Author Voltaire wrote the satirical novella Candide and, despite controversy during his lifetime, is widely considered one of France's greatest Enlightenment writers.
Wernher von Braun was a German engineer who worked on rocket technology, first for Germany and then for the United States.
Basketball star Dwyane Wade plays as a guard for the Miami Heat, with which he has won two NBA Championships, in 2006 and 2012.
Swedish businessman and diplomat Raoul Wallenberg is best known for saving thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II.
Wendy Wasserstein was an award-winning playwright of such works as The Sisters Rosensweig and An American Daughter.
Charlie Watts is best known for playing drums as part of the famed rock 'n' roll group the Rolling Stones. He is also a noted jazz musician.
Anthony Wayne was an American general and U.S. Representative best known for winning the Battle of Fallen Timbers which removed Native American claims to Ohio and the surrounding area.
Weegee was a photographer noted for his gritty yet compassionate images of the aftermath of New York street crimes and disasters.
Wendy Williams is a radio DJ and TV talk show host known for her no-nonsense attitude and brash on-air personality.
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.
Ann Wilson is best known as the vocalist for Heart, the rock band that became famous for songs like "Barracuda."
English rocker Ron Wood became the Rolling Stones' guitarist in the mid-1970s, and is now a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki has been ranked No. 1 on the WTA Tour, and is the youngest singles player worldwide to be ranked in the top 10.
Pioneering African-American writer Richard Wright is best known for the classic texts Black Boy and Native Son.
William Butler Yeats was one of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century and received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.
Benh Zeitlin is an American filmmaker best known for his critically-acclaimed 2012 film, Beasts of the Southern Wild.