People a to z

Maurice Ravel was a 19th and early 20th century French composer of classical music. His best known works are Bolero and Daphnis et Chloé.

Jerry John Rawlings ruled Ghana twice, first in 1979 after a military coup, and then again from 1981 until 2001, as the result of free elections.

Lou Rawls was a singer and songwriter known for his baritone voice and the small acting roles he took on the side.

Charlotte E. Ray was the first female African-American lawyer in the United States.

James Earl Ray is best known for assassinating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., in 1968.

Man Ray was primarily known for his photography, which spanned both the Dada and Surrealism movements.

Sam Rayburn was an American politician best known for his roles as Speaker of the House, Majority Leader to Congress and Chairman of the National Democratic Convention.

Irish actor Stephen Rea is well-known for his roles in V for Vendetta, Interview with the Vampire and The Crying Game.

Nancy Reagan is a former first lady of the United States, the widow of Ronald Reagan, who founded the "Just Say No" drug awareness campaign.

President Ronald Reagan helped redefine the purpose of government and pressured the Soviet Union to end the Cold War. He solidified the conservative agenda for decades after his presidency.

Elizabeth Reaser is an American actress best known for her roles on the show Grey's Anatomy and in the Twilight film series.

Madame de Récamier was a Parisian hostess who attracted her time's literary and political big wigs and inspired the wrath of Napoleon.

Robert Redford is a Hollywood legend, starring in several blockbuster films in his day, and producing and directing many others. He also helped start the Sundance Film Festival in the late 1970s.

British thespian Michael Redgrave is acclaimed for his theater and film roles. He has also sired two generations of acting luminaries.

Called “the greatest actress of our time” by Tennessee Williams, Vanessa Redgrave is an acclaimed actress of stage and screen.

One of the greatest women's beach volleyball players of all-time, Gabrielle Reece is also a successful model, actress, writer and fitness expert.

Actress Donna Reed charmed audiences in the film It's a Wonderful Life and on television's The Donna Reed Show.

Jerry Reed was an American musician and actor best known for his Grammy hit "When You're Hot, You're Hot," and for the film Smokey and the Bandit.

Lou Reed is a singer and guitarist best known as a co-founder of the influential rock group the Velvet Underground and as solo artist.

Della Reese is a singer and actress known for her gospel talents and for her role on TV's Touched by an Angel.

Actor Christopher Reeve played Superman in the movie and its sequels. After a spinal cord injury, he started a foundation to help other paraplegics.

Dana Reeve was an actress and the wife of actor Christopher Reeve. She established and chaired the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center.

Actor Keanu Reeves starred in the movies Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, Speed and The Matrix and its sequels.

Martha Reeves is an American pop and R&B singer best remembered as the lead singer of the group Martha and the Vandellas.

William Rehnquist was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Richard Nixon in 1971. He was elevated to the post of chief justice by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. He remained chief justice until his death in 2005.

Wilhelm Reich was a psychiatrist who developed psychoanalysis that concentrated on overall character structure rather than on individual symptoms.

Harry Reid is a Democratic U.S. senator from Nevada. He was elected Senate majority leader in 2008. 

British artist Jamie Reid designed artwork for the Sex Pistols album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, which includes the song "Anarchy in the U.K." His artistic style helped define the look of the English punk rock scene of the late 1970s.

L.A. Reid is an American music executive and producer. He's also starred as a judge on the music competition show The X Factor.

American film and television actress Tara Reid has appeared in such hit movies as The Big Lebowski and American Pie.

Charles Nelson Reilly was a Tony-Award winning actor also known for a variety of roles on TV programs, including The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and The Match Game.

American actor, director and producer Rob Reiner is best known for directing the classic hits Stand By Me (1996) and When Harry Met Sally (1989).

Max Reinhardt was one of the first theatrical directors to achieve international recognition. He helped found the annual Salzburg Festival.

Paul Reiser's career as a comedian began in New York's comedy clubs. He got his first big break starring in Diner in 1982, and later starred in Mad About You.

Keith Relf was a founding memeber of the Yardbirds, one of the pivotal British rock bands of the 1960s. Relf is also remembered for his unusual, untimely death.

Actress Lee Remick appeared with Andy Griffith in Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd and starred opposite Jack Lemmon in Days of Wine and Roses.

