People a to z

John Bell was elected Tennessee senator in 1847, serving in the Senate until 1859. He was also a U.S. presidential nominee on the eve of the American Civil War.

Kristen Bell is an American actress known for her roles on TV's Veronica Mars and in such films as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Couples Retreat and Get Him to the Greek.

Saul Bellow was a celebrated novelist who won the Pulitzer, the Nobel Prize for Literature and the National Book Award for Fiction three times.

Lead Belly was a folk-blues singer, songwriter and guitarist whose ability to perform a vast repertoire of songs and notoriously violent life made him a legend.

Jean-Paul Belmondo is a French actor best known for starring in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless.

Alva Belmont was a wealthy socialite who used her fortune to advance the women's rights movement of the early 1900s.

Jim Belushi, younger brother of the late John Belushi, starred on his own TV sitcom, According to Jim, as well as in several theater and film productions.

John Belushi was an actor and comedian, one of the first performers on "Saturday Night Live" and one half of the Blues Brothers.

Pat Benatar's strong vocals and rock sound, as well as hits like "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" and "Love Is A Battlefield," made her an early MTV star in the 1980s.

Robert Benchley was an American humorist, drama critic and film actor who is best known for his small roles in over 40 films, including How To Sleep.

Benedict XVI served as pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013. He is best known for his rigid views on Catholicism and topics such as birth control and homosexuality.

Luciano Benetton is the founder of the Benetton Group, which sells clothing in varying lines, notably the United Colors of Benetton.

Roberto Benigni is an Italian actor, director and producer best known for his 1997 Oscar winning film La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful).

Annette Bening is an Oscar-nominated actress known for films like The Grifters, Bugsy, American Beauty and The Kids Are All Right.

Tony Bennett is an American jazz vocalist, best known for performing standards and his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."

For more than 50 years, comedian Jack Benny was a star of radio, the stage and screen. His radio show, The Jack Benny Program, was a forerunner of the sitcom genre.

Chris Benoit was a popular professional wrestler who, in 2007, killed his wife and son and then committed suicide.

Thomas Hart Benton was an esteemed 20th century painter and muralist renowned for works like “America Today” and “Persephone.”

American actor Tom Berenger is best known for playing the hard-drinking TV star in the The Big Chill, the sexy killer in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and violent Hatfield clan member Jim Vance in the TV miniseries Hatfields & McCoys.

Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen took his comedy act from vaudeville to radio with his dummy Charlie McCarthy. He was also the father of actress Candice Bergen.

David Berger was a lawyer who won large settlements in several high-profile class-action lawsuits as a pioneer in the practice of such suits.

Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director and producer best known for films such as The Seventh Sea (1956), Cries and Whispers (1971) and Autumn Sonata (1978).

Ingrid Bergman was one of the most popular motion-picture actresses in the United States from the 1940s until her death in 1982. She was also an international star across Europe.

David Berkowitz was a serial killer active in the 1970s in New York City and was known by the name Son of Sam.

Milton Berle was a Jewish-American comedian who started in vaudeville acts, and was a success in the early days of TV, becoming known as "Uncle Miltie."

Irving Berlin was one of the most prolific and popular songwriters of the 20th century, counting among his many hits "White Christmas" and "Cheek to Cheek."

Isaiah Berlin was a trailblazing 20th century scholar, philosopher and author, who championed pluralistic thinking and openness to ideas.

Silvio Berlusconi is best known as a controversial Italian politician who was elected as Prime Minister three times.

Chris Berman has served as a host, anchor, and commentator on numerous ESPN programs, including NFL Countdown, NFL Sundays, SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight.

Mexican actor and director Gael García Bernal starred as Che Guevera in The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) and as Stéphane Miroux in The Science of Sleep (2006).

Economist Ben Bernanke replaced Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve System in 2006. Luckily, he was an expert on the Great Depression.

Sandra Bernhard is an actress and stand-up comedian best known for her role on Roseanne and in Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy.

Perhaps the most famous actress of all time, Sarah Bernhardt is regarded as one of the finest actors of the 19th century, appearing on the stage and in some of the earliest films ever produced.

Leonard Bernstein was one of the first American-born conductors to receive worldwide fame. He composed the score for the Broadway musical West Side Story.

Yogi Berra is best known as a Yankees player who was widely considered one of the best catchers of all-time. Later in life, he managed the team, becoming only one of six managers to lead both National and American League teams to the World Series.

Amanda Berry is a Cleveland, Ohio, woman who was held captive for ten years by reported kidnapper Ariel Castro. Berry escaped in 2013.

Chuck Berry was one of the most popular and influential performers of rhythm-and-blues and rock 'n' roll music during the 1950s, '60s and '70s. He's known for songs like "Johnny B. Goode" and "My Ding-a-Ling."

