People a to z

American film Charles Bronson is best known for playing tough-guy, vigilante roles in films like The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Death Wish (1974).

Anne Brontë, sister of fellow writers Emily and Charlotte, penned the classic 19th century novels Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

Charlotte Brontë was an English 19th century writer whose novel Jane Eyre is considered a classic of Western literature.

Emily Brontë is best known for authoring the novel Wuthering Heights. She was the sister of Charlotte and Anne Brontë, also famous authors.

For 40 years, Actor and comedian Albert Brooks has worked steadily in Hollywood, appearing both in other people's movies and in his own self-directed projects.

Gwendolyn Brooks was a postwar poet best known as the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize, for her 1949 book Annie Allen.

James L. Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter, best-known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda and Taxi.

Mel Brooks is an iconic filmmaker known for comedies like The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, among other works.

American clergyman Phillips Brooks, ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1860, is best known for authoring the Christmas carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem."

Rebekah Brooks resigned as editor of the British paper that hacked into voicemail for news scoops.

African American actor Richard Brooks is best known for his role as Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette in the first three seasons of NBC's Law & Order.

Irish actor Pierce Brosnan is best known for his recurring role as British spy James Bond in the popular James Bond film series.

Dr. Joyce Brothers was a famous psychologist and multimedia personality known for dispensing frank advice on relationships, intimacy, sexuality and self-worth.

Alton Brown is best known as a celebrity chef, best-selling author and award-winning Food Network star.

Singer Bobby Brown, known for hits including "Don't Be Cruel" and "Humpin' Around," is also famous for his troubled marriage to Whitney Houston.

Blues Singer Charles Brown belonged to John Moore’s Three Blazers and gained fame when the band released “Driftin’ Blues.”

Charlotte Hawkins Brown was a teacher and founder of the Palmer Memorial Institute, a trailblazing Southern prep school for African-American students.

Chris Brown is a Grammy Award-winning R&B and dance music entertainer who has pleaded guilty to assaulting former girlfriend Rihanna.

Christy Brown was a writer with cerebral palsy who penned the autobiography My Left Foot, which was adapted into a film starring Daniel Day-Lewis.

Chuck Brown, known as the "Godfather of Go-Go," played with Jerry Butler and The Earls of Rhythm in the early 1960s, and later joined Latin-American band Los Latinos. His hit songs include "I Need Some Money" and "Bustin' Loose."

Dan Brown is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Da Vinci Code. He is known for the intricate plotting and detail in his books.

Reggae artist Dennis Brown began his career at the age of 12, when he recorded the hit single "No Man is an Island."

Herbert C. Brown was a scientist and professor who won the Nobel Prize for his work in organic chemistry.

James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," was a prolific singer, songwriter and bandleader, as well as one of the most iconic figures in funk and soul music from 1956 to 2006.

Gordon Brown succeeded Tony Blair as prime minister of the United Kingdom in 2007, and served against the backdrop of a worldwide financial crisis.

Jim Brown is a record-holding, former NFL fullback who's been elected to his sport's Hall of Fame and who's also worked as a model and film actor.

John Brown was a 19th-century militant abolitionist known for his raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859.

Linda Brown was the child associated with the lead name in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, which led to the outlawing of U.S. school segregation in 1954.

Melanie Brown, also known as "Mel B," was previously known as "Scary Spice," a member of the all-girl, British pop group the Spice Girls.

Michael S. Brown is a molecular geneticist who was co-awarded a 1985 Nobel Prize for his work on the metabolism of cholesterol in the human body.

Molly Brown was best known for her social welfare work on behalf of women and children, and for surviving the Titanic sinking.

Rebbie Jackson is the eldest child of the famous Jackson musical family and has had a long career as a R&B solo artist.

Ron Brown was a lawyer and Democratic politician who served as commerce secretary under the administration of President Bill Clinton.

Rhythm and blues singer Ruth Brown signed with Atlantic Records at a young age and recorded a number of hit songs throughout the 1950s.

Republican Scott Brown was elected to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate in 2010.

African-American poet Sterling Brown is best known for writing poetry distinctly rooted in folklore and authentic black dialect. His works, including Southern Road (1932), have been widely praised for their authenticity and phonetic spelling.

Willie Brown is a politician who became the first African-American speaker of the California State Assembly in 1980. He later served as mayor of San Francisco.

Jessica Brown Lindsay is a British actress best known for her role as Lady Sybil Crawley on the hit TV series Downton Abbey.

Jackson Browne is a folk singer-songwriter who released numerous hit records in the 1970s and '80s, including Late for the Sky. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

In 1949, mathematician Marjorie Lee Browne became one of the first two African-American women to earn a Ph.D. in her field.

