List of Bahamians
This is a list of Bahamians, who are identified with the Bahamas through residential, legal, historical, or cultural means, grouped by their area of notability.
Business people
- Pauline Allen-Dean – first woman to become manager of a commercial bank and the first woman to serve as managing director of a commercial bank
- Garet 'Tiger' Finlayson OBE – owner of Solomon Mines (luxury retail goods), Burns House and Butler & Sands
Entertainers
- Etta Cameron – jazz singer; based in Denmark; frontrunner of the Danish 1970s and 1980s music scene
- Wendy Coakley-Thompson – writer; author of the novels Back to Life (2004) and What You Won't Do for Love (2005)
- "King" Eric Gibson – entrepreneur and musician; semi-official Ambassador of Bahamian Goodwill
- Sharmond Smith Flute and Saxophonist
- Lenny Kravitz – actor, multi-instrumentalist, music arranger, record producer and rock singer-songwriter; son of Roxie Roker
- Shakara Ledard – super model
- Myles Munroe – televangelist
- Tia Mowry, actress
- Tamera Mowry, actress
- Sir Sidney Poitier – actor and diplomat; Ambassador of the Bahamas to Japan
- Roxie Roker – actress; known for role on the television series The Jeffersons
- Angelique Sabrina – teenage actor, dancer and singer-songwriter
- Persia White – actress; known for role on the television series Girlfriends
Journalists
- Mary Moseley – editor of the Nassau Guardian from 1904 to 1952
Politicians
- Perry Christie – became Prime Minister of the Bahamas in 2012
- Frederick Gottlieb, former MP and FNM activist
- Hubert Ingraham – former Prime Minister of the Bahamas
- Sir Lynden Pindling – former Prime Minister of the Bahamas
- Allan Glaisyer Minns – First Black Mayor in Britain
Sportspeople
- Deandre Ayton – No.1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, NBA player for Phoenix Suns[1]
- Shaunae Miller – Professional sprinter
- Edner Cherry – professional boxer
- André Deveaux – retired professional NHL ice hockey player
- Yves Edwards – mixed martial artist
- Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie – Olympian/Golden Girl and sprint athlete
- Rick Fox – actor and retired professional basketball player; former National Basketball Association player for the Los Angeles Lakers
- Eric Gordon – NBA player[2]
- Steven Gardiner – Professional sprinter
- Buddy Hield – NBA player; consensus NCAA Division I player of the year in 2015–16[3]
- Tureano Johnson- Boxer
- Mark Knowles – professional tennis player
- Antoan Richardson – Major League baseball player and coach
- Myron Rolle – professional football player; former National Football League player for the Tennessee Titans; Rhodes scholar
- Kimbo Slice – streetfighter turned mixed martial artist
- Ryan Sweeting – professional tennis player
- Klay Thompson – NBA player for the Golden State Warriors[4]
- Mychal Thompson – professional basketball player; former National Basketball Association player for the Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Lakers; nicknamed "Sweet Bells"[5]
- Tonique Williams-Darling – 2004 Olympic gold medalist (400m), 2005 IAAF World Champion, she split the Golden League – Million Dollar Jackpot ($500,000) by winning eight consecutive 400m events in the championship series; Bahamian government named a major highway the "Tonique Williams-Darling Highway"
Celebrities and billionaires
The Bahamas has one of the largest registers of celebrities who reside permanently or have legal residential status in a country not of their native birth, hometown or place of origin. This is primarily due to the favourable financial sector that is tax free (from income, capital gains, inheritance, among others[6]) and is one of the top three worldwide centres in offshore banking. Also, there is a high-quality tourism product, ranking first in the Caribbean and Atlantic region among island destinations. Another is a favorable immigration policy toward wealthy nationals. Those who invest $500,000 in property can be eligible for permanent residential status.[6]
- Nicolas Cage - owns estate residence on Paradise Island and a private island in the Exuma chains.[7]
- Mariah Carey - owns a house on Windermere, a private island connected to Eleuthera, where she married Nick Cannon in 2008.[8]
- Sean "Diddy" Combs[6]
- Sean Connery - owned a property in Lyford Cay; has lived in the Bahamas since the 1990s[9]
- David Copperfield
- Johnny Depp - owns private island[6]
- Rick Fox - Bahamian/Canadian
- Bill Gates[10]
- Michael Jordan
- Lenny Kravitz[6]
- Joe Lewis (British businessman) - British billionaire (347th richest person on Forbes list of billionaires[11]), owns a property in Lyford Cay
- Terry Manning - American record producer, operator of Compass Point Studios
- Tim McGraw and Faith Hill - own private island[6]
- Shakira Mebarak[6]
- Eddie Murphy[12]
- Daniel Nestor
- Peter Nygard - Canadian billionaire[9]
- Stephen O'Brien Politician
- Mike Oldfield - guitarist/composer(Tubular Bells etc.)
- Sidney Poitier - Bahamian
- Anna Nicole Smith (28 November 1967 – 8 February 2007)[6]
- John Travolta[6]
- Tiger Woods - owns the Albany Estate
- Louis Bacon - Louis Moore Bacon is a billionaire American investor, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist. Owns property in Lyford Cay.
See also
- Bahamian Americans
- List of Bahamian Americans
- Afro-Bahamians
- African diaspora in the Americas
- Afro-Caribbean
- List of people on stamps of the Bahamas
- List of residents of the Bahamas
References
- "DeAndre Ayton, 'son of the soil'". www.theundefeated.com. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- "Eric Gordon brings back memories – The Nassau Guardian". www.thenassauguardian.com. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- "Buddy Hield's March from Bahamas to NBA motivated by family". www.closeup360.com. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- "Why Klay Thompson holds firmly to his Bahamian roots". www.sfchronicle.com. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- "Mychal Thompson honored with street in his name – The Nassau Guardian". www.thenassauguardian.com. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- Jessica Robertson (1 February 2007). "Bahamas a Magnet for Celebs Seeking Sun". The Associated Press. Washington Post. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- "Cage Helps Develop Bahamas Indie Cinema". The Associated Press. Fox News. 9 December 2006.
- Access Hollywood (2 May 2008). "Mariah Carey reportedly marries in Bahamas - Tourism official says singer tied the knot on Windermere Island". MSNBC. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- Boffey, D. (12 July 2014). "Sean Connery joins Bahamas campaign to stop billionaire developing mansion". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- Theme Park Review, "Celebrities in the Bahamas".
- "Joe Lewis profile". Forbes. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- Private Islands Magazine, "Eddie Murphy - Rooster Cay, Bahamas"