Famous people and celebrities born in 1942

We celebrate the remarkable individuals born in 1942. This year gave rise to a new generation of talent, including actors, musicians, athletes, politicians and more who have significantly impacted our world. Dive into the stories of these famous personalities, explore their journeys, and see how they've shaped culture and society since their birth year. Join us as we take a nostalgic trip back to 1942 and honor the stars who continue to shine brightly today.

• Jan. 3 John Thaw

  English actor and producer, played inspector morse (d. 2002)

• Jan. 5 Charlie Rose

  American journalist and newscaster, rose was the host of charlie rose on pbs and a reporter for 60 minutes ii. rose's disarming interview style has earned him numerous awards, including the george peabody broadcasting award and an emmy. rose is a well-known speaker at colleges across the united states.

• Jan. 8 Stephen Hawking

  British theoretical physicist, who was also a professor at the university of oxford. after studying at oxford, he spent his entire career in cambridge and held a chair there since 1977. his research has focused on cosmology in many aspects. he dealt with singularities and black holes as well as the "big bang theory" of the origins of the universe. …

• Jan. 16 Richard Bohringer

  French-senegalese singer, actor, poet, and father to actress romane bohringer. his films include "diva", "subway". he was married once.

• Feb. 13 Peter Tork

  Peter tork was an american musician and actor, best known as the keyboardist and bass guitarist of the 1960s pop group the monkees.

• March 2 Lou Reed

  American rock musician, songwriter, photographer. he is most well-known as the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the velvet underground.

• March 21 Françoise Dorléac

  French actress and older sister to catherine deneuve. both beautiful women. she was a sparkling star, making more than 20 movies and was only 25 when she was killed in a car accident.

• March 25 Aretha Franklin

  American singer of rhythm and blues, gospel and soul music. in 1994, "the queen of soul", held two world records. she won more grammy's (15), than any female performer in any category. she also topped the charts with 17 top ten singles. franklin is proud of her achievements, having sold out countless performances and released 58 albums.

• April 3 Wayne Newton

  American entertainer and main performer on the las vegas strip. for almost 40 years, newton has been a las vegas icon singing his beloved songs to his loyal fans. he was performing in 'vegas from the age of 16. newton made it to the top of the pop music charts at 21 with his sugary hit "danke schoen." as he …

• April 24 Barbra Streisand

  American actress and singer, who rose steadily from 1961 to do tv, records, broadway and magazine covers. barbra streisand was awarded an honorary doctorate of arts and humanities in 1995 by brandeis university. this is a rare honouree and perhaps the only person to have won emmy, tony, emmy and grammy as well as cable ace and peabody awards.

• June 3 Curtis Mayfield

  Curtis mayfield was an influential funk singer known for his socially conscious lyrics and his work with the group the impressions.

• June 18 Paul McCartney

  British musician, best known for being part of the legendary group "the beatles". the group set world records for sales in 1961 and sold over 100 million albums by 1977. mccartney and the other "fab four" were dubbed members of the order of the british empire in 1965. this is one step below knighthood. after selling out sold-out tours around …

• June 20 Brian Wilson

  American musician and the eccentric genius behind "the beach boys", a composer and producer, who quit touring with the group at the age of 22. he dedicated himself to producing and writing the group's albums. this produced some of the best pop-rock's most joyful, rollicking, and ethereal pop music of the classic-rock era. joe tho, a former professional wrestler and …

• June 24 Mick Fleetwood

  Mick fleetwood is a british musician and actor, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band fleetwood mac.

• July 10 Ronnie James Dio

  American heavy metal vocalist (born 1942)

• July 13 Harrison Ford

  American actor. he is one of hollywoodaeurtm's most popular male stars. his role as han solo in the "star wars", "the empire strikes back" and "return of the jedi" trilogys was made at three-year intervals beginning in 1977. he is also known for his "indiana jones", "indiana jones", and hits like "the fugitive," clear and present danger, and "air force …

• Aug. 2 Isabel Allende

  Isabel allende is a chilean author known for her bestselling novels, such as 'the house of the spirits' and 'eva luna', which often incorporate elements of magical realism.

• Aug. 20 Isaac Hayes

  American singer, composer and black performer. he won the emmy award for the theme on 3/14/1972 and an oscar on 4/10/1973.

• Sept. 5 Werner Herzog

  German screenwriter and producer of german actor

• Sept. 16 Beverly Aadland

  American news reporter as the 15 year-old mistress 31-year older errol flynn, who was on board his yacht in vancouver harbor when he died from a heart attack. at 17 years old, she sold her memoirs and received $17,000.

• Oct. 6 Britt Ekland

  Swedish-american actress and one of sweden's most prominent sex symbols. ekland was a commercial star from the age of 15, and she worked as an extra in tv and film. she also played small parts in movies until 1963. ekland speaks fluently in english, french, german, italian, french and swedish. after a 15-day affair, ekland married peter sellers on 2/19/1964. …

• Oct. 11 Amitabh Bachchan

  Indian actor, producer, singer, and tv host. in the 1970s, he was known as "angry young man" in hindi cinema. he has appeared in more than 180 indian films over his career that spans more than 40 years. he is widely considered to be one of the most important and influential actors in indian cinema's history. his dominance over the …

• Oct. 15 Penny Marshall

  Penny marshall was an american actress, director, and producer, best known for her role as laverne defazio on the television sitcom laverne & shirley.

• Oct. 23 Michael Crichton

  American author, best-selling sci-fi thriller writer. many of his books were made into movies. he was 6'9" tall and a doctor assistant to dr. jonas salk. he had sold more than 300 articles to magazines by the age of 30 and quit medicine when "andromeda strain", 1969 became a huge hit.

• Nov. 2 Stefanie Powers

  American actress. she is an attractive and athletic leading lady from many hollywood movies dating back to the 1960s. her films include "palm springs weekend", "love has many faces", and "herbie rides again." her tv series "hart to hart", co-starring robert wagner, was her most recognizable.

• Nov. 6 Jean Shrimpton

  Vogue magazine made a british model famous, a symbol of the 1960s when models were first to enjoy the same fame as actresses.

• Nov. 17 Martin Scorsese

  American film director and award-winning filmmaker scorsese is well-known for his fascination with the dark side of life. scorsese is regarded as one of america's most influential filmmakers. scorsese's films are a mix of different genres. these include his more well-known drama pieces, musical dramas, documentaries and biopics as well as epics that deal with themes such alienation, despair, violence, …

• Nov. 18 Linda Evans

  American actress. she is most well-known for her role as krystle carrington on "dynasty", a tv evening soap which aired from 1981-1989. she is 5'8" tall and has a calm beauty. her first role as a speaker was as a guest on "bachelor father" alongside john forsythe. john forsythe later played her husband in the "dynasty” series. she was chosen …

• Nov. 24 Billy Connolly

  Scottish comedian and actor. billy, originally an anarchic folk singer was too outrageous and eccentric with his humor for tv. he was an up-and coming comedian when he made his debut on "the great northern welly boot show" at august 1972's edinburgh festival.

• Dec. 4 Gemma Jones

  English singer and actress