Famous People Born in 1961

Diana, Princess of Wales

Princess of Wales and mother of Prince William and Prince Harry, admired worldwide for her campaigning against landmines and on HIV

Member of the British royal family known for her humanitarian work and global popularity.

Photo: John Mathew Smith & celebrity-photos.com · CC BY-SA 2.0

Barack Obama

44th President of the United States and its first African American president, who passed the Affordable Care Act and won the Nobel Peace Prize

44th President of the United States and the first African American to hold the office.

Photo: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza · Public domain

George Clooney

American actor and director who rose to fame in ER, starred in Ocean's Eleven and won an Oscar for Syriana

George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Raph_PH · CC BY 4.0

Ilham Aliyev

President of Azerbaijan since 2003, succeeding his father Heydar Aliyev, who led the 2023 takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh

Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev (Azerbaijani: İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician and statesman who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is the son of the previous president, Heydar Aliyev, and has led the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan · CC BY 4.0

Joko Widodo

Former furniture businessman who rose from mayor of Solo to serve two terms as President of Indonesia

Joko Widodo (Indonesian:; born Mulyono, Indonesian:; 21 June 1961), often known mononymously as Jokowi (Indonesian:), is an Indonesian politician and businessman who served as the seventh president of Indonesia from 2014 to 2024.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ministry of State Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia (Kementerian Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia) · Public domain

Enya

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

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

Photo: Orlando Sentinel/ Associated Press · Public domain

Julia Gillard

Welsh-born Labor politician who became Australia's first female prime minister and gave a famous speech against misogyny

Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the 13th deputy prime minister from 2007 to 2010.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Dilma Rousseff · CC BY-SA 2.0

Eddie Murphy

American comedian and actor who rose on Saturday Night Live and starred in Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America and Shrek

Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is widely recognized as one of the most influential Black artists in the entertainment industry, and one of the greatest comedians of all time.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: David Shankbone · Public domain