Stars Who Performed for Dictators
by mjm2273 | created - 21 Jul 2016 | updated - 21 Jul 2016 | Publicalso includes non-musicians who spoke and/or were guests
1. Jennifer Lopez
Producer | Hustlers
Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1969 in The Bronx, New York City, New York to teacher Lupe López and computer specialist David López. The two Puerto Ricans were brought to the continental United States during their childhoods and eventually met while living in New York City. Their ...
2. Beyoncé
Soundtrack | Dreamgirls
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born on September 4, 1981 in Houston, Texas. Her mom, Tina Knowles designs their glittering costumes & her dad, Mathew Knowles manages Destiny's Child. Solange, her sister (they're 4 years apart) has released her debut album. She dances with her big sister during DC-3 ...
3. Mariah Carey
Soundtrack | Glitter
Mariah Carey was born in Long Island, New York on March 27, 1969. Her parents are Patricia Hickey (Irish-American) and Alfred Roy Carey (African-American/Venezuelan). Mariah attended Greenlawn's Harborfields High School. In June 1990, Mariah made her debut with her self-titled album, Mariah Carey ...
4. Elton John
Soundtrack | Kingsman: The Golden Circle
Sir Elton John is one of pop music's great survivors. Born 25 March, 1947, as Reginald Kenneth Dwight, he started to play the piano at the early age of four. At the age of 11, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. His first band was called Bluesology. He later auditioned (...
5. Sting
Actor | Dune
Sting was born Gordon Matthew Sumner on 2 October, 1951 in Wallsend, North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, the eldest of four children of Audrey (Cowell), a hairdresser, and Ernest Matthew Sumner, an engineer and milkman. He received his name from a striped sweater he wore which looked like a bee...
6. Hilary Swank
Actress | Million Dollar Baby
Hilary was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Judith Kay (Clough), a secretary, and Stephen Michael Swank, who served in the National Guard and was also a traveling salesman. Her maternal grandmother, Frances Martha Dominguez, was of Mexican descent, and her other roots include German, English, and ...
7. Lady Gaga
Soundtrack | A Star Is Born
Lady Gaga, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, is an American songwriter, singer, actress, philanthropist, dancer and fashion designer.
Gaga was born on March 28, 1986 in Manhattan, New York City, to Cynthia Louise (Bissett), a philanthropist and business executive, and Joseph Anthony ...
8. Ye
Soundtrack | The Great Gatsby
Kanye Omari West (born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer. His musical career has been marked by dramatic changes in styles, incorporating an eclectic range of influences including soul, baroque pop, electro, indie rock, ...
9. 50 Cent
Soundtrack | Get Rich or Die Tryin'
50 Cent (Curtis James Jackson) is an American rapper, actor, producer, and entrepreneur.
He began a musical career and in 2000 he produced Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records, but days before the planned release he was shot and the album was never released. In 2002, after Jackson released the ...
10. Jay-Z
Soundtrack | The Harder They Fall
Jay-Z was born Shawn Corey Carter on December 4, 1969 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. Carter was a school friend of The Notorious B.I.G.. He first started releasing records in the late 1980s. In 1990, he appeared on records by his close friend, Jas ("The Originators") and Original Flavor ("...
11. Christina Aguilera
Soundtrack | The Voice
Christina Maria Aguilera was born on December 18, 1980 in Staten Island, New York City, New York to musician Shelly Loraine Fidler Kearns and U.S. Army sergeant Fausto Wagner Xavier Aguilera Monge. Her father is Ecuadorian and her mother, who is American-born, has Welsh, Dutch and German ancestry. ...
12. Dennis Rodman
Actor | Double Team
Dennis Rodman is an American retired professional basketball player who played for the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was nicknamed "The Worm" and is famous for his fierce defensive and ...
13. Steven Seagal
Actor | On Deadly Ground
Steven Frederic Seagal was born in Lansing, Michigan, to Patricia Anne (Fisher), a medical technician, and Samuel Seagal, a high school math teacher. His paternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants, and his mother had English, German, and distant Irish and Dutch, ancestry. The enigmatic ...
14. Nelly Furtado
Actress | Max Payne
Nelly Kim Furtado was born on December 2, 1978 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada to Maria Manuela Furtado (née Neto), a motel cleaner & António José Furtado, a stonemason. She first gained fame with her trip hop inspired debut album, Whoa, Nelly! (2000), which was a critical and commercial ...
