Famous People From London
- Keira Knightley, an acclaimed British actress, has made a significant mark in the realm of international cinema. Born on March 26, 1985, in Teddington, London to actor Will Knightley and playwright Sharman Macdonald, she was exposed to the world of performing arts from an early age. These early experiences ignited her passion for acting and led her to make her television debut at the tender age of nine. Knightley's breakthrough role came when she starred as Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). She gained global recognition with this role and further solidified her standing as a talented performer with subsequent roles in films such as Love Actually (2003) and King Arthur (2004). Her portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright's adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel Pride & Prejudice earned her critical acclaim along with a nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. Throughout Keira Knightley's career trajectory, she demonstrated versatility by undertaking diverse roles across various genres. From period dramas like Atonement (2007) and The Duchess (2008), to contemporary pieces like Begin Again(2013), she proved herself capable within all film landscapes. Notably known for delivering powerful performances through complex characters that challenge societal norms or expectations - be it Sabina Spielrein in A Dangerous Method, Joan Clarke in The Imitation Game, or Colette in biographical drama Colette - Keira Knightley continues to be celebrated for both her talent and dedication towards acting.
- Birthplace: Teddington, Middlesex, England, UK
- Rachel McAdams, an acclaimed Canadian actress, carved a niche for herself in Hollywood with her exceptional acting prowess and magnetic screen presence. Born on November 17, 1978, in London, Canada, McAdams pursued a passion for performing arts from a young age. She honed her craft at the prestigious York University's theatre program, where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2001. McAdams's breakthrough came in 2004 when she starred in two significant films: Mean Girls and The Notebook. In Mean Girls, she showcased her versatility by playing the manipulative high school queen bee, Regina George, while in The Notebook, her portrayal of a young woman caught in a love triangle won her critical acclaim and a wider audience. Her performances in both films catapulted her to international fame and established her as a promising talent in the industry. Throughout her career, McAdams has demonstrated her range across various genres, from thrillers like Red Eye to romantic comedies such as The Vow. She also ventured into the realm of superhero movies with Doctor Strange. Her performance in the film Spotlight, a riveting drama about investigative journalism, earned her an Academy Award nomination. Beyond her film work, McAdams has also made a mark on television, most notably in the second season of the HBO series True Detective. Despite her success, McAdams remains grounded and continues to be lauded for her down-to-earth persona and dedication to her craft.
- Birthplace: London, Ontario, Canada
- Kate Moss, born on January 16, 1974, in London, England, is an iconic figure in the world of fashion. Her journey into modeling began at the age of 14 when she was discovered by Sarah Doukas, founder of Storm Model Management, at JFK Airport in New York. Despite her unconventional height for a model, standing at just 5'7, her waifish figure and striking features quickly made her one of the most sought-after faces in the industry. Moss's career catapulted to new heights after her collaboration with Calvin Klein in the early 1990s. The black and white images of a young, fresh-faced Moss in the brand's underwear campaign were groundbreaking, introducing a new aesthetic, later termed heroin chic, which starkly contrasted with the voluptuous supermodels of the time. This campaign solidified Moss's status as a global fashion icon and ushered in a new era of modeling. Beyond modeling, Moss has also ventured into the realms of design and business. In 2007, she launched a highly successful clothing line with British retailer Topshop, showcasing her keen fashion sense. This partnership lasted until 2010, but she returned for a one-off collection in 2014. Moreover, Moss established her own talent agency in 2016, named 'Kate Moss Agency', which doesn't only focus on modeling talents but also nurtures emerging actors, singers, and artists. Despite the highs and lows of her personal life being well-documented in the press, Moss remains an enduring symbol of style and continues to have a significant impact on the fashion industry.
- Birthplace: Croydon, London, England, UK
- Mischa Barton, a British-American actress and model, was born in London, England on January 24, 1986. Her journey in the world of performance began at an early age; she attended the Professional Children's School in Manhattan and later graduated from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. A child prodigy, Barton made her acting debut on the New York stage at the tender age of nine. Barton's breakthrough role came in 2003 when she was cast as Marissa Cooper in the American teen drama television series, The O.C. This role propelled her into the international limelight, earning her critical acclaim and several awards. Not one to be typecast, Barton has demonstrated her versatility with a wide array of roles across film, television, and theater. Some of her notable performances include roles in movies like Notting Hill and The Sixth Sense, and stage productions like Slavs! and Twelve Dreams. In addition to her acting career, Barton has also made her mark in the fashion industry. She became a fashion icon during her stint on The O.C., influencing trends with her character's distinct style. Barton capitalized on this influence by launching her own fashion line, thereby solidifying her status as a trendsetter.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Elizabeth Taylor, a name synonymous with glamour and allure, was a British-American actress who etched her mark in the golden era of Hollywood. Born on February 27, 1932, in London to American parents, she moved to Los Angeles before the outbreak of World War II where her beauty attracted the attention of film studios. The young starlet's first taste of fame came with the film National Velvet in 1944, which catapulted the twelve-year-old into overnight stardom. Over the course of her six-decade-long career, Taylor appeared in more than 50 films, earning recognition for her talent as much as her striking violet eyes. Taylor's personal life often garnered as much attention as her professional one. She was married eight times, notably twice to actor Richard Burton, an affair that began scandalously on the set of Cleopatra in 1963. Her turbulent relationships, health issues, and battles with addiction were often publicized, yet she remained unapologetic about her choices. Despite her tumultuous personal journey, Taylor's acting prowess remained undiminished. She won two Academy Awards for Best Actress - for Butterfield 8 in 1960 and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1966, cementing her place among Hollywood's greats. Beyond her acting career, Taylor was a vocal and dedicated philanthropist. After her close friend Rock Hudson died of AIDS in the mid-1980s, she became deeply involved in raising awareness about the disease. She co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and established the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, both of which have made significant contributions to HIV/AIDS research, education, and patient care. Elizabeth Taylor passed away in 2011, leaving behind a legacy as a versatile actress, a passionate activist, and a woman who lived her life on her own terms.
- Birthplace: Hampstead, London, England, UK
- Born on February 23, 1983, in London, England, Emily Blunt emerged as one of the most versatile actresses of her generation. She spent her formative years in Roehampton, an affluent suburb of London, in a family deeply rooted in law and theater. A stutterer during her childhood, she found solace and expression in acting, which consequently led to her overcoming this speech impediment. Blunt's breakthrough came in 2006 with her role in The Devil Wears Prada. Her portrayal of the fashion-obsessed assistant earned her a BAFTA nomination and brought her international recognition. However, it was her performance in the film The Young Victoria (2009) that truly solidified her standing in Hollywood. Her nuanced portrayal of Queen Victoria garnered critical acclaim, further cementing her reputation as an actress of considerable depth and versatility. In addition to her successful film career, Blunt has also made waves in the world of voice acting. She lent her voice to the character Juliet in the animated film Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), showcasing another facet of her talent. Despite her success, she remains grounded and dedicated to her craft. Her diverse choice of roles, from dramatic performances to romantic comedies and action thrillers, illustrates her refusal to be typecast and her commitment to challenging herself artistically. With such a varied body of work, Emily Blunt continues to captivate audiences worldwide with her unique blend of talent, charm, and versatility.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Emilia Clarke, born on October 23, 1986 in London, England, is an accomplished actress best known for her role as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO series Game of Thrones. Raised in Berkshire, Clarke developed a passion for acting at an early age and pursued her interest by attending Drama Centre London, where she graduated in 2009. Her drive and determination led her to secure minor roles in television which paved the way for her rise to stardom. Clarke's breakthrough came in 2011 when she was cast as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, a role that catapulted her into international fame. Her portrayal of the complex character was met with critical acclaim, earning her multiple award nominations including four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. The show ran for eight successful seasons and made Clarke a household name. Aside from her work in Game of Thrones, Clarke has also demonstrated her acting prowess in other notable films such as Me Before You and Solo: A Star Wars Story. She made her Broadway debut in Breakfast at Tiffany's in 2013, further expanding her range as an actress. Emilia Clarke's journey reflects her tenacity and commitment to her craft, making her one of the most respected figures in the entertainment industry.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Ryan Gosling, a Canadian-born actor and musician, has established himself as one of the finest talents in Hollywood. Born on November 12, 1980, in London, Ontario, he was raised as a Mormon in Cornwall. He showcased his artistic potential at an early age when he was accepted by Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club at age 12, setting the stage for a successful acting career. Gosling's breakthrough in the film industry came with the 2001 drama movie The Believer, where he played a Jewish neo-Nazi. His performance was highly acclaimed and won him the Best Actor award at the Moscow International Film Festival. However, it was his role in the romantic drama The Notebook (2004) that catapulted him to stardom. His portrayal of Noah Calhoun alongside actress Rachel McAdams not only earned him an MTV Movie Award but also turned him into a household name. Apart from acting, Gosling is also known for his musical pursuits. He formed the rock duo Dead Man's Bones with his friend Zach Shields, releasing their debut album in 2009. Despite his success in the entertainment industry, Gosling maintains a low-key profile, often stepping away from the spotlight to focus on his personal life. A father of two daughters, he shares his life with actress Eva Mendes.
- Birthplace: London, Canada
- Jude Law, born as David Jude Heyworth Law in December 1972, is a distinguished British actor renowned for his compelling performances across both stage and screen. Raised in South East London, Law's passion for acting was ignited at an early age. He began his acting journey by joining the National Youth Music Theatre at the tender age of 12, which paved the way for his illustrious career. Law's breakthrough came in 1999 when he received an Academy Award nomination for his role in The Talented Mr. Ripley. This recognition propelled him onto an international platform, where he was applauded for his versatile acting skills. Over the years, Law has taken on a diverse range of characters, from a charming playboy in Alfie to a troubled robotic inventor in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, demonstrating his exceptional ability to immerse himself fully into each role. A testament to his talent, Law has been nominated for two Academy Awards, three Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In addition to his acting career, Law is also known for his humanitarian work. He is a proactive supporter of several charities including Make-A-Wish Foundation and Save the Children. His commitment to social causes extends beyond donations, with Law often using his platform to raise awareness about various issues.
- Birthplace: Lewisham, London, England, UK
- Naomi Campbell, a name that reverberates in the world of fashion, is one of the most recognized and influential supermodels globally. Born on May 22, 1970, in London, England, Campbell embarked on her modeling journey at the age of 15. Her unique beauty and unparalleled poise soon catapulted her into the limelight, making her the first Black woman to grace the covers of French Vogue and Time magazine. Campbell's influence extends beyond the fashion runway. She leveraged her fame to venture into other entertainment sectors, including music and acting. In music, she released an album titled Baby Woman in 1994, which was well-received in Japan. Campbell also showcased her acting prowess in several films and television series, including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Empire, and American Horror Story. Despite her glamorous career, Campbell has not shied away from humanitarian work. She founded the Fashion For Relief charity in 2005, which organizes high-profile fashion shows to raise funds for various environmental and humanitarian causes. Throughout her life, Campbell has demonstrated how to use fame as a tool to make a difference, proving that she is more than just a beautiful face.
- Birthplace: Streatham, London, England, UK
- Florence Leontine Mary Welch is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. She is best known as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band Florence + the Machine. The band's debut album, Lungs, was released in 2009; on 17 January 2010, the album reached the top position, after being on the chart for 28 consecutive weeks. The group's second studio album, Ceremonials, released in October 2011, debuted at number one in the UK and number six in the United States.
- Birthplace: Camberwell, London, United Kingdom
- Born on July 26, 1945, in London, England, Helen Mirren, whose birth name is Helen Lydia Mironoff, has left an indelible mark on the world of stage and screen. Descended from Russian nobility on her father's side, she was raised in a family that valued arts and culture. This environment fostered her love for acting, which led to an early start at the National Youth Theatre. She later honed her craft at the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company. Mirren's breakthrough came in the 1960s when she began to garner recognition for her stage performances. However, it was her role as Detective Jane Tennison in the television series Prime Suspect that catapulted her into international stardom. The role earned her several awards including three consecutive BAFTA Awards for Best Actress. Mirren's portrayal of complex characters continued to earn her critical acclaim, notably in the film The Queen, where she embodied Queen Elizabeth II during the aftermath of Princess Diana's death. Her performance won her an Academy Award for Best Actress. Over the course of her career, Mirren has been recognized with numerous accolades for her contributions to the entertainment industry. She is one of the few actors to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting: winning an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award in the acting categories. Despite her success, Mirren has remained true to her roots, often returning to the stage where she first found her love for acting.
- Birthplace: Chiswick, London, England, UK
- Kelly Osbourne, the English television personality, singer, and fashion designer, is renowned for her unique style and candid nature. Born in 1984 to famous rock star Ozzy Osbourne and his wife/manager Sharon, she was cast into the limelight at a young age. Her early years were marked by her family's reality show The Osbournes, which debuted in 2002 on MTV and quickly gained a cult following. It was on this platform that Kelly showcased her vivacious personality and innate ability to entertain, setting the stage for her future endeavors in the entertainment industry. Beyond just being a reality TV star, Kelly has proven her versatility with successful ventures into music and fashion. Her debut album, Shut Up, was released in 2002 and garnered considerable success in multiple countries. Not one to be pigeonholed, Kelly also dabbled in acting, appearing in a variety of television shows and films, including an Emmy-winning episode of CSI: NY. In 2010, her dynamic personality and determination led her to the dance floor, where she finished third place on ABC's hit show Dancing with the Stars. Her foray into fashion saw Kelly standing out as a unique voice in a saturated market. She co-hosted E!'s Fashion Police from 2010-2015, bringing her edgy style and distinctive perspective to the popular program. Moreover, she became an influential figure in body positivity and LGBTQ+ advocacy, with her openness about personal struggles and identity earning her numerous accolades from diverse communities.
