Famous birthdays by year
Famous People Born in 1956
Born in 1956? 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 70 in 2026 · Chinese zodiac: Year of the Monkey
The 1950s
The most famous people born in 195682
b. 1956Theresa May
Conservative politician who served as British Prime Minister from 2016 to 2019, trying to deliver Brexit after six years as Home Secretary
PoliticsAge 70
View profile Photo (modified): Roger Harris · CC BY 3.0
b. 1956Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Hardline former mayor of Tehran who served as President of Iran from 2005 to 2013 and expanded its nuclear programme
PoliticsAge 69
View profile Photo (modified): Majid Haghdoust · CC BY 4.0
b. 1956Tom Hanks
Two-time Academy Award-winning actor celebrated for Big, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away and the Toy Story films
FilmAge 70
View profile Photo (modified): Eva Rinaldi from Abbotsford, Australia · CC BY-SA 2.0
b. 1956Mel Gibson
American-Australian actor of Mad Max and Lethal Weapon who won Oscars for directing and producing Braveheart
FilmAge 70
View profile Photo (modified): Georges Biard · CC BY-SA 3.0
b. 1956Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Social Democrat and former foreign minister who has served as President of Germany since 2017
PoliticsAge 70
View profile Photo (modified): Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan · CC BY 4.0
b. 1956Tsai Ing-wen
Law professor who served two terms as Taiwan's first female president, from 2016 to 2024
PoliticsAge 70
View profile Photo (modified): 中華民國總統府 · Attribution
1956–2016Carrie Fisher
American actress who played Princess Leia in Star Wars and wrote the semi-autobiographical novel Postcards from the Edge
FilmWould be 70
View profile Photo (modified): By Riccardo Ghilardi - Crop of File:Actress Carrie Fisher © Riccardo Ghilardi photographer.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://co · CC BY-SA 3.0
1956–2018Anthony Bourdain
Chef and travel documentarian who wrote the book Kitchen Confidential
TelevisionWould be 70
View profile Photo (modified): Peabody Awards · CC BY 2.0Born in 1956, month by month
- January
- Christine Lagarde (January 1) · President of the European Central Bank and former IMF head
- Mel Gibson (January 3) · American-Australian actor of Mad Max and Lethal Weapon who won Oscars for directing and producing Braveheart
- Frank-Walter Steinmeier (January 5) · Social Democrat and former foreign minister who has served as President of Germany since 2017
- Imelda Staunton (January 9) · Acclaimed actress known for playing Dolores Umbridge and Queen Elizabeth II
- Nikolai Noskov (January 12) · Russian singer and former lead vocalist of Gorky Park
- Bill Maher (January 20) · American comedian and host of the political show Real Time
- Geena Davis (January 21) · Oscar-winning actress known for Thelma & Louise and The Accidental Tourist
- John Lydon (January 31) · Lead singer of the Sex Pistols known as Johnny Rotten
- Artur Mas (January 31) · Catalan politician who served as President of the Government of Catalonia
- Guido van Rossum (January 31) · Computer scientist who created the Python programming language
- February
- Betty Ong (February 5)
- Rina Mor (February 16)
- Bidzina Ivanishvili (February 18) · Billionaire businessman and former Prime Minister of Georgia
- Roderick MacKinnon (February 19) · Nobel Prize-winning biophysicist who mapped the structure of ion channels
- Judith Butler (February 24) · Philosopher and gender theorist known for the book Gender Trouble
- Michel Houellebecq (February 26) · Controversial French novelist and author of Atomised
- Meena Keshwar Kamal (February 27)
- Aileen Wuornos (February 29) · American serial killer whose life was depicted in the film Monster
- March
- Dalia Grybauskaitė (March 1) · First female President of Lithuania and former European Commissioner
- Zbigniew Boniek (March 3) · Polish football legend who starred for Juventus and Roma
- Bryan Cranston (March 7) · Actor best known for starring in the series Breaking Bad
- Jost Gippert (March 12) · German scholar known for his research on ancient Indo-European manuscripts
- Steve Harris (March 12) · Founder and bassist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden
- Dana Delany (March 13) · American actress who won two Emmys for the Vietnam drama China Beach and later starred in Desperate Housewives and Body of Proof
- Egor Gajdar (March 19) · Russian economist and former acting Prime Minister
- Catherine Ashton (March 20) · Former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
- José Manuel Durão Barroso (March 23)
- Steve Ballmer (March 24) · Former CEO of Microsoft and owner of the LA Clippers
- April
- Michele Bachmann (April 6) · American politician and former presidential candidate
- Andy Garcia (April 12) · Star of The Godfather Part III and Ocean's Eleven
- Eric Roberts (April 18) · Prolific American actor with hundreds of film and television credits
- Lars von Trier (April 30) · Provocative Danish film director and creator of the Dogme 95 movement
- May
