Famous People Born Today

Luke Bryan

Listed In: Singers

Birth Year: 1976

Birthplace: Leesburg, Georgia, United States

Luke Bryan is an American singer and songwriter. As a songwriter, Bryan has contributed to the success of songs recorded by musicians like Billy Currington and Travis Tritt. He is also an acclaimed singer with many prestigious awards under his belt. Also known for his philanthropic activities, Bryan has supported various charities, such as Red Cross and City of Hope.

Angela Merkel

Listed In: Leaders

Birth Year: 1954

Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany

The current chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel is widely described as the world's most powerful woman. Also considered the de facto leader of the European Union (EU), Angela Merkel has played an important role in strengthening international trade agreements. In 2020, she was named in Time magazine's list of 100 Most Influential People.

David Hasselhoff

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1952

Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland, United States

David Hasselhoff played the iconic role of Mitch Buchannon in Baywatch. He has also starred in The Young and The Restless and Knight Rider, judged on America’s Got Talent, released a music album, and appeared in Broadway musicals. He has a Guinness record for being the most-watched man on TV.

Donald Sutherland

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1935

Birthplace: Saint John, Canada

Died: 2024

Donald Sutherland is arguably the greatest Canadian actor of all time. In an illustrious career, that spans over more than five decades, Sutherland has played an influential role in both Canadian and American entertainment industries. He won an Academy Honorary Award in 2017 for his immense contribution to cinema. He is the father of actors Kiefer, Rossif, and Angus Sutherland.

Billie Lourd

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1992

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States

The only child of actor Carrie Fisher, Billie Lourd gained fame for her performance as Chanel #3 in Scream Queens and her roles in American Horror Story. Fans loved her as Lieutenant Connix in the Star Wars films The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi and as Gigi in Booksmart.

James Cagney

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1899

Birthplace: Lower East Side, New York, United States

Died: 1986

James Cagney was an American dancer and actor who won the Academy Award for his performance in the 1942 musical, Yankee Doodle Dandy. In 1984, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions to the entertainment industry. In 1999, he was named in the American Film Institute's Greatest Male Stars of the Classical Hollywood Cinema list.

Diahann Carroll

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1935

Birthplace: Bronx, New York, United States

Died: 2019

Diahann Carroll was an American actress, model, singer, and activist. In 1962, she became the first African-American woman to receive a Tony Award under Best Actress in a Musical category. She is credited with starring in Julia, the first American TV series to star a black woman in a non-stereotypical role; Carroll's portrayal of Julia earned her a Golden Globe.

Terence Tao

Listed In: Scientists

Birth Year: 1975

Birthplace: Adelaide, Australia

Terence Tao is an Australian-American mathematician who works at the University of California, Los Angeles as a professor of mathematics. Widely considered one of the most prominent living mathematicians, Tao was honored with the prestigious Fields Medal in 2006. In 2014, he was awarded the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics.

Kali Uchis

Listed In: Singers

Birth Year: 1994

Birthplace: Alexandria, Virginia, United States

Kali Uchis is an American singer who sings in English and Spanish languages. Uchis achieved international recognition after the release of her hit debut studio album Isolation. Over the course of her career, Kali Uchis has received several prestigious awards such as the Grammy Award, Billboard Music Award, and American Music Award.

Phyllis Diller

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1917

Birthplace: Lima, Ohio, United States

Died: 2012

Height: 5'1" (155 cm)

Lucie Arnaz

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1951

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States

The daughter of Arnaz and Lucille Ball, Lucie Arnaz went on to become an actress. Over the years, Lucie has played an important role in preserving her mother's legacy; from 2002 to 2007, she presided over the directors' board of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center. She also played a key role in promoting the Lucille Ball Festival of New Comedy.

Eric Winter

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1976

Birthplace: La Mirada, California, United States

Eric Winter is best known as Craig O'Laughlin from The Mentalist and as Dash Gardiner from Witches of East End. He has also appeared in movies such as Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. He was initially a model. He has also co-authored a children’s book with his wife.

Benjamin Mendy

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1994

Birthplace: Longjumeau, France

Height: 6'1" (185 cm)

Bitty Schram

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1968

Birthplace: New York City, New York

Bitty Schram is best known as Sharona Fleming from the series Monk and as Evelyn Gardner from the film A League of Their Own. She studied advertising at university on a tennis scholarship and then ventured into Broadway, with performances in plays such as Laughter on the 23rd Floor.

Alun Armstrong

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1946

Birthplace: Annfield Plain

Alun Armstrong is an English actor renowned for playing eccentric characters. Known for his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Armstrong received the prestigious Olivier Award for his portrayal of the title role in the musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. For his contributions to the arts, Alun Armstrong was awarded two honorary degrees in July 2009.

Georges Lemaître

Listed In: Scientists

Birth Year: 1894

Birthplace: Charleroi, Belgium

Died: 1966

Georges Lemaître was a mathematician, astronomer, and professor of physics. Lemaître was the first person to theorize that the expansion of the universe can be used to explain the recession of nearby galaxies. In 1927, Lemaître published the first estimation of the Hubble constant. He also came up with the Big Bang theory to explain the origin of the universe.

Tom Fletcher

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1985

Birthplace: London Borough of Harrow

Tom Fletcher, lead vocalist and guitarist of the band McFly, has also written for several artists and bands, such as Busted, One Direction, and The Vamps. A successful YouTube vlogger, too, he has documented and shared all three pregnancies of his wife, Giovanna. He has also written several children’s books.

