American Atheists

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as an emblem of the era's sexual revolution. She was a top-billed actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million by her death in 1962.

co-founder of Wikipedia (born 1966)

German and American actress and singer (1901–1992)

American writer and biochemist (1920–1992)

Bruce Lee was a Hong Kong and American martial artist, actor, and filmmaker. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy, which was formed from his experiences in unarmed fighting and self-defense—as well as eclectic, Zen Buddhist, and Taoist philosophies—as a new school of martial arts thought. With a career spanning Hong Kong and the United States, Lee is regarded as the first global Chinese film star and one of the most influential martial artists in the history of cinema. Known for his roles in five feature-length martial arts films, he is credited with helping to popularize martial arts films in the 1970s and promoting Hong Kong action cinema.

American theoretical physicist (1918–1988)

Finnish software engineer (born 1969)

American author, journalist and social activist (1876–1916)

American software freedom activist, short story writer and computer programmer, founder of the GNU project

Clinton Eastwood Jr. is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. After achieving success in the Western TV series Rawhide, Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy of spaghetti Westerns during the mid-1960s and as antihero cop Harry Callahan in the five Dirty Harry films throughout the 1970s and 1980s. These roles, among others, have made Eastwood an enduring cultural icon of masculinity. Elected in 1986, Eastwood served for two years as the mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.

John Joseph Nicholson is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing charismatic rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-decade-long career, he received numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award.

American actress (1907–2003)

Russian-born American writer and public philosopher (1905–1982)

Russian-born American anarchist (1869–1940)

Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to popular culture. His work has earned a cult following alongside critical and commercial success; he has been named by some as the most influential director of his generation and has received numerous awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. His films have grossed more than $1.9 billion worldwide.

American writer and playwright (1885–1951)

American author (1922–2007)

Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress and filmmaker. Foster started her career as a child actor before establishing herself as a leading actress in film. As a performer, she is known for her versatility. She has received several accolades, including two Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the Honorary Palme d'Or.

American writer and editor (1890–1937)

American scientist (1901–1994)

American actor and filmmaker (1915–1985)

American musician (1940–1993)

American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer (1859–1952)

James Dewey Watson was an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he and Francis Crick co-authored an academic paper in Nature proposing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule, building on research by Rosalind Franklin and Raymond Gosling. In 1962, Watson, Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material".

American dancer and choreographer (1877–1927)

British-American actress and author

American mathematician and economist (1928–2015)

German sociologist and psychoanalyst (1900–1980)

Italian neurologist (1909–2012)

George Soros is a Hungarian-American investor and philanthropist. As of May 2025, he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundations, of which $15 billion has already been distributed, representing 64% of his original fortune. In 2020, Forbes called Soros the "most generous giver" in terms of percentage of net worth.

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

American stand-up comedian (1937–2008)

Anthony Michael Bourdain was an American celebrity chef, author and travel documentarian. He starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition.

American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist (1842–1914)

Hungarian-American physicist and mathematician (1902–1995)

German-American nuclear physicist

American physicist and inventor (1910–1989)

American psychologist (1908–1970)

American writer and filmmaker, professor, and activist (1933–2004)

American novelist (1933–2018)

Indian-American astrophysicist

Carl Reiner was an American actor, author, comedian, director, and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. His awards and honors include 12 Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1999.

American behaviorist (1904–1990)

American physicist (1898–1988)

American television and radio host (1933–2021)

American actor (1913–1994)

American actress

Spanish-American philosopher

American computer programmer and internet-political activist (1986-2013)

American political philosopher (1921–2002)

American writer (1925–2012)

Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He has played leading roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated features. His accolades include an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, and nominations for two Critics' Choice Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. In 2018, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

American physicist

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.

American biologist (1866–1945)

American writer (1924–1987)

Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is the creator and star of the television series Family Guy and The Orville, and co-creator of the television series American Dad! and The Cleveland Show. He also co-wrote, co-produced, directed, and starred in the films Ted, its sequel Ted 2, and A Million Ways to Die in the West.

Austrian filmmaker (1890–1976)

American novelist and journalist (1871–1945)

American jazz saxophonist (1920–1955)