40.6979° N, 73.9995° W

NEW YORK CITY

Most Famous People Born in New York City, USA

Notable people
22,064
Peak decade
1940s
Median birth year
1935
Most distinctive
Screenwriter 5.4×

If the 20th century held a casting call, it was in New York. Almost all of the city's notable births fall after 1900, fueled by an entertainment economy — Broadway, Tin Pan Alley, the studio system, late-night TV, hip-hop in the Bronx — that has minted more actors, comedians, and musicians than any other American city. Even its 19th-century names skew literary: poets, editors, journalists, not generals or industrialists.

Standouts

What New York City Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is New York City's biggest profession — 14% of all notables (3,012).

New York City over-indexes on screenwriter 5.4× the global rate.

New York City under-produces football — only 0.1× the global rate.

  1. Actor 3,012 2.6×
  2. Politician 1,004 0.4×
  3. Writer 859 1.2×
  4. Film 841 3.1×
  5. Lawyer 794 2.1×
  6. Music 767 2.4×
  7. Baseball 584 2.3×
  8. Singer 573 1.3×
  1. Screenwriter 522 5.4×
  2. Producer 225 3.6×
  3. Novelist 299 3.4×
  4. Film 841 3.1×
  5. Photographer 287 2.7×
  6. Actor 3,012 2.6×
  7. Music 767 2.4×
  8. Baseball 584 2.3×
  1. Football 365 0.1×
  2. Politician 1,004 0.4×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of New York City's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1800 1850 1900 1950 2000
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Science
  • Other
All22,064
Sort By

Showing 2,268 of 22,064 notable people

2396 ACTOR

Whip Hubley

Born 1958

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2413 SCREENWRITER

Don Roos

Born 1955

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2417 ARTIST

Peter Halley

Born 1953

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2418 SINGER

Kashif (musician)

1959 - 2016

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2422 GUITAR

Emily Remler

1957 - 1990

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2431 ACTOR

Stephanie Faracy

Born 1952

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2435 FILM

Chris Kraus (American writer)

Born 1955

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2455 FILM

Alan Zweibel

Born 1950

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2458 POLITICIAN

Dan Donovan (politician)

Born 1956

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2459 PRODUCER

Paul O'Neill (rock producer)

1956 - 2017

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2464 SCREENWRITER

Frank Henenlotter

Born 1950

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2472 COMPOSER

Peter H. Gilmore

Born 1956

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2475 HOST

Leo Laporte

Born 1956

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2495 NOVELIST

Alain Elkann

Born 1950

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2511 PLAYER

Mary Carillo

Born 1957

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2534 SCREENWRITER

Valerie Landsburg

Born 1958

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2536 ACTOR

Glynnis O'Connor

Born 1956

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2546 POLITICIAN

Giorgos Kaminis

Born 1954

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2550 SOCIOLOGIST

Michael Kimmel

Born 1951

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2554 WRITER

Peggy Noonan

Born 1950

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2558 ARTIST

Fab Five Freddy

Born 1959

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2561 MUSIC

John Linnell

Born 1959

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2564 WRITER

Alice McDermott

Born 1953

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2568 WRITER

Peter Lerangis

Born 1955

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2583 ECONOMIST

Maurice Obstfeld

Born 1952

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2586 ACTOR

Jamie Rose

Born 1959

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2591 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Thomas H. Cormen

Born 1956

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2595 ACTOR

Joseph R. Gannascoli

Born 1959

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2599 CONDUCTOR

James Conlon

Born 1950

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2603 SCREENWRITER

Andrew Klavan

Born 1954

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2609 WRITER

Jude Watson

Born 1956

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2613 CONDUCTOR

Andrew Litton

Born 1959

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2615 BALLET

Leslie Browne

Born 1957

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2616 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Scott Atran

Born 1952

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2617 POET

Charles Bernstein

Born 1950

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2630 CLARINET

David Krakauer

Born 1956

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2654 POLITICIAN

Carol Shea-Porter

Born 1952

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2672 PRODUCER

Larry Levan

1954 - 1992

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2677 ACTOR

Randy Graff

Born 1955

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2683 SCREENWRITER

Lee David Zlotoff

Born 1954

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2685 ACTOR

Jim Ward (voice actor)

