notables
by marcusbpolk | created - 06 Aug 2014 | updated - 11 months ago | Public1. Ellar Coltrane
Actor | Boyhood
Ellar Coltrane was born in 1994 in Austin, Texas. Their mother Genevieve Kinney is a autism therapist and their father Bruce Salmon is a musician. They are known for the role of Mason Evans Jr. in Richard Linklater's Boyhood (2012), which was filmed over a period of 12 years starting when Ellar was...
2. Ethan Hawke
Actor | Training Day
Ethan Green Hawke was born on November 6, 1970 in Austin, Texas, to Leslie Carole (Green), a charity worker, and James Steven Hawke, an insurance actuary. His parents were students at the University of Texas at the time but divorced when Ethan was 5 years old. His mother raised him alone for the ...
3. Denzel Washington
Actor | Fences
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. was born on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. He is the middle of three children of a beautician mother, Lennis, from Georgia, and a Pentecostal minister father, Denzel Washington, Sr., from Virginia. After graduating from high school, Denzel enrolled at ...
4. Vincent D'Onofrio
Actor | Men in Black
Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio was born on June 30, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York, to Phyllis, a restaurant manager and server, and Gene D'Onofrio, a theatre production assistant and interior designer. He is of Italian descent and has two older sisters. He studied at the Actors Studio and the American ...
5. Brad Pitt
Actor | Fight Club
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt was born on December 18, 1963 in Shawnee, Oklahoma and raised in Springfield, Missouri to Jane Etta Pitt (née Hillhouse), a school counselor & William Alvin "Bill" Pitt, a truck company manager. At Kickapoo High School, Pitt was involved in sports, debating, student ...
6. Morgan Freeman
Actor | Driving Miss Daisy
With an authoritative voice and calm demeanor, this ever popular American actor has grown into one of the most respected figures in modern US cinema. Morgan was born on June 1, 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, to Mayme Edna (Revere), a teacher, and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, a barber. The young Freeman...
7. Leonardo DiCaprio
Actor | Inception
Few actors in the world have had a career quite as diverse as Leonardo DiCaprio's. DiCaprio has gone from relatively humble beginnings, as a supporting cast member of the sitcom Growing Pains (1985) and low budget horror movies, such as Critters 3 (1991), to a major teenage heartthrob in the 1990s,...
8. Benedict Cumberbatch
Actor | The Imitation Game
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch was born and raised in London, England. His parents, Wanda Ventham and Timothy Carlton (born Timothy Carlton Congdon Cumberbatch), are both actors. He is a grandson of submarine commander Henry Carlton Cumberbatch, and a great-grandson of diplomat Henry Arnold ...
9. Shia LaBeouf
Actor | Honey Boy
Shia LaBeouf's natural talent and raw energy have secured his place as one of Hollywood's leading men.
Most recently, LaBeouf starred alongside Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn in Kornel Mundruczo's Oscar® nominated Pieces of a Woman. In the critically acclaimed film, a grieving couple (Kirby/LaBeouf...
10. Christian Bale
Actor | The Dark Knight
Christian Charles Philip Bale was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK on January 30, 1974, to English parents Jennifer "Jenny" (James) and David Bale. His mother was a circus performer and his father, who was born in South Africa, was a commercial pilot. The family lived in different countries ...
11. Chloë Sevigny
Actress | We Are Who We Are
Chloë Sevigny is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress and director who is known for her groundbreaking work across film, television and theatre. Sevigny has spent her career working with innovative and revolutionary filmmakers and artists including Lars von Trier, Jim ...
12. Robin Williams
Actor | Mrs. Doubtfire
Robin McLaurin Williams was born on Saturday, July 21st, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois, a great-great-grandson of Mississippi Governor and Senator, Anselm J. McLaurin. His mother, Laurie McLaurin (née Janin), was a former model from Mississippi, and his father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams, was a Ford ...
13. Edward Norton
Actor | Fight Club
American actor, filmmaker and activist Edward Harrison Norton was born on August 18, 1969, in Boston, Massachusetts, and was raised in Columbia, Maryland.
His mother, Lydia Robinson "Robin" (Rouse), was a foundation executive and teacher of English, and a daughter of famed real estate developer ...
14. Viola Davis
Actress | Fences
Viola Davis is a critically revered actress of film, television, and theater and has won rave reviews for her multitude of substantial and intriguingly diverse roles. Audiences across the United States and internationally have admired her for her work- including her celebrated, Oscar-nominated ...
