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We all like celebrities a little bit, don’t we? Well, here in Devon, in fact, we don’t lack opportunities to take a look at the and scored. But who are the most prominent people in Devon?
Here at DevonLive.com, after much debate, we’ve compiled a list of 50 prominent men with ties to the county.
From megamisms to travelers from all over the world to famous artists and authors, here at Devon we have a total number of celebrities you can enjoy (as long as they’re with us, of course).
So, without any order, here they are:
Born in Whitestone near Exeter, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has got to be one of the most famous Devonians.
Selling more than 80 million records worldwide, Coldplay has enjoyed wonderful good fortune over the years, and its continued popularity is evident in its fourth headline appearance last year at the Glastonbury Festival.
In addition to generating a number of leading collaborations with artists such as Rihanna, Chainsmokers and Big Sean, Chris has also made the impression on Debrett’s 2017 list of the other most influential people in the UK.
The new mother Rosie Huntington-Whately is possibly one of the most beautiful in the world: the idea of Jason Statham too!
Born in Plymouth, the model and actress is known for her paintings in stores such as Victoria’s Secret, Burberry and M-S, as well as for her lead roles in Transformers and Mad Max: Fury Road.
Sir Francis Drake, born in Tavistock in 1540, was actually an intrepid explorer.
He is best known for performing in circumnavigation of the moment of the world on a bachelor expedition and was awarded cavalry in 1581 through Elizabeth I.
Cheering on the idyllic Devon countryside, Absolutely Fabulous star Jennifer Saunders is the last resident of chagford village.
With her husband Adrian Edmondson and their 3 daughters, Jennifer has swam her lively London life for a more rural setting filled with new air, farm animals and rubber boots. Can you believe Edina’s displeasure?
You can see the world’s richest living artist, Damien Hirst, visiting his home on the beach in the city of Combe Martin.
In addition to owning a home in the North Devon area, the world-renowned artist has also opened a gallery and a place to eat in Ilfracombe, as well as donating the magnificent Verity statue to the city on a 20-year lease. Boy!
Another devon musician, Matt Bellamy is a Teignmouth venue and is the singer, guitarist and pianist of the multi-award winning rock band Muse.
In addition to winning several prestigious awards, adding two Grammys, two Brit Awards and five MTV Europe Music Awards, the band has sold 20 million albums internationally, wrong for a bunch of Devonshire meatballs!
British middleweight boxing champion Tommy Langford has made Devon proud!
Born in Barnstaple, the young athlete has become known in the world of sport, however, his devoonic roots remain part of his personality and in interviews he recalls the good memories he has as a child and developed in Bideford.
Agatha Christie is undoubtedly one of the most important names in English literature and was born here, in the small old Devon, particularly in Torquay.
The celebrated police novelist, novelist and playwright is a legend in world literature and is known for creating her fictional detective characters Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
In 1971, she was given the name Lady Commander of the Order of the British Empire in popularity for her literary contributions.
Top model, entrepreneur and business owner: Lily Cole has it all!
The Torquay-born redhead is known for her modeling paintings with fashion brands such as Alexandra McQueen, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Jean Paul Gaultier, but has also pursued other companies.
The 29-year-old stylist not only graduated from King’s College, Cambridge with a double scoop on art history, but is also the founder of social media gift economics imposible.com, as well as an aspiring actress.
Dan Gosling, born in Brixham, is one of Devon’s most productive athletes.
Dan made his professional debut as a footballer in 2006 at the age of 16, and has since greatly reveled in the on-court game for a number of successful clubs, adding Plymouth Argyle, Everton, Newcastle United and Bournemouth.
Dan recently signed a four-year contract to secure a long term with Bournemouth FC, but it will be a Devon at heart!
Captain Robert Falcon Scott was born in Plymouth in 1868, but traveled far to notice much of Antarctica as we know it today.
Leading two expeditions, Captain Scott is a true pioneer and on his first voyage, the Discovery Expedition, unveiled the Polar Plateau (Antarctica), where the South Pole is located.
The timing and the unfortunate Terra Nova expedition took Scott’s life, but they did not fail because during this trip, Scott and his organization made the pioneering discovery of plant fossils, proving that Antarctica had not been a separate continent.
Okay, she’s not From Devon, but JK Rowling, one of the literary champions of the 21st century, was largely encouraged through Exeter’s Harry Potter books, do you think?
As a student at the University of Exeter, the writer has explored the city and incorporated much of her charm into her paintings; If you’ve ever visited the bustling alley of Gandy Street, notice its resemblance to the Traverse Trail without delay.
