by Moe Zilla

Created on: October 30, 2009   Last Updated: November 19, 2009

Nevada is an unusual place. The entire state has a population of less than 3 million, and the luxury resorts of Las Vegas and Reno are surrounded by vast empty deserts. In movies and TV shows, actors from Hollywood pretend that they live in "the silver state."

Which real-life famous people were actually born in Nevada?

Dawn Wells
Reno

If you were shipwrecked on TV's "Gilligan's Island," which female castaway would you prefer? "Ginger or Mary Ann?" was a favorite question for fans of the classic sitcom, and the actor who played Gilligan always insisted that people invariably chose Mary Ann.

The homey brunette was played by 26-year-old actress Dawn Wells, and nearly three decades later, Dawn was still enjoying the character. In 1993 she even co-authored a book of recipes... called "Mary Ann's Gilligan's Island Cookbook!"

Pat Nixon
Ely

Believe it or not, one first Lady of the United States was born "in a miner's shack high in the mountains of eastern Nevada." The Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs recaps her story in an online exhibit - how her father was a gold miner who moved the family to Southern California, and how Pat eventually met an up-and-coming politician named Richard Nixon. By 1969, she and Richard had moved their own family - into the White House.

Charisma Carpenter
Las Vegas

Ever watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"? Then you've seen Charisma, who plays cheerleader Cordelia Chase. She's appeared in 57 different episodes of the series, and then turned up in its spin-off, "Angel". And there's also 11 episodes of "Veronica Mars" on her resume. (Charisma plays Kendall Casablancas.) The Internet Movie Database lists her long string of TV appearances, but also points out that the road to her glamorous TV life started at Gorman High School in Las Vegas.

Andre Agassi
Las Vegas

He was the best tennis player in the world, not only winning at Wimbledon but at every other major tournament - including the Australian, French, and U.S. Open. But his life began near the wild lights of the Las Vegas strip! Andre Agassi trained to be a boxer as a kid, but according to the Encarta encyclopedia, his tennis tutors included greats like Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors - and in 1996 he went on to win a gold medal for tennis at the summer Olympics in Atlanta. And he's now married to another famous tennis player: women's tennis star Steffi Graf.

Abby Dalton
Las Vegas

She's appeared on television hundreds of times. In the 1980s, she played Julia Cumson on Falcon Crest. In the '70s, she was Lydia Summers on The Young and the Restless. And in the 1960s, Abby racked up over 50 episodes of "The Joey Bishop Show," plus 93 episodes of a Navy drama called Hennessey. Not to mention 159 appearances on the Hollywood Squares! Every appearance is catalogued at the Internet Movie Database, along with their memory that in the 1960s, "Sleek and striking Abby Dalton became a very familiar perky and sexy presence..."

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