People a to z

American gymnast Jordyn Wieber is best known as the first U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team member to hail from Michigan.

Elie Wiesel is a Nobel-Prize winning writer, teacher and activist known for the memoir Night, in which he recounts his experiences surviving the Holocaust.

Simon Wiesenthal was a survivor of the Holocaust who worked as an author and Nazi hunter, wishing to ensure that what befell his community would be remembered.

Jeffrey Wigand became famous in the 1990s when he took public his knowledge that cigarette companies had tried to conceal the dangers of smoking.

Author Oscar Wilde published several acclaimed works, including The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest.

Thornton Wilder is a multiple Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and playwright known for works like The Bridge of San Luis Rey, The Ides of March and Our Town.

British musician and producer Alan Wilder is best known as a keyboardist and songwriter for the band Depeche Mode. Wilder wrote songs like "The Great Outdoors," "The Landscape Is Changing" and "In Your Memory."

Actor Gene Wilder became a children's hero as the star of Mel Brook's film adaptation of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Pioneer author Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the autobiographical “Little House” kids’ book series, the basis of the popular television show Little House on the Prairie.

Harvey Washington Wiley was an American chemist known as the "Father of the FDA." Throughout much of his career, Wiley campaigned for reforms in food manufacturing and in food labeling.

Hoyt Wilhelm was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher known for his knuckleball and who set a pitching record.

Roy Wilkins was best known as the executive director of the NAACP and a leader of the African-American civil rights movement.

Model Kendra Wilkinson was one of Hugh Hefner's Playboy girlfriends. She co-starred in the TV series The Girls Next Door about the Playboy Mansion.

English actor Tom Wilkinson is best known for his Oscar-nominated roles in the films In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton.

William I is best known for ruling Prussia as regent, and king, and later as German emperor.

Andy Williams is an American singer whose hits include “Moon River.” His Emmy-winning TV show entertained families during the 1960s and 1970s.

Daniel Hale Williams was a physician who performed the first known open-heart surgery in the United States and who founded a hospital with an interracial staff.

Eric Williams formed the People's National Movement for an independent Trinidad and Tobago, and served as that country's first prime minister.

Actress Esther Williams, nicknamed “America’s Mermaid,” helped popularize synchronized swimming through a string of hugely popular films in the 1940s and 1950s.

Hank Williams became one of America's first country music superstars, with hits like "Your Cheatin' Heart," before his early death at 29.

American composer and conductor John Williams has scored more than 75 films, including Jaws, the Star Wars trilogy, E.T. and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Katt Williams is a comedian, actor and rapper whose off-stage controversies have often garner as much attention as his on-stage accomplishments. His credits include the films Rebound, Epic Movie and Friday After Next, and the TV series NYPD Blue and Wild n' Out.

Singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams has won wide acclaim for such albums as 1998's Car Wheels on a Gravel Road and 2011's Blessed.

Michelle Williams became a top pop music star as part of the band Destiny's Child. She has also enjoyed some success as a solo gospel music artist and an actress.

Michelle Williams first came to stardom as a star of teen drama Dawson's Creek. She rose to critical acclaim with films such as Blue Valentine and Brokeback Mountain.

Author and actor Montel Williams rose to fame in 1991 with the launch of his talk show, The Montel Williams Show, which ran for 17 seasons and earned its host an Emmy.

Olivia Williams is a British actress known for appearing in such films as Rushmore, The Postman and Hyde park on Hudson.

Singer Robbie Williams got his start in the boy band Take That, before becoming a best-selling solo singer.

Actor and comedian Robin Williams is known for his fast-paced, improvisational performance style, and for his performances in films like Good Will Hunting and Dead Poets Society.

American professional tennis player Serena Williams has won 27 Grand Slam titles, including five Wimbledon and five Australian Open championships, and several Olympic gold medals.

Stanley Tookie Williams is best known for founding the Crips gang.

Baseball legend Ted Williams was best known as the Boston Red Sox Player who had a contentious relationship with Boston fans, who he refused to tip his hat to during his career.

Ted Williams was homeless in 2011 when a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch made him famous with a viral Internet video story.

Tennessee Williams was an American writer, whose signature works include A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Glass Menagerie.

Venus Williams rose from a tough childhood in Compton, Los Angeles to become a champion women's tennis player and four-time Olympic gold medalist.

Wendy Williams is a radio DJ and TV talk show host known for her no-nonsense attitude and brash on-air personality.

Actor Mykelti Williamson has appeared in films such as Forrest Gump and Free Willy, and on TV shows such as 24.

Sonny Boy Williamson, originally John Lee Curtis Williamson, was a blues singer and harmonica player. He was the first musician to use the nickname Sonny Boy.

Bruce Willis first made a splash on TV in Moonlighting, costarring Cybill Shepherd, but his fame really grew with films such as Die Hard, The Sixth Sense and The Expendables.

Ann Wilson is best known as the vocalist for Heart, the rock band that became famous for songs like "Barracuda."

Playwright August Wilson won two Pulitzer Prizes for his plays Fences (1987) and The Piano Lesson (1990).

Cindy Wilson is best known as a vocalist for new wave rock band the B-52s. Her brother was fellow founding member Ricky Wilson.

Edith Wilson was Woodrow Wilson's second First Lady. When Woodrow suffered a stroke, Edith kept it a secret so he wouldn't lose his position.

Harriet E. Wilson is best known as the first African-American female novelist.

Henry Wilson was the 18th vice president of the United States, serving from 1873 to 1875 with President Ulysses S. Grant.

James Wilson was a Supreme Court associate justice. He signed both the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

Luke Wilson is a film actor known mostly for his comedic roles in such films as Old School and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

Singer Mary Wilson, along with friends Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, formed The Supremes in 1961 and soon became a Motown legend.

Nancy Wilson is a singer, songwriter and guitarist for the rock band Heart, along with her sister, Ann Wilson. 

Australia's Rebel Wilson is best known for her funny film roles, including Kristen Wiig's roommate in Bridesmaids and the character Fat Amy in Pitch Perfect.

Richard Wilson is one of Britain's earliest landscape painters and is best known for the picturesque effects and serenity in his pieces.

Teddy Wilson was an influential pianist of jazz and swing. He played and recorded with jazz greats such as Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman and Ella Fitzgerald.

Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. resident, led America through World War I and crafted the Versailles Treaty's "Fourteen Points," the last of which was creating a League of Nations to ensure world peace. Wilson also created the Federal Reserve and signed the 19th Amendment, allowing women to vote.

Amy Winehouse won five Grammy Awards for her 2006 album Back to Black, and is remembered for songs like "Rehab," "Back to Black" and "Valerie." She died in 2011, at age 27.

Actor Paul Winfield was best known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper in the film Sounder, which earned him an Academy Award nomination.

Billionaire Oprah Winfrey has hosted her own internationally popular talk show since 1986. She is also an actress, philanthropist, publisher, and producer.

English actress Anna Wing is known for her long career on stage and screen, but most of all for her role on the long-running television series EastEnders.

Henry Winkler is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Fonzie on the hit 1970s sitcom Happy Days. He has produced and directed several television series.

Sarah Winnemucca was a member of the Native American Paiutes nation, an activist for her people and the first Native woman to publish in the English language.

A versatile performer, actress Mare Winningham has won raves for such films as 1994's Georgia and such television work as 2011's Mildred Pierce.

Oscar winner Kate Winslet has starred in a number of acclaimed dramas and comedies. She first gained fame in the blockbuster Titanic.

American comedian Jonathan Winters was once described by talk-show host Jack Paar as "pound for pound, the funniest man alive."