People a to z

Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk who was a revered pacifist and author, with works like Seven Storey Mountain and Thoughts in Solitude.

Argentina native Lionel Messi has established records for goals scored and won individual awards en route to worldwide recognition as the best player in soccer.

Explorer and mountaineer Reinhold Messner is famous for making the first solo ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen.

Tammy Faye Messner was the wife of disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker, with whom she hosted The 700 Club and the Praise the Lord Club. The couple split in 1992, after Jim Bakker's affair with a church secretary surfaced.

During the 2000s, actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers continued to shine in a wide array of film genres. Notable films include 2001’s Prozac Nation with Christina Ricci.

Stephenie Meyer is best known for authoring the Twilight book series, which was later adapted for a film franchise.

Seth Meyers is a comedian, actor and writer known for hosting Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update." He is also the slated replacement for Jimmy Fallon on Late Night.

Kweisi Mfume is the former President and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Anthony Michael Hall is a film and TV actor known for his roles in Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and The Dead Zone.

Grammy Award-winning pop singer George Michael was one of the leading performers in the 1980s. His 1987 album Faith won a Grammy for best album of the year.

Bret Michaels is the lead singer in the glam-metal band Poison and has starred in several reality TV shows, including The Celebrity Apprentice.

A high-profile trainer and life coach, Jillian Michaels starred on the reality TV show The Biggest Loser and has created her own fitness franchise.

Michelangelo is widely regarded as the most famous artist of the Italian Renaissance. Among his works are the David and Pieta statues and the Sistine Chapel frescoes. 

American athlete Phil Mickelson began golfing as soon as he could walk, and is now one of the foremost successful golfers in the world.

Kate Middleton, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, married Prince William in 2011 at Westminster Abbey. She will not be a princess until Prince Charles inherits the throne.

Pippa Middleton is best known as the younger sister of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge and wife of Prince Charles.

Bette Midler sang "Wind Beneath My Wings" for the film Beaches and earned Oscar nods for her roles in The Rose and For the Boys.

Miguel is an American R&B singer best known for his 2012 album Kaleidoscope Dream and the single "Adorn," for which he won a Grammy Award.

Miguel I was became regent of Portugal in February 1828, and ruled the nation as a self-proclaimed king from 1828 to 1834, though his royal title wasn't recognized everywhere.

Basketball player George Mikan won five NBA championships with Minneapolis. He was one of the tallest players and increased modern height expectations.

Alexis Mikhailovich, father of Peter the Great, was tsar of Russia from 1645 to 1676. He passed a code of laws which legally defined serfdom.

For three decades, Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland has served in the U.S. Congress and been a strong supporter of women's issues.

Alyssa Milano started her career as a child star, appearing on TV's Who's the Boss? and onstage in Annie. She returned as an adult to the drama Charmed.

Vera Miles is a prolific American film and TV actress. She's best known for her role as Lila Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.

Harvey Milk became one of the first openly gay officials in the United States in 1977, when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Tragically, he was killed the following year.

Michael N Milken is known as the "junk bond king." He was indicted for racketeering and securities fraud and served two years in prison.

James Mill was a Scottish historian, economist, and philosopher. He supported the radical philosophical belief called Utilitarianism.

John Stuart Mill, who has been called the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the 19th century, was a British philosopher, economist, and moral and political theorist. His works include books and essays covering logic, epistemology, economics, social and political philosophy, ethics, and religion, among them A System of Logic, On Liberty, and Utilitarianism.

John Everett Millais was a 19th century English painter who co-founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay was such a bright young thing of the jazz age that she coined the term "my candle burns at both ends."

Abby Lee Miller, who runs a Pittsburgh dance studio, is known for her tirades and tough training as star of Lifetime TV's reality show Dance Moms.

Arthur Miller was an American playwright whose bitting criticism of societal problems defined his genius. His best known play is Death of a Salesman.

Dennis Miller is an Emmy-winning comedian and actor known for his biting humor filled with esoteric and wide-ranging knowledge.

Bandleader Glenn Miller inspired the World War II generation and boosted morale with many popular songs.

Henry Miller was a 20th century American writer, who created a new sort of novel—later characterized as a fictionalized autobiography.

