COMMUNITY
Renowned residents
Staff reports
Many influential people have come from Cobb
County. Here’s a list of some of them.
TV & FILM
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson became a Cobb
County homeowner when he closed on a 46-acre
estate near Powder Springs in October 2019. Johnson
rose to fame as a WWE wrestler after a back injury
in the mid-1990s ended his NFL career, according to
IMDb.com. He has starred in movies including the
2017 “Baywatch,” 2016’s “Moana” and is attached to a
number of other projects in pre-production.
“America’s sweetheart” Julia Roberts hails from
Smyrna, while another Academy Award-winning
actress, Joanne Woodward, moved to Marietta when she
was in second grade and attended Marietta High School.
Woodward would go on to marry actor Paul Newman.
Actress and comedian Brett Butler, best known for
starring in sitcom “Grace Under Fire,” is a Marietta native.
Food guru and TV personality Alton Brown lives
in Marietta and shot in town for the “Good Eats”
comeback “Good Eats: The Return.”
ARTS & CULTURE
Country superstar and Marietta native Travis Tritt
began writing music while attending Sprayberry High
School. His family has deep Cobb roots — Post Oak
Tritt Road and Tritt Elementary School, both in east
Cobb, were named for his grandfather, Will Tritt.
Budding country music star Zach Seabaugh got
his start in Marietta before attaining fame appearing
on “The Voice.” In 2019, Cobb native Carter Horne,
a graduate of Sprayberry High School, competed on
“The Voice” and in the next season later that year, Alex
Guthrie of Marietta appeared on the show.
Lil Nas X, or Montero Lamar Hill, grew up for much
of his childhood in Austell with his dad. The rapper best
known for the country rap hit “Old Town Road” worked
at Six Flags while he was developing his music career.
Rapper Miles Parks McCollum, better known as Lil
Yachty, hails from Mableton.
Brandon Stanton, a Marietta native, is a photographer,
blogger and author of “Humans of New York.”
The creators of “Elf on the Shelf,” the Christmas
book that since publication in 2005 has seen
millions of people invite a little elf into their homes
during the holidays, mother Carol Aebersold and
twin daughters Chanda Bell and Christa Pitts, are
Cobb County natives.
Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon,
of Vinings, is widely regarded as one of the best
directors on Broadway. In recent years, he has
turned his sights to television, winning acclaim for
directing live TV versions of musicals like “The Wiz”
and “Hairspray.” Another Tony winner, singer and
actor Shuler Paul Hensley, grew up in Marietta. The
Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards are
named in Schuler’s honor.
SPORTS
Cobb has had more than its fair share of
accomplished athletes come from the area, including
2019 FIFA World Cup champion Emily Sonnett, a
Marietta resident.
Another soccer star was born in Kennesaw: Jane
Campbell was the youngest goalkeeper ever called to
KENNY
LEON
DWAYNE JOHNSON
“THE ROCK”
JULIA
ROBERTS
JOANNE
WOODWARD
28 FACTBOOK 2021
/IMDb.com