Victor Lindelöf

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1994

Birthplace: Västerås, Sweden

Height: 6'2" (188 cm)

Geezer Butler

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1949

Birthplace: Birmingham, England

Height: 6'0" (183 cm)

Tom Cullen

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1985

Birthplace: Aberystwyth, Wales

Thomas Cullen soared to fame with his role in the series Downton Abbey. Fans also loved him as Sir Landry in the series Knightfall. He delivered an award-winning debut performance in the film Weekend. He co-founded the company Undeb Theatre and has also directed the film Pink Wall.

Konnie Huq

Listed In: Media Personalities

Birth Year: 1975

Birthplace: Hammersmith

Konnie Huq is best known for being the longest-serving female host of the children’s show Blue Peter. She has also co-written a Black Mirror episode and published a children’s book. She has been a host on The Xtra Factor, too. She is a British Red Cross ambassador, too.

Carey Hart

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1975

Birthplace: Seal Beach, California, United States

Carey Hart is an American retired motorcycle racer and freestyle motocross competitor. Hart achieved popularity when he became the first motorcyclist to successfully execute a backflip maneuver during a competition on a 250cc motorcycle. He currently competes in off-road racing. Carey Hart is also known for founding the Hart & Huntington Tattoo & Clothing Company.

Natasha Hamilton

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1982

Birthplace: Liverpool

Height: 5'5" (165 cm)

Vince Guaraldi

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1928

Birthplace: San Francisco, California, United States

Died: 1976

Art Linkletter

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1912

Birthplace: Moose Jaw, Canada

Died: 2010

John Jacob Astor

Listed In: Business People

Birth Year: 1763

Birthplace: Walldorf, Germany

Died: 1848

Wong Kar-wai

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1958

Birthplace: Shanghai, China

Height: 6'0" (183 cm)

Verne Lundquist

Listed In: Media Personalities

Birth Year: 1940

Birthplace: Duluth

Jessica Amlee

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1994

Birthplace: Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada

Jessica Amlee is a Canadian actress best known for her portrayal of Mallory Wells in the family drama TV series, Heartland. Although she is yet to establish herself as a prominent feature film actress, Jessica Amlee has proved her mettle by delivering praiseworthy performance in TV films like Absolute Zero and Kidnapped: The Hannah Anderson Story.

Cécile de France

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1975

Birthplace: Namur, Belgium

Cécile de France is a Belgian actress who achieved international prominence for her performance in films like High Tension and Hereafter. One of the most celebrated and popular Belgian actresses of her generation, Cécile de France has won many prestigious awards including two César Awards and multiple Magritte Award nominations.

Matti Nykänen

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1963

Birthplace: Jyväskylä, Finland

Died: 2019

Matti Nykänen was a Finnish ski jumper widely considered to be the greatest male ski jumper of all time. Over the course of his career, he won five Winter Olympic medals and nine World Championship medals. He won the International Masters Championship for veteran ski jumpers in 2008. He had a tumultuous personal life and faced several legal issues.

Connie Hawkins

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1942

Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York

Died: 2017

Height: 6'8" (203 cm)

Erle Stanley Gardner

Listed In: Writers

Birth Year: 1889

Birthplace: Malden, Massachusetts, United States

Died: 1970

Phoebe Snow

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1950

Birthplace: New York City, U.S.

Died: 2011

Frederick Henry Ball

Listed In: Miscellaneous

Birth Year: 1915

Birthplace: Jamestown, New York, United States

Died: 2007

Heather Langenkamp

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1964

Birthplace: Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.

Height: 5'3" (160 cm)

Elbridge Gerry

Listed In: Leaders

Birth Year: 1744

Birthplace: Marblehead, Massachusetts, United States

Died: 1814

Robert Bobroczky

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 2000

Birthplace: Arad, Romania

Born to athlete parents, Hungarian-origin Romanian basketball player Robert Bobroczky became famous for his towering 7’7” frame. His abnormal height was apparently found to be a result of genetics and not any disorder. He represented the Italian club Stella Azzurra and later moved to the US to join the SPIRE Institute and Academy.

Mason Rudolph

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1995

Birthplace: Rock Hill, South Carolina

Height: 6'5" (196 cm)

António Costa

Listed In: Leaders

Birth Year: 1961

Birthplace: Lisbon, Portugal

António Costa is a Portuguese politician and lawyer. He is the current Prime Minister of Portugal, serving his second consecutive term. An important and influential politician, Costa has also held various ministerial offices apart from serving as the Mayor of Lisbon from 2007 to 2015. In 2017, the Government of India honored António Costa with the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman.

Yang Jiang

Listed In: Writers

Birth Year: 1911

Birthplace: Beijing, China

Died: 2016

Yang Jiang was a Chinese author, translator, and playwright. Yang Jiang is credited with writing several successful comedies. A prolific translator, Yang was the first Chinese to come up with a proper Chinese version of Don Quixote. Her translation is considered the definitive translation of the popular novel in China.

Robin Shou

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1960

Birthplace: Hong Kong

Height: 6'0" (183 cm)

Darude

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1975

Birthplace: Eura, Satakunta, Finland

Darude is a Finnish record producer and DJ whose music is characterized by its uplifting style. In 2019, he and Sebastian Rejman represented their country at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Look Away. Over the course of his career, Darude has won many prestigious awards, such as Finnish Grammy Awards and Golden Turntable DJ Award.