To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Louisiana Creoles or must have references showing they are Louisiana Creoles and are notable.
Paul Barbarin (1899–1969) – New Orleans jazz drummer, usually regarded (along with Baby Dodds) as one of the best of the pre-
Big Band era jazz drummers
Achille Baquet (1885–1955) – jazz clarinetist and saxophonist
Dave Bartholomew (1918–2019) – musician, band leader, composer and arranger, prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century[5]
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) – artist famous for his paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings; cousin of
Norbert Rillieux; eldest of five children of Célestine Musson De Gas, a Creole from New Orleans, and Augustin De Gas, a banker
Fats Domino (1928–2017) – classic R&B and rock and roll singer, songwriter and pianist[27]
Rockin' Dopsie (1932–1993) – leading zydeco musician and button accordion player who enjoyed popular success first in Europe and later in the United States
Illinois Jacquet (1922–2004) – jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "
Flying Home", critically recognized as the first
R&B saxophone solo[34]
Russell Jacquet (1917–1990) – trumpeter. He was the elder brother of well-known tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet, who he worked with through the years.
Al Jarreau (1940–2017) – singer and musician. He received a total of seven
Grammy Awards and was nominated for over a dozen more. Jarreau is perhaps best known for his 1981 album Breakin' Away.[35][36]
Alvin J. Boutte (1929–2012) — founder and CEO of the largest Black-owned bank in the United States, civil rights activist, Chicago civic leader
Robert Brevelle (born 1977) - entrepreneur, venture capitalist and professor. Councilman of the
Adai Caddo Indian Nation and lineal descendant of the founders of historic
Isle Brevelle, the birthplace of Louisiana Creole Culture.[80]
Lurita Doan (born 1958) – businesswoman, political commentator, and former political appointee; administrator of the United States
General Services Administration, the government's contracting agency, 2006–2008, during the administration of Republican U.S. President
George W. Bush[81]
Roy F. Guste – author of ten Louisiana French-Creole cuisine cookbooks; fifth-generation proprietor of New Orleans' famed Antoine's Restaurant, established in 1840
Thomy Lafon (1810–1893) – businessman, philanthropist, and human rights activist
Austin Leslie (1934–2005) – internationally famous New Orleans chef whose work defined "Creole Soul"
Rosette Rochon (1767) – daughter of Pierre Rochon, a shipbuilder from a Québécois family (family name was Rocheron in
Québec), and his mulâtresse slave-consort Marianne, who bore him five other children. Rochon came to speculate in real estate in the
French Quarter; she eventually owned rental property, opened grocery stores, made loans, bought and sold mortgages, and owned and rented out (hired out) slaves.
Desiree Rogers (born 1959) – former White House Social Secretary and businesswoman[89]
Earl Barthe (1922–2010) – plasterer and plastering historian
Brian J. Costello (born 1966) – historian, author, archivist and humanitarian. He is an 11th generation resident of
New Roads, Louisiana, seat of
Pointe Coupee Parish. He is three-quarters French and one-quarter Italian in ethnicity. He is a recognized, and one of the few remaining, speakers of
Louisiana Creole French, having been immersed in childhood in the
dialect spoken in Pointe Coupee Parish.[90]
Toi Derricotte (born 1941) – poet and a professor of writing at the University of Pittsburgh
Etnah Rochon Boutte (1880-1973) — educator, pharmacist, an activist; executive secretary of the Circle for Negro War Relief; co-founder,
NAACP Anti-Lynching Crusaders
Aristide Laurent (1941–2011) – publisher and LGBT civil rights advocate; co-founded The Los Angeles Advocate (now known as The Advocate) in 1967 with Sam Allen, Bill Rau, and Richard Mitch
Dan Desdunes (1870–1929) – civil rights activist and musician in New Orleans and Omaha
Rodolphe Desdunes (1849–1928) – civil rights activist, poet, historian, journalist, and customs officer primarily active in New Orleans
Jean Noel Destrehan (1754–1823) – politician in Louisiana and one-time owner of
Destréhan Plantation, one of Louisiana's most famous antebellum historical landmarks
Edwin Edwards (1927–2021) – served as the 50th
governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1980, 1984–1988 and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as any other Louisiana chief executive
Valerie Jarrett (born 1956) – senior advisor and assistant to the president for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Obama administration; lawyer and businesswoman. Jarrett is a descendant of French colonist
Charles Rochon[114][115]
François Xavier Martin (1762–1846) – jurist and author, the first Attorney General of State of Louisiana, and longtime Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
[19/politics/rice.morgan_1_corn-bread-fried-chicken-condoleezza-rice?_s=PM:POLITICS "Condoleezza Rice: 'I cannot imagine myself running for office'"]
Archived March 14, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine, "cnn.com", January 19, 2011</ref>
Russel L. Honoré (born 1947) – commanding general of the U.S. First Army in Fort Gillem, Georgia, and commander of Joint Task Force Katrina responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for
Hurricane Katrina-affected areas across the
Gulf Coast[137]
^Lee Collins, Mary Spriggs Collins, Frank Gillis, John W. Miner, Oh, Didn't He Ramble: The Life Story of Lee Collins, University of Illinois Press, 1989, pg. 80
^Linda Dahl, Stormy Weather: The Music and Lives of a Century of Jazz Women, Limelight Edition, 1995, pg. 110
^Robert Baron, Ana C. Cara, Creolization as Cultural Creativity, University Press of Mississippi, 2011, pg. 58
^William Carter, Preservation Hall: Music from the Heart, Bayou Press Ltd, 1991, pg. 52
^Thomas Brothers, Louis Armstrong's New Orleans, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2006, pg. 195
^"John Boutté: New Orleans Jazz Vocalist".
Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Born into a large Creole family that goes back seven generations in Louisiana, he was exposed to music early in life, soaking up New Orleans jazz, soul, blues and gospel, then adding his own Creole traditions along the way.
^Wirt, John (September 5, 1993). "Music's In Her Blood: Inez Catalon's Creole Heritage Evident in the Variety of Songs She Sings". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA. p. MAG section, 15.
^
abJoseph, Pat (Spring 2011).
"Killing the Serpent". California.
Cal Alumni Association.
Archived from the original on April 27, 2012. The painter Robert Colescott, who died in 2009 at age 83, is often remembered as the first African American to earn a solo exhibit in the Venice Biennale—a milestone not reached, incredibly, until 1997. In truth, Colescott was of Creole stock, mixed in race and culture. His parents, both musicians, emigrated from New Orleans to Oakland in no small part to be near the University of California.
^Matt Sakakeeny, Roll With It: Brass Bands in the Streets of New Orleans, Duke University Press, 2013, pg 17
^Vacher, Peter (August 8, 2002).
"Harold Dejan". The Guardian.
Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
^David Evans, Ramblin' on My Mind: New Perspectives on the Blues, University of Illinois Press, 2008, pg. 386
^Arthur Bradley, On and Off the Bandstand: A Collection of Essays Related to the Great Bands, the story of jazz, and the years when there was non-vocal popular music for adults, iUniverse Inc., 2005
^Ivy Crane Wilson, Hollywood in the 1940s: the stars' own stories, Frederick Ungar Pub. Co, 1980, pg. 123
^James Lincoln Collier, Louis Armstrong: An American Genius, Oxford University Press, 1983, pg. 253
^Barney Bigard, Barry Martyn, With Louis and the Duke: The Autobiography of a Jazz Clarinetist, Macmillan Press, 1985 pg. 16
^Sanchez, Brenna (2003).
"E., Sheila: 1957—: Percussionist, Singer, Composer, Producer". Contemporary Hispanic Biography. Encyclopedia.com.
Archived from the original on August 27, 2014. She is the first born of Latin jazz percussionist Pete, who is Mexican-American, and Juanita Escovedo, who is Creole, meaning part French and part black.
^Susan Tucker, Beth Willinger, Newcomb College, 1886–2006: Higher Education for Women in New Orleans, Louisiana State University Press, 2012
^"Italian Vogue". Archived from
the original on August 18, 2011. A refined, harmonious beauty that reflects her own genetic mix: her father is part Blackfoot Indian and her mother is a Louisiana Creole.
^B. James Gladstone, The Man Who Seduced Hollywood: The Life and Loves of Greg Bautzer, Tinseltown's Most Powerful Lawyer, Chicago Review Press, 2013, pg. 48
^"AA Registry".
Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Born Elizabeth Landreaux, she was a light-skinned Creole who was born on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, LA.
^Kristin G. Congdon, Kara Kelley Hallmark, American Folk Art: A Regional Reference, Volume 1, ABC-CLIO, 2012, pg. 249
^"Chicago History Encyclopedia".
Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Beginning as a portraitist in the 1910s, Motley subsequently explored his African and southern Creole roots, Mexican culture, and life in Chicago's 'Bronzeville.'
^Idris Muhammad, Inside The Music: The Life Of Idris Muhammad: The Life Of Idris Muhammad, Xlibris, 2012
^Charles B. Hersch, Subversive Sounds: Race and the Birth of Jazz in New Orleans, University of Chicago Press, 2007, pg. 154
^Lee Collins, Mary Spriggs Collins, Frank Gillis, John W. Miner, Oh, Didn't He Ramble: The Life Story of Lee Collins, University of Illinois Press, 1989, pg. 15
^Jessie Carney Smith, Notable Black American Women, Book 2, Gale Research Inc., 1996, pg. 525
^Alan Lomax, Mister Jelly Roll: The Fortunes of Jelly Roll Morton, New Orleans Creole and "Inventor of Jazz", University of California Press, 1973, pg. 101
^"French Creoles".
