People a to z

David Coverdale founded Whitesnake, a rock band that achieved wide fame in the late 1980s, with the No. 1 song "Here I Go Again."

British actor, songwriter and playwright Noël Coward was one of the top figures of 20th century theater, using wit to deal with major social issues.

Henry Cowell was an American pianist and experimental composer whose music influenced John Cage.

Simon Cowell is a record producer and television personality known for his scathing critical remarks as a judge on the television show, "American Idol."

Courteney Cox is an actress best known for her role on the hit TV series Friends and Cougar Town.

Graham Coxon is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the guitarist and backup vocalist for the alternative rock band Blur.

Singer Nadine Coyle was part of top-selling British girl group Girls Aloud.

Grammy Award-winning musician Wayne Coyne has been the frontman of the Flaming Lips since 1983.

Lucy Craft Laney was a school teacher and educator who opened a school for African-American students in the South in the late 1800s.

Daniel Craig is an English actor who has played a wide varity of roles but is best known for playing the most recent incarnation of James Bond.

Cheryl Crane is the daughter of Hollywood legend Lana Turner. In 1958 when she was just 14 years old she committed murder, stabbing Turner's boyfriend after hearing him threaten to kill her mother.

Stephen Crane was a 19th century American writer best known for his novels The Red Badge of Courage and Maggie: A Girl of the Streets.

Wes Craven is a horror film director, screenwriter and producer known for projects like Swamp Thing, Nightmare on Elm Street and the Scream series.

Joan Crawford was an Oscar-winning actress, dancer and executive. She was known for films like Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Mildred Pierce.

Michael Crichton was an American author best known for his sci-fi and medical thrillers. The movie based on his book, Jurassic Park, was one of the highest-grossing films in history.

Francis Crick is responsible for discovering, along with James Watson, the double-helix structure of the DNA strand.

Hawley Crippen became the first criminal to be caught with the aid of wireless communication when police arrested him in 1910 for murdering his wife.

Quentin Crisp became a gay icon in the 1970s after publication of his memoir, The Naked Civil Servant, describing his life in homophobic British Society.

Jim Croce was an American folk singer and songwriter. He released five studio albums between 1966 and 1973, before his untimely death in 1973.

In 1997 Erin Crocker became the youngest race car driver to win a feature at Whip City Speedway en route to Rookie-of-the-Year honors.

Davy Crockett was a frontiersman, legendary folk hero and three-time Congressman. He fought in the War of 1812 and died at the Alamo in the Texas Revolution.

Bing Crosby sang such hit songs as the ever-popular holiday classic "White Christmas." The beloved crooner was also a star of radio, movies and television.

Sidney Crosby is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 2007, he became the youngest captain of a National Hockey League team.

David Cross is a comedian and actor who has appeared on TV's Mr. Show, The Ben Stiller Show and Arrested Development.

Marcia Cross is best known for her role in Desperate Housewives as Bree Van De Kamp, opposite Terri Hatcher and Eva Longoria.

David Nelson Crosthwait, Jr. was an African American pioneer in the field of heating and air conditioning, best known for heating up Radio City Music Hall.

Singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow sang backup for stars like Rod Stewart before becoming a star in own right. Her 1996 album Sheryl Crow won two Grammys.

Actor Russell Crowe won an Oscar for his performance in the 2000 blockbuster Gladiator and a nomination for his 2001 role in A Beautiful Mind.

A-list actor and Scientologist Tom Cruise is the star of many box office hits, including Risky Business, A Few Good Men, The Firm, and Jerry Maguire.

American illustrator and artist Robert Crumb is best known for his distinctive style and satirical tone and creating the cartoon character Fritz the Cat.

Diane Crump was a professional jockey who racked up more than 230 victories in her career.

Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American singer, best known as one of the most popular salsa performers of all time, recording 23 gold albums. 

Spanish actress Penelope Cruz is known for her roles in such films as Vanilla Sky, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

British singer-songwriter Taio Cruz is known for the albums Departure and Rokstarr, which includes songs like "Break Your Heart" and "Dynamite."

Jon Cryer is known for his Emmy-winning role as a single dad on TV's Two and a Half Men as well as his films, especially the '80s teen flick Pretty in Pink.

Billy Crystal came to fame on the sitcom Soap. After a year on Saturday Night Live, he began a successful film career.

