Famous People Born On August 9th

Amongst the best-selling recording artists of all time and an inspiration to millions of budding artists, Whitney Houston achieved stardom with her eponymous debut album. The success of her later albums consolidated her position and earned her a spot in the Guinness World Records as the most awarded female artist of all time. She struggled with drug abuse and troubled marriage and died of drowning in her hotel's bathtub. 

From an early successful Broadway career, Anna Kendrick moved to films and gained fame in a supporting role in the Twilight film series. She proved her skills as a lead actor in the Pitch Perfect franchise in which she also lent her voice to the hit song Cups. Her other significant projects include The Accountant and Up in the Air.

Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård is best known for portraying Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the supernatural horror film It. Even though he has acted in a few comedy films, he prefers roles in horror films. The son of actor Stellan Skarsgård, he was introduced to acting at a young age and decided to follow in his father’s footsteps.

American football player Deion Sanders is considered one of the strongest pass defenders of the game. He was an electrifying athlete and played in the National Football League for 14 seasons. He played for teams like Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens. He is now a coach and a sports analyst. He’s also a rapper.

The better half of one of America’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton was involved in her husband’s political career during his lifetime and worked towards protecting his legacy after his death. A social worker, she lent support to multiple charitable causes including establishing New York’s first private orphanage.

Melanie Griffith was a successful and popular Hollywood actress in the 1980s and the 1990s. Body Double, Buffalo Girls, Pacific Heights, Mulholland Falls, Lolita and The Bonfire of the Vanities are some of her notable films. She has also worked in several television series, mainly in the 2000s when her movie career waned. She had issues with alcohol and drug addiction.

Eric Bana, better known as Nero from Star Trek, initially gained fame with the series Full Frontal. The Australian actor made a mark in Hollywood with movies such as Hulk, Troy, and Munich. He loves racing and donates to charities related to causes such as mental-illness awareness and animal welfare.

Australian actress Adelaide Kane started performing at the age of three and was working professionally in some print ads at age six. Her big break came with a contract on iconic soap opera Neighbours. She further gained acclaim for her performance in Reign, Power Rangers RPM and Once Upon a Time.

Best known as David Rose from Schitt's Creek, Dan Levy, the son of actor Eugene Levy, is an Emmy-winning Canadian actor, who has also been a writer, producer, and director. He came out as gay at 18 but only made it known to the media in a 2020 interview.

Mahesh Babu is one of the most popular and highest-paid South Indian film actors. He is also one of the most celebrated, decorated, and bankable actors of the Telugu film industry. A well-known philanthropist, Mahesh Babu donates 30 percent of his annual income to charity organizations. In 2013, he became the goodwill ambassador of a non-profit organization called Heal-a-child Foundation.

Australian former tennis player Rod Laver is widely regarded to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He was ranked world No. 1 in nine different years. He holds 200 singles titles--the most in tennis history. He excelled on a variety of court surfaces: grass, clay, hard, carpet, and wood/parquet. The Laver Cup Tournament is named after him.

Rhona Mitra is an English model, actress, and singer. Mitra burst onto the acting scene in the early-2000s and became known for her good looks; in 2001, she was ranked 46th on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 Women list. She then went on to play important roles in popular American films, such as Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.

Australian-British author and Shakespearean actor Pamela Lyndon Travers, known by her pseudonym, P. L. Travers, soared to fame with her Mary Poppins series of children's books. Disney later bought the rights to her Mary Poppins series and released a film version. It was later made into a Broadway play, too.

Born into an athletic family, Tyson Gay naturally developed an interest in sports. One of the fastest sprinters in both the 100m and the 200m categories, he was part of the 2016 Olympic relay team that was stripped of its medal for breaking game rules.

Professional boxer Ken Norton is remembered for his three highly publicized fights with Muhammad Ali, out of which he lost two. Norton was a towering figure in the boxing world and held the WBC heavyweight title in 1978. He was a forward-pressing fighter notable for his unusual stance. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.

Son of a reputed senator and lawyer in Italy, Amedeo Avogadro was himself a qualified lawyer. However, he later delved into research as a mathematical physicist and is best remembered for laying down the Avogadro’s law, contributing to the molecular theory of gases. The Avogadro constant is named after him.

Juanes is a Colombian musician best known for his association with the rock band Ekhymosis. Having sold over 15 million albums worldwide, Juanes is one of the best-selling artistes of his generation. Over the course of his illustrious career, Juanes has won many prestigious awards such as Latin Grammy Awards and Grammy Awards.

Anwar Jibawi is a Palestinian-American social media celebrity. He is best known for creating comedic content on platforms like YouTube and Instagram. He is also known for directing music videos for artistes like Anitta and Lele Pons. Anwar Jibawi has also appeared in movies like Keys of Christmas and Airplane Mode.

In 2020, Korean singer and former SWAN member Hong Jin-young shocked her fans by admitting she had plagiarized in her master’s thesis written in 2009, leading her university to plan to revoke her degrees. The controversy led to her scenes from shows such as My Ugly Duckling being edited out.

Born to immigrants in New Zealand, John Key became the third New Zealand prime minister of Jewish descent. Previously a foreign exchange professional, he has worked with Merrill Lynch. He wished to change his country’s flag by removing the Union Jack on it but voters chose against it.

One of the most renowned kings in English history, Henry V ascended the throne at the age of 26 in 1413 and ruled England till his death in 1422. Though his reign was short, it was marked by great successes in the Hundred Years' War against France which established England as one of the strongest kingdoms in entire Europe.