PEOPLE KNOWN FOR: television
English-born American director
Alfred Hitchcock English-born American motion-picture director whose suspenseful films and television programs won immense popularity and critical acclaim over a long and tremendously productive career....
American actor and director
Woody Allen is an American motion-picture director, screenwriter, actor, comedian, playwright, and author who is best known for his bittersweet comic films containing elements of parody, slapstick, and...
American director
Martin Scorsese is an American filmmaker known for his harsh, often violent depictions of American culture. From the 1970s Scorsese created a body of work that was ambitious, bold, and brilliant. But even...
American actor and director
Clint Eastwood is an American motion-picture actor who emerged as one of the most popular Hollywood stars in the 1960s and went on to become a prolific and respected director-producer. (Read Marin Scorsese’s...
American director
Robert Altman was an unconventional and independent American motion-picture director, whose works emphasize character and atmosphere over plot in exploring themes of innocence, corruption, and survival....
American film director
George Cukor was an American motion-picture director who produced films of high quality for 50 years, combining his skill in working with actors, especially actresses, and his careful attention to details....
American director
Sidney Lumet American film director who was noted for his psychological dramas, which typically featured characters wrestling with moral or emotional conflicts involving betrayal, corruption, or disillusionment....
American film producer
Walt Disney was an American motion-picture and television producer and showman, famous as a pioneer of animated cartoon films and as the creator of such cartoon characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck....
American director
Don Siegel was an American motion-picture director who specialized in action-packed films with tightly constructed narratives. He frequently worked with actor Clint Eastwood, and their collaborations include...
American film director, producer, and screenwriter
Blake Edwards American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was best known for the classic romantic comedy Breakfast at Tiffiany’s (1961) as well as the comedy The Pink Panther (1963) and its...
American director, producer, and actor
Sydney Pollack American director, producer, and actor who helmed a number of popular films, including The Way We Were (1973), Tootsie (1982), Out of Africa (1985), and The Firm (1993). Although lacking...
American director
John Frankenheimer American television and film director who was considered one of the most important and creatively gifted directors of the 1950s and ’60. He was especially noted for such classic movies...
American director
Sam Peckinpah American motion-picture director and screenwriter who was known for ultraviolent but often lyrical films that explored issues of morality and identity. During World War II, Peckinpah enlisted...
British musician
Paul McCartney British vocalist, songwriter, composer, bass player, poet, and painter whose work with the Beatles in the 1960s helped lift popular music from its origins in the entertainment business and...
American film director
Peter Bogdanovich American director, critic, and actor noted for his attempts to revitalize film genres of the 1930s and ’40s. (Read Martin Scorsese’s Britannica essay on film preservation.) As a teenager,...
American singer and actress
Judy Garland was an American singer and actress whose exceptional talents and vulnerabilities combined to make her one of the most enduringly popular Hollywood icons of the 20th century. Frances Gumm was...
British musician
John Lennon leader or coleader of the British rock group the Beatles, author and graphic artist, solo recording artist, and collaborator with Yoko Ono on recordings and other art projects. Lennon’s fun-loving...
American author and illustrator
Dr. Seuss was an American writer and illustrator of immensely popular children’s books noted for their nonsense words, playful rhymes, and unusual creatures. After graduating from Dartmouth College (B.A.,...
American actor and entertainer
Bob Hope British-born American entertainer and comic actor known for his rapid-fire delivery of jokes and one-liners and for his success in virtually all entertainment media. He was also known for his...
Australian actress
Cate Blanchett Australian actress known for her multidimensional characters and wide range of roles. Blanchett grew up in suburban Melbourne with an Australian mother and an American father, who died when...
Australian-born American publisher
Rupert Murdoch Australian-born American newspaper publisher and media entrepreneur who founded (1979) the global media holding company the News Corporation Ltd.—often called News Corp. It focused on publishing...
American actor and filmmaker
Carl Reiner American actor, writer, and director who found success in both television and film. After creating the landmark TV series The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–66), he directed such popular comedies...
American director
Delbert Mann American film and television director who applied the low-budget intimacy of television to the big screen, notably in the film adaptations of such teleplays as Marty (1955) and The Bachelor...
American actor and director
Robert Redford American motion-picture actor and director known for his boyish good looks, diversity of screen characterizations, commitment to environmental and political causes, and founding the Sundance...
American actress
Meryl Streep American film actress known for her masterly technique, expertise with dialects, and subtly expressive face. Streep started voice training at age 12 and took up acting in high school. In 1971...
