Famous People Born On February 29th

Dinah Shore initially launched a solo career after failing to qualify for Benny Goodman’s band. After delivering hits such as Blues in the Night, she appeared in a few films and ventured into a successful TV career. She also hosted shows such as The Dinah Shore Chevy Show.

Mark Foster is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is credited with founding Foster the People, an indie pop band, after several years as a struggling musician. He currently serves as the band's lead singer. A huge fan of The Beach Boys, Mark Foster got an opportunity to perform alongside the popular rock band at the 2012 Grammy Awards.

Jessie Usher is an American actor. Over the years, Jessie Usher has played a key role contributing to the success of TV series, such as Level Up and Survivor's Remorse, playing main characters in both the series. He has also played prominent roles in popular films like Independence Day: Resurgence.

Peter Scanavino is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Det./ADA Dominick Carisi Jr. in the popular crime drama TV series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Before establishing himself as a noteworthy actor, Peter Scanavino worked in the kitchen of Blue Hill restaurant, thanks to his interest in cooking. However, his time in Blue Hill restaurant was brief.

Gioachino Rossini was an Italian composer best remembered for composing 39 operas before retiring at the peak of his popularity when he was still in his 30s. Such is his influence on modern-day virtuosi that many of them have created piano fantasies or transcriptions based on Gioachino Rossini's melodies.  

Nigerian singer Korede Bello was just 7 when he had started performing, using the pseudonym African Prince. His single Godwin later catapulted him to fame. Bello also boasts of a mass communication degree and has been associated with philanthropic activities such as cancer awareness programs.

Rukmini Devi Arundale was an Indian dancer and choreographer. An exponent of Bharatanatyam, Rukmini Devi helped revive the original sadhir style of the dance form. She also popularized Bharatanatyam among Indian upper-caste elites for which she was named in India Today's 100 People Who Shaped India list. In 1956, Rukmini Devi Arundale was honored with the Padma Bhushan.

Gilles Bensimon was born to a painter mother and had struggled with dyslexia in childhood. He had also served the French army in the Algerian War. Nicknamed The Tripod, he later became one of the most popular celebrity photographers of his time, with a client list that included Madonna and Sharon Stone.

South African-born American mathematician and computer scientist Seymour Papert is best remembered for co-inventing the computer programming language Logo, which is also an educational tool. He was part of the faculty at MIT and was known for his pioneering research on children’s learning processes, the constructionist movement, and AI.

Augusta Savage was an American sculptor best remembered for her association with the Harlem Renaissance. Savage also worked as a teacher and her studio served as an important tool to the development of the careers of several artists who went on to achieve national prominence. In 2008, Augusta Savage was inducted into the Florida Artist Hall of Fame. 

Sugar Sammy is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, and writer best known for his comedy routines which he delivers in several languages, including English, Hindi, Punjabi, and French. Since 2016, he has been performing his famous one-man show in France, where he was labeled the funniest man by GC magazine. Sammy has also performed in several countries around the world.

Nicknamed The Predator, Patrick Côté is a former Canadian boxer and MMA fighter. He is a Black Belt in both Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He was 16 when he began his martial arts training with the Canadian Army. An MFC middleweight champion, he has also won 3 UFC titles.

Dwight Ritchie was an Australian boxer best remembered for winning the Australian middleweight title, which he held from 2014 to 2015. He is also known for winning the junior middleweight title of the youth division of the International Boxing Federation (IBF) in 2017. Ritchie, who had won important fights against several fellow boxers, died during a sparring session, at the age of 27.

Alessandro Farnese, who later came to be known as Pope Paul III, was the last Renaissance pope and the first pope who belonged to the Counter-Reformation era. A patron of the arts, he commissioned legendary painter Michelangelo to paint frescoes in the Pauline Chapel of the Vatican.

Soviet lawyer, diplomat, and KGB chief Vladimir Kryuchkov is best remembered for his involvement in the 1991 coup against Mikhail Gorbachev. Born to working-class Stalin-supporting parents, he initially worked with the Communist Youth League. He misinterpreted the Able Archer 83 conflict simulation as the beginning of a nuclear attack.

Indonesian feminist literary figure Nh. Dini is best known for her novels such as My Name is Hiroko. Initially a flight attendant, she later lived with her French consul husband in Japan, Cambodia, the Philippines, and the US. The S.E.A. Write Award winner died in a vehicle collision in 2018.

Ann Lee is remembered as the founder of the Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, also known as the Shakers, for their ritual of shaking during worshipping. Born to a blacksmith in England, she initially worked at a textile mill and later ushered her movement into the U.S.

A pioneering figure of outside art, or Art Brut, Swiss artist Adolf Wölfli had a traumatic childhood after being abandoned by his father. Following his mother’s death, he grew up in foster homes. Arrested for an attempted assault and riddled with schizophrenia, he penned a memoir that contained his art, music, and poetry.