Famous People Born Today

The Notorious B.I.G.

Listed In: Singers

Birth Year: 1972

Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States

Died: 1997

The Notorious B.I.G. was a rapper and songwriter and is considered one of the best ever. His debut album Ready to Die in 1994 was critically acclaimed. He was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in September 1996. His album Life After Death was released two weeks after his death.

Plato

Listed In: Intellectuals & Academics

Birth Year: 0428

Birthplace: Classical Athens, Greece

Died: 0348

Plato was one of the most important Ancient Greek philosophers, who contributed greatly to the fields of mathematics, metaphysics, politics, art, and poetry. Along with his famous student Aristotle and equally famous teacher Socrates, Plato is considered one of the founders of spirituality and Western religion. Platonism remains one of his important contributions.

Mr. T

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1952

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Mr. T is best known as A. Baracus from The A-Team and Clubber Lang from Rocky III. Fans love his signature hairstyle and his gold jewelry, which he stopped wearing after Hurricane Katrina. His catchphrase “I pity the fool!" inspired a reality show. He has previously been a celebrity bodyguard.

Josh Allen

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1996

Birthplace: Firebaugh, California, United States

Height: 6'5" (196 cm)

Raymond Burr

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1917

Birthplace: New Westminster, Canada

Died: 1993

Height: 6'0" (183 cm)

Fairuza Balk

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1974

Birthplace: Point Reyes, California, United States

Actress and musician Fairuza Balk is best known for her performance in the film Gas Food Lodging. Being the daughter of a musician and dancer, she was introduced to the performing arts early on. She started working as a teenager and became a successful actress. As a musician, she is involved with the band Armed Love Militia.

Nick Cassavetes

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1959

Birthplace: New York, New York, United States

Nicholas Cassavetes, son of actor Gena Rowlands and actor-director John Cassavetes, had initially tried his luck in basketball, but his sports career ended due to an injury. He later appeared in films such as Face/Off and The Astronaut's Wife. He also directed films such as The Notebook.

Lisa Edelstein

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1966

Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Height: 5'6" (168 cm)

Gotye

Listed In: Singers

Birth Year: 1980

Birthplace: Bruges, Belgium

Belgian-born Australian singer Gotye initially formed the indie-pop group The Basics. The three-time Grammy-winning artist has also had a successful solo career and is best known for his Billboard-topping track Somebody That I Used to Know, which made him the fifth Australian artist to top the Billboard charts.

Judge Reinhold

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1957

Birthplace: Wilmington, Delaware, United States

More than seventy-five film and television roles, over two decades of relationship with international audiences across all generations, Judge Reinhold is well-known for his multi-faceted personality. His career gained momentum when he appeared in Beverly Hill Cop. He earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his performance in Seinfeld.

Taylor Sheridan

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1970

Birthplace: Cranfills Gap, Texas, United States

Screenwriter/director Taylor Sheridan is best known for his Academy Award-nominated original screenplay in Hell or High Water. He also gained fame as an actor, playing David Hale in the Sons of Anarchy and Danny Boyd in Veronica Mars. He has also written Sicario and written and directed Wind River.

Albrecht Durer

Listed In: Artists & Painters

Birth Year: 1471

Birthplace: Nuremberg, Germany

Died: 1528

Albrecht Durer was a German painter, theorist, and printmaker of the German Renaissance. During his 20s, Durer established his reputation as a popular printmaker across Europe, thanks to his high-quality woodcut prints. His popularity enabled him to work with major Italian artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Giovanni Bellini, and Raphael. Albrecht Durer also influenced generations of artists, especially in printmaking.

Mario Mandžukić

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1986

Birthplace: Slavonski Brod, Croatia

Mario Mandžukić is a Croatian former footballer who played as a striker for the Croatia national team from 2007 to 2018. In 2018, he helped his team win the silver medal at the World Cup. As a player, he became renowned for his aerial prowess and aggressiveness. In 2012 and 2013, Mario Mandžukić was adjudged Croatian Footballer of the Year.

Al Franken

Listed In: Leaders

Birth Year: 1951

Birthplace: Manhattan, New York, United States

Al Franken served as the U.S. senator from Minnesota, from 2009 to 2018. He has also gained fame as a Saturday Night Live writer, has authored several bestsellers, has hosted The Al Franken Show on radio, and has starred in screen projects such as Stuart Saves His Family.

Alexander Pope

Listed In: Writers

Birth Year: 1688

Birthplace: London, England, United Kingdom

Died: 1744

Alexander Pope was a satirist and poet whose works produced during the Augustan period made him one of the greatest artistic exponents of that period. Widely regarded as one of the most important English poets of the 18th century, Alexander Pope is best remembered for writing discursive poetry and heroic couplets.

Noel Fielding

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1973

Birthplace: City of Westminster, London, England

Well-known for his use of black comedy and surreal humor, Noel Fielding is an English comedian, musician, writer, and actor. He co-created a television program called The Mighty Boosh, which has gained a cult fan following. Also an artist, Noel Fielding has exhibited many of his paintings in London.

Armand Hammer

Listed In: Business People

Birth Year: 1898

Birthplace: New York, New York, United States

Died: 1990

Ricky Williams

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1977

Birthplace: San Diego, California, USA

Height: 5'10" (178 cm)

Robert Montgomery

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1904

Birthplace: Beacon, New York

Died: 1981

Robert Montgomery was an American actor, producer, and director. Renowned for his versatility, Montgomery received two nominations for the prestigious Academy Award under the Best Actor category. Robert Montgomery was awarded a couple of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the film and TV industries.