- Birthplace: Westminster, London, England, UK
- Born in London, England to a British father and an Iranian mother, Catherine Bell embodies a fascinating fusion of cultures. Her family relocated to California when she was just two years old, marking the beginning of her American journey. Fortuitously, her diverse background coupled with her radiant beauty and remarkable talent would later prove instrumental in distinguishing her within the highly competitive entertainment industry. One cannot discuss Bell's career without highlighting her breakout role as Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie on the TV series JAG. Though this was far from her debut, it was undeniably the role that catapulted her into the limelight. For nine seasons, Bell flawlessly embodied the character's strength and resilience, captivating viewers worldwide. Following her success on JAG, Bell went on to star in the hit series Army Wives and The Good Witch, demonstrating her versatility as an actress and earning critical acclaim for her performances. In addition to her acting prowess, Catherine Bell is also an accomplished producer. She took on the dual role of star and executive producer for the Hallmark Channel's The Good Witch movie and subsequent series, proving her mettle behind the scenes as well. Despite her demanding career, Bell maintains a balanced life. She is a dedicated mother to two children and has been involved in various philanthropic endeavors throughout her lifetime. A practicing Scientologist, Bell's spiritual beliefs and dedication to helping others are integral to her identity.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Claire Forlani, a skillful and seasoned British actress, is recognized globally for her magnetic charisma, intense performances, and a career that spans across both film and television. Born on July 1, 1972, in Twickenham, England, her inherent talent led her to pursue acting at an early age. She studied at the Arts Educational School in London before making her move across the pond to Hollywood in the '90s. Forlani's breakthrough role came when she starred opposite Brad Pitt in the 1998 romantic drama, Meet Joe Black. Her performance was critically acclaimed and led to numerous opportunities in high-profile projects. In addition to her film credits, Forlani has an impressive repertoire in television series. She played the lead role in the CBS medical drama series CSI: NY and had significant parts in the fantasy-drama Camelot and historical fiction World Without End. Away from the screen, Forlani is known for her humanitarian efforts. Her commitment to philanthropy is as compelling as her acting career, with notable contributions to various charities and causes. She also delved into the world of business, co-founding the luxury skincare company Bahoma London. Despite her fame and success, Forlani has maintained a sense of humility and grace, making her a beloved figure both within the entertainment industry and beyond.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Tom Hardy, a name synonymous with versatility and intensity in the world of acting, was born Edward Thomas Hardy on September 15, 1977, in Hammersmith, London. Raised in East Sheen, London, Hardy's early life was shaped by an intriguing blend of privilege and struggle. His mother, Anne, was an artist and painter, while his father, Edward Chips Hardy, was a novelist and comedy writer. This creative environment undoubtedly nurtured Hardy's artistic inclinations. However, he also battled personal demons, including a period of substance misuse, which he has since overcome. Hardy's acting career began in earnest when he was cast in the TV miniseries Band of Brothers in 2001. However, it was his role as the villainous Bane in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) that took him to international stardom. Known for his chameleon-like ability to transform himself physically and emotionally for his roles, Hardy has portrayed a diverse range of characters, from the tormented title character in Bronson (2008) to the rugged Max Rockatansky in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). His dedication to his craft is such that he often performs his own stunts, adding a layer of authenticity to his performances. Beyond his acting prowess, Hardy is also known for his philanthropy. He is a patron of the charity Flack, which is dedicated to supporting homeless people in Cambridge, England. He has also worked with organizations like Help for Heroes, Bowel Cancer UK, and Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Despite his tough-guy image on-screen, Hardy's off-screen endeavors reveal a compassion and commitment to social causes that speak volumes about his character.
- Birthplace: Hammersmith, London, England, UK
- Kiefer Sutherland is a Canadian-born actor, producer, director, and singer-songwriter. Born on December 21, 1966, in London, England, to esteemed actors Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas, Kiefer's entry into the world of acting was almost inevitable. He spent his early years shifting between Toronto and Los Angeles, due to his parents' professions, before they separated in 1970. Sutherland began his acting career in the 1980s, making his mark with films like 'Stand by Me' and 'The Lost Boys'. However, his breakthrough role came in 2001 when he portrayed Jack Bauer in the critically acclaimed television series '24'. The role garnered him an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and brought him international recognition. In addition to acting, Sutherland also ventured into production and direction, contributing significantly to '24' behind the scenes. Not confining himself to the realms of acting, Sutherland also exhibited his talent in music. He launched his music career in 2016 with the release of his debut album, 'Down in a Hole'. His country music style received positive reviews, further showcasing his versatility as an artist.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Lily Allen, born Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper in May 1985, is an English singer-songwriter known for her expressive lyrics and distinct vocal style. Born into a family with strong ties to the entertainment industry, Allen's flair for music was evident from a young age. Her father, Keith Allen, is a well-known comedian and actor, while her mother, Alison Owen, has made her mark as a successful film producer. This creative environment played a crucial role in shaping Allen's artistic journey. Allen's career in music took off with the release of her debut album, Alright, Still in 2006. The album was a commercial success, reaching number two on the UK Albums Chart, and it also gained significant international recognition. Notable for its eclectic mix of pop, ska, and reggae influences, it featured the hit single "Smile," which topped the UK Singles Chart. This initial success set the stage for Allen's future career, establishing her as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry. Outside of her musical career, Allen has also been recognized for her outspokenness on social issues, making her a notable figure in public life beyond the world of entertainment. She has used her platform to advocate for various causes, including women's rights and mental health awareness. Throughout her career, Allen has demonstrated that she is not only a talented musician but also a socially conscious individual who uses her influence to effect positive change.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Sacha Baron Cohen, a name synonymous with satire and comedy, was born in London, England, to a Welsh mother and an Israeli father. He grew up in a Jewish family, which would later influence many of his comedic sketches and characters. Cohen attended the esteemed Cambridge University, where he studied history. It was during his time at university that he became a member of the Cambridge Footlights Dramatic Club, thus marking the inception of his creative journey on stage. Cohen's career took off when he created the character Ali G, a pseudo-streetwise poseur who interviewed unsuspecting figures on British television. The character quickly gained popularity, earning Cohen the British Comedy Award for best male comedy newcomer. This led to the production of Da Ali G Show, which aired both in the U.K. and the U.S., further solidifying his reputation as a daring comedian. Cohen's ability to blur the lines between fiction and reality prompted many viewers to question whether they were witnessing genuine interviews or scripted performances. Despite the success of Ali G, Cohen did not limit himself to a single persona. He introduced the world to other controversial characters like Borat, a naive reporter from Kazakhstan, and Brüno, an eccentric Austrian fashion journalist. These characters earned him international fame, particularly when they were brought to life in full-length feature films. His performances have been recognized with numerous accolities, including a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for his role in Borat. Sacha Baron Cohen's audacious approach to comedy has undeniably left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Helena Bonham Carter, an enigmatic British actress known for her distinctive roles in both art house productions and blockbuster films. Born on May 26, 1966, in Golders Green, London, England, she hails from a prominent British political family. Her father, Raymond Bonham Carter, was a merchant banker, and her mother, Elena, was a psychotherapist. Bonham Carter's acting career took flight when she was cast in the title role of the television movie A Pattern of Roses at the tender age of sixteen. This led to her breakthrough role as the ingénue Lucy Honeychurch in the film adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel, A Room with a View (1985). Her performance garnered critical acclaim and cemented her position in the film industry. Over the years, she has delivered standout performances in a diverse range of films like Fight Club, The King's Speech, and the Harry Potter series, proving her versatility as an actress. Arguably, her most notable collaborations have been with the visionary director Tim Burton. They worked together on several projects such as Planet of the Apes, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Alice in Wonderland. Bonham Carter's eccentric style and ability to portray complex characters resonated with Burton's unconventional storytelling. Off-screen, they shared a romantic relationship and have two children together. Despite their separation, they remain amicable co-parents. Helena Bonham Carter, with her unconventional charm and fearless performances, continues to be an enduring figure in the world of cinema.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Joan Collins, born on May 23, 1933, in London, England, is an acclaimed actress and author who has enraptured audiences with her dazzling performances and literary prowess for more than six decades. She is the daughter of Elsa Collins, a dance teacher and nightclub hostess, and Joseph William Collins who was an agent and talent scout. Her younger sister, Jackie Collins, also climbed the ladder of fame as a best-selling novelist. Joan's journey began when she was admitted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the age of 16, laying the groundwork for her illustrious career in acting. Collins embarked on her Hollywood journey in the 1950s, initially signing with the Rank Organisation, a British entertainment conglomerate, and later with 20th Century Fox. Her breakthrough role came in 1955 when she starred in Land of the Pharaohs. Despite experiencing subsequent career highs and lows, she persevered, eventually bagging the role of Alexis Carrington in the popular American soap opera Dynasty in 1981. This role catapulted her to international stardom, earning her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 1982. Aside from her acting career, Collins is also renowned for her writing skills. She has authored several best-selling novels and lifestyle books, demonstrating a keen understanding of popular culture and human nature. Her philanthropic ventures are equally noteworthy. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1997 for services to drama, and in 2015, she was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her charitable works, particularly in the field of breast cancer research. Joan Collins's many talents and unyielding spirit continue to inspire generations, cementing her status as an enduring icon in the world of entertainment.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Hannah Simone (born August 3, 1980) is a British-born Canadian actress, television host, and former VJ and fashion model. She is best known for portraying Cece on the Fox sitcom New Girl.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite on March 14, 1933, in London, the man who would become known to the world as Michael Caine has lived a life as rich and varied as the characters he's portrayed on screen. The son of a fish-market porter and a maid, Caine grew up in a working-class family and experienced the hardships of World War II firsthand. He honed his acting skills during his military service in Korea, where he was a part of the Royal Fusiliers. Caine's career breakthrough came with the film Zulu in 1964, where he played Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead. His portrayal of the aristocratic officer set him on a path to stardom, and he quickly became one of the most recognizable faces in British cinema. His role in The Ipcress File (1965) solidified his status as a leading man, and over the years, he has been lauded for his performances in classics such as Alfie (1966), The Italian Job (1969), and Get Carter (1971). Caine's talent has not gone unrecognized by his peers. He's a two-time Academy Award winner, earning Best Supporting Actor for his roles in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and The Cider House Rules (1999). But perhaps what sets Caine apart is his longevity and adaptability. He has worked with some of the most respected directors of multiple generations, from Sidney Lumet and John Huston to Christopher Nolan and Steven Soderbergh.
- Birthplace: Rotherhithe, London, England, UK
- Elizabeth II, born on April 21, 1926, in London as Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, ascended to the throne in 1952 and has since become one of the most recognized monarchs in British history. She was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later known as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother). At her birth, no one expected Elizabeth would become queen, yet fate intervened when her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne in 1936, thrusting her father into the role and subsequently positioning Elizabeth as the heir presumptive. A significant chapter in Elizabeth's life began during World War II, when she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service at the age of 18, training as a driver and mechanic. This experience not only honed her resilience but also brought her closer to the people she would one day rule. In 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, in a union that would last over seven decades until his death in 2021. Their marriage saw the birth of four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward. Elizabeth's reign, which began on February 6, 1952, following the death of her father, has been marked by significant changes both within Britain and globally. She has navigated the decolonization of Africa and the Caribbean, the acceleration of devolution in the United Kingdom, and numerous changes in public sentiments towards the monarchy. Her astute handling of these shifts underscores her commitment to her role and her adaptability as a leader. In 2015, she became the longest-reigning British monarch and the world's oldest reigning monarch. Despite the demands and pressures of her position, Elizabeth II has remained a symbol of continuity and tradition, demonstrating an unwavering dedication to her country and her role as queen. She passed away at the age of 96 on September 8, 2022, with Charles III as her successor.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Kaya Scodelario made her television debut in 2007 on the British drama "Skins," in which she played teenage party girl Effy Stonem. She had never acted prior to auditioning, but one of the show's producers convinced her to go through with a reading, and she was subsequently hired for the part. The character of Effy frequently behaved irrationally and suffered from depression, but her penchant for drama also brought notoriety, and she was the only character to star throughout the first four seasons of "Skins." After her run on the show, Scodelario appeared in a number of movies, most notably the special effects-laden 2010 remake of "Clash of the Titans." She played Peshet, the handmaiden of Andromeda, the princess whom Perseus must rescue from being sacrificed. Scodelario also had small parts in two British sci-fi movies: "Moon," a drama that saw release in '09; and "Shank," a more action-oriented flick about gang wars in a crumbling future city, which arrived in theaters in 2010. Now an experienced actress, she made the leap to movie headliner for a new adaptation of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" released in '11, earning critical acclaim for her performance as Catherine Earnshaw, one of the great Gothic heroines of English literature.
- Birthplace: Holloway, London, England, UK
- Stephen Fry, a multifaceted British talent, has made immense contributions to the world of arts and literature. Born on August 24, 1957, in London, England, he spent his early years navigating through a challenging educational journey due to his struggles with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Despite these trials, he found solace in the realms of drama and comedy, ultimately securing a place at Queens' College, Cambridge. Here, he became an integral part of the Cambridge Footlights, a student comedy troupe that has been a springboard for many successful British comedians. Fry's career took off in the 1980s when he teamed up with fellow Cambridge alumnus Hugh Laurie to create the sketch comedy show A Bit of Fry & Laurie. The show was a massive hit, catapulting both performers into the spotlight. This was just the beginning for Fry, who would go on to star in a multitude of films and television series, including the globally acclaimed Jeeves and Wooster and Blackadder. His versatility is evident in his ability to effortlessly transition between dramatic roles and comedic performances. Apart from acting, Fry is an accomplished writer and presenter. His extensive bibliography spans across genres, from novels like The Liar and Making History, to non-fiction works such as Moab Is My Washpot, a candid account of his early life. Moreover, his distinct narrative style and rich voice have made him a sought-after choice for audiobook narration, most notably for the Harry Potter series. In addition, Fry has presented several critically acclaimed documentaries on a diverse range of topics, further cementing his status as a versatile artist. Throughout his career, Stephen Fry has consistently demonstrated an uncanny ability to captivate audiences, making him a cherished figure in the entertainment industry.
- Birthplace: Hampstead, London, England, UK
- Hayley Atwell, a distinguished British-American actress, emerged in the entertainment world with an impressive career spanning film, television, and stage. Born on April 5, 1982, in London, England, she came from a blend of American and British heritage. Her father, Grant Atwell, an American photographer from Kansas City, Missouri, and her mother, Allison Cain, a British motivational speaker, both nurtured her early love for performing. She studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), where she honed her acting skills before diving into the cutthroat world of show business. Atwell made her professional stage debut in 2005 in the production of Prometheus Bound, capturing the audiences with her mesmerizing performance. However, it was her role as Peggy Carter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that catapulted her to international fame. She first appeared as the character in Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011. This led to reprising roles in several other Marvel productions, including two seasons of her own spin-off series, Agent Carter. In addition to her Marvel fame, Atwell demonstrated remarkable versatility with diverse roles across genres. She starred in period dramas such as The Duchess and Brideshead Revisited, showcased her voice acting talents in the animated film Christopher Robin, and even ventured into contemporary drama with the British series Conviction. Throughout her career, Atwell has been praised for her commanding screen presence and ability to imbue her characters with depth and authenticity. Despite her Hollywood success, she remains passionately connected to her theatrical roots, regularly returning to the stage to perform in highly acclaimed productions like Measure for Measure and Dry Powder.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Christopher Lee, born in Belgravia, London in 1922, was a multi-talented actor and singer who amassed a legendary career spanning nearly seven decades. His early life was marked by a rich cultural exposure, with schooling in Switzerland and later Wellington College. Unbeknownst to many, his first professional ambition was not acting; instead, he initially sought a career in diplomacy before the outbreak of World War II redirected his path. Lee served in the Royal Air Force and Special Forces during the war, an experience that honed his resilience and would later inform his gripping portrayals of complex characters. Lee's acting career launched in the late 1940s, but it wasn't until the late 1950s that he became synonymous with horror, playing the role of Count Dracula in a series of Hammer Horror films. These performances solidified him as a titan of the genre and earned him international acclaim. However, he was far from being typecast, displaying remarkable range across diverse roles. His tall stature, deep voice, and intense gaze made him an ideal choice for villainous characters, most notably Saruman in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels. In addition to his illustrious acting career, Lee also demonstrated a passion for music. He released several albums and singles in various genres, showcasing his deep, resonant voice. His musical endeavors ranged from opera to heavy metal, the latter of which earned him a place in the "Metal Hammer" Golden Gods Awards in 2010. Christopher Lee passed away in 2015, leaving behind a vast body of work that continues to inspire generations of actors and entertain audiences worldwide. His legacy is a testament to his versatility, dedication, and enduring influence in the entertainment industry.
