The Josephine Baker Story 1991 premiere

1. Lynn Whitfield

With roots leading back to Louisiana southern aristocracy, lovely leading lady Lynn Whitfield was born in 1953, the eldest of four children and a third-generation BFA graduate from Howard University. Her dentist father was instrumental in developing Lynn's initial interest in acting as he was a ...

2. Rubén Blades

Actor | Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Rubén Blades was born on July 16, 1948 in Panama City, Panama. He is an actor and composer, known for Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), The Counselor (2013) and Safe House (2012). He has been married to Luba Mason since 2006. He was previously married to Lisa Lebenzon.

3. David Dukes

Actor | Gods and Monsters

David Dukes was born on June 6, 1945 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Gods and Monsters (1998), Rawhead Rex (1986) and A Little Romance (1979). He was married to Carol Muske-Dukes and Carolyn Lee McKenzie. He died on October 9, 2000 in Lakewood, Washington, USA.

4. Brian Gibson

Director | Breaking Glass

Brian Gibson was born on September 22, 1944 in London, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Breaking Glass (1980), Horizon (1964) and Frida (2002). He was married to Lynn Whitfield and Paula Guarderas. He died on January 4, 2004 in London, England, UK.

5. Debbie Allen

Producer | Fame

Deborah Kaye Allen was born in Houston, Texas, to African-American parents, Vivian Elizabeth (Ayers), a poet and art director, and Andrew Arthur Allen, an orthodontist. As a child, Debbie, her older brother, Andrew (called Tex), and her older sister, actress Phylicia Rashad, lived in Mexico to ...

6. Paul Bartel

Actor | Eating Raoul

Paul Bartel was born in Brooklyn in 1938. He decided he wanted to direct animated movies when he was 11 and by 13 had spent a summer working at New York's UPA animation studio. He majored in theater arts at UCLA, and received a Fulbright scholarship to study film direction in Rome, producing a ...

7. Richard Selzer

Actor | Juvenile Court

Richard Selzer was born on August 29, 1922 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor and costume designer, known for Juvenile Court (1938), Promises..... Promises! (1963) and Truck Turner (1974). He died on October 19, 2008 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

8. Tom Bradley

Self | Nick of Time

Tom Bradley was born on December 29, 1917 in Calvert, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Nick of Time (1995), It's Garry Shandling's Show. (1986) and 16 Days of Glory (1985). He was married to Ethel Arnold. He died on September 29, 1998 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

9. Jackie Collins

Actress | Danger Man

Jackie Collins was born on October 4, 1937 in London, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for Danger Man (1960), The Saint (1962) and The Stud (1978). She was married to Oscar Lerman and Wallace Austin. She died on September 19, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

10. Bud Cort

Actor | Harold and Maude

Bud Cort, American actor/comedian, was born Walter Edward Cox in New Rochelle, New York. The second of five children, he grew up in Rye, New York, the son of Joseph P. Cox, an orchestra leader, pianist, and owner of a successful men's clothing store in Rye, and Alma M. Court a former newspaper and ...

11. Anne Francis

Actress | Forbidden Planet

Anne Francis got into show business quite early in life. She was born on September 16, 1930 in Ossining, New York (which is near Sing Sing prison), the only child of Phillip Ward Francis, a businessman/salesman, and the former Edith Albertson. A natural little beauty, she became a John Robert Powers...

12. 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), ...

13. Telma Hopkins

Actress | Family Matters

Telma Hopkins was born on October 28, 1948 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Family Matters (1989), The Love Guru (2008) and Half & Half (2002). She was previously married to Donald B. Alen.

14. Judith Ivey

Actress | Women Talking

Veteran stage actress Judith Ivey is a two-time Tony Award winner; she won the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Play for Steaming (1983), and later, Hurlyburly (1985). Her performances in Park Your Car in Harvard Yard (1992), and a revival of The Heiress (2013) were both nominated for Tony ...

15. Jackée Harry

Actress | 227

Jackée Harry was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and reared from the age of nine in Harlem, New York, by her mother, Flossie. At the tender age of fourteen, Jackée landed the lead role of the King in her school's production of The King and I. Upon graduation from New York City's High School ...

16. Beverly Johnson

Actress | Loaded Weapon 1

Beverly Johnson was born on October 13, 1952 in Buffalo, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Loaded Weapon 1 (1993), Martin (1992) and Crossroads (2002). She has been married to Brian Maillian since October 15, 2023. She was previously married to Danny Sims and Billy Potter.