Born 1959

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2687 ACTOR

Randy Brooks (actor)

Born 1950

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2689 ACTOR

Tony Ganios

Born 1959

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2720 LAWYER

Eric Schneiderman

Born 1954

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2731 ACTIVIST

Sylvia Rivera

1951 - 2002

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2734 FILM

James Glickenhaus

Born 1950

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2736 FOOTBALL

Ed Marinaro

Born 1950

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2746 SCREENWRITER

Ian Maxtone-Graham

Born 1959

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2751 FILM

Chris Meledandri

Born 1959

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2758 PHOTOGRAPHER

John Fekner

Born 1950

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2764 FILM

Gil Junger

Born 1954

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2794 NOVELIST

Ellen Kushner

Born 1955

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2798 MUSIC

Dave Valentin

1952 - 2017

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2802 MUSIC

Jimmy Destri

Born 1954

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2805 MUSIC

Tony Thompson (drummer)

1954 - 2003

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2806 FILM

David Fury

Born 1959

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2815 MUSIC

Rod Morgenstein

Born 1953

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2816 BUSINESS

Tom Steyer

Born 1957

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2820 AUTHOR

Sarah Schulman

Born 1958

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2836 GUITAR

Peter Blegvad

Born 1951

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2837 ACTOR

Wyatt Knight

1955 - 2011

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2841 PERCUSSIONIST

Marilyn Mazur

Born 1955

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2842 ACTOR

Wanda De Jesus

Born 1958

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2861 JOURNALIST

Jane Mayer

Born 1955

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2867 PHYSICIST

Peter Galison

Born 1955

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2886 HERAUSGEBER

Andrew Cohen (spiritual teacher)

Born 1955

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2888 ACTOR

Samantha Fox (pornographic actress)

1951 - 2020

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2908 ACTOR

Joseph Cali

Born 1950

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2914 ACTOR

Andy Luotto

Born 1950

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2918 WRITER

William Finnegan

Born 1952

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2921 MUSIC

Lenny Castro

Born 1956

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2922 COMPOSER

Don Byron

Born 1958

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2949 CONDUCTOR

JoAnn Falletta

Born 1954

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2952 WRITER

Christopher Pike (author)

Born 1954

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2956 ACTOR

Wendy Phillips

Born 1952

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2959 MUSIC

Dennis Davis

1951 - 2016

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2966 MUSIC

T. M. Stevens

Born 1951

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2983 CHEMIST

Jacqueline Barton

Born 1952

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2990 ACTOR

Guy Davis (musician)

Born 1952

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2992 ACTOR

Joyce Hyser

Born 1957

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3001 ACTOR

Dan Grimaldi

Born 1952

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3006 ACTOR

Dorsey Wright

Born 1957

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3008 DRUMMER

A. J. Pero

1959 - 2015

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3012 ACTOR

Don Stark

Born 1954

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3026 DIPLOMAT

Richard N. Haass

Born 1951

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3029 JOURNALIST

David Corn

Born 1959

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3040 POLITICIAN

David Paterson

Born 1954

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3051 POLITICIAN

Robin Kelly

Born 1956

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3053 FILM

Brad Grey

1957 - 2017

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3070 BASSIST

James LoMenzo

Born 1959

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3080 SINGER

Catherine Russell (singer)

Born 1956

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3090 ACTOR

Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs

Born 1953

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3096 SOCIOLOGIST

Steve Fuller (sociologist)

Born 1959

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3104 MUSIC

Liberty DeVitto

Born 1950

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3109 WRITER

Carol J. Adams

Born 1951

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3112 FILM

Lynda Obst

Born 1950

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3117 POET

Jane Hirshfield

Born 1953

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3125 ARTIST

Dan DiDio

Born 1959

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3127 SCREENWRITER

Wesley Strick

Born 1954

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3148 BASKET

Mike Dunleavy Sr.

