Famous People Born On April 15th

English actress, model, and activist, Emma Watson first gained prominence as a child artiste in the Harry Potter film series. The daughter of lawyers, she was determined to go to college despite her busy acting career and graduated from Brown University. A staunch feminist, she is actively involved with organizations that work for the betterment of women.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest painters ever, Leonardo da Vinci was an extremely talented polymath. While his work The Mona Lisa became the most famous portrait, his drawing The Vitruvian Man became a cultural icon. A man well ahead of his time, Leonardo is also known for his notes on science and invention.

One of the most celebrated British actresses, Emma Thompson has received plaudits for her work in films, television and stage. Her film credits include Howards End, The Remains of the Day as well as Sense and Sensibility which she also wrote. Her television appearances include miniseries Angels in America. The award winning actress is also an author, activist and comedian.

Actress Elizabeth Montgomery had a flourishing acting career that spanned five decades. Throughout her career, she touched the lives of many with her charitable work and political activism. Such was her popularity that after she succumbed to cancer, a bronze statue of her famous character Samantha Stephens from the TV series Bewitched was erected in Massachusetts.

Luke Evans is one of the most successful and popular actors from Wales. Also a decent singer, he released his debut studio album, At Last, in 2019; he studied music under the tutelage of an established singing coach named Louise Ryan. Since he is openly gay, Luke Evans serves as an inspiration to the gay community around the world.

Canadian actor Seth Rogen established himself as a bankable and popular comic actor when he starred in Hollywood films Knocked Up in 2007 and Funny People in 2009. His other notable films are Steve Jobs, The Interview, Like Father, Long Shot and An American Pickle. He is active in raising awareness about Alzheimer's disease and is an open marijuana user.

Five-time Grammy-winning country artist Chris Stapleton is best known for hits such as Parachute. He has also co-written tracks such as Kenny Chesney's Never Wanted Nothing More. Before going solo, he was part of the bands The SteelDrivers and The Jompson Brothers. His music blends country with bluegrass and soul.

Leonhard Euler was a Swiss physicist, mathematician, logician, geographer, astronomer, and engineer. He is credited with making influential and important mathematical discoveries, such as graph theory and infinitesimal calculus. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most prolific mathematicians of all time, Leonhard Euler also made pioneering contributions to analytic number theory and topology.

Alice Braga is one of the most popular Hollywood actresses from Brazil, having appeared in popular films like I Am Legend, Repo Men, The Rite, Predators, and Elysium. An openly bisexual actress, Alice Braga serves as an inspiration to the LGBT community, especially bisexuals.

Bessie Smith was an American singer who gained popularity during the Jazz Age. Dubbed the Empress of the Blues, Smith was one of the most famous blues singers of the 1920s and 1930s. Counted among the greatest singers of her generation, Bessie Smith was a major influence on several other singers. Her life and work inspired the TV film Bessie.

Frank Vincent was an American actor, author, and musician best known for appearing in many Martin Scorsese movies, such as Raging Bull, Casino, and Goodfellas. Known for his large frame, Frank Vincent was often cast to play the role of gangsters. In 1999, his service to the entertainment industry was honored with an Italian American Entertainer of the Year Award.

Henry James was an author, regarded as one of the greatest novelists ever to write in the English language. One of his novellas titled The Turn of the Screw has been the most analyzed ghost story in the history of English language literature. While his works have been adapted into films, he has been the subject of several other stories.

Emile Durkheim was a French sociologist. He is credited with establishing the discipline of sociology for academic purposes and is widely regarded as the chief architect of modern social science. During his lifetime, Emile Durkheim published several works on topics like morality, religion, and education. He also played a major role in the development of sociology and anthropology as disciplines.

Henry IV of England reigned over England from 1399 until his death in 1413. Apart from spending much of his reign fighting against rebellions, Henry IV of England also established foreign relations; during his reign, Manuel II Palaiologos visited England, becoming the only Byzantine emperor to do so.

Claudia Cardinale is a Tunisian-born Italian actress who played important roles in some of the most popular Italian and French movies of the 1960s and 1970s. After achieving immense popularity as an actress in Italy, Cardinale starred in the 1963 American comedy film The Pink Panther, which increased her popularity. Claudia Cardinale was also renowned for her beauty.

