Famous birthdays by year
Famous People Born in 1972
Born in 1972? 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 54 in 2026 · Chinese zodiac: Year of the Rat
The 1970s
The most famous people born in 197270
b. 1972Eminem
American rapper from Detroit behind The Marshall Mathers LP and the Oscar-winning song Lose Yourself, among the best-selling artists of all time
MusicAge 54
Photo: Brendan_linden · CC0
b. 1972Zinedine Zidane
French midfielder who scored twice in the 1998 World Cup final and later won three straight Champions Leagues as Real Madrid coach
SportsAge 54
Photo: Hadi Abyar · CC BY 4.0
b. 1972Gwyneth Paltrow
American actress who won an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, played Pepper Potts in Iron Man and founded the lifestyle brand Goop
BusinessAge 54
Photo: Georges Biard · CC BY-SA 3.0
b. 1972Josh Duhamel
American actor and former model who starred in the Transformers films and the TV series Las Vegas
FilmAge 53
Photo: Daniel Benavides from Austin, TX · CC BY 2.0
b. 1972Ben Affleck
American actor and director who won Oscars for co-writing Good Will Hunting and producing Argo, and played Batman
FilmAge 54
Photo: LucaFazPhoto · CC BY-SA 4.0
b. 1972Dwayne Johnson
American actor and former wrestler known as The Rock, star of the Fast & Furious and Jumanji films and voice of Maui in Moana
FilmAge 54
Photo: Harald Krichel · CC BY-SA 4.0
b. 1972Andrzej Duda
Polish lawyer and politician who served two terms as President of Poland, from 2015 to 2025
PoliticsAge 54
Photo: Jakub Szymczuk & Adobe Photoshop · CC BY-SA 4.0
b. 1972Cameron Diaz
American actress of The Mask, There's Something About Mary and Charlie's Angels who voiced Princess Fiona in Shrek
FashionAge 54
Photo: Kevin Paul · CC BY 4.0
Born in 1972, month by month
- January
- Lilian Thuram (January 1) · World Cup-winning French footballer and prominent anti-racism activist
- Amanda Peet (January 11) · American actress known for roles in The Whole Nine Yards and Togetherness
- Nikki Haley (January 20) · American politician who served as the Governor of South Carolina
- February
- Leymah Gbowee (February 1) · Nobel Peace Prize winner who helped end the Liberian Civil War
- Billie Joe Armstrong (February 17) · Lead singer and primary songwriter for the rock band Green Day
- Pedro Sánchez (February 29) · Prime Minister of Spain and leader of the Socialist Workers' Party
- March
- Mauricio Pochettino (March 2) · Argentine football manager who led Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea
- Shaquille O'Neal (March 6) · Four-time NBA champion and dominant basketball centre
- Irom Chanu Sharmila (March 14)
- Mia Hamm (March 17) · American footballer considered one of the greatest female players ever
- Sharbat Gula (March 20)
- Naftali Bennett (March 25) · Former Prime Minister of Israel and technology entrepreneur
- Rui Costa (March 29) · Celebrated Portuguese midfielder who also became president of Benfica
- April
- Jennifer Garner (April 17) · Actress who starred in the thriller series Alias and 13 Going on 30
- Rivaldo (April 19) · Brazilian footballer who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or
- Carmen Electra (April 20) · Model and actress known for her role in Baywatch
- Narges Mohammadi (April 21) · Iranian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner
- Takahiro Yamada (April 29) · Japanese footballer who played for the national team and Yokohama Marinos
- Hiroaki Morishima (April 30) · Japanese footballer who played in two World Cup tournaments
- May
- Julie Benz (May 1) · American actress famous for her roles in Dexter and Buffy
- Dwayne Johnson (May 2) · American actor and former wrestler known as The Rock, star of the Fast & Furious and Jumanji films and voice of Maui in Moana
- Mike Dirnt (May 4) · Bass player and co-founder of the rock band Green Day
- Asghar Farhadi (May 7) · Iranian filmmaker who won two Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- Andrzej Duda (May 16) · Polish lawyer and politician who served two terms as President of Poland, from 2015 to 2025
- The Notorious B.I.G. (May 21)
- Rubens Barrichello (May 23) · Brazilian racing driver who competed in over three hundred Formula One races
- Sunitha Krishnan (May 23)
