Gotta Love New York: Celebs From the Big Apple
Some of the greats to come from the concrete jungle.
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Gotta Love New York - Today is September 11, the day that forever changed New York City and America. It has been 16 years since the terrorist attacks on the twin towers and the mantra "if you can make here, you can make it anywhere," still holds true. In remembrance of the perseverance of the city's people, we honor some of the greats who came out of the Concrete Jungle. Gotta love New York! (Photo by Alexander Spatari)
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Mary J. Blige - Mary is the quintessential New Yorker. Born and raised in Yonkers, she represents New York City wherever she goes — from her accent to her swagger. The R&B queen makes sure the world knows she's still "just Mary!"(Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Casa Reale)
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Chris Rock - Chris Rock was born in South Carolina but raised in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. He became a New York comedy legend as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and his semi-autobiographical sitcom, Everybody Hates Chris, was set in Brooklyn. (Photo by Dana Edelson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
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Jennifer Lopez - Born of Puerto Rican heritage and raised in the Bronx, this New Yorker named her first album, On the 6, after a New York City subway line. Whether she's acting or singing, Lopez will always be "Jenny from the block." (Photo: Gotham/GC Images)
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Lenny Kravitz - The legendary rocker was born in New York City and spent much of his youth on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. In his teens, he moved to Los Angeles, but you can't pull the New York grit out of Kravitz. (Photo: Alo Ceballos/GC Images)
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Rosario Dawson - Rosario Dawson was born in New York City and raised in the notorious Lower East Side area of Manhattan. She has appeared in several New York City-based movies, including a controversial debut in Kids, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints and Spike Lee's 25th Hour. (Photo: Patricia Schlein/Star Max/GC Images)
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Sanaa Lathan - The Love & Basketball actress was born and raised in the Empire City. She attended the prestigious Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics before eventually migrating to California, where she graduated from the University of California with a degree in English. (Photo: D Dipasupil/Getty Images for Extra)
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Rosie Perez - Rosie was reppin' Brooklyn before it was popular. The Oscar nominee was raised in the Bushwick area of BK. She had her big break in the New York classic Do the Right Thing, and has since become a huge star after such films as King of the Jungle, White Men Can't Jump, Lackawanna Blues and Won't Back Down. (Photo: Gilbert Carrasquillo/WireImage)
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Vin Diesel - Actor and producer Vin Diesel was born in Gotham. The Fast & Furious star first appeared on stage at the age of seven at Theater for the New City, in New York's Greenwich Village. He has since flexed his muscle in a number of big-budget action films and gotten acclaim for character dramas like Boiler Room. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Universal Pictures)
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Nas - Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, known worldwide simply as Nas, was born and raised in the Queensbridge housing projects. With albums like Illmatic, I Am... and Nastradamus, he is considered one of the most influential rappers in hip hop. (Photo: Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images)
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Eddie Murphy - Eddie Murphy is from Bushwick and got his start in comedy clubs all over New York City. He is one of the most successful actors of all time, with films like Coming to America and The Nutty Professor. (Photo by Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images)
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Mike Tyson - Born and raised in Brooklyn, the former heavyweight champion of the world lived all over New York City — Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville and even Catskill, New York. Tyson has often credited the rough-and-tumble streets of New York with making him a fighter. (Photo: Brent N. Clarke/Getty Images)
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Mariah Carey - Someone's got to represent Long Island! Mariah Carey was born in the borough and moved several times throughout New York City. She eventually graduated from Harborfield's High School in Greenlawn, New York. Not long after high school, she got a record deal... and the rest is pop music history.(Photo: Robert Kamau/GC Images)
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Spike Lee - Although born in Atlanta, Georgia, Spike Lee is Brooklyn-raised and proud. The majority of his films have taken place in and been influenced by the Big Apple. In fact, if you want to see vintage New York City, you don't need to look much farther than one of his earlier joints. (Photo: James Devaney/GC Images)
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Alicia Keys - Keys was born and raised in an area of New York City known as Hell's Kitchen. She graduated from Manhattan's Professional Performing Arts School at 16, and soon after landed a record deal. (Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
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Jay Z - There are hundreds of hip hop artists who call New York home, but Jay-Z is undoubtedly the king. The influential rapper created an unofficial New York anthem with "Empire State of Mind" featuring fellow New Yorker Alicia Keys. Starting in the Marcy Houses projects in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn and ending up in the posh Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, Hova is living proof that New York City is the "concrete jungle where dreams are made of." (Photo: fafotos/picturegroup)
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Nicki Minaj - The rap diva was born in Trinidad and moved to Queens at the age of five. She attended LaGuardia High School in Manhattan and is now one of the most popular hip hop artists of her generation. (Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images)
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Tatyana Ali - The Second Generation Wayans star was born in Brooklyn and attended school in New York until high school. She eventually moved to Los Angeles, but you can still see a lil' New York City strut in Ms. Ali. (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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Robert De Niro - Robert De Niro is loved by the hip hop community. Born and raised in New York City, the actor is a longtime film icon, having appeared in classic movies like Taxi Driver and New York, New York. (Photo:Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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Diddy - Diddy was born in Harlem and helped usher a wave of New York music royalty in the '90s, including Mary J., Lil' Kim and The Notorious B.I.G., just to name a few. Diddy once said, “Words cannot express how proud I am to be carrying the Olympic Torch for my home, New York, New York, the greatest city in the world.” (Photo: Michael Underwood/PictureGroup)
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Alex Rodriguez - Born in the Washington Heights area of New York City, Rodriguez split his childhood between Miami and the Dominican Republic but eventually came back to New York City. One of the most popular players from the New York Yankees, in 2009 he helped the Yankees win their 27th World Series Championship.
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2Pac - While 2Pac is known to be a "West Coast rapper," he was actually born and raised in Harlem, New York, until his mid-teens. He would eventually move to Cali, but got his start in the Big Apple. (Photo: AP Photo/FILE)
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Lady Gaga - Lady Gaga was born and raised in Manhattan. She got her start stomping through the streets of the Lower East Side and Greenwich Village. Almost a decade ago, Gaga was an up-and-coming performance artist in New York City clubs; now she is a superstar. (Photo: AGF)
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Kerry Washington - Before capturing our hearts as Olivia Pope on Scandal, Kerry Washington grew up in the Bronx. She got her start when she attended the prestigious Spence School in Manhattan, and the rest is Hollywood history. (Photo: Mark Davis/Getty Images)
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50 Cent - Curtis James Jackson III, better known as 50 Cent, has been repping his hometown of South Jamaica, Queens since he first burst onto the scene. Raised in an underprivileged neighborhood, the rapper was determined to make it big, and make it he did. (Photo: WENN.COM)
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