Famous People Born Today

Reese Witherspoon

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1976

Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Acclaimed actress, Reese Witherspoon, shot to fame with her film Legally Blonde and continued her successful journey working in films and television shows like Walk the Line, Wild and Big Little Lies. In process, she became one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood and also one of the world’s highest paid actresses. Witherspoon has her own production company too.

JJ Watt

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1989

Birthplace: Pewaukee, Wisconsin, United States

JJ Watt is an American football player who currently plays defensive end for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He also plays defensive tackle in some situations. Sports Illustrated named him its Sportsperson of the Year in 2017. He is regarded as one of the greatest defensive ends in NFL history. Besides sports, he co-hosts the Fox game show, Ultimate Tag.

William Shatner

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1931

Birthplace: Montreal, Canada

Canadian actor, William Shatner, is best known for his roles in the television series Boston Legal, a legal drama for which he won two Emmy Awards and Star Trek, a science fiction adventure. He has also worked in many other sitcoms and films and has authored a number of science fiction novels. He is a singer and a spoken-word artist too.

Keegan-Michael Key

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1971

Birthplace: Southfield, Michigan, United States

Keegan-Michael Key is an American actor, producer, comedian, and writer. He is credited with co-creating Comedy Central's sketch comedy series Key & Peele for which he has received a couple of awards including a Primetime Emmy Award. He is also known for his philanthropic efforts; he has participated in the Young Storytellers Foundation's annual fundraiser.

Constance Wu

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1982

Birthplace: Richmond, Virginia, United States

Height: 5'1" (155 cm)

Cole Hauser

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1975

Birthplace: Santa Barbara, California, United States

Born into a family of film personalities, Cole Hauser decided to drop out of school at the age of 16 in order to pursue a career in acting - it turned out to be one of the best decisions of his life as he went on to become a popular actor.

James Patterson

Listed In: Writers

Birth Year: 1947

Birthplace: Newburgh, New York, United States

One of the highest-earning authors in the contemporary world, James Patterson is the writer of many mystery fictions which sold records copie globally. Born to working-class parents of Irish-origin, the American writer whose thriller novels include Alex Cross and Michael Bennett series is also a philanthropist and contributes to promoting reading. He founded the James Patterson PageTurner Awards.

Yayoi Kusama

Listed In: Artists & Painters

Birth Year: 1929

Birthplace: Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan

Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama is known for her variety of artforms, including sculpture, installations, paintings, and fashion. She mingles elements such as feminism, surrealism, and abstract expressionism, and expresses her struggle with mental illness through her art. She has also published books and produced an award-winning film. 

Rick Harrison

Listed In: Business People

Birth Year: 1965

Birthplace: Lexington, North Carolina, United States

Rick Harrison, co-owner of the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, shot to fame with the History Channel show Pawn Stars. His memoir, License to Pawn, became a New York Times bestseller. Named the National Pawnbrokers Association’s 2010 Pawnbroker of the Year, he also appeared on the game show Pawnography. 

Matthew Modine

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1959

Birthplace: Loma Linda, California

Matthew Modine is best known for his Golden Globe-nominated roles in And the Band Played On and What the Deaf Man Heard. Fans also loved him as Sullivan Groff in Weeds and as Dr. Brenner in Stranger Things. He is associated with a pro-bike organization named Bicycle for a Day.

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1948

Birthplace: Kensington, London

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber reinvented the musical and created masterpieces such as Don't Cry for Me Argentina from Evita and Memory from Cats. He is one of 16 people to have won the Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, and Tony. He owns one of the biggest theater companies in London.

Nick Robinson

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1995

Birthplace: Seattle, Washington, United States

Nick Robinson is an American actor known for his contribution across all three major acting mediums. He started his career as a child artist before going on to establish himself in the film, TV, and theater industry; in 2018, he was mentioned in Forbes magazine's 30 Under 30 list. 

Allison Stokke

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1989

Birthplace: Newport Beach, California, United States

Allison Stokke became an internet sensation after a few of her images went viral when she was 17. The talented high-school pole vaulter earned the 2011 All-American honors. She later gained more fame as a fitness model and a sex symbol than as a sportsperson. She also failed her Olympic trials.

Karl Malden

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1912

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Died: 2009

Karl Malden is best remembered for his Academy Award-winning role of Harold Mitchell in A Streetcar Named Desire. He also won a BAFTA for the film Baby Doll and an Emmy for Fatal Vision. Fans also loved him as Mike Stone in The Streets of San Francisco and its spin-off.

George Benson

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1943

Birthplace: Pittsburgh

Werner Klemperer

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1920

Birthplace: Cologne, Germany

Died: 2000

Height: 5'10" (178 cm)

Euronymous

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1968

Birthplace: Egersund

Died: 1993

Øystein Aarseth, better known as Euronymous, was a pioneer in the Norwegian black-metal circuit. He co-founded the band Mayhem and was its guitarist. He also launched the metal record label Deathlike Silence Productions and the black-metal record shop Helvete. A self-proclaimed Satanist, he was murdered by his bandmate Varg Vikernes.