Since the end of the 1960s, Actor Roscoe Lee Browne made steady television appearances, including on Barney Miller, The Cosby Show, ER and Will & Grace.

Dave Brubeck was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his unconventional meters, as well as songs like "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke."

Formerly enslaved, Blanche K. Bruce made history as the first African American to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate.

Jack Bruce is considered one of greatest bassists of all time. As the lead singer and bass guitarist for the band Cream, he wrote and sang "Sunshine of Your Love" and "White Room," among several other hits.

Lenny Bruce was an American stand-up comic and satirist who became a target for prosecutors and a poster boy for freedom of speech.

Jerry Bruckheimer is an American film and television producer who brought audiences the film Top Gun and the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Jerome Brudos was a serial murderer and necrophile who murdered four women in Oregon during the 1960s. He was known as the "The Lust Killer" and "The Shoe Fetish Slayer."

Filippo Brunelleschi was one of the leading architects and engineers of the Italian Renaissance, and is best known for his work on the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo) in Florence.

Heiress, model, singer, and actress Carla Bruni is best known for her romances and marriage to French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Mary Brunner, a member of Charles Manson's "Family," was in jail at the time of the infamous Tate/LaBianca murders, thereby precluding her participation.

Dennis Brutus was a poet whose works center on his sufferings and those of his fellow blacks in South Africa.

Kobe Bryant is an NBA athlete who's one of the leading players in career points, having earned multiple championship rings. He has also won two Olympic gold medals with the U.S. basketball team.

Yul Brynner was an actor of stage and screen most famous for portraying King Mongkut of Siam in The King and I.

James Buchanan was the 15th president of the United States. He served from 1857 to 1861, during the build-up to the Civil War.

James M. Buchanan is an American economist best known for his work on public choice theory, for which he receive the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1986.

Writer and politician Pat Buchanan is a nationally syndicated columnist and American conservative political commentator who has served under three presidents.

Art Buchwald is known for writing humor columns for Paris newspaper The Herald Tribune, and for winning a Pulitzer Prize for Outstanding Commentary in 1982.

Prolific author Pearl S. Buck earned a Pulitzer Prize for her novel The Good Earth. She was also the first female to win a Nobel Prize for Literature.

Betty Buckley is an American actress best known for roles in the television show, Eight is Enough, and later film roles.

Jeff Buckley was an American singer-songwriter who became widely known for his stirring cover of the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah."

American singer-songwriter Tim Buckley was known for combining folk, rock and other musical styles during his tragically short career.

William F. Buckley was a writer and political TV personality who helped make conservative politics popular in the 1950s-1970s.

Born in India in the 6th century B.C., Buddha was a spiritual leader and teacher whose life serves as the foundation of the Buddhist religion.

Jimmy Buffet is a well known folk country singer and songwriter. He wrote the popular songs "Margaritaville" and "Cheeseburger in Paradise."

Known as the "Oracle of Omaha," Warren Buffett is an investment guru and one of the richest and most respected businessmen in the world.

Author and poet Charles Bukowski wrote the gritty poetry book Love is a Dog from Hell, and the novels Barfly and Factotum, both of which were made into films.

James "Whitey" Bulger has been on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list since 1999, number two, behind Osama bin Laden.

Sitting Bull was a Teton Dakota Indian chief under whom the Sioux tribes united in their struggle for survival on the North American Great Plains.

British historian Alan Bullock is the author of several works on 20th century Europe, including studies of Hitler, Bevin and Stalin.

Jim J. Bullock is an American actor best known for his starring role in the 1980's sitcom Too Close for Comfort. He struggled to come out as gay and HIV positive.

Academy Award-winning actress Sandra Bullock is known for her roles in such films as Speed, While You Were Sleeping, The Proposal, and The Blind Side.

Freddie Mercury is best known as the rock worlds most versatile and engaging performers and for his mock operatic masterpiece, Bohemian Rhapsody.

American mezzo-soprano and soprano Grace Bumbry is considered one of the leading opera singers of her generation.

Ralph Bunche was a U.S. diplomat, a key member of the United Nations for more than two decades, and the winner of the 1950 Nobel Prize for Peace.

Brazilian-born beauty Gisele Bündchen is a top fashion model, and the wife of professional football player Tom Brady.

American serial killer and rapist Ted Bundy was one of the most notorious criminals of the late 20th century.

Emma Bunton was known as "Baby Spice" in the all-girl, British pop group the Spice Girls. She became engaged to R&B singer Jade Jones in 2011.

Angelo Buono was a serial killer known as the “Hillside Strangler,” who was convicted of murdering nine women in the late 1970s.