Born 1954

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3150 FILM

Neal Israel

Born 1956

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3158 PRESENTER

Terry Gross

Born 1951

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3159 FILM

John Lafia

1957 - 2020

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3160 ACTOR

Faith Minton

Born 1957

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3184 ARTIST

Paul Levitz

Born 1956

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3190 MUSIC

Howard Levy

Born 1951

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3191 WRITER

David Weinberger

Born 1950

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3214 ACTOR

Marcia Mitzman Gaven

Born 1959

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3221 POLITICIAN

William P. Barr

Born 1950

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3223 ACTOR

Rachel Chagall

Born 1952

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3264 WRITER

Ann Nocenti

Born 1957

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3268 ECONOMIST

David M. Kreps

Born 1950

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3273 SINGER

Mordechai Ben David

Born 1951

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3286 SINGER

Felipe Rose

Born 1954

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3289 ACTOR

Joshua Sinclair

Born 1957

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3301 ENDOCRINOLOGIST

Robert Lustig

Born 1957

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3305 SCREENWRITER

James L. Conway

Born 1950

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3311 ACTOR

Kirk Baltz

Born 1959

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3318 ACTOR

Helen Schneider

Born 1952

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3321 SCREENWRITER

Lonny Price

Born 1959

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3375 ECONOMIST

Frederic Mishkin

Born 1951

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3383 FILM

Susan E. Morse

Born 1952

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3387 WRITER

Greg Costikyan

Born 1959

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3403 CHILD

Edoardo Agnelli

1954 - 2000

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3414 PIANIST

Kenny Werner

Born 1951

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3435 ACTOR

Judy Kuhn

Born 1958

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3455 ACTOR

Jerry Butler (actor)

1959 - 2018

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3456 BIOLOGIST

Alan Rabinowitz

1953 - 2018

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3461 ACTOR

Don Most

Born 1953

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3487 WRITER

Elaine Cunningham

Born 1957

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3492 RADIO

Alan Colmes

1950 - 2017

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3495 COMPOSER

Frank Wildhorn

Born 1958

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3499 TRUMPET

Tom Browne (trumpeter)

Born 1954

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3504 WRITER

Donald Antrim

Born 1958

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3506 ACTOR

Luca Bercovici

Born 1957

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3514 MATHEMATICIAN

Susan Landau

Born 1954

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3541 HISTORIAN

Roy Rosenzweig

1950 - 2007

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3545 FILM

John Gulager

Born 1957

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3547 BUSINESS

Ursula Burns

Born 1958

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3566 NOVELIST

Gloria Naylor

1950 - 2016

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3571 MUSIC

Steve Grossman (saxophonist)

1951 - 2020

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3583 JOURNALIST

Dave Meltzer

Born 1959

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3586 JOURNALIST

Katrina vanden Heuvel

Born 1959

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3605 ACTOR

Max Cantor

1959 - 1991

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3606 ACTOR

Eddie Velez

Born 1958

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3617 SCREENWRITER

Nelson George

Born 1957

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3620 ACTOR

Christopher Knight (actor)

Born 1957

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3636 DIPLOMAT

Philip D. Zelikow

Born 1954

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3644 ACTOR

Robert Funaro

Born 1959

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3658 FILM

Amos Poe

Born 1950

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3663 MUSIC

Danny Gottlieb

Born 1953

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3666 BUSINESS

Edgar Bronfman Jr.

Born 1955

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3676 SCREENWRITER

Howard Brookner

1954 - 1989

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3679 COMPOSER

Wayne Horvitz

Born 1955

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3691 TEACHER

Michael Sipser

Born 1954

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3694 PIANIST

Hilton Ruiz

1952 - 2006

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3703 ACTOR

Larry Thomas (actor)

Born 1956

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3707 ACTOR

Sam Behrens

Born 1950

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3715 WRITER

Byron Preiss

1953 - 2005

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3721 ARTIST

Charles Fazzino

Born 1955

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3726 PHOTOGRAPHER

Roy Stuart (photographer)

Born 1955

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3736 PAINTER

Eric Drooker

Born 1958

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3737 ACTOR

Clark Brandon

Born 1958

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3745 ACTOR

Ted Williams (voice-over artist)

Born 1957

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3752 ACTOR

Dan Shor

Born 1956

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3756 DESIGNER

Jeffrey Zeldman

Born 1955

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3757 COMPOSER

Mark Reale

1955 - 2012

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3758 MUSIC

Jay Beckenstein

Born 1951

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3770 COMIC

Bill Mantlo

Born 1951

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3788 BASKET

Len Elmore

Born 1952

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3792 GUITAR

Elliot Easton

Born 1953

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3794 ECONOMIST

Paul Zane Pilzer

Born 1954

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3801 MUSIC

Najee

Born 1957

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3818 MUSIC

William Parker (musician)