You may not believe it, but Lauren Pope is a Devonshire dough ball!
The glamour model/TV truth star is best known for its appearance in the popular truth exhibition The Only Way is Essex, however, she was born and raised on the beach in the city of Torquay.
In recent years, throughout her modeling and acting career, Lauren has also established he has established he has established hemselves as one of the most sensible DJs in London and has made several appearances around the world in some of the most popular party destinations in the world, adding Ibiza and Mallorca.
Who doesn’t love Tom Daley and his cheeky smile?
Another of Devon’s top-successful athletes, Plymouth-born Tom, excelled as an Olympian contender, winning a succession of medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
In addition to his global sporting achievements, Tom has also won awards, adding BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2010, Best Young Sports Star at the Teen Awards in 2011 and Man of the Year at the Attitude Awards in 2014.
One of Britain’s most productive actresses, Miranda Hart discovers her devoonic roots in Torquay, where she was born and descended from a very aristocratic environment, even if she hates admitting it!
In addition to appearing in several comedy shows, Hyperdrive and Not Going Out, Miranda also excels for her role in her semi-autobiographical BBC sitcom Miranda, which won four British comedy awards.
Sir Walter Raleigh, another prominent explorer from the Southwest.
Born in East Budleigh, Raleigh led a series of expeditions and cared a lot about the English colonization of North America.
Due to his popularity with Queen Elizabeth, he was knighted in 1585, but was then punished through it for secretly marrying one of his ladies-in-waiting: scandal!
This fiery TV personality is from Barnstaple.
Katie, who is best known for her strong reviews and courageous newspaper columns, grew up in Bideford with her older sister and attended a personal convent school in the domain from the age of 3 to 16.
Luke will have to be one of the nicest competitors ever featured on the X-Factor.
This teignmouth long-haired hero stole the hearts of nations after winning Teenstar in 2013 and then becoming a finalist in the tenth season of the hit ITV show.
Since then, Luke has released one of the 40 most sensitive singles, toured the UK and signed a contract with the BMG music label.
Once named “the father of fashion satire” by the Guardian in 2005, Peter Cook is one of Britain’s top legendary comedians.
Peter, born in Torquay, was considered one of the leading comedians of the British satire era in the 1960s. He enjoyed a successful television career, gave a print in films and partly financed the popular satirical magazine Private Eye.
He was also a staunch supporter of Torquay United and in the past chaired the club’s youth fan club.
One of the most productive folk musicians of the time, the bantham boy Ben Howard.
At the age of eight, Ben moved to Totnes and acquired several hobbies, including surfing, making a song and writing songs, the last two of which eventually earned him a top-notch album and a Brit Award in 2013.
After attending King Edward VI Community College and Torquay Boys’ Grammar School, he studied journalism at University College Falmouth, but has not yet pursued a musical career.
Another well-known sports personality, Sue Barker was born in Paignton.
At the age of 10, attending a local convent school, she selected as one of two women selected to obtain professional tennis education from Arthur Roberts, Grand Slam champion Angela Mortimer’s coach.
After a successful career as one of Britain’s wisest tennis players, Sue has become one of the BBC’s most sensible sports hostesses. You can surprise her by flattering a sports star!
Charles Kingsley, born in Holne, was a man of great talent: a great priest of the Church of England, university professor, social reformer, historian and novelist.
His old novel Westward Ho! he took a position at Bideford and is about England’s triumphs over Spain in Elizabethan times, telling the story of brave sailor Amyas Preston and his companions.
Forget Gordon Ramsey, we have our own head chef: Michael Caines!
Michael, born and raised in Devon, is one of Britain’s most famous fresh chefs and lives near Exeter with his wife and daughter.
In addition to running the Michael Caines Academy at Exeter College, following his own adoptive roots, Michael is also a family sponsor of the Children Trust, a volunteer adoption company that supplies in Devon, Cornwall and Dorset.
Queen Kirstie Allsopp is a devon resident who traded her life in London for a nonviolent life in the countryside.
Best known for presenting a genuine real estate programming diversity on Channel 4, adding location, location, location, relocation, relocation and revised location, Kirstie has now made a home for her and her circle of relatives in broadhembury village.
Domain visitors can model the creativity of their circle of family members by staying at their “home house” also in North Devon.
“Gorgeous George,” as he calls it, is one of the football boys.
Originally from Barnstaple, George began his career betting for Exeter City, which then did not belong to the League, but diversified temporarily and is now a left-back in Middlesbrough.
