Famous North Dakotans

North Dakota is a place to Be Legendary. Notable figures have left a legacy that is preserved here.

Visitors can tour the site where Sakakawea lived with her village, walk inside Theodore Roosevelt's cabin in the Badlands, canoe the same waters as Lewis & Clark, and see where Sitting Bull surrendered at Fort Buford.  

These famous figures were not always from North Dakota, but their history was defined here. And those legends are now joined by modern-day sports heroes, musicians, models, actors and writers who have and continue to Be Legendary. 

In the lower level of the North Dakota Capitol, visitors can see the portraits all of the recipients of the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, recognizing present or former North Dakotans who have been influenced by this state. The list includes the latest inductee, former U.S. Secret Service agent Clint Hill, who was born in Larimore and grew up in Washburn. He served in the U.S. Secret Service from 1958 to 1975, protecting the presidency through five administrations: President Dwight D. Eisenhower, President John F. Kennedy, President Lyndon B. Johnson, President Richard M. Nixon and President Gerald R. Ford. He was in the motorcade as a member of the First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s detail on the day President Kennedy was assassinated. Hill ran from his position on the running board of the Secret Service follow-up car and leaped onto the back of the presidential limousine as shots were being fired, shielding President Kennedy and the First Lady from any further shots. 

Throughout the state, a number of attractions invite you to learn more about North Dakota legends. At the Frontier Village in Jamestown, there's a "writer's shack" dedicated to the beloved western author, Louis L'Amour. Fargo has a Roger Maris Museum housed in the West Acres Shopping Center. And in Minot, you can dine in actor Josh Duhamel's restaurant (co-owned with his sister), 10 North Main. 

Speaking of Josh Duhamel, he's just one of the stars of North Dakota whose current success is being celebrated, along with musician Gwen Sebastian, and actor and model Kellan Lutz.

Phil Jackson was named one of the 10 greatest coaches in league history.

Olympic gold-medal winning sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando of Grand Forks are the 45th and 46th members of the North Dakota Rough Rider Hall of Fame.

Cara Mund is known for making history as the first and only woman from North Dakota to become Miss America.

Carson Wentz is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He played college football for the North Dakota State Bison, where he won two consecutive NCAA FCS national championships as the starter.

North Dakota sister duo Tigirlily Gold has been playing music together since they could walk, and officially formed their band in high school. They landed a weekly residence at Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row on Nashville’s famed lower Broadway. Playing four-hour sets, three to four nights a week, the sisters developed a performance style that’s not only captivating and fun but shows just how much entertaining is in their blood.