Celebrity Birthdays

Apr. 2: Christopher Meloni, 62

Known for his tough-guy persona and ability to bring charisma to even the darkest characters, actor Christopher Meloni, 62, was born in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 1961. Though he’d later appear in dramas, he started his career on a slew of forgettable sitcoms, including 1st & Ten and The Fanelli Boys, even voicing a teen prehistoric creature on Dinosaurs. By the end of the 1990s, Meloni had caught a few big breaks that catapulted his career. The first was appearing on a four-episode arc in NYPD Blue, which led to his casting on HBO’s OZ as the serial killer Chris Keller. Then he was cast as popular NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. His turn as Stabler earned him a 2006 Emmy nomination, and he left the franchise behind (temporarily) after more than 270 episodes and 12 seasons over contract disputes. In the years that followed, he showed off his range with a series of surprising TV roles, playing a hit man who befriends his daughter’s imaginary friend, a blue flying unicorn, on Happy!, a powerful commander on The Handmaid’s Tale and the slave catcher August Pullman on Underground. In 2021, Law & Order fans were thrilled to have Meloni back where he belongs, when he appeared in the appropriately titled SVU episode “Return of the Prodigal Son,” which launched his spin-off, Law & Order: Organized Crime. And, yes, the will-they, won’t-they energy between Stabler and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) is still going strong. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Apr. 1: Susan Boyle, 62

A truly remarkable find of the reality-TV era, singer Susan Boyle, 62, was born in Scotland on April 1, 1961, and as a child, she faced learning disabilities and frequent bullying. She turned to singing and began appearing in school musical productions before studying at the Edinburgh Acting School. And while she toiled away toward stardom for decades, she never quite hit it big, getting the occasional song on a local charity CD or releasing demos that went nowhere. All that changed in 2009, when she auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent, wowing the judges with her powerful and unexpected rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables. She received a standing ovation; judge Piers Morgan called her performance “the biggest surprise I’ve had in three years on this show,” and Simon Cowell called her “a little tiger.” The YouTube video of her audition has been viewed 261 million times, and she went on to place second on her BGT season. Despite not winning, she certainly had the last laugh: Boyle has released eight studio albums, two of which went multi-platinum in the United States, and she earned two Grammy nominations and inspired a stage musical about her life. Boyle last released an album in 2019, Ten, which celebrated her first decade in the music industry, but fans got a special treat in December, when she appeared on the 20th-anniversary special of the Scottish soap opera River City — one of her favorite shows — to perform a cover of ABBA’s “Thank You for the Music.” —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 31: Christopher Walken, 80

Born in Queens on March 31, 1943, Christopher Walken, 80, was a performer from the start, taking dance lessons from the age of 3 and later working as an extra. Always up for a challenge, he made his Broadway debut at age 15, costarring opposite a live lion in the Elia Kazan–directed J.B., followed by roles in productions like The Lion in Winter and The Rose Tattoo. Wider audiences first began to take notice with his supporting role as Annie’s neurotic brother in Annie Hall, but it was a much darker turn as a tormented Vietnam War veteran in The Deer Hunter that earned him an Academy Award for best supporting actor. While he’s perhaps best known for playing offbeat oddballs, Walken has shown off an impressive range, tap-dancing in Pennies From Heaven, threatening James Bond in A View to a Kill, delivering a memorable monologue about a watch in Pulp Fiction and channeling his paternal side for his Oscar-nominated turn as Frank Abagnale Sr. in Catch Me If You Can. He also became a regular on Saturday Night Live, hosting seven times, and his “More Cowbell” sketch has gone down as one of the most quotable in the show’s long history. A few blocks away, on Broadway, he earned Tony nominations for James Joyce’s The Dead and A Behanding in Spokane, though one of his most theatrical — and beloved — performances was in the Grammy-winning music video for Fatboy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice.” Most recently, Walken has earned raves (and an Emmy nod) for his gently sweet turn as Burt in Apple TV’s dark workplace dramedy Severance. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 30: M.C. Hammer, 61

Perhaps no artist had a greater hand in bringing rap to the mainstream than M.C. Hammer, 61, who was born on March 30, 1962, in Oakland, California. As a kid, Stanley Kirk Burrell would make money dancing outside the Oakland Coliseum during A’s games, and he became so popular that the team owner hired him as a batboy. But music was always his passion, and he soon adopted the stage name M.C. Hammer, because of a resemblance to Hank “The Hammer” Aaron. Following two album releases, he was signed by Capitol Records, and his third recording, Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ’Em, propelled him into the stratosphere. Anchored by the single “U Can’t Touch This,” it became the first rap album certified diamond, and Hammer emerged as a bona fide pop culture sensation, complete with trademark Hammer pants, catchphrases, a Saturday morning cartoon and even a doll from Mattel. His follow-up album, Too Legit to Quit, went triple platinum, but it was a much more subdued success. He later famously filed for bankruptcy, before becoming an ordained minister. Hammer would continue releasing music before riding the wave of ’90s nostalgia on shows like VH1’s The Surreal Life. In recent years, he’s repositioned himself as a tech innovator, investing in companies like Square and Flipboard. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 29: Amy Sedaris, 62