15. Anna Kournikova
Actress | Me, Myself & Irene
Anna Kournikova is a Russian former professional tennis player and American television personality. Her appearance and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars worldwide.
Despite never winning a singles title, she reached No. 8 in the world in 2000. She achieved greater success ...
16. Jean-Claude Van Damme
Actor | Double Impact
Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium, to Eliana and Eugène Van Varenberg, an accountant. "The Muscles from Brussels" started martial arts at the age of eleven. His father introduced him to martial arts when he saw his son was ...
17. Erykah Badu
Actress | The Cider House Rules
Erykah Badu was born on February 26, 1971 in Dallas, Texas, USA. She is a music artist and actress, known for The Cider House Rules (1999), Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) and What Men Want (2019).
18. Nicki Minaj
Actress | The Other Woman
Nicki Minaj was born Onika Tanya Maraj on December 8, 1982 in St. James, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago and raised in Queens, New York City, New York. She grew up in a troubled family with a father that was a drug addict who later changed after he checked into rehab and started going to church. ...
19. Usher
Actor | The Faculty
Usher Raymond IV was born in Dallas, Texas, to Jonetta Patton (née O'Neal) and Usher Raymond III. He began singing when he was six years old, joining the local church choir at the behest of his mother who acted as choir director. Jonetta, a single mom, raised Usher and his younger brother, James, ...
20. Kim Kardashian
Actress | Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor
TV star, entrepreneur, fashion designer, and author (New York Times best-seller - "Kardashian Konfidential"), Kim Kardashian was born in Los Angeles, California, to Kris Jenner (née Kristen Mary Houghton) and attorney Robert Kardashian. Her father was of Armenian descent and her mother is of mostly...
21. Michael Jackson
Soundtrack | Michael Jackson: Thriller
Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, and entertained audiences nearly his entire life. His father, Joe Jackson (no relation to Joe Jackson, also a musician), had been a guitarist, but was forced to give up his musical ambitions following his marriage to Michael's ...
22. Lionel Richie
Soundtrack | The Color Purple
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and television judge. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recording the hit singles "Easy", "Sail On", "Three Times a Lady" and "Still",...
23. Liza Minnelli
Soundtrack | Cabaret
Liza Minnelli was born on March 12, 1946, the daughter of Judy Garland and movie director Vincente Minnelli. She was practically raised at MGM studios while her parents worked long hours there and she made her film debut at 14 months of age in the movie In the Good Old Summertime (1949). Her ...
24. Frank Sinatra
Actor | From Here to Eternity
Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants Natalina Della (Garaventa), from Northern Italy, and Saverio Antonino Martino Sinatra, a Sicilian boxer, fireman, and bar owner. Growing up on the gritty streets of Hoboken made Sinatra determined to work hard to get ahead. ...
25. Tina Turner
Soundtrack | Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
With almost fifty years in the music business, Tina Turner became one of the most commercially successful international female rock stars. Her sultry, powerful voice, her incredible legs, her time-tested beauty and her unforgettable story all contributed to her legendary status.
Born to a ...
26. Lena Horne
Soundtrack | Cabin in the Sky
Lena Calhoun Horne was born June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York. In her biography she stated that, on the day she was born, her father was in the midst of a card game trying to get money to pay the hospital costs. Her parents divorced while she was still a toddler. Her mother left later in order ...
27. Linda Ronstadt
Soundtrack | The Pirates of Penzance
Linda Ronstadt was born on July 15, 1946 in Tucson, Arizona, USA. She is a music artist and actress, known for The Pirates of Penzance (1983), An American Tail (1986) and The Abyss (1989).
28. The Staple Singers
Soundtrack | 6 Underground
The Staple Singers is known for 6 Underground (2019), The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019) and Now and Then (1995).
29. Queen
Soundtrack | Flash Gordon
Queen were one of the longest-lasting and most commercially successful bands to emerge from the British heavy rock scene of the early 1970s, but unlike their contemporaries such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, they soon became just as popular with pop fans as fans of hard rock and ...
30. Jon Bon Jovi
Soundtrack | Young Guns II
Jon Bon Jovi, was born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. On March 2, 1962, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey to parents John Francis Bongiovi, Sr. and Carol Sharkey.
Family: Jon's mother, Carol Sharkey, was a former model and one of the first Playboy Bunnies. She met Bon Jovi's father after she enlisted in the ...
