5 Actors You Didnt Know Made Las Vegas Home

Because Las Vegas is one of Americas entertainment capitals, over the decades the city has seen some of the biggest names in music and magic become permanent residents. A handful of born-and-bred Nevadans have headed in the opposite direction, too: Starting out in Vegas, and then making their mark in Hollywood. Some of the most beloved entertainers who either began in Sin City for settled there later in life include the five below.

Nicolas Cage
Given that the mercurial actor owes his first Oscar to the indie drama Leaving Las Vegas, perhaps its no surprise that he eventually became a semi-permanent resident, buying a swank mansion with a private movie theater and stunning views of the Strip. He later sold that place due to financial troubles, but the ever-flashy Cage continued to spend a lot of time in the city, taking advantage of a vibrant nightlife that suits his personality.

Charisma Carpenter
The former Buffy the Vampire Slayer favorite has described her Vegas upbringing as pretty normal, even though her parents sometimes rubbed elbows with visiting celebrities. As a youngster she was s high school cheerleader and pageant queen, and entertained retirees and tourists as part of a dance troupe.

Jimmy Kimmel
Long before the late-night TV host developed his laconic comic persona, he was a Brooklyn kid whose parents moved to Nevada, where he attended high school in Clark County and then spent one year at UNLV. It was in Vegas that he got his start in broadcasting, working in college radio; and even now hes been heard to say, Vegas is my real hometown.

Kevin Sorbo
The Hercules hunk was born and raised in Minnesota, but his folks later moved to Henderson, and Sorbo lived in the city himself for a good long while, seeing his own third child born as a Nevadan. For a time he even hosted a charity golf tournament for his child-exercise-promoting charity A World Fit for Kids! in the Vegas area.

Rutina Wesley
The star of True Blood andQueen Sugarcame by her love of the spotlight honestly, as the daughter of two professional dancers. Like Matthew Gray Gubler, Wesley attended the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, which gave her the stage experience she later honed at Juilliard, and then Broadway, before moving to TV.