Known for her offbeat comic timing and rubber-faced characters, Amy Sedaris, 62, was born in Endicott, New York, on March 29, 1961, and grew up in North Carolina alongside her five siblings, including her writer brother David. After moving to Chicago to live closer to her brother, Sedaris became a breakout star at The Second City, and she and David wrote a number of plays under the collective pen name “The Talent Family.” Her talents would reach a national audience in 1999 with her Comedy Central sitcom Strangers With Candy, in which she played a 46-year-old “boozer, user and loser” who tries to straighten herself out by enrolling in high school again. The success of her cult comedy landed her roles on shows like BoJack Horseman, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and No Activity, but over the years Sedaris has also enjoyed a second life as a crafts and entertaining aficionado. In fact, she used to run a cheese ball and cupcake business out of her New York apartment, and in 2006 she released the book I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, in which she offers tips on how to curl your eyelashes with an espresso spoon and how to repurpose pantyhose. She later turned that advice into a series called At Home With Amy Sedaris, a loving send-up of Martha Stewart that was half comedy and half how-to. These days, she’s moving on to more unexpected territory — a galaxy far, far away — to play the hangar owner and spaceship mechanic Peli Motto in the Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 28: Dianne Wiest, 75

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 28, 1946, Dianne Wiest, 75, has always been something of an actor’s actor — the kind whose subtle craft wows those in the know. She made her Broadway debut in 1970, first as an understudy in Happy Birthday, Wanda June, and then with increasingly bigger roles, including starring as Desdemona in Othello opposite Christopher Plummer’s Iago and James Earl Jones’ Othello. Wiest made the leap to the big screen in 1980, but audiences really began to take notice when she began collaborating with Woody Allen. Following her turn as a Depression-era prostitute in his The Purple Rose of Cairo, she won her first Oscar for 1986’s Hannah and Her Sisters, in which she played the struggling, neurotic actress Holly. She’d pick up another nomination for Parenthood and then a best supporting actress trophy for Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway, in which she stole scenes as the fading theater diva Helen Sinclair — something of a Holly in reverse. Wiest continued to bring her warmth and humor to films like Edward Scissorhands and The Birdcage, but she also became an increasingly visible presence on TV screens: She played Interim D.A. Nora Lewin on Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and later won a best supporting actress Emmy for her role as psychotherapist Dr. Gina Toll in HBO’s In Treatment. Following a four-season run as the matriarch of a sprawling family in the CBS sitcom Life in Pieces, she plumbs darker depths in the Paramount+ crime thriller Mayor of Kingstown, which recently streamed its second season. She plays a matriarch of a different sort, a college professor who teaches inmates in a women’s prison and watches as her power-broker sons benefit from the corruption of the prison system that keeps their dying Rust Belt town alive. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 27: Mariah Carey, 53

The daughter of a voice coach/opera singer mother, Mariah Carey, 53, was born in Huntington, Long Island, New York on March 27, 1970, and she showed off her musical promise while she was still a baby: At 2, she started imitating her mom’s singing, and she was taking vocal lessons by the age of 4. Fast-forward 14 short years and Carey signed with Columbia Records while still a teenager before releasing her self-titled debut in 1990. From the start, critics marveled at her five-octave range, her glass-shattering “whistle register” and her expressive blend of genres, and in 1992 the Grammys rewarded her with their best new artist honor. When she released her sophomore follow-up, Emotions, the title track shot to number 1, making her the first artist to have her first five singles top the charts. The hits kept coming, including her 1994 insta-classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which has remained a juggernaut for decades; it later became the first holiday single to reach diamond status and in 2019 peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, a record-breaking 25 years after its release. The song was also her 19th chart-topper, placing her second only to the Beatles on the list of artists with the most number 1 singles. Over the years, she’s picked up five Grammys (out of 34 nominations), and she later dipped her toe into the acting waters. While her 2001 musical Glitter bombed, Carey had much more success with smaller roles in films like The Butler and especially Precious, for which she received a number of award nominations. In 2013, she joined the judging panel on American Idol, which she later called “the worst experience of my life.” More recently, she has been in the business of securing her legacy as a pop legend with a series of Las Vegas residencies, a 2020 memoir, and an Apple TV holiday special with special guests like Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson. This year, the Marilyn Monroe superfan is branching out into new territory as a coproducer of the Some Like It Hot Broadway musical, and her voice can be heard at every performance — though not in the way you might expect: She announces, via a recording, that audience members need to turn off their cellphones! —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 26: Martin Short, 73

You might thank divine intervention for Martin Short’s showbiz career. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, on March 26, 1950, Short, 73, had studied social work at university, but the acting bug bit him when he was cast in a now-legendary 1972 Toronto production of Godspell, which costarred the likes of Gilda Radner and Eugene Levy. Following the acclaimed run, he brought his rubbery faced characters and unhinged zaniness to the world of sketch comedy, appearing live on stage with Second City before winning an Emmy for their television series, SCTV. Short would next cross the comedy border to appear on Saturday Night Live, with beloved original creations from his SCTV days (like the nerdy Ed Grimley) and unexpected impressions (like Katharine Hepburn). Roles in films like Three Amigos!, Innerspace and Father of the Bride followed, after which Short returned to the stage with his Tony-nominated Broadway debut in 1993’s musical version of The Goodbye Girl; in 1999, he’d finally pick up a trophy for Little Me, in which he played eight different characters. Short showed off a similarly impressive range back on the small screen: In addition to starring as the clueless host Jiminy Glick on the fictional talk show Primetime Glick, he earned Emmy nominations for decidedly darker fare, as the unscrupulous lawyer of a Ponzi schemer on the legal drama Damages and as a #MeToo-era sexual predator on The Morning Show. Most recently, he’s continued his winning streak with the hilarious whodunit Only Murders in the Building, which has seen him teaming up with his frequent collaborator Steve Martin. And the duo doesn’t seem to be getting sick of each other: In fact, you can catch Martin and Short on their ongoing live comedy tour, which continues at least through the fall. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 25: Sarah Jessica Parker, 58