Archived from the original on September 8, 2011. The first person of color (Creole) to buy a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, Doley now runs an investment firm that has offices in New York and New Orleans.
^Michel S. Laguerre, American Odyssey: Haitians in New York City, Cornell University Press, 1984, p. 161
^Joan Schenka, Truly Wilde: The Unsettling Story of Dolly Wilde, Oscar's Niece, Da Capo Press, 2001, pg. 59
^Carol Krismann, Encyclopedia of American Women in Business: A-L, Greenwood Press, 2005, pg. 340
^Rossiter Johnson, John Howard Brown, The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, The Biographical Society, 1904
^"Yahoo News".
Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. According to local legends recorded at FoundSF.com, Pleasant was a person of African heritage who lived as a white woman during the mid-1800s. However, she was never far from her Creole ancestry and was a secret agent for the Underground Railroad. After she moved from the Canadian border to New Orleans, Pleasant allegedly studied under the voodoo high priestess Marie Laveau.
^{{Louisiana State Senate records on-line begin with the year 1880."Pierre Bossier", A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography, Vol. 1 (1988), p. 92 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress David Colvin,"Bossier's Forgotten Man," Shreveport Times, October 24, 1965 Clifton D. Cardin Bossier Parish historian, The Diary of John Quincy Adams}}
^Beverly Jacques Anderson, Cherished Memories: Snapshots of Life and Lessons from a 1950s New Orleans Creole Village, iUniverse, 2011, pg. 139
^James Carville, Had Enough?: A Handbook for Fighting Back, Simon & Schuster, 2003, pg. 22
^Sacher, John M. (2003).
A Perfect War of Politics. LSU Press.
ISBN9780807128480. "To counteract the threat posed by Mouton's popularity among the district's Creole population, Bullard adroitly allied himself with Creole Jacques Dupre, a longtime legislator with unrivaled influence in southwestern Louisiana"
^"Transcripts".
Archived from the original on November 14, 2011. "And, you know, it's true that I do find my ancestral roots back in Natchitoches (ph), Louisiana, Cane River, Louisiana, 1742. I go back – I'm about as American as they come."
^"Civil War Reference". Archived from
the original on April 6, 2012. "He was frequently mentioned by General Pierce in his reports as the gallant young Creole colonel."
^"Wordpress". Archived from
the original on March 7, 2011. "Valerie Jarrett, a Senior Adviser on Public Information and Intergovernmental Affairs to U.S. President Barack Obama, is a great-granddaughter of Victor Rochon."
^Leslie Derfler, Paul Lafargue and the Founding of French Marxism, 1842–1882, Harvard University Press, 1991, pp. 13–14
^Andrew Valls, Race and Racism in Modern Philosophy, Cornell University Press, 2005, pg. 23
^Clyde Woods, Development Drowned and Reborn: The Blues and Bourbon Restorations in Post-Katrina New Orleans, University of Georgia Press, 2017, pg. 213
^"Sunshine Review". Archived from
the original on October 12, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2011. "Nagin was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to a Creole family."
^"Best of New Orleans". Archived from
the original on July 21, 2012. A French Creole, he was born in 1899 and grew up on Kerlerec Street in the 7th Ward with 10 brothers and sisters.
^"Voices".
Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Alice Dunbar Nelson was born Alice Ruth Moore into the Creole society of New Orleans in 1875.
^Donald Pizer, American Expatriate Writing and the Paris Moment: Modernism and Place, Louisiana State University Press, 1997, pg. 48
^edited by Jefferson Humphries, John Lowe, John W. Lowe, The Future of Southern Letters, Oxford University Press, 1997, pg. 92
^Ward, Jesmyn (May 14, 2015).
"Cracking the Code". The New Yorker.
Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
^"JD News". Archived from
the original on May 16, 2012. The Lejeune family, who are natives of Baton Rouge, La., prefer the French-Creole pronunciation and Brent said they "cringe" when they hear it pronounced otherwise.
^Christophe Landry, A Creole Melting Pot: the Politics of Language, Race, and Identity in southwest Louisiana, 1918–45
^James L. Newman, Encountering Gorillas: A Chronicle of Discovery, Exploitation, Understanding, and Survival, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2013, p. 23
^Virginia R. Dominguez, White by Definition: Social Classification in Creole Louisiana, Rutgers University Press, 1986, pg. 159
^Press, ed. (1989).
"Folklife in the Florida Parishes". Louisiana Folklife Program, Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
^"Fanbase". Archived from
the original on November 2, 2013. Paul Sentell now takes the Honor of Being the first Player of Color to play in the Major Leagues as he was a French Creole from Louisiana.
^Cécile Accilien, Jessica Adams, Elmide Méléance, Ulrick Jean-Pierre, Revolutionary Freedoms: A History of Survival, Strength and Imagination in Haiti, Caribbean Studies Press, 2006, pp. 44–45