People a to z

Virginia planter and colonial official John Rolfe was the husband of Pocahontas, daughter of the Indian chief Powhatan. He sold Virginia tobacco to England.

A stage, film and TV actress, Esther Rolle is best remembered as Florida Evans -- a character she played on two comedy series, Maude and Good Times.

Sonny Rollins is a jazz saxophonist and composer associated with the "hard bop" movement.

American actor and comedian Ray Romano is best known for his CBS hit Everybody Loves Raymond in which Raymond plays a father and husband.

Nicholas II was the last tsar of Russia under Romanov rule. His poor handling of Bloody Sunday and Russia’s role in World War I led to his abdication and execution.

Brash sports-talk personality Jim Rome has entertained fans and clashed with interview subjects while rising to fame as a radio and television host.

Actor and dancer Cesar Romero performed in movies from the '30s through the '60s. He became a pop culture icon in the 1966 Batman television series.

Filmmaker George A. Romero has created such classic horror films as Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead.

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was one of German's most popular generals during World War II, and gained his enemies' respect with his victories as commander of the Afrika Korps. Implicated in a plot to overthrow Hitler, Rommel took his life in 1944.

Ann Romney is the former first lady of Massachusetts and the wife of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney made a run for the Republican nomination in the 2008 presidential election, losing to John McCain. He made another run for the presidency in 2012, but was defeated by President Barack Obama.

Tony Romo is one of the NFL's top quarterbacks and has played for the Dallas Cowboys.

Soccer superstar Ronaldinho was a member of Brazil's 2002 World Cup championship team and twice won the FIFA World Player of the Year award.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a professional soccer player who has set records while playing for both Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Saoirse Ronan is an Irish-American film actress best known for her film roles in Atonement, The Lovely Bones and Hanna.

American basketball player Rajon Rondo is an all-star point guard who led the Boston Celtics to the NBA championship in 2008.

Linda Ronstadt is a ten-time Grammy winner and superstar of both pop and country music. Her 1974 album, Heart Like a Wheel, sold more than 1 million copies.

Andy Rooney was an Emmy Award-winning journalist best known for his "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney" segments which aired on the CBS news program 60 Minutes.

Mickey Rooney was a child star best known for his role as Andy Hardy in a long-running film series. He a starred in a number of musicals with Judy Garland.

Wayne Rooney is one of the world's best-known soccer players and a top scorer for the Manchester United club.

The wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt changed the role of the first lady through her active participation in American politics.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only U.S. president to be elected four times. He led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II.

A New York governor who became the 26th U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt is remembered for his foreign policy, corporate reforms and ecological preservation.

Hermann Rorschach was a Swiss psychoanalyst who created the controversial Rorschach Inkblot Test to measure social behavior.

Pop singer Draco Rosa was a member of Menudo and has released a number of successful solo albums in a variety of different languages.

Civil rights activist Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger, spurring the Montgomery boycott and other efforts to end segregation.

Founder and lead singer of Guns N' Roses, Axl Rose, is a celebrated but controversial figure in the world of rock.

Charlie Rose is an American journalist who hosts the PBS interview show Charlie Rose. He has also held prominent broadcast roles at NBC and CBS.

American baseball star Pete Rose established a career record for hits before earning a lifetime suspension for gambling on the sport.

Kevin Rose is an Internet entrepreneur, as well as the founder and CEO of Digg, a popular social news website.

Tokyo Rose, whose real name was Iva Toguri, was an American-born Japanese woman who hosted a Japanese propaganda radio program aimed at U.S. troops during World War II.

Alfred Rosenberg served as leader of the Nazi party during Hitler's imprisonment, wrote on German racial purity and was executed as a war criminal.

Ethel Rosenberg and husband Julius Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage in 1951. They were both executed by the U.S. government in 1953.

Julius Rosenberg became an infamous figure in American history when he was convicted, along with his wife, Ethel Rosenberg, of giving military secrets to the Soviet Union in the early 1950s.

April Ross is a beach volleyball player who, along with teammate Jennifer Kessy, is a dominant figure on the international circuit. Ross and Kessy took the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

According to legend, Betsy Ross made the first American flag. Despite a lack of credible evidence to support this, she remains an icon of American history.

Known for his fast and easy "wet-on-wet" painting technique, Bob Ross reached millions of art lovers with his popular television program The Joy of Painting.

American Kyla Ross has received various national gymnastics awards. In 2012, she helped the U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team win a gold medal at the Summer Olympics in London.

The daughter of Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and Italian director Roberto Rossellini, Isabella Rossellini is an Italian-born actress known for such films as Blue Velvet, Cousins, and Immortal Beloved.

Roberto Rossellini, father of actress Isabella Rossellini, was an Italian film director associated with the Neorealist movement. His most celebrated work is Rome, Open City.

