The Grand Canyon State might not be the most populous locale in the Western half of the country, but there’s no denying that what Arizona lacks in size, it more than makes up for in star power.
Between music superstars like Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, Academy Award winners like Emma Stone and current and retired professional athletes like Phil Mickelson and Auston Matthews — there’s no denying the 48th State punches well above its weight class, celebrity-wise.
At BetArizona.com - your home to everything Arizona sports betting - we wanted to take a hyper-localized approach to see what famous celebrities that were raised in the state of Arizona are being discussed the most in the past year – ultimately concluding they would be the most well-known celebrities.
We utilized a weighted system between AhRefs.com Keywords Explorer and Google Trends to look at the most searched Arizona celebrities over the past 12 months. Once finding both statistics, they were averaged to determine the Top 15. Arizona celebrity was defined as a person who resided in Arizona in their formative childhood and teenage for over 10 years. Celebrity was broken down to include only actors/actresses, singer/songwriters, TV personalities, comedians, athletes, dancers and social media influencers.
15 Most Popular Arizona Celebrities Ranked in 2024
Hailey Bieber Currently the Most Famous Person From Arizona
1. Hailey Bieber, Model/Internet Personality, Tucson. Search volume: 2.0M. The most famous Arizonans when it came to search volume over the past calendar year were the daughter of actors Stephen & Kennya Baldwin, along with an acclaimed actress of her own right. That’s because model and influencer Hailey Bieber drew the most search volume of any Arizona resident in 2023, at 2 million, while Stone rode her big screen success to the No. 2 spot, at 1.3 million. Bieber, who hails from Tucson, is married to Canadian singer Justin Bieber, while modeling for a who’s who of American and international fashion brands, including Levi’s Strauss jeans and her personal skincare brand, Rhode.
2. Emma Stone, Actress, Scottsdale. Search Volume: 1.3M. At No. 2 this year, Stone, who is a Scottsdale native and currently nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in "Poor Things," has previously been Oscar-nominated three times in 2015, 2017 (won for 'La La Land') and 2019. She's also famous for hits like "Superbad," "East A," "The Help," and "Zombieland."
3. Stevie Nicks, Singer/Songwriter, Phoenix. Search volume: 683K. Stone beat out Fleetwood Mac frontwoman and singer-songwriter extraordinaire Stevie Nicks for the No. 2 spot among Arizona natives, with Nicks garnering a search volume total of 683K in 2023. The 75-year-old Phoenician has been nominated for eight Grammys and a pair of American Music Awards for her role with the British super group, while winning the Album of the Year award for “Rumours” in 1978.
4. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Queen Creek. Search volume: 648K Nicks beat out current San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy for the third spot among Arizonans in 2023, with Purdy pulling in a search volume of 648K during the calendar year. Former Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington of Mesa was fifth, at 572K. Purdy, 24, was the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, and has thrived with the 49ers in Kyle Shanahan's offense since taking over for Jimmy Garoppolo in 2023.
Other Famous Arizona Celebrities
Rounding out the list of famous Arizona natives was No. 6 Joe Jonas of Casa Grande (333K search volume), while actresses Kate Walsh of Tucson (No. 7) and Haley Lu Richardson of Phoenix (No. 8) were next, with search volumes of 331K and 288K.
The rest of the list includes legendary rock star Alice Cooper of Phoenix (No. 9 with 282K search volume), golfer Phil Mickelson of Scottsdale (No. 10 with 259K search volume), Flagstaff-born actor Ted Danson (No. 11 with 247K search volume), comedian David Spade of Scottsdale (No. 12 with 243K search volume), NHL star Auston Matthews (No. 13 with 212K search volume) and actresses Danielle Fishel of Mesa (No. 14 with 173K search volume) and Taryn Manning of Tucson (No. 15 with 138K search volume).
While the “Five C’s” of Arizona may be copper, cattle, cotton, citrus and climate, the state might want to tack on a sixth one in the near-distant future, given the stockpile of celebrities that were born in the state over the years. BetArizona.com, which features Arizona sportsbook promos to help bettors, will have more fun lifestyle pieces like this in the near future.
Most Famous Celebrities From Arizona FAQ
Hailey Bieber and Emma Stone are the two most famous people from Arizona, according to research done by the BetArizona.com staff. Stevie Nicks, Brock Purdy and Chester Bennington round out the top five, ahead of others like Joe Jonas and Phil Mickelson.
Hailey Bieber is from Tucson, and is the daughter of actors Stephen & Kennya Baldwin. She is married to Canadian singer Justin Bieber, while modeling for a who’s who of American and international fashion brands, including Levi’s Strauss jeans and her personal skincare brand, Rhode.
Yes, Emma Stone was born and raised in Scottsdale. She is currently up for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in "Poor Things." She is 35 years old and has also appeared in hits like "Birdman," "Superbad" and "The Help."
Phil Mickelson is from Scottsdale, and currently plays on the LIV Golf Tour. Mickelson has won six major championships, including three Masters and two PGAs. The only golf slam he has not won is the U.S. Open, where he has finished second a record six times.
Author
Christopher Boan is the lead writer at BetArizona.com after covering sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
