Famous People Born On February 9th

Best known for playing the menacing Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, English actor Tom Hiddleston is far from being menacing in real life. In fact, he is often described as the nicest person on earth, an image which he lives up to by supporting several charities and donating items for auction. He is also a UK ambassador of UNICEF.

Actor and producer, Michael B. Jordan, is best known for playing action roles in Hollywood films. He started modeling as a child and played basketball when he was in his teens. As a young man, he decided to become an actor and took up TV roles. Entering films, he gained prominence for playing a shooting victim in the movie, Fruitvale Station.

Charlie Day is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, and comedian. Over the years, he has been contributing to the success of the long-running sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Also a skilled musician, Charlie Day has written some of the music used in the series. He has also played important roles in movies like Horrible Bosses and its sequel.

Carole King is an American singer-songwriter. As a songwriter, King has contributed immensely to the success of other singers and is widely regarded as one of the most successful female songwriters of the 20th century. In 2013, she became the first woman to be honored with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

Chris Gardner is an American motivational speaker and businessman. After struggling with homelessness, Gardner went on to establish Gardner Rich & Co, a brokerage firm, in 1987. His rags to riches story inspired the film The Pursuit of Happyness. Also a well-known philanthropist, Gardner has been playing a major role in creating low-income housing and employment opportunities for the homeless.

Rose Leslie is a popular Scottish actress who gained international fame after portraying Ygritte in one of the most popular TV series of all time, Game of Thrones. Thanks to her popularity, she serves as an icon and inspiration to several aspiring Scottish actresses and models.

Avan Jogia is a Canadian actor and singer. He gained recognition with his performance in the American biographical TV film A Girl Like Me. Also an activist, Jogia co-founded Straight But Not Narrow, a non-profit organization which aims at changing the viewpoints of straight people about the LGBTQ community. Not surprisingly, he is loved and respected within the LGBT community.

The ninth president of the US, William Henry Harrison died 31 days into his presidential term, becoming the shortest-serving US president ever. His demise caused a brief constitutional crisis pertaining to the succession to the presidency. Subsequently, Vice President John Tyler became the new president, setting an important precedent in terms of transfer of the presidency in such situations.

Judith Light is an American actress and producer. Known for her work in TV and theatre, Light has won prestigious acting awards, such as Daytime Emmy Award and Tony Award. In 2019, her contribution to the entertainment industry was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Also an activist, Light has been advocating the cause of the LGBTQ+ community.

Vince Papale is a former professional football player. During his career as a player, he played with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Philadelphia Bell. As a young boy, he played multiple sports and lettered in football, basketball, and track and field. He eventually chose to pursue football. His story is the inspiration behind the film Invincible.

Amber Valletta is an American actress and supermodel. After starting her career as a fashion model, Valletta went on to become the face of popular brands like Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Versace, and Louis Vuitton, which elevated her status to supermodel. She then started focusing on acting and appeared in films like Raising Helen, Transporter 2, and My Sexiest Year. 

Colombia-born American actor Isabella Gomez is best known as the lesbian character Elena Alvarez from the sitcom One Day at a Time. Being an only child of her parents, she mostly grew up watching TV shows and later plunged into acting. She has also appeared in Matador and Modern Family.

Carmen Miranda was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba dancer, singer, film star, and Broadway actress. Nicknamed The Brazilian Bombshell, Miranda is credited with popularizing the fruit hat outfit in the USA. Her performances also popularized Brazilian music and helped increase awareness of Latin culture. Her life and career inspired a documentary titled Carmen Miranda: Bananas is My Business.

The first woman to command the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson was born to farmers and decided to become an astronaut after watching the moon landing on TV. She also boasts of a PhD in biochemistry and has been a researcher and educator of biochemistry and genetic engineering.

Margarita Levieva is a Russian-American actress known for playing important roles in TV series like Vanished, How to Make It in America, Revenge, Allegiance, and The Deuce. Apart from being an actress, Levieva is also a dancer. She has also been training as a rhythmic gymnast since the age of three.

Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz is best known for his work on the theory of markets with asymmetric information. The MIT alumnus has taught at prestigious institutes such as Harvard and Stanford and currently teaches at Columbia University, He has been an economic advisor to the U.S. government, too.

British actor Charles Shaughnessy is best known for playing Shane Donovan in the soap opera Days of Our Lives. The son of a TV writer, he was introduced to the show business at an early age and started acting as a child. In the ensuing decades, he established himself as a successful character actor with versatile TV roles.

American theoretical physicist, mathematician, and string theorist Brian Greene is noted for popularising string theory through his books like The Elegant Universe, and The Fabric of the Cosmos and related PBS television specials. Greene taught as professor of physics at Cornell University, and presently serves as a professor at Columbia University. He is the co-founder and chairman of the World Science Festival.

Kathryn Grayson was an American coloratura soprano and actress. She trained as an opera singer from a young age and went on to play leading roles in popular musical films like Thousands Cheer, Show Boat, and Kiss Me Kate. Later in her career, Kathryn Grayson performed in theatre and operas.

Frank Frazetta was an American science fiction and fantasy artist remembered for his work on comic books, LP record album covers, paperback book covers, posters, and paintings among other media. Nicknamed the Godfather of fantasy art, Frazetta is also considered one of the 20th century's best-known illustrators. He was honored at the World Fantasy Convention with a Life Achievement Award. 

Apart from being a successful new wave musician, as part of Big in Japan and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Holly Johnson is also a talented painter, who has held exhibitions at venues such as Tate Liverpool. He also penned a memoir, after being diagnosed with HIV in the early 1990s.

Charles Kingsford Smith, also known as Smithy, was an Australian pilot who had been part of many first-time endeavors, the most notable being the first transpacific flight from the U.S. to Australia. While passing over Calcutta, on a flight from London to Australia in 1935, he and his co-pilot disappeared.

Israeli-Arab travel vlogger Nuseir Yassin, better known to netizens as Nas Daily, has gained global fame with his 1000 daily one-minute Facebook and YouTube videos. His vlogs cover everything from luxury resorts to villages. He has also launched NAS Academy to train upcoming vloggers and video creators.

German engineer and auto designer Wilhelm Maybach once earned the nickname The King of Designers. He collaborated with Gottlieb Daimler and formed Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, eventually designing the first Mercedes automobiles. He and his son later started an aircraft engine company. In 1996, he was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.