Though she was born in Nelsonville, Ohio, on March 25, 1965, Sarah Jessica Parker, 58, will always be thought of as the quintessential New York City It girl — and it’s a role she enjoyed for decades before she became Carrie Bradshaw. Parker made her Broadway debut in 1976 in The Innocents, and soon got an even bigger break as everyone’s favorite orphan in Annie. She found an even wider audience as a nerdy high schooler on the short-lived but well-liked sitcom Square Pegs, and then she began appearing in movies like Footloose and Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Back on Broadway, she starred opposite her future husband, Matthew Broderick, in the 1996 revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. And while her film career included such popular hits as Hocus Pocus and The First Wives Club, she never quite hit A-lister status. Her fortunes changed dramatically in 1998 when she landed the role of the Manhattan sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw in HBO’s groundbreaking ensemble comedy Sex and the City, a role that would earn her two Emmys and four Golden Globes. The show went off the air in 2004, but it was more of a see-you-later than a full goodbye: She has reprised the role for a 2008 film adaptation and a 2010 sequel with more to follow. In 2016, Parker returned to HBO for the dramedy Divorce, before playing Carrie once again in the SATC reboot And Just Like That... But those weren’t the only reunions in the works: Last year, she teamed up with Broderick for Broadway’s Plaza Suite, the first time they appeared onstage together since 1996, and then she got the coven back together with Hocus Pocus 2. She’s currently filming season two of And Just Like That…, and if photos from the set are any early indication, she might be having yet another reunion, this time with a popular ex-boyfriend from the original show. We won’t spoil it for you … —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 24: Bob Mackie, 84

Earning nicknames like “Sultan of Sequins” and “Rajah of Rhinestones,” prolific fashion designer Bob Mackie, 84, was responsible for some of the most glamorous looks of the late 20th century. Born on March 24, 1939, in Monterey Park, California, Mackie got his start in Hollywood in the 1960s, when he began as a sketch artist for costume designers like Edith Head. Before the end of the decade, he teamed up with Carol Burnett on her groundbreaking comedy show, creating such iconic looks as the Went with the Wind curtain-rod dress; he pushed into even glitzier territory with his collaborations with Cher, including her memorable 1986 Academy Awards look. Over the decades, he dressed everyone from Judy Garland and Marlene Dietrich to Tina Turner and Bette Midler, and his creations earned him nine Emmys and three Oscar nominations, for his work on Lady Sings the Blues, Funny Lady and Pennies from Heaven. Mackie was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2002, but he’s kept busy in the years since, and, in 2019, he even won his first Tony Award for his work on The Cher Show. His designs were immortalized in a 2021 coffee table book, The Art of Bob Mackie; and on the other end of the spectrum, he’s sold ready-to-wear looks on QVC for nearly 30 years. In the fall, when Elton John played his final U.S. concert at L.A.’s Dodger Stadium — a show that streamed on Disney+ — the Rocketman tapped Mackie to recreate his famous rhinestone-and-sequin Dodgers cap. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 23: Kenneth Cole, 69

Fashion is in Kenneth Cole’s blood. Born in Brooklyn on March 23, 1954, the 69-year-old designer is the son of Charlie Cole, the founder of the shoe company El Greco, which became beloved during the disco era for its Candie’s heels. After graduating from Emory University, the younger Cole launched his own shoe brand in 1982, called Kenneth Cole Productions, which traces its funny name to a unique origin story: When he couldn’t afford his own storefront, he got permits to park a film production van in Midtown, as he pretended to work on a fake film called The Birth of a Shoe Company. From that humble mobile boutique, he sold 40,000 shoes in two days! Later that decade, as his fame grew, Cole took a big risk as one of the first designers to speak out against the burgeoning AIDS crisis, and he built social consciousness into the brand’s DNA. Cole expanded beyond shoes with a collection that included everything from jeans and sweaters to jewelry, bags and watches, and he took the brand public in 1994. On the stock market, the company ballooned to a market cap of about $850 million at its height, but Cole shocked the fashion world when he bought it back for $280 million in 2012. These days, he’s keeping his philanthropic efforts at the forefront, and in 2020 he launched the Mental Health Coalition, which brings together advocacy groups, businesses and celebrities (like Kendall Jenner) in an effort to reduce stigma around the topic and help people find much-needed help. The company continues to innovate in the wellness space, and as part of its 40th anniversary, Kenneth Cole is releasing a range of CBD-based skin and body care products — best of all, they come in sleek black bottles that look almost as chic as the brand’s ready-to-wear looks. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 22: William Shatner, 92