- Birthplace: Belgravia, London, England, UK
- Tula Paulinea Contostavlos (born 13 July 1988), known professionally as Tulisa, is an English singer-songwriter, actress, dancer and television personality. Tulisa rose to fame as a part of the hip hop group N-Dubz with her cousin Dappy and friend Fazer, which became successful in the 2000s and early 2010s. As part of the group she has gained two platinum-certified albums, two gold-certified albums, five MOBO awards, four headlining tours, a Brit Award nomination, thirteen top 40 singles, six silver-certified singles and three Urban Music Awards. In 2011 and 2012, Tulisa was a judge on The X Factor UK, she led the "Groups" category in 2011, her winning act being Little Mix, who went on to become the most successful girl group in the X Factor's history. In 2012, Tulisa's success continued with the release of her debut single "Young", which debuted and peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart. "Live It Up" and "Sight of You" were also hits reaching the top twenty in the UK. In November 2012 she released her debut album The Female Boss, which peaked at number 35 on the UK Albums Chart. As an actress, Tulisa has starred in the British horror film Demons Never Die and the comedy film Big Fat Gypsy Gangster in 2011.
- Birthplace: London Borough of Camden, England, London
- Jourdan Sherise Dunn (born 3 August 1990) is an English model and actress. She was discovered in Hammersmith Primark in 2006 and signed to Storm Management in London shortly thereafter. She began appearing on international runways in early 2007. In February 2008, she was the first black model to walk a Prada runway in over a decade.In April 2014, it was announced that Dunn was signed as the new face of Maybelline New York. As of July 2014, she was declared an icon by models.com. Dunn is a part of a small elite group of modern day models considered to be this generation's supermodels.
- Birthplace: London, United Kingdom
Samantha Fox
Age: 58Samantha Karen Fox (born 15 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, actress, and former glamour model. In 1983, at age 16, she began appearing as a topless model on Page 3 of British tabloid newspaper The Sun, and continued as a Page 3 girl until 1986. During this time, she became the most popular pin-up girl of her era, as well as one of the most photographed British women of the 1980s. In 1986, she launched a pop music career with her debut single "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)", which peaked at number-one in 17 countries. In 1988, Fox received a Brit Award nomination for Best British Female Artist. She has also appeared in a number of films and reality television shows, and has occasionally worked as a television presenter.- Birthplace: England, London
- Dudley Moore, born in Dagenham, England in 1935, was an extraordinary figure whose early life was marked by hardship, having been born with a clubfoot and raised in a working-class family. Yet, he rose above these challenges to carve out a successful career that spanned across music, comedy, and film. Moore's musical prowess emerged at an early age. He became a choirboy at the age of six and won a scholarship to study organ at the Guildhall School of Music in London when he was just 11. His love for jazz led him to form his own trio, The Dudley Moore Trio, which garnered significant acclaim in the UK. However, it was Moore's comedic talents that propelled him into the limelight. A founding member of the groundbreaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe, Moore's knack for humor made him a household name in Britain and later, across the Atlantic. His transition to film was seamless and successful. Moore's memorable role in the 1979 film 10 made him an international star. His portrayal of a man undergoing a mid-life crisis resonated with audiences worldwide. This success was followed by the 1981 hit Arthur, where his engaging performance as a lovable drunk earned him an Oscar nomination. Despite his prolific career and fame, Moore remained grounded, using his celebrity status to raise awareness for progressive supranuclear palsy, a degenerative brain disorder he was diagnosed with in 1997. On March 27, 2002, Moore passed away from pneumonia at the age of 66 in Plainfield, New Jersey,
- Birthplace: Dagenham, England, UK
- Tom Hiddleston, a name synonymous with versatility and charisma in the acting world, was born on February 9, 1981, in Westminster, London. A product of the Dragon School and Eton College, Hiddleston's passion for the performing arts led him to the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where he honed his craft and graduated in 2005. His early career saw him working extensively in theatre, most notably in productions such as Othello and Ivanov, earning him a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Newcomer. Hiddleston's breakthrough came when he was cast in the role of Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making his first appearance in the 2011 film Thor. His portrayal of the complex anti-hero character was met with critical acclaim, leading to reprises in multiple sequels and spin-offs, including an eponymous television series. This role not only established his global reputation but also showcased his exceptional range, allowing him to transition seamlessly between high drama and comic relief. Beyond the MCU, Hiddleston's filmography is diverse, featuring period dramas like War Horse and Midnight in Paris, indie films like Only Lovers Left Alive, and biopics like I Saw the Light, where he played country music legend Hank Williams. In addition to his screen work, Hiddleston has made significant contributions to television, earning a Golden Globe for his leading role in The Night Manager. A multi-talented performer, Tom Hiddleston continues to captivate audiences worldwide with his dynamic portrayals and commitment to his craft.
- Birthplace: Westminster, London, England, UK
- Born into the British royal family, William, Prince of Wales, has lived a life of immense privilege and profound duty. Born on June 21, 1982, to Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, his early years were marked by the glare of the media spotlight and the complex dynamics of his family's legacy. Despite the pressures of his birthright, William was noted for his affable demeanor and strong sense of responsibility from an early age. William's education was a blend of traditional schooling and royal tutelage. He attended Ludgrove School and later Eton College, where he demonstrated a keen interest in geography and history. Following Eton, he spent some time in Chile on a gap year, working on community service projects, before enrolling at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. There, he obtained a degree in geography, further cementing his reputation as a dedicated student and conscientious individual. Beyond academics, William has shown a longstanding commitment to public service and philanthropy. He served in the Royal Air Force, undertaking rescue missions as a helicopter pilot, a role that showcased his bravery and dedication to serving his country. Additionally, he has been involved in numerous charitable initiatives, championing causes such as mental health awareness, conservation efforts, and support for disadvantaged youth. Throughout his life, William has managed to balance his royal duties with personal passions, carving out a unique path within the constraints of his royal heritage. His life story is a testament to his resilience, compassion, and commitment to serving both his country and humanity at large.
- Birthplace: England, London, Paddington
- Jerry Springer, born in 1944 in a London tube station used as a bomb shelter during World War II, overcame immense challenges from his early days. His journey began as a refugee child whose parents fled from Nazi Germany to England, eventually moving to Queens, New York, when Springer was just five years old. Despite these humble beginnings, Springer managed to carve out a successful career that bridged politics, law, news broadcasting, and eventually, television entertainment. Springer's professional path is as diverse and dynamic as the man himself. After earning a law degree from Northwestern University, he delved into politics, serving on the Cincinnati City Council before becoming Mayor of Cincinnati at only 33 years old. His political success was seemingly cut short due to a scandal involving a cheque to a prostitute. However, Springer turned the situation around, owning up to his mistake publicly, which won him back his council seat and later earned him the mayorship. In the mid-80s, Springer transitioned from the world of politics to media, where his charisma and engaging manner led to a flourishing career in television. He served as a political reporter and commentator, but it was The Jerry Springer Show that catapulted him to global fame. Debuting in 1991, the show became infamous for its outrageous content, anarchic atmosphere, and fiery confrontations, effectively changing the landscape of daytime television. Despite criticism for its lowbrow appeal, Springer's show enjoyed immense popularity, airing for an impressive 27 seasons with over 4000 episodes, and turning Jerry Springer into a household name.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Rachel Lauren Stevens (born 9 April 1978) is an English singer, television personality, actress and businesswoman. She was a member of the pop group S Club 7 between 1999 and 2003. She released her solo debut studio album Funky Dory in September 2003. The album reached number nine on the UK album chart and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) awarded it with a gold certification in October 2003. Two singles, "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex" and "Funky Dory", were initially released from the album: "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex" peaked at number two in the UK and received a silver certification from the BPI. In July 2004, Stevens released the single "Some Girls" as a charity record for Sport Relief, and the single's success prompted Polydor to re-issue Funky Dory with three new songs. Come and Get It, her second studio album, was released in October 2005. It peaked at No. 28 in the UK, and two of its three singles reached the Top 10.In 2008, she came second in the sixth series of the BBC One series Strictly Come Dancing with her dance partner Vincent Simone. On 16 November 2010, she gave birth to her first child, Amelie. In 2013, she was a mentor assistant on The X Factor New Zealand. In September 2013, Stevens announced she was pregnant with her second child and gave birth to Minnie on 1 April. Also in 2014, she was awarded FHM's sexiest woman of all time. Stevens became one of the coaches in the 4th season of RTE's The Voice of Ireland. Stevens' version of the song "More, More, More" has been used in adverts for sofa retailer ScS. In November 2014, S Club 7 announced plans for an arena reunion tour, titled Bring It All Back 2015, touring the UK in May 2015.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Renowned for her exceptional versatility and unyielding passion for the craft, Vanessa Redgrave is a decorated figure in the world of entertainment. Born on January 30, 1937, in London, England, she hails from an illustrious theatrical lineage as the daughter of actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. Her siblings, Lynn Redgrave and Corin Redgrave, also carved out successful acting careers, solidifying the Redgrave name in the annals of British theatre. Vanessa's early exposure to the stage spurred her interest in acting, leading to her training at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Redgrave's career spans over six decades, marked by memorable performances in theater, film, and television. She made her professional debut in the 1950s with the Royal Shakespeare Company and quickly rose to prominence due to her compelling interpretations of classic roles. Her film career flourished parallelly, earning her an Academy Award for the title role in Julia (1977) and six additional nominations for prestigious roles in films like Howard's End (1992) and Atonement (2007). Off-screen, Redgrave is known for her political activism, advocating for various humanitarian causes throughout her life. She candidly expressed her views on issues such as nuclear disarmament and refugee rights, often courting controversy due to her outspoken nature. Despite the numerous highs and lows in her personal and professional life, Vanessa Redgrave has remained a towering figure in the realm of performing arts.
- Birthplace: Greenwich, London, England, UK
- Richard Branson, a renowned British entrepreneur and philanthropist, ignited his illustrious career with the launch of Virgin Records in the early 1970s. Born on July 18, 1950, in Surrey, England, Branson exhibited his entrepreneurial spirit at a young age. Despite grappling with dyslexia, which posed academic challenges during his childhood, he went on to establish his first business, a magazine named Student, at the age of 16. Virgin Records, initially a mail-order company, snowballed into a record store and then a recording studio, paving Branson's path to unprecedented success. In the early 1980s, Branson diversified his interests, venturing into the airline industry with the inception of Virgin Atlantic Airways. His foray into the aviation sector was marked by a blend of risk-taking and innovation, attributes synonymous with Branson's brand. The 1990s saw him expanding further with Virgin Mobile and Virgin Australia. Branson's entrepreneurial ventures weren't confined to Earth; they transcended into space travel with Virgin Galactic, reinforcing his reputation as a pioneering force in multiple industries. Outside his commercial endeavors, Branson is known for his adventurous spirit and humanitarian efforts. He broke several world records in the 1980s and 1990s in hot air ballooning and cross-Atlantic sailing. On the philanthropic front, Branson co-founded The Elders, a group of global leaders working for human rights, and launched Virgin Unite, focusing on social and environmental causes. Richard Branson's journey, from a dyslexic schoolboy to a trailblazing entrepreneur and philanthropist, underscores the power of resilience, creativity, and audacious ambition.
- Birthplace: Blackheath, London, England, UK
- Freema Agyeman (; born Frema Agyeman; 20 March 1979) is an English actress who is known for playing Martha Jones in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood, and Amanita Caplan in the Netflix science fiction drama Sense8. Following her departure from Doctor Who and a role in the BBC series Little Dorrit, Agyeman held a starring role as Alesha Phillips in the crime procedural drama Law & Order: UK between 2009 and 2012. In 2013, she made her US television debut on The CW's teen drama The Carrie Diaries as Larissa Loughlin, a style editor at Interview magazine. Other television appearances include Old Jack's Boat, Silent Witness, and Survivors. Agyeman also appeared as Penny in the 2015 film North v South. In 2018, she became part of the main cast of the NBC medical procedural series New Amsterdam.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is an English singer and songwriter. Bedingfield released her debut album, Unwritten, in 2004, which contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music. It enjoyed international success with more than 2.3 million copies sold worldwide. Bedingfield received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the title track "Unwritten", and at the 2005 and 2006 Brit Awards she was nominated for Best British Female Artist. Unwritten also produced her only UK number one, "These Words". Her second album, N.B. (2007), yielded the UK top 10 singles "I Wanna Have Your Babies" and "Soulmate". N.B. was not released in North America, but six tracks from it were included with seven new ones and released in 2008 as her third studio album, Pocketful of Sunshine, with the singles "Love Like This" and "Pocketful of Sunshine" earning success on the charts. In December 2010, Bedingfield released her third album in North America, named Strip Me with the song of the same name charting on the US Billboard Hot 100 at 91. Bedingfield has sold over 10 million albums and 10 million singles worldwide, totaling over 20 million records worldwide. In 2012, VH1 ranked Bedingfield number 66 on the list of 100 Greatest Women in Music.
