Florida has a long history of attracting the rich, talented and famous, while producing some legends and icons itself. But which one is the most famous?
The USA TODAY Network-Florida is continuing its search for the most famous Floridian. Last week, we compiled and published a list of 150 famous Floridians: living, deceased, natives, and some who owned second or third homes here, as well as celebrities whose lives have impacted Florida culture.
In the first round of polling, readers narrowed down their top 50 from that list. Whereas only 11 celebrities from the Central Florida made the top 50, only two remain and are eligible to make the top 25: Dale Earnhardt and Bob Ross.
Now, it’s time to choose the top 25 most famous Floridians.
See rules for ‘Famous Florida’ 2025 draft
Our staff-created list covers a wide range of people and is not limited to just native Floridians.
This list includes famous people who once lived here, own second or third homes here, and even people whose careers are closely tied to the Sunshine State, such as the late, great Dale Earnhardt, who once owned a pirate-themed home in Key West and tragically died in a crash at the end of the 2001 Daytona 500.
The rules are simple: visit the poll below and select your nominations for the top 25 most famous celebrities with Florida ties. There will be five rounds of voting, culminating in a reader-voted “most famous Floridian” title for one of the people on the list.
This is not an exhaustive list, since it was created by staff submissions. Did we miss someone? Let us know!
Who are those with ties the Daytona Beach-Orlando area to make the original list?
Who from the Daytona Beach-Orlando area made top 50?
Here are the celebrities associated with the Daytona Beach-Orlando area who readers vote as one of the top 50 famous Floridians:
Vote in round two below:
Who else did we miss? Take the survey
Since this is a list made by humans, there could be other famous Floridians and people with ties to Florida that we missed. Here are a few honorable mentions with from the Daytona Beach-Orlando area:
Can you think of any? Submit your “snubs” with the survey below.
May the best Floridian win!
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Who is the most famous Floridian? Bob Ross, Dale Earnhardt make top 50
Reporting by Ashley Ferrer, Lianna Norman and Samantha Neely, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
