Famous People Born in 1940 a to z

Mario Andretti is best known as one of car racing's most successful drivers.

Maeve Binchy was the author of various literary works, including 16 novels. Her most popular books include Light a Penny Candle, Echoes, Circle of Friends and Tara Road.

Russian-born American poet Joseph Brodsky was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1987 for his important lyric and elegiac poems.

Television journalist Tom Brokaw was the anchor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 until 2004.

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

Solomon Burke was an African-American soul singer who released a number of hits in the 1960s, including "Cry to Me" and "Got to Get You off My Mind."

Actor James Caan gave an Oscar-nominated performance as Sonny Corleone in Coppola’s The Godfather and played a writer held hostage in Stephen King’s Misery.

Anthony Casso is a member of the Lucchese crime family who was the first major crime boss to be kicked out of the witness protection program.

Chuck Close is noted for his highly inventive techniques used to paint the human face. He rose to fame in the late 1960s for his large-scale, photo-realist portraits.

Brian De Palma is a writer-director whose career has been marked by both hits and misses, with such films as Carrie and Bonfire of the Vanities.

Denny Doherty was an original member of the 1960s harmonizing rock group the Mamas and the Papas.

Fashion designer Perry Ellis launched a new wave of fashion that was defined by his signature baggy look. His clothes were lauded as both classic and adventurous.

Barney Frank is the first U.S. Congressman to voluntarily announce his homosexuality. He is also known for his work on the 2008 American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act.

Irish actor Michael Gambon is best known for his role as Albus Dumbledore in five of the seven J.K. Rowling Harry Potter films. Prior to his role as Dumbledore, Gambon was known as one of the leading thespians of his generation.

John Gotti was an organized crime leader who became head of the Gambino family.

Author Sue Grafton is the creator of the popular mystery novels featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone, which began with 1982's A Is for Alibi.

Linda Gray is an American actress and director best known for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing on the popular series Dallas.

Ellie Greenwich is best known as the writer of hit songs from the 1960's through the 1980's.

Musician and singer Levon Helm was a member of the influential rock group, The Band, and a Grammy Award-winning solo artist.

Maxine Hong Kingston is a Chinese American author of memoirs and fiction. Her best known work is The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood among the Ghosts.

Tom Jones is a Welsh rock, pop, blues and soul singing legend best known as a hit maker over the last five decades in the U.S. and U.K.

Raúl Juliá was a Puerto Rican actor best known for his work in film, including Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) and The Addams Family (1991).

Bruce Lee was an actor, film producer and director, and the martial arts expert who founded the Jeet Kune Doe martial arts system.

John Lennon, pop star, composer, songwriter and recording artist, founded the Beatles, a band that impacted the music scene like no other before or since.

Phil Lesh is best known as being a founding member and bass player for the 1960s rock group Grateful Dead.

Since co-founding Essence magazine, Edward T. Lewis has become one of the most successful and respected magazine publishers in the country.

Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan political and environmental activist and her country's assistant minister of environment, natural resources and wildlife.

Tony Mendez is a CIA officer best known for overseeing the rescue of six American diplomats during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, inspiring the 2012 film Argo.

Anne Moody is an African-American author whose writings about her personal and political struggles during the American Civil Rights Movement became classic.

Shirley Muldowney is recognized as one of the top professional car racers in the world, having earned the moniker "First Lady of Drag Racing."

American singer and songwriter Ricky Nelson was an early teen idol who acted out his real-life childhood on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

Professional golfer Jack Nicklaus, nicknamed "the Golden Bear," won the U.S. Open four times and the Professional Golfers Association championship five times.

Chuck Norris has starred in such action films as Return of the Dragon and Missing in Action. He also had a hit TV series called Walker, Texas Ranger.

American actor Al Pacino has kept moviegoers riveted since the 1970s, with roles in movies like The Godfather, Serpico and Scent of a Woman.

Politician Nancy Pelosi became the first female Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives as well as the first female Speaker of the House.

A member of three Brazilian World Cup-champion teams, Pelé is considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time.

American poet and critic Robert Pinksy is best known for writing about the significance of every-day experiences.

Richard Pryor was a groundbreaking African-American comedian and one of the top entertainers of the 1970s and '80s.

Known as the "King of Motown," Smokey Robinson founded the R&B group The Miracles, which delivered 37 Top 40 hits for Motown Records.

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

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

Martin Sheen is an American actor best known for his roles in films Badlands (1973) and Apocalypse Now (1979). He has won numerous awards for his role as President Bartlet on the TV series The West Wing.

Nancy Sinatra is an American singer best known as the daughter of Frank Sinatra and for her 1966 hit single These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.

Phil Spector is best known for writing several No. 1 hit songs, and for being convicted of the murder of Lana Clarkson.

Ringo Starr first rose to fame in the early 1960s as the drummer for the legendary rock group the Beatles.

Soul singer Warwick became a superstar with early hits like "Walk On By" and "I Say a Little Prayer," and later with albums like Dionne and Heartbreaker.

Sam Waterston is an acclaimed actor known for his film, TV and stage work, including roles in Law & Order and Gore Vidal's Lincoln.

Songwriter Cynthia Weil is famous for singles including "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" for The Animals and "Walking in the Rain" for The Ronettes.

Actress Raquel Welch was launched as a cinematic sex symbol in One Million Years BC (1966) and continues to be regarded as one of the world's great beauties.

Musician Frank Zappa made more than 60 albums during his career. Flouting convention and fusing musical genres, Zappa's music was often politically charged and intentionally shocking.