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- Paul Rae (born 1968) actor
- Max Rafferty (1917-1982) educator, author, and California politician
- Henry Ragas (1897–1919) early jazz pianist
- Kevin Rahm (born 1971) actor
- William Rainach (1913–1978) politician
- W.L. Rambo (1917–1984) politician
- Rueben Randle (born 1991) wide receiver for the New York Giants
- Ned Randolph (born 1942), State Representative, state senator, and mayor of Alexandria (1986–2006)
- Kevin Rankin (born 1976) actor, Friday Night Lights, Trauma, Unforgettable
- John Rarick (1924–2009) US Representative and state judge
- B.B. "Bennie" Rayburn, Jr. (1944–2006) Washington Parish sheriff
- B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn, Sr. (1916–2008) politician
- Eddy Raven (born 1944) singer-songwriter
- Shawn Reaves (born 1978) actor
- Mac "Dr John" Rebbenack (born 1940) pianist, singer-songwriter
- Ed Reed (born 1978), free safety for the Baltimore Ravens
- Willis Reed (born 1942), former Basketball Hall of Fame player with the New York Knicks and former NBA head coach
- Bob Reese (1929–2004), Republican political activist
- Pee Wee Reese (1918–1999), shortstop for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers
- Edmund Reggie (born 1926), lawyer, judge, father-in-law of Edward M. Kennedy
- Godfrey Reggio (born 1940) film-maker
- Kevin P. Reilly, Sr. (1928-2012), former state representative and CEO of Lamar Advertising Company
- Sean Reilly (born ca. 1961), former state representative, chief operating officer of Lamar Advertising Company
- Darius Reynaud (born 1985), wide receiver and running back for the Tennessee Titans
- Gene Reynolds (born c. 1951), state representative and retired educator
- Anne Rice (born 1941) writer
- E.S. Richardson (1875–1950), educator
- Norman L. Richardson (1935–1999) journalist
- Dan Richey (born 1948) politician
- Beth Rickey (1956–2009) political activist who opposed David Duke
- Teddy Riley (1924–1992) jazz trumpeter
- Norbert Rilleaux (1806–1894) inventor, engineer
- Neil Riser (born 1962) politician
- Joel Robideaux (born c. 1962) politician
- Cokie Roberts (born 1943) journalist, author, daughter of Hale and Lindy Boggs
- Scotty Robertson (1930–2011) basketball coach
- George Rodrigue (born 1944) "Blue Dog" artist
- Charles P. Roland (born 1918) historian
- R. L. Ropp (1897 - 1982) president of Louisiana Tech University from 1949 to 1962
- Buddy Roemer (born 1943) Governor of Louisiana
- Charles E. Roemer, II (1923-2012) businessman and politician
- Ned Romero (born 1925) actor originally from Franklin
- Leon Roppolo (1902–1943) musician
- Sol Rosenberg (1926–2009), Monroe industrialist and Dachau concentration camp survivor
- Louis J. Roussel, Jr. (1906–2001) businessman
- Chris Roy, Jr. (born 1962) state representative from Alexandria
- Jacques Roy (born 1970) mayor of Alexandria since 2006
- Alvin Benjamin Rubin (1920-1991) federal judge
- Robert Edwin Russ (1830–1902) founder of Ruston, Louisiana
Read more about this topic: List Of People From Louisiana