There's a saying that locals like to repeat in New Orleans, perhaps because they find it to be so profoundly true: the longer you live in New Orleans, the less fit you are to live anywhere else. It's true that in some ways the city seems more like a Caribbean city than a U.S. city, and New Orleanians take pride in the way the Big Easy stands alone as a truly unique place. So it's no wonder that so many celebrities have fallen in love with the city and decided to live there, either part- or full-time.
While it's not the star-studded grandeur of New York or Los Angeles, you might run into a few of these high profile celebs on the streets of New Orleans, even as they're trying to keep it low key in the most laid back city in the country. Here are 10 celebs who have fallen in love with New Orleans and decided to make it home.
10 Lil Wayne
It's less that Lil Wayne lives in New Orleans and more that Lil Wayne IS New Orleans. The rapper was born and raised in the Hollygrove area, where he attended a gifted elementary school and wrote his first rap at the age of 8. He joined the Hot Boys (with Turk, Juvenile, and B.G., three other New Orleans-born rappers) in 1997 and his career took off from there.
9 John Goodman
John Goodman likes New Orleans so much, he'll even commute to Los Angeles if it means he gets to lay his head in the Crescent City. The veteran actor has lent his talents to multiple New Orleans-related projects to show his love for the city, including featuring in the HBO series Treme and voicing "Big Daddy" in Disney's The Princess and the Frog.
8 Solange Knowles
After living in New York and Houston, Solange Knowles moved to New Orleans with her son in 2013 and still resides there today. When she married music producer Alan Ferguson at the Marigny Opera House in the Marigny neighborhood in 2014, the city was alight with celeb-watchers just hoping to catch a glimpse of the magical festivities.
7 Big Freedia
Would Big Freedia even be Big Freedia if she didn't live in New Orleans? The rapper is known for her bounce music, which was virtually unknown until she popularized the genre. She was the choir director of her school choir, though she recounts that she suffered from debilitating stage fright, making her now-signature larger-than-life performance style all the more impressive.
6 Sandra Bullock
Of course the A-list actress has homes in New York and Los Angeles, but her main place of residence is the Uptown neighborhood in New Orleans. She adopted two children from New Orleans and has invested in fundraising for Warren Easton Charter High School, proving her dedication to the Big Easy.
Related: Why Sandra Bullock Was Reluctant To Appear In 'Bird Box'
5 Emeril Lagasse
Where else would the master of Cajun and Creole cuisine live? Emeril Lagasse was born in Massachusetts, but found his way to New Orleans and opened his first restaurant there in 1990. He's been here ever since and immerses himself in the food culture he helped to inspire. So when you watch him on his two cooking shows Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril, you know that his "new New Orleans style" cooking is the real deal.
4 Harry Connick, Jr.
Grammy and Emmy Award-winning musical artist Harry Connick, Jr. cut his teeth with famed jazz musicians like Eubie Blake thanks to the vibrant music scene in New Orleans, where he was born and raised. He went on to become a commercially successful jazz musician himself, as well as a talented and decorated actor. But just because he hit the big bucks doesn't mean he's not still a New Orleans boy at heart. He lives in the city and still frequents all his old favorite spots, especially in his home neighborhood of Lakeview.
3 Drew Brees
Drew Brees has lived in New Orleans since signing with the New Orleans Saints shortly after Hurricane Katrina. The star quarterback became a symbol of hope and rebirth for the city as he broke record after record for his career in the NFL and led the team to nine playoff runs, seven division titles, and one Superbowl victory. Now retired, he still lives in the Audubon area with his wife and kids.
2 Archie Manning
The former quarterback was a star on the New Orleans Saints during the '70s and has gone down in history for his own individual talent for the game despite the Saints' losing record during that time. He raised his three sons, Cooper, Peyton, and Eli, in the Uptown neighborhood where they attended Isidore Newman School, and he still lives nearby today, often serving as an analyst for the Saints radio and TV broadcasts.
1 James Carville
Political figure and author James Carville grew up in Carville, Louisiana (named after his paternal grandfather who was once the postmaster there). After attending LSU and launching a prolific career all over the country, he moved back to New Orleans full time in 2008 and has taught at Tulane University, where students scramble to get on wait lists for his classes, often hundreds of names long.
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