Famous People Born Today

Jackie Robinson

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1919

Birthplace: Cairo, Georgia, United States

Died: 1972

The first African-American to play in MLB in the modern era, Jackie Robinson helped herald the end of racial segregation in baseball. He broke the baseball color line and encouraged black players not to be confined to the Negro leagues alone. In 1962, he became a Baseball Hall of Fame inductee.

Justin Randall Timberlake

Listed In: Singers

Birth Year: 1981

Birthplace: Memphis, Tennessee, United States

Justin Randall Timberlake is an American actor, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, Timberlake has sold more than 56 million singles worldwide, which makes him one of the best-selling music artists. In 2007 and 2013, he was named in Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world list. Timberlake is also known for his philanthropic activities.

Minnie Driver

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1970

Birthplace: London, England

Minnie Driver is best known for her Academy Award-nominated role of Skylar in Good Will Hunting. She is also known for her supporting roles in the films Circle of Friends and Take and the series Speechless, About a Boy, and Will & Grace. She is a jazz musician, too.

Kerry Washington

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1977

Birthplace: Bronx, New York, United States

American actress, Kerry Washington, attained fame when she starred in the television series, Scandal, which ran from 2012 to 2018. She was also commended for her role in the television film, Confirmation, and for the miniseries, Little Fires Everywhere. She has also acted in films like The Last King of Scotland, Django Unchained, Our Song, The Dead Girl and American Son.

Jonathan Banks

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1947

Birthplace: Washington, D.C., United States

Jonathan Banks became the first actor to receive nominations for Primetime Emmy Award under the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category for three different shows, all of which feature him in the main cast. He has also made contributions to a couple of video games, namely Batman: Arkham Knight and Lego The Incredibles.

Nolan Ryan

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1947

Birthplace: Refugio, Texas, United States

The celebrated former baseball player whose Major League career spanned 27 years, retired with record 5,714 strikeouts and seven no-hitters. Nicknamed Ryan Express, Nolan Ryan played as a pitcher and had long stints with Houston Astros and California Angels. A member of the American National Baseball Hall of Fame, he is the principal owner of Ryan Sanders Sports and Entertainment.

Suzanne Pleshette

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1937

Birthplace: Brooklyn Heights, New York, United States

Died: 2008

Suzanne Pleshette is best remembered for her Golden Globe-nominated role in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. She also appeared as Emily Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show and was nominated for both the Emmy and the Golden Globe for her portrayal of real-life hotelier Leona Helmsley in her biopic.

Mama Dragun

Listed In: YouTubers

Birth Year: 1996

Birthplace: Belgium

Mama Dragun, or Nikita Dragun, is a Belgian-born Vietnamese-Mexican transgender fashion influencer and make-up artist. A popular social-media personality, she left Facebook in 2011 and focused on YouTube and Instagram later. She owns a vegan makeup line, Dragun Beauty, and starred in her own Snapchat docuseries, Nikita Unfiltered.

Jean Simmons

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1929

Birthplace: London, England

Died: 2010

Jean Simmons is best remembered as Ophelia from the 1948 movie Hamlet, a role that fetched her an Oscar nomination. She won an Emmy for The Thorn Birds and a Golden Globe for Guys and Dolls. She was also known for her association with the anti-drug charity Release.

Franz Peter Schubert

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1797

Birthplace: Himmelpfortgrund, Vienna, Austria

Died: 1828

Austrian composer Franz Peter Schubert was one of the most prominent figures of the Viennese Classical and Romantic periods. He initially performed at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. His compositions include over 600 vocal works and several symphonies, operas, and piano sonatas. One of his most-talked-about works is the Unfinished Symphony.

Jessica Walter

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1941

Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States

Died: 2021

Jessica Walter is best known for her Satellite Award-winning performance as Lucille Bluth in Arrested Development and her Emmy-winning titular role in the series Amy Prentiss. Fans also loved her in the movies Play Misty For Me and Grand Prix. She has also voiced characters in Archer and Dinosaurs.

Kelly Lynch

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1959

Birthplace: Golden Valley, Minnesota, United States

Kelly Lynch is best known for her Independent Spirit Award-nominated roles in Drugstore Cowboy and The Beans of Egypt, Maine. She also appeared in series such as The L Word, 90210, and Magic City, and in movies such as Curly Sue and Virtuosity. She is married to writer/producer Mitch Glazer.

Tallulah Bankhead

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1902

Birthplace: Huntsville, Alabama, United States

Died: 1968

Tallulah Bankhead was the daughter of former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives William Brockman Bankhead. She also gained fame for her role in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat. She had also been part of radio and TV shows. She had a life riddled with bisexual promiscuity and alcoholism.

Carol Channing

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1921

Birthplace: Seattle, Washington, USA

Died: 2019

Height: 5'9" (175 cm)

Terry Kath

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1946

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Died: 1978

Martha MacCallum

Listed In: Media Personalities

Birth Year: 1964

Birthplace: Buffalo, New York

Journalist and anchor Martha MacCallum is best known as the host of The Story with Martha MacCallum on Fox News. The two-time Gracie Award-winner has also been dragged into controversy for suggesting that the gender pay gap may be a myth and for calling COVID-19 the “China Virus.”

Norman Mailer

Listed In: Writers

Birth Year: 1923

Birthplace: Long Branch, New Jersey, United States

Died: 2007

Norman Mailer was an American journalist, novelist, essayist, filmmaker, actor, and playwright. A prolific writer, Mailer had at least one best-selling book in each of the seven decades post Second World War. Overall, he had 11 best-selling books in a career spanning over 60 years. A recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, Mailer is regarded as an innovator of New Journalism.