- Birthplace: United Kingdom, Haywards Heath
- A statuesque, six-foot-tall Brit gifted at portraying women with an icy cool exterior and a complex, fiery persona percolating underneath, former model Saffron Burrows built an early career on her innate physical beauty and quickly established that she was capable of portraying both soft corners and sharp edges. The daughter of highly political, socialist-feminist parents, as a child Burrows sold the Socialist Worker newsletter for pocket money, attended marches and rallies after school with her activist mother and stepfather, and shared her home with striking miners. Burrows was 15 when she was discovered by the same model scout who set Naomi Campbell on the path to fame, moving to Paris to work for Chanel, Vivienne Westwood and Yves St Laurent. After five years, however, she had became so disillusioned with the fashion industry that, having studied drama since her childhood, she segued into acting. At 20 Burrows was cast in her first starring role opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in "The Name of the Father" (1993), playing his girlfriend both on and off screen. Next Burrows enticed Chris O'Donnell to cheat on Minnie Driver in "Circle of Friends" (1995), and though the movie did not launch her in quite the same way it did Driver, her career steadily gathered steam-and she also became popular fodder for the hungry British press after an engagement to actor Alan Cumming ended when he left her for a man. On screen, Burrows next appeared as a nightclub hostess in two 1996 British TV 1996 productions written by Dennis Potter, "Karaoke" and "Cold Lazarus" (both seen in the USA on Bravo in 1997), and the actress co-starred as a woman who comes between two brothers in the Australian comedy "Hotel de Love" (1997). Burrows also starred as Janeane Garofalo's romantic competition for David O'Hara in "The Matchmaker" (1997) and was tapped for a role in Woody Allen's "Celebrity" (1998). Her strong turn as a moderately successful writer in the quirky comedy "Lovelife" (1997) was relegated to the video shelves but a bit in Mike Figgis' "One Night Stand" (also 1997) led him to cast her in a featured role as twins in "The Death and the Loss of Sexual Innocence" (1999), then as the leading lady in his adaptation of August Strindberg's play "Miss Julie" (1999), yet again in the ensemble cast of his experimental four-way split-screen, digitally shot "Timecode" (2000), and finally as the Duchess of Malfi in his film "Hotel" (2001). Her first bid for mainstream Hollywood stardom came in 1999 with a role as starship pilot Lt. Cmdr. 'Angel' Devereaux in the video game adaptation "Wing Commander" opposite Freddie Prinze, Jr., and as the oceanographer heroine of Renny Harlin's shark flick "Deep Blue Sea." She quickly returned back to artier, edgier and more high-minded fare, such as the British crime drama "Gangster No. 1" (2000) opposite Paul Bettany and Malcolm McDowell. Burrows' exotic, unreadable qualities came to the fore in director Michael Apted's "Enigma" (2001), a World War II thriller about the effort to crack Nazi spy codes in which she plays the lover of a code-cracker (Dougray Scott) who mysteriously disappears. In "Tempted" (2001) she played the beautiful young wife of an older man (Burt Reynolds) who puts her fidelity to the test by hiring a younger man (Peter Facinelli) to seduce her. Another frequent Figgis collaborator, Salma Hayek, cast Burrows in a supporting role in her highly-praised biopic "Frida" (2002), and the actress starred opposite Harvey Keitel in the little-seen drama "The Galindez File" (2003). Just as it seemed that Burrows and conventional Hollywood had significantly cooled on each other--her only mainstream role in years being the voice of the narrator in the 2003 film production of "Peter Pan"--until she was cast opposite Brad Pitt as the unfortunate Trojan princess Andromache in director Wolfgang Petersen's Homeric epic "Troy" (2004). After a supporting role in the foreign-made "Klimt" (2006), a biopic of famed Austrian artist Gustav Klimt (John Malkovich), Burrows played a mentally unstable dental patient who accuses her dentist (Don Cheadle) of sexual assault in "Reign Over Me" (2007). After starring in the drama "Dangerous Parking" (2007) and Amy Redford's "The Guitar" (2008), Burrows played the female lead opposite Jason Statham in action thriller "The Bank Job" (2008) and opposite Kevin Spacey in Hollywood satire "Shrink" (2009). During this period, Burrows also began working in television, co-starring on "Boston Legal" (ABC 2004-08) in its final season before joining "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" (NBC/USA 2001-2011) as a detective for the long-running show's ninth season. Following roles in black comedy "Small Apartments" (2012) and political thriller "Knife Fight" (2012), Burrows had an arc on superhero series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (ABC 2013- ), following by a starring role in steaming series "Mozart in the Jungle" (Amazon 2014- ). Between seasons of that series, she appeared in indie comedy "Quitters" (2015).
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- English actor Ben Barnes first came to wider attention when he was cast as Prince Caspian, the titular hero of the 2008 sequel to "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (2005), and the blizzard of publicity that preceded its early summer release virtually papered the globe with pictures of his face. The exposure catapulted the actor into worldwide attention, and generated more work in major motion pictures, including the third "Narnia" feature and an opportunity to romance Jessica Biel in a big-screen version of Noel Coward's "Easy Virtue" (2009).
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is the King of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms since his accession on 8 September 2022, following the death of his mother, Elizabeth II. As Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay from 1952 to his accession in 2022, he was the oldest and the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. He was also the longest-serving Prince of Wales, having held the title from 26 July 1958 until his accession on 8 September 2022.
- Birthplace: England, Buckingham Palace, London
- Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English singer, songwriter, actress, and radio and television presenter. She is a member of the girl group the Spice Girls formed in the 1990s, and in which Bunton was nicknamed Baby Spice. In 2013, she began as a radio presenter on the Heart Breakfast Show in London with Jamie Theakston and presenting her own show on Sunday evenings. She left the breakfast show in 2018. Bunton's debut solo album, A Girl Like Me, was released in April 2001 by Virgin Records. The album debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart. It was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 copies, ultimately becoming the 147th best-selling album in the UK for 2001. The album spawned the UK and New Zealand number-one single "What Took You So Long?", as well as the top five singles "What I Am" and "Take My Breath Away" and the top 20 single "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight". Bunton's second studio album, Free Me, was released in February 2004 through 19 Entertainment. Four singles were taken from it: "Free Me", "Maybe", "I'll Be There" and "Crickets Sing for Anamaria". The album was also released in the United States, and some of the singles impacting upon the US dance charts. After the release of her third studio album, Life in Mono, Bunton reunited with the Spice Girls in 2007 for an international tour and greatest hits album. From 2003 to 2012 Bunton had a recurring role on the BBC comedy series Absolutely Fabulous. She performed at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony on 12 August 2012 with The Spice Girls. This would be the last time that the band would perform as a quintet. Since 2018, Bunton has reunited as the Spice Girls with Geri Halliwell, Melanie C and Mel B. Bunton's television appearances include being a judge on the ITV celebrity skating show Dancing on Ice (2010–2011) and entertainment series Your Face Sounds Familiar (2013). In addition, she voices the character Muhimu in the UK version of the episode “The Mbali Fields Migration” of Disney Junior's series The Lion Guard.Bunton released her first single in 12 years, "Baby Please Don't Stop" in February 2019, in preparation for her fourth studio album My Happy Place.
- Birthplace: Finchley, London, England, UK
- Rod Stewart, born Roderick David Stewart on January 10, 1945, in London, England, is an iconic figure in the music industry. He started his career as a singer with multiple bands, including The Jeff Beck Group and Faces, before embarking on a successful solo journey. Stewart's distinctive raspy voice coupled with his unique blend of rock and pop has made him one of the best-selling music artists globally, with over 120 million records sold. Stewart's career, spanning more than five decades, has been marked by numerous hits and accolades. His breakout single, "Maggie May," from his album Every Picture Tells a Story, topped UK and US charts in 1971, propelling him to international stardom. Over the years, he has produced chart-topping singles such as "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and "Some Guys Have All the Luck." His contribution to music has not gone unnoticed. Among his many awards are two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once as a solo artist and once as a member of Faces, and a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Stardust...The Great American Songbook Volume III. Besides his musical achievements, Stewart's personal life has also attracted significant attention. Known for his distinctive fashion sense, he became a style icon during the 1970s and 1980s, with his spiky rooster hairstyle and flamboyant stage outfits. Despite his bustling career, Stewart has managed to maintain a vibrant family life. He has been married three times and is a father to eight children. His love for football is also well-documented; he is a lifelong supporter of Celtic Football Club. Rod Stewart's enduring legacy in music and his charismatic persona continue to fascinate fans worldwide.
- Birthplace: Highgate, England, London
- A strikingly attractive, red-haired former stage actress of Anglo-Irish descent, Greer Garson appeared in films from 1939, mostly with MGM. Her relatively brief but affecting debut performance as Mrs. Chipping in the touching "Goodbye Mr. Chips" (1939) won her the first of seven Oscar nominations as Best Actress and made her an immediate star. After a lovely turn as the intelligent, playful Elizabeth in the comic "Pride and Prejudice" (1940), Garson inherited from Norma Shearer the mantle of Metro's resident prestige actress, suffering with genteel dignity through a series of A-budget soap operas.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Olivia Jane d'Abo (; born 22 January 1969) is an English-American actress, singer, and songwriter. She is known for her role as Karen Arnold, Kevin Arnold's rebellious teenage hippie sister in the ABC comedy-drama series The Wonder Years (1988–93), and recurring villain Nicole Wallace in Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
- Birthplace: Paddington, London, England, UK
- Alec Guinness, born in London in 1914, etched his name into the annals of cinema history with his superior acting talent and versatile performances. He pioneered a new dimension in acting by taking on various roles and imbuing them with an array of complex characteristics that contributed to their distinctiveness. Guinness was the epitome of versatility, portraying everything from comedic characters to serious dramatic roles with supreme ease and skill. Guinness's journey into the world of acting began when he scored a scholarship to the Fay Compton Studio of Dramatic Art at the age of 18, which laid the foundation for his illustrious career. His talent found its first major appreciation with his performance in Great Expectations, directed by David Lean in 1946. Subsequently, Guinness's collaborations with Lean resulted in several critically acclaimed films like Oliver Twist (1948), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and Lawrence of Arabia (1962). These films showcased his ability to adapt to a spectrum of roles and genres, solidifying his status as one of the most revered actors of his time. However, it was his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucas's Star Wars series that catapulted him to international fame and immortalized him in the realm of pop culture. Despite initial reservations about the film, Guinness's portrayal of the wise Jedi knight left an indelible mark on cinema, garnering him an Academy Award nomination. Alec Guinness passed away in 2000, leaving behind a rich legacy of performances that continue to inspire and captivate. His contributions to the performing arts earned him numerous accolades including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Demanding but with a keen eye for changing trends, Anna Wintour became one of the most influential figures of the fashion industry of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Born in London, the daughter of a prominent newspaper editor, her interest in fashion originally led to her working in high-end retail stores. She crossed over to the print industry when she began helping with the notorious counterculture publication Oz in the late-'60s. Her mainstream career started in earnest when she joined the staff of Harper's & Queen in 1970, gaining notice for her work with top photographers like Helmut Newton. After clashing with other staff members, she quit the magazine and relocated to New York. However, she struggled to replicate her London success in stops at Harpers Bazaar and Viva. After a brief sabbatical, her career began to take off in earnest when she joined New York magazine in 1981. The elaborate photo shoots that had long been her trademark began gaining acceptance throughout the industry. After a long stated goal of working at Vogue she finally joined the publication in 1983. By 1985 she was in charge of the United Kingdom edition of the magazine. Her controlling and abrasive style earned her the nickname "Nuclear Wintour" from staffers. Her bosses at publisher Conde Nast tasked her with trying to rescue the failing House & Garden before eventually moving her back to U.S. Vogue. The direction that she took the magazine, focusing on fashion that was relatable to a wider range of women, brought the title back to prominence. Her time at Vogue, while largely successful, wasn't without difficulties. Wintour was accused at various points of having lost touch with her audience and saw a long succession of staffers leave to join other publications. She began taking a more public approach, participating in the documentary "The September Issue" (2007) and making appearances on TV talk shows. Her trademark bob and dark sunglasses became readily recognizable beyond just the fashion industry. Her place in pop culture grew still larger when her former assistant Lauren Weisberger wrote the novel The Devil Wears Prada (2003). The book's protagonist, Miranda Priestly, was a high-powered, demanding, editor at a top fashion magazine, causing speculation that the character was a thinly veiled swipe at Wintour (despite the fact that the Vogue editor is mentioned as a rival of Priestly). She never apologized for her demeanor and demanding nature, and her influence within fashion was undeniable, regularly making or breaking designers with her opinions. Beyond fashion and publishing, Wintour's oversight of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts annual gala led to it becoming one of the best known charity events in the world.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Lt. Deanna Troi on the syndicated sci-fi smash, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-94), Sirtis began playing small roles in both British and American features and TV, typically as seductive types ranging from the "girl in Porsche" in "Space Riders" (1983) to a prostitute in "Blind Date" (1984). She gave a powerful portrayal on "Star Trek," tackling her character's problems with her family, her semi-telepathic powers, her career ambitions and her hinted-at romantic involvements with fellow Enterprise officers Riker and Worf. Sirtis went on to reprise her signature role in the "Star Trek" features and several episodes of the spin-off series "Star Trek: Voyager," as well as TV sci-fi fare such as "Stargate SG-1" and "Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict."
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- A prolific figure in British comedy, Ben Elton is a multi-faceted creative juggernaut. Born on May 3, 1959, in Catford, South East London, he moved to Godalming, Surrey, where he attended the prestigious Godalming Grammar School. Elton furthered his studies at the University of Manchester where he honed his craft in drama. This was the incubator for his comedic genius, and it wasn't long before his talent was recognized and he started his journey into stardom. Elton's career took off in the early 1980s when he began writing for the iconic television show The Young Ones, quickly establishing himself as a formidable writer. His satirical style resonated with audiences, leading to successful collaborations with Richard Curtis for the historic sitcom Blackadder. The show, starring Rowan Atkinson, brought him two BAFTA awards and firmly cemented his reputation in the annals of British comedy. In addition to scriptwriting, Elton ventured onto stage comedy, becoming well-known for his politically charged stand-up routines. Not one to limit his creativity, Elton extended his writing prowess to the literary world. His debut novel, Stark, published in 1989, became an international bestseller, paving the way for a succession of successful novels like Gridlock, Popcorn, and Blast from the Past. Several of his books have been adapted into plays and films, showcasing his versatile storytelling ability. As well as his successes in television and literature, Elton also made significant contributions to the world of theater. His musical We Will Rock You, based on the music of Queen, debuted in 2002 and ran for an impressive twelve years in London's West End. Elton's unique blend of satire, humor, and keen social commentary have made him a master storyteller and an influential figure in the realm of entertainment.