15. Freida Pinto
Actress | Slumdog Millionaire
Freida Selena Pinto was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India, to Sylvia, a school principal, and Frederick Pinto, a senior bank branch manager. She is from a Mangalorean family.
Pinto traversed the modeling circuit in Mumbai (represented by Elite Model Management India) for two years ...
16. Angela Bassett
Actress | Strange Days
Captivating, gifted, and sensational, Angela Bassett's presence has been felt in theaters and on stages and television screens throughout the world. Angela Evelyn Bassett was born on August 16, 1958 in New York City, to Betty Jane (Gilbert), a social worker, and Daniel Benjamin Bassett, a ...
17. Joie Lee
Actress | Summer of Sam
Joie Lee was born on June 22, 1962 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Summer of Sam (1999), Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) and Do the Right Thing (1989).
18. Shameik Moore
Actor | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Born in Atlanta of Jamaican descent, Shameik Moore booked his first lead role of Malcolm in Rick Famuyiwa's Dope (2015), produced by Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi. The film, which is narrated by Forest Whitaker, also stars Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Zoë Kravitz, Kimberly Elise and A$...
19. Kiersey Clemons
Actress | Dope
Kiersey Clemons was born December 17 in Pensacola, Florida. She grew up in a military family traveling the U.S before settling in Southern California with her parents and three sisters. Always having a love for theatre and performance, the actor/musician has quickly become known for the diverse and...
20. Gabrielle Union
Actress | Bring It On
Gabrielle Union was born on October 29, 1972, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Theresa (Glass), who managed a phone company, and Sylvester E. Union, a military sergeant and business executive. When she was eight, her family moved to Pleasanton, California, where she grew up and attended high school. There, ...
21. Tasha Smith
Actress | The Whole Ten Yards
Tasha Smith is a multifaceted actress and director whose work brings style and intensity to the projects she works on, whether in front of or behind the camera. From her roles as "Carol" on Fox's hit drama Empire, "Brenda" in Netflix's Running Out Of Time, to her critically-acclaimed portrayal of ...
22. Mahershala Ali
Actor | Leave the World Behind
Mahershala Ali is fast becoming one of the freshest and most in-demand faces in Hollywood with his extraordinarily diverse skill set and wide-ranging background in film, television, and theater.
He can be seen in the independent feature film, Moonlight, as well as reprising his role in The Hunger ...
23. Trevante Rhodes
Actor | Moonlight
Trevante Nemour Rhodes is an American actor. He won several accolades and achieved recognition in 2016 for his performance as Chiron in the Academy Award-winning film Moonlight. In his youth, he was an accomplished track and field sprinter, winning a gold medal at the Pan American Junior Athletics ...
24. Nia Long
Actress | The Best Man
Stunning pop culture icon, Hollywood leading lady and three-time NAACP award winner Nia Long returns to the big screen this fall in the highly anticipated Universal Pictures sequel The Best Man Holiday (in theaters November 15th) where she reunites with original castmates Taye Diggs ("Private ...
25. Tim Blake Nelson
Actor | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Tim Blake Nelson was born on May 11, 1964 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. He is an actor and director, known for The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) and Leaves of Grass (2009). He has been married to Lisa Benavides-Nelson since June 12, 1994. They have three children.
26. Michael Kenneth Williams
Actor | The Wire
Emmy-nominated actor and producer Michael Kenneth Williams was one of his generation's most respected and acclaimed talents. By bringing complicated and charismatic characters to life--often with surprising tenderness--Williams established himself as a gifted and versatile performer with a unique ...
27. Tommy Lee Jones
Actor | The Fugitive
Tommy Lee Jones was born in San Saba, Texas, the son of Lucille Marie (Scott), a police officer and beauty shop owner, and Clyde C. Jones, who worked on oil fields. Tommy himself worked in underwater construction and on an oil rig. He attended St. Mark's School of Texas, a prestigious prep school ...
28. Danny Glover
Actor | Lethal Weapon
Actor, producer and humanitarian Danny Glover has been a commanding presence on screen, stage and television for more than 35 years.
Glover was born in San Francisco, California, to Carrie (Hunley) and James Glover, postal workers who were also active in civil rights. Glover trained at the Black ...
29. Regina King
Actress | Ray
Regina King was born in Los Angeles, California, to Gloria, a special education teacher, and Thomas King, an electrician. She began her career in the television show 227 (1985), followed by a role in Boyz n the Hood (1991). She began to be recognized by a mainstream audience after her role as Cuba ...
30. Niecy Nash
Actress | Reno 911!