Born in Montreal on March 22, 1931, William Shatner, 92, emerged in the 1960s as one of the most iconic sci-fi stars of the century. But before his fateful casting by Gene Roddenberry, his career looked quite different: He made a name for himself in deadly serious roles like Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great on Broadway and opposite Yul Brynner in The Brothers Karamazov. In 1966, he began his decades-long turn as Captain James T. Kirk, the commander of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise, on the original Star Trek series, its animated follow-up and a slew of films. As Kirk, Shatner was one half of one of the first interracial kisses on American television, when he smooched Nichelle Nichols’ Uhura in 1968. In the years that followed, he remained a near-constant presence on television, starring as a veteran police officer in T.J. Hooker, hosting Rescue 911 and later stealing scenes as the Big Giant Head, the alien ruler of the galaxy, on 3rd Rock from the Sun. But it was his performance as lawyer Denny Crane on The Practice that earned him his first Emmy; the character was so popular, in fact, that creator David E. Kelley gave him his own spinoff, Boston Legal, for which he picked up another Emmy and a Golden Globe. Following later appearances on the travel series Better Late Than Never and the short-lived sitcom $#*! My Dad Says, Shatner blasted off on a space flight aboard a Blue Origin capsule in 2021, becoming the oldest person to ever make such a journey. He recently released a book about the experience, Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder, which he promoted with a live tour that finished up earlier this month. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Read our celebrity Q&A with William Shatner

Mar. 21: Gary Oldman, 65

Few actors can disappear into their roles as completely as the chameleonic Gary Oldman, 65, who was born into a working-class London family on March 21, 1958. After his breakout turn as punk rocker Sid Vicious in 1986’s Sid and Nancy, Oldman spent the next decade ping-ponging between real-life figures and iconic literary creations, including Lee Harvey Oswald (JFK), Ludwig van Beethoven (Immortal Beloved), Rosencrantz (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead) and even the world’s most famous vampire (Bram Stoker’s Dracula). Though Oldman was always a critical success — and a bit of an actor’s actor — his talents opened up to a whole new generation of fans when he was cast as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter franchise and Detective James Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed Batman trilogy. He finally scored his first Oscar nomination in 2012 for his portrayal of the master spy George Smiley in the film adaptation of John le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and he took home his first trophy in 2018 for playing Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. He picked up a third nomination channeling the legendary Hollywood screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz in Mank before making the leap to the small screen in Apple TV+’s witty MI5 thriller series Slow Horses. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 20: Holly Hunter, 65

After making her stage debut in fifth grade playing Helen Keller in a school play, Holly Hunter, 65, got into professional acting after a chance encounter in a stalled elevator in New York City: It was there that she met playwright Beth Henley, who quickly began casting Hunter in her Southern gothic plays. Born in Conyers, Georgia, on March 20, 1958, Hunter had her first taste at big-screen success in 1987, when she starred in both Raising Arizona and Broadcast News, the latter of which earned her a slew of critics awards and an Academy Award nomination. In 1994, Hunter was nominated for two Oscars in the same year: best supporting actress for The Firm and best actress for The Piano. It was her turn in the latter as a mute Scottish pianist who moves to New Zealand for an arranged marriage that won her the trophy. In the years that followed, she appeared in the films Thirteen and Pixar’s The Incredibles, in which she voiced the superheroine Elastigirl. She also found success on television, playing an Oklahoma City police detective whose life is turned around by an angel in Saving Grace, and she starred opposite Tim Robbins in the HBO family dramedy Here and Now, from Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball. Though she’s always been able to shine in films such as O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Big Sick, Hunter most recently took the plunge into pure sitcom territory in her role as the take-no-prisoners deputy mayor of Los Angeles in the Tina Fey–produced Mr. Mayor. Next up, she’s set to appear in the Anna Nicole Smith biopic Hurricanna as the doomed model’s psychiatrist Dr. Khristine Eroshevich. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 19: Bruce Willis, 68

Nobody straddled the line between action hero and comic actor quite like Bruce Willis, 68, who was born on March 19, 1955, on a military base in Germany. After waiting tables in New York and acting in small off-Broadway plays, Willis beat out about 3,000 other actors for the role of the wisecracking detective David Addison in Moonlighting. He won an Emmy for the role in 1987, and the following year, he did a complete 180 and emerged as one of the greatest action stars of all time in his role as John McClane in the Die Hard franchise. Willis returned to his comedy roots by voicing a newborn in the Look Who’s Talking films, and after a string of box-office duds (such as Bonfire of the Vanities and especially Hudson Hawk), he came back with a vengeance in 1994’s Pulp Fiction. Director Quentin Tarantino’s smash hit, in which Willis played a past-his-prime boxer on the run, kicked off a string of successes for the actor in the late 1990s, both commercial (Armageddon) and critical (The Sixth Sense). He continued to impress critics with performances in Moonrise Kingdom and Sin City before making his Broadway debut in a stage adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery in 2015. In recent years, Willis starred in a string of low-budget indie thrillers and sci-fi flicks before abruptly retiring from acting last year due to aphasia. In February, his family announced that Willis had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, a degenerative disease. This month, his final film, Assassin, will premiere on demand and in select theaters. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 18: Queen Latifah, 53

One of the most groundbreaking female hip-hop artists the genre has ever produced, Queen Latifah, 53, came out of the gate running: Born in Newark, New Jersey, on March 18, 1970, she released her debut album, All Hail the Queen, at the age of 19. She later won a Grammy for best rap solo performance for the single “U.N.I.T.Y.,” an anthem about the disrespect and violence women face in society, but her music was only part of her appeal as a pop culture figure. After making her big screen debut in Jungle Fever, she anchored the sitcom Living Single, and she hosted her own eponymous talk show for three seasons. Her film career reached new heights in 2003 when she earned an Oscar nomination for her role as Matron Mama Morton in Chicago, kicking off a run of movies that included Beauty Shop, Last Holiday and Hairspray. As Hip-Hop’s First Lady, Latifah has always paid homage to the Black icons who came before her: She starred in and produced the HBO biopic Bessie, about the life of the legendary blues singer Bessie Smith, winning the Emmy for outstanding TV movie, and she played Hattie McDaniel in the Ryan Murphy limited series Hollywood. Since 2021, Latifah has flexed her action muscles in the CBS crime drama The Equalizer, in which she plays a single mother and former CIA operative who uses her extensive training to fight for justice as a vigilante. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 17: Gary Sinise, 68