Born 1952

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3825 SINGER

Charlie Dominici

Born 1951

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3835 FILM

Christopher Wilkinson

Born 1950

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3837 POLITICIAN

Mark Penn

Born 1954

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3842 MURDER

Baruch Goldstein

1956 - 1994

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3880 ACTOR

Stephen Adly Guirgis

Born 1950

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3881 JOURNALIST

Alan Friedman

Born 1956

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3890 ARTIST

Tom DeFalco

Born 1950

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3894 MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER

Michael Franzese

Born 1951

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3925 NOVELIST

Richard Kadrey

Born 1957

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3934 WRITER

Blue Balliett

Born 1955

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3939 BUSINESS

Shari Arison

Born 1957

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3941 PSYCHOLOGIST

Daniel Schacter

Born 1952

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3946 LAWYER

Mary Schapiro

Born 1955

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3964 HISTORIAN

Dovid Katz

Born 1956

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3967 ACTOR

Kevin Wade

Born 1954

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3968 MATHEMATICIAN

Joseph H. Silverman

Born 1955

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3972 FILM

Joseph Siravo

Born 1957

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3979 AUTHOR

Sharon Salzberg

Born 1952

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3981 INVENTOR

Steven Sasson

Born 1950

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3989 MUSIC

Richard Manitoba

Born 1954

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3995 POLITICIAN

Jeh Johnson

Born 1957

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4004 SINGER

Emily Bindiger

Born 1955

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4040 MUSIC

Kasim Sulton

Born 1955

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4056 COMPOSER

Jonathan Elias

Born 1956

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4057 POLITICIAN

Shelley Berkley

Born 1951

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4059 ACTOR

T. K. Carter

Born 1956

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4064 ARTIST

Ben Katchor

Born 1951

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4073 WRITER

Michael Tolkin

Born 1950

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4084 BASSIST

Kenny Aaronson

Born 1952

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4093 AUTHOR

Alexander Stille

Born 1957

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4098 ACTOR

Kin Shriner

Born 1953

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4102 AUTHOR

Leon Wieseltier

Born 1952

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4112 CARTOONIST

Roz Chast

Born 1954

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4146 POLICE

John McLoughlin (policier)

Born 1953

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4154 COMPOSER

Linda Jo Rizzo

Born 1955

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4159 NOVELIST

Celia S. Friedman

Born 1957

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4171 HISTORIAN

Steven Hahn

Born 1951

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4173 MATHEMATICIAN

Jennifer Tour Chayes

Born 1956

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4175 FILM

Sean Daniel

Born 1951

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4197 MUSIC

Andy Narell

Born 1954

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4200 POLITICIAN

Gijs de Vries

Born 1956

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4203 CHEMIST

James Tour

Born 1959

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4204 WRITER

Michael Jan Friedman

Born 1955

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4209 ARTIST

Ron Marz

Born 1959

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4224 ACTOR

Ray Abruzzo

Born 1954

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4236 SCREENWRITER

Marc Levin

Born 1951

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4238 AUTHOR

Jim Holt (philosopher)

Born 1954

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4240 FILM

Arlene Sanford

Born 1950

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4249 FILM

John Lindley (cinematographer)

Born 1951

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4259 PHYSICIAN

Jean-Claude Ameisen

Born 1951

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4266 ACTOR

James Hayden

1953 - 1983

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4277 FILM

Richard Schenkman

Born 1958

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4278 FILM

Matthew Diamond

Born 1951

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4284 ACTOR

Denise Nickerson

1957 - 2019

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4290 COMPOSER

Tobias Picker

Born 1954

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4292 FILM

Alan Berliner

Born 1956

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4298 COMEDIAN

Leo Bassi

Born 1952

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4320 COMEDIAN

Andy Kindler

Born 1956

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4333 ATTORNEY

Jay Sekulow

Born 1957

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4336 GUITAR

Eddie Ojeda

Born 1955

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4350 ACTOR

Christopher Mayer (American actor)