Niecy Nash was born on February 23, 1970 in Palmdale, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Reno 911! (2003), Guess Who (2005) and Claws (2017). She has been married to Jessica Betts since August 29, 2020. She was previously married to Jay Tucker and Don Nash.
31. Meryl Streep
Actress | Out of Africa
Considered by many critics to be the greatest living actress, Meryl Streep has been nominated for the Academy Award an astonishing 21 times, and has won it three times. Meryl was born Mary Louise Streep in 1949 in Summit, New Jersey, to Mary Wolf (Wilkinson), a commercial artist, and Harry William ...
32. Octavia Spencer
Actress | Hidden Figures
Spencer is a native of Montgomery, Alabama, which she claims is the proverbial buckle of the Bible belt. She's the sixth of seven siblings and holds a BS in Liberal Arts from Auburn University. A "closet" lover of acting, this practical Alabamian knew that she'd someday work in the film industry, ...
33. Taraji P. Henson
Actress | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Taraji Penda Henson is an American actress and singer. She studied acting at Howard University and began her Hollywood career in guest roles on several television shows before making her breakthrough in Baby Boy (2001). She played a prostitute in Hustle & Flow (2005), for which she received a ...
34. Tichina Arnold
Actress | Little Shop of Horrors
Tichina Arnold was born on June 28, 1969 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Everybody Hates Chris (2005) and Martin (1992). She was previously married to Rico Hines and Lamon Brewster.
35. Michaela Coel
Actress | Chewing Gum
Michaela was born on October 1st 1987 as Michaela Boakye-Collinson to Ghanaian parents and brought up in Tower Hamlets by her mother, a devout member of the Pentecostal church who instilled her religion into Michaela and her sister - something that she would later draw on for her play 'Chewing Gum ...
36. Michael Hyatt
Actress | Nightcrawler
Born in England of Jamaican parents (her mother Vera an art historian and museologist and her father Charles Hyatt an actor/broadcaster/comedian), Michael received her earliest education and what she considers her most formative years abroad. At the age of ten she migrated to the United States with...
37. Stephen McKinley Henderson
Actor | Fences
Stephen McKinley Henderson was born on August 31, 1949 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. He is an actor, known for Fences (2016), Lady Bird (2017) and Civil War (2024). He has been married to Pamela Reed Henderson since April 22, 1978.
38. André Holland
Actor | Moonlight
André Holland was born on December 28, 1979 in Bessemer, Alabama, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Moonlight (2016), Selma (2014) and 42 (2013).
39. Mykelti Williamson
Actor | Forrest Gump
Perhaps best remembered for his touching performance as "Bubba" opposite Tom Hanks in the Academy Award-winning Forrest Gump (1994), Mykelti Williamson is one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood, who has been steadily honing his craft since he first began acting professionally at the age ...
40. John Douglas Thompson
Actor | 21 Bridges
John Douglas Thompson was born in 1964 in Bath, Somerset, England, UK. He is an actor, known for 21 Bridges (2019), The Bourne Legacy (2012) and Michael Clayton (2007).
41. Rob Morgan
Actor | Mudbound
Rob Morgan was born on February 24, 1973 in New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, USA. He is an actor, known for Mudbound (2017), Don't Look Up (2021) and Bull (2019).
42. Jeffrey Wright
Actor | The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun
Born and raised in Washington DC, Jeffrey Wright graduated from Amherst College in 1987. Although he studied Political Science while at Amherst, Wright left the school with a love for acting. Shortly after graduating he won an acting scholarship to NYU, but dropped out after only two months to ...
43. Erika Alexander
Actress | Get Out
Erika Alexander is beloved for the iconic acting roles of Maxine Shaw (Living Single), Detective Latoya (Get Out), Perenna (Black Lightning), and Linda Diggs (Wutang: An American Saga). Erika wears many hats, including actress, trailblazing activist, entrepreneur, creator, producer, and director --...
44. John Witherspoon
Actor | Friday
John Witherspoon was an African-American actor from Detroit, Michigan known for playing Granddad from The Boondocks and Willie Jones from the Friday trilogy. He also acted in Boomerang, Little Nicky, Soul Plane, Vampire in Brooklyn, Black Jesus and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He passed away in ...
45. Gerald 'Slink' Johnson
Actor | Grand Theft Auto V
Gerald 'Slink' Johnson was born on January 31, 1973 in Dumas, Arkansas, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Grand Theft Auto V (2013), Black Jesus (2014) and Locs (2019).
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