Danny Pino is an American actor best known for playing Detective Scotty Valens in the police procedural crime drama TV series Cold Case, for which he won the Imagen Award for Best Actor—Television. In 2015, he won another Imagen Award under the Best Supporting Actor-Television category for playing Nick Amaro in the series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Former football cornerback Jason Sehorn was associated with the NFL teams New York Giants and St. Louis Rams. His proposal to actor/model Angie Harmon on The Tonight Show was highly publicized, but they divorced after a 13-year marriage. He is an ESPNU analyst and has won the Superstars competition thrice.

The only son of comedian Bill Cosby, Ennis Cosby made headlines when he was shot dead at 27, in an attempted robbery on a deserted Southern California road. He was dyslexic and discussed his disability with the children he taught as a student-teacher at the Alfred E. Smith Elementary School.

Catherine I of Russia was the second wife and Empress consort of Peter the Great. She served as the Empress regnant of Russia from 1725 until her death in 1727. The daughter of a peasant, she had an adventurous life as a young woman and eventually married Peter the Great who was taken by her beauty. They had 12 children.

Lois Chiles is an American actress known for playing Dr. Holly Goodhead in the popular James Bond movie, Moonraker. Although her film career seemed to be blossoming after her appearance as a Bond girl, Chiles decided to take a three-year hiatus from her career due to a personal loss, which affected her career badly. Chiles' career hasn’t recovered since then.

Samira Wiley is an American actress best known for playing Poussey Washington in the popular streaming TV series, Orange Is the New Black. A Primetime Emmy Award-winning actress, Samira Wiley has also been featured on the cover of popular magazines, such as Out. In 2014, she was named Ingenue of the Year by the magazine.

South Korean actor, Yoon Hyun-min, is best known for his role in the crime drama TV series Tunnel. A sports enthusiast as a child, he began his career as a  baseball player for the Hanwha Eagles. He eventually quit sports to act. He started with roles in stage plays and moved on to TV dramas and feature films.

Dara Torres is an American retired competitive swimmer. A 12-time Olympic medalist, Torres won four gold medals in three different Olympic Games. In 2008, she became the first swimmer to compete in five Olympic Games, representing the United States. At the age of 41, Dara Torres was also the oldest swimmer to be a part of the U.S. Olympic team. 

Known as the Little Hercules and the Mini-Schwarzenegger, Ukraine-born Richard Sandrak became a sensation with his unusually muscular body as a child. It is believed he hailed from an abusive family. He later quit bodybuilding to become a Hollywood stuntman. He inspired the documentary The World's Strongest Boy.

Nikita Khrushchev was the Soviet Premier from 1958 to 1964 and the first Communist Party secretary of the Soviets. He initially supported Stalin’s “purges” but denounced them in the Secret Speech to the 20th Party Congress. His reign saw the Suez Crisis, the Sputnik launch, and the 1960 U-2 incident.

Guru Nanak was the founder of one of the most popular monotheistic religions of the Indian subcontinent, Sikhism. Widely regarded as the first of the ten Sikh Gurus, Nanak contributed 974 hymns to the religion's sacred scripture Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Nanak is worshipped by Sikhs around the world and his birth is celebrated as Guru Nanak Gurpurab.

Arshile Gorky, a powerful Armenian-American painter of 20th century, is counted among founding fathers of abstract expressionism. His experience, suffering and loss during Armenian genocide strongly influenced his development as an artist. With notable works like Landscape in the Manner of Cézanne and Nighttime, Enigma, Nostalgia, Gorky emerged as one of the major artists whose works defined American abstract expressionism.

Marty Wilde is an English songwriter and singer best known for being one of the first British pop singers to emulate the success of American rock and roll. He recorded several hit singles during the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. Also known as the father of Kim Wilde, Marty Wilde is credited with writing many of Kim's hit singles.

Jeffrey Archer is an English author and former politician whose books have sold over 320 million copies around the world. Archer has been a controversial figure; he was convicted of perjury in 2001 after which he was sent to Belmarsh Prison from where he was later transferred to Wayland Prison. His conviction ended his political career.

Best known for his roles in the popular sci-fi film Back to the Future and its sequels, Thomas Francis Wilson has featured in a number of movies and television series and videogames. The American actor, comedian and voice-over artist also lent his voice to muscular characters in animation series like Batman and SpongeBob. He is a podcaster and a YouTuber.