State.
Readers have already cast votes to narrow the list of 150 down to just five people, and we are entering our fifth and final round of voting. As of Sept. 24, the late, great Jimmy Buffett is still in the lead as the most famous Floridian, with Tom Petty in second place and Burt Reynolds in third.
The rules are simple: click the poll below and select your nomination for the most famous Floridian. The fifth poll will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 28. After the results are in, we will publish the results of who the most famous Floridian is on Wednesday, Oct. 2.
Here are the top five heading into the final round, in order of their ranking:
Singer and ‘Margaritaville’ creator Jimmy Buffett
Singer Jimmy Buffett performs during NBC’s ‘Today’ show Summer Concert Series in New York City, U.S., July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Despite what many think, the late Jimmy Buffett isn’t a native Floridian. The singer was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on Christmas Day 1946, and grew up in Mobile, Alabama.
According to the official Key West Margaritaville website, Buffett was first introduced to the Keys in 1972 when visiting his singer-songwriter friend, Jerry Jeff Walker, in Coconut Grove. It explained that Walker offered Buffett “refuge” since he was down on his luck after ending his marriage and not getting any offers for his music.
He soon fully moved to the Keys and worked on a fishing boat during the day while playing throughout the town’s streets at night. Once moving to Florida, he was completely hooked and fully embraced the Key West lifestyle — both his songs and his casual uniform of Hawaiian shirts, shorts and flip-flops.
Years later, his personal brand began expanding in 1985 with the opening of a string of Margaritaville-themed stores and restaurants in Key West, followed in 1987 with the first Margaritaville Café nearby. The brand has since expanded to dozens of categories, such as resorts, restaurants, food items, apparel and even cruise lines.
In addition to the Keys, Buffett also owned homes in Palm Beach. He died in September 2023 due to complications from Merkel-cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive skin cancer, with which he had been diagnosed four years earlier.
Rock musician Tom Petty
Tom Petty and his band the Heartbreakers.
One of the most iconic rock ‘n’ roll legends was born and raised in Gainesville: singer Tom Petty. He attended Howard Bishop Middle School and Gainesville High School.
He formed the band Mudcrutch in Gainesville in the years after graduating from high school. After they split, he later went on to create “Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers” in 1976 and the 1980s supergroup “The Traveling Wilburys” alongside Bob Dylan, Beatles guitarist George Harrison and Roy Orbison.
Petty died in October 2017 at age 66 after an accidental overdose.
Actor Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds was one of the most recognizable faces of the 1970s and 1980s. He appeared in hit movies such as “Smokey and the Bandit,” “The Longest Yard,” and “Deliverance.”
While the icon was born in Michigan, he moved to Riviera Beach in the sixth grade and attended Palm Beach High School. He attended Florida State University, where he played football for only parts of two seasons (1954 and 1957) due to injuries.
While he did not graduate, he was later awarded an honorary doctorate from FSU in 1981. Previously, he was inducted into the FSU Hall of Fame in 1977.
He had opened up restaurants in South Florida, including Po’Folks, which still has five locations left in Florida. Reynolds also founded the “Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre” in Jupiter in 1979, which later evolved into the “Maltz Jupiter Theatre” in 2004.
Reynolds was a minority owner of the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL from 1982 until they ceased operations in 1986.
He owned houses in Jupiter and Hobe Sound. Reynolds died of a heart attack at Jupiter Medical Center in Jupiter in September 2018.
Inventor and businessman Thomas Edison
American inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931).
While he was born in Ohio and raised in Michigan, inventor and businessman Thomas Edison certainly made his mark on Southwest Florida.
Edison purchased a 13-acre parcel of land along the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers and constructed his winter estate, which would later become known as “Seminole Lodge.” For decades, the Edison family, along with inventor Henry Ford, would spend their winters in the sunny oasis.
To this day, the city celebrates Edison with annual “Edison Festival of Light” parades. History buffs can explore his estate along the river, which is now referred to as the “Edison and Ford Winter Estates.”
Legendary singer Ray Charles
Musician Ray Charles performing at a microphone, c. 1960.
One of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, Ray Charles, was born in Albany, Georgia, and raised in rural Greenville, Florida, which is roughly 43 miles east of Tallahassee.
Born in the first year of the Great Depression, he grew up poor, but recalled his childhood as a happy time. Shortly after Charles witnessed the drowning death of his younger brother, at 5 years old, he started to lose his vision and was completely blind by the time he was 7.
His mother, who died shortly before his 15th birthday, was able to help him get accepted as a charity student at the Florida State School for the Deaf and the Blind, which at the time was known as the Institute for the Blind, Deaf and Dumb, in St. Augustine, Florida.
He eventually moved to Tampa, but found it hard to be a musician in Florida and moved to Seattle in 1948.
Charles eventually became one of the pioneers of soul music in the U.S. His first big solo hit was his 1954 single “I Got a Woman,” followed by now-classics like “Georgia on My Mind” and “Hit the Road Jack.”
Charles went on to win a total of 12 Grammy Awards in his lifetime.
POLL: Vote for who you think the most famous Floridian is
To vote in the fifth and final round of our “Famous Floridians” draft, click the poll below, select your submission from the list of five, and then click the “vote” button.
See some of the top names eliminated in the first four rounds
Curious which celebrities have already been eliminated in the first poll?
Here are just a few big names of the 100 that were kicked off in round one:
FOX personality Sean Hannity
Author Zora Neale Hurston
11-time World Surf League (WSL) champion from Cocoa Beach Kelly Slater
“Love Island” host Ariana Madix
Tiktoker and soon-to-be “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Alix Earle
First lady Melania Trump arrives to attend the opening night of “Les Miserables” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on June 11, 2025.
Here are a few of the big names of the 25 that were kicked off in round two:
Current Secretary of State and former U.S. Senator, born in Miami, Marco Rubio
Tennis GOAT Venus Williams
ADVERTISEMENTLate legendary TV artist and Florida native Bob Ross
First woman to serve as Attorney General and a Florida native, the late Janet Reno
Ariana Grande, among the most-streamed female artists, was born in Boca Raton
Pitbull, singer and rapper born and raised in Miami, known as “Mr. 305”
Maya Rudolph, SNL actress and comedian born in Gainesville
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, lives in Billionaire Bunker
Here are just a few big names of the 10 that were kicked off in round three:
Late wrestling icon Hulk Hogan
Former professional football player Emmitt Smith
American industrialist and business magnate Henry Ford, vacationed in Fort Myers
Former professional football player and coach for the Miami Dolphins Don Shula
Tennis GOAT Serena Williams, lives in Palm Beach Gardens
Here are the five names that were kicked off in round four:
Tim Tebow – Heisman Trophy, Florida Gators legend, raised in Jacksonville.
Jack Nicklaus – Golf GOAT, lives in North Palm Beach
Tiger Woods – Golf GOAT, lives in Jupiter
Gloria Estefan – Singer and actress, lives in Miami
Donald Trump – President of the United States, maintains a primary residence in Palm Beach
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Famous Floridians 2025, vote in final poll to pick the winner
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