British actor Jonny Lee Miller cracks cases weekly on TV as Sherlock Holmes on Elementary and has starred in many movies, like the Academy Award-nominated Trainspotting.

Jean-Francois Millet was a French painter who is well known for his paintings of peasants and the labors of rural life.

Spike Milligan was an Irish writer and comedian best known for his work on The Goon Show.

Alley Mills is a television actress who starred in the hit series The Wonder Years, as well as Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

Barry "The Baron" Mills is the longtime leader of the white-supremacist prison gang the Aryan Brotherhood Mills, and is reportedly responsible for at least 14 murders.

As a child star, film and television actress Hayley Mills won an Oscar for her title role in the Disney movie Pollyanna, and went on to star in The Parent Trap.

Heather Mills is best known as the ex-wife of musician Paul McCartney as well as for her activism and philanthropy.

John Mills was an award-winning actor, dancer and producer whose career spanned eight decades with works like Great Expectations and Ryan’s Daughter.

Author A.A. Milne wrote beloved classic children's books about the adventures of Christopher Robin and the toy animal Winnie-the-Pooh.

Slobodan Milosevic was a politician best known as the Serbian and Yugoslavian president in the late 1980s through the '90s. After losing power in 2000, he was charged for crimes against humanity.

Ronnie Milsap is a multiple Grammy Award-winning country music singer and pianist. A blind performer, Milsap's songs were frequent cross-over hits during the 1970s and 1980s.

Hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj was featured in seven songs on Billboard's Hot 100 at the same time, even before the release of her debut album in 2010.

Sal Mineo was an American was best known for playing a key role in the classic teen film Rebel Without a Cause alongside James Dean.

Anthony Minghella was an Academy Award-winning director best known for his adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient. Released in 1996, the film claimed the Oscar for best picture in 1997.

Barry Minkow is a convicted felon who used his carpet-cleaning business as a front for a massive Ponzi scheme and investor fraud.

Liza Minnelli, the daughter of Judy Garland, is a star in her own right. Her finest film role was playing Sally Bowles in the 1972 musical Cabaret.

Married to Judy Garland and father to Liza Minnelli, film director Vincente Minnelli infused a new sophistication and vitality into movie musicals of the 1940s and '50s.

Kylie Minogue is an actress and singer who's dominated the international pop and dance charts with hits like "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and "Slow."

Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter Sugar Minott was best known for his hit, "Good Thing Going," a cover of Michael Jackson's "We've Got a Good Thing Going." Minott's version reached No. 4 on the British singles chart in 1981.

Catalan painter Joan Miró combined abstract art with Surrealist fantasy to create his lithographs, murals, tapestries, and sculptures for public spaces.

Helen Mirren is a revered, award-winning actress who’s film and TV work includes Prime Suspect, Caligula, Shadowboxer, Elizabeth I and The Queen.

Vittorio Missoni is an Italian business executive best known as the CEO of the Missoni brand, founded by his parents in the 1950s.

Felix Mitchell was a drug kingpin who assembled a backing crew of notorious criminals and dubbed them the "69 Mob."

Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, responsible for hits such as "Both Sides Now" and "Big Yellow Taxi," is widely considered 1960s and '70s folk royalty.

A legendary tough guy on and off-screen, Robert Mitchum was one of the most memorable leading men of the twentieth century.

Tom Mix was an America actor, producer and director and one of the most famous silent film cowboys.

Fashion designer Issey Miyake used new technology to create innovative textiles with both Eastern and Western influences for his clothing line, Pleats Please.

Mo'Nique is an actress and stand-up comedian who won an Academy Award for her role in Precious.

American gymnast Dominique Moceanu was a member of the "Magnificent Seven," the U.S. women's gymnastics team that won Olympic gold in 1996.

Actor Matthew Modine became a star for his performances in Full Metal Jacket and other successful 1980s films.

Mahathir Mohamad was the fourth prime minister of Malaysia, holding office from 1981 to 2003. He improved the economy and was a champion of developing nations.

Mohammed was the founder of the religion of Islam, accepted by Muslims throughout the world as the last of the prophets of God.