COMMUNITY
Renowned residents
By Ross Williams
rwilliams@mdjonline.com
Cobb County has seen many influential and notable people come
from within its borders, and many still call the county home.
Here’s a list of just some of Cobb’s well-known locals.
TV & FILM
“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.
West Cobb meteorologist Jen Carfagno, better known as the
“dewpoint diva” appears on The Weather Channel, which has its
headquarters in Cumberland.
Actor Lucas Till, who played superhero Havok in Marvel’s
X-Men series and the titular secret agent in the “MacGyver” TV
remake is a graduate of Kell High School and lived in Kennesaw.
Food guru and TV personality Alton Brown lives in Marietta
and is shooting his latest show in town.
Alan Ball, an award-winning writer, director and producer
perhaps best known for writing “American Beauty” and creating
“Six Feet Under” and “True Blood,” was born in Marietta. So was
Robert Patrick, an actor best known for his villainous roles, such
as the T-1000 in “Terminator 2.”
Lennon Parham, an actress and comedian from the Upright Citizens
Theater, was born in Marietta. You may remember her from
“Horrible Bosses 2” and “Confessions of a Shopaholic.”
Ty Pennington, best known for improving the domiciles of
deserving homeowners on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,”
attended Sprayberry High School in east Cobb before studying at
Kennesaw State University.
Filmmaker Chris Wyatt, best known for producing comedy “Napoleon
Dynamite,” is a graduate of Marietta’s Walker School.
Jeff Small, co-chief executive officer and president of Amblin
Partners and Dreamworks, is also a Marietta native.
28 FACTBOOK 2020
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,
followed a similar path.
Pop singer and songwriter Jennifer Paige also got her start in her
hometown of Marietta, where she sang in local restaurants and coffee
shops. Guitarist Robin Finck also started in Marietta and went
on to play with bands including Nine Inch Nails and Guns N’ Roses.
Rapper Miles Parks McCollum, better known as Lil Yachty, hails
from Mableton. Another lil rapper, Montero Lamar Hill, who performs
under the name Lil Nas X, spent time in Cobb growing up.
The man who would go on to compose the country-rap crossover
hit “Old Town Road,” lived with his dad in Austell and worked at Six
Flags while working on his music career.
Ronald “Ron” Pope, who wrote the hit song “A Drop in the
Ocean,” grew up in Cobb and attended Wheeler High School. Marco
Restrepo, who wrote the hit song “Get Up & Go” under the name A.
Tone Da Priest, was born in Marietta and grew up in Atlanta.
Chris and Rich Robinson, founding members of the Black Crowes,
went to Walton High School.
Brandon Stanton, a Marietta native, is a photographer, blogger
and author of “Humans of New York.” Since 2010, Stanton has taken
hundreds of portraits of people living and working primarily in New
York City, accompanied by bits of conversations about their lives. He
has also traveled outside of the United States, capturing people and
their lives in more than 20 countries, including Iran, Iraq, Uganda,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine, Vietnam, and Mexico.
After forming at McEachern High School, Christian rock band
Third Day went on to win multiple Grammy Awards.
The creators of “Elf on the Shelf,” the Christmas tradition where a
little elf hides around the house, 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,
JOANNE WOODWARD JULIA ROBERTS TRAVIS TRITT BRANDON STANTON
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