31. Lindsay Lohan
Actress | The Parent Trap
Lindsay Dee Lohan was born in New York City, on 2 July 1986, to Dina Lohan and Michael Lohan. She began her career at age three as a Ford model, and also made appearances in over sixty television commercials, including spots for The Gap, Pizza Hut, Wendy's, and Jell-O (opposite Bill Cosby). Lohan ...
32. Chris De Burgh
Soundtrack | Working Girl
Chris De Burgh was born on October 15, 1948 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a music artist and actor, known for Working Girl (1988), Paper Towns (2015) and American Psycho (2000). He has been married to Diane De Burgh since October 15, 1977. They have three children.
33. Julio Iglesias
Soundtrack | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Julio Iglesias is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer.
Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Continental European singer in the world and one of the top ten record sellers in music history, having sold more than 300 million records worldwide in 14 ...
34. Black Sabbath
Soundtrack | Iron Man
Black Sabbath were an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968, by guitarist and main songwriter Tony Iommi, bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler, drummer Bill Ward and singer Ozzy Osbourne. Black Sabbath are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre ...
35. Billy Joel
Soundtrack | Oliver & Company
William Martin Joel is an American singer, pianist, composer and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his single and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released 12 pop and rock studio albums from 1971...
36. Naomi Campbell
Actress | Zoolander 2
Naomi Campbell was born on May 22, 1970 in Streatham, London, England, UK. She is an actress and producer, known for Zoolander 2 (2016), I Feel Pretty (2018) and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995).
37. Manic Street Preachers
Soundtrack | Sweet Sixteen
Manic Street Preachers is known for Sweet Sixteen (2002), Dirty Weekend (1993) and Anatomy 2 (2003).
38. Juanes
Soundtrack | Goal II: Living the Dream
Juanes was born on August 9, 1972 in Medellin, Colombia. He is a music artist and actor, known for Goal II: Living the Dream (2007), Juanes: Es por ti (2002) and Juanes: Fíjate bien (2001). He has been married to Karen Martínez since August 6, 2004. They have three children.
39. Rod Stewart
Soundtrack | Innerspace
Rod Stewart was born on January 10, 1945 in Highgate, London, England, UK. He is a music artist and actor, known for Innerspace (1987), The Three Musketeers (1993) and No Way Out (1987). He has been married to Penny Lancaster since June 16, 2007. They have two children. He was previously married to ...
40. Dionne Warwick
Soundtrack | Alive
Dionne Warwick was born on December 12, 1940 in East Orange, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Alive (1993), The Happytime Murders (2018) and Bird Box (2018). She was previously married to William Elliott.
41. Goldie Hawn
Actress | Private Benjamin
Goldie Jeanne Hawn was born November 21, 1945 in Washington, D.C. and raised in Takoma Park, Maryland to Laura Hawn, a jewelry shop/dance school owner & Rut Hawn, a band musician. She has a sister, Patti Hawn, and a brother, Edward, who died in infancy before her birth. She was raised in the Jewish...
42. Ann-Margret
Actress | Carnal Knowledge
Actress and singer Ann-Margret is one of the most famous sex symbols and actresses of the 1960s and beyond. She continued her career through the following decades and into the 21st century.
Ann-Margret was born Ann-Margret Olsson in Valsjöbyn, Jämtland County, Sweden, to Anna Regina (Aronsson) and ...
43. Ray Charles
Actor | The Blues Brothers
A tragic fate may have given this visionary a heightened sensitivity, perception, awareness, even expansion to his obvious musical gifts that he may have never touched upon had he not suffered from his physical affliction. Whatever it was, Ray Charles revolutionized American music and was ...
44. Sonja Henie
Actress | Sun Valley Serenade
The daughter of a fur wholesaler in Norway, Sonja Henie received her first pair of ice skates when she was six. At 14 she was the Norwegian Skating Champion. At 15 she would win the Olympic gold medal in Skating, a feat she would repeat in 1932 and 1936. In 1936 she would turn professional and tour...
45. Dolly Parton
Soundtrack | The Porter Wagoner Show
Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946 in Pittman Center, Tennessee and raised in Sevierville, Tennessee to Avie Lee Parton, a housewife & Robert Lee Parton, a tobacco farmer. At 12, she was appearing on Knoxville TV and at 13, she was already recording on a small label and appearing at ...
46. Barry Manilow
Soundtrack | Thumbelina
Barry Manilow was born on June 17, 1943 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Thumbelina (1994), Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) and Transsiberian (2008). He has been married to Garry Kief since April 2014. He was previously married to Susan Deixler.