- Maia Sandu (May 24) · First female President of Moldova and former Prime Minister
- June
- Wentworth Miller (June 2) · Star of the television series Prison Break
- Karl Urban (June 7) · New Zealand actor known for Star Trek and The Boys
- Sundar Pichai (June 10) · Chief executive officer of Google and its parent company Alphabet
- Jean Dujardin (June 19) · Oscar-winning French actor best known for the silent film The Artist
- Zinedine Zidane (June 23) · French midfielder who scored twice in the 1998 World Cup final and later won three straight Champions Leagues as Real Madrid coach
- Samantha Smith (June 29) · Child peace activist who wrote a letter to the Soviet leader
- July
- Nina Badrić (July 4) · Croatian pop singer who represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest
- Gulnara Karimova (July 8)
- Henrique Capriles (July 11) · Venezuelan politician and two-time presidential candidate
- Masayuki Okano (July 25) · Japanese footballer who scored the goal qualifying Japan for the World Cup
- Michelle McLean (July 30)
- August
- Geri Halliwell (August 6) · Singer and member of the Spice Girls known as Ginger Spice
- Juanes (August 9) · Colombian singer and guitarist who has won multiple Latin Grammy Awards
- Jay Manuel (August 14)
- Ben Affleck (August 15) · American actor and director who won Oscars for co-writing Good Will Hunting and producing Argo, and played Batman
- The Great Khali (August 27) · Professional wrestler and first Indian-born WWE World Heavyweight Champion
- Cameron Diaz (August 30) · American actress of The Mask, There's Something About Mary and Charlie's Angels who voiced Princess Fiona in Shrek
- Pavel Nedvěd (August 30) · Czech midfielder who won the Ballon d'Or while playing for Juventus
- September
- Idris Elba (September 6) · British actor known for starring in The Wire and Luther
- Goran Višnjić (September 9) · Croatian actor best known for playing Dr Luka Kovač in ER
- Queen Letizia of Spain (September 15) · Current Queen of Spain and former television news anchor
- Victor Ponta (September 20) · Former Prime Minister of Romania and leader of the Social Democrats
- Gwyneth Paltrow (September 27) · American actress who won an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, played Pepper Potts in Iron Man and founded the lifestyle brand Goop
- Dita Von Teese (September 28) · American vedette and model who popularised modern burlesque
- October
- Tom Hooper (October 5) · Oscar-winning director of The King's Speech and Les Misérables
- Mark Schwarzer (October 6) · Australian goalkeeper with the most appearances for his country
- Eminem (October 17) · American rapper from Detroit behind The Marshall Mathers LP and the Oscar-winning song Lose Yourself, among the best-selling artists of all time
- Tarkan (October 17) · Turkish pop singer known for the international hit Kiss Kiss
- Karl Nehammer (October 18) · Austrian politician who served as Chancellor of Austria
- Esther Duflo (October 25) · Nobel Prize-winning economist known for her research into poverty
- November
- Luís Figo (November 4) · Celebrated Portuguese winger and winner of the 2000 Ballon d'Or
- Rebecca Romijn (November 6) · American actress known for playing Mystique in the X-Men films
- Thandiwe Newton (November 6) · BAFTA-winning actress known for films such as Crash and Pursuit of Happyness
- Eric Dane (November 9) · American actor best known for the drama series Grey's Anatomy
- Josh Duhamel (November 14) · American actor and former model who starred in the Transformers films and the TV series Las Vegas
- Edyta Górniak (November 14) · Polish singer who finished second in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest
- Keiji Kaimoto (November 26) · Japanese defender who played for Nagoya Grampus and the national team
- Hiroshi Nanami (November 28) · Japanese footballer and manager who played for Jubilo Iwata
- December
- Lawrence Wong (December 18) · Fourth Prime Minister of Singapore and leader of the People's Action Party
- Alyssa Milano (December 19) · American actress known for starring in Charmed
- Vanessa Paradis (December 22) · French singer and actress who achieved stardom as a teenager
- Jude Law (December 29) · English actor known for The Talented Mr. Ripley and Sherlock Holmes