21st-century atheists

Stephen William Hawking was an English theoretical astrophysicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between 1979 and 2009, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, widely viewed as one of the most prestigious academic posts in the world.

Xi Jinping is a Chinese statesman and politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Party Central Military Commission (CMC) since 2012, and the president of China and chairman of the State Central Military Commission since 2013. Xi has been the leader of the fifth generation of Chinese leadership since 2012.

President of the Republic of Belarus

English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author (born 1941)

Portuguese novelist (1922–2010)

British science fiction writer and humorist (1952–2001)

Indian-born British-American novelist (born 1947)

Sir Keir Rodney Starmer is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He served as Leader of the Opposition from 2020 to 2024. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras since 2015, and was Director of Public Prosecutions from 2008 to 2013.

American author (1922–2007)

British playwright (1930–2008)

French-Polish filmmaker (born 1933)

Keira Christina Knightley, OBE is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, four Golden Globes, and a Laurence Olivier Award. In 2018, she was appointed an OBE for services to drama and charity.

American computer pioneer, inventor, computer engineer and programmer; co-founder of Apple Inc.

Polish science fiction author, philosopher and futurologist, studied medical doctor (1921–2006)

French anthropologist and ethnologist (1908–2009)

Slovenian philosopher (born 1949)

American theoretical physicist (1933-2021)

Prime Minister of Greece (2015; 2015–2019)

British physicist and Nobel Prize winner (1929–2024)

American novelist (1933–2018)

Dame Emma Thompson is a British actress and screenwriter. Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and her accolades include two Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2018, she was made a dame by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to drama.

American actor (born 1948)

Albanian writer (1936–2024)

American actress

American political philosopher (1921–2002)

American writer (1925–2012)

English American author and journalist (1949–2011)

English musician, co-founder of Pink Floyd (born 1943)

Elizabeth Chase Olsen is an American actress. She gained worldwide recognition for her portrayal of Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2014, with her performance in the miniseries WandaVision (2021) earning her nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

Australian writer and public intellectual (born 1939)

American author, philosopher and neuroscientist (born 1967)

American filmmaker (1925–2006)

American mathematician and information theorist (1916–2001)

American philosopher (1942–2024)

Palestinian essayist and writer

author, secular humanist, and feminist

Sir Stephen John Fry is an English actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He began his career on the sketch comedy series Alfresco (1983–1984) and the sitcom Blackadder (1986–1989), before gaining recognition as part of the comedy duo Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, appearing together in A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1989–1995) and Jeeves and Wooster (1990–1993). His later television roles include Kingdom (2007–2009), Bones (2007–2017), and It's a Sin (2021). Fry was the original host of the comedy panel show QI (2003–2016), for which he was nominated for six British Academy Television Awards. In 2006, the British public ranked Fry number 9 in ITV's poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars.

British comedian

American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist (1917–2012)

English actor (born 1982)

Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, linguist, and author, an advocate of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of the mind

Greek economist and politician

American author (born 1938)

Chilean-French filmmaker and comics writer

Canadian-American stage magician and skeptical movement adherent

British neurologist and writer (1933–2015)

British novelist (1930–2009)

American stand-up comedian and television host

Scottish writer (1954–2013)

English politician (born 1945); Mayor of London from 2000 until 2008

American stand-up comedian (1921–2004)

Alan Cumming is a Scottish actor, filmmaker and presenter. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, five Emmy Awards, and two Tony Awards. He also won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for the West End production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist (1991). His other Olivier-nominated roles are in The Conquest of the South Pole (1988), La Bête (1992), and Cabaret (1994). Cumming won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for reprising his role as the Emcee on Broadway in Cabaret (1998). His other performances on Broadway include Design for Living (2001), and Macbeth (2013).

English actress, screenwriter and producer (born 1985)

American feminist academic and critic (born 1947)

Hungarian psychiatrist (1920-2012)

British Labour Party politician (1946-2005)

American particle physicist and cosmologist

American computer programmer and video game developer (born 1970)

French philosopher

British cosmologist and astrophysicist (1942-)