Richard Hatch

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1945

Birthplace: Santa Monica, California, United States

Died: 2017

Height: 5'11" (180 cm)

Ronald Isley

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1941

Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Leo Sayer

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1948

Birthplace: Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England

Height: 5'4" (163 cm)

Aung La Nsang

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1985

Birthplace: Myitkyina, Kachin, Burma

Height: 6'1" (185 cm)

Bruce Buffer

Listed In: Media Personalities

Birth Year: 1957

Birthplace: Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States

Known for his popular catchphrase “It's time!," Bruce Buffer, the well-known MMA ring announcer, initially worked in the telemarketing industry. He and his half-brother, announcer Michael Buffer, whom Bruce had no clue about till he was an adult, now run The Buffer Partnership, a company to grow their brand value.

Kevin Quinn

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1997

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Height: 5'10" (178 cm)

Henri Rousseau

Listed In: Artists & Painters

Birth Year: 1844

Birthplace: Laval, France

Died: 1910

Height: 5'10" (178 cm)

Josh Hamilton

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1981

Birthplace: Raleigh, North Carolina, United States

Height: 6'4" (193 cm)

Tom Daley

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1994

Birthplace: Plymouth, Devon, England

Height: 5'10" (178 cm)

Jonathan Hyde

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1948

Birthplace: Brisbane, Australia

Height: 5'11" (180 cm)

Andrei Sakharov

Listed In: Scientists

Birth Year: 1921

Birthplace: Moscow, Russia

Died: 1989

Andrei Sakharov was a Russian dissident and nuclear physicist best remembered for designing RDS-37, Soviet Union's first two-stage hydrogen bomb. Also an activist for peace and human rights, Andrei Sakharov was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, which is awarded by the European Parliament, is named in his honor.

Bobby Cox

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1941

Birthplace: Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States

Ara Parseghian

Listed In: Miscellaneous

Birth Year: 1923

Birthplace: Akron, Ohio, United States

Died: 2017

Anthony Mundine

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1975

Birthplace: Newtown, Australia

Anthony Mundine is an Australian former rugby league footballer and former professional boxer. He competed from 2000 to 2021 as a boxer and held championship titles, such as the WBA super-middleweight title, the IBO middleweight title, and the WBA interim super-welterweight title. Before becoming a boxer, Mundine was a popular figure in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Tom Goodman-Hill

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1968

Birthplace: London, England

Height: 6'0" (183 cm)

Lázaro Cárdenas

Listed In: Leaders

Birth Year: 1895

Birthplace: Jiquilpan, Mexico

Died: 1970

Lázaro Cárdenas had a difficult childhood and supported his family doing odd jobs after his father’s death. He rose to be the president of Mexico and was known for his efforts to implement the objectives of the Mexican Revolution, such as nationalization of industries and making loans available to farmers.

Romain Gary

Listed In: Writers

Birth Year: 1914

Birthplace: Vilnius, Republic Of Lithuania

Died: 1980

Romain Gary was a French novelist, diplomat, and film director of Jewish origin. He also served as an aviator during World War II. One of France’s most popular and prolific writers, he is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt twice. He had a troubled personal life and died of suicide in 1980.

Dennis Day

Listed In: Singers

Birth Year: 1916

Birthplace: Bronx, New York, United States

Died: 1988

Height: 5'8" (173 cm)

Peggy Cass

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1924

Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Died: 1999

Anjulie Persaud

Listed In: Musicians

Birth Year: 1983

Birthplace: Oakville, Canada

Anjulie Persaud is a Canadian songwriter and singer best known for her collaboration with popular artists like Nicki Minaj, Diplo, Kelly Clarkson, Benny Benassi, and Zedd among others. Anjulie's music has been featured on popular networks, such as HBO, MTV, and NBC. In 2013, she received the Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year.

Leon Schuster

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1951

Birthplace: Vereeniging, South Africa

Leon Schuster is a South African filmmaker, actor, comedian, singer, and presenter. Over the years, Schuster's films have been targeted for issues related to racism. In 2020, more than six of his movies were removed from the South African streaming service Showmax for being racially insensitive as he had used blackface in his movies for comedic effect.

Marcel Breuer

Listed In: Architects

Birth Year: 1902

Birthplace: Pécs, Austria-Hungary

Died: 1981

Hungarian architect and furniture designer Marcel Breuer was a major figure of the International Style of design. His innovative designs made use of new technology and materials, such as steel furniture resembling the designs of bicycle handle bars, also known as the Wassily chair. He inspired the documentary Breuer's Bohemia.

Mary Robinson

Listed In: Leaders

Birth Year: 1944

Birthplace: Ballina, Ireland

A seasoned lawyer and a Harvard and Trinity College alumna, politician Mary Robinson has also taught law at Trinity. The Labour Party member later rose to be Ireland’s first female president. She was also a founding member of the global group of peacekeepers and leaders The Elders.

Dave Wannstedt

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1952

Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Olivia Olson

Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities

Birth Year: 1992

Birthplace: Los Angeles

Olivia Olson is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She made her film debut at the age of 10, playing Joanna Anderson in the film, Love Actually, in which she was seen singing All I Want for Christmas Is You; her skills as a singer was praised and Olson landed several voice roles in TV series, such as Phineas and Ferb.

Johnny Majors

Listed In: Sportspersons

Birth Year: 1935

Birthplace: Lynchburg, Tennessee, United States

Died: 2020

Elizabeth Fry

Listed In: Miscellaneous

Birth Year: 1780

Birthplace: Norwich

Died: 1845

Elizabeth Fry was an English social reformer, prison reformer, Quaker, and philanthropist. Nicknamed the Angel of Prisons, Fry played a major role in the Gaol Act, which necessitated sex-segregation of prisons. The act also mandated the appointment of female warders for female inmates.