His football skills were transparent from the beginning and he is the youngest captain in Exeter’s history. However, George is still a child in the house and has since returned to the county to motivate Devon’s young aspiring footballers.
“Toff” was born in Torquay and is best known for her appearance in the BAFTA Award-winning truth television series Made in Chelsea.
Her lavish lifestyle and wild partying have previously been the subject of several scathing headlines, however, Georgia has also been praised for throwing some great bashes, especially for her mum’s 50!
Devon’s James Bond Guy Burgess was born in Devonport and has become one of the greatest infamous British spies of the Cold War period.
In his early years he attended the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth and then won a prestigious school in Eton and Cambridge.
He was later a component of the notorious Cambridge Five spy network, but later revealed himself as a Soviet spy.
Will Young, winner of Pop Idol 2002, some other graduate of the University of Exeter.
After passing his A-Levels, Will came to Exeter in politics and enjoyed being a student in the city for several years. However, he pursued a career in music and then released several number one singles, adding Evergreen, Light My Fire and Leave Right Now.
In parallel to his musical career, Will also began acting and starred in several films and theatrical performances.
Totnes actor Emrhys Cooper has done incredibly well: he only landed the lead role in the Emmy-nominated drama series Vanity, but also starred as the awesome Denise Richards!
In addition to a television career, Emrhys has also starred in several West End musicals and has worked as a dancer for music superstars, adding Madonna, Christina Aguilera and the Pussycat Dolls.
He was also the first Western actor to star in a Bhuntan film and won an award for remarkable functionality through a lead actor at the IndieFest film festival for his role in Kushuthara.
Although born in Hammersmith, London, Josh grew up in Haytor Vale and attended South Dartmoor Community College.
After reading linguistics at the University of Manchester, Josh pursued a successful career in comedy, appearing on several popular shows, adding Mock the Week, QI, Live at the Apollo and Have I Got News For You.
In addition to writing and starring in his own sitcom “JOSH”, he is also co-host of the four-channel exhibition The Last Leg alongside Adam Hills and Alex Brooker.
Another musical talent of Devon, Seth Lakeman is from the village of Buckland Monochorum in West Devon.
With their siblings, Seth has been a musical since an age and in 1994, the 3 brothers released their first album Three Piece Suite.
Since then, Seth has also enjoyed a solo career, being nominated for a Mercury Music Prize in 2005 and performing at several uk festivals, Glastonbury Festival, V Festival and Beautiful Days.
Like the Earl of Devon, Charles lives the luxurious lifestyle in the countryside, he even has a castle!
As a friend of Chris Martin during the training years, Charles went to kindergarten in Exeter and remained in Devon for the maximum of his life, with the exception of a 10-year era that he spent in California as a lawyer.
In 2014, he returned home and now lives with his wife, former Baywatch star Allison Langer and their two children Joscelyn and Jack.
Radiohead’s leader went to college in Exeter and even wrote the lyrics to one of the band’s most notable songs, Creep, in the exeter Lemon Grove bathrooms.
The deodorant must have been quite clever as the band has sold more than 30 million albums and is now known as one of the most influential rock bands in British history.
Earlier this year, Thom and his bandmates made the Glastonbury Festival page and, as always, captivated the crowd.
One of the most promising stars of the decade, Exeter-born Matthew has had successful roles in television and film.
In addition to appearing in several films including The Lookout, A Single Man, Cemetery Junction and The Imitation Game, Matthew is also known for his role in the former drama Downton Abbey in which he played Henry Talbot.
Matthew was also recently nominated for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie at the Satellite Awards for his role in the critically acclaimed British drama Dancing on the Edge.
Although born in Dover, Joss Stone moved to Ashill, a town near Cullompton, as a teenager.
He made his musical debut at Uffculme Comprehensive School and won the BBC’s skill show, Star For a Night, in 2007.
She subsequently enjoyed a successful career as a record artist, having been nominated and won awards, adding the British female solo artist to the Brit Awards in 2005 and a Grammy Award in 2007.
Garry Monk is a professional football coach who began his career as an intern at Torquay United after developing in the city.
He finished his football apprenticeship in Southampton but returned to Torquay in 1998 and 2000 for the first team.
Since then, he has controlled premiership and Championship clubs, Swansea City and Leeds United, and is lately running in his intention to move up to the first department with Middlesbrough.
Although the best of Blur and co-founder of the virtual band Gorillaz grew up in London, he has owned a farm in Devon for about 20 years.
Damon enjoyed a wealth of fortune in the 1990s with hits such as Park Life and has since influenced British music culture, earning an OBE in 2016 for his music.
