Chances are that when people think of Washington state they immediately think of something like the Space Needle or our great outdoors. They might think about a certain coffee chain that originated from here or our cloudy weather. But in reality Washington is so much more than these things. Washington state is also the home to many famous people, from influential actors to extremely well known bands.
Washington is home to lots of influential people, with many being extremely close to home. Lily Gladstone graduated from Mountlake Terrace High School in 2004. Gladstone went on to become an actor, having major roles in “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Fancy Dance.” She then went on to become the first ever Indigenous person to win an acting Golden Globe which are awards that are given to people who show excellence in films. They also went on to become the first Indigenous person to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress as well as other awards. Also, actors like Chris Pratt lived in Washington. Pratt moved as a young child and graduated from Lake Stevens High School. Some of his more famous roles include Peter Quill or Star-lord in “Guardians of the Galaxy” as well as being the voice actor of Emmet Brickowski from “The Lego Movie.” He has become one of the highest grossing film stars of all time, this means that he has one of the biggest revenues out of all film stars.
Another famous actor who grew up in Washington is Rainn Wilson who attended Shorecrest High School and is a UW graduate. Wilson would then go on to star as Dwight from “The Office.”
Among all of these influential actors there was also Alexis Denisof from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Jeffery Dean Morgan who would go on to play in “Supernatural,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Walking Dead,” as well as Sydney Sweeney who grew up in Spokane.
There are numerous actors who have come from and lived all over Washington but there’s also so much more than that. Washington state also has a bustling music industry. Seattle has been nicknamed the “birthplace of grunge” and has contributed greatly to the music scene. While there are a bunch of different music types that have found their home in Washington state other than punk, rock and grunge music. Washington is the home of famous bands Nirvana, Melvens, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Modest Mouse. Nirvana was founded in Aberdeen during the 1980s. The band found global popularity during the ’90s and has since sold over 75 million records across the world. Despite the band’s tragic disbanding it is still regarded very highly.
Another very influential band is Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam was founded in Seattle in 1990 and is considered to be one of the most popular rock bands of the decade. While Nirvana has sold a large amount of records since their debut Pearl Jam had sold 25 million more than them by 2018. Another great musician was Jimi Hendrix who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during 1992. To this day he is regarded as one of the best and most influential guitarists of all times. Other musicians that are from Washington are people like Benson Boone from Monroe, and Bing Crosby from Tacoma.
And Washington also has a large presence in sports. Hilary Knight has won 10 gold medals at the IHF World Women’s Championship for hockey, she has also won two gold in the Olympics. She’s originally from California but currently works for Seattle Torrent which is the women’s hockey team in Seattle. Knight isn’t the only Olympian who lives in Washington though, Novie McCabe is a winter Olympian who competes in skiing. She was able to score in the top 10 in the 4x5k relay in the 2022 Olympics. She grew up in Winthrop which is in the North Cascades. Another person from Washington state who’s in the Olympics is Luc Violette. Violette grew up in Edmonds and attended Edmonds College. He’s a curler who has many titles under his belt. In his youth he won many junior competitions and participated in the Olympics. Olympians aren’t the only Washingtonian athletes though, our state is filled with other amazing athletes that it would take hours just to list them all off!
So while Washington may be known for our dreary weather and our coffee, we’re also known for all the people who’ve lived and grown here.
Who knows, maybe you or the kid who sits at the desk next to you will be the next person people think about when talking about Washington.
