1961 births

Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president. Obama previously served as a U.S. senator representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004.

Diana, Princess of Wales was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her activism and glamour made her an international icon and earned her enduring popularity.

George Timothy Clooney is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award and four Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. His honors include the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2015, the Honorary César in 2017, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2018, and the Kennedy Center Honor in 2022.

Prime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013

Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin () (born 17 May 1961; anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan), known mononymously as Enya, is an Irish singer and composer. With an estimated equivalent of more than 80 million albums sold worldwide, Enya is one of the world's best-selling music artists. In addition to being the best-selling Irish solo artist, she is the second-best-selling music act from Ireland overall, after the band U2. Enya's music has been widely recognised for its use of multi-layers of her own vocals and instrumentation, lengthened reverb, and interwoven elements of Celtic music.

Edward Regan Murphy is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is widely recognized as one of the most influential Black artists in the entertainment industry, and one of the greatest comedians of all time. He had his breakthrough as a stand-up comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; He has received several accolades including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, and an Emmy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2023, and the 51st AFI Life Achievement Award in 2026.

New Zealand film director, screenwriter, producer and actor (born 1961)

Indian novelist, essayist, and activist

Sanae Takaichi is a Japanese politician who has been Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since October 2025. She is the first woman to hold either of these positions in Japanese history. A member of the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003 and since 2005, she also held ministerial posts during the premierships of Shinzo Abe and Fumio Kishida.

Romanian gymnast and five-time Olympic gold medalist (born 1961)

Michael Andrew Fox, known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian and American actor and activist. Beginning his career as a child actor in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom Family Ties (1982–1989) and Marty McFly in the Back to the Future film trilogy (1985–1990). Fox went on to star in films such as Teen Wolf (1985), The Secret of My Success (1987), Casualties of War (1989), Doc Hollywood (1991) and The Frighteners (1996). He returned to television on the ABC sitcom Spin City in the lead role of Mike Flaherty (1996–2000).

German association football player, manager, and pundit (born 1961)

Australian musician, singer and composer

Prime Minister of Norway from 2013 to 2021

Portuguese politician, President of the European Council since 2024 (1961-)

American actor

American molecular biologist

Woodrow Tracy Harrelson is an American actor. He first became known for his role as bartender Woody Boyd on the NBC sitcom Cheers (1985–1993), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series from five nominations. Harrelson has received three Academy Award nominations: Best Actor for The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), and Best Supporting Actor for The Messenger (2009) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).

American actress (born 1961)

US track & field athlete

American actor

4th President of Senegal, formerly Prime Minister

Wayne Douglas Gretzky is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One", he has been called the greatest ice hockey player ever by the NHL based on surveys of hockey writers, ex-players, general managers and coaches. Gretzky is the leading career point scorer and assist producer in NHL history and has more assists than any other player has total career points. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season, a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, Gretzky scored more than 100 points in 15 professional seasons. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 61 NHL records: 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and six All-Star records.

Mexican filmmaker (born 1961)

4th President of Republic of Kenya (2013–2022)

Prime Minister of France from 2022 to 2024

American physicist, professor (born 1961)

German actress

American musician

British comedian

German politician (FDP), Foreign Minister of Germany (1961-2016)

British actor

American academic, political activist

American basketball player

Colombian footballer

French singer and songwriter (born 1961)

American actress

Ugandan Leader of the Lord's Resistance Army

Colombian-French politician

American country singer and actor

Chinese scientist and revolutionary (born 1961)

Egyptian singer, composer and actor

Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017

American author, political commentator

American filmmaker (born 1961)

Japanese association football player

Welsh association football player and manager (born 1961)

American actress (born 1961)

Japanese association football player and manager

American actress

Georgian chess grandmaster

Russian anthropologist, economic historian, comparative political scientist, and sociologist

Japanese association football player

50th president of Panama

Uruguayan footballer

Japanese association football player

Spanish footballer

Canadian sprinter

Spanish musician

Serbian association football player