Cuauhtémoc was the last Aztec Emperor, ruling from 1520 to 1521. He was tortured and killed by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés in 1522.

Famous in the NBA for his zealous management of the Dallas Mavericks, entrepreneur Mark Cuban has also owned multiple Internet startups and a theater chain.

Macaulay Culkin is an actor known mostly for his childhood roles in such films as My Girl and Home Alone.

Benedict Cumberbatch is a British screen actor, best known for his role on the BBC television show Sherlock.

Alan Cumming is a Scottish actor known for a range of work, from Shakespeare to Cabaret to X-Men, to the television series The Good Wife.

Andrew Cunanan was a serial murder who killed fashion designer Gianni Versace, and at least four other people, before commiting suicide in a Miami houseboat.

Andrew Cuomo, the 56th governor of New York, is the son of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and brother of news anchor Chris Cuomo. He formerly served as New York's attorney general and U.S. secretary of HUD.

Chris Cuomo is a lawyer and television journalist, the youngest correspondent ever at 20/20, the son of former New York governor Mario Cuomo and the brother of current New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

Marie Curie was a Polish-born French physicist famous for her work on radioactivity and twice a winner of the Nobel Prize.

French physicist Pierre Curie was of founding fathers of modern physics and is best known for being a pioneer in radioactive studies.

Cherie Currie is a singer and actress who fronted the influential band The Runaways.

Ann Curry is an American television jouralist who once anchored Dateline NBC, and co-anchored NBC's Today program from 2011 to 2012.

American actress Jane Curtin rose to fame in 1975 as one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live. She went on to star in the popular sitcoms Kate & Allie (1984) and 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996). 

Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress, nicknamed the "Scream Queen" in the 1980's for her roles in several horror films including Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980) and Terror Train (1980). She is also an author of children's books.

From Some Like It Hot to Spartacus, Tony Curtis was the reigning Hollywood heartthrob of the 1950s. He's also known as actress Jamie Lee Curtis's dad.

Actor John Cusack’s quirky humor earned him roles in many 1980s films, including The Sure Thing and Say Anything. In 1990, he won his first grown-up role in The Grifters.

George Custer was an American general who in 1876 led 210 men into battle at Little Bighorn against Native Americans. Custer and his men were killed.

Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac was a French author and playwright best known for his political satire and science fantasy, including the play The Pedant Imitated (1654).

Billy Ray Cyrus is a country singer/songwriter who is perhaps now more famous for his TV and film roles than for his music.

Actress and singer Miley Cyrus is the daughter of '90s country star Billy Ray Cyrus and the star of the Disney series Hannah Montana.

Leon Frank Czolgosz is known as the assassin who killed President William McKinley.

Donna D'Errico is an actress who shot to stardom as a lifeguard on TV's Baywatch.

Vasco da Gama was the first person to sail directly from Europe to India.

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian painter and a genius in many realms of science. He is best known for two paintings: the "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper."

Idi Amin was a Ugandan president best known for his brutal regime and crimes against humanity while in power from 1971-1979.

Kim Dae-jung was president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He arranged an historic summit with North Korean ruler Kim Jong Il.

Willem Dafoe is a gravelly voiced actor known for such films as Platoon, The Last Temptation of Christ and Finding Nemo.

Children's author Roald Dahl wrote the kids' classics Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach, among other famous works. He was married to actress Patricia Neal.

Nicknamed "the Black Dahlia," Elizabeth Short was brutally murdered in Los Angeles in 1947, her body cut in half and severely mutilated. The Black Dahlia's killer was never found, making her murder one of the oldest cold case files in L.A. to date, and the city's most famous.

Notorious sex offender and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 men between from 1978 to 1991. He was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms, and then murdered by a fellow prison inmate in 1994.

German inventor Gottlieb Daimler patented one of the first successful internal-combustion engines and later founded the Daimler company, which produced the first Mercedes car in 1899.

Barbara West Dainton survived the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912, and was the second-to-last remaining survivor when she died in 2007.

Stephen Daldry is a three-time Oscar nominated director known for the films Billy Elliot, The Hours and The Reader.

Scottish soccer legend Kenny Dalglish was a star striker for Celtic and Liverpool before becoming a successful manager.

Gala Dalí is best known as the wife, business manager and muse of Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí.

Salvador Dali is best known for his long surrealist painting career.

Chemist John Dalton is credited with pioneering modern atomic theory. He was also the first to study color blindness.