47. Liberace
Soundtrack | Behind the Candelabra
Most remembered for his extravagant costumes and trademark candelabra placed on the lids of his flashy pianos, Liberace was loved by his audiences for his music talent and unique showmanship. He was born as Wladziu Valentino Liberace on May 16, 1919, into a musical family, in Wisconsin. His mother, ...
48. Johnny Mathis
Soundtrack | Zodiac
He was the fourth of seven children born to Clement and Mildred Mathis. His father performed briefly in vaudeville and exposed all of the Mathis siblings to music. Before he entered his teens, young John received vocal lessons from Connie Cox in exchange for performing chores around her home. When ...
49. The Beach Boys
Soundtrack | Pirate Radio
The Beach Boys is an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson; their cousin Mike Love; and their friend Al Jardine. The Beach Boys are one of the most critically acclaimed, ...
50. America
Music_department | The Last Unicorn
America is known for The Last Unicorn (1982), The Nice Guys (2016) and We Are Marshall (2006).
51. Boney M.
Soundtrack | Ölümlü Dünya
Boney M. is known for Mortal World (2018), Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009) and Boogie Nights (1997).
52. Helen Reddy
Actress | Pete's Dragon
The #1 Grammy-winning "I Am Woman" became not only THE anthem of the feminist movement during the radical 1970s, but also the signature song for its lovely, crop-haired, reddish-haired composer and singer Helen Reddy. Many decades later this is the hit people still remember her for, despite the ...
53. Milos Forman
Director | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Milos Forman was born Jan Tomas Forman in Caslav, Czechoslovakia, to Anna (Svabova), who ran a summer hotel, and Rudolf Forman, a professor. During World War II, his parents were taken away by the Nazis, after being accused of participating in the underground resistance. His father died in ...
54. Shirley Bassey
Soundtrack | Moonraker
Shirley Bassey was born in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales, and raised in the nearby working class neighborhood of Splott. Her mother was originally from Yorkshire, and her father was a Nigerian seaman who left the family when she was less than two. She later helped to support her family by working in an...
55. David Essex
Soundtrack | That'll Be the Day
David Essex was born on July 23, 1947 in Plaistow, London, England as David Albert Cook. He is an Singer, Performer and actor, for The Devil's Rejects (2005), That'll Be the Day (1973) and Stardust (1974). He has been married to Susan Hallam-Wright since September 20, 2010. He was previously ...
56. Cliff Richard
Soundtrack | Rocketman
Cliff Richard burst onto the rock'n'roll world in 1958 with his hit single 'Move It'. He was then known as Britain's answer to Elvis Presley. His first film was Serious Charge (1959) followed by Expresso Bongo (1959), Wonderful to Be Young! (1961) and Summer Holiday (1963).
The latter two films were...
57. Leo Sayer
Soundtrack | Hardcore Henry
Leo Sayer was born on May 21, 1948 in Sussex, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Hardcore Henry (2015), Charlie's Angels (2000) and Slap Shot (1977). He has been married to Donatella Piccinetti since April 15, 2023. He was previously married to Janice Lisseter.
58. Kenny Rogers
Soundtrack | Polar
Born in Houston, Texas on August 21, 1938, Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, actor, record producer and entrepreneur Kenneth Ray Rogers was the fourth of eight children born to a carpenter father who worked in a shipyard and a mother who was a hospital nurse's assistant. Of humble Irish and Native...
59. Stephanie Mills
Soundtrack | Cop Out
Stephanie Mills was born on March 22, 1957 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She is an actress and director, known for Cop Out (2010), Fletch (1985) and The Wiz Live! (2015). She was previously married to Micheal Saunders, Dino Meminger and Jeffrey Daniel.
60. Tim Reid
Actor | WKRP in Cincinnati
Gaining fame on TV first, he was born Timothy Lee Reid on December 19, 1944, in Norfolk and raised in Chesapeake, Virginia. Coming from a troubled, impoverished childhood, he straightened out his life enough to attend Norfolk State College (now University) and graduate with a business ...
61. Howard Hesseman
Actor | WKRP in Cincinnati
Howard Hesseman was a leading counter-culture figure since the late 1960s. He was a member of the improv group, "The Committee", for a decade in the 1960s/1970s. A character actor for many years on different television shows since the 1960s, he took small parts in The Andy Griffith Show (1960), ...
