1978 births

Kobe Bean Bryant was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential players in the sport's history, Bryant won five NBA championships and was an 18-time All-Star, four-time All-Star MVP, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), two-time NBA Finals MVP, and two-time scoring champion. He ranks fourth in league all-time regular season and postseason scoring. Bryant was posthumously named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021 and was a two-time inductee to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, for his playing career in 2020 and as a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team in 2025.

former Italian footballer (born 1978)

Frank James Lampard is an English football manager and former midfielder who is the manager of EFL Championship club Coventry City. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Chelsea's and the Premier League’s greatest ever players, Lampard holds the record of the most Premier League goals (177) by a midfielder in its history.

German professional football manager and former player

Rachel Anne McAdams is a Canadian actress. A graduate of York University in 2001 with a BFA in theatre, she is known for her starring roles in comedy and drama films as well as her work in television and theater. Her accolades include nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Tony Award. In 2026, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As a leading actress, her films have grossed over $3.4 billion worldwide.

Portuguese-Canadian singer and songwriter

Indian film actress

James Edward Franco is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007), Milk (2008), Eat Pray Love (2010), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Spring Breakers (2012), and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). He has collaborated with fellow actor Seth Rogen on multiple projects, including Pineapple Express (2008), This Is the End (2013), The Interview (2014), Sausage Party (2016), and The Disaster Artist (2017), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. Franco's performance in 127 Hours (2010) earned a Best Actor nomination at the 83rd Academy Awards.

American actress

Christopher Ashton Kutcher is an American actor, film producer and businessman. His accolades include a People's Choice Award and fifteen Teen Choice Awards, in addition to a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award.

American R&B singer (born 1978)

English association football player (born 1978)

Portuguese footballer

Italian association football player and manager

Indian actress (born 1978)

German basketball player

Jensen Ross Ackles is an American actor and musician. He gained recognition for his portrayal of Dean Winchester in The WB/CW dark fantasy drama series Supernatural (2005–2020) and appearing in television series such as NBC's Days of Our Lives as Eric Brady which earned him several Daytime Emmy Award nominations.

American actor and producer

Japanese singer, songwriter, and actress

Russian–American engineer, manager and former executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation

Mexican actor and producer

Vanessa-Mae (; born 27 October 1978), also called Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson, is a Singaporean-born British violinist and skier with Thai heritage from her father. Her album sales reached several million by 2006, making her the wealthiest entertainer aged under 30 in the United Kingdom at that time. She is known for fusing classical and popular genres, which she calls "violin techno-acoustic fusion". This crossover style combines her classical violin training with electronic music influences like techno and synth-pop, as seen for example in the title track from her album Storm from 1997.

French actress and model

Malin Maria Åkerman, often anglicised to Malin Akerman, is a Swedish-American actress. She first appeared in smaller parts in both Canadian and American productions, including The Utopian Society (2003) and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004). Following a main role on the HBO mockumentary series The Comeback (2005), Akerman co-starred in the commercially successful romantic comedies The Heartbreak Kid (2007) and 27 Dresses (2008). She gained wider recognition for her role as Silk Spectre II in the 2009 superhero film Watchmen, for which she received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

American actor

American politician (born 1978)

Japanese association football player

Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2016 to 2019

Japanese association football player

Japanese association football player

Stana Katić is a Canadian and American actress. She played Kate Beckett on the ABC television romantic crime series Castle (2009–2016) and FBI Special Agent Emily Byrne in the psychological thriller series Absentia (2017–2020).

English association football player

French footballer (born 1978)

Prime Minister of Georgia since 2024

Argentine association football player

Igor Tudor is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.

American actor

American actor

Australian association football player and manager

Romanian footballer

Canadian actor

Estonian model and actress (born 1978)

South Korean astronaut

first in-vitro baby

American actor

British bassist

Chinese-American businessman

Sandra Hüller is a German actress. She has received various accolades, including two Silver Bears, two European Film Awards, a César Award and three German Film Awards, along with nominations for an Academy Award and two BAFTA Awards.

Senegalese footballer (1978–2020)

Scottish bassist (born 1978)

Ukrainian artistic gymnast, coach, and dancer (born 1978)

Keinan Abdi Warsame (; born 1 February 1978), known professionally as '''K'naan''' ( ), is a Somali-Canadian rapper, singer-songwriter and filmmaker. He rose to international fame after releasing the single "Wavin' Flag", which was chosen as Coca-Cola's promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Besides hip hop, K'naan's sound is influenced by elements of Somali music and world music. A Grammy Award-winning artist and FIPRESCI Prize-winning director, he is also involved in various philanthropic initiatives.

Iranian footballer

Welsh actor

Canadian actress

American model

Argentine tennis player

Norwegian cyclist

Judith Eva Barsi was an American child actress. She began her career in television, making appearances in commercials and television series, as well as the 1987 film Jaws: The Revenge. She also provided the voices of Ducky in The Land Before Time and Anne-Marie in All Dogs Go to Heaven, both released after her death. She and her mother, Maria, were killed in July 1988 in a double murder–suicide committed in their home by her father, József Barsi.