The capital city of Arizona is also fifth on the list of the most populous city in the United States, after New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston, respectively. It is also the largest city in the state of Arizona, in terms of land area, and it has a lot to offer to both visitors and locals. From good souvenir shops and cultural shows to all-year-round summer activities, the city is definitely an enjoyable and memorable place to be.
Did you also know that there are famous and notable people who came from Phoenix, Arizona? Read on to learn about some of them.
Entertainment industry
These are just some of the people who were originally from Phoenix, Arizona, and made a mark in the entertainment industry:
Joan Ganz Cooney
Sesame Street would not be what it is now without Ganz Cooney as a co-founder and co-creator. She was tapped to create the show with the primary purpose of educating children, and she became the first executive director of CTW (Children’s Television Workshop). In 1988, Ganz received the National Woman’s Hall of Fame award and was also inducted in the Television Hall of Fame.
Lynda Carter
Known for her starring role as Diana Prince in the television series Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter was born on July 24, 1951, in Phoenix, Arizona where she also attended Arizona State University. In 1972, she won Miss World USA as a representative of Arizona, and that was how her nationwide fame started.
Athletes
There are hundreds of professional athletes that are from the Valley of the Sun, and here are some of them:
Ty Murray
Murray won nine championships in rodeo, and that is evidence of how good at the sport he was. He was also the youngest all-around rodeo champion when he competed in the Arizona High School Rodeo Championship where he led Arizona to its first-ever rodeo championship in the national high school level.
Darren Woodson
Woodson was considered one of the hardest hitters in the history of the NFL and was one of the fastest football players in the ‘90s. He spent his entire career in football with the Dallas Cowboys, from 1992 to 2003.
History makers
There are also history makers from Phoenix who had served and made an impact in the country. Here is a couple of them:
Cesar Chavez
People in California, Texas, and Colorado enjoy a state holiday every 31st of March, in celebration of Cesar Chavez’s birthday, even though he was from Phoenix, Arizona. Chavez was the co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association, a non-government organization that upheld the rights of farmers in a nonviolent way.
Barry Morris Goldwater
Barry Goldwater became a five-term senator representing the state of Arizona under the Republican Party. He was also a nominee for the presidential elections in 1964. He is famously referred to as Mr. Conservative as he was the front line in the American conservative political movement in the 1960s. He was adamant against the New Deal Coalition and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Phoenix, Arizona is definitely full of history, which can be attributed to the people that came from the state. Aside from the rich resources and warm weather, you will also enjoy the intelligence and ingenuity of the people from the Valley of the Sun.
