The following are famous people born in January including politicians, TV personalities, celebrities, actors and actresses, and sportspeople. Infamous politicians who were born in January include U.S. civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr., president Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast, president Samia Suluhu of Tanzania, and former prime minister of Kenya Raila Odinga.
Other personalities & celebs born in January are Former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, Mr. Bean actor Rowan Atkinson, and Kenyan 3-time Olympic champion, middle and long distance runner Faith Kipyegon. American Queen of Country music Dolly Parton, and Batman actor Christian Bale also have January birthdays.
Celebrities with January Birthdays
First Lady of Russia from 2000 to 2008 and former wife of president Vladimir Putin
English actor famous in Merlin (2010–12), Black Sails (2014–17), Game of Thrones (2017), & The Umbrella Academy (2019–2
Died aged 99
American actress famous on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1973–1977), The Golden Girls (1985–1992) & Hot in Cleveland
Mexican actress & singer famous in From Dusk till Dawn: The Series (2014–2016), Baby Driver (2017), Alita: Battle Angel
American actress famous in License to Drive (1988), Drugstore Cowboy (1989), Boogie Nights (1997) and From Hell (2001)
Ethiopian athlete, long-distance runner, and 2-time World champion in the 5000 metres
American actress and singer whose films include Zombie Nightmare (1987), & science fiction comedy Lilo & Stitch (2025)
American actor, retired professional wrestler with WWE from 2002 to 2019, and acts as Drax in Marvel Cinematic Universe
Portuguese football manager, former player, has coached Benfica, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Man Utd & Spurs
Trinidadian-born German singer famous for his 1993 hit singles What Is Love, Life, I Miss You & Rock My Heart
Other Politicians born in January
Other politicians born in January are former Prime minister of Italy Matteo Renzi, leader of Tanzanian opposition Tundu Lissu, and former anti-apartheid activist Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. Presidents Omar al-Bashir of Sudan and Nicolas Sarkozy of France were born in January. American political activist Eric Trump also celebrates his birthday in January.
Famous sports personalities born in January include Manchester City manager and former Spanish player Pep Guardiola, two-time world boxing heavyweight champion George Foreman, and the man regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali.
Uruguayan forward Luis Suárez and Portuguese football manager José Mourinho also celebrate their birthdays in January.
Famous Actors, Actresses and TV Personalities born in January
Famous January actresses include Heather Graham (Boogie Nights), Eiza González of Alita: Battle Angel, Betty White of The Golden Girls, and Kerry Washington who stars as Olivia Pope in Scandal.
American actors Cuba Gooding Jr, Jeremy Renner, Elijah Wood, Gene Hackman and Kevin Costner were born in the first month. Other famous birthdays celebs for January are American talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Fallin singer Alicia Keys. January babies also include musicians Haddaway and R. Kelly, and the late Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o who was born on January 5, 1938.
Recently updated January birthdays
January Historical Events
1st January 1912:The Republic of China was formed, marking the end of the Xinhai Revolution that brought an end to the 2,000 years of imperial rule during which China was ruled by successive dynasties of emperors. The first emperor was Qin Shi Huang, founder of the Qin dynasty in 221 BC. The last emperor was Aisin-Gioro Puyi of the Qing Dynasty, whose fall led to the founding of the Peoples Republic of China.
8th January 1912:The African National Congress (ANC) was formed in South Africa. The social-democratic party began as a liberation movement that was formed to oppose the apartheid (institutionalized racial segregation) that black South Africans were subject to from around 1948. In 1994, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, became the first president of South Africa after the end of white minority rule.
12th January 1964:The Zanzibar Revolution was started by the black majority inhabitants of the Indian Ocean island. Located in East Africa and 15 miles off the coast of Tanzania, the island was ruled by an Arab government led by the Sultans of Zanzibar who were in power from 1856 to 1964.
The revolution led to the overthrow of the Sultan, and Abeid Karume became the president. The country was also renamed to the People's Republic of Zanzibar.
15th January 1929:Famous U.S civil rights movement activist, Martin Luther King Jr, was born. Martin Luther King Jr was the outspoken spokesperson of the civil rights movement that was formed to protest racial discrimination on the basis of skin color, ethnicity and race.
Although Dr. King was born on 15th, the third Monday of each January is celebrated in the U.S as the Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
26th January 1950: The Constitution of India came into effect, replacing the Government of India Act 1935 that was the governing document of India and which was adapted from the UK Parliament. India had, 3 years earlier, attained independence from the UK on 15 August 1947, the date on which the British Raj (the period of British rule of India) ended.