Famous People Born in 1939

Ali Khamenei

Shia cleric who succeeded Ayatollah Khomeini as Supreme Leader of Iran in 1989, after serving as the country's president

Ali Hosseini Khamenei (19 April 1939 – 28 February 2026) was an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the supreme leader of Iran from 1989 until his assassination by Israeli airstrikes in 2026.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: khamenei.ir · CC BY 4.0

Margaret Atwood

Canadian novelist and poet of The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments who has won the Booker Prize twice

Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and inventor.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Collision Conf · CC BY 2.0

Tina Turner

American-born singer known as the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, star of Proud Mary and What's Love Got to Do with It

Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress and author. Dubbed the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she broke both racial and gender barriers in rock music with her vocal prowess and stage presence.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: HBO · Public domain

Seamus Heaney

Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet and author of Death of a Naturalist

Seamus Justin Heaney (13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Sean O'Connor, cropped by Sabahrat · Public domain

Francis Ford Coppola

Influential director of The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now

Francis Ford Coppola ( KOH-pə-lə; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. One of the leading figures of the New Hollywood, Coppola is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: The White House · Public domain

Romano Prodi

Two-time Italian Prime Minister and President of the European Commission

Romano Prodi (Italian:; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Niccolò Caranti · CC BY-SA 4.0

Gro Harlem Brundtland

First female Prime Minister of Norway and global health leader

Gro Brundtland (Norwegian pronunciation:; née Harlem; born 20 April 1939), known as Gro Harlem Brundtland, is a Norwegian stateswoman and former physician, who thrice served as the Prime Minister of Norway (1981, 1986–1989, and 1990–1996), and as the leader of the Labour Party from 1981 to 1992, and as the…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Ian McKellen

British actor known for playing Gandalf and Magneto

Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. Widely considered one of Britain’s greatest actors, he is noted for his versatile roles on stage and screen, in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Raph_PH · CC BY 2.0