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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFlorida set to honor Jimmy Buffett with license plate, highway<\/p>\n
Proposals in the Florida House and Senate would create a Margaritaville license plate and name a state road after the late singer Jimmy Buffett.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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- The late singer Jimmy Buffett was voted the “Most Famous Floridian” in a USA TODAY Network-Florida poll.<\/li>\n
- Though not a native, Buffett moved to Key West in the ’70s, which profoundly influenced his music and lifestyle.<\/li>\n
- His iconic song “Margaritaville” was inspired by his experiences in Key West and led to a global brand of restaurants, resorts and more.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Florida has a long history of attracting the\u00a0rich<\/a>,\u00a0talented<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0famous<\/a>, while producing some\u00a0legends and icons<\/a>\u00a0itself. But which Florida-loving celebrity is the most famous of them all? According to five rounds of polling, it’s Mr. Margaritaville himself, the late, great Jimmy Buffett.<\/p>\n
The USA TODAY Network-Florida kicked off our search for the most famous Floridian on Aug. 27. And as of Sept. 30, we have a winner after five rounds of voting.<\/p>\n
The first poll asked readers to select 50 celebrities<\/a> from a non-exhaustive, staff-created list of 150 of the most famous Floridians and celebrities with ties to the state. The list was wide-ranging, covering living legends, deceased icons, Florida natives, “honorary” Floridians, celebs whose lives or careers have impacted the state’s culture, and even some who owned second or third homes here for years.<\/p>\n
Over the last five weeks, that list was narrowed down to just one person, who earned the reader-voted title of “Most Famous Floridian,” the late Jimmy Buffett, who lived in the state and was inspired to write many of his famous songs here.<\/p>\n
To celebrate Jimmy Buffett’s selection as the “Most Famous Floridian,” here’s a quick look back at his lifelong love affair with the state, and which other celebrities made the top 10 list.<\/p>\n
Buffett wasn’t born in Florida. Here’s where his story started<\/h2>\n
Despite what many think, Jimmy Buffett wasn’t a\u00a0native Floridian<\/a>. The late singer was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on Christmas Day 1946, and grew up in Mobile, Alabama.<\/p>\n