Marcel Marceau

Listed In: Miscellaneous

Birth Year: 1923

Birthplace: Strasbourg, France

Died: 2007

Height: 5'9" (175 cm)

Bob Costas

Listed In: Media Personalities

Birth Year: 1952

Birthplace: Queens, New York, United States

Height: 5'7" (170 cm)

Chico Marx

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1887

Birthplace: New York City, New York

Died: 1961

M. Emmet Walsh

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1935

Birthplace: Ogdensburg, New York, USA

Died: 2025

Height: 5'10" (178 cm)

Lena Olin

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1955

Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden

Height: 5'10" (178 cm)

Anne Dudek

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1975

Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Height: 5'10" (178 cm)

Anthony van Dyck

Listed In: Artists & Painters

Birth Year: 1599

Birthplace: Antwerp, Belgium

Died: 1641

Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who started painting at an early age before going on to become the leading court painter in England. Although he is best remembered for painting the aristocracy, van Dyck also painted biblical and mythological subjects. In 1632, Anthony van Dyck received a knighthood from Charles I.

Ross Martin

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1920

Birthplace: Gródek, Poland

Died: 1981

Height: 5'11" (180 cm)

Louis L’Amour

Listed In: Writers

Birth Year: 1908

Birthplace: Jamestown, North Dakota, United States

Died: 1988

Shawn Bradley

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1972

Birthplace: Landstuhl, West Germany

Height: 7'6" (229 cm)

Stephanie Mills

Listed In: Singers

Birth Year: 1957

Birthplace: New York City

Height: 4'9" (145 cm)

Tania Raymonde

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1988

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA

Height: 5'5" (165 cm)

Braxton Bragg

Listed In: Leaders

Birth Year: 1817

Birthplace: Warrenton, North Carolina, United States

Died: 1876

Roger Whittaker

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1936

Birthplace: Nairobi, Kenya

Roger Whittaker is a British musician and singer-songwriter. Best known for his trademark whistling ability, baritone singing voice, and guitar skills, Whittaker is one of the best-selling artistes in the UK. Roger Whittaker forsook his teaching career to establish himself as a musician, a decision which he has never regretted. 

Louis L'Amour

Listed In: Writers

Birth Year: 1908

Birthplace: Jamestown, North Dakota, United States

Died: 1988

Haing S. Ngor

Listed In: Physicians

Birth Year: 1940

Birthplace: Cambodia

Died: 1996

Kellie Shanygne Williams

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1976

Birthplace: Washington, D.C., United States

Height: 5'6" (168 cm)

May Britt

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1934

Birthplace: Lidingö, Lidingö, Sweden

May Britt is a Swedish retired actress who moved to the US in the late-1950s where she made headlines for marrying Sammy Davis Jr. at a time when interracial marriage was forbidden by law in the US. In the 1998 film, The Rat Pack, which narrates the circumstances surrounding May Britt's wedding to Davis, Britt was played by Megan Dodds.

Francesco Quinn

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1963

Birthplace: Rome, Italy

Died: 2011

George Crum

Listed In: Food Experts

Birth Year: 1822

Birthplace: Saratoga County, New York, United States

Died: 1914

Kandyse McClure

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1980

Birthplace: Durban, South Africa

Bruno Ganz

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1941

Birthplace: Zürich, Switzerland

Died: 2019

Bruno Ganz was a Swiss actor best remembered for his collaborations with acclaimed directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Werner Herzog, and Wim Wenders. Ganz achieved immense popularity for his performance in movies like The American Friend and Nosferatu the Vampyre. Bruno Ganz was the recipient of several prestigious awards such as the Swiss Film Prize and the European Film Award.

Lizzie Brocheré

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1985

Birthplace: Paris, France

Best known as Grace Bertrand from American Horror Story and Coco from The Strain, Lizzie Brocheré is the daughter of reputed French casting director Sylvie Brocheré. It is believed her audition for American Horror Story was so perfect that the directors re-wrote the character as French to match her accent.

James Wolk

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1985

Birthplace: Farmington Hills, Michigan, United States

Height: 6'2" (188 cm)

Brian Shaw

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1966

Birthplace: Fort Lupton, Colorado, United States

Height: 6'8" (203 cm)

Eric Roth

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1945

Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA

Height: 5'10" (178 cm)

Max Richter

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1966

Birthplace: Hamelin, Germany

German-born British composer Max Richter is known for his experiments with classical music, which he often mingles with contemporary electronica. Apart from performing at sold-out concerts at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, he has also composed for shows such as Black Mirror and Taboo and films such as Hostiles.

P. Ramlee

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1929

Birthplace: Penang, Malaysia

Died: 1973

Keith Relf

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1943

Birthplace: Richmond

Died: 1976

Robert Andrews Millikan

Listed In: Scientists

Birth Year: 1868

Birthplace: Morrison

Died: 1953

Nobel Prize-winning experimental physicist Robert Andrews Millikan had begun his career as a faculty member at the University of Chicago and penned countless physics books. He later devoted himself to his research on elementary electronic charge and the photoelectric effect. His famous oil-drop experiment is known to all physics enthusiasts.

James Maurice Gavin

Listed In: Leaders

Birth Year: 1907

Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States

Died: 1990

Pawat Chittsawangdee

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 2000

Birthplace: Bangkok, Thailand

Lindsay Frimodt

Listed In: Fashion

Birth Year: 1981

Birthplace: Sacramento