Her farm in Devon remains an artistic refuge for her family, where her sister Jessica, a successful artist, visits for inspiration.
The drummer for the rock band Reef who lived in Barnstaple in 1993 when the other 3 members of the band were looking for a fourth.
Over the next few years, Reef’s grew up and spent a lot of time traveling with artists such as Paul Weller and The Rolling Stones.
In parallel to his musical career, Dom controlled the writing of film soundtracks, winning the BEST POINT AWARD at the NEW YORK CITY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL.
Serge was born in Newton Abbot for a reason; his mom “loved” the hospital.
As a child, Serge said his purpose in life was to have as much fortune as possible, with the first intentions of a football career.
However, he is known as the songwriter and lead singer of the rock band Kasabian, which won several awards, adding Best British Band at the 2010 Brit Awards.
It is a well-known fact that the much-loved TV presenter Noel Edmonds has resided in Devon for many years.
From his early years on Radio 1 and Multi-Colored Swap Shop to his successful season as a 4-channel deal or No Deal screen host, Noel has been a favorite family circle on television since 1969.
As a resident of Devon, he campaigned against wind farms and farmers affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak because of his fear of the effect of these disorders on the county.
Dean Moxey is ‘happy as Larry’ to play football again at Exeter City FC.
The 31 year old, who was born in Exeter, first played for the city in 2003 racking up around 200 games for the club, before moving on to both Championship and Premiere League teams.
Legendary Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts now lives in Devon countryside, where he runs an Arab stallion with his wife, a cry of his difficult days as a rock star in the 1960s.
In addition to betting drums for the band, his initial education as a graphic designer led him to contribute to the band’s album covers.
Throughout his career, Charlie’s private life has seemed quieter than that of his rock and roll bandmates, so it’s no wonder he chose a nonviolent life in the idyllic Devon countryside.
Paignton-born cricketer Chris Read has a sporting ability to emerge from the county.
Chris is a wicketkeeper and captain of Nottinghamshire Country Cricket Club and has also played for his county on occasion.
He began his career betting on Devon in 1995 at the age of 16, before moving to Gloucestershire and pursuing an incredibly successful career that continues to this day.
Tristan, born and raised in Exeter, is a drummer, singer and manufacturer of British pop rock band The Vamps.
He began playing on drums at the age of 7 and was named Young Baterista of the Year in 2010, but can also play guitar and piano.
The band was first identified in 2012 and has since supported artists such as McFly, Little Mix and Demi Lovato (whom Tristan describes as “a goddess”!).
Dickens described Exeter as “the most charming city in this English county of the utmost beauty.”
In fact, not public knowledge, Devon played a vital role in the early days of this literary colossus.
His parents lived in Alphington and it was there that Dickens began writing Nicholas Nickleby. It is an idea that several other people he met in the county encouraged some of the original characters from his novels.
Born in Plymouth to a prominent family, Admiral Sir John Hawkins, commander, trader, navigator, shipbuilder and slave trader in the 16th century.
Cousin of Sir Francis Drake, Hawkins, the leading architect of the Elizabethan Navy. He served as vice admiral in the war that defeated the Spanish Navy in 1588.
Although he spent much of his life in Devon, he died and was buried in the sea off the coast of South America.
The BBC HIT drama Merlin saw this Devon boy in the title role of Arthur Pendragon for a total of 65 episodes between 2008 and 2012.
Born in the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, he has made his mark on Homeland and iZombie since his starring role in the BBC series.
He is also a passionate sportsman who could have been a professional footballer if he had not yet chosen a career as an actor and who still participates in charity football matches.
Affectionately known as “The Tank,” Liam Tancock is a Devon-born athlete who has made his mark on world sport.
Born in Exeter, Liam played for the Exeter Chiefs until the age of 13, when his coach convinced him to pursue a career in swimming than in rugby.
Liam competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and won bronze and gold medals at the Commonwealth Games.
Keeping his roots close to his heart, he is a supporter of Exeter City Football Club and Exeter Chiefs Rugby Club.
Devon is full of horse lovers, but Lizzie Kelly surpassed them all by making history at the age of 22 when she was the first woman to win a freshman jump race in Britain.
This George Nympton jockey not only possesses the physical agility for this boisterous sport but she also has a determined attitude and is not afraid to share her views, often making her in demand as a pundit on BBC radio and Channel 4.
Tony is best known for his paintings with Scottish rock band Big Country, but now lives a quieter life in the Devon countryside, even though his love of music has never faded.