Billionaire media giant and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey is best known for hosting her own internationally popular talk show from 1986 to 2011. From there, she launched her own television network, OWN.

• Philanthropist, Television Producer, Talk Show Host, Film Actress
  (1954–)

Rapper Rick Ross has reportedly been hospitalized, with a machine working for his heart and lungs, after being found unresponsive at home. His condition could be pneumonia-related; Ross has a long history of suffering from seizures. Snoop Dogg and Missy Elliot called for prayers.

• Rapper
  (1976–)

Cassandra Wilson is a Grammy-award winning American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter and producer best known for her smoky contralto voice and innovative style of incorporating blues, country, pop, folk and rap music into her prolific repertoire.

• Singer, Songwriter
  (1955–)

Leontyne Price is widely regarded as the first African American to gain international acclaim as a professional opera singer.

• Singer
  (1927–)

Pioneering African-American writer Richard Wright is best known for the classic texts Black Boy and Native Son.

• Journalist, Poet, Author
  (1908–1960)

Fannie Lou Hamer was a civil rights activist who helped African Americans register to vote and who co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

• Civil Rights Activist, Philanthropist
  (1917–1977)

Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre told CNN the only way to make the game safer is to not play. Medical pros have questioned serious brain injuries sustained by players. Meanwhile, Favre is being sued for $16 million over his failed social media startup, Sqor.

• Football Player, Athlete
  (1969–)

Britney Spears has been one of the most successful—and sometimes controversial—solo acts in popular music. Six of her first seven albums reached No. 1 on the 'Billboard' 200.

• Singer
  (1981–)

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

• Civil Rights Activist
  (1925–1963)

James Earl Jones is the American actor who voiced Darth Vader in the 'Star Wars' franchise. He's also known for films like 'The Great White Hope,' 'The Hunt for Red October' and 'Field of Dreams' as well as an array of TV shows.

• Television Actor, Theater Actor, Film Actor
  (1931–)

African-American media personality Tavis Smiley is known for his successful career in television, radio and print.

• Radio Talk Show Host, Philanthropist, Journalist
  (1964–)

Ida B. Wells was an African-American journalist and activist who led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s.

• Civil Rights Activist, Journalist
  (1862–1931)

Jim Henson was an American puppeteer best known for creating TV characters, including the Muppets, and for his work on the popular children's show Sesame Street.

• Screenwriter, Inventor, Filmmaker
  (1936–1990)

Musician and actor Elvis Presley rose to fame in the mid-1950s—on the radio, TV and the silver screen—and continues to be one of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll.

• Singer, Film Actor
  (1935–1977)

"King of the Blues" B.B. King began as a disc jockey in Memphis before finding fame as a blues and R&B guitarist, with hits like "The Thrill Is Gone."

• Songwriter, Guitarist, Singer
  (1925–2015)

James Bevel was a civil rights activist who worked with Martin Luther King Jr. In 2008, Bevel was convicted of committing incest with one of his daughters.

• Minister, Songwriter, Civil Rights Activist
  (1936–2008)

William Faulkner was a Nobel Prize–winning novelist of the American South who wrote challenging prose and created the fictional Yoknapatawpha County. He is best known for such novels as 'The Sound and the Fury' and 'As I Lay Dying.'

• Author
  (1897–1962)

Ruby Bridges was the first African-American child to attend an all-white public elementary school in the American South.

• Civil Rights Activist
  (1954–)

Newton Knight, a white Mississippi farmer, led armed opposition to the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War, creating “The Free State of Jones,” a county which supported the Union in the war.

• Military Leader
  (1837–1922)

Tammy Wynette was a Grammy Award-winning country music singer who recorded the hit "Stand By Your Man." She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1998.

• Guitarist, Singer, Songwriter
  (1942–1998)

James Meredith is a civil rights activist who became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi in 1962.

• Civil Rights Activist
  (1933–)

One of the greatest players in NFL history, Walter Payton earned nine Pro Bowl selections and set several rushing records during his 13 years with the Chicago Bears.

• Athlete, Football Player
  (1954–1999)

Tig Notaro is an American comedian known for her deadpan delivery. She received a Grammy Award nomination for the 2012 comedy album 'Tig Notaro Live.'

• Comedian
  (1971–)

Larry Hoover, also known as "King Larry," is the notorious former leader of the Black Gangster Disciple Nation, a Chicago street gang that spread nationwide.

• Murderer, Thief, Organized Crime, Drug Dealer
  (1950–)