Born on May 17?

Léon Marchand

Olympic champion swimmer and world record holder

Did you know? He broke Michael Phelps' last remaining individual world record in the 400-metre individual medley at the 2023 World Championships.

Léon Marchand (French pronunciation:; born 17 May 2002) is a French professional swimmer actively training in the US.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Abdulrahman Akkad

Abdulrahman Akkad (Arabic: عبدالرحمن عقاد; born May 17, 1998) also known as Owen Akkad is a Syrian- German political blogger, public speaker, and human rights activist. He currently resides in Berlin.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nikki Reed

American actress and screenwriter known for the Twilight films

Did you know? She co-wrote the semi-autobiographical film Thirteen in just six days when she was only thirteen years old.

Nikki Reed (born May 17, 1988) is an American actress, screenwriter, and entrepreneur best known for her role as Rosalie Hale in The Twilight Saga (2008–12).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Koki Yonekura

Japanese professional footballer who has played for Gamba Osaka

Did you know? He successfully transitioned from an attacking midfielder to a full-back during his professional career in the J-League.

Koki Yonekura (米倉 恒貴, Yonekura Kōki; born May 17, 1988 in Inage-ku, Chiba) is a Japanese footballer who plays for JEF United Chiba as a right full-back, and occasionally as an attacking midfielder. He previously played for JEF United between 2007 and 2013.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Igor Denisov

Former Russian international footballer who captained the national team

Did you know? He famously refused to play for Zenit Saint Petersburg until his wages were increased to match those of expensive foreign signings.

Igor Vladimirovich Denisov (Russian: Игорь Владимирович Денисов; born 17 May 1984) is a Russian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Vjosa Osmani

Politician serving as the first female president of Kosovo

Did you know? A legal expert by training, she completed her doctorate in the United States and has worked as a professor of international law.

Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu (born 17 May 1982) is a Kosovar jurist and politician who served as President of Kosovo from 2021 to 2026, having previously served as acting president 2020 to 2021. She also served as Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo from 2020 to 2021.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Tony Parker

Basketball player who won four championships with the San Antonio Spurs

Did you know? Born in Belgium to an American father and a Dutch mother, he chose to play internationally for the French national team.

William Anthony Parker Jr. (born May 17, 1982) is a French-American professional basketball coach and former player who currently serves as the head coach of LDLC ASVEL of the French LNB Élite and the EuroLeague.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sasha Alexander

Actress known for her roles in Dawson's Creek and NCIS

Did you know? She is the daughter-in-law of screen legend Sophia Loren, having married the actress's son, Edoardo Ponti.

Suzana Drobnjakovic (Serbian Cyrillic: Сузана Дробњаковић; born May 17, 1973), known professionally as Sasha Alexander, is an American actress. She played Gretchen Witter in Dawson's Creek (2000–2001) and appeared in such films as Yes Man (2008) and He's Just Not That Into You (2009).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

The Argentine-born Queen Consort of the Netherlands

Did you know? Before her marriage into the Dutch royal family, she enjoyed a successful career in international finance in New York.

Máxima (born Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti, 17 May 1971) is Queen of the Netherlands as the wife of King Willem-Alexander. Argentine by birth, she worked in finance when she met Willem-Alexander, eldest son and heir apparent of Queen Beatrix, in 1999.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Mohamed Nasheed

Former President of the Maldives and prominent climate change activist

Did you know? To highlight the threat of rising sea levels, he once held a full cabinet meeting underwater using scuba equipment.

Mohamed Nasheed (Dhivehi: މުހައްމަދު ނަޝީދު; born 17 May 1967), also known as Anni (Dhivehi: އަންނި), is a Maldivian politician and activist who served as the fourth president of the Maldives from 2008 until his controversial resignation in 2012.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Trent Reznor

Founder and lead singer of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails

Did you know? He won an Academy Award for composing the musical score for the film The Social Network.

Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and composer. He came to prominence as the founder, lead singer, multi-instrumentalist, and primary songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Ferenc Krausz

Nobel Prize-winning physicist and pioneer of attosecond science

Did you know? He shared the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics for developing methods that allow scientists to study the extremely rapid movements of electrons.

