They Made a Broadway Musicals About Them

1. Maria von Trapp

Writer | Sen Bir Meleksin

Singer Maria Trapp was born on January 26, 1905, aboard a train, as her mother hurried from their village in the Tyrol to the hospital in Vienna, Austria. Her mother, Augusta (nee Rainer), died shortly after Maria was born, and her father, Karl Kutschera, died when she was 6 years old. As a ...

2. Fanny Brice

Actress | Be Yourself!

Fanny Brice was a popular and influential American comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress, who made many stage, radio and film appearances but is best remembered as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series, The Baby Snooks Show. Thirteen years after her death, she was ...

3. Annie Oakley

Self | Actors' Fund Field Day

Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey) was an American professional sharpshooter from Ohio. She starred for several years in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Her stage acts were filmed for one of Thomas Edison's earliest Kinetoscopes in 1894. Later in life, Oakley trained other women in marksmanship. ...

4. Coco Chanel

Costume_designer | La règle du jeu

Coco Chanel was born on August 19, 1883 in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France. She was a costume designer, known for The Rules of the Game (1939), Tonight or Never (1931) and The Greeks Had a Word for Them (1932). She died on January 10, 1971 in Paris, France.

5. Gypsy Rose Lee

Actress | Belle of the Yukon

Born Rose Louise Hovick in Seattle, Washington, in 1911, but called Louise from early childhood, Gypsy Rose Lee was the daughter of a mild-mannered businessman and a restless, fiery young woman named Rose, who was determined to get out of Seattle and make a life for herself and her daughter in show...

6. Charles Chaplin

Writer | The Great Dictator

Considered to be one of the most pivotal stars of the early days of Hollywood, Charlie Chaplin lived an interesting life both in his films and behind the camera. He is most recognized as an icon of the silent film era, often associated with his popular character, the Little Tramp; the man with the ...

7. Berry Gordy

Soundtrack | Guardians of the Galaxy

Berry Gordy was born on November 28, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is a composer and producer, known for Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Charlie's Angels (2000) and Wild Card (2015). He was previously married to Grace Easton, Raynoma Singleton and Thelma Louise Coleman.

8. Carole King

Soundtrack | A League of Their Own

Carole King is an American composer and singer-songwriter.

She is the most successful female songwriter of the latter half of the 20th century in the USA, having written or co-written 118 pop hits on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1955 and 1999. King also wrote 61 hits that charted in the UK, making ...

9. Gloria Estefan

Soundtrack | Music of the Heart

Gloria Estefan was born on September 1, 1957 in Havana, Cuba. She is a music artist and actress, known for Music of the Heart (1999), Poseidon (2006) and The Specialist (1994). She has been married to Emilio Estefan Jr. since September 2, 1978. They have two children.

10. Emilio Estefan Jr.

Soundtrack | The Mask of Zorro

Emilio Estefan Jr. was born on March 4, 1953 in Havana, Cuba. He is a producer and composer, known for The Mask of Zorro (1998), Top Gun (1986) and Cobra (1986). He has been married to Gloria Estefan since September 2, 1978. They have two children.

11. Jackie Robinson

Self | The Jackie Robinson Story

Jackie Robinson is an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the The Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. When the Dodgers signed ...

12. Eva Perón

Actress | La cabalgata del circo

Eva María Duarte was born into a small poor village, Los Toldos. When she was still a child she always knew she wanted to break out and get more than the others from her life. She wanted to become an actress. At the age of 15, she seduced the singer Agustín Magaldi to take her with him on his ...

13. Edith Bouvier Beale

Self | Grey Gardens

Edith Bouvier Beale was born on October 5, 1895 in Nutley, New Jersey, USA. She was married to Phelan Beale. She died on February 5, 1977 in Southampton, New York, USA.

14. Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale

Soundtrack | Grey Gardens

Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale was born on November 7, 1917 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. She died on January 9, 2002 in Bal Harbour, Florida, USA.

15. Mack Sennett

Producer | A Small Town Idol

Mack Sennett was born Michael Sinnott on January 17, 1880 in Danville, Quebec, Canada, to Irish immigrant farmers. When he was 17, his parents moved the family to East Berlin, Connecticut, and he became a laborer at American Iron Works, a job he continued when they moved to Northampton, ...

16. Mabel Normand

Actress | Mickey

Mabel Normand was one of the comedy greats of early film. In an era when women are deemed 'not funny enough' it seems film history has forgotten her contributions. Her films debuted the Keystone Cops, Charlie Chaplin's tramp and the pie in the face gag. She co-starred with both Chaplin and Roscoe "...

17. Aimee Semple McPherson

Born Aimee Elizabeth Kennedy on her family's farm near Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada, she was raised a Methodist, her father James's faith. Her mother Mildred worked for the Salvation Army.

In December 1907, she attended a local "tent revival" on a whim, and fell in love with its Irish-born preacher, ...

18. The Four Seasons

Soundtrack | Bumblebee

The Four Seasons is known for Bumblebee (2018), Sleepers (1996) and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993).

19. Queen Victoria

Writer | En kongelig familie

Princess Alexandrina Victoria was born on May 24, 1819 to the Duke and Duchess of Kent. Victoria as she was called was the granddaughter of King George III. When she was less than a year old her father died leaving her mother broke and at the mercy of her brother Leopold, the King of Belgium. ...

20. Prince Albert

Writer | Queen Victoria's Letters: A Monarch Unveiled

Prince Albert was born on August 26, 1819 in Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, German Confederation [now Bavaria, Germany]. He was a writer, known for Queen Victoria's Letters: A Monarch Unveiled (2014), Queen Victoria's Empire (2001) and The Windsors: A Royal Family (1994). He was married to Queen ...

21. Margaret Brown

Self | The History Chicks

Margaret Tobin was born on 18 July, 1867, the daughter of Irish immigrants John and Johanna Tobin. Her father had been widowed with one daughter and her mother was widowed with one daughter also. They had 4 more children including Margaret and raised their six children in Hannibal, Missouri. ...

22. Bonnie Parker

Bonnie Parker was born on October 1, 1910 in Rowena, Texas, USA. She was married to Roy Thornton. She died on May 23, 1934 in Gibsland, Louisiana, USA.

23. Clyde Barrow

Clyde Barrow was born on March 24, 1909 in Telico, Texas, USA. He died on May 23, 1934 in Gibsland, Louisiana, USA.

24. 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 ...

25. 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 ...

26. The Temptations

Soundtrack | Ready Player One

The Temptations are an American vocal group who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top 10 hit single "Cloud Nine" in October 1968, pioneered psychedelic soul, and was ...

27. Alexander Hamilton

Writer | Hamilton/Jefferson

American statesman, politician, legal scholar, military commander, lawyer, banker, and economist. He was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was an influential interpreter and promoter of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the founder of the nation's financial system, the Federalist...