- Jan Peter Balkenende (May 7) · Prime Minister of the Netherlands for four consecutive cabinets
- Mirek Topolánek (May 15) · Former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and leader of the ODS
- Bob Saget (May 17) · American actor and comedian known for the sitcom Full House
- Boris Akunin (May 20) · Russian author best known for his Erast Fandorin detective novels
- Mina Ahadi (May 25)
- Giuseppe Tornatore (May 27) · Italian filmmaker best known for the Oscar-winning drama Cinema Paradiso
- Khaled Mashal (May 28) · Former political leader of the Palestinian organisation Hamas
- Katerina Sakellaropoulou (May 30) · First female president in the history of Greece
- David Sassoli (May 30) · Italian journalist and former President of the European Parliament
- June
- Björn Borg (June 6) · Swedish tennis legend who won five consecutive Wimbledon titles
- Anthony Bourdain (June 25) · Chef and travel documentarian who wrote the book Kitchen Confidential
- July
- Min Aung Hlaing (July 3) · Military leader of Myanmar who took power in 2021
- Horacio Cartes (July 5) · Former President of Paraguay and prominent businessman
- Tom Hanks (July 9) · Two-time Academy Award-winning actor celebrated for Big, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away and the Toy Story films
- Amitav Ghosh (July 11) · Award-winning Indian novelist known for works such as The Sea of Poppies
- Joe Satriani (July 15) · American rock guitarist known for his technical instrumental compositions
- Frances Arnold (July 25) · Nobel Prize-winning chemical engineer who pioneered directed evolution of enzymes
- Michael Biehn (July 31) · American actor who starred in 1980s action and sci-fi films
- August
- Meg Whitman (August 4) · American business executive who served as the CEO of eBay
- Joan Allen (August 20) · Academy Award-nominated actress known for Nixon and The Crucible
- Kim Cattrall (August 21) · Actress best known for playing Samantha Jones in Sex and the City
- Takeshi Okada (August 25) · Football manager who led Japan to their first World Cup
- Tsai Ing-wen (August 31) · Law professor who served two terms as Taiwan's first female president, from 2016 to 2024
- September
- Alain Ducasse (September 13)
- David Copperfield (September 16) · Successful American illusionist famous for large-scale televised magic spectacles
- Almazbek Atambaev (September 17) · Kyrgyz politician who served as president from 2011 to 2017 and oversaw the country's first peaceful handover between elected leaders
- Paolo Rossi (September 23) · Prolific striker who led Italy to 1982 World Cup glory
- Linda Hamilton (September 26) · American actress famous for playing Sarah Connor in The Terminator films
- Sebastian Coe (September 29) · Olympic gold medallist runner and former British politician
- October
- Theresa May (October 1) · Conservative politician who served as British Prime Minister from 2016 to 2019, trying to deliver Brexit after six years as Home Secretary
- Andrus Ansip (October 1) · Former Prime Minister of Estonia and European Commission Vice President
- Christoph Waltz (October 4) · Oscar-winning actor known for Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained
- Trần Đại Quang (October 12) · Vietnamese politician who served as President of Vietnam
- Mae Jemison (October 17) · First African-American woman to travel into space
- Martina Navratilova (October 18) · Record-breaking tennis champion who won eighteen Grand Slam singles titles
- Danny Boyle (October 20) · Director of Trainspotting and the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony
- Carrie Fisher (October 21) · American actress who played Princess Leia in Star Wars and wrote the semi-autobiographical novel Postcards from the Edge
- Rita Wilson (October 26) · American actress and producer of My Big Fat Greek Wedding
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (October 28) · Hardline former mayor of Tehran who served as President of Iran from 2005 to 2013 and expanded its nuclear programme
- November
- Edgar Lungu (November 11) · Zambian politician who served as the sixth president of the country
- Bo Derek (November 20) · American actress and model who starred in the film 10
- Mitsugu Nomura (November 21) · Japanese professional footballer and former national team player
- December
- Ewa Kopacz (December 3) · Former Prime Minister of Poland and Vice-President of the European Parliament
- Larry Bird (December 7) · Legendary NBA basketball player for the Boston Celtics
- Iveta Radičová (December 7) · First female Prime Minister of Slovakia
- Andrius Kubilius (December 8) · Lithuanian physicist and politician who twice served as prime minister and became the EU's first commissioner for defence and space
- Alan Eustace (December 19)
- Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (December 20) · Former President of Mauritania who came to power after a coup
- Dave Murray (December 23) · Guitarist for the influential heavy metal band Iron Maiden
- Anil Kapoor (December 24) · Bollywood star known for Slumdog Millionaire and Mission: Impossible