Born in Illinois on March 17, 1955, Gary Sinise, 68, is part of a small cohort of actors responsible for totally reshaping the modern American stage, when he cofounded Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company in the 1970s. At the 1985 Tonys, Steppenwolf took home the Regional Theatre Award, and as the company’s productions made their way to Broadway, Sinise earned three nods for acting and directing. In 1992, Sinise directed and starred in a well-reviewed film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, opposite fellow Steppenwolfer John Malkovich. His life forever changed when he appeared in the blockbuster Forrest Gump, earning an Oscar nomination for playing Lt. Dan Taylor, who loses his legs in Vietnam. In the years that followed, Sinise established his own foundation dedicated to veterans and first responders, and he plays with the Lt. Dan Band at benefit concerts and military bases around the globe. In addition to appearing in big films such as Apollo 13 and The Green Mile, Sinise found major success on TV, earning a Golden Globe for playing President Harry S. Truman and an Emmy for channeling Alabama Gov. George Wallace. He followed many acclaimed actors of his generation to the lucrative world of network TV procedurals, starring in nearly 200 episodes of CSI: NY, then two seasons of Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. Though Sinise has continued to act in projects including 13 Reasons Why and Joe Bell, he’s equally content dedicating his efforts to veterans, and he’s a repeat host of the National Memorial Day Concert, which is held on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol each May. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 16: Victor Garber, 74

Born in Ontario on March 16, 1949, stage great Victor Garber, 74, got his start with a role of biblical proportions: He played Jesus in the legendary 1972 Toronto production of Godspell, which also starred Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Andrea Martin and Paul Shaffer. It was such a smash that Garber reprised the role for the film adaptation the next year, but he remained a stage fixture over the decades, finding particular success on Broadway. He has four Tony nominations for his performances in both musicals (Little Me, Damn Yankees) and plays (Deathtrap, Lend Me a Tenor). On the big screen, he was a welcome presence in the comedies Sleepless in Seattle and The First Wives Club, though many film lovers will remember him best for his turn as the shipbuilder Thomas Andrews in the blockbuster Titanic. Garber returned to his singing and dancing ways with TV versions of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, as King Maximilian, and Annie, as Daddy Warbucks, but he found his biggest success in years in a different paternal role: He earned three Emmy nominations playing Jack Bristow, the mysterious secret agent father of Jennifer Garner’s Sydney on the spy thriller Alias. (He and his screen daughter have such a strong bond that Garber even officiated her wedding to Ben Affleck in 2005.) Most recently, he starred in the Canadian legal drama Family Law, which was picked up by the CW and started re-airing in the United States in the fall. In December, he and his former Godspell costar Levy were included on the new year honors list for the Order of Canada, with Garber earning the rank of officer. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 15: Eva Longoria, 48

Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 15, 1975, Eva Longoria, 48, followed up a beauty pageant win in her early 20s with a breakout role on The Young and the Restless. Her character, Isabella, was a bit of a terror: She tried to kill her lover’s ex-wife, before being committed to a psychiatric hospital. After leaving the series, Longoria took that over-the-top campiness to prime time with her next role on ABC’s soapy Desperate Housewives. Over the course of eight seasons, she picked up two SAG Awards and a Golden Globe nomination, and in 2011, she tied with Tina Fey as the highest-paid actress on television. Part of her success came from her work as a spokeswoman for companies LG and L’Oreal — you can’t hear “hyaluronic acid” without thinking of Longoria sounding it out for us on that ubiquitous commercial. Back on the small screen, she executive-produced Lifetime’s Devious Maids, which was based on a Mexican telenovela, before stepping in front of the camera for the short-lived Telenovela, a behind-the-scenes look at a Latin soap opera. A 2015 winner of the James Beard Foundation Award for best documentary for Food Chains, she is set to host the CNN docuseries Searching for Mexico, which premieres this month and will see Longoria exploring the culinary heritage of places such as Mexico City, Oaxaca and Jalisco. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 14: Quincy Jones, 90

There are few artists in modern music history who are even close to as prolific as legendary producer and composer Quincy Jones, 90, who was born in Chicago on March 14, 1933. After getting his start as a trumpeter in Lionel Hampton’s band, Jones became one of the most dominant behind-the-scenes forces in popular music, arranging and producing for artists like Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee. But his talents quickly outgrew pop radio, and Jones began composing for film and TV, including In the Heat of the Night, Roots and The Wiz. By the 1980s, he was reaching the height of his pop culture powers: Over the span of the decade, he produced Michael Jackson’s Thriller, which won Jones album of the year at the Grammys; raised millions for Ethiopian famine relief with his “We Are the World” recording; produced The Color Purple; and got the ball rolling on the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, which premiered in 1990. Along the way, he’s earned a slew of accolades, including an honorary Oscar, an Emmy, the Kennedy Center Honor, the National Medal of Arts and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But where he’s shined especially brightly is at the Grammys: He’s won 28 trophies out of 80 nominations, making him the most-winning producer in the history of the awards. Next up, he’s returning to the third incarnation of a project that’s near and dear to his heart, as he produces the movie adaptation of the musical adaptation of the movie adaptation of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. Got that? —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 13: Common, 51

