Famous Cancerians a to z

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.

Singer Cheryl Cole was part of the top-selling British girl group Girls Aloud.

Samuel Colt was an inventor and industrialist who created the revolver—most notably the .45-calibre Peacemaker model, which was introduced in 1873—and paved the way for the interchangeable parts system of manufacturing.

Calvin Coolidge was president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Coolidge was known for his quiet demeanor, which earned him the nickname "Silent Cal."

Stewart Copeland is best known as the drummer for The Police. Copeland is also an accomplished producer and composer of soundtracks for movies and television.

Jeff Corwin is a conservationist and the television host and producer of The Jeff Corwin Experience on the Animal Planet network.

Bill Cosby is an American comedian, actor and producer, who has played a major role in the development of more positive portrayal of African-Americans on television.

Randy Couture is best known as a mixed martial arts fighter and heavyweight champion. He is one of the first members of the UFC Hall of Fame.

A-list actor and Scientologist Tom Cruise is the star of many box office hits, including Risky Business, A Few Good Men, The Firm, and Jerry Maguire.

Benedict Cumberbatch is a British screen actor, best known for his role on the BBC television show Sherlock.

Actor John Cusack’s quirky humor earned him roles in many 1980s films, including The Sure Thing and Say Anything. In 1990, he won his first grown-up role in The Grifters.

Aimé Césaire was a cofounder (with Léopold Sédar Senghor) of Negritude, an influential movement to restore the cultural identity of black Africans.

Willem Dafoe is a gravelly voiced actor known for such films as Platoon, The Last Temptation of Christ and Finding Nemo.

Lead singer for The Kinks, Ray Davies is known for his decades-long career in rock, hits like ‘Lola,’ and ongoing feuds with brother and bandmate Dave Davies.

Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr., was the first African-American general for the U.S. Army, after starting as a volunteer in the Spanish-American War.

Oscar de la Renta is one of the world’s leading fashion designers. Famous for his women's evening wear and suits, his line is distinctly modern yet feminine.

Painter and sculptor Edgar Degas was a highly celebrated 19th-century French Impressionist whose work helped shape the fine art landscape for years to come.

Jamaican born singer Desmond Dekker was best known for creating several musical hits in the ska and reggae genres.

Jack Dempsey -- known as the "Manassa Mauler" -- was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1919-1926.

Actor Brian Dennehy was born on July 9, 1938, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. One of his first film roles was in Looking for Mister Goodbar (1977). Dennehy went on to act in more than 60 films and 70 television roles. He also won Tony awards for his stage

Jacques Derrida was an influential postmodern French philosopher who developed the analytic method known as Deconstruction.

I.A.L. Diamond was a Romanian-born American screenwriter who worked extensively with director Bill Wilder.

Jack "Legs" Diamond was a Prohibition-era mob leader, hit man and bootlegger who was based in New York.

Vin Diesel is an actor known for his high-energy action movies, such as The Fast and the Furious franchise.

First noticed as a contestant on Groucho Marx's game show in 1955, Phyllis Diller went on to become a successful comedian, actress and author.

John Dillinger was an infamous gangster and bank robber during the Great Depression, and was know as "Jackrabbit" and "Public Enemy No. 1."

David Dinkins was the mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1994, and he was the first black mayor of the city.

Bob Dole is a former member of the U.S. House (1961-69) and U.S. Senate (1969-96) from Kansas. In 1996, he was the Republican Party's candidate for the presidency.

Tanya Donelly is a musician who was influential in the alternative music scene in the 1980s and 1990s with bands such as Throwing Muses.

African-American author Paul Laurence Dunbar is best known for his verse and short stories, many of which are written in black dialect.

Well regarded for her ability to portray quirky and eccentric characters, actress Shelley Duvall has starred in Thieves Like Us, Popeye and The Shining, among other films.

Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian lawyer and human-rights activist. She was the first female judge in Iran, and won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize.

Australian actor, producer, writer and director Joel Edgerton played Will McGill in the soap opera The Secret Life of Us, and Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby.

Edward VIII became king of the United Kingdom following the death of his father, George V, but ruled for less than a year. He abdicated the throne in order to marry his lover, Wallis Simpson, thereafter taking the title Duke of Windsor.

Teresa Edwards is an American basketball player best known for winning five Olympic medals in women’s basketball including four gold and one bronze.

Missy Elliott is a Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist. A rapper and producer, she won the BET Award for best female hip-hop artist numerous times.

Tracey Emin is a British artist who emerged in the 1980s, during the "Young British Artists" movement. She is noted for her provocative and controversial pieces, including "Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995," "My Bed" and "The Last Thing I Said To You is Don't Leave Me Here."

Actress Kathryn Erbe starred on the HBO prison drama Oz, and was also cast on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, a spin-off of the popular crime drama Law & Order.

Arthur Evans was a noted archaeologist and curator known for unearthing the remains of ancient Minoan civilization.

Medgar Evers was a civil rights activist who organized voter-registration efforts, demonstrations and boycotts of companies that practiced discrimination.

Actress Edie Falco starred in independent films and TV shows before her role as Mafia wife Carmela Soprano on HBO's The Sopranos made her a star.

Dianne Feinstein is a United States senator from California and a former mayor of San Francisco.

Tim Ferriss is an author, blogger and motivational speaker known for his books The 4-Hour Workweek and The 4-Hour Body.

Gerald Ford became the 38th president of the United States following Richard Nixon's resignation, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.

Harrison Ford is one of Hollywood's leading men, with an acting career that has spanned nearly 40 years and included iconic roles.

Composer Stephen Foster is lauded as the progenitor of American popular music, penning classics like “Oh! Susanna” and “Swanee River.”

Spanish professional basketball player Pau Gasol is a two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was Spain's flag bearer during the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Antoni Gaudí was a Barcelona-based Spanish architect whose free-flowing works were greatly influenced by nature.

Artemisia Gentileschi was a Tuscan, Baroque-period painter. She studied under her father, artist Orazio Gentileschi, and was also influenced by Caravaggio.

Ricky Gervais is a British comedian best known for co-writing and co-directing the television series The Office.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a prominent American sociologist, writer and lecturer, best known for her semi-autobiographical short story The Yellow Wallpaper.

John Glenn was the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth, completing three orbits in 1962. He has also served as an Ohio senator.

Danny Glover is an actor who came into his own as Mel Gibson's co-star in the Lethal Weapon films in the 1980s and 1990s.