20 Stars Who Hail From Rhode Island

It may be the country's smallest state, but Rhode Island has been the home of some big stars. From Academy Award winners to that actor you know you've seen, but just can't place, you may be surprised at some of the celebrities who were born in the Ocean State.

Rhode Island has a population of just over 1 million people and some of those people have definitely made names for themselves over the years. While some may think the state's biggest star is Nibbles Woodaway, the Big Blue Bug watching over I-95, there are a few other entertainers from the Ocean State, too.

Perhaps most well known to the SouthCoast is broadcaster Meredith Vieira.

Vieira was born in Providence to first-generation Portuguese-Americans and all four of her grandparents hail from the Azores (something many SouthCoasters can relate to). She grew up just over the Massachusetts border in East Providence, but presumably made her way to a feast or two back in the day.

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Lesser-known actress Arden Myrin was born in Little Compton but also has SouthCoast ties. She attended Friends Academy in Dartmouth through middle school before breaking out of New England to appear in 28 feature films and over 50 TV shows in her career. So, you have probably seen her face somewhere. In 2020, she published her memoir, "Little Miss Little Compton."

There has also been a laundry list of reality stars from Rhode Island, several beauty queens and even some top-of-their-sport athletes.

Scroll through our gallery of Rhode Island celebrities and see how many you knew were from the Ocean State.