Famous birthdays by year
Famous People Born in 1938
Born in 1938? Meet the well-known people who share your birth year, from the biggest names to the ones you might not expect, month by month.
Turning 88 in 2026 · Chinese zodiac: Year of the Tiger
The 1930s
The most famous people born in 193856
1938–2018Kofi Annan
Ghanaian diplomat who served as Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006 and shared the Nobel Peace Prize
MilitaryWould be 88
View profile Photo: US Mission in Geneva · Public domain
b. 1938Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Harvard-trained economist who became President of Liberia, Africa's first elected female head of state, and a Nobel Peace laureate
PoliticsAge 87
View profile Photo: U.S. Institute of Peace · CC BY 2.0
b. 1938Juan Carlos I of Spain
King of Spain from 1975 to 2014 who led the transition to democracy after Franco and faced down a 1981 coup attempt
RoyaltyAge 88
View profile Photo: Irekia · CC BY 2.0
1938–1980Vladimir Vysotsky
Soviet singer-songwriter, poet and Taganka Theatre actor whose raw guitar ballads were adored by millions despite official disapproval
MusicWould be 88
View profile Photo: Unknown author · CC BY 4.0
b. 1938Beatrix of the Netherlands
Queen of the Netherlands who reigned for thirty-three years
RoyaltyAge 88
View profile Photo: RVD Koninklijk Huis · CC0
b. 1938Jon Voight
Oscar-winning actor known for Midnight Cowboy and Coming Home
FilmAge 87
View profile Photo: Toglenn · CC BY-SA 4.0
b. 1938Donald Knuth
Computer scientist and author of The Art of Computer Programming
ScienceAge 88
View profile Photo: Alex Handy · CC BY-SA 2.0
1938–2016Islam Karimov
First president of independent Uzbekistan who ruled for 25 years
PoliticsWould be 88
View profile Photo: Russian Presidential Press and Information Office · CC BY 4.0
Born in 1938, month by month
- January
- Juan Carlos I of Spain (January 5) · King of Spain from 1975 to 2014 who led the transition to democracy after Franco and faced down a 1981 coup attempt
- Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (January 5) · Kenyan author and academic who advocates for African languages
- Adriano Celentano (January 6) · Best-selling Italian singer and actor known as 'Il Molleggiato'
- Donald Knuth (January 10) · Computer scientist and author of The Art of Computer Programming
- Cabu (January 13) · French cartoonist and lead illustrator for Charlie Hebdo
- Morihiro Hosokawa (January 14) · Former Prime Minister of Japan and ceramic artist
- Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens (January 18) · Sociologist known for his influential Third Way political theory
- Vladimir Vysotsky (January 25) · Soviet singer-songwriter, poet and Taganka Theatre actor whose raw guitar ballads were adored by millions despite official disapproval
- Etta James (January 25) · American singer known for her hit song At Last
- Tomas Lindahl (January 28) · Nobel Prize-winning scientist who discovered how cells repair damaged DNA
- Islam Karimov (January 30) · First president of independent Uzbekistan who ruled for 25 years
- Beatrix of the Netherlands (January 31) · Queen of the Netherlands who reigned for thirty-three years
- March
- Alpha Condé (March 4) · Politician who served as the president of Guinea
- Lynn Margulis (March 5) · Evolutionary biologist who developed the theory of symbiosis in evolution
- Albert Fert (March 7) · Nobel Prize-winning physicist who discovered giant magnetoresistance
- David Baltimore (March 7) · Nobel Prize-winning biologist who discovered how certain viruses replicate
- Rudolf Nureyev (March 17) · Influential Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer
- Anthony James Leggett (March 26) · Nobel Prize-winning physicist known for his theories on superfluidity
- Klaus Schwab (March 30) · Founder and former chairman of the World Economic Forum
- April
- Jerry Brown (April 7) · Longest-serving governor in the history of California
- Kofi Annan (April 8) · Ghanaian diplomat who served as Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006 and shared the Nobel Peace Prize
- Victor Chernomyrdin (April 9) · First Prime Minister of Russia and founder of Gazprom
- Claudia Cardinale (April 15) · Acclaimed Italian actress who starred in Once Upon a Time in the West
- Bernard Madoff (April 29) · American financier who masterminded the world's largest Ponzi scheme
- May
- Giuliano Amato (May 13) · Two-time Prime Minister of Italy and constitutional judge
- Raymond Carver (May 25) · American short story writer and poet of the minimalist style
- Jerry West (May 28) · American basketball player whose silhouette is used for the NBA logo
- June
- Violetta Villas (June 10) · Polish singer and actress noted for her remarkable vocal range
- Joyce Carol Oates (June 16) · Prolific American author of novels, short stories and poetry
- July
- Masakatsu Miyamoto (July 4) · Japanese footballer and manager who won an Olympic bronze medal
- Paul Verhoeven (July 18) · Dutch director of Robocop and Total Recall
- Natalie Wood (July 20) · American actress who starred in West Side Story
- Diana Rigg (July 20) · British actress known for The Avengers and Game of Thrones
- Alberto Fujimori (July 26) · Former President of Peru who defeated the Shining Path insurgency
- August
- Leonid Kuchma (August 9) · Second President of independent Ukraine who served for over a decade
- Rod Laver (August 9) · Australian tennis champion and multiple Grand Slam winner
- Kenny Rogers (August 21) · American country music singer known for hits like The Gambler
- Paul Martin (August 28) · Former Prime Minister of Canada who served during the early 2000s
- Elliott Gould (August 29) · American actor known for roles in MASH and the Ocean's films
- September
- Ryōji Noyori (September 3) · Japanese chemist and winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize
- Romy Schneider (September 23) · German-French actress who starred in the Sissi trilogy
- October
- Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (October 3) · Former President of Peru and international economist
- Kurt Wüthrich (October 4) · Nobel Prize-winning chemist who developed NMR methods for proteins
- Heinz Fischer (October 9) · Long-serving President of Austria from 2004 to 2016
- Farah Pahlavi (October 14) · Last Empress of Iran and widow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
- Fela Kuti (October 15) · Nigerian musician and activist who pioneered the Afrobeat genre
- Nico (October 16) · German singer and model associated with The Velvet Underground
- Christopher Lloyd (October 22) · American actor iconic for playing Doc Brown in Back to the Future
- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (October 29) · Harvard-trained economist who became President of Liberia, Africa's first elected female head of state, and a Nobel Peace laureate
- November
- Queen Sofía of Spain (November 2) · Queen consort of Spain from 1975 to 2014
- Joe Dassin (November 5) · American-born singer who became a major pop star in France
- Robert Nozick (November 16) · Influential American philosopher known for his work on political theory
- Ted Turner (November 19) · Media mogul who founded the 24-hour news channel CNN
- December
- John Kufuor (December 8) · Former President of Ghana who served from 2001 to 2009
- Liv Ullmann (December 16) · Norwegian actress frequently collaborating with director Ingmar Bergman
- Jon Voight (December 29) · Oscar-winning actor known for Midnight Cowboy and Coming Home