17. Swoosie Kurtz

Actress | Bubble Boy

Swoosie is the only child of author Margo and Frank Kurtz. As her father was a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, she moved often during her school years, living in eight different states. At the University of Southern California she majored in drama; later she attended the London Academy of Music and ...

18. Taylor Negron

Actor | Alienated

Taylor Negron was born Brad Stephen Negron in Glendale, California, to Lucy (Rosario) and Conrad Negron, who was mayor of Indian Wells, CA. His parents were both of Puerto Rican descent. Negron attended UCLA, studied acting with Lee Strasberg, and studied comedy at a private seminar taught by ...

19. Jayne Kennedy

Actress | Body and Soul

Jayne Kennedy (born Jane Harrison on October 27, 1951 in Washington, D.C.) is an American actress, model and sportscaster.

Jayne was crowned Miss Ohio USA 1970 (she was the first African American woman to win the title), and was one of the 10 semi-finalists in the 1970 Miss USA pageant. It was rare ...

20. Rachel Ticotin

Actress | Total Recall

One tough cookie who can definitely hold her own next to the boys on film and TV, lovely, dark-haired Rachel Ticotin has stepped up to the plate many times in strong-armed femme roles, playing everything from cops and bodyguards to military corporals.

Born on November 1, 1958, and raised in the ...

21. 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.

22. Hal Williams

Actor | Guess Who

A veteran professional actor who has co-starred as a television series regular in NINE, prime time, HIT series, and has established himself solidly in both the areas of comedy and drama. Hal's latest projects include Disney Family Channel's Snow 2: Brain Freeze (2008) and Hallmark's Generation Gap ...

23. Alfre Woodard

Actress | Star Trek: First Contact

Alfre Woodard was born on November 8, 1952 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the youngest of three children of Constance, a homemaker, and Marion H. Woodard, an interior designer. She was named by her godmother, who claimed she saw a vision of Alfre's name written out in gold letters. A former high school ...

24. Bob Cooper

Producer | Maudie

Canadian born Cooper was first seen as the host of the Canadian TV's news magazine, Ombudsman. He started Robert Cooper Films in 1977. It became Citadel Entertainment in 1988. The company developed The Return of Ben Casey, The Guardian, Florida Straits and the TV series Adderly. He later surfaced ...

25. 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 ...

26. Wesley Snipes

Actor | Blade

Wesley Trent Snipes was born in Orlando, Florida, to Marian (Long), a teacher's assistant, and SMSGT Wesley Rudolph Snipes, an aircraft engineer. He grew up on the streets of the South Bronx in New York City, where he very early decided that dance and the theatre were to be his career. He attended ...

27. Lisa Blades

Actress | The Fisher King

Lisa Blades is known for The Fisher King (1991) and Heart of the Deal (1991).

28. Rae Dawn Chong

Actress | Commando

Rae Dawn Chong was born February 28, 1961 in Edmonton, Canada. After a few film and television spots, Rae Dawn earned a Genie for her performance in Jean-Jacques Annaud's prehistoric-drama Quest for Fire (1981). She played the young, Ivaka prisoner, Ika. Other notables roles include Harpo's ...

29. Norman Nixon

Bedazzled

Norman Nixon was born on October 10, 1955 in Macon, Georgia, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Bedazzled (2000), S.W.A.T. (2017) and The Magical World of Disney (1954). He has been married to Debbie Allen since April 27, 1984. They have two children.

30. Mayah McCoy

Actress | She's All That

Mayah McCoy is known for She's All That (1999), House Party 3 (1994) and Mac and Me (1988).

31. Iman

Actress | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Iman was born on July 25, 1955 in Mogadishu, Somalia. She is a producer and actress, known for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), L.A. Story (1991) and No Way Out (1987). She was previously married to David Bowie, Spencer Haywood and Hassan ?.

32. Caroline Ducrocq

Actress | Jumpin' Jack Flash

Born in Paris, Ms. Ducrocq received her Baccalaureate in Philosophy, Latin and Greek. She was awarded the Henry Rollan Prize for Acting, and chose to expand her acting knowledge in New York. Following studies at the H.B. Studios, she enrolled at the NYU School of the Arts in 1971, subsequently ...

