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Find Out Which Famous Actor Is From Your State

Who's your celebrity mascot?

By Gregory E. Miller
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Most TV and movie magic may happen in Hollywood but it’s a town composed of people from all over. Just ask Meryl Streep, who praised Tinseltown as a necessary melting pot in her Golden Globes speech earlier this year. Call it the United States of Actors — from sea to shining sea, a list of famous thespians from each of the 50 states.

1

Alabama: Channing Tatum

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Magic Mike himself was born in Cullman, Alabama, a small town located about an hour north of Birmingham that the New York Times characterized in 2010 by noting its "steeples, grain elevators, striped barber poles, fireflies and wisteria." But sorry, Auburn fans — in the state’s greatest rivalry, Channing sides with the Crimson Tide.

2

Alaska: Jewel

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Jewel’s best known for her mid-‘90s hits like "Who Will Save Your Soul" and "You Were Meant for Me," but she’s also dabbled in acting with roles in movies such as Ride With the Devil and Hallmark Channel’s Ring of Fire. While born in Utah, Jewel was raised in Homer, Alaska, with no running water or heat. Still, she "loved it there," she writes on her website, in part because she got to ride "horses every day in the summer beneath the Alaskan midnight sun."

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3

Arizona: Emma Stone

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The La La Land star was born and raised in Scottsdale, just outside of Phoenix — a fact that played a prominent role in an Arizona teen’s promposal video to Emma that went viral. Their shared home town was offered as a selling point but she ultimately declined. She’s still the state’s pride and joy though — her win for the movie made her the first Arizona native to take home an acting trophy at the Oscars.

4

Arkansas: Billy Bob Thornton

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Billy Bob’s got industry cred for movies like Armageddon and Sling Blade, but chances are you know him from (1) being Bad Santa or (2) being married to Angelina Jolie for a couple of strange years. He was born in Hot Springs, which inspired him to narrate The First Boys of Spring, a documentary about the city’s role in the development of spring training in baseball.

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5

California: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

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The inclusion of Hollywood itself of course makes California the home state of boat loads of famous actors. But no name is bigger at the box office right now than The Rock’s. He was born in Hayward, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. He celebrated his hometown while filming the movie San Andreas with a tweet tagging the rally cry, #HaywardStrong.

6

Colorado: Amy Adam

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The Arrival and Enchanted star was born in Vicenza, Italy, where her father, a U.S. Army vet, was stationed. By the time Amy was 8 or 9 years old, the family put down roots in Castle Rock, Colorado.

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7

Connecticut: Allison Williams

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The Girls star, who also made a splash in Get Out this year, was born and raised in New Canaan. She’s recalled the area fondly, telling Boston Common magazine that "a large portion of [her] childhood was spent outdoors." She’d stick with Connecticut all the way through college — she graduated from New Haven’s Yale in 2010.

8

Delaware: Aubrey Plaza

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The Parks and Recreation breakout star grew up in Wilmington, attending an all-girls Catholic school. She got the acting bug after playing small parts in productions by the community theater group, Wilmington Drama League.

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9

Florida: Oscar Isaac

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The Sunshine State has its very own Star Wars hero in Oscar, who was born in Guatemala but raised in Miami from the age of 6. His home there was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 though, and the family moved to Delray Beach.

10

Georgia: Julia Roberts

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This Pretty Woman was born in Smyrna, part of the Atlanta metro area. Julia lived there all the way through high school before attending, but ultimately not graduating from, Georgia State University. She dropped out to pursue her dreams in NYC and the rest is history.

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11

Hawaii: Jason Momoa

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It’s fitting that Game of Thrones alum Jason will wield Aquaman’s trident in this fall’s Justice League — he’s a native of Honolulu on the island of Oahu. While he was raised in Iowa, he returned to Hawaii in his late teens and got his break on the TV show Baywatch Hawaii.

12

Idaho: Aaron Paul

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The Breaking Bad star was born a month premature on his mother’s bathroom floor in Emmett, Idaho, before growing up in Boise. "I think I kind of took it for granted when I was being raised there," he told Men’s Journal. "It was just a daily occurrence to be cliff jumping and floating down rivers." Aaron still has a home in the state, and for a while, you could even stay in it via Airbnb.

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13

Illinois: Melissa McCarthy

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Melissa was born in Plainfield, outside of Chicago, and grew up on a farm that the comedic superstar says is now a suburb. One of her elementary school teachers there served as the inspiration for Melissa’s character on Mike and Molly.

14

Indiana: Adam Driver

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He may be the big bad of the new Star Wars movies, but Driver is a hometown hero in Mishawaka, Indiana, where he was raised from the age of seven. The Hoosier poked fun at his small town past with a "Community Calendar" segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, in which he discussed upcoming "newsworthy" events such as a fish fry.

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15

Iowa: Ashton Kutcher

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The That ‘70s Show star was born and raised in Cedar Rapids until high school, when the family moved to Homestead. He continued his education at the University of Iowa before dropping out once he was discovered at a bar by a model scout.

16

Kansas: Janelle Monae

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Janelle may have rocketed to stardom as a singer but in 2016, her acting career reached new heights with the one-two punch of Moonlight and Hidden Figures. But before any of that happened, she grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, shopping at thrift and consignment stores to cultivate her signature style.

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17

Kentucky: Jennifer Lawrence

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Before she picked up Katniss Everdeen’s bow for the first time, Jennifer was born in Indian Hills, Kentucky, a suburb of Louisville. Growing up there, she was a cheerleader and played softball, field hockey, and even basketball on a boys’ team that her dad coached.

18

Louisiana: Tyler Perry

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While the entertainment mogul otherwise known as Madea endured many hardships in New Orleans, he’s still proud to call it his hometown. "I've always had this great … love and tremendous respect for the energy of the town," he’s said. That admiration was on full display in his 2016 broadcast of The Passion live from The Big Easy.

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19

Maine: Anna Kendrick

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Pitch Perfect’s HPIC (head pitch in charge) found Broadway success at the early age of 12. But she got her start in Portland, Maine, where she took dance classes and appeared in productions at Lyric Music Theater. She also returned to Portland in between gigs, including for her senior year of high school after completing her film debut in Camp.

20

Maryland: Jada Pinkett Smith

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As half of one of Hollywood’s most powerful couples, Jada lives a pretty bougie life these days. But as her Girls Trip co-star Tiffany Haddish recently reminded the world, Jada’s "from Baltimore, bitch!" Indeed, Jada had humble beginnings there before getting into the Baltimore School of the Arts, where she famously befriended Tupac.

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