Louis Renault was a French jurist and educator and co-winner in 1907 of the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Actor Jeremy Renner played a recurring character on the television series Angel, and starred in the movies Dahmer, North Country and The Hurt Locker.

Janet Reno broke new ground in 1993 as the first woman to serve as U.S. Attorney General, serving under President Bill Clinton.

French director Jean Renoir, son of the painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, directed C'est la Revolution and wrote a biography of his father in the 1960s.

A leading Impressionist painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir was one of the most famous artists of the early twentieth century.

Mary Lou Retton is a retired champion gymnast who won gold, silver and bronze medals at the 1984 Olympics. She was featured on the Wheaties cereal box.

Hiram Revels is best known as the first African American to serve in the United States Senate.

Silversmith Paul Revere took part in the Boston Tea Party and famously alerted the Lexington Minutemen about the approach of the British in 1775.

Alma Reville, also known as "Lady Hitchcock," was Alfred Hitchcock's lifetime partner, assistant director and closest collaborator.

Ray Reyes is a former member of the Latin-pop boy band Menudo and has released a number of successful albums with the band Project M.

Known for her boundless energy and pert demeanor, Reynolds' most memorable turn was in the 1952 musical Singin' in the Rain.

Ryan Reynolds is a versatile actor who's played a college student, a mutant villain and a superhero. He also made headlines as Scarlett Johansson's ex.

Ving Rhames is an actor known for roles in such films as Pulp Fiction and the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Syngman Rhee became South Korea’s first president in 1948. He was re-elected twice after the Korean War, but was overthrown by a 1960 student uprising.

Nick Rhodes is the keyboardist for Duran Duran, one of the biggest bands of the 1980s.

Countess of Wessex Sophie Rhys-Jones is married to Edward, Earl of Wessex, and is the mother of Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn.

American actor Giovanni Ribisi has been known for playing a range of quirky characters on television and in movies of various genres since the 1990s.

Actress Christina Ricci played Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family movie. By the late 1990s, she was one of the most in-demand young actresses in Hollywood.

Anne Rice wrote supernatural novels. Her most famous series was Vampire Chronicles, which included the book Interview with the Vampire.

Condoleezza Rice is the first black woman to serve as the United States' national security adviser, as well as the first black woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State (2005-09).

Hall of Fame football wide receiver Jerry Rice played for the San Francisco 49ers and is widely considered the greatest ever to play his position.

Susan Rice is a U.S. Cabinet member with the Obama administration who is the country’s ambassador to the United Nations.

Adrienne Rich is a U.S. poet, scholar and critic whose work exhibits her commitment to the women's movement and a lesbian/feminist aesthetic influence.

Musician Charlie Rich had several No. 1 country songs in the 1970s, including "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl."

Little Richard is a flamboyant American singer and pianist whose hit songs in the mid 1950s were defining moments in the development of rock ‘n’ roll.

Richard III was king of England for two turbulent years. He is best known for being accused of murdering his nephews to protect his throne.

Model and actress Denise Richards is best known for her role in 1998's Wild Things, and for her tumultuous marriage and divorce with actor Charlie Sheen.

Chemist, sanitation engineer, and home economist Ellen Richards opened scientific education and professions to women when she started teaching at MIT in 1884.

Guitarist Keith Richards is one of the driving forces behind the Rolling Stones, the self-proclaimed "World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band."

Actor Michael Richards starred for nine years on the television series Seinfeld, playing Jerry Seinfeld's quirky next-door neighbor Cosmo Kramer.

American track star Sanya Richards-Ross won Olympic gold in 2004 and 2008, as part of the U.S. 400-meter relay team, and went on to win gold in the women's 400 meters in 2012.

Bill Richardson served in Clinton's cabinet and as New Mexico’s governor but he was unsuccessful in his bid for a 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Lamar State College of Technology

Singer Kevin Richardson, the eldest of the Backstreet Boys and People magazine's Sexiest Pop Star of 1999, is also known for acting on Broadway and in indie films.

British actress of stage and screen Natasha Richardson won a Tony Award for her work in the Broadway show Cabaret before dying in a tragic skiing accident.

Nicole Richie is the adopted daughter of Lionel Richie and the star of the 2003-2007 TV show The Simple Life.