Famous People Born Today

Often described as the "best actress of her generation," Meryl Streep is acclaimed for her versatility. After debuting in the 1970s, she built a solid reputation by portraying challenging roles in dramatic films. In a career spanning over half a century, she has received numerous awards, including three Academy Awards and eight Golden Globe Awards.

Cyndi Lauper is an American singer-songwriter, activist, and actress. Apart from her distinctive appearance, Lauper is also known for her achievements; having won three of the four major entertainment awards (Grammy, Emmy, Tony), she is consistently named in lists like 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll. Cyndi Lauper is also celebrated for her humanitarian work and charitable efforts.

Kris Kristofferson is a popular singer-songwriter and actor. Over the years, Kris has played a major role in the success of many famous singers, having contributed to their musical albums as a songwriter. For his achievements in the field of music, Kris Kristofferson was made a Country Music Hall of Fame inductee in 2004.

Legal consultant, environmental activist, and consumer activist Erin Brockovich is known for suing California-based Pacific Gas & Electric Company, alleging them of contamination of water with hexavelent chromium, in 1993. Her story inspired the Julia Roberts-starrer 2000 movie Erin Brockovich. She has written two books and hosted TV shows, too.

Freddie Prinze, father of Freddie Prinze Jr., was best known as Chico Rodriguez from Chico and the Man. A trained ballet dancer, Freddie had dropped out of high school to become a stand-up comedian. He shot himself to death, though a jury later ruled it an accidental and medicine-induced death.

Tracy Pollan is an American actress, best known for playing Ellen Reed on the popular sitcom, Family Ties. She is also credited with co-authoring a cookbook titled The Pollan Family Table. Apart from housing family recipes, the book also contains invaluable cooking techniques and kitchen tips.

Bruce Campbell is an American actor, filmmaker, and writer. Best known for his portrayal of Ash Williams in the Evil Dead franchise, Campbell is also known for his work in several cult films like Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, Maniac Cop, Crimewave, and Bubba Ho-Tep. Since 2014, he has been organizing the Bruce Campbell Horror Film Festival.

Amy Brenneman is an American actress best known for playing Detective Janice Licalsi in the police procedural drama TV series NYPD Blue, for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She is credited with creating a legal drama television series titled Judging Amy where she also played the title role. She is also credited with co-founding Cornerstone Theatre Company.

Lee Min-ho is a South Korean actor, model, and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of Gu Jun-pyo in the popular television series Boys Over Flowers, for which he received the prestigious Baeksang Arts Award. Widely regarded as a top Hallyu star, Lee Min-ho is one of South Korea's most-followed actors on social media.

Dan Brown is an American author best known for writing a series of Robert Langdon novels; three such novels, namely The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, and Inferno, have been made into films, with Tom Hanks portraying Robert Langdon in all three movies. Also known for his charity work, Dan Brown donates money to several charitable causes.

Todd Rundgren is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is credited with forming popular rock bands, such as Utopia and Nazz. Regarded as a pioneer in the fields of progressive rock, electronic music, Internet music delivery, and music videos, Todd Rundgren's works, such as A Wizard, a True Star remain influential in the world of music.

Vijay is an Indian film actor, playback singer, and philanthropist. He is best known for his contribution to the Tamil film industry. With a significant fan following worldwide, Vijay is one of the most popular and highest-paid actors in south India. Also known for his philanthropic efforts, Vijay is credited with founding a social welfare organization named Vijay People Organization.

Billy Wilder was an Austrian-born American film producer, screenwriter, and director. Widely considered one of the most versatile and brilliant filmmakers of Classical Hollywood cinema, Wilder became the first person to win Oscars as a screenwriter, director, and producer for his 1960 film The Apartment.

In 2021, golfer Dustin Johnson made it to the Forbes list of the world’s highest-paid athletes. He has won numerous top championships, including the FedEx Cup and the Masters Tournament of 2020. He is also a six-time World Golf Championship winner, with only legendary golfer Tiger Woods ahead of him.

One of the finest African-American sci-fi authors, Octavia Butler was raised single-handedly by her widowed mother. Best known for the Patternist series and the short story Bloodchild, she often mingled mythology and spirituality in her work. She was the first sci-fi author to receive a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.

German novelist Erich Maria Remarque is best remembered for his landmark novel All Quiet on the Western Front. Born in the late 1890s, he was conscripted into the German Imperial Army during World War I. His wartime experiences later motivated him to write what would become his seminal work. He also authored many other poignant novels.

Oh Yeon-seo is a South Korean actress and singer who was part of a now-defunct girl group called LUV. Oh Yeon-seo is known for playing important roles in popular TV dramas, such as My Husband Got a Family, Shine or Go Crazy, and A Korean Odyssey. She has also won several awards, such as MBC Drama Awards.

Abbas Kiarostami was an Iranian screenwriter, film director, film producer, photographer, and poet. Over the course of his illustrious career, Kiarostami was honored with numerous awards such as the Jury Special Award at the Tehran International Film Festival and Best Film Award at the Iranian Film Festival for Children and Young Adults. 

Giuseppe Mazzini was an Italian journalist, politician, and activist. He played a major role in the Italian revolutionary movement and in the unification of Italy. His efforts gave rise to an independent and unified Italy, which replaced many separate states that were dominated by foreign powers. Mazzini is widely regarded as the most influential European revolutionary.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh was an American aviator and writer. She is best remembered for her exploratory flights along with her husband and pioneer aviator, Charles Lindbergh. Anne was the first woman to earn a US glider pilot license in 1930. In 1996, Anne Morrow Lindbergh was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Anwar Hadid is an American model and TV personality. The brother of famous models Bella and Gigi Hadid, Anwar Hadid is very popular Instagram where he has millions of followers. Also a musician, Hadid made headlines when he started going out with English singer and songwriter, Dua Lipa, after bonding over music with the latter.

Dan Wheldon was a British racing driver best remembered for winning the IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship title in 2005 for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He is also remembered for winning the Indianapolis 500 twice. Dan Wheldon was killed at the age of 33 while competing in the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship when his car collided with a fence post.

Dancer, choreographer, and social activist Katherine Dunham was also a qualified anthropologist. She experimented with various ritual dances, and her innovations included a ballet performance based on Caribbean dance. She also pioneered the Dunham Technique of dance pedagogy and used the pen-name Kaye Dunn to write several works.

Jasmine Sanders is a German-American social media influencer and model. She started her career by modeling for brands like Nike and ALDO shoes. She then began appearing in runway shows before featuring in publications like Vogue, Allure, Esquire, and Glamour. Jasmine Sanders has also appeared on popular TV shows such as America's Next Top Model and Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club. 

Klaus Maria Brandauer is an Austrian actor and director with an extensive career spanning six decades. He is known internationally for his roles in the films The Russia House and Out of Africa. He is multilingual and has a working knowledge of German, English, Hungarian, and French. He also works as a professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar.  

Hermann Minkowski was a mathematician who served as a professor at the University of Göttingen, the University of Königsberg, and the University of Zurich. He is credited with creating and developing the geometry of numbers. He is also credited with using geometrical methods to resolve problems in the theory of relativity, mathematical physics, and number theory.