Famous British People a to z

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

Alfred Molina is an English actor who belonged to the Royal Shakespeare Company and starred in the blockbuster Spider-Man 2.

Keith Moon was a legendary drummer for the rock band the Who before his untimely death by accidental drug overdose in 1978.

British actor and comedian Dudley Moore starred in funny films such as Bedazzled (1967), 10 (1979), and Arthur (1981).

Roger Moore is a British actor best known for his role as James Bond in seven films from 1973-'85.

Thomas More is known for his 1516 book Utopia and for his untimely death in 1535, after refusing to acknowledge King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. He was canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint in 1935.

Henry Morgan was a Welsh Admiral who raided Spanish settlements in the late 17th century. He is accounted as one of the most notorious buccaneers in history.

Piers Morgan hosts his own interview show, Piers Morgan Tonight, and served a judge on America's Got Talent from 2006 to 2011.

Being the drummer of Culture Club

With her incredibly thin, boyish body, model Kate Moss created quite a stir in the modeling world, launching what became known as the waif look.

Stephen Moyer is best known for his portrayal of seductive vampire Bill Compton on HBO's hit show True Blood.

Naturalist, writer, and advocate of U.S. forest conservation, John Muir founded the Sierra Club and helped establish Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks.

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch is the founder and head of News Corporation, a global media conglomerate. He created FOX Broadcasting Company in 1986.

Graham Nash's vocals and songwriting talents helped make Crosby, Stills and Nash one of the most popular folk-rock bands of all time.

Donald Neilson is best known as "The Black Panther", the English armed robber and murderer.

English physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton, most famous for his law of gravitation, was instrumental in the scientific revolution of the 17th century.

Florence Nightingale, a nurse, spent her night rounds giving personal care to the wounded, establishing her image as the 'Lady with the Lamp.'

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

David Niven was an actor of stage and the big screen who epitomized dapper charm in films like The Pink Panther.

Christopher Nolan is an innovative film director and screenwriter who's helmed several early 21st century megahits, including Memento, Inception and The Dark Knight Rises.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is an English Snooker player best known as one of the most talented and awarded athletes in the sport.

Of Spanish descent, the devout, learned Catherine of Aragon was the 16th-century Queen of England due to her marriage to Henry VIII.

James Edward Oglethorpe was an 18th century member of British Parliament who also founded the U.S. colony of Georgia.

Gary Oldman is an English actor and film director whose edgy, intense style has brought him acclaim in such hits as Sid and Nancy, JFK, and The Dark Knight.

Jamie Oliver is a British chef best known for his television series The Naked Chef and for campaigning for healthier diets in school children.

Jason Orange is best known for performing as a member of the British boy band Take That.

Beth Orton is an award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist who plays folk and acoustic pop on albums like Comfort of Strangers and Sugaring Season.

George Orwell was an English novelist, essayist, and critic most famous for his novels Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-four (1949).

Roland Orzabal is an English musician, songwriter and record producer best known as co-founder with Curt Smith of the popular '80s pop band Tears for Fears.

British playwright John Osborne's Look Back in Anger ushered in a new movement in British drama and made him known as the first of the "Angry Young Men."

Actress, singer and fashion designer Kelly Osbourne is the daughter of heavy-metal musician Ozzy Osbourne.

Eccentric English musician Ozzy Osbourne fronted the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. In 2001, he opened his home to reality TV cameras for The Osbournes show.

Sharon Osbourne is known as the wife of legendary rock star Ozzy Osbourne and a television personality who's been featured on several programs, including The Osbournes and The Talk.

British actor Clive Owen’s performance in the 2004 film Closer dazzled critics and audiences, winning him a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination.

Pop singer Mark Owen became famous as a member of Take That and as a U.K. reality TV star.

Robert Dale Owen, son of the Welsh social reformer Robert Owen, is best known for being integral to the founding of the Smithsonian Institution.

Puppeteer Frank Oz is the man behind such iconic characters as Yoda, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Grover, and Animal. He's also directed several films.

Thomas Paine was an English American writer and pamphleteer whose "Common Sense" and other writings influenced the American Revolution, and helped pave the way for the Declaration of Independence.