Despite his name, there’s always been something rather uncommon about Common, 51, who was born in Chicago on March 13, 1972: Although he came up in the early ’90s heyday of gangster rap, he became known for his socially conscious and positive spin on the genre. Over the years, he would see three of his albums reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200, including the chart-topping Finding Forever in 2007, and he’d earn 20 Grammy nominations, including three wins. But Common quickly became known almost as much for his activism and acting as he did for his music. After making his TV debut with a guest role on Girlfriends, he appeared in films like American Gangster, Terminator Salvation and Date Night, before taking on a starring role in the AMC Western Hell on Wheels, as a formerly enslaved man who works on the construction of the transcontinental railroad. In 2014, he played Civil Rights leader James Bevel in Ava DuVernay’s MLK biopic Selma, and he and John Legend took home the Oscar for best original song for “Glory.” When he later reteamed with the director to write the song “Letter to the Free” for her documentary 13th, Common won the Emmy, becoming the first rapper to ever win an Emmy, an Oscar and a Grammy. This year, he has a real shot at earning a coveted EGOT, thanks to his well-reviewed Broadway debut in the play Between Riverside and Crazy. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 12: James Taylor, 75

One of America’s most beloved singer-songwriters, James Taylor, 75, was born in Boston on March 12, 1948, and he cut his teeth as a musician in London and Greenwich Village, where he emerged as a confessional, emotional troubadour. He broke out with his 1970 album Sweet Baby James, bolstered by the single “Fire and Rain,” which later appeared on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time; his next album included a cover of Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend,” which topped the charts and earned him a Grammy for best male pop vocal performance. By 1976, Taylor had amassed such a robust collection of fan favorites that he released a greatest hits album, which has since been certified diamond. Over the years, he’s picked up every honor available for a musician, including being inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and being named a Kennedy Center honoree in 2016. But Taylor has never been one to rest on his laurels: He’s still releasing critically and commercially successful albums, and in fact, he didn’t achieve his first number one album until 2015’s Before This World. When his 2020 album American Standard hit number four, Taylor became the first artist with top 10 albums in each of the last six decades. This year, you can catch him on tour with his All-Star Band, including a five-night mini-residency at The Chelsea, inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas this June. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 11: Sam Donaldson, 89

Known for his impressively arched eyebrows and resonant speaking voice, newsman Sam Donaldson, 89, was born in El Paso, Texas, and raised on his family’s farm in New Mexico. After a stint in the military and a job at NBC’s D.C. affiliate, Donaldson joined his long-time network home, ABC, in 1967. He became a familiar face for American audiences, as he covered the Watergate trial and the impeachment investigation of President Nixon, and he later became chief White House Correspondent for ABC News from 1977 to 1989 and then again from 1998 to 1999. In the interim, he became one of the network’s most trusted hosts, sharing the Primetime Live and 20/20 Wednesday desks with Diane Sawyer; in that role, he interviewed the likes of Bill Clinton, Colin Powell and George W. Bush. Over the decades, his reporting has earned him four Emmys and three Peabody Awards, before he retired from ABC News in 2009. In recent years, Donaldson has become a go-to talking head on channels like CNN, where he can draw on nearly a half century of news expertise to contextualize whatever crazy thing is happening in the nation’s capital at the moment. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 10: Jon Hamm, 52

Before he started playing the model of midcentury masculinity, actor Jon Hamm, 52, experienced an all-American upbringing of his own: Born in St. Louis on March 10, 1971, he would go on to become the linebacker of his high school football team and the star of its drama productions, before eventually returning as a drama teacher. Upon decamping to L.A., Hamm struggled to find work, eventually appearing in a play and its film adaptation (Kissing Jessica Stein) by Jennifer Westfeldt, who would become his long-term partner until 2015. Roles on TV shows like the police drama The Unit followed until his big break as the mysterious 1960s ad man Don Draper on the critically acclaimed AMC drama Mad Men. Despite his polished appearance, Draper was a bit of a mess, a serial cheater who struggled with alcoholism and a dark past — in other words, perfect fodder for an award-worthy performance! Over the course of seven seasons, Hamm won an Emmy, two Golden Globes and two SAG Awards. After Mad Men ended in 2015, Hamm took a 180 turn in his next role as the doomsday cult leader Richard Wayne Gary Wayne in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, opposite his former student, Ellie Kemper. Lately, Hamm has made the leap to the big screen, with prominent roles as an admiral in Top Gun: Maverick and the titular lovable rogue in Confess, Fletch. Next up, he’s set to return to prestige TV with a leading role in the new season of FX’s anthology series Fargo, which will be set in 2019 and centered around a kidnapping. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 9: Emmanuel Lewis, 52

A pint-size powerhouse of 1980 television, Emmanuel Lewis, 52, was born on March 9, 1971, in Brooklyn, and from an early age he parlayed his cute charisma into a career in commercials for products like the Burger King Whopper, Campbell’s Soup and Life cereal. After a role in a New York production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lewis was cast in the sitcom Webster, in which he starred as an orphaned boy taken in by a retired football star who used to play with his late father. Although he was 12 at the time, he played a character that was only 5, and he picked up four consecutive wins for favorite young TV performer at the People’s Choice Awards. After the show ended, Lewis continued to take on small roles here and there, before riding the nostalgia wave and appearing on VH1’s The Surreal Life, a twist on The Real World that saw him sharing a house with the likes of MC Hammer, Corey Feldman and Gabrielle Carteris. In recent years, he’s embraced his position as a fan favorite, playing music on TikTok as DJ EZY Foshezy and making custom videos (like birthday wishes and holiday greetings) for fans through Cameo. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 8: Aidan Quinn, 64