American actor
Johnny Depp American actor and musician who was known for his eclectic and unconventional film choices. He achieved perhaps his greatest success as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series....
American director
Robert Mulligan American director who was best known for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Although his films do not bear a personal stamp, he was noted for his craftsmanship and ability to elicit strong performances...
American actor
Al Pacino American actor best known for his intense, explosive acting style. After growing up in East Harlem and the Bronx, Pacino moved at age 19 to Greenwich Village, where he studied acting at the Herbert...
British actress
Vanessa Redgrave British actress of stage and screen who received numerous accolades—including an Oscar, two Emmys, a Tony, and a Laurence Olivier Award—for her performances. She was also a longtime political...
American actress, director, and screenwriter
Ida Lupino English-born American film and television actress, director, and screenwriter who first gained fame through her portrayals of strong, worldly-wise characters and went on to become one of the...
American singer-songwriter and actress
Lady Gaga American singer-songwriter and performance artist, known for her flamboyant costumes, provocative lyrics, and strong vocal talents, who achieved enormous popular success with songs such as “Just...
American actor
James Franco American actor, director, and writer whose rakish charm and chiseled good looks augmented an ability to bring sincerity and gravitas to characters ranging from addled drug dealers to comic...
American director, producer, and screenwriter
Oliver Stone American film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his ambitious and often controversial movies. Stone, the son of a wealthy stockbroker, was raised in New York City. He briefly...
president of El Salvador
Mauricio Funes Salvadoran television journalist who served as president of El Salvador (2009–14). Funes was educated in Roman Catholic elementary and secondary schools before majoring in communications...
British actor, writer, and director
Stephen Fry British actor, comedian, author, screenwriter, and director, known especially for his virtuosic command and comical manipulation of the English language—in both speech and writing. He is especially...
American actress
Joanne Woodward American actress best known for her role in The Three Faces of Eve (1957) and for her 50-year marriage to actor Paul Newman. Woodward, who was naturally beautiful and poised, was highly...
American director
George Roy Hill American director of stage and screen who was perhaps best known for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and The Sting (1973). Hill studied music at Yale University, earning a degree...
American comedian
Stephen Colbert American actor and comedian who was best known as the host of The Colbert Report (2005–14), an ironic send-up of television news programs, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015–...
American actress and diplomat
Shirley Temple American actress and public official who was an internationally popular child star of the 1930s, best known for sentimental musicals. For much of the decade, she was one of Hollywood’s greatest...
Welsh actor
Anthony Hopkins Welsh stage and film actor of burning intensity, often seen at his best when playing pathetic misfits or characters on the fringes of insanity. Hopkins had early ambitions to be a concert...
English actress
Kate Winslet English actress known for her sharply drawn portrayals of spirited and unusual women. Winslet was raised in a family of actors. She began performing at an early age, taking small parts in...
American actor and writer
Steve Martin American comedian, writer, and producer who began his career as a stand-up comic and eventually achieved success in motion pictures, on television, on Broadway, and in literature. Martin attended...
American actor and producer
Michael Douglas American film actor and producer who is best known for his intense portrayals of flawed heroes. Douglas, the son of film legend Kirk Douglas and British actress Diana Dill, received much...
British actress
Helen Mirren British actress especially known for her role as Detective Jane Tennison on the television series Prime Suspect (1991–96, 2003, and 2006) and for her subtle and sympathetic portrayal of Elizabeth...
American actress
Julianne Moore American actress known for her exacting and sympathetic portrayals of women at odds with their surroundings, often in films that examined social issues. Smith was the eldest of three children;...
Australian actor
Russell Crowe New Zealand-born Australian actor known for his commitment, intensity, and ruggedly handsome good looks. He won an Academy Award for Gladiator (2000). At age four Crowe moved with his family...
American actress
Anjelica Huston American actress noted for her coolly elegant portrayals of tough-minded self-sufficient women. Huston was the second child born to film director John Huston (himself the son of actor Walter...
American journalist
Walter Cronkite American journalist and pioneer of television news programming who became known as “the most trusted man in America.” He was the longtime anchor of the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite...
American actor and director
George Clooney American actor and filmmaker who emerged in the 1990s as a popular leading man, known for his good looks and versatility, and who later became a respected director and screenwriter. Although...
American actor
John Lithgow American stage and screen character actor known for his extreme versatility, earning acclaim in roles ranging from mild-mannered everymen to cold-blooded killers. Lithgow was born into a theatrical...