Famous People Born On February 18th

Rapper, record producer, and audio engineer, Dr. Dre, is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics. He is credited with the popularization of  West Coast G-funk, a sub-genre of hip hop. After establishing himself in the music industry, he promoted the careers of many other rappers, including 2Pac and Snoop Dogg.

Actor John Travolta’s career has seen significant ups and down. Starting with minor roles, he shot to international fame with Saturday Night Fever and Grease. For the cultural icon of the 1970s, the 80s and early 90s were disappointing, but an impressive comeback with Tarantino's Pulp Fiction resurrected his career.

Qin Shi Huang is credited with founding the Qin dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China. He reigned as the first emperor of a unified China from 221 BC to 210 BC. Under his rule, the Chinese state expanded greatly and he also enacted major political and economic reforms. His life and work inspired several films like The Emperor's Shadow.

Yoko Ono is a Japanese multimedia artist, peace activist, and singer-songwriter. She came into prominence after marrying John Lennon of the Beatles. She is widely criticized for her unquestionable influence over John Lennon and his music. She is also often blamed for the disbandment of The Beatles. Despite all these criticisms, Yoko Ono continues to go on her merry way.

Park Shin-hye is a popular and acclaimed South Korean actress, model, and singer. Regarded as one of the most successful actresses of her generation, Park Shin-hye became the first Korean star to model for Visa and the first Korean celebrity to serve as a global ambassador for jewelry brand Swarovski. She is also known for her involvement in charitable causes.

J-Hope is a South Korean rapper, record producer, and songwriter. He gained international recognition as one of the members of the popular boy band BTS. Also a well-known philanthropist, J-Hope has donated 250 million Korean won to an organization called Child Fund Korea. His career and humanitarian efforts have made him an idol in Korea.

Matt Dillon is an American actor whose performance in movies like My Bodyguard and Little Darlings established him as a teen idol during the early-1980s. In the early-1990s, he was regarded as one of the best young actors along with Sean Penn. In the 2000s, he shifted his attention towards direction and remains active as an actor and director.

Jack Palance was an American actor known for playing villains and tough guys in the '50s and '60s. In 1992, he was made an inductee of the Western Performers Hall of Fame. It is widely believed that comic book artist Jack Kirby modeled Darkseid on Jack Palance. Jack Palance was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Mary I, the queen of England from 1553-1558, is remembered as the ruler who sought to return England to the Catholic Church. She persecuted many Protestants and got nearly 300 of them burned at the stake. Most of them were common citizens. Many also died in prison and hundreds fled the country. This earned her the ignominious nickname ‘Bloody Mary’.

George Kennedy was an American actor who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Dragline in the 1967 prison drama film, Cool Hand Luke. A multi-talented person, George Kennedy was also an aviator and writer; he owned a Beechcraft Bonanza as well as a Cessna 210 and wrote three books, including his autobiography titled Trust Me.

Lee Boyd Malvo was involved in the Beltway sniper attacks of 2002, which killed 10 people and injured three in the Washington Metropolitan Area. He had befriended his accomplice in the act, John Allen Muhammad, as a juvenile. Malvo is currently serving multiple life sentences at a supermax prison.

Author and poet Audre Lorde is remembered as a firebrand feminist and a champion for the LGBT community. Openly lesbian, she penned iconic volumes such as Cables to Rage and The Black Unicorn. She also recorded her 14-year struggle with cancer in The Cancer Journals and A Burst of Light.

Businesswoman and TV personality, Tracey Edmonds, is the CEO of Edmonds Entertainment Group Inc. Previously, she hosted the TV show Extra and has created and produced many TV, radio, and music projects. She won an Emmy Award for co-hosting Extra. Currently, she is a  member of the national board of directors for the Producers Guild of America.

British-South African chef and culinary expert Prue Leith had begun her career with a lunch-supplying business. She later launched her Michelin-starred restaurant Leith's in Notting Hill and a culinary school. Best known as a judge on The Great British Menu, she is also associated with various charitable initiatives.

Maria Altmann was an Austrian-American Jewish refugee who fled her home country fearing the Nazis. She is remembered for her successful legal campaign to reclaim Gustav Klimt's family-owned paintings from the Government of Austria, which were stolen during the Second World War by the Nazis. Her life and career inspired documentary films, novels, and feature films, including Woman in Gold.

The widely revered Hindu religious leader and saint who had a large following was known for promoting the ancient Indian philosophy of Advaita Vedanta and Bhakti. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was a devotee of Goddess Kali who he worshipped as the universal mother. His marriage to Sharada Devi was never consummated. Swami Vivekanada was the most famous disciple of the Bengal-born mystic.

Kristoffer Polaha is an American actor known for playing important roles in TV series, such as North Shore, Life Unexpected, and Ringer. Also known for his work in feature films and short films, Kristoffer Polaha was honored with the Jury Award for Best Actor at the 2016 Seattle Shorts Film Festival for his portrayal of Jodie King in Frontman.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a 15th-century Indian saint. Some of his disciples consider him to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna. His mode of worship characterized by ecstatic song and dance rituals had a deep influence on Vaishnavism in Bengal. He expounded Bhakti yoga and founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism. His birthday is celebrated as Gaura-Purnima by his disciples.  

Kang So-ra is a South Korean actress best known for her portrayal of Ha Chun-hwa in the 2011 comedy-drama film Sunny, for which she received awards at the Mnet 20's Choice Awards, Buil Film Awards, and Baeksang Arts Awards. She has also won other prestigious awards, such as an SBS Drama Award, MBC Entertainment Award, and MBC Drama Award.

Born into a family of shopkeepers, French poet André Breton initially studied medicine and psychiatry. He then joined Dadaism and eventually branched out and became one of the pioneers of the surrealist movement. Known for his Surrealist Manifestos, Breton was also a collector of manuscripts, sculptures, and paintings.

Isabel Preysler is a  Filipina socialite and TV host. As a teenager, she participated in beauty pageants and worked as a model. She later started working as a journalist. An elegant woman, she is considered a fashion icon. Her first husband was Julio Iglesias, a Spanish singer.  Enrique Iglesias and Julio Iglesias Jr. are her sons.

Nikos Kazantzakis was a Greek writer whose works earned him nine nominations for the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature. Regarded as a giant of modern Greek literature, Kazantzakis achieved international fame when his works, such as The Life And Times Of Alexis Zorba and The Last Temptation of Christ, were adapted into feature films. 

Persian polymath Nasir al-Din al-Tusi lost his jurist father in childhood and then went around as a scholar, learning subjects such as math and philosophy. He made invaluable contribution to astronomy and later served as a scientific advisor of the Mongols. One of his notable written works was Akhlaq-i Nasiri.