1954 - 2011

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4358 ACTOR

Charles Busch

Born 1954

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4375 CRIMINAL

Víctor Manuel Gerena

Born 1958

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4402 POLITICIAN

Craig Benson

Born 1954

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4413 BUSINESS

Sheryl WuDunn

Born 1959

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4418 SINGER

Gino Quilico

Born 1955

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4427 BANDLEADER

Bobby Previte

Born 1951

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4446 DEVELOPER

Dave Winer

Born 1955

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4464 PLAYER

Gene Mayer

Born 1956

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4489 SONGWRITER

Roxanne Seeman

Born 1954

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4491 BIOGRAPHER

Laurence Bergreen

Born 1950

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4492 ACTOR

Irwin Keyes

1952 - 2015

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4494 LAWYER

Reed Brody

Born 1953

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4497 BASSIST

Dave Spitz

Born 1958

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4500 ACTOR

Scott Colomby

Born 1952

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4502 THEATRE

Francesca Zambello

Born 1956

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4507 MUSIC

Jimmy Crespo

Born 1954

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4509 ACTOR

Bruce Mahler

Born 1950

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4510 COMPOSER

Richard Danielpour

Born 1956

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4530 HOCKEY

Joe Mullen

Born 1957

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4539 AUTHOR

Jonathan Weiner

Born 1953

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4552 FILM

Buddy Giovinazzo

Born 1957

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4558 ACTOR

Bo Dietl

Born 1950

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4564 PLAYWRIGHT

Timberlake Wertenbaker

Born 1951

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4571 SINGER

Rossana Casale

Born 1958

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4584 ARTIST

Steven Parrino

1958 - 2005

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4602 SCREENWRITER

Ira Steven Behr

Born 1953

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4604 ACTOR

Winnie Holzman

Born 1954

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4619 MUSIC

Doug Raney

1956 - 2016

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4633 POLITICIAN

Susan Molinari

Born 1958

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4635 CURATOR

Maurice Berger

1956 - 2020

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4639 MUSIC

Adam Holzman (keyboardist)

Born 1958

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4642 ACTOR

Tommy Norden

Born 1952

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4659 FITNESS

Jake Steinfeld

Born 1958

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4661 SOCIOLOGIST

Timur Kuran

Born 1954

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4667 COSTUME DESIGNER

Deborah Nadoolman Landis

Born 1952

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4676 ACTOR

Caren Kaye

Born 1951

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4690 SINGER

Manoella Torres

Born 1954

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4695 ARTIST

Paul Kupperberg

Born 1955

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4723 DRUMMER

Donnie Hamzik

Born 1956

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4743 MUSIC

Andy Statman

Born 1950

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4756 AUTHOR

Michael Kimmelman

Born 1958

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4760 COMPOSER

Frank London

Born 1958

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4762 ACTOR

Brian Backer

Born 1956

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4767 PRODUCER

Bobby Orlando

Born 1958

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4777 ECONOMIST

Sanford J. Grossman

Born 1953

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4799 ASTRONOMER

Sallie Baliunas

Born 1953

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4800 PRODUCER

Jimmy Rip

Born 1956

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4823 SINGER

Tony Moran

Born 1950

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4828 POLITICIAN

Denise Majette

Born 1955

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4833 WRITER

Jeffrey M. Smith

Born 1958

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4843 FILM

David Permut

Born 1954

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4861 POLITICIAN

Randall Terry

Born 1959

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4873 COMPOSER

Man Parrish

Born 1958

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4882 JOURNALIST

Lynne McTaggart

Born 1951

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4924 MUSIC

Mickey Leigh

Born 1954

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4925 SINGER

Brian Jackson (musician)

Born 1952

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4938 FILM

Geraldine Peroni

1953 - 2004

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4939 ACADEMIC

Lani Guinier

Born 1950

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4940 POLITICIAN

Kenneth Mapp

Born 1955

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4944 CHESS

John Fedorowicz

Born 1958

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4957 SINGER

Janis Siegel

Born 1952

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4958 POLITICIAN

Mark Everson

Born 1954

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4970 ACTOR

Joe Lisi

Born 1950

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5000 ENTREPRENEUR

Muhtar Kent

Born 1952

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5002 PHYSICIAN

Jay C. Buckey

Born 1956

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