Halle Berry is an American actress, former fashion model and former beauty queen. One of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, she is also a Revlon spokeswoman.

Wendell Berry’s nature poetry, novels of America's rural past and essays on ecological responsibility grew from his experiences as a farmer.

Valerie Bertinelli is an actress and spokesperson known for her roles in the TV sitcom One Day at a Time and Hot in Cleveland.

Charles H. Best was a physiologist and medical researcher who co-discovered the use of insulin as a treatment for diabetes.

Athlete George Best played for Manchester United and was named European Footballer of the Year in 1968. His brief career ended by the time he was 25.

Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped by Marxist guerillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) while campaigning for the presidency.

Mary McLeod Bethune was an educator and activist, serving as president of the National Association of Colored Women and founding the National Council of Negro Women.

Mum Betts (Elizabeth Freeman) was the first slave to successfully sue for her freedom, encouraging Massachusetts to abolish slavery.

American entrepreneur Jeff Bezos is the founder and chief executive officer of Amazon.com. An e-commerce pioneer, Bezos was instrumental in creating a model for buying and selling products online.

Benazir Bhutto became the first female prime minister of Pakistan in 1988. She was killed by a suicide bomber in 2007.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, president and prime minister of Pakistan in the 1970s and father to Benazir Bhutto, founded the Pakistan People’s Party and was executed.

American actress Mayim Bialik is best known for her roles in the film Beaches and on the hit television shows Blossom and The Big Bang Theory.

Kenneth Bianchi, known as the Hillside Strangler, is a serial killer best known for working with his cousin Angelo Buono to commit 15 rapes and murders.

A two-time French prime minister, Georges Bidault was active in the French Resistance during World War II but later fled France after a dispute with de Gaulle.

Jill Biden is best known for being the wife of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, and for her role as America's second lady.

Former Delaware Senator Joe Biden was elected the 47th U.S. vice president with President Barack Obama in 2008. He earned a second term as vice president when Obama was re-elected to the presidency in 2012.

Justin Bieber is a Canadian pop star who was discovered via YouTube. His debut album, My World, went platinum in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Jessica Biel is a Hollywood sex symbol and actress, known for her work in the series 7th Heaven and films like The Illusionist and Total Recall.

Big Pun was a Latino hip-hop artist whose album Capital Punishment went to No. 1 on the R&B/hip-hop charts. He died in 2000 from obesity related heart failure.

Filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow has directed films like Point Break and Zero Dark Thirty. In 2009, she became the first woman to win an Academy Award for best director for The Hurt Locker (2008).

Biggie Smalls, also known as Notorious B.I.G., was a revered hip-hop artist and face of East Coast gangsta rap. He was shot and killed on March 9, 1997.

Involved in the Great Train Robbery of 1963, Ronnie Biggs became the world's most famous fugitive. He avoided capture for more than 30 years.

Steve Biko spearheaded the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa. He died in 1977, from injuries sustained while in police custody.

From 1957 to 1963, actress Barbara Billingsley played the perfect apron-wearing, cookie-baking housewife June Cleaver on TV's Leave it to Beaver.

Osama bin Laden is a terrorist extremist who planned the attacks on the World Trade Center and is intent on driving Western influence from the Muslim world.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum became prime minister and vice president of the United Arab Emirates in 2006, and is responsible for Dubai’s transformation into a lavish business destination.

Hussein bin Talal served as king of Jordan from 1953 to 1999. He helped guide his country into the modern era.

Maeve Binchy was the author of various literary works, including 16 novels. Her most popular books include Light a Penny Candle, Echoes, Circle of Friends and Tara Road.

French actress Juliette Binoche is widely regarded as one of film's most respected actresses for the intelligence she has brought to her complex roles.

Actress Thora Birch earned her first starring film role in Monkey Trouble and got her big break in American Beauty. In 2001 she starred in Ghost World.

Larry Bird is a retired professional basketball player known for his years with the Boston Celtics and his deceptively nimble skills on the court.

Naturalist, inventor and businessman Clarence Birdseye pioneered the process of flash freezing in the United States. His company was bought by General Foods.

Larry Birkhead, ex of the late Anna Nicole Smith, is raising their daughter, Dannielynn, after confirming in 2007 that he's the girl's biological dad.

Entertainer Joey Bishop starred in his own TV sitcom, and hosted his own late-night talk show. He was a member of the Rat Pack, along with Frank Sinatra.

J. Michael Bishop is a Nobel Prize winning physician and scholar who made groundbreaking discoveries in cancer research.

French composer Georges Bizet is best known for the realistic opera Carmen, a work that established itself as the model of opéra comique.

Bjork is an Icelandic singer and founding member of the band The Sugarcubes. She went on to a strong solo career and acting success.