Famous people born in December

Famous people born in December include Anthony Hopkins, the Welsh actor and one of Britain’s most famous actors, pop singer Brittney Spears, Wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, basketball player LeBron James, creator of America’s Next Top Model TV show Tyra Banks, and the President of France Emmanuel Macron.

French footballer Kylian Mbappé, American actress Zoë Kravitz, supermodel Anok Yai, and Nicki Minaj the Trinidadian “Queen of Rap” are other celebrities and legends born in December. And let’s not forget American actor and film producer Samuel L. Jackson who is famous as Nick Fury on Marvel Cinematic Universe and was born on 21 December 1948.

Celebs with birthday in December

Famous people born in December

Pope Francis

Pope Francis was born on 17 December 1936 and his real name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He is famous as the first Jesuit and Latin American pope. Pope Francis served as head of the Catholic Church & sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until his death on 21 April 2025 aged 88.

As pope, he was famous for his teachings on humility, mercy, fight for social justice as well as his modest lifestyle and advocacy for the poor in the world.

Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj was born on December 8, 1982. She is a Trinidadian-born rapper, singer, businesswoman, fashion icon and songwriter. Moreover, She is famous for her bold singing style and positive impact on hip-hop, earning her the nickname the “Queen of Rap”.

Nicki Minaj’s real name is Onika Tanya Maraj. She was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Nicki’s debut album was “Pink Friday” in 2010. Since then she has done collabos with many artists, most notably Beyoncé, Drake who was born in October, Ariana Grande and Lil Wayne.

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson is one of the famous people born in December. The American actor was born on December 21, 1948. He is one of the most prolific actors ever who is blessed with a commanding presence. With his movies grossing over $27 billion worldwide, he is also one of the highest-grossing actors ever.

Samuel L. Jackson has an iconic voice and his talent and versatility enables him to play roles across many movie genres. Samuel L. Jackson’s acting career has spanned over five decades and he has appeared in over 150 films and more than 70 TV shows.

December Historical Events

1st December 1955: Rosa Parks, the American civil rights activist, was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, after refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. African Americans had to give up their seats to whites whenever a bus was full, or be arrested.

Other people followed her lead and started boycotting Montgomery buses to push for desegregation in the city's buses.

2nd December 1988: Benazir Bhutto begins her first term as the first female prime minister of Pakistan. She served for two terms, the 1st from 1988 to 1990 and the 2nd from 1993 to 1996.

She was the first Muslim woman to be elected to head a nation.

3rd December 1967: Dr. Christiaan Barnard, a South African cardiac surgeon, performed the first successful human-to-human heart transplant.

He transplanted the heart of an accident victim into Louis Washkansky who lived for 18 days before succumbing to pneumonia. The operation was done in Groote Schuur hospital, a government-funded, teaching hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.

5th December 2013: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the first democratically elected president of South Africa and an anti-apartheid revolutionary died aged 95. Mandela was South Africa's first black president and was in office from 1994 to 1999. Before his presidency, Mandela was in prison for 27 years for standing up to the South African apartheid government.6th December 1917: Finland declared its independence from Russia. This was after increased nationalism and political turmoil in both Russia and Finland. Moreover, World War I (1914-1918) was ongoing.

Russia's control over Finland had been weaker since the February of the same year when a revolution occured that led to Tsar Nicholas II abdicating the throne of the Russian Empire. A communist government had taken over from the Tsarist regime in Russia. Seizing the moment, the Parliament of Finland adopted the Declaration of Independence.

12th December 1963: Kenya became an independent republic from British colonial rule. The East African nation joined 33 other African countries that had earned their independence, including Ethiopia and Liberia that were never colonized.

Kenya had been under British rule for 68 years. The date is celebrated every year on December 12 as Jamhuri (Republic) Day, one of the major national holidays in Kenya.

14th December 1990: The United Nations General Assembly voted to establish 1st October as the International Day of Older Persons.14th December 2013: China lands Yutu, its robotic lunar rover, on the moon's surface. It had been launched on the 1st of that month.

This was China's first landing on the moon, and the project was one of the Asian country's major space exploration programmes.

26th December 2004: A massive undersea earthquake (Sumatra-Andaman earthquake) struck off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia and caused the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in history that caused the deaths of over 230,000 people in 14 countries and the displacement of millions, mostly in Aceh province in Indonesia.

The earthquake had a magnitude of 9.1–9.3, and the waves caused by the tsunami reached heights of up to 100 feet (30 meters). India, Thailand and Sri Lanka also reported big losses and tens of thousands of people either dead or missing.

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