52.4791° N, 1.9017° W
BIRMINGHAM
Most Famous People Born in Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Notable people
- 1,855
- Peak decade
- 1960s
- Median birth year
- 1945
- Most distinctive
- Cricket 4.2×
England's second city, and the engine room of the Industrial Revolution. Birmingham's distinctive professions are cricketers, boxers, footballers, and musicians — the last because the city produced an outsized share of the British heavy-metal scene, from Black Sabbath (Ozzy, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward) through Judas Priest and ELO. Matthew Boulton, Francis Galton, and Neville Chamberlain all belong to the 19th-century Midlands establishment that built the place.
One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Birmingham during each.
Notable Births by Decade
Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1960s with 216 notable births.
What Birmingham Is Known For
Click any row to filter the list of people below.
Football is Birmingham's biggest profession — 25% of all notables (467).
Birmingham over-indexes on cricket — 4.2× the global rate.
Birmingham under-produces politician — only 0.3× the global rate.
Profession Mix Over Time
Each band shows a profession family's share of Birmingham's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.
- Sports
- Film & TV
- Writing
- Music
- Art & Design
- Science
- Other
- Filtered to 1950s Clear ×
Carl Palmer
Born 1950
Steven Knight
Born 1959
Toyah Willcox
Born 1958
Tony Martin (British singer)
Born 1957
Ali Campbell
Born 1959
David Willetts
Born 1956
Tony Miles
1955 - 2001
Keith Campbell (biologist)
1954 - 2012
Jeff Rawle
Born 1951
David Cannadine
Born 1950
Adrian Lukis
Born 1957
Tony Attwood
Born 1952
Bob Latchford
Born 1951
Jaki Graham
Born 1956
Sally Gardner
Born 1954
Magnus Mills
Born 1954
Paul Daniel
Born 1958
Michael Stone (loyalist)
Born 1955
Gerry Peyton
Born 1956
Rob Guest
1950 - 2008
Ric Sanders
Born 1952
Geoffrey Grimmett
Born 1950
Kevin Elyot
1951 - 2014
Sonia Lannaman
Born 1956
Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham
Born 1955
Dave Wakeling
Born 1956
Annette Badland
Born 1950
Richard Vinen
Born 1950
Anita Harding
1952 - 1995
John Taylor, Baron Taylor of Warwick
Born 1952
Steve Burke (businessman)
Born 1958
Rita Felski
Born 1956
Elizabeth J. Braswell
Born 1950
Keith Bradley, Baron Bradley
Born 1950
Mark Farmer
Born 1957
Jane Davidson
Born 1957
Malcolm Perry (physicist)
Born 1951
Geoffrey Jones (academic)
Born 1952
John Pethica
Born 1953
Don Paul Fowler
1953 - 1999
Phil Moorby
Born 1953
Claire Dowie
Born 1956
Martin Dudley
Born 1953
Ann Moore (equestrian)
Born 1950
Sheenagh Pugh
Born 1950
Edward Barker (cartoonist)
1950 - 1997
Peter Bradley (politician)
Born 1953
John Shelley (illustrator)
Born 1959
Dave Willetts
Born 1952
Paul Child (soccer)
Born 1952
Carl Chinn
Born 1956
Richard C. Harrington
1956 - 2004
John Barton (footballer, born 1953)
Born 1953
Nicola Davies (author)
Born 1958
Sue Reeve
Born 1951
Ruth Cadbury
Born 1959
David Townsend (rower)
Born 1955
Michael Haykin
Born 1953
Garry Thompson (footballer, born 1959)
Born 1959
Andy Cox
Born 1956
Simon Inglis
Born 1950
Ken Shuttleworth (architect)
Born 1952
Lynne Jones
Born 1951
Jonathan Richards (sailor)
Born 1954
David J. Russell
Born 1954
Patrick McKinney
Born 1954
Mary Stewart (athlete)
Born 1956
Jeffrey Skidmore
Born 1951
Keith Leonard
Born 1950
Keith Shine
Born 1958
Steve Augarde
Born 1950
Sue Cogswell
Born 1951
Trevor Beattie
Born 1959
Ron Green (footballer)
Born 1956
Fritz McIntyre
Born 1952
Paul Carbutt
1950 - 2004
Petrine Archer-Straw
1956 - 2012
Nigel Preston
1959 - 1992
Mike Chinn
Born 1954
Sue Lenier
Born 1957
Nick Duffy
Born 1956
Geoff Scott (footballer)
1956 - 2018
Patrick Hall (politician)
Born 1951
Stephen Hunt (footballer, born 1956)
Born 1956
Bernie Wright
Born 1952
Maggie Moone
Born 1953
Steve Jones (cyclist)
Born 1957
Michael Dulin
Born 1952
Anthony Forrest (Schauspieler)
Born 1951
Barbara Slater (sports producer)
Born 1959
Christopher Nemeth
1959 - 2010
Don Austen
Born 1958
Geoff Humpage
Born 1954
Jayne Ashton
Born 1957
Sarah Woodhouse
Born 1950
Keith Masefield
Born 1957
Marty St. James
Born 1954
Keith Gardom
Born 1952
Richard Davies (cricketer)
Born 1954
Tony Dean (Canadian senator)
Born 1953
John Palmer (criminal)
1950 - 2015
Gary Plumley
Born 1956
John Caudwell
Born 1952
David Hopkins (cricketer)
Born 1957
Michael Shire
Born 1958
Martyn Evans
Born 1953
Gary Stevens (footballer, born 1954)
Born 1954
Bill Buckley (radio presenter)
Born 1959
Henry Obering
Born 1951
Peter Latchford
Born 1952
Gerald Woodroffe
Born 1951
Jon Minnis
Born 1950
Barry Cowdrill
Born 1957
Andy Grahame
Born 1957
Mark Lansdale
Born 1953
Steve Bastable
Born 1956
John Milton (tradutor)
Born 1956
Alan Grahame
Born 1954
Carolyn Stait
Born 1957
Roy Morton
Born 1955
David Hughes (footballer, born 1958)
Born 1958
Paul Dyson
Born 1959
Mark Webster (journalist)
Born 1953
Robert Dyer (English cricketer)
Born 1959
Paul Cooper (footballer, born 1957)
Born 1957
Karen Mixon Cook
Born 1955
Bob Peyton
Born 1954
Lloyd Hibbert
Born 1959
Christopher Boyle
Born 1951
Nigel Heath
Born 1955
Vince O'Keefe
Born 1957
Peter Neilson (politician born 1954)
Born 1954
Paul Moss (footballer)
Born 1957
Steve Sherlock
Born 1950
Dave Howitt
Born 1952
Dave Grills
Born 1959
Tony O'Gorman
Born 1958
Paul McCullough (footballer)
Born 1959
Greg Richards (decathlete)
Born 1956
Peter Passey
Born 1952
Bob Love (lawn bowls)
Born 1954
Gerald Woodruffe
Born 1951
Sharon Corbett
Born 1953