- Birthplace: United Kingdom
- A British actor and musician, Tom Felton achieved international fame as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series. Born and raised in Epsom, Surrey, England, his artistic journey commenced with commercials at a tender age of eight. With a spectacular reputation for portraying antagonists, Felton's breakthrough performance was in 2001, when he was cast as the infamous Slytherin student, Draco Malfoy, in the globally acclaimed Harry Potter series. This exceptional endeavor marked a significant turning point in his career, earning him immense recognition and numerous awards, including the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain in 2010 and 2011. Despite his resounding success in the world of acting, Felton did not limit his talents to the silver screen. He explored the realm of music, displaying a passion that mirrored Hollywood's vigor. His debut EP, Time Well Spent, released in 2008, followed by another two releases, All I Need, and In Good Hands. His music echoes his multifaceted personality, blending elements of pop and folk. Throughout his musical career, Felton has always been involved in the creative process of his work, demonstrating his dedication and commitment to his craft. A champion of several charitable causes, Felton uses his platform to support and raise funds for organizations like Great Ormond Street Hospital, which offers comprehensive medical care to children. His altruistic endeavors amplify his renowned status, revealing a persona beyond the lights and glamour of Hollywood. Whether he's delivering a memorable performance on-screen, creating soulful music, or advocating for a cause, Tom Felton embodies versatility in all aspects of his life, cementing his place as an influential figure in entertainment.
- Birthplace: Epsom, Surrey, England, UK
- While she was not born onto the grand life that she often enjoyed on screen, Michelle Dockery's portrayals of the so-called repressed, rich girl always seemed effortless and genuine. The classically trained actress first gained attention in her native England, where Dockery landed featured roles on television, including the miniseries "Cranford" (BBC, 2007) and the mystery "The Turn of the Screw" (BBC, 2009). While her characters were refined and often chafed at promiscuity and violence, the actress also portrayed harder-edged characters, such as she did in the crime drama "Red Riding Trilogy" (Channel 4, 2009) and the American film "Hanna" (2011). Dockery's most memorable role, however, was on the critically acclaimed series "Downton Abbey" (iTV, 2010-16), as a seemingly cold-hearted aristocrat who slowly reveals her naiveté about love and her frustrations as a result of her family pressuring her into marriage. Dockery's performance on the series was undoubtedly her breakthrough role and established her as a formidable actress with a bright future.
- Birthplace: Barking, Essex, England, UK
- Patricia Jude Francis Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress, singer, model, and former child star. She was lead singer of the band Eighth Wonder from 1983 to 1989. Between 2004 and 2006, Kensit played the role of Sadie King in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Following this, she played Faye Byrne in the BBC One medical drama Holby City from 2007 until 2010 and for an episode in 2019. Kensit has been married to musicians Dan Donovan, Jim Kerr, Liam Gallagher and Jeremy Healy.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Marty Feldman, a bespectacled and distinctively eccentric figure with bulging eyes, was born on July 8, 1934 in London, England. He transcended his humble beginnings to carve out an extraordinary career in the entertainment world that spanned over three decades. Feldman, known for his distinctive physical appearance which was the result of a thyroid condition known as Graves' disease, used his unique looks to his advantage, often playing characters that were as peculiar as he appeared. Feldman's journey into the world of comedy started in the 1950s when he became a writer for British radio and television shows. His talent for writing was rewarded in 1959 when he won the coveted Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for his work on The Army Game. It was not until the 1960s, however, that Feldman found his stride in front of the camera. He starred in the BBC comedy series Marty, proving himself to be an adept performer. This success led him to Hollywood where he landed a role in Mel Brooks's classic film Young Frankenstein, earning him international recognition. Despite his success in Hollywood, Feldman never lost touch with his British roots. He returned to Britain to star in a number of successful films including The Last Remake of Beau Geste before his untimely death in 1982. Feldman's legacy lives on through his comic genius and his incredible ability to transcend his physical limitations to become one of the most recognized and respected figures in the world of comedy.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Michael Blakey may refer to: Michael Blakey (anthropologist) (born 1953), professor at the College of William & Mary Michael Robert Blakey (born 1975), business angel, venture capitalist
- Birthplace: England, London
- Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁlɔt ɡɛ̃sbuʁ] (listen); born 21 July 1971) is an English-French actress and singer. She is the daughter of English actress Jane Birkin and French singer and songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. After making her musical debut with her father on the song "Lemon Incest" at the age of 12, she released an album with her father at the age of 15. More than 20 years passed before she released the first of four albums as an adult (5:55, IRM, Stage Whisper and Rest) to commercial and critical success. Gainsbourg has also appeared in many films, including several directed by Lars von Trier, and has received both a César Award and the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Kacey Clarke (born Kacey Louisa Barnfield; 14 January 1988) is an English actress. As a teenager she played Maddie Gilks in the long running British television series Grange Hill, on which she spent six years. As an adult, her roles have included Crystal in the American action film Resident Evil: Afterlife, and Katie Sutherland in British comedy The Inbetweeners. In 2014, Clarke was listed as number 99 in FHM's 100 sexiest women in the world.
- Birthplace: London Borough of Hackney, England, London
- Jane Mallory Birkin (December 14, 1946 – July 16, 2023) was a British and French singer and actress. She attained international fame and notability for her decade-long musical and romantic partnership with Serge Gainsbourg. She also had a prolific career as an actress, mostly in French cinema. In addition to her acting and musical credits, she lent her name to the Hermès Birkin handbag.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Rachel Annabelle Riley (born 11 January 1986) is an English television presenter and mathematician. She co-presents the Channel 4 daytime puzzle show Countdown and its comedy spin-off 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. A mathematics graduate, her television debut came when she joined Countdown aged 22. With an interest in popularising mathematics and the sciences, she has since co-presented The Gadget Show on Channel 5 (2013–14) and It's Not Rocket Science on ITV (2016). She was also a contestant on the BBC celebrity dance show Strictly Come Dancing in 2013.
- Birthplace: Rochford, United Kingdom
- Steve-O is an actor, writer, and producer who is known for his role in "Jackass Forever." Steve-O was nominated for a MTV Movie & TV Awards in 2003 for "Jackass: The Movie."
- Birthplace: Wimbledon, London, England, UK
- An esteemed figure in the realm of international cinema and theater, Natasha Richardson was born on May 11, 1963, as part of a prestigious lineage. She was the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, a distinguished actress, and Tony Richardson, an outstanding film director. Born in Marylebone, London, England, Natasha's pedigree alone hinted at her future in the performing arts. However, her eventual success in the field was not just due to her heritage but rather her pure talent and dedication. Educated at the independent St Paul's Girls School in West London, Richardson later honed her acting skills at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. Her stage debut came in 1985 when she starred as Nina in a West End production of The Seagull, directed by her mother. Richardson's performance won her the Evening Standard Award for Best Actress, setting the tone for a highly successful career. Her talent shone even brighter when she won a Tony Award for her role as Sally Bowles in the Broadway musical, Cabaret, a significant milestone that cemented her status among theatrical elite. Richardson also made notable strides in film and television. Her performance in the 1998 film The Parent Trap garnered international acclaim, expanding her fan base beyond the theater. Tragically, she met an untimely death after a skiing accident in Quebec, Canada, in March 2009. Despite her premature departure, Natasha Richardson left behind a rich legacy in cinema and theater, cherished by her fans and respected by her peers. Her life and work continue to inspire young actors around the world, proving that talent and hard work can indeed create an enduring legacy.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- David Niven, a name synonymous with the golden age of Hollywood, was born on March 1, 1910, in London, England. He was a charismatic and versatile actor who became one of the most recognizable faces in film during the mid-20th century. Niven's early life was marked by adversity; he lost his father during World War I and was expelled from several schools. Despite these challenges, he managed to secure a place at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which set the stage for his future career. Niven joined the British army upon graduation but left in the mid-1930s to pursue an acting career. His charm and good looks quickly caught the attention of Hollywood producers, and he made his film debut in 1935. Over the next three decades, Niven starred in over ninety films, including classics like The Pink Panther, Around the World in 80 Days, and Separate Tables, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor. His roles were marked by his quintessential Englishness, which made him a favorite among American audiences. Aside from his acting career, Niven demonstrated remarkable courage during World War II. He returned to the British army and served with distinction, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the war, he resumed his acting career and also became a successful author, penning two witty and candid autobiographies. David Niven passed away on July 29, 1983, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire actors and audiences alike.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Alfred Molina, an esteemed actor of stage and screen, was born in London, England on May 24, 1953. The son of a Spanish waiter and an Italian housekeeper, Molina's diverse cultural background and upbringing would later play a significant role in his ability to embody a wide range of characters with authenticity and depth. He began his acting career at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, from where he graduated in 1975. Molina first gained international recognition for his performance in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, where he played the ill-fated guide Satipo. However, it was his portrayal of the artist Diego Rivera in the 2002 film Frida, which earned him critical acclaim and a BAFTA nomination. His versatility as an actor is evident in his body of work, which spans multiple genres from drama to comedy, and includes both villainous and heroic roles. Notably, his performance as Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 (2004) has been hailed as one of the best villain portrayals in the superhero genre. On stage, Molina's performances have been equally impactful. He received a Tony nomination for his role in Art (1998), and again in Red (2010), where he played the abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko. His dedication to the craft extends beyond acting, as he has also ventured into voice-over work for animated films and video games. Regardless of the medium, Alfred Molina's dynamic performances continue to captivate audiences, solidifying his legacy as one of the most versatile actors of his generation.
- Birthplace: Paddington, London, England, UK
- Skandar Keynes is an English political adviser and former actor. Best known for starring as Edmund Pevensie in the Chronicles of Narnia film series since 2005, he appeared in all three instalments, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and most recently The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which was released on 10 December 2010.
- Birthplace: London Borough of Camden, England, London
- First gaining mainstream exposure on the quiz show "Shooting Stars" (BBC, 1993-2002), British comic Matt Lucas endeared millions of viewers as a giant baby who delivered gags behind a drum set before giving out the scores. Alongside his longtime onscreen partner, David Walliams, Lucas hosted "Rock Profile" (BBC, 1999-2000), an MTV-like spoof talk show where he impersonated some of music's biggest acts. But it was the duo's comedy sketch series "Little Britain" (BBC, 2003-06) that thrust his career to meteoric heights. On the hit series, Lucas transformed into some of the most outrageous and memorable fictional characters ever seen on British television. His uncanny ability to alter his appearance propelled him to feature films like "Shaun of the Dead" (2003), which granted him entrée to Hollywood. Eventually, he landed the plum role of the egg-shaped twin brothers Tweedledee and Tweedledum in "Alice in Wonderland" (2010), opposite Johnny Depp, which introduced Lucas to a worldwide audience and cemented his reputation as a consummate comedian who did whatever was necessary to get a laugh.
- Birthplace: Paddington, London, England, UK
- Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English and American actress. She won 2 Golden Globe Awards, was a two-time Oscar nominee and received Emmy and Tony nominations. A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. By the mid-1960s she had appeared in several films, including Tom Jones (1963) and Georgy Girl (1966), which won her a New York Film Critics Award, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy as well as earning her a nomination for an Academy Award. She made her Broadway debut in 1967, and performed in several stage productions in New York while making frequent returns to London's West End. She performed with her sister Vanessa in Three Sisters in London, and in the title role of Baby Jane Hudson in a television production of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? in 1991. She made a return to films in the late 1990s in films such as Shine (1996) and Gods and Monsters (1998) for which she received her second Academy Award nomination and won a Golden Globe Award For Best Supporting Actress. Lynn Redgrave is the only person to have been nominated for all of the 'Big Four' American entertainment awards (Grammy, Emmy, Oscar, and Tony) without winning any of them.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Damon Albarn, a prominent figure in the British music landscape, was born on March 23, 1968, in Whitechapel, London. Raised in a creative environment with his father being an artist and his mother working in stage design, Albarn's early inclination towards music was no surprise. He received his education at Stanway Comprehensive School, where he met Graham Coxon and eventually formed the band "Blur" in 1988. Albarn's musical journey with Blur was a remarkable highlight of his career. The band, composed of Albarn, Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree, became synonymous with the Britpop movement in the 1990s. Their third album, Parklife, catapulted them to international fame with chart-topping hits and critical acclaim. The band enjoyed a successful run until 2003, after which they took a hiatus, allowing Albarn to explore other musical ventures. One such venture was the virtual band "Gorillaz," co-created with comic book artist Jamie Hewlett in 1998. Gorillaz was a groundbreaking concept that combined music with visual art, resulting in a unique multimedia experience. The band's self-titled debut album was released in 2001 and was a commercial success, further establishing Albarn as a versatile and innovative musician. Moreover, Albarn has also ventured into opera, theater, and film, demonstrating his wide-ranging artistic interests. His contributions to music were recognized when he was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2016. Undoubtedly, Damon Albarn's enduring influence continues to shape the face of contemporary music.
- Birthplace: Whitechapel, London, England, UK
- Dale Jonathan Winton (22 May 1955 – 18 April 2018) was an English radio DJ and television presenter. He presented the shows Dale's Supermarket Sweep from 1993 until 2001 and again in 2007, the National Lottery game show In It to Win It between 2002 and 2016 and the 2008 series of Hole in the Wall. Winton also presented Pets Win Prizes (1995–96) and The Other Half (1997–2002).
- Birthplace: England, London
- Martin Henry Bashir (born 19 January 1963) is a Pakistani-British journalist. He came to prominence on British television with his BBC interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, and then his controversial fly-on-the-wall documentary with pop singer Michael Jackson on ITV. On 4 December 2013, Bashir resigned from his position at MSNBC after he made "ill-judged comments" about the former Governor of Alaska and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.Bashir was born and raised in Wandsworth, London, to parents of Pakistani Christian origin. He started work as a journalist in 1986. He worked for the BBC until 1999 on programmes including Songs of Praise, Public Eye and Panorama and then joined ITV. Bashir was an anchor for ABC's Nightline, a political commentator for MSNBC, hosting Martin Bashir, and a correspondent for NBC's Dateline NBC. Bashir was appointed as BBC News Religious Affairs correspondent from October 2016, taking over the post from Caroline Wyatt.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Michael McIntyre (born 21 February 1976) is an English comedian, writer, and television presenter. In 2012, he was the highest-grossing stand-up comedian in the world. In addition to stand-up, McIntyre has hosted his own BBC One comedy programme Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, has featured in three episodes of Live at the Apollo and, in 2011, was a judge on Britain's Got Talent. He currently presents his own Saturday night series Michael McIntyre's Big Show on BBC One.
- Birthplace: Merton, London, England, UK
- While some believed that author Ian Fleming must have lived a life as exciting and adventurous as his famed literary creation, James Bond, nothing could have been further from the truth. Though certain lines of fact and fiction were definitely blurred - both character and author were consummate womanizers - Fleming was a far cry from the super agent secretly dispatched to take care of Britain's more complicated Cold War problems. Even Fleming's own involvement with an intelligence agency during World War II was largely an administrative role - undeniably important to the war effort, but far less dangerous than Bond's adventures. But it was a thirst for high adventure that prompted the grandson of a Scottish financier to create the ruthless secret agent that graced the pages of his pulp novels in the 1950s.