Scottish explorer Mungo Park (1771–1806) wrote Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa about his expeditions to find the source of the Niger River.

Tom Parker is a British musician and singer best known as a member of the popular boy band the Wanted.

English born, English bred, forgotten by the English and the world, James Parkinson identified the "shaking palsy" as a disease of the central nervous system.

Mina Stevens was an astronomer who was a pioneer in the classification of stellar spectra.

Actor Robert Pattinson is known for such roles as Cedric Diggory in 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Edward Cullen in 2008's Twilight.

A tenor known for his larger-than-life showmanship, Luciano Pavarotti helped expand the popularity of opera worldwide.

Olympic medalist Mark Phillips is renowned as the commoner who married Princess Anne.

British author Chapman Pincher has concentrated on history and espionage-related topics in his investigative journalism as well as his fiction writing.

Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish-born detective and founder of a famous American private detective agency, the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.

Harold Pinter is a renowned British playwright who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005.

Billie Piper is a British actress and former pop singer best known for her role as Rose Tyler, companion to the Doctor, on the hit U.K. sci-fi TV series Doctor Who.

Robert Plant is a British rock singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin.

English golfer Ian Poulter is a successful member of both the PGA and European tours.

Prince Charles is the oldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip and is the heir apparent to the British throne.

Prince Albert married his first cousin, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at the age of 20, and after his untimely death at age 42, the queen's memory of him guided her for the next 40 years.

Prince Harry is the second son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Princess Diana. He known for his teenage escapades and his charitable work.

Prince William is the eldest son of Princess Diana and Prince Charles of Wales and is next in line for the British throne after his father.

Princess Diana was Princess of Wales while married to Prince Charles. One of the most adored members of the British royal family, she died in a 1997 car crash.

Sir Anthony Quayle was a revered actor of stage and screen known for work that included Hamlet, Lawrence of Arabia and Anne of the Thousand Days.

Elizabeth I was the long-ruling queen of England, governing with relative stability and prosperity for 44 years. The Elizabethan era is named for her.

Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain was crowned in 1953. Her 60 years on the throne was celebrated in June 2012, with the Diamond Jubilee.

Queen Elizabeth was the Queen consort of King George VI until his death in 1952. She is best known for her moral support to the British people during WWII and her longevity.

Queen Victoria was queen of Great Britain from 1837 to 1901—the longest reign of any other British monarch in history.

Daniel Radcliffe is an English actor who rose to international stardom as Harry Potter in the series of films based on the hugely popular books by J.K. Rowling.

British athlete Paula Radcliffe is one of the elite runners competing today, having set and broken her own record in the women's marathon.

British social anthropologist A.R. Radcliffe-Brown had a profound impact on British and American social anthropology through his version of Functionalism.

Sir Henry Raeburn was a Scottish painter known for his full-scale portraiture from the late 18th to early 19th century.

Stamford Raffles was an English administrator and traveler who oversaw the establishment of Singapore.

Sir Walter Raleigh was an English adventurer and writer who established a colony near Roanoke Island, now known as Virginia. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London and eventually put to death for treason.

Hot-tempered chef Gordon Ramsay owns a number of successful restaurants but is best known as the star of television series Hell's Kitchen.

J. Arthur Rank was a British film producer and magnate who also owned two large movie chains.

British thespian Michael Redgrave is acclaimed for his theater and film roles. He has also sired two generations of acting luminaries.

Called “the greatest actress of our time” by Tennessee Williams, Vanessa Redgrave is an acclaimed actress of stage and screen.

British artist Jamie Reid designed artwork for the Sex Pistols album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, which includes the song "Anarchy in the U.K." His artistic style helped define the look of the English punk rock scene of the late 1970s.

Keith Relf was a founding memeber of the Yardbirds, one of the pivotal British rock bands of the 1960s. Relf is also remembered for his unusual, untimely death.

Nick Rhodes is the keyboardist for Duran Duran, one of the biggest bands of the 1980s.

Countess of Wessex Sophie Rhys-Jones is married to Edward, Earl of Wessex, and is the mother of Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn.