Rhode Island is a very small state indeed. That means there's a much smaller field to choose from when we're looking for native stars, but a small field doesn't mean no star quality. After all, they do have an Oscar-winning movie director to celebrate! Damien Chazelle was the man in the chair for 'La La Land,' which almost swept the board at the 2017 Oscars, and was involved in a memorable controversy when the name of the film was read out as the 'Best Picture' winner instead of 'Moonlight,' who were the intended winners. Chazelle would have been satisfied with his 'Best Director' award when all was said and done, though.
Both of Chazelle's parents are considered notable enough to have their own Wikipedia entry, and his father in particular is a highly-regarded professor at Princeton University. Their son likely hasn't had a single thing to worry about from the moment he was born in Providence in 1985. He initially wanted to be a musician, but was put off by an intense and antagonistic teacher - an experience that inspired the movie 'Whiplash.'