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Celebrities you didn't know had Utah roots

Celebrities you didn't know had Utah roots

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Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes

Utah may not be the first place you think of when you hear the word "celebrity" — unless those celebrities are Donny Osmond or Robert Redford. But it turns out that there's a decently long list of famous faces that were either born here or lived in the state at some point. Some are actors, some are rock stars and others have coached professional athletes.

Even if you're familiar with some or many of these names, there's a good chance that at least one of them will come as a total surprise. Here are eight celebrities you might not know had Utah roots.

Chrissy Teigen

Chrissy Teigen — model, actress, producer, author and wife of musician John Legend — has another bragging right to add to her list: She's a Utah native. Teigen was born in Delta, Utah, in 1985. Her family later moved to Huntington Beach when she was a teenager, which may explain why it took her some time to get reacclimated to the higher elevation when she returned to Utah in 2019.

Teigen posted on Twitter (now X) at the time, "very upset and saddened that my own birth state, Utah, has chosen to poison me with terrible altitude sickness."

Matthew Davis

If you've seen a little movie called "Legally Blonde," then you're probably familiar with Elle Woods's not-so-great boyfriend, Warner Huntington III. He was played by actor Matthew Davis, who was born in Salt Lake City. Davis went to Woods Cross High School and later attended the University of Utah, where he first became interested in acting, according to IMDB.

Aside from "Legally Blonde," Davis is best known for his role as Alaric Saltzman in "The Vampire Diaries" from 2009–2012 and Adam Hillman on ABC's comedy-drama, "What About Brian," from 2006–2007.

James Woods

Another big name in the cinema world, actor James Woods, was born in Vernal, Utah. After his father's death, his mother remarried and relocated to Rhode Island. Woods is known for his roles in "Once Upon a Time in America," "Ghosts of Mississippi," "Salvador" and "Casino." You'll also recognize his voice as the Disney villain Hades in "Hercules." According to IMDB, Hades was his favorite role of his whole career.

Millicent Simmonds

Fans of the horror flicks "A Quiet Place" and "A Quiet Place II" will recognize the face of Millicent Simmonds, the actress who played John Krasinski and Emily Blunt's deaf daughter Regan in the films. Simmonds, who is deaf in real life, hails from Bountiful, Utah. She's also starred in the 2017 Oscar-nominated film, "Wonderstruck."

In an interview with NowThis, Simmonds said that she was happy that her part in these movies could inspire the deaf community.

"What I hope is that I can show (my community) you can do anything. Not only become an actor, but a writer, a teacher, a pilot, anything you want to do is possible. Just work hard, and people will recognize that," she said.

Kevin Young

Kevin Young's name is one you've probably seen in the news lately — especially if you're a BYU fan. The university recently hired him to be the new head coach of the men's basketball team, plucking him from his associate head coaching job with the Phoenix Suns. Young's name had been on the shortlist for several head coaching positions in the NBA, but BYU was pursuing him at the same time. Ultimately, he and his wife agreed that moving back to Utah was the right path for their family.

Young was born in Salt Lake City but his family moved to Grand Prairie, Texas, when he was 1 year old and he spent his teenage years in Georgia. His coaching resume includes an assistant coaching job at Utah Valley University, several head coaching positions in the NBA's minor league and assistant coaching positions with the Suns and the Philadelphia 76ers. And yes — he's related to Brigham Young. You can read more about his story in the Deseret News.

Brandon Flowers

Though he was born in Henderson, Nevada, The Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers spent many of his childhood years growing up in the Beehive State. His family moved to Payson when he was 8 years old then relocated to Nephi a couple of years later. The band's 2021 album "Pressure Machine" makes several references to Utah.

"I discovered this grief that I hadn't dealt with," Flowers told RadioX at the time.

"Many memories of my time in Nephi are tender. But the ones tied to fear or great sadness were emotionally charged. I've got more understanding now than when we started the band, and hopefully, I was able to do justice to these stories and these lives in this little town that I grew up in."

Mike Lookinland

The youngest boy in the "Brady Bunch" brood, Bobby Brady, was played by Mike Lookinland, who was born in Mount Pleasant, Utah.

In 2019, Lookinland spoke to the Deseret News about his time on the show.

"Nobody ever approaches me without a smile and something friendly to say when it comes to the Brady connection," he said at the time. "Everybody thinks of it in a good light."

Lookinland left Hollywood for Utah when he was 17. He attended the University of Utah, where he met his wife. He now runs a concrete countertop business out of Midvale called Just Add Water.

Loretta Young

Classic Hollywood icon and Academy Award-winning actress Loretta Young is also a Salt Lake City native, despite moving to Los Angeles when she was just 3 years old. According to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Young's film career spanned from 1917 to 1953 before doing "The Loretta Young Show" on television from 1953 to 1961. You most likely recognize her from starring opposite Cary Grant in "The Bishop's Wife."

This list merely scratches the surface of the famous names that have come and gone in the Beehive State. If you want to read about more celebrities with Utah roots, check out this list from Ranker.

Siegfried & Jensen

Since 1990, Siegfried & Jensen have been helping the people of Utah and surrounding states who have suffered needless injuries and death caused by car accidents, truck accidents, medical malpractice, defective drugs, dog bites, wrongful death, and other types of personal injury.

The firm is committed to keeping Utah families and communities safe by ensuring wrongdoers are held accountable. While a lawsuit isn't always the answer when it is needed having someone on your side can mean the difference between declaring bankruptcy and rebuilding your life and moving forward, especially when you're up against an insurance company or a hospital.

Siegfried & Jensen has represented more than 35,000 clients and recovered over $1.2 billion for them.

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