Famous People Born in 1945 a to z

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

Reggae musician Burning Spear, also known as Winston Rodney, OD, is a Bob Marley protégé whose hits include "Door Peep" and "Slavery Days."

A former fast-food chain executive, Herman Cain emerged as a Republican candidate for the 2012 presidential nomination.

Rod Carew is a former Major League Baseball first baseman, second baseman and coach who played for the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.

Guitarist and singer-songwriter Eric Clapton's 1992 single "Tears in Heaven" became a top five hit. It was written about the death of his son.

Mia Farrow is an American actress who starred in Rosemary's Baby. She dated Woody Allen for more than a decade before the relationship ended in scandal.

Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, a mobster turned government witness, is best known for testifying against his mafia associates in exchange for government protection.

Debbie Harry is a singer and actress who became famous for leading the new wave band Blondie. Her blond hair and cool sexuality made her an instant music icon.

Goldie Hawn began her career as a dancer, but switched to acting on television and then film. She won an Academy Award for her performance in Cactus Flower, and later received an Oscar nomination for Private Benjamin.

Linda Hunt is a diminutive actress best known for her role as Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously.

Phil Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association after leading his teams to nine NBA titles.

Jazz pianist, composer and saxophonist Keith Jarrett is considered one of the most original and prolific jazz musicians to emerge during the late 20th century.

Davy Jones is a singer and actor who found fame as the singer for the band the Monkees on the TV show by the same name.

Reggae and ska musician Judge Dread produced a string of hits in the 1970s, such as Big Six and several others that were banned by the BBC for their sexual innuendo.

Anselm Kiefer is an internationally acclaimed German painter and sculptor whose work looks at his country’s political past.

Leonard Lake was a serial killer who partnered with another man to rape and kill several people in the 1980s.

Equally versed in comedy and drama, John Lithgow has won raves for his work in World According to Garp, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Dexter.

Norwegian singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad and her band, ABBA, became an overnight sensation in 1974 with their first hit single, "Waterloo."

Wilma Mankiller worked for several years as a leading advocate for the Cherokee people, and became the first woman to serve as their principal chief in 1985.

Jamaican singer, musician and songwriter Bob Marley served as a world ambassador for reggae music and sold more than 20 million records throughout his career—making him the first international superstar to emerge from the so-called Third World.

Comedian and comedy writer Steve Martin found fame starring in such films as The Jerk, Little Shop of Horrors, and Father of the Bride.

Journalist and political commentator Chris Matthews is best known as the talk show host of MSNBC's Hardball and The Chris Matthews Show.

Bette Midler sang "Wind Beneath My Wings" for the film Beaches and earned Oscar nods for her roles in The Rose and For the Boys.

Helen Mirren is a revered, award-winning actress who’s film and TV work includes Prime Suspect, Caligula, Shadowboxer, Elizabeth I and The Queen.

Dennis Nilsen is best known as the English murderer of many young men in the late 1970's and early 80's.

In the 1980s, Jessye Norman’s roles in Aïda and Les Troyen made her one of the most popular and highest paid soprano opera singers worldwide.

Israeli classical violinist Itzhak Perlman is one of the 20th century's premier musicians, despite having lost the use of his legs at age 4 due to polio.

Priscilla Presley is an American businesswoman and actress, best known for marrying Elvis Presley, with whom she had daughter Lisa Marie Presley.

Known as the "BTK Killer"—which stands for "bind, torture, and kill"—Dennis Rader terrorized the Witchita, Kansas, area from the 1970s to the '90s.

Basketball coach Patrick James Riley participated in both basketball and football, playing professionally with the San Diego Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers.

Aung San Suu Kyi is an opposition leader in her home country of Myanmar and the winner of the  1991 Nobel Prize for Peace.

Tom Selleck is an actor best known for portraying Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television series Magnum, P.I., and for films including Three Men and a Baby.

Serial killer Arthur Shawcross murdered 11 women from 1988 to 1990 in upstate New York, earning the nickname "The Genessee River Killer."

Jaclyn Smith is a model and actress who starred in all five seasons of Charlie’s Angels. She has also launched her own collections for K-Mart.

Rod Stewart is best known as a U.K. and U.S. pop and rock singer-songwriter with a signature raspy voice who performed from the 1960s to the present day.

Stephen Stills is an American folk musician, best known as a member of the vocal super group Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. He is the first person to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame twice in one night.

Pete Townshend is best known as the guitarist and songwriter for the band the Who as it grew to be one of the most influential bands of the 1960 and '70s.

Björn Ulvaeusis best known as one of four members of 1970s Swedish pop sensation ABBA.

John Walsh hosts the TV series America's Most Wanted, as a result of his son being abducted and murdered in 1981.

Tex Watson was a member of Charles Manson's "Family," and was Manson's right-hand man. He was convicted of the family's infamous 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders, which were orchestrated by Manson.

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

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.

Neil Young is one of the most influential songwriters and guitarists of his generation, known for writing and recording such time-transcending songs as "Old Man," "Harvest Moon" and "Heart of Gold."