Born in Chicago on March 8, 1959, and then raised partly in Ireland, Aidan Quinn, 64, broke out with a role in 1985’s Desperately Seeking Susan. But it was his performance in the TV movie An Early Frost that really got critics talking: Quinn plays a young gay lawyer who has to tell his parents that he’s been diagnosed with AIDS, a very daring plot for the mid-1980s that landed him his first Emmy nod. In the early 1990s, he took on the title role of Benny in the quirky romance Benny & Joon, before appearing in films like Practical Magic and Songcatcher. Known for his sensitivity and intensity, Quinn later transitioned to the small screen as the titular pill-popping minister who talks to a hippie reincarnation of Jesus Christ in The Book of Daniel, but it proved too controversial for audiences and was canceled after only a few episodes. Following a second Emmy nod for Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, he finally found a TV role that stuck when he costarred as Captain Thomas Gregson on seven seasons of the modern-day Sherlock Holmes series Elementary. Last month, he starred in the rom-com Daughter of the Bride, about a daughter (Halston Sage) who must come to terms with the fact that her mother (played by Marcia Gay Harden) is getting hitched to a dashing stranger (Quinn). —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 7: Rachel Weisz, 53

The acting bug first bit Rachel Weisz, 53, while she was a student at Cambridge University; ever the overachiever, she not only began appearing in stage shows but also founded her own award-winning theater group, Cambridge Talking Tongues. Born in London on March 7, 1970, Weisz was soon storming the West End, where she was named the most promising newcomer by the London Critics’ Circle for her appearance in a 1994 Noël Coward revival, Design for Living. American audiences began to take notice with her turn as the bookish but beautiful Egyptologist Evelyn Carnahan in the blockbuster Mummy franchise, a part that put her Old Hollywood glamor and impeccable comedic timing to perfect use. Following roles in the war film Enemy at the Gates and the charming comedy About a Boy, Weisz starred as a murdered activist in The Constant Gardener, and she earned the Academy Award for best supporting actress. Weisz continued to return to the stage, winning a Laurence Olivier Award for that most American of stage roles, Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire; and she later starred opposite her husband, Daniel Craig, in a 2013 Broadway revival of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal. She’d earn some of her most rapturous reviews in years — not to mention a second Oscar nomination — for her role as Lady Sarah in the devilishly witty period comedy The Favourite. After joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Black Widow, Weisz is set to pull double duty in next month’s Amazon Prime psychological thriller series Dead Ringers: In this modern take on the 1988 David Cronenberg film, she plays identical twin OBGYNs who push the boundaries of medical ethics in their quest to revolutionize how women give birth. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 6: Shaquille O'Neal, 51

At 7-foot-1 and 325 pounds, Shaquille O’Neal, 51, was a larger-than-life presence in the NBA, and his gentle-giant persona earned him a legion of fans during his 19 seasons in the league. Born in Newark, New Jersey, on March 6, 1972, O’Neal established himself as a dominant player during his time at Louisiana State University, and he was the first overall pick in the 1992 draft. Named Rookie of the Year in 1993, Shaq bounced around to six different teams, winning four NBA championships, the 1999–2000 MVP award and three All-Star Game MVPs. But he was just as much of an icon off the court: He released four rap albums (including the platinum-selling Shaq Diesel), starred as a genie in 1996’s Kazaam, headlined his own reality shows, and even entered the world of electronic music under the stage name DJ Diesel. A 2016 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, O’Neal has been a popular commentator on TNT’s Inside the NBA since 2011, and he recently signed a contract extension with the network that will see him bringing his humorous in-studio insights to the small screen for years to come. In 2021, he launched The Big Podcast with Shaq, which sees him interviewing the likes of Adam Sandler and Charles Barkley; and last fall the roles were reversed when he was the subject of the intimate and revealing HBO docuseries Shaq. “I don’t like being vulnerable,” he told Time. “People need to understand that after this documentary, it turns off. Because I’m being soft and spilling certain secrets.” —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 5: Penn Jillette, 68

One half of magic’s most famous double act, Penn Jillette, 68, was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts, on March 5, 1955, and he met his lifelong artistic partner Teller in 1975. Proving the old maxim that opposites attract, they were an odd couple from the start: Jillette is a verbose, towering figure at nearly 6-foot-7, while Teller is decidedly more elfin and nonverbal. They first began performing together as The Asparagus Valley Cultural Society before making their TV debut on The Mike Douglas Show in 1977. As they moved into the 1980s, their reality-defying act took them to off-Broadway and Broadway stages, and they picked up an Emmy for their first TV special. But they found their perfect audience when they kicked off their debut Las Vegas residency in 1993. Over the years, the duo became beloved media personalities, and they popped up everywhere, from late-night shows to Saturday Night Live to sitcoms like Friends and The Drew Carey Show. They also created series of their own, including Showtime’s Penn & Teller: Bulls–t!, on which they debunked commonly held misconceptions over the course of eight seasons, and Penn & Teller: Fool Us, which saw aspiring magicians competing to trick the legendary magicians. Without his long-term partner, Jillette has had a robust solo career of his own, codirecting the foulmouthed comedy documentary The Aristocrats and appearing on two seasons of The Celebrity Apprentice. But, of course, Teller is never too far away: These days, you can still catch the duo performing at the Rio Las Vegas in a 1,475-seat theater that bears their name. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 4: Patricia Heaton, 65

