Famous British People a to z

Singer Adele is a Grammy Award-winning artist whose throwback, soulful sound has made her an international success.

Freema Agyeman is a British film and TV actress known for her starring roles on the series Law & Order: UK and Doctor Who.

Samuel Alexander was an Australian-born British philosopher. He was the first Jewish fellow of an Oxford or Cambridge college.

Lily Allen is a British recording artist known for her hit songs "Sime" and "The Fear," and for her unruly public behavior.

Julie Andrews is an Oscar and Tony Award-winning actress and singer famous for her roles in The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins.

Princess Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, is best known for her charitable work and equestrian talents.

British photographer Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield achieved success in personal royal portraits, and created the well-known Unipart calendar.

Adam Ant came to fame in the early 1980s as the lead singer of the New Wave band Adam and the Ants.

Philosopher, novelist and scholar Kwame Anthony Appiah is known for his contributions to political philosophy, moral psychology and the philosophy of culture.

Scottish mathematician, physician and satirist John Arbuthnot is known for his satirical writings, which include a political allegory, The History of John Bull.

Benedict Arnold was an American Revolutionary War general best known for his defection from the Continental Army to the British side of the conflict in 1780.

English singer-songwriter Richard Ashcroft was the lead vocalist for the Verve. After the band broke up, Ashcroft started a new band, RPA & The United Nations of Sound, in 2010.

John Jacob Astor V, the fifth member of the American Astor family to bear the name John Jacob, became owner and chairman of The Times of London in 1922.

Nancy Astor (1879–1965) was the first woman to serve in the British Parliament, where she advocated temperance, women's rights and German appeasement.

Politician and publisher Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor became a member of Parliament and was the publisher of the London Observer from 1915 to 1945.

Comic actor and writer Rowan Atkinson starred on the TV series Not the Nine O'clock News and Blackadder. He is best known for his infamous role as Mr. Bean in the television series and 1997 feature film of the same name.

Richard Attenborough is an award-winning actor and director known for helming acclaimed works like Gandhi and Cry Freedom.

W.H. Auden was a literary chameleon known for his poetry but who also wrote librettos, essays and verse dramas.

Jane Austen was a Georgian era author, best known for her social commentary in novels including Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma.

Charles Babbage was known for his contributions to the first mechanical computers, which laid the groundwork for more complex future designs.

Francis Bacon was an English Renaissance statesman and philosopher, best known for his promotion the scientific method.

Scottish engineer John Logie Baird was the first man to televise pictures of objects in motion. He also demonstrated color television, in 1928.

Considered one of the greatest drummers of all time, Ginger Baker played with the bands Cream and Blind Faith. He is known for using two bass drums in his kit.

Stanley Baldwin was a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister three times between 1923 and 1937.

Christian Bale is an award winning actor who as a child starred in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun, and is also know for his roles in Batman movies.

Joseph Banks was a late-18th to early-19th century British explorer and botanist who pushed for the advancement of science.

Banksy is the pseudonym of a "guerrilla" street artist known for his controversial, and often politically themed, stenciled pieces.

Writer and filmmaker Clive Barker is largely considered a master of the horror genre. His Books of Blood and Hellraiser films are among his best-known works.

British playwright and screenplay writer Peter Barnes was well known for his unique, anti-naturalistic approach to theater and film.

Guitarist Syd Barrett helped found the psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd. After a mental break forced his departure, he spent 30 years as a painter and recluse.

Sir James Matthew Barrie was a Scottish dramatist, best known for writing the play Peter Pan.

John Barry was a British film composer best known for his memorable work on James Bond films.

A world-famous singer with a big voice and a glamorous reputation, Shirley Bassey has recorded numerous hits, including three James Bond theme songs.

Roy Bates used his swashbuckling sense of adventure to found a micro-nation off the coast of England, the Principality of Sealand, and declare himself the reigning prince.

Actor Sean Bean played the villains in Patriot Games and GoldenEye. More recently, he played Boromir in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Odysseus in Troy.

Sir Cecil Beaton was an English fashion photographer who is also known for his work as a diarist, interior designer, and Oscar-winning stage and costume designer.

Jeff Beck is a guitarist best known for his recordings and performances with The Yardbirds, The Jeff Beck Group, and as a solo artist.

