People a to z

British actor Paul Scofield is one of only a handful of actors who have won an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony.

John Scopes is best known as the Tennessee teacher found guilty of breaking the law for teaching evolution in his class room.

Director Martin Scorsese has produced some of the most memorable films in cinema history, including the iconic Taxi Driver and Academy Award-winner The Departed.

One of the world's premier golfers, Adam Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters Tournament with his 2013 victory.

Dred Scott was a slave and social activist who served several masters before suing for his freedom. His case made it to the Supreme Court (Dred Scott v. Sandford) prior to the American Civil War.

American actor George C. Scott starred in films and on Broadway during his 40-year career. In 1970, he won an Oscar for his portrayal of George S. Patton.

Ridley Scott is an English director and producer, whose notable hits include Thelma and Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down. He is also recognized as the older brother of director Tony Scott, who committed suicide in August 2012.

Junior Senator Tim Scott is the seventh African American to win election to the U.S. Senate. He is also a former U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District.

English film director Tony Scott was best known for his first box-office success, Top Gun, as well as later films like True Romance and Enemy of the State. He was the brother of  Ridley Scott, also a famed producer and director.

Charles Scribner co-founded the publishing house Baker & Scribner, which became Charles Scribner's Sons.

Earl Scruggs is a bluegrass musician who pioneered the Scruggs Style, a method of banjo playing.

Former Apple Computers Inc. CEO John Sculley famously clashed with Steve Jobs, leading to Jobs's departure from the company he helped found.

Mary Seacole was a Jamaican nurse who cared for British soldiers at the battlefront during the Crimean War.

Ryan Seacrest is known for hosting the popular televised competition American Idol, the annual TV special Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve and the radio program American Top 40.

Actor Steven Seagal makes popular action movies such as the 1998 hit Under Siege. He studied martial arts in Asia and opened an academy in the U.S.

Seal is a Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter with an international reach known for hits like "Crazy," "Kiss From a Rose" and "Love's Divine."

Alice Sebold is an American writer and best-selling author of the book, The Lovely Bones, which has been hailed the most successful debut novel since Gone with the Wind.

Neil Sedaka is an American singer-songwriter known for writing hits like "Love Will Keep Us Together" and "Laughter in the Rain."

Comedian and writer Amy Sedaris is known for her outrageous stage and television characters. She is the younger sister of writer David Sedaris.

David Sedaris is a humorist and essayist best known for his sardonic autobiographical stories and social commentary.

Edie Sedgwick was a socialite and model who became a muse to Andy Warhol in the 1960s.

Actress Kyra Sedgwick's career took a new turn when she was cast as the lead in the TNT crime drama The Closer, which premiered in 2005.

American folk singer Pete Seeger is an iconic figure in the mid-20th century, and is best known for his contributions to the American folk music revival.

A comedic actor, Jason Segel has appeared on television and in such films as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Bad Teacher and The Muppets.

Jerry Seinfeld is an actor and comedian best known for his starring role in the hit television sitcom Seinfeld.

Mobutu Sésé Seko was president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was also known as Zaire for much of his reign, from 1965 to 1997.

Emperor Haile Selassie I worked to modernize Ethiopia for several decades before famine and political opposition forced him from office in 1974.

Known as the "Queen of Tejano Music," Selena was a beloved Latin recording artist who was killed by the president of her fan club.

Monica Seles is a former No. 1-ranked women's tennis player with nine Grand Slam titles. She is also an author and speaker, and competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2008.

Tom Selleck is an actor best known for portraying Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television series Magnum, P.I., and for films including Three Men and a Baby.

British actor Peter Sellers was incredibly versatile, playing Chief Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther films with as much ease as Clare Quilty in Lolita.

David O. Selznick was a Hollywood film producer who made a huge string of hits in the 1930s through the 1950s, including Gone with the Wind.

Maurice Sendak is a Caldecott award-winning children's book author and illustrator best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are.

Sequoyah was a half-Cherokee silversmith who invented a simple form of writing consisting of 86 symbols. He is also the namesake of Sequoia redwood trees.

Andy Serkis is famous for playing Gollum in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, as well as for his roles in King Kong, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Hobbit.

Emmy Award–winning television and film writer Rod Serling created and hosted the sci-fi fantasy series The Twilight Zone and co-wrote Planet of the Apes.

Police officer Frank Serpico exposed corruption in the New York City police department. He was the first officer to testify against another officer.

Spanish missionary Juniper Serra established his first U.S. mission in 1769. He built eight more California missions over the next thirteen years.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was an activist and advocate for the poor in the 18th to 19th centuries who established the group Sisters of Charity.

Throughout his career, cartoonist and writer Dr. Seuss published 60 children's books, including The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. 

Actress Chloë Sevigny was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in the film Boys Don't Cry, and later played a polygamist on the HBO drama series Big Love.

William Seward was a New York governor and U.S. senator before serving as secretary of state under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson.

Anna Sewell was the British author of the classic children's horse story Black Beauty.

Poet Anne Sexton wrote the collections To Bedlam and Part Way Back, as well as Live or Die, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize. She committed suicide in 1974.

Amanda Seyfried is an American actress best known for her roles in Mean Girls and Mamma Mia! She is considered one of Hollywood’s up-and-coming actresses.

Emmy Award-winning British actress Jane Seymour starred on the dramatic TV series Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, and was in the James Bond film Live and Let Die.

Anne Boleyn's successor, Queen Consort Jane Seymour, was Henry VIII’s third wife. She bore his first male heir, King Edward VI, before dying of complications.

Betty Shabazz is best known as the wife of African-American nationalist leader Malcolm X, who was assassinated in New York City in 1965.

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton was an Irish-born British explorer who was a principal figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

King Mohammed Zahir Shah was king of Afghanistan from 1933 to 1973, during which time he provided an era of stable government to his country.

Faisal Shahzad made headlines May 1, 2010, when he attempted to detonate a homemade car bomb in New York City's Times Square.

William Shakespeare, often called the English national poet, is widely considered the greatest dramatist of all time.

Born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, Shakira is a hugely popular Colombian pop singer who is known for the hits "Whenever, Wherever" and "Hips Don't Lie."

A hip-hop legend, with explicit and controversial lyrics, Tupac Shakur was embroiled in a feud between East Coast and West Coast rappers.

Mike Shanahan is a highly effective NFL football coach who led John Elway and the Broncos to two consecutive Superbowl wins.

Ravi Shankar was an Indian musician and composer best known for popularizing the sitar and Indian classical music in Western culture.

Maria Sharapova has won various honors throughout her career, including the 2012 French Open and a silver medal in women's singles at the 2012 Olympics.

Catherine Share, a member of Charles Manson's "Family," was not involved in the infamous Tate/LaBianca murders, but was implicated in lesser plots inspired by Manson.

Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel's 11th prime minister.

Al Sharpton is an outspoken and sometimes controversial political activist in the fight against racial prejudice and injustice.

Pop icon William Shatner is best known for his distinctive voice and his roles on Star Trek and Boston Legal.

Dr. Anna Howard Shaw was the first female minister in the Methodist Protestant Church. She spent most of her life working for the cause of women's suffrage.

Photographer Sam Shaw is remembered for his iconic images of such stars as Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando. He also produced several films, including 1961's Paris Blues.

Serial killer Arthur Shawcross murdered 11 women from 1988 to 1990 in upstate New York, earning the nickname "The Genessee River Killer."

Actress Norma Shearer, married Hollywood producer Irving G. Thalberg, received an Academy Award for her role in The Divorcee.

Ally Sheedy is a film actress who became famous in the early 1980s for her roles in films such as War Games, The Breakfast Club, and St. Elmo's Fire.

Actor Charlie Sheen, star of such films as Platoon and of TV's Two and a Half Men, is the brother of actor Emilio Estévez and the son of actor Martin Sheen.

Martin Sheen is an American actor best known for his roles in films Badlands (1973) and Apocalypse Now (1979). He has won numerous awards for his role as President Bartlet on the TV series The West Wing.