Biography.com Editors

Jane Goodall was a British primatologist and conservationist who revolutionized the study of chimpanzees.

Jessica Chastain is an Academy Award-winning actor known for movies including Zero Dark Thirty, Molly’s Game, and The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

Carly Simon is a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter known for the 1972 hit “You’re So Vain.” She was also famously married to fellow musician James Taylor.

Jared Leto is an Oscar-winning actor known for roles in Dallas Buyers Club, Requiem for a Dream, and Suicide Squad. He is also the lead singer of the band 30 Seconds to Mars.

Actor Pedro Pascal is known for his roles in Game of Thrones, The Last of Us, Narcos, and The Mandalorian.

Chris Brown is a Grammy Award-winning R&B singer and entertainer who made headlines for assaulting ex-girlfriend Rihanna.

Basketball legend LeBron James has played professionally since 2003, won NBA titles with three different teams, and is the league’s all-time leading scorer.

Osbourne reveled in his success as a solo artist when the unimaginable happened, ending the life of his close friend and musical confidante Randy Rhoads.

Lionel Messi, a forward for Inter Miami CF and Argentina’s national team, is one of the world’s greatest soccer players and an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Lupita Nyong'o is an Oscar-winning Kenyan-Mexican actor known for her roles in 12 Years a Slave, Black Panther, and Us.

Christopher Nolan is an Oscar-winning director and screenwriter known for the hit films Inception, The Dark Knight, Interstellar, and Oppenheimer.

Grammy-winning singer and actor Ariana Grande is known for the songs “Thank U, Next” and “7 Rings” as well as her starring role in the Wicked movies.

Belfort illegally made millions in the 1990s through his investment company, Stratton Oakmont. His memoir is the basis for The Wolf of Wall Street movie.

Fourteen-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift is one of the biggest pop music stars in the world.

Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. He is known for founding the Democratic Party and for his support of individual liberty.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the first men’s soccer player to record 900 career goals. He currently plays for the Portuguese national team and the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr.

George Washington was a Founding Father and the first president of the United States. He led the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War.

Paul Revere, a silversmith and American revolutionary, famously alerted the Lexington militia about the approach of the British in 1775.

British actor Tom Holland plays Peter Parker in the Spider-Man franchise and is known for his relationship with Zendaya.

British actor Emily Blunt is known for her roles in movies such as The Devil Wears Prada, A Quiet Place, and Oppenheimer.

RuPaul is a drag queen, singer, and actor best known for his hit reality competition series RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Amy Adams is an Oscar-nominated actor best known for her roles in Enchanted, American Hustle, and Sharp Objects.

LGBTQ rights activist Marsha P. Johnson was a key figure in the 1969 Stonewall riots and worked to support homeless transgender youth.

Harvey Milk became one of the first openly gay officials in the United States after he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.

Grammy Award-winning singer Dua Lipa is known for the singles “Levitating” and “Dance the Night.”

Sylvia Rivera became an outspoken transgender rights activist after participating in the 1969 Stonewall Riots.

Shakira is a Grammy-winning Colombian pop singer known for the hits “Whenever, Wherever,” “Hips Don't Lie,” and “She Wolf.”

NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers and previously won four MVP awards and Super Bowl XLV with the Green Bay Packers.

Former U.S. Representative Barney Frank was the first member of Congress to voluntarily come out as gay.

American basketball player Jason Collins was the first active male athlete in major North American professional sports to come out as gay.

Kevin Hart is an actor and comedian known for his upbeat standup comedy and starring roles in Get Hard, Central Intelligence, and the Jumanji movies.

Ted Turner was a television pioneer and media mogul who founded CNN, the first 24-hour news network.

William Golding was a Nobel Prize-winning author best known for his critically acclaimed classic Lord of the Flies.

Mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey is a UFC women’s champion, plus an actor and WWE star.

Katherine Jackson is the mother of pop music legend Michael Jackson and the rest of the famous Jackson family.

Michael Jackson was a multitalented singer and dancer who enjoyed a chart-topping career both with the Jackson 5 and as a solo artist.

Warren Jeffs is the imprisoned leader of the polygamist sect Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Olivia Rodrigo is a Grammy-winning singer and actor who rose to fame following the success of her hit song “Drivers License.”

Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actor during Hollywood’s Golden Age and a skilled inventor who co-developed an early technique for spread spectrum communications.

One of America's most beloved comedians, Lucille Ball is best known for her iconic sitcom I Love Lucy.

Amelia Earhart, the first person to fly across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, disappeared while flying over the Pacific in 1937.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the second woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

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

Scientist Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and is known for her research on radioactivity.

Michael B. Jordan is an Oscar-winning actor known for his critically acclaimed roles in Sinners, Fruitvale Station, Creed, and Black Panther.

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey is known for her popular talk show and an Academy Award-nominated actor.

Painter Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist known for her activism, now admired as a feminist icon.

Ian Huntley, a caretaker for a British college, was convicted of the 2002 Soham murders in England and later died in a prison attack.

Bruno Mars is a Grammy-winning singer known for the hit songs “Just the Way You Are,” “Uptown Funk,” and “That’s What I Like.”

Retired professional tennis player Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles and several Olympic gold medals.

Learn about how the beloved children's book came to be and the hidden political message in its story.

British singer Harry Styles rose to fame with the boy band One Direction and has acted in movies including Dunkirk and Don’t Worry Darling.

Maya Angelou was a multitalented poet and author known for her acclaimed 1969 memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Mae Jemison is a scientist and former astronaut who became the first Black woman in space, flying aboard the Endeavour in 1992.

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has restaurants around the world and hosts the TV shows Hell’s Kitchen and MasterChef.

Singer and actor Hilary Duff is best known for her roles in Lizzie McGuire, A Cinderella Story, and Younger.

Jesse Jackson was a civil rights leader, minister, and politician who twice ran for U.S. president.

Scientist and educator George Washington Carver was born into slavery and became an internationally famous botanist known for his many inventions, including more than 300 uses for the peanut.

Frederick Douglass was a leader in the abolitionist movement, an early champion of women’s rights, and the author of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

Carolyn Bessette Kennedy was a fashion publicist who married John F. Kennedy Jr. She was considered a trendsetter and style icon.

Garrett Morgan blazed a trail for Black inventors with his patents, including those for an improved traffic light and a breathing device that preceded the World War I gas mask.

Sidney Crosby is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 2007, he became the youngest captain of a National Hockey League team.

Madam C.J. Walker created a specialized line of Black hair care products and became the first female self-made millionaire in the United States.

One of the best alpine skiers in the history of the sport, Lindsey Vonn has won three Olympic medals and 82 World Cup titles.