St. Thomas Becket, England’s Archbishop of Canterbury, refused to give King Henry II power over the church. He was murdered in 1170 and became a saint in 1173.

Soccer great David Beckham has played for Manchester United, England, Real Madrid and the L.A. Galaxy. He is married to Victoria Beckham, also known as Posh from the Spice Girls.

Victoria Beckham is a fashion designer and singer chiefly known for her work with the Spice Girls and for being the wife of soccer star David Beckham.

Film actor. Kate Beckinsale is an actress whose starring role in the Underworld films catapulted her to international stardom.

Sir Herbert Beerbohm was a stage actor and well-known figure in English theater. He both managed and produced several plays in London including Charles Dickens and Shakespearean classics.

Lawrence Beesley was a teacher, journalist and Titanic survivor. After the collision, he boarded lifeboat 13, which was eventually rescued by the Carpathia.

English Restoration author, playwright and poet Aphra Behn wrote the short work of fiction Oroonoko, a love story about an African slave in Surinam.

Alexander Graham Bell was one of the primary inventors of the telephone, did important work in communication for the deaf and held more than 18 patents.

Andy Bell is an English musician best known as the lead singer of the pop duo Erasure. 

Gertrude Bell was a British writer, archaeologist and political officer best known for helping to establish modern Iraq after World War I.

Isaiah Berlin was a trailblazing 20th century scholar, philosopher and author, who championed pluralistic thinking and openness to ideas.

Involved in the Great Train Robbery of 1963, Ronnie Biggs became the world's most famous fugitive. He avoided capture for more than 30 years.

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to graduate from medical school in the United States. She became a leading public health activist during her lifetime.

Tony Blair was leader of the British Labour Party from 1994 to 2007, and prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007.

William Blake was a 19th century writer and artist who is regarded as a seminal figure of the Romantic Age. His writings have influenced countless writers and artists through the ages, and he has been deemed both a major poet and an original thinker.

Claire Bloom English is a dramatic actress noted for her moving portrayals of Shakespearean heroines. She also played on stage, television, and in films.

Isabella Blow was a British fashion director and style icon known for wearing flamboyant hats, many by designer Philip Treacy.

One of Great Britain's leading male actors in the 1950s, Dirk Bogarde is known for his complex roles in the dark films Death in Venice (1912), Victim (1961) and The Night Porter (1974).

Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, served as queen of England in the 1530s. She was executed on charges of incest, witchcraft, adultery and conspiracy against the king.

Hugh Bonneville is a British actor chiefly known for playing Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, on the hit TV series Downton Abbey.

Thomas Bowdler was a physician and self-appointed editor of great literature. He published The Family Shakespeare, a family friendly version of Shakespearean works, in 1807, and gave rise to the term "Bowdlerized."

Elizabeth Bowen is the author of novels and short-story collections such as The House in Paris (1935), The Heat of the Day (1938) and The Demon Lover (1945).

Leigh Bowery was an Australian fashion designer, club promoter and performance artist, known as the proprietor of the hedonistic London nightclub Taboo.

David Bowie is an English rock star known for dramatic musical transformations, including his character Ziggy Stardust. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

Camilla Parker Bowles married Prince Charles in a civil service in 2005. The two had been romantically involved for more than 25 years.

Boy George is a British singer, konwn for his flamboyant and androgynous image, who once fronted the band Culture Club.

Danny Boyle is a British film director whose films include Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, and 127 Hours.

Scottish gang member Jimmy Boyle got a life sentence for killing Babs Rooney. After his release, Boyle became a businessman and worked with young offenders.

Kenneth Branagh is an Irish-born English stage and motion-picture actor, director and writer who is best known for his film adaptations of Shakespearean plays.

Comedian Russell Brand is famous for his controversial comments and stunts, past struggles with addiction and his short-lived marriage to singer Katy Perry.

Entrepreneur Richard Branson launched Virgin Records in 1973. Today Virgin Group holds more than 200 companies in more than 30 countries.

Jeremy Brett was a British actor and singer known for his roles in My Fair Lady and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

A leader of the Puritan Separatist movement, William Brewster was one of the pilgrims who traveled aboard the Mayflower to America.

Jim Broadbent is an Academy Award-winning British actor known for his work with Mike Leigh, Woody Allen and Terry Gilliam. His film credits include Topsy-Turvy, Iris and Moulin Rouge!.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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