Celebrities can be huge sources of pride for their home state, and the feeling is often mutual.
A New Hampshire diner named a burger after native Adam Sandler that was recreated in his films “Eight Crazy Nights” and “Grown Ups 2.”
Former Brooklyn Nets part-owner, Jay Z, gave New York a new anthem with the Grammy-winning “Empire State of Mind.”
Other celebs give back in times of tragedy.
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in.
Country girl Carrie Underwood donated $1 million to relief efforts after a tornado devastated her home state of Oklahoma in May, while Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi serve as co-chairs of New Jersey’s Sandy Relief Fund.
A member of the North Carolina State “Wolfpack,” Zach Galifiankis owns a 60-acre private farm in the rolling mountains of North Carolina.
We searched for the celebrities who exude the most state pride and contribute to their home state’s character. Bonus points given if the person was actually born there.
Did we get your state right? Click to see a full, annotated version of the map above.
Alabama: Born in Cullman, country boy Channing Tatum called his uncle’s 300-acre ranch in Wetumpka his “favorite place on the planet, by far.”
Christopher Polk / Getty Images
Alaska: Grammy-nominated singer Jewel grew up living a subsistence lifestyle in Homer, where her family remains and stars in Discovery Channel’s reality show, “Alaska: The Last Frontier.”
Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images
Arizona: Emma Stone lived by a golf course her parents owned in Scottsdale before convincing them, via PowerPoint presentation, to move to L.A.
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Arkansas: Billy Bob Thornton referred to his grandmother’s house in Alpine as “command central,” where he and his extended family all lived on-and-off.
Jemal Countess/Getty Images
California: Kim Kardashian grew up in a Beverly Hills home with housekeepers who weren’t allowed to clean her and her sisters’ bedrooms, she wrote in “Kardashian Konfidential.”
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Colorado: Tim Allen returned to his roots in his sitcom, “Last Man Standing,” about an outdoor sporting goods employee in Denver.
Michael Buckner/Getty Images
Connecticut: Born in Kent, Seth MacFarlane published his own comic strip in the local newspaper at the age of 9, and drew cartoons on customers’ grocery bags in his father’s butcher shop.
Getty
Delaware: Ryan Phillippe showed his home state some love when he hosted “Saturday Night Live” a few years ago, wearing a Wilmington-themed T-shirt.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Florida: Pitbull grew up hustling in the streets of Miami, and today Mr. Worldwide name-drops the “305,” the city’s area code, in many of his songs.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Georgia: Julia Roberts hailed from Smyrna, where she played clarinet and oboe in the high school band. Her parents ran acting workshops in nearby Atlanta.
Getty Images
Hawaii: Bette Midler was born in Honolulu, where her father was stationed during World War II. She later worked at a pineapple canning factory.
Rob Kim/Getty Images
Idaho: Aaron Paul grew up in Boise, performing in church plays and cheering on the Boise State Broncos.
Mark Davis/Getty Images
Illinois: Harrison Ford was born in Chicago and raised in the suburbs, where he hosted a show on his high school’s first radio station.
Joe Scarnici/Stringer, Getty Images
Indiana: David Letterman is a true Hoosier, staying in Indianapolis until he was 27 years old and returning often to attend the Indy 500.
Letterman was all smiles when the #15 Rahal-Letterman Argent/Pioneer G Force Honda he co-owned finished first at the Indy 500 in 2004. Robert Laberge/Getty Images
Iowa: University of Iowa alum Ashton Kutcher was a football player and school play lead in the town of Homestead, population: 100.
Ashton was honored during a halftime show at University of Iowa for raising relief funds after a flood devastated the area in 2008. That’s Herky the Hawk next to him. David Greedy/Getty Images
Kansas: There’s no place like Wichita for actress Kirstie Alley, who studied drama at Kansas State University before dropping out.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Kentucky (Tie!): Born in Lexington, George Clooney moved a lot because of his father’s job in broadcasting. The family settled in Augusta, but it was in his city of birth that he saw a movie being filmed and caught the acting bug.
Stuart Wilson/Getty Images
Kentucky (Tie!): Jennifer Lawrence was raised on a horse farm outside Louisville, and remains a big University of Louisville basketball fan.
Samir Hussein/Getty Images
Louisiana: The town of Kentwood welcomes visitors with a hot pink sign that says “The home of Britney Spears.” The pop superstar once berated a tabloid by tweeting, “Ya’ll can kiss my lily white southern Louisiana a–!”
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Maine: Patrick Dempsey returns to his birthplace of Lewiston, where he opened the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing, for charity bike races.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Maryland: Ruxton-born Julie Bowen hopes to one day film a movie in Baltimore. “I would have a whole different relationship with the city if I could work there,” Bowen told The Baltimore Sun.
Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images
Massachusetts: Mark Wahlberg grew up the youngest of nine children in an Irish Catholic family in Dorchester. “Marky Mark” flaunts his accent in Boston-set films such as “The Departed” and “Ted.”
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Michigan: A University of Michigan dance scholar, Madonna is reportedly estranged from her hometown of Bay City. In 1985, a disapproving mayor refused to give her the key to the city.
Christopher Polk / Getty Images
Minnesota: Prince commissioned a $10 million recording studio in suburban Minneapolis called Paisley Park, which became his primary recording location.
Stuart Wilson/Getty Images
Mississippi: Oprah Winfrey was born into poverty in rural Kosciusko, and gave back to the community in 2008 when she opened a Boys and Girls Club center there.
Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images
Missouri: St. Louis Cardinals fanatic Jon Hamm once lent his acting talent to his alma mater in a cheesy University of Missouri recruitment commercial.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Montana: Kalispell-born Michelle Williams “is like Montana,” Ryan Gosling said of his “Blue Valentine” co-star. “It’s very beautiful, but it’s vast.”
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Nebraska: Hilary Swank came from humble beginnings in Lincoln. “I never forget where I came from,” Swank told CNN.
Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images
Nevada: Jimmy Kimmel moved to Las Vegas when he was 9 years old. The straight-A student later donated the Jimmy Kimmel Technology Center to his high school and received an honorary degree from University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The president of University of Nevada, Las Vegas bestows a hood on alum and commencement speaker Jimmy Kimmel. Sam Morris/Getty Images
New Hampshire: Adam Sandler, who relocated to Manchester when he was 5 years old, wore a University of New Hampshire T-shirt in “Grown Ups” and had his favorite hometown diner recreated for the set of “Grown Ups 2.”
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
New Jersey (Tie!): Freehold’s very own Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen paid tribute to his Jersey Shore upbringing with rock ‘n roll hits “Born to Run” and “Rosalita,” among others.
Matt Kent/Getty Images
New Jersey (Tie!): Growing up in a blue-collar home in Sayreville, Jon Bon Jovi “learned about the finer things in life. Like rock ‘n’ roll. And women.” He recently gave back by donating $1 million to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.
Rob Harrison/Getty Images
New Mexico: Albuquerque native Neil Patrick Harris said there’s something “very magical about the land” and its lack of pretension. “Not a lot of big belt buckles and 20-gallon cowboy hats,” Harris told The History Channel.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
New York: Raised in a Bedford-Stuyvesant housing project, Jay Z flaunted his Brooklyn pride with the Grammy-winning song “Empire State of Mind” and as a part-owner of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
North Carolina: Zach Galifianakis studied at North Carolina State University, a family school. “My father played football, so we inherited being Wolfpack fans from that,” Galifiankis told a school magazine. “Hangover” reference?
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
North Dakota: Minot native Josh Duhamel was starting quarterback for the Minot State University football team, and this summer, served as the Grand Marshal of the State Parade.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Ohio: Halle Berry was named for Halle’s Department Store, a local landmark in her birthplace of Cleveland, and was crowned Miss Ohio USA in 1986.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Oklahoma: Checotah country girl Carrie Underwood grew up “playing on dirt roads [and] climbing trees,” she said on her website. Underwood donated $1 million to relief efforts after the Oklahoma tornado hit in May.
Ethan Miller
Oregon: Born in Medford, the once “Melrose Place” star Lisa Rinna has said her small town was “a safe, cozy place … where you know everyone.”
Rachel Murray / Getty Images
(Source: Seattle Times)
Pennsylvania (Tie!): “West Philadelphia, born and raised,” Will Smith now owns a partial stake in the Philadelphia 76ers.
Stuart Wilson/Getty Images
Pennsylvania (Tie!): Her dreams of being a Phillies ball girl fell through, but Tina Fey returned to her childhood home in Upper Darby to finish rewrites of her “Mean Girls” screenplay.
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Rhode Island: Hailing from Cranston, Elisabeth Hasselbeck heads to the beach when visiting home. “We’ll watch the ships come in and then head to [Narragansett] for clam cakes and soda,” Hasselbeck told Boston Magazine.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
South Carolina: Raised in Bennettsville, Aziz Ansari loves fried chicken and biscuits, but avoids the title “redneck.” “You never hear someone say, ‘Yeah, he’s a caring, thoughtful, intelligent guy. Total redneck!'” Ansari told Vanity Fair.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
South Dakota: January Jones takes pride in her state’s claim to Mount Rushmore, but not much else. “We’re better than at least North Dakota,” Jones said on “The Daily Show.”
Mark Davis/Getty Images
Tennessee: Miley Cyrus jets home to her family’s 500-acre Nashville farm every chance she gets. “Nashville life is just so laid back and people enjoy every second of life that they have,” Cyrus told Prestige Magazine.
Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Tennessee: Justin Timberlake still reps Memphis as his primary location on Twitter, and he and wife Jessica Biel golf together at the nearby eco-friendly Mirimichi Golf Course which he co-owns with his parents.
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
Texas: Beyoncé lived in an upscale neighborhood in suburban Houston, where she formed the original Destiny’s Child in 1990.
Tumblr/iam.beyonce.com
Utah: “Dancing With the Stars” pro Julianne Hough grew up in Sandy, coincidentally close to where the original “Footloose” was filmed. “My greatest memories of Utah are of always being outdoors,” Hough told Interview Magazine.
Mike Windle/Getty Images
Vermont: “Girls” actress Zosia Mamet formed a band with her sister called The Cabin Sisters, named for the wood cabin her father built on their Randolph property. “It’s a truly magical place,” Mamet told Glamour.
Jemal Countess/Getty Images
Virginia: As a child, Sandra Bullock divided her time between Arlington and Austria, where her opera singer mother often performed. She is the third alum of her high school to win an Academy Award.
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
Washington: Born in Seattle, Rainn Wilson said his first name was influenced by his Northwest roots. “God only knows why [my dad] added the extra ‘n,'” Wilson told The Seattle Times. “‘Rain’ was probably too hippie-ish.”
Valerie Macon/Getty Images
West Virginia: Jennifer Garner moved to Charleston as a young girl. “I was raised by the community,” Garner told WCHS-TV in Charleston. “I feel like I could come home and sit in a hundred different laps and be taken care of.”
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Wisconsin: Before moving out of state in his teens, Mark Ruffalo built a “sentimental connection” to Kenosha. “I find myself drawing a lot of comfort from this place,” Ruffalo told Kenosha News during a trip home.
Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images
Wyoming: Matthew Fox and family were caretakers of Bitterroot Ranch outside Dubois. “It’s important for people who grow up in places like Wyoming to think big,” Fox told The Star-Tribune. “Get out of the state for a little bit and explore — and then get back.”
Juan Naharro Gimenez/Getty Images
Those were the most famous celebrities from every state …
Content retrieved from: https://www.businessinsider.com/most-famous-celebrities-from-each-state-2013-8.