Famous People Born On August 2nd

A popular American actress and Tony Award winner, Mary-Louise Parker is best known for her performance in the television miniseries, Angels in America, in 2003. Since 2007, she has been contributing articles to Esquire magazine. A dedicated transcendental meditation practitioner, Mary-Louise Parker has claimed that transcendental meditation has changed everything in her life.

Amongst the greatest writers of the 20th century and a leading literary voice in the civil rights movement, James Baldwin extensively explored issues like race, sexuality and humanity in his work. His best known work include his debut novel Go Tell It on the Mountain and his books of essays Notes of a Native Son and Nobody Knows My Name.

Carroll O'Connor was an American actor, director, and producer. In a TV career that spanned 40 years, O'Connor popularized several fictional characters, including Archie Bunker from the sitcom All in the Family, for which he received four Emmy Awards. In 1996, he was ranked 38th on the 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list published by TV Guide.

Peter O'Toole was a British actor who became popular as a Shakespearean actor with the English Stage Company and at the Bristol Old Vic. O'Toole, who holds the record for receiving the most number of Oscar nominations for acting without a win, has appeared on several greatest actors list in England and Ireland.

Kristaps Porzingis is a Latvian basketball player who currently plays professional basketball at the National Basketball Association (NBA) where he represents the Dallas Mavericks. Standing at 7’3, Porziņģis is one of the tallest players active in the NBA. Also an important player for his Latvian national team, Kristaps Porzingis won the Latvian Rising Star of the Year award in 2015.

Filmmaker, actor, and comedian Kevin Smith first came to prominence in the mid-1990s with his low-budget comedy film Clerks. His unique style of comedy appealed to the audience, and he was able to establish himself in Hollywood within a few years. He also operates a website, an online blog, and a comic book store. 

Myrna Loy was an American actress best remembered for playing femme fatale roles. Loy was able to break her stereotypical femme fatale on-screen image by playing Nora Charles in the 1934 comedy-mystery film The Thin Man. Although she never received an Academy Award nomination, Myrna Loy was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1991 for her contribution to cinema.

Businessman Lamar Hunt was a major promoter of American football, soccer, tennis, basketball, and ice hockey in the United States. He was the principal founder of the Major League Soccer (MLS) and American Football League (AFL). He was also the co-founder of World Championship Tennis. In 1982, he was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. 

One of 12 children of Polish immigrants, Jack L Warner, along with three of his brothers, formed the iconic production house Warner Bros. Apart from producing the first talkie, The Jazz Singer, and iconic films such as Casablanca, they also launched the careers of the who’s who of Hollywood.

Garth Hudson is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist often described as "the most brilliant organist in the rock world." He was the keyboardist and saxophonist for the rock group The Band. He also played piano and accordion. During the peak of his career, he was a much sought-after and respected session musician. He was inducted into the London Music Hall Of Fame. 

Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, was the regent of the Kingdom of France from 1715 to 1723. He was the son of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, and Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate. He was named the regent of France for Louis XV, who succeeded to the throne at the age of five. Philippe died months after Louis attained majority.

Sandeep Lamichhane is a Nepalese cricketer who plays for the Nepalese national team as a right-arm leg-spin bowler. Besides his national team, he has also played for Twenty20 franchise sides across the world. As a boy, he trained at  Chitwan Cricket Academy and was named in Nepal's under-19 squad. He is also a singer and has a YouTube channel. 

Indian Bengali chemist Prafulla Chandra Ray founded the country’s first pharma company, Bengal Chemicals. Educated in Calcutta and Edinburgh, he later worked from his home, a room on the first floor of the college where he taught. Knighted for his achievements, he donated generous sums to the Brahmo Samaj initiatives.

Simone Manuel is the first African-American woman to win an individual Olympic gold in swimming, She achieved this feat at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She started swimming at the age of four and swam across the pool on her second day of swim lessons.At the 2016 Olympics, she won gold medals in the 100-meter freestyle and the 4x100-meter medley.

Edith Cowan was an Australian social reformer best remembered for serving as a member of parliament; she was the first Australian woman to do so. She is also remembered for working for the welfare and rights of children and women. In recognition of her contribution, Cowan has been depicted on Australia's fifty-dollar note since 1995.