- Birthplace: Mayfair, London, England, UK
- Susannah Yolande Fletcher (9 January 1939 – 15 January 2011), known professionally as Susannah York, was an English actress. Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, including Tom Jones (1963) and They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), formed the basis of her international reputation. An obituary in The Telegraph characterised her as "the blue-eyed English rose with the china-white skin and cupid lips who epitomised the sensuality of the swinging sixties", who later "proved that she was a real actor of extraordinary emotional range".York's early films included The Greengage Summer (1961) and a Golden Globe-nominated role in Freud (1962). She went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and win the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? She also won the 1972 Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for Images. Her other film appearances included Sands of the Kalahari (1965), The Killing of Sister George (1968), Battle of Britain (1969), Jane Eyre (1970), Zee and Co. (1972), Gold (1974), The Maids (1975), Conduct Unbecoming (1975), Eliza Fraser (1976), The Shout (1978), The Silent Partner (1978), and Superman (1978). She was appointed an Officier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1991.
- Birthplace: England, London
Mollie King
Age: 37Mollie Elizabeth King (born 4 June 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, television and radio presenter and model. She is best known for being a member of girl group The Saturdays. As part of the Saturdays, King has had thirteen top-ten and eight top-five singles, including the UK no.1 hit What About Us on the UK Singles Chart and five top-ten albums on the UK Albums Chart. Before The Saturdays, King was a member of another girl group, Fallen Angelz, with whom she appeared on The X Factor. In 2015, King signed a solo deal with Island Records. On 7 August 2017, King was the first contestant announced for that year's series of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with AJ Pritchard. King was eliminated in the semi-final on 10 December 2017, coming in fifth place. As of 2017, King's net worth stands at £1.5 million.On 10 April 2018, it was announced that King would join Matt Edmondson to co-host a show for BBC Radio 1 beginning in June on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Since 2018, King has been one of the main relief presenters on This Morning.- Birthplace: Richmond, London, London, England
- Domino Harvey (7 August 1969 – 27 June 2005) was a British bounty hunter in the United States. She came from a well-to-do background, being the daughter of Laurence Harvey. Harvey's fame was increased posthumously by the 2005 release of the film Domino, which was loosely based on her life, in which Harvey was portrayed by Keira Knightley.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Rising to fame as the earnest little boy in the Holocaust drama "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" (2006), English actor Asa Butterfield was lauded for his breakout performance as a German boy who befriends a youth trapped inside a concentration camp. From there, Butterfield went on to play the not-yet-evil Mordred on the BBC's young King Arthur adventure series "Merlin" (2008-09) and appeared alongside Anthony Hopkins in the remake of "The Wolfman" (2010). He charmed audiences as Maggie Gyllenhaal's son in the family fantasy "Nanny McPhee Returns" (2010) and garnered the attention of director Martin Scorsese, who cast Butterfield as the lead in "Hugo" (2011), a 3-D family film about a little boy living in the walls of a 1930s train station, trying to unravel the parallel mysteries of his father's death and a magical machine. Though his bread and butter had always been all brood and drama, it was clear that young Butterfield came to the screen armed with deeply intuitive and well-rounded talent.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Sophie Dahl (born Sophie Holloway; 15 September 1977) is an English author and former fashion model. As a writer, she published her first novella in 2003 entitled The Man with the Dancing Eyes and followed this with Playing With the Grown-ups in 2007. In 2009 she wrote Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights, a cookery book which featured recipes that were recreated for a six-part BBC 2 series called The Delicious Miss Dahl. Born in London, Dahl made her debut on the English catwalk in London Fashion Week in February 1997 after meeting Isabella Blow, who was then a stylist for Vogue magazine. Blow introduced her to the management at the Storm Model Agency in London who signed her to a number of modelling campaigns, including those for Versace, Alexander McQueen, Patrick Cox, DKNY, Boucheron and Pringle. Dahl is the daughter of the actor Julian Holloway and writer Tessa Dahl. Her maternal grandparents were the children's author Roald Dahl and the American actress Patricia Neal. Her paternal grandparents were the actor Stanley Holloway and Violet Lane, a former chorus dancer. Dahl was the inspiration for Sophie, the main character in her maternal grandfather's book The BFG. She is married to the singer Jamie Cullum.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books, and he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires Decline and Fall (1928) and A Handful of Dust (1934), the novel Brideshead Revisited (1945), and the Second World War trilogy Sword of Honour (1952–61). He is recognised as one of the great prose stylists of the English language in the 20th century.Waugh was the son of a publisher, educated at Lancing College and then at Hertford College, Oxford. He worked briefly as a schoolmaster before he became a full-time writer. As a young man, he acquired many fashionable and aristocratic friends and developed a taste for country house society. He travelled extensively in the 1930s, often as a special newspaper correspondent; he reported from Abyssinia at the time of the 1935 Italian invasion. He served in the British armed forces throughout the Second World War, first in the Royal Marines and then in the Royal Horse Guards. He was a perceptive writer who used the experiences and the wide range of people whom he encountered in his works of fiction, generally to humorous effect. Waugh's detachment was such that he fictionalised his own mental breakdown which occurred in the early 1950s. Waugh converted to Catholicism in 1930 after his first marriage failed. His traditionalist stance led him to strongly oppose all attempts to reform the Church, and the changes by the Second Vatican Council (1962–65) greatly disturbed his sensibilities, especially the introduction of the vernacular Mass. That blow to his religious traditionalism, his dislike for the welfare state culture of the postwar world, and the decline of his health all darkened his final years, but he continued to write. He displayed to the world a mask of indifference, but he was capable of great kindness to those whom he considered his friends. After his death in 1966 he acquired a following of new readers through the film and television versions of his works, such as the television serial Brideshead Revisited (1981).
- Birthplace: Hampstead, London, United Kingdom
- Kim Wilde, born as Kim Smith, is an iconic figure in the world of pop music. Born in Chiswick, London on November 18, 1960, she grew up in a household where music was deeply ingrained. Her father, Marty Wilde, was a famous rock 'n' roll singer in the 1950s and her mother, Joyce Baker, was part of the singing group, The Vernons Girls. This early exposure to music undoubtedly influenced Wilde's career trajectory. Wilde's breakthrough came in 1981 with the release of her debut single, "Kids in America." It soared to number two on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 5 in many other countries. This marked the beginning of her successful music career which spans over three decades. Throughout her career, she has produced a multitude of chart-topping hits such as "You Keep Me Hangin' On," which topped the charts in the United States, and "Cambodia," that was immensely popular across Europe. In addition to her musical success, Wilde has also been recognized with prestigious awards including the BRIT Award for Best British Female Solo Artist in 1983. In the mid-1990s, Wilde shifted gears from music and pursued a career in gardening after studying at Capel Manor College. She has presented several television shows, penned books on the subject, and even won a gold award for her garden at the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show in 2005.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Ian Roberts (born 31 July 1965) is an Australian actor, and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative forward, he played club football with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Wigan Warriors, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and North Queensland Cowboys. In 1995 Roberts became the first high-profile Australian sports person and first rugby footballer in the world to come out to the public as gay.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Patsy Palmer is an actress who appeared in "Strictly Come Dancing," "Dancing On Ice," and "He Knew He Was Right."
- Birthplace: Bethnal Green, London, England, UK
- Emma Samms was a raven-haired, dark-eyed British beauty with milky-white skin who invaded American daytime and primetime soap operas in the 1980s, earning some degree of fame as Holly Scorpio on ABC's "General Hospital" and as the second Fallon (replacing Pamela Sue Martin) on ABC's "Dynasty" and its spin-off, "Dynasty II: The Colbys."
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Born as Steven Demetre Georgiou in July 1948, Cat Stevens is an internationally celebrated singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His journey into the world of music began during his teenage years in England when he started showcasing his talent at local cafes. This led to him being discovered in 1966, and subsequently signing a deal with Decca Records. Under this label, Stevens released his first album Matthew and Son, which charted within the top ten in the UK. Stevens's early success was followed by a series of health and personal challenges that temporarily halted his musical career, but also significantly shaped his artistic direction. After battling tuberculosis in 1969, he returned to the music scene with a fresh perspective and a more introspective sound. His comeback albums Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat are widely considered his best works, featuring timeless hits like "Wild World", "Father and Son", and "Morning has Broken". These albums established Stevens as a leading figure in the folk-rock genre. In 1977, following a near-death experience, Stevens converted to Islam, adopted the name Yusuf Islam, and took a prolonged hiatus from his musical career to focus on philanthropy and education. He returned to recording and performing in 2006, blending his folk-rock roots with Islamic themes and sounds. With a career spanning over five decades, Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf, has influenced countless artists.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- An intelligent comedian-actor-writer-director, Richard Ayoade had his start in theater and comedy before breaking through for his horror/comedy hybrid "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace" (Channel 4, 2004). Scoring on the sketch comedy "The Mighty Boosh" (BBC Three, 2004-05) as the belligerent Saboo, Ayoade boosted his profile considerably with his charming turn as alpha geek Maurice Moss, flummoxed by the corporate culture that surrounded him and his fellow members of "The IT Crowd" (Channel 4, 2006-10). His success on the show opened American doors, including landing a role on the never-aired American remake, and he was tapped to star alongside Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller and Jonah Hill in the sci-fi comedy "The Watch" (2012). He also directed multiple music videos, especially for close pals the Arctic Monkeys, and wrote and directed the acclaimed indie hit "Submarine" (2010), which earned him a BAFTA nomination. A multifaceted talent with wide-ranging creative gifts, Richard Ayoade seemed poised to conquer America as charmingly as he had his native United Kingdom.
- Birthplace: Whipp's Cross, London, England, UK
- Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 1920 – 16 April 1958) was an English chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, coal, and graphite. Although her works on coal and viruses were appreciated in her lifetime, her contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA were largely recognised posthumously. Born to a prominent British Jewish family, Franklin was educated at a private day school at Norland Place in West London, Lindores School for Young Ladies in Sussex, and St Paul's Girls' School, London. Then she studied the Natural Sciences Tripos at Newnham College, Cambridge, from which she graduated in 1941. Earning a research fellowship, she joined the University of Cambridge physical chemistry laboratory under Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, who disappointed her for his lack of enthusiasm. The British Coal Utilisation Research Association (BCURA) offered her a research position in 1942, and started her work on coals. This helped her earn a Ph.D. in 1945. She went to Paris in 1947 as a chercheur (post-doctoral researcher) under Jacques Mering at the Laboratoire Central des Services Chimiques de l'Etat, where she became an accomplished X-ray crystallographer. She became a research associate at King's College London in 1951 and worked on X-ray diffraction studies, which would eventually facilitate the double helix theory of the DNA. In 1953, after two years, owing to disagreement with her director John Randall and more so with her colleague Maurice Wilkins, she was compelled to move to Birkbeck College. At Birkbeck, John Desmond Bernal, chair of the physics department, offered her a separate research team. She died in 1958 at the age of 37 of ovarian cancer. Franklin is best known for her work on the X-ray diffraction images of DNA, particularly Photo 51, while at King's College London, which led to the discovery of the DNA double helix for which James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962. Watson suggested that Franklin would have ideally been awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry, along with Wilkins, but, although there was not yet a rule against posthumous awards, the Nobel Committee generally does not make posthumous nominations.After finishing her work on DNA, Franklin led pioneering work at Birkbeck on the molecular structures of viruses. Her team member Aaron Klug continued her research, winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1982.
- Birthplace: Notting Hill, London, United Kingdom
- Georgina Rose Chapman (born 14 April 1976) is an English fashion designer and actress. Together with Keren Craig, she is a co-founder of the fashion label Marchesa.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter and model. She was the presenter of Big Brother during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She has also hosted Channel 4's The Million Pound Drop, Five Minutes to a Fortune and The Jump as well as ITV's Long Lost Family and This Time Next Year. McCall was most notably the presenter of Big Brother on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. Having fronted the weekly live eviction shows every year since the beginning, she decided not to return as host after it was dropped by Channel 4 in 2010 and relaunched by Channel 5 the following year. After a difficult childhood, in her early twenties McCall had pursued various jobs, including becoming a solo singer, but later embarked on a career on television with a first job presenting for satellite music channel MTV in 1992. After further work on terrestrial channels she became a household name thanks to Big Brother, while also continuing to work with other hosting vehicles on various channels, from game shows to talent shows. She has also been a regular co-presenter of the Comic Relief annual telethons since 2005. Departures from presenting into other television roles, through a sitcom, a documentary series and fronting her own chat show, have all proven to be unsuccessful, and beyond Big Brother she has continued in the mainstream as a presenter on Channel 4, ITV and Sky One.
- Birthplace: England, London
- British actress Olivia Williams essayed intelligent, often sensitive and occasionally no-nonsense women in features and on television on both sides of the Atlantic, including "Rushmore" (1998), "The Sixth Sense" (1999), "Hanna" (2011), "Manhattan" (WGN America, 2014-16), and "Counterpart" (Starz, 2017-19). The daughter of lawyers, Olivia Haigh Williams was born July 26, 1968 in North London, England, and earned a degree in English literature from the University of Cambridge's Newnham College before shifting her focus to drama and training at both the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Williams remained with the RSC after graduation while also appearing in the occasional UK television production, most notably an ITV production of Jane Austen's "Emma" (1996) with Kate Beckinsale. The following year, she toured with Ian McKellen in a RSC production of "Richard the III," which brought her to the attention of actor Kevin Costner. He cast her as the female lead in his sprawling post-apocalypse drama "The Postman" (1997), which, though a sizable failure, led to more Stateside roles for Williams. She earned critical praise as a teacher wooed by both teenaged Jason Schwartzman and his mentor (Bill Murray) in Wes Anderson's "Rushmore," and her first blockbuster film in M. Night Shaymalan's "The Sixth Sense," which cast her as Bruce Willis's spouse. The success of these films led to steady work in both America and England throughout the 2000s, though the majority of these projects were arthouse films like "The Body" (2001), with Antonio Banderas, George Hickenlooper's "The Man from Elysian Fields" (2001) and the period drama "The Heart of Me" (2002), which earned Williams an Empire Award for Best Actress. She found greater success in character roles, beginning in 2009 with "An Education," which earned a London Film Critics Circle Award nomination for British Supporting Actress of the Year. Williams followed it with turns in Roman Polanski's "The Ghost Writer" (2010), which won her several leading film critics association awards and nominations; as the mother of a teenage assassin in "Hanna" (2011) and as Countess Vronskaya in "Anna Karenina" (2012), both for director Joe Wright; as Eleanor Roosevelt in "Hyde Park on the Hudson" (2012); and as the domineering mother of a child star in David Cronenberg's brutal satire "Maps to the Stars" (2014). She also worked steadily in American and UK television during this period, including starring turns as Jane Austen in "Miss Austen Regrets" (BBC, 2007) and the head of a mysterious agency in Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse" (Fox, 2009-2010). In 2014, she was top-billed as a botanist working on the American atomic program in "Manhattan," and then played a brittle aristocrat in wartime England for the ITV series "Halcyon" (2017), and a spy married to two versions of J.K. Simmons in the alternate-reality series "Counterpart." When that series ran its course, Williams reunited with Wheedon for his HBO series "The Nevers" (2020-), about a group of Victorian women with extraordinary powers.