Long before she became one of the great TV moms of the late 1990s and early 2000s, Patricia Heaton made her Broadway debut in 1987 in the chorus of a gospel musical called Don’t Get God Started. Born in Bay Village, Ohio, on March 4, 1958, she first started to gain national prominence for her recurring role as an oncologist on Thirtysomething. But Heaton really hit it big when she was cast as the long-suffering wife, mother and daughter-in-law Debra Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond, for which she won two Emmys over the course of the sitcom’s nine-year run. After a failed comeback as a local news anchor opposite Kelsey Grammer in the short-lived Back to You, Heaton struck comedy gold twice when she starred as Midwestern matriarch Frankie Heck on The Middle, which ran for 215 episodes — five more than Raymond! More recently, Heaton returned to the small screen yet again for Carol’s Second Act, about a retired school teacher who starts a new life as a doctor. Last year, she made her way to the big screen with two inspiring films that are awaiting release dates: The Unbreakable Boy, about a kid living with a rare brittle-bone disease and autism; and Mending the Line, about veterans who use fly fishing as a way to deal with trauma. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 3: Ira Glass, 64

Perhaps no artist has had a bigger impact on the medium of contemporary American radio than Ira Glass, 64, who’s beloved for his unparalleled ability as a storyteller and his instantly recognizable voice: a bit nasal, always friendly and, of course, a touch nerdy. Born in Baltimore on March 3, 1959, Glass started his love affair with radio during a college internship with NPR, and soon he was working his way up the ladder, from tape-cutter to copy writer, producer to occasional host. In 1995, while working at Chicago’s public radio station, Glass started hosting a new show called Your Radio Playhouse, which featured thematically linked stories; it became such a cult hit that it was soon being nationally syndicated as This American Life, one of the biggest success stories in NPR history. The series, which went on to win eight Peabody Awards and the 2020 Pulitzer Prize, became a bona fide cultural phenomenon, leading to an Emmy-winning TV spinoff, live shows, a mini-musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda and even feature films based on episode segments. Outside of the show, Glass has written and edited books and even co-wrote and produced the film Sleepwalk with Me, based on the one-man show of frequent This American Life contributor Mike Birbiglia. This spring, you can catch him on tour with his show An Evening with Ira Glass: Seven Things I’ve Learned. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 2: Daniel Craig, 55

Before he became one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood, Daniel Craig, 55, enjoyed a reputation as a once-in-a-generation stage talent — ever since he joined the National Youth Theatre at the age of 16. Born in Chester, England, on March 2, 1968, Craig began to move from arthouse fare to big-budget blockbusters with his turn in 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, kicking off a string of attention-grabbing supporting roles in Road to Perdition, Sylvia and Munich. His first starring role came with 2004’s Layer Cake, in which he played a disillusioned drug dealer seeking to get out of the game, but he was still a relatively unproven leading man when he was cast in one of the biggest roles any actor could ask for: Bond, James Bond. Fans thought he was too blond and too short, but he quickly proved them wrong with his critically acclaimed first installment, Casino Royale, which was applauded for its chillier and more brutal take on the historically rather kitschy franchise. He stuck with Bond for five films before hanging up the tux after 2021’s No Time to Die, and cinephiles now rank Craig’s films among the best in the series. After all that steely-eyed stoicism, Craig has spent the past few years stretching his range with performances that go big on tragedy and comedy: On the New York City stage, he tackled Shakespeare, playing both Iago and Macbeth, while his film roles have included the hilarious crime caper Logan Lucky and the zany whodunit franchise Knives Out. He returned as the Southern detective Benoit Blanc in last year’s Glass Onion, and a third collaboration with director Rian Johnson is already in the works. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Mar. 1: Javier Bardem, 54

Born in the Canary Islands on March 1, 1969, to a family of actors and filmmakers, Javier Bardem, 54, first came to prominence playing an underwear model in the Spanish film Jamón, Jamón. He’d go on to become a bona fide superstar in his home country, racking up a slew of nominations and wins at the Goya Awards (the Academy Awards of Spain) before making his English-language debut as the Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas in the biopic Before Night Falls, for which he earned his first Oscar nod. Bardem won critical acclaim for his portrayal of another real-life figure, the quadriplegic Spanish seaman and writer Ramón Sampedro, in Mar Adentro (The Sea Inside), but it was his turn as the (thankfully fictional) psychopathic killer Anton Chigurh in the Coen brothers’ No Country for Old Men that finally won him his first Academy Award. In the years that followed, he showed off his impressive range, playing everything from sexy and funny in Vicky Cristina Barcelona to dark and menacing in Skyfall, in which he chewed the scenery as a platinum-blond Bond villain. Following his back-to-back roles as Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos and the tribal leader Stilgar in Dune, the father of two — with wife Penélope Cruz — has taken on some unexpectedly lighter family fare: He played a magician named Hector P. Valenti in the musical comedy Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, and this year he’s set to step into the crown and fins of King Triton in Disney’s reimagined live-action The Little Mermaid. —Nicholas DeRenzo