10 Most Famous People From Acadia Parish

I love the history of our area. All the things that have sculpted Acadiana into the unique pot of deliciousness that it has become are just fascinating to me.

Our culture is unlike any you'll find in the world. And while the geography and things like our music and food are what stand out to others, we all know that it's the people that truly make this area one-of-a-kind.

I thought it would be fun to celebrate and acknowledge some of the more notable Acadiana natives that have helped really put us on the map. So, today I'm starting a series of articles where we'll highlight the most notorious people from each parish.

Do keep in mind the "from" part. The lists will only include people who were born in each respective parish or spent a majority of their life in that parish.

When you read these, please also keep in mind that it's a very arbitrary list. There isn't a formula out there that can accurately tell any of us who is more famous than someone else, but that's part of the fun.

This first week, we'll start with Acadia Parish (going in alphabetical order).

This parish includes towns such as Crowley, Rayne, Church Point, Iota, and Estherwood, to name a few. Parts of Duson and Eunice also make up the heavily agricultural area. Nearly 60,000 people currently call Acadia Parish home.

Before you read the list, I wanted to make a few honorable mentions that easily could have, but didn't make the cut:

Johnnie Allan, Swamp Pop Musician (Rayne)
Josh Reed, Pro Football Player (Rayne)
George Stanley, Sculptor who designed the Oscar statue (Iota)
Sidney Brown, Cajun Musician/Accordion Maker (Church Point)
Jim Gueno, Pro Football Player (Crowley)
Pimp C, Record Producer/Rapper (Crowley)
Rosie Wilder Lane, Author (Crowley)
Joe Falcon, Cajun Musician (Roberts Cove)
Amedée Breaux, Cajun Musician (Egan)
Mike Heinen, Professional Golfer (Rayne)
Lawrence Walker, Cajun Musician (Rayne)
Jamie Bergeron, Cajun Musician (Rayne)

***LSU and pro football great Tommy Casanova should be mentioned too but he was born in New Orleans. He did graduate from Notre Dame in Crowley and lives in the area now.***