May 23, 2016 3 min read fort greene

5 Celebs You Probably Didn’t Know Lived In Fort Greene

Wyatt Cenac Earth launch Shankbone — Wyatt Cenac (Courtesy Flickr/David Shankbone.)

As the name implies, Fort Greene was once a military installation. George Washington once withdrew his troops under cover of darkness, but today, it’s drawn folks from all walks of life. Like neighboring Clinton Hill, it was once home to tobacco plantations, and has since become home to amazing architecture and a wide assortment of people who’ve gone on to become famous.

Here’s a glimpse into some of the who’s who that have passed through!

Alan Ball, Anna Paquin — Why did Alan Ball leave True Blood? Why did it get so bad? (Courtesy Flickr/Kristin Dos Santos.)

Screen Shot 2016-05-23 at 5.07.13 PM — This is the apartment where “American Beauty” was written and “Six Feet Under” was created. (Courtesy Corcoran.)

Writer/director Alan Ball called 78 Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene home while he wrote American Beauty and created Six Feet Under.The home listed for listed for $1.575M.

Erykah Badu - Lollapalooza 2010 — Erykah Badu is awesome. Her hair, less so. (Courtesy Flickr/Kate Gardiner.)

Dallas-born vegan soul star Erykah Badu knew a great deal when she saw one — she’s held on to her rent-controlled one bedroom in Fort Greene since finding it. Though she mostly lives in her native Dallas, she has kept her home in Brooklyn and once told the New York Times that “since I’ve been here I’ve had two children, a few boyfriends, a lot of records.”

Wyatt Cenac at 92YTribeca, 3/3/11 — Wyatt Cenac performing. (Courtesy Flickr/92Y Tribeca.)

It’s Fort Greene that Wyatt Cenac calls home and he’d like to keep it that way. Cenac grew up in Dallas, but he’s grown cozy in Fort Greene. The comic has been outspoken on the topic of gentrification, and the changes that have taken place in the neighborhood as a result. The changing neighborhood has even provided material for his Brooklyn comedy special on Netflix.

Screen Shot 2016-05-23 at 5.54.37 PM — Richard Wright. (Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.)

The acclaimed and influential author Richard Wright wrote Native Son while living at 175 Carlton Avenue in 1938. The native Mississipian came to New York in 1937 after a stay in Chicago. The Fort Greene Association commemorated Wright’s stay in the neighborhood by placing a medallion on his former home in 2012.

Michael Jordan, l'inizio di una leggenda senza eguali — Michael Jordan as a young man, both more hirsute and sans ‘stache. (Courtesy Flickr/Basket Streaming.)

Ok, we’re stretching a bit here, but not as much as MJ’s arm in Space Jam. Michael Jordan might have grown up in North Carolina, but he was born at 39 Auburn Place. Today, the building is a home for those who have fallen upon hard times.