Actress Emmy Rossum sang her heart out in the movie musical The Phantom of the Opera in 2004. She's made a name for herself on TV too, in the show Shameless.

Singer David Lee Roth has become a legend of rock 'n' roll, as the wild frontman for Van Halen and as a solo artist.

Artist Ed "Big Daddy" Roth became the king of California custom car culture in the 1950s and '60s with his Beatnik Bandit model and characters like Rat Fink.

American novelist and short-story writer Philip Roth is best known for his provocative explorations of Jewish and American identity.

Lady Countess Rothes was born Lucy Noël "Noëlle" Martha Dyer-Edwards on December 25, 1884, in London, England. Born into a life of great privilege, Nöelle, Countess of Rothes, is remembered for her heroism during the Titanic disaster

Russian-born painter Mark Rothko was a pioneer of the Abstract Expressionist movement during the mid-20th century.

Mickey Rourke is an American actor who had great success and became a sex symbol in the 1980s. He left acting to box but has recently returned to the screen.

Henri Rousseau was a self-taught French painter who was ridiculed during his lifetime but was later given the title of artistic genius.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau is best known as an influential 18th-century philosopher who wrote the acclaimed work A Discourse on the Arts and Sciences.

Théodore Rousseau was a French painter known for his landscapes and unruly depictions of nature. He was a member of the Barbizon School of artists in France.

Politician Karl Rove was linked to scandals while with the George W. Bush administration, including the email incident relating to U.S. attorneys’ dismissals.

Kelly Rowland is a member of the top-selling American R&B girl group Destiny's Child.

J.K. Rowling is the creator of the Harry Potter fantasy series, one of the most popular book and film franchises in history.

Scottish Rob Roy, also known as Red MacGregor was the famous Scottish folk hero of the 18th century best known as the Scottish Robin Hood.

Ségolène Royal is a French politician who has run for president and worked as a prominent leader of the Socialist Party.

Pete Rozelle is a U.S. sports executive best known for helping to turn the National Football League into one of the most successful leagues in the world.

Rubens was a Flemish Baroque painter who is best known for his religious and mythological compositions, with an emphasis on sensuality.

Art Rubinstein was a famous Polish pianist who is regarded by many as the greatest Chopin interpreter of the 20th century.

Helena Rubinstein was a Polish entrepreneur best known for her global cosmetics empire.

Young Republican politician Marco Rubio won an impressive victory in his 2009 campaign for one of Florida's seats in the U.S. Senate.

Nightclub owner Jack Ruby murdered Lee Harvey Oswald before Oswald could stand trial for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

American film and TV actor Alan Ruck is beloved for his role as Cameron Frye, the best friend of Ferris Bueller, in John Hughes's 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Darius Rucker is a singer/songwriter known as the frontman of the musical group Hootie & the Blowfish and as a solo country artist.

Kevin Rudd is an Australian politician who served as leader of the Australian Labor Party from 2006 to 1010 and as prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010.

Paul Rudd is an American actor and film producer who became a minor teen idol with his break-out performance in the 1995 film Clueless and went on to star in numerous comedies.

Maya Rudolph is a comedian and actor who became a household name via her Saturday Night Live tenure, which ran from 2000 to 2007.

In 1960, Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games.

Mercedes Ruehl is an actress of Cuban and Irish descent. She won a Tony Award for Lost in Yonkers and an Oscar for The Fisher King.

Mark Ruffalo is an actor who has become known most recently for his portrayal of Bruce Banner/The Hulk in the movie The Avengers.

David Ruffin was an American soul singer who rose to fame as one of the lead singers of the Temptations.

Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin was an American community leader and women's rights activist who focused particularly on issues affecting African-American women.

Ja Rule is one of the biggest rappers from the early 2000s, known for hits like "Between Me and You," "Always on Time" and "Put It on Me."

Donald Rumsfeld is a political figure known for being the secretary of defense under both President Gerald Ford and President George W. Bush.

Prince Rupert, a 17th century soldier, statesman and scientist, is best known for his talent as a Royalist commander of the English Civil War (1642 - 1651).

Debra Jo Rupp is an actress who played Kitty on the TV sitcom That '70s Show, which ran from 1998 to 2006.

Geoffrey Rush is an Australian actor best known for his award-winning performance in the 1996 film Shine.

Salman Rushdie is a British-Indian novelist best known for the novels Midnight's Children (1981) and The Satanic Verses (1988), for which he was accused of blasphemy against Islam.

Actress Keri Russell starred on the TV drama Felicity as the title character, a young college student who decides to follow her crush to New York City.

Hailed as the greatest winner in sports, Basketball Hall of Fame center Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented 11 championships in just 13 seasons.