- Birthplace: Camden Town, London, England, UK
- A member of one of the world's most acclaimed acting dynasties, Joely Richardson was a late bloomer in her family's chosen profession, but by the early 1990s and into the next century she established herself as a skilled performer, capable of tackling both period roles and modern day characters in features and on television. Her first major role was as a murderess in the art house favorite "Drowning By Numbers" (1988), and despite Hollywood's tendency to cast her in lighthearted roles like "101 Dalmatians" (1996), she did her best work in darker, more nuanced material like "Sister My Sister" (Channel 4, 1994) and "The Echo" (BBC, 1998). Her best known role - as the conflicted Julie McNamara on "Nip/Tuck" (FX, 2003-2010) - earned her both critical acclaim and widespread exposure, though Richardson appeared to favor substantive work over fame. As a result, she remained among the more widely respected actresses and earned more prestigious roles as a result. But as her career was moving along, Richardson suffered a tragic loss when her sister, actress Natasha Richardson, died from an epidural hematoma as the result of a skiing accident. With the eyes of the world on the famous family, Richardson returned to work, playing Queen Katherine Parr on "The Tudors" (Showtime, 2007-2010) and co-starring in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2011), which helped underscore the enormity of her talent.
- Birthplace: Marylebone, London, England, UK
- Starting as a dancer, the British-born Finola Hughes originated the role of Victoria in "Cats" and then made the leap to Hollywood as Laura, the icy Broadway dance diva opposite John Travolta in the sequel "Stayin' Alive" (1983). She achieved her greatest fame on "General Hospital" (ABC, 1963- ) as superspy Anna Devane, who became a longtime fan favorite and earned the actress a Daytime Emmy as well as a fun cameo in "Soapdish" (1991). Although she notched many non-soap credits, including notable stints as the English stepmother of "Blossom" (NBC, 1990-95) and the spirit of the dead mother of the witchy sisters of "Charmed" (The WB, 1998-2006), Hughes grabbed her biggest headlines when she jumped to "All My Children" (ABC, 1970-2011) as Dr. Alex Devane Marick, twin sister to the beloved Anna Devane, whom she subsequently reprised. She briefly hosted the makeover show "How Do I Look?" (Style Network, 2004-11), wrote a juicy novel about soap operas, and returned repeatedly for a series of guest spots as Anna on "General Hospital." Although she was most widely known for her soap stardom, Finola Hughes managed to maintain a loyal fanbase and to carve out an interesting and enviable career.
- Birthplace: Kensington, London, England, UK
- Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time of his birth, he was second in the line of succession to the British throne; as of May 2019, he is eighth in line. He holds the rank of commander and the honorary rank of vice admiral (as of February 2015) in the Royal Navy, in which he served as an active-duty helicopter pilot and instructor and as the captain of a warship. He saw active service during the Falklands War, flying on multiple missions including anti-surface warfare, Exocet missile decoy, and casualty evacuation. In 1986, Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson; the couple's marriage, separation and eventual divorce in 1996 attracted a high level of media coverage. As well as carrying out various official engagements, he served as Britain's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment until July 2011.
- Birthplace: Buckingham Palace, London, England
- Harold Pinter, born in the heart of London in 1930, is a name that resonates profoundly in the realm of drama and literature. He emerged from humble beginnings, the son of a Jewish dressmaker, to become one of the most influential playwrights in the late 20th century. His early exposure to the arts, including a passion for acting fostered during his time at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, spurred him on a path that would redefine theatrical norms. Pinter's works, often labeled as "comedies of menace", are celebrated for their unique Pinteresque style characterized by economical dialogue, unpredictable plot turns, and an ominous atmosphere of threat. His first play, The Room, premiered in 1957, far from the last in a prolific career spanning over five decades. Some of his most acclaimed works include The Birthday Party, The Homecoming, and Betrayal, each carving its distinctive niche in theatrical literature. Pinter's contributions to theater extend beyond writing as he was also a renowned director and actor, bringing his distinct vision to life on stage. Throughout his illustrious career, Pinter garnered numerous accolades, including the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005, recognizing his exceptional ability to "uncover the precipice under everyday prattle and force entry into oppression's closed rooms". His legacy continues to reverberate in modern drama, shaping the way stories are told on stage. Harold Pinter passed away in 2008, yet his work remains eternally influential, a testament to a lifetime devoted to undressing society's facades through the power of words and silence.
- Birthplace: Metropolitan Borough of Hackney
- The middle child of actor John Mills and writer Mary Hayley Bell, blonde, blue-eyed Hayley Mills became the epitome of English wholesomeness in the early 1960s in a series of Disney films. She first came to attention with a highly-praised turn as a pre-teen murder witness in "Tiger Bay" (1959), opposite her father. Based on this strong debut, Walt Disney signed Mills to a five-year contract, putting her in a series of sweet, ingratiating innocents ranging from "Pollyanna" (1960), for which she earned a special juvenile Academy Award to a dual role of twins trying to reunite their divorced parents in "The Parent Trap" (1961). She also co-starred as one of three children who discover an escaped convict and believe he is Jesus Christ in Bryan Forbes' "Whistle Down the Wind" (1961), adapted from a novel by her mother. After playing a perturbing student at a convent school who reforms in "The Trouble With Angels" (1966), directed by Ida Lupino, Mills shocked the Establishment and shed her pure image with a celebrated nude scene in "The Family Way" (also 1966). That she also married a man three-decades her senior, producer-director Roy Boulting, changed the direction of her career.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Born February 23, 1967 in the county of Kent, England, Tamsin Greig (pronounced "Greg") was one of three daughters born to a Polish-Jewish mother and a father she jokingly described as "Scottish-puffin." Her father was reportedly in his sixties when Grieg was born, and found it difficult to communicate with three young girls in his home. However, he found common ground with Greig through a love of slapstick comedy, which in turn helped to inform her later choice of career. She graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Drama and Theatre Arts - and a course in typing under her belt, a suggestion from her mother in the event that acting did not work out for her. It proved to be a sage idea, as Greig supported herself as a temp worker for the Family Planning Association and later, at the Midland Art Centre Children's Theatre. One of her first big roles was as Prof. Wiseman in "Blue Heaven" (1992-94). Greig went on to portray Lamia in "Neverwhere" (BBC Two, 1996), Valerie Marsden in "Blind Men" (1997-98), Dr. Caroline Todd in "Green Wing" (BBC America/Channel 4, 2004-006) and Alice Chenery in "Love Soup" (BBC America/BBC 1, 2005). She was Anne Frank's mother Edith in the TV movie "The Diary of Anne Frank" (PBS, 2010) and also appeared in the miniseries "White Heat" (BBC America, 2012) and "The Guilty" (ITV1, 2013). More recently Greig acted in the digital series "Sexy Beast" (Paramount+, 2014) and will appear as Lady Helen Gwinear in the Apple TV+ historical series, "The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin '' scheduled for release in 2024.
- Birthplace: Maidstone, England, UK
- Having found limited success as a stage actor in his native England and New York, Claude Rains made a sensational film debut in "The Invisible Man" (1933) and launched a long Hollywood character as a character player whose charm and finely modulated voice graced some of the finest films of the 1930s and 1940s. After another starring turn in "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" (1935), Rains assiduously avoided being typecast in horror films by appearing in the musical "Hearts Divided" (1936), the costume drama "Anthony Adverse," and the romantic drama "Stolen Holiday" (1937), the last being the first of nine films he made with director Michael Curtiz. He went on to co-star in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938) and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939), before delivering his most iconic performance as the cheerful, but corrupt French police captain Renault in the mother of all classic movies, "Casablanca" (1942). From there, he appeared in a number of acclaimed films like "Now, Voyager" (1942), "Passage to Marseille" (1944), and "Mr. Skeffington" (1944), before delivering another iconic performance as the wanted leader of an underground Nazi movement in Alfred Hitchcock's "Notorious" (1946), which earned the actor his fourth Academy Award nomination. Though he appeared in movies of diminishing quality, he ended his career on a high note with major supporting parts in "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962) and "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965), underscoring for Rains a career as one of Hollywood's most popular character actors.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- A striking and compelling British actress, Sonya Walger first caught the attention of American television viewers playing Penelope Widmore, the once-lost love of Desmond Hume who keeps hope alive on the cult hit, "Lost" (ABC, 2004-2010). Prior to her breakthrough on the popular mystery series, Walger appeared on the stage and in episodes of several crime series before venturing across the pond for the ill-fated Americanized version of the British series "Coupling" (NBC, 2003). Though she worked steadily on the small screen in projects like "Sleeper Cell" (Showtime, 2005-06) and even courted controversy in the sexually explicit "Tell Me You Love Me" (HBO, 2007), Walger was still waiting for her first leading role despite the familiarity she gained from "Lost." Adept at portraying strong, complicated women, Walger finally had the chance to prove that she was a leading lady after landing the role of Dr. Olivia Benford, the successful surgeon with conflicting emotions about the future of her marriage on ABC's hit drama "FlashForward" (2009- ). All throughout, Walger brought a thoughtful intelligence to each of her roles, a quality that resonated with her audience over the duration of her career.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- For as long as she can remember, British actress and pop star Martine McCutcheon wanted to be in the spotlight. Whether as a singer, dancer, actress or stripper, it didn't matter: McCutcheon craved adoration. And from an early age, she got it. At a mere six weeks old, McCutcheon made her first television appearance in a Party Political Broadcast-a sort of infomercial explaining to the British public a political party's position on key issues. Not exactly the West End, but it was a start. At 4, she appeared in ads for Pears soap and Kool Aid. And at 10, McCutcheon burst onto the music scene when she played a fairy in an Enya video. And to think the tyke's career was just beginning.
- Birthplace: Hackney, London, England, UK
- Matthew James Rush (born 6 August 1971 in Hackney, London) is a former professional footballer. He played as a winger.
- Birthplace: Hackney Central, London, United Kingdom
- Vidal Sassoon (17 January 1928 – 9 May 2012) was a British-American hairstylist, businessman, and philanthropist. He was noted for repopularising a simple, close-cut geometric hair style called the bob cut, worn by famous fashion designers including Mary Quant and film stars such as Mia Farrow, Goldie Hawn, Cameron Diaz, Nastassja Kinski and Helen Mirren.His early life was one of extreme poverty, with seven years of his childhood spent in an orphanage. He quit school at age 14, soon holding various jobs in London during World War II. Although he hoped to become a professional football player, he became an apprentice hairdresser at the suggestion of his mother. After developing a reputation for his innovative cuts, he moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, where he opened the first chain of worldwide hairstyling salons, complemented by a line of hair-treatment products. He also co-founded Paul Mitchell Systems with Paul Mitchell, one of his former students. Mitchell said that Sassoon was "the most famous hairstylist in the history of the world."He sold his business interests in the early 1980s to devote himself to philanthropy. Vidal Sassoon: The Movie, a documentary film about his life, was released in 2010. In 2009, Sassoon was appointed CBE by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. In 2012 he was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of the last six decades.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Michael Maurice Cashman, Baron Cashman, (born 17 December 1950) is a non-affiliated politician and former actor. He was a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands constituency from 1999 until he stood down in 2014. He has since then been appointed to the House of Lords. On 23 September 2014, Cashman was appointed the Labour Party's special envoy on LGBT issues worldwide. He resigned from the Labour Party on 22 May 2019 and offered his support to the Liberal Democrats.
- Birthplace: England, London
- John Schlesinger was celebrated for his ability to elicit sensitive performances from his actors, a skill which drew on his own experience on the British stage in the 1950s. His style was also influenced by techniques he developed while directing TV documentaries--a period of his career characterized by extensive location shooting, tight production schedules and an emphasis on the role of editing in shaping narrative structure.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Anthony William Lars Asquith (; 9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was a leading English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on The Winslow Boy (1948) and The Browning Version (1951), among other adaptations. His other notable films include Pygmalion (1938), French Without Tears (1940), The Way to the Stars (1945) and a 1952 adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.
- Birthplace: England, London
- A prolific British playwright, songwriter and actor whose work reflected both an acidic modern cynicism and a sentimental longing for his Edwardian childhood, Noël Coward became one of the most successful and influential performing artists of the 20th century. From his time as a childhood actor on the stage, Coward achieved great critical and financial success, particularly after coming into his own as a playwright in the early 1920s with risqué hits like "The Better Half" (1922), "The Vortex" (1924) and "Easy Virtue" (1926). Thriving during the Great Depression, Coward saw many of his plays adapted into successful films like "Cavalcade" (1933) and "Design for Living" (1933), as well wrote his best known work, "Private Lives" (1931). Though his career was sidetracked by World War II, where he began a fruitful collaboration with David Lean on the wartime propaganda film "In Which We Serve" (1942). Lean successfully adapted the play "Blithe Spirit" (1945) and commissioned Coward to write an original script for "Brief Encounter" (1945). But after the war, Coward struggled to regain his prewar success with his pen, though he appeared more frequently on the big screen in films like "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956) and "Our Man in Havana" (1959). Following his last onscreen performance in "The Italian Job" (1969), Coward retired from acting and died just a few years later. With his elegant persona, Coward was a modern day Oscar Wilde whose charisma, talent and wit made him a major star both onstage and off.
- Birthplace: Teddington, Middlesex, England, UK
- Andrew Lloyd Webber, born on March 22, 1948, in Kensington, London, stands as one of the most influential figures in the world of musical theatre. Coming from a musical family, with his father being a composer and his mother a violinist and pianist, Webber's destiny seemed written in the stars. He began composing music at a young age, showcasing an innate talent that would soon garner global recognition. Remarkably, he composed his first suite at age nine, which was followed by a series of other compositions during his early years. Webber's rise to prominence catapulted with the success of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a musical written in collaboration with lyricist Tim Rice. This partnership proved fruitful, yielding iconic productions like Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. However, Webber's magnum opus, The Phantom of the Opera, released in 1986, further cemented his reputation as a leading maestro of musical theater. Over the course of his career, Webber's contributions to the arts have been acknowledged with numerous awards including, but not limited to, the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award and Tony Award. More than just a series of accolades, these recognitions bear testament to Webber's enduring influence on the stage. His innovative approach to storytelling through music has shaped the landscape of modern musical theater, making him a pivotal figure in the industry. The legacy of Andrew Lloyd Webber is marked by a repertoire of timeless masterpieces that continue to captivate audiences worldwide.