33. Eva Marie Saint

Actress | On the Waterfront

Actress and producer Eva Marie Saint was born on July 4, 1924 on Newark, New Jersey. She is known for starring in Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959). Her film career also includes ...

34. Jeffrey Hayden

Director | Knight Rider

Jeffrey Hayden was born on October 15, 1926 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Knight Rider (1982), Mannix (1967) and Cover Up (1984). He was married to Eva Marie Saint. He died on December 24, 2016 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

35. Reginald VelJohnson

Actor | Die Hard

Reginald VelJohnson was born on August 16, 1952 in Queens, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Die Hard (1988), Ghostbusters (1984) and Die Hard 2 (1990).

36. David Bowie

Soundtrack | Labyrinth

David Bowie was one of the most influential and prolific writers and performers of popular music, but he was much more than that; he was also an accomplished actor, a mime and an intellectual, as well as an art lover whose appreciation and knowledge of it had led to him amassing one of the biggest ...

37. Kevin Bacon

Actor | Footloose

Kevin Norwood Bacon was born on July 8, 1958 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Ruth Hilda (Holmes), an elementary school teacher, and Edmund Norwood Bacon, a prominent architect who was on the cover of Time Magazine in November 1964.

Kevin's early training as an actor came from The Manning Street. ...

38. Estelle Getty

Actress | The Golden Girls

She was truly one mother of a mom...on stage, on film and on TV. A favorite firecracker on 80s and 90s television, tiny character player Estelle Getty became best known for her carping, meddlesome moms -- complete with bemused, cynical looks, irreverent digs and dead-pan Henny Youngman-like ...

39. Renée Taylor

Actress | The Nanny

Renée Taylor was born in the Bronx, New York City, New York, USA to Frieda (née Silverstein) and Charles Wexler. She worked as a comedian in the early 1960s at the New York City nightclub Bon Soir. Her opening act was a then unknown Barbra Streisand. She earned notice for her portrayal of Eva Braun...

40. Freda Payne

Actress | Nutty Professor II: The Klumps

Freda Payne was born on September 19, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She is an actress, known for Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), Now and Then (1995) and Velvet Goldmine (1998). She was previously married to Gregory Abbott.

41. Dolores Robinson

Actress | The Hunter

Dolores Robinson was born on April 13, 1936 in Penllyn, Pennsylvania, USA. She is a producer and actress, known for The Hunter (1980), Between Brothers (1997) and Matt Waters (1996). She was previously married to Matt Robinson.

42. Holly Robinson Peete

Actress | 21 Jump Street

Holly Robinson Peete was born on September 18, 1964 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for 21 Jump Street (1987), For Your Love (1998) and 21 Jump Street (2012). She has been married to Rodney Peete since June 10, 1995. They have four children.

43. Debrah Farentino

Actress | Bugsy

Debrah Farentino was born on September 30, 1959 in Lucas Valley, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Bugsy (1991), Malice (1993) and Capitol (1982). She was previously married to Gregory Hoblit, Tony Adams, James Farentino and Scott Staples.

44. Kene Holiday

Actor | The Philadelphia Experiment

Kene Holiday was born on June 25, 1949 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for The Philadelphia Experiment (1984), Bulworth (1998) and Everybody's Fine (2009). He has been married to Linda Copling since April 6, 1996. He was previously married to Janifer Baker Holloway and Dolly ...

45. Joe Lara

Actor | Doomsdayer

Joe Lara was born in San Diego, California. He was cast to play "Tarzan" in "Tarzan: The Epic Adventures" in the early 1990s. He worked in many countries, including South Africa, Bulgaria, and Russia. He co starred in many film to video projects that were filmed in Bulgaria, Russia, and Africa. He ...

46. Arnetia Walker

Actress | Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills

Arnetia began her career shortly after entering high school. Only 16 years old she landed a part on Broadway in "The Sign In Sidney Brustein's Window", starring Hal Linden. A few years after graduation she assumed her best known stage role in Michael Bennett's hit musical, "Dreamgirls". Arnetia ...

47. Kyra Sedgwick

Actress | The Closer

Kyra Minturn Sedgwick was born on August 19, 1965 in New York City to Patricia (Rosenwald), a family and speech therapist, and Henry Dwight Sedgwick V, a venture capitalist. Her mother was from an upper-class German Jewish family, and her father was from a wealthy Massachusetts clan of English ...