Ferenc Krausz (born 17 May 1962) is a Hungarian physicist working in attosecond science. He was a director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and a professor of experimental physics at LMU Munich in Germany.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Enya

Irish singer and composer of Orinoco Flow and Only Time, whose layered, ethereal sound has sold tens of millions of albums

Did you know? She lives in a Victorian castle in Dublin that she renamed Manderley after a fictional house in a Daphne du Maurier novel.

Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan) (Irish pronunciation:) (born 17 May 1961), known as Enya, is an Irish singer and composer. With an estimated equivalent of more than 80 million albums sold, she is one of the world's best-selling music artists.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Bob Saget

American actor and comedian known for the sitcom Full House

Did you know? He also provided the narrator's voice for the character Ted Mosby in the popular sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

Robert Lane Saget (May 17, 1956 – January 9, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and television host. He portrayed Danny Tanner on the sitcom Full House (1987–1995) and its sequel Fuller House (2016–2020).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Bill Paxton

American actor known for his roles in major Hollywood films

Did you know? He is the only actor to have been killed by an Alien, a Predator, and a Terminator on screen.

William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. A versatile character actor known for his distinctive Texan drawl and everyman screen persona, he was a four-time Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award nominee, among other accolades.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

Diplomat and politician serving as the current President of Kazakhstan

Did you know? He is a fluent speaker of several languages, including Chinese and French, from his time in the foreign service.

Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev (born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who has served as the second president of Kazakhstan since 2019. He previously served as Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 and as Chairman of the Senate from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2013 to 2019.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Azimzhan Askarov

Azimzhan Askarov (Uzbek: Azimjon Asqarov, Азимжон Асқаров; 17 May 1951 – 25 July 2020) was a Kyrgyzstani political activist who founded the group Vozduh in 2002 to investigate police brutality.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Janez Drnovšek

Slovenian politician who served as Prime Minister and President

Did you know? In his later years he became a committed vegan and moved to a small village to focus on spiritual lifestyle changes.

Janez Drnovšek (Slovene pronunciation:; 17 May 1950 – 23 February 2008) was a Slovenian liberal politician, President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (1989–1990), Prime Minister of Slovenia (1992–2002, with a short break in 2000) and President of Slovenia (2002–2007).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Hawa Abdi

Hawa Abdi Dhiblawe (Somali: Xaawo Cabdi, Arabic: حواء عبدي, 17 May 1947 – 5 August 2020) was a Somali human rights activist and physician. She was the founder and chairperson of the Dr.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Alan Kay

Computing pioneer who helped develop the graphical user interface

Did you know? He is also a professional jazz guitarist and an accomplished pipe organist, often citing music as an influence on his tech career.

Alan Curtis Kay (born May 17, 1940) is an American computer scientist who pioneered work on object-oriented programming and windowing graphical user interface (GUI) design. At Xerox PARC he led the design and development of the first modern windowed computer desktop interface.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dennis Hopper

Actor and director known for the counterculture classic film Easy Rider

Did you know? He was a prolific photographer and artist whose work was exhibited in major galleries around the world during his lifetime.

Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He is considered one of the key figures of the New Hollywood era.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Birgit Nilsson

Swedish dramatic soprano renowned for her huge voice as Isolde, Brünnhilde and Turandot, and one of the greatest Wagner singers

Did you know? She was known for her sense of humour and once wore a miner's helmet with a searchlight during a particularly dark rehearsal.

Märta Birgit Nilsson (17 May 1918 – 25 December 2005) was a Swedish dramatic soprano. Although she sang a wide repertoire of operatic and vocal works, Nilsson was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Jean Gabin

Leading man of French cinema known for Pépé le Moko

Did you know? During the Second World War, he joined the Free French Forces and served as a tank commander in North Africa.

Jean Gabin Alexis Moncorgé (born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé), known as Jean Gabin (French:; 17 May 1904 – 15 November 1976), was a French actor and singer.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Ruhollah Khomeini

Shia cleric who led the 1979 Iranian Revolution against the Shah and became the first Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic

Did you know? Before rising to power, he spent over a decade in exile living in Turkey, Iraq and France for his opposition to the monarchy.

Ruhollah Mostafavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0