62. George Benson
Soundtrack | Michael
George Benson was born on March 22, 1943 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Michael (1996), Hit and Run (2012) and All That Jazz (1979). He has been married to Johnnie Lee since 1962. They have six children.
63. Cher
Actress | Moonstruck
The beat goes on ... and on ... and as strong as ever for this superstar entertainer who has well surpassed the half-century mark while improbably transforming herself from an artificial, glossy "flashionplate" singer into a serious, Oscar-worthy, dramatic actress ... and back again! With more ups ...
64. Paul Anka
Soundtrack | No Way Out
Canadian-born Paul Anka first achieved success in the 1950s as a teenage singing star (and, for the times, an unusual one in that he wrote many of his own songs). Although he appeared in several films, and was quite believable as a nervous, hyper young soldier in The Longest Day (1962) (for which ...
65. Status Quo
Soundtrack | Men in Black³
Status Quo is known for Men in Black³ (2012), Dead Fish (2005) and 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019).
66. Millie Jackson
Soundtrack | Project X
Millie Jackson was born on July 13, 1944 in Thomson, Georgia, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Project X (2012), Soul Men (2008) and Martin (1992).
67. Paul Simon
Soundtrack | One-Trick Pony
Born on October 13, 1941, in Newark New Jersey, Paul Simon is one of the greatest singer/songwriters ever. In 1957, he and high school pal, Art Garfunkel, wrote and recorded the single, "Hey Schoolgirl", under the name "Tom and Jerry". After some failures, they broke up. Simon still wrote and ...
68. Chick Corea
Soundtrack | The Two Popes
Chick Corea was born Armando Anthony Corea on June 12, 1941, in Chelsea, Massachussetts, USA. He began studying piano at the age of four. He started professional career with Cab Calloway, then continued with the bands of Mongo Santamaria, trumpeter Blue Mitchell, flutist Herbie Mann and saxophonist ...
69. Laura Antonelli
Actress | Passione d'amore
Laura Antonelli was born on November 28, 1941 in Pola, Istria, Italy [now Pula, Istria, Croatia]. She was an actress, known for Passion of Love (1981), Malicious (1973) and The Innocent (1976). She was married to Enrico Piacentini. She died on June 22, 2015 in Ladispoli, Rome, Lazio, Italy.
70. Ernest Borgnine
Actor | Marty
Ernest Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino on January 24, 1917 in Hamden, Connecticut. His parents were Anna (Boselli), who had emigrated from Carpi (MO), Italy, and Camillo Borgnino, who had emigrated from Ottiglio (AL), Italy. As an only child, Ernest enjoyed most sports, especially boxing, ...
71. Alan J. Pakula
Producer | Sophie's Choice
Alan J. Pakula was an American film director, writer and producer. He was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Best Director for All the President's Men (1976) and Best Adapted Screenplay for Sophie's Choice (1982).
He also directed Presumed Innocent (...
72. Montserrat Caballé
Soundtrack | La vita è bella
Her childhood was shaped by the Spanish Civil War and the modest means of her working-class family. Her musical talent developed early and she was already singing classical cantatas at the age of seven. From 1942 she trained in singing at the Conservatorio Superior de Musica in Barcelona. She was ...
73. Pia Zadora
Actress | The Lonely Lady
Pia Zadora was born on May 4, 1954 in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress, known for The Lonely Lady (1983), Butterfly (1981) and Voyage of the Rock Aliens (1984). She has been married to Michael Jeffries since January 7, 2006. She was previously married to Jonathan Kaufer and Meshulam ...
74. Frederick Forsyth
Writer | The Day of the Jackal
Frederick Forsyth was youngest pilot of the Royal Airforce, joining at the age of 19. He then became a journalist and worked for Reuters in several European capitals. Now he is a thriller author and his books have been sold over 35 million times worldwide.
75. Glen Campbell
Soundtrack | True Grit
Glen Campbell was born on April 22, 1936 in Billstown, Arkansas, USA. He was a music artist and actor, known for True Grit (1969), Shindig! (1964) and Dark Phoenix (2019). He was married to Kim Campbell, Sarah Jan Barg, Billie Jean Nunley and Diane Marie Kirk. He died on August 8, 2017 in Nashville...
76. Wham!
Soundtrack | Zoolander 2
Wham! were the biggest-selling pop musicians of the 1980s and one of the first internationally successful Boy Bands. The pop duo comprised of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, who hailed from Bushy Meads, in Hertfordshire, England.
They came to prominence in 1982 with their top five hit 'Young ...
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