Who’sWho OUT-OF-TOWNERS KATHY BATES Winner of 1991 Best Actress Oscar for her role as deranged fan in Stephen King’s Misery. Began acting career at White Station High School. Made film debut in 1971’s Taking Off. Received Oscar nominations for Primary Colors and About Schmidt. Emmy nomination for HBO series Six Feet Under. Also known for her roles in Fried Green Tomatoes, Titanic, and Revolutionary Road. In 2009 played Michael Oher’s tutor in the Oscar-winning blockbuster The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock as Memphis mom LeAnne Tuohy. Won an Emmy for her memorable guest performance as the ghost of Charlie Sheen’s character in a 2012 episode of Two and a Half Men. Recently co-starred in the television series, American Horror Story: Coven, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Delphine LaLaurie and nominated for a Golden Globe in 2015 for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Ethel Darling in the following season, American Horror Story: Freak Show. DARIUS BENSON Known in the Vine and YouTube community as Mr. LegenDarius. Twentyone-year-old native Memphian began creating Vines (six-second videos) in 2013 while studying engineering at the University of Memphis. Became an Internet celebrity after one of his videos, the first in a series called “Hip Hop Disney,” went viral, generating 300,000 “likes” and making it to the “popular Vines” page. Was then featured in Vine compilation “WorldStarHipHop” and gained more attention as a social media smash success. Has received sponsorships from Pringles and Microsoft. Joined other Vine celebrities in promoting the movie Unfriended. Now has more than 2.5 million followers. Plans to move to L.A to continue to make Vines and expand into longer videos for YouTube. CARY FOWLER Former executive director and current senior advisor of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, in Norway, which seeks to ensure the conservation and availability of crop diversity for food security worldwide. Has played key role in the creation of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault near the Arctic Circle, heading the international committee and developing every aspect of its scientific and operational plan. Vault is designed to store 4.5 million seed samples for centuries. Career spans 40 years in international environment and biodiversity studies. In the 1990s he helped produce the UN’s first-ever global assessment of the world’s plant genetic resources, and served as special assistant to the Secretary General of the World Food
Summit. Grew up in Memphis, attended Southwestern (now Rhodes College), and earned Ph.D. from the University of Uppsala in Sweden. Has been profiled by CBS 60 Minutes and The New Yorker, has spoken at the TED Global Conference, and is the author of books and articles on plant genetic resources. Was awarded the Right Livelihood Award (the “Alternative Nobel Prize”) in 1985 and received the 2010 Heinz Award for his “vision and efforts in the preservation of the world’s food supply.” The 2013 documentary, Seeds of Time, follows his efforts and was an official selection at South by Southwest 2014. Appointed a member of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development by President Barack Obama. MORGAN FREEMAN One of Hollywood’s most acclaimed actors. Born in Memphis and raised in Clarksville, Mississippi. Made his acting debut at age 8 in a school play. First major role was as chauffeur Hoke in Driving Miss Daisy (1989). Has appeared in almost 50 major films since, including The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and Se7en (1995), earning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Million Dollar Baby (2004). Distinctive voice has made him a popular choice for narration, including Academy Award-winning 2005 documentary March of the Penguins. Owner of Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksville, Mississippi. Recent films include Transcendence, Last Vegas, Now You See Me, The Dark Knight, and Invictus; the latter earning him an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Nelson Mandela. Latest projects include London Has Fallen, a sequel to Olympus Has Fallen, in post-production and set for a 2015 release, and Momentum, a thriller also set to release in 2015. GINNIFER GOODWIN Born in Memphis, graduated from Lausanne Collegiate School in 1996 and received a B.F.A. in acting from Boston University. Trained with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London. Moved to New York and landed small roles on Law & Order and Ed before moving to Los Angeles. Turned heads in 2005 in Mona Lisa Smile, starring Julia Roberts. Portrayed Johnny Cash’s first wife in Walk the Line, filmed in Memphis. Starred in all five seasons of the critically acclaimed HBO series Big Love. In 2009, filmed He’s Just Not That Into You, earning a nomination for a “Breakout Movie Actress” People’s Choice Award. Portrayed Jacqueline Kennedy in the National Geographic Channelproduced TV movie, Killing Kennedy, alongside Rob Lowe. Plays Snow White in the ABC TV series Once Upon a Time, earning a People’s Choice Award nomination for “Favorite Dramatic TV Actress” in 2013 and 2014. Voicing the character of Lieutenant Judy Hopps in Disney’s upcoming animated action-comedy feature, Zootopia, set to release in 2016.
PAUL TUDOR JONES Founder of Tudor Investment Corporation, a private asset management firm and hedge fund headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. Born in Memphis and attended Memphis University School before earning an economics degree from the University of Virginia. One of earliest major successes was predicting Black Monday in 1987. In 1988, founded the Robin Hood Foundation, a charitable organization focused on poverty reduction in New York and backed mainly by hedge fund operators. Firm is involved in active trading, investing, and research in assets across fixed income, currencies, equities, and commodities asset classes, and other areas in the global markets for an international clientele. Listed by Forbes magazine as one of the 40 highest-earning hedge fund managers in February 2013. As of March 2014, Forbes estimated Jones to have a net worth of $4.3 billion and ranked him as the 108th richest American and 345th richest in the world. DAN SCHNEIDER Television producer, writer, and actor. The New York Times has referred to Schneider as “a kind of Aaron Sorkin of tween sitcoms” and “the Norman Lear of children’s television.” Born in Memphis and was senior class president at White Station High School. Landed a role in the John Cusack film Better Off Dead in 1985. Appeared as a gifted high school student in the hit ABC TV comedy Head of the Class from 1986 to 1991. Was co-host of the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in 1988, during which he formed relationships that would lead to a career in running TV shows for the network. Created the smash Nickelodeon kids shows iCarly, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, Victorious, and The Amanda Show, launching the careers of stars such as Amanda Bynes, Kenan Thompson, Drake Bell, and Miranda Cosgrove. Newest projects include Sam & Cat, Henry Danger, and Game Shakers, the latter premiering in Fall 2015. Won 2014 Kid’s Choice Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. HAMPTON SIDES Perhaps best-known as author of Ghost Soldiers, a nonfiction book about the rescue of the last survivors of the Bataan Death March from a Japanese prison camp during World War II. Published in 2001, the book remained on The New York Times best-seller list for 42 weeks. Graduated from Memphis University School and Yale. Started in journalism as a staff writer for Memphis magazine. Has been an editor at large for Outside magazine, a correspondent for NPR and work has been published in The New Yorker, Esquire, Men’s Journal, and elsewhere. Other best-selling books include Stomping Grounds: A Pilgrim’s Progress Through Eight American Subcultures (1992), American Dispatches from the
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