- Birthplace: England, Kensington, London
- Sir Stephen Harold Spender (28 February 1909 – 16 July 1995) was an English poet, novelist, and essayist who concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle in his work. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the United States Library of Congress in 1965.
- Birthplace: Kensington, London, United Kingdom
- Actor Quentin Crisp appeared on the big screen many times over the course of his Hollywood career. Crisp started off his acting career mostly in film roles, appearing in "Hamlet" (1976), the horror feature "The Bride" (1985) with Sting and "Resident Alien" (1991). He also appeared in the TV movie "Flowers For Matty" (ABC, 1989-1990). He continued to work steadily in film throughout the nineties, appearing in "Camp Christmas" (1993), the Tilda Swinton dramatic adaptation "Orlando" (1993) and "Memoirs of a Madman" (1994) with Richard Craven. He also appeared in the Wesley Snipes comedy "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" (1995). Nearing the end of his career, he tackled roles in the Michael Rodrick drama "Desolation Angels" (1996), the adaptation "The Celluloid Closet" (1996) with Jay Presson Allen and "Homo Heights" (1997). He also appeared in "The Electric Urn" (1997) and "Barriers" (1998). Crisp was most recently credited in "Quentin" (2000). Crisp passed away in November 1999 at the age of 91.
- Birthplace: Carshalton, England, UK
- Christiane Amanpour
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is an English singer, songwriter and actress. Burke won the fifth series of British television series The X Factor in 2008. She has been signed to Epic Records, RCA Records and Syco Music. After winning The X Factor, Burke released the winner's single "Hallelujah", which became the European record holder for single sales over a period of 24 hours, selling 105,000 in one day, and became the top-selling single of 2008 in the UK and the UK's Christmas 2008 number one. By January 2009, the single had sold over 1 million copies in the UK alone, a first for a British female soloist. In 2009, Burke released her debut album, Overcome, which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and spawned four number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart—"Hallelujah", "Bad Boys", "All Night Long" and "Start Without You"—and the album became one of the most successful albums of that year in the UK. The singles released from the album earned her three BRIT Award nominations. The album saw the release of UK top 10 hit, "Broken Heels" and "The Silence". "Elephant" was released as Burke's comeback single in February 2012, and "Let It Go" served as the second single and Burke's second album, Heartbreak on Hold, was released in June 2012.In June 2014, Burke replaced Beverley Knight in the lead role of Rachel Marron in the West End musical The Bodyguard, at the Adelphi Theatre, touring with the production in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019 In 2016, Burke commenced a 12-month residency in Sister Act The Musical, leading the cast as Deloris Van Cartier.In 2017, she took part in the entertainment show Strictly Come Dancing on the BBC. That same year, Burke signed a record deal with Universal Music Group's Decca Records. Her third album, The Truth Is, was released on 16 March 2018.
- Birthplace: Islington, London, England
- Susannah Caroline Constantine (born 3 June 1962) is an English fashion guru, journalist, advisor, television presenter, author and designer and actress, best known for finishing last in the BBC ballroom dancing show Strictly Come Dancing. Her second book, co-written with her fashion partner Trinny Woodall, What Not to Wear, has won her a British Book Award and sold 670,000 copies. Constantine was born into a wealthy family; her father was successful in property and shipping sectors. She was privately educated as a child and went on to date British royalty, David, Viscount Linley, during the 1980s. Constantine has been involved in fashion for a long period, originally working in America for Giorgio Armani and then John Galliano in London. She met Trinny Woodall in 1994, with whom she both proceeded to write a weekly fashion column, Ready to Wear. They founded Ready2shop.com, a dot-com fashion advice business, and wrote their first fashion advice book in 2000, Ready 2 Dress, both of which failed. From there they were commissioned to BBC Two to host the style series, What Not to Wear, from 2001 to 2005. She made regular appearances as a style advisor on The Oprah Winfrey Show and following her success on the shows, she went on to co-host Trinny & Susannah Undress... on ITV in 2006 and Undress the Nation in 2007. She has co-written fashion advice books with Woodall, some of which have become best-sellers in the United Kingdom and United States. It is estimated that her various style advice books have sold 2.5 million copies in Britain and the United States. Constantine and Woodall have designed their own clothing range for Littlewoods which made its debut in 2007, followed by the release of their latest fashion advice book, The Body Shape Bible.
- Birthplace: London, England
- Queen Victoria, born Alexandrina Victoria on May 24, 1819, reigned as the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from June 20, 1837, until her death on January 22, 1901. Her rule, known as the Victorian era, was a period of significant industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military changes within the United Kingdom. She ascended to the throne at a mere 18 years of age after the death of her uncle, King William IV, and her reign spanned over six decades, making it the second longest in British history. Victoria's reign was marked by the expansion of the British Empire, with territories spanning across continents, earning her the additional title of Empress of India in 1876. She was the first monarch in British history to hold this title. Under her rule, the United Kingdom experienced economic progress and the establishment of railways and the London Underground. Despite facing several assassination attempts, Victoria remained resilient and committed to her role as queen. Her personal life was equally noteworthy. In 1840, she married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a union that resulted in nine children who married into various European royal families. Their descendants include monarchs and royal consort members in Europe, creating a vast network known as the royal houses of Europe. Victoria's deep mourning following Prince Albert's death in 1861 led to her becoming a symbol of enduring widowhood, further enhancing her iconic status.
- Birthplace: Kensington Palace, London, England
- Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave, (23 January 1916 – 30 March 1979) was a British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament. During World War II he was the first British prisoner-of-war to succeed in escaping from Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle, and later worked for MI9. After the war he served with the International Military Tribunal at the Nuremberg Trials. He later became Tory Member of Parliament for Abingdon. Neave was assassinated in 1979 in a car bomb attack at the House of Commons. The Irish National Liberation Army claimed responsibility.
- Birthplace: United Kingdom
- Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. Perceval is the only British prime minister to have been murdered. He was also the only Solicitor General or Attorney General to become Prime Minister. The younger son of an Anglo-Irish earl, Perceval was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He studied Law at Lincoln's Inn, practised as a barrister on the Midland circuit, and in 1796 became a King's Counsel. He entered politics at age 33 as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Northampton. A follower of William Pitt the Younger, Perceval always described himself as a "friend of Mr Pitt", rather than a Tory. Perceval was opposed to Catholic emancipation and reform of Parliament; he supported the war against Napoleon and the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade. He was opposed to hunting, gambling and adultery; did not drink as much as most MPs at the time, gave generously to charity, and enjoyed spending time with his thirteen children. After a late entry into politics, his rise to power was rapid; he was appointed as Solicitor General and Attorney General, respectively, in the Addington ministry; Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons in the Portland ministry; and became Prime Minister in 1809. At the head of a weak ministry, Perceval faced a number of crises during his term in office, including an inquiry into the Walcheren expedition, the madness of King George III, economic depression, and Luddite riots. He overcame these crises, successfully pursued the Peninsular War in the face of opposition defeatism, and won the support of the Prince Regent. His position was looking stronger by early 1812, when, in the lobby of the House of Commons, he was assassinated by a merchant with a grievance against his government. Although Perceval was a seventh son and had four older brothers who survived to adulthood, the Earldom of Egmont reverted to one of his great-grandsons in the early–twentieth century. It remained in the hands of his descendants until its extinction in 2011.
- Birthplace: London, England
- Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. Many of his novels examined class difference and hypocrisy, including A Room with a View (1908), Howards End (1910) and A Passage to India (1924). The last brought him his greatest success. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 16 different years.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Roger Lloyd-Pack (8 February 1944 – 15 January 2014) was an English actor. He was best known for the role of Trigger in Only Fools and Horses from 1981 to 2003. He had a supporting role of Owen Newitt in The Vicar of Dibley from 1994 to 2007, and as Tom in The Old Guys with Clive Swift. He was also well known for his appearance as Barty Crouch, Sr. in the film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and his appearances in Doctor Who as John Lumic in the episodes "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel". He was sometimes credited without the hyphen in his surname. He died in 2014 from pancreatic cancer.
- Birthplace: England, London, Islington
- Austere yet handsome, Mark Strong's chameleon-like talents made him a hugely sought-after villain in both big-budget action and independent films after a lengthy career in his native England. He gave good bad guy in Guy Ritchie's "Revolver" (2005), the dramatic thriller "Syriana" (2005), and Matthew Vaughn's fantasy "Stardust" (2007). Strong played the heavy in the comedy "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" (2008) before reuniting twice with Ritchie to anchor "RocknRolla" (2008) and essay the satanic Lord Blackwood in the Robert Downey, Jr./Jude Law hit adventure, "Sherlock Holmes" (2009). Continuing to work with a laundry list of great film directors, Strong worked twice under the direction of Ridley Scott as the Jordanian Head of Intelligence in "Body of Lies" (2008), and then wreaked further havoc as Godfrey opposite Russell Crowe in "Robin Hood" (2010). Also that year, Strong scared a younger audience as the mob boss in the kids-turned-superheroes hit "Kick-Ass" (2010). With an admitted penchant for playing his deliciously evil roles to the hilt, Strong counted greats such as Sir Ian McKellen among his many fans. Going bad only ended up being a good thing for this talented actor, with work ranging from espionage dramas "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (2011), "The Imitation Game" (2014) and "The Catcher Was A Spy" (2018) to more light-hearted heavies in action drama "Kingsman: The Secret Service" (2014) and DC superhero introduction "Shazam!" (2019).
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Layla Kayleigh (born 26 January 1986) is a British-American TV personality, actress and philanthropist. She used to host The Feed segment of G4's Attack of the Show! and co-hosted MTV's America's Best Dance Crew where she was the backstage correspondent. She also hosted the MTV reunion shows such as Teen Mom and Teen Wolf. She has been featured in several magazines including Maxim magazine to promote her projects and the shows she was hosting. Layla was voted as one of the most beautiful women in the world by Askmen.com and their readers.
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- With a charm and wit that was uniquely British, Jonny Lee Miller brought a passion and dedication to acting that earned him a lasting, though mostly under-the-radar career from stage to screen. Whether portraying heroin addict Sick Boy in Danny Boyle's critically acclaimed "Trainspotting" (1996) or a record-breaking cyclist in "The Flying Scotsman" (2006), Miller's varied performances earned him much notice in Britain. In America, he first became known as Angelina Jolie's first ex-husband, but that all changed in 2008 when he stormed primetime American television as a prophetic lawyer who has strange visions on "Eli Stone" (ABC, 2008-09). Though the show only lasted two seasons, it was enough to put the British actor on the map stateside. From there, he played the villain on the fifth season of "Dexter" (Showtime, 2006-13), was a shiftless ne'er-do-well in "Dark Shadows" (2012) and was the star of the praised revamp of the Sherlock Holmes tale "Elementary" (CBS, 2012- ). Having finally elevated his status in the States, Miller established himself as a major leading player primed for true stardom.
- Birthplace: Kingston, Surrey, England, UK
- Hilton Edwards (2 February 1903 – 18 November 1982) was an English-born Irish actor, lighting designer and theatrical producer. He co-founded the Gate Theatre with his partner Micheál Mac Liammóir and has been referred to as the founder of Irish theatre. He was one of the most recognizable figures in the arts in twentieth-century Ireland.
- Birthplace: England, London
- Striking fresh-faced redhead who first made her mark as the object of Terence Stamp's obsessive desire in William Wyler's haunting "The Collector" (1965), a role which earned her a Best Actress award at Cannes, and an Oscar nomination. Samantha Eggar had begun her career on the British stage, appearing in numerous productions of Shakespeare in the provinces and for two seasons at the Oxford Playhouse. She was appearing in the Royal Court Theatre production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" when she was "discovered" by producer Betty Box and placed in "Wild and Willing," a feature film about college students. Within three years she was starring with Terence Stamp in "The Collector," and two years later was the object of Rex Harrison's affection in "Dr. Dolittle" (1967). In "The Molly Maguires" (1970), she was torn between her affection for Richard Harris and her loyalty to Sean Connery and the miners. She was the psychiatrist in the 1980 "Death Wish" clone, "The Exterminator." Eggar made her TV debut in an episode of "The Saint" (1965), and starred opposite Yul Brynner in the series version of "Anna and the King" (CBS, 1972), which is better known to most audiences as "The King and I." She has also appeared in numerous TV episodes. Eggar made her TV-movie debut in the 1973 remake of "Double Indemnity" playing the devious Phyllis Dietrichson, inheriting the Barbara Stanwyck role form the 1943 original. She was Billie Burke, wife of Florenz Ziegfeld in the 1978 biographical TV-movie ""Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women." Eggar also co-starred with Audrey Hepburn in the latter's one and only TV- movie, "Love Among Thieves" (1987). In the 90s, Eggar often provided the voices for animated characters on numerous series and specials, principally as Queen Guinevere in "The Legend of Prince Valiant," which aired on the Family Channel from 1991-95. She also appeared as Kristy Swanson's society mother in Simon Wincer's "The Phantom" (1996).
- Birthplace: Hampstead, London, England, UK
- Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of the dramatic monologue made him one of the foremost Victorian poets. His poems are known for their irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings, and challenging vocabulary and syntax. Browning's early career began promisingly, but collapsed. The long poems Pauline and Paracelsus received some acclaim, but in 1840 the difficult Sordello, which was seen as wilfully obscure, brought his poetry into disrepute. His reputation took more than a decade to recover, during which time he moved away from the Shelleyan forms of his early period and developed a more personal style. In 1846, Browning married the older poet Elizabeth Barrett, and went to live in Italy. By the time of her death in 1861, he had published the crucial collection Men and Women. The collection Dramatis Personae and the book-length epic poem The Ring and the Book followed, and made him a leading British poet. He continued to write prolifically, but his reputation today rests largely on the poetry he wrote in this middle period. When Browning died in 1889, he was regarded as a sage and philosopher-poet who through his writing had made contributions to Victorian social and political discourse. Unusually for a poet, societies for the study of his work were founded while he was still alive. Such Browning Societies remained common in Britain and the United States until the early 20th century.
- Birthplace: Camberwell, London, United Kingdom