Guido van Rossum

Listed In: Engineers

Birth Year: 1956

Birthplace: Haarlem, Netherlands

Dutch programmer Guido van Rossum is known as the inventor of the Python programming language. He has also worked with Google and Dropbox earlier. In November 2020, he announced he announced his decision to join the Developer Division of Microsoft. He has won several honors, such as the NLUUG Award.

Patricia Velásquez

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1971

Birthplace: Maracaibo, Venezuela

Patricia Velásquez is a Venezuelan model and actress best known for playing Anck-su-namun in The Mummy (1999). A former beauty queen, Velásquez took part in the Miss Venezuela 1989 contest. Patricia Velásquez is also a humanitarian; she earned the Women Together award in 2009 for her work with UNESCO. She also runs a non-profit organization called The Wayuu Taya Foundation.

Glynn Turman

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1947

Birthplace: New York, New York, United States

Glynn Turman is an American actor, filmmaker, and writer. In a career spanning over 60 years. Some of the notable characters that he has portrayed are: Lew Miles in the movie Peyton Place, Leroy Jackson in the film Cooley High, and Bradford Taylor in the sitcom A Different World. He has also won several awards like the NAACP Image Award.

Paul Scheer

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1976

Birthplace: New Hyde Park, New York, USA

Height: 5'10" (178 cm)

Joel Courtney

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1996

Birthplace: Monterey, California

Height: 6'0" (183 cm)

Thomas Merton

Listed In: Writers

Birth Year: 1915

Birthplace: Prades, France

Died: 1968

American Trappist monk and theologian Thomas Merton was ordained a priest and named Father Louis. He was a member of the monastery Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani. He is remembered for his bestselling autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, and for his study of Eastern religions such as Buddhism.

Josh Richards

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 2002

Birthplace: Toronto, Canada

Tokugawa Ieyasu

Listed In: Leaders

Birth Year: 1543

Birthplace: Okazaki Castle, Mikawa (now Okazaki, Japan)

Died: 1616

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He is considered one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan. He was the son of Matsudaira Hirotada, a minor local warlord. He grew up to be an ambitious young man with exemplary leadership qualities and eventually founded the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan.

John Dye

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1963

Birthplace: Amory, Mississippi, United States

Died: 2011

Height: 6'2" (188 cm)

James Franciscus

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1934

Birthplace: Clayton, Missouri, United States

Died: 1991

Height: 5'10" (178 cm)

Doug Pederson

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1968

Birthplace: Bellingham, Washington, USA

Height: 6'3" (190 cm)

Ernie Banks

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1931

Birthplace: Dallas, Texas, United States

Died: 2015

John Agar

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1921

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Died: 2002

Height: 6'1" (185 cm)

Joanne Dru

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1922

Birthplace: Logan, West Virginia, United States

Died: 1996

Height: 5'7" (170 cm)

John Lydon

Listed In: Lyricists & Songwriters

Birth Year: 1956

Birthplace: Holloway, London, England

Height: 5'8" (173 cm)

Tyler Hubbard

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1987

Birthplace: Monroe, Georgia

Tyler Hubbard is best known as part of the country music duo Florida Georgia Line, which also consists of music artist Brian Kelley. He has also released solo tracks. He and Kelley own the music publishing company Tree Vibez Music and the independent label Round Here Records.

Preity Zinta

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1975

Birthplace: Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

Preity Zinta is an Indian actress and entrepreneur. She is best known for her roles in the romantic drama films Kal Ho Naa Ho and Veer Zaara. She has degrees in English honors and criminal psychology but chose to become a model and actress. She is known for playing unconventional roles and is the recipient of several awards.

Jean Speegle Howard

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1927

Birthplace: Duncan, Oklahoma, United States

Died: 2000

Vitalik Buterin

Listed In: Scientists

Birth Year: 1994

Birthplace: Kolomna, Russia

Daniela Bianchi

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1942

Birthplace: Rome, Italy

Daniela Bianchi is an Italian actress known for her portrayal of Bond girl Tatiana Romanova in the popular spy film, From Russia with Love. After appearing in the second James Bond film, Bianchi landed roles in a number of Italian and French movies. Apart from acting, Daniela Bianchi also studied ballet and worked as a fashion model.

Tyler Ritter

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1985

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States

Height: 6'1" (185 cm)

Dexter Fletcher

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1966

Birthplace: Enfield, London, England, UK

Height: 5'6" (168 cm)

Eddie Cantor

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1892

Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA

Died: 1964

Height: 5'8" (173 cm)

Zane Grey

Listed In: Writers

Birth Year: 1872

Birthplace: Zanesville, Ohio, USA

Died: 1939

Connie Booth

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1944

Birthplace: Indianapolis

Connie Booth is best known as Polly Sherman from the series Fawlty Towers. She was also seen in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail and the series Monty Python's Flying Circus. She also appeared on stage. After retiring from acting, she began working as a psychotherapist in London.

Amelia Bullmore

Listed In: Writers

Birth Year: 1964

Birthplace: Chelsea, London, England, United Kingdom

Height: 5'6" (168 cm)

Lee Young-ae

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1971

Birthplace: Seoul, South Korea

Lee Young-ae soared to fame with the series Jewel in The Palace and the Park Chan-wook thriller Sympathy For Lady Vengeance. However, after marrying businessman Jeong Ho-young, she quit films, while enjoying her stint as a stay-at-home mom for her twins. She later returned, playing artist Shin Saimdang in Saimdang.