Famous people born in May include John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the U.S., American actress Megan Fox, American rapper YNW Melly, and Pierce Brosnan who is most famous as James Bond in GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day.
Other famous celebrities and personalities with May birthdays are Facebook and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Tony Blair the former Prime Minister of the UK from 1997 to 2007, and the 72nd U.S. Secretary of State since 2025, Marco Rubio. Other famous people born in May are Pope John Paul II and American singer Janet Jackson.
Celebrities and personalities with birthdays in May
50 years old
English former footballer famous as right midfielder & set-piece specialist with Manchester United club, winning EPL 6 times
Died aged 72
American actor also known as Duke, famous in Western & war movies such as The Big Trail (1930), Stagecoach (1939), True Grit (1969)
58 years old
American talk show host, author famous as host of Morning Joe, and as a CBS News correspondent during the September 11, 2001 U.S. terrrorist attack
75 years old
American singer-songwriter, musician, known for hits such as the single Fingertips (1963), How Come, How Long duet with Babyface
53 years old
American actor, wrestler famous as The Rock in WWE, & acts in The Mummy Returns (2001), The Scorpion King (2002)
39 years old
Kenyan singer, actress famous as first runners-up in 2nd second season of Tusker Project Fame in 2008 and known for her songs Haiwi Haiwi, Chali
81 years old
American actor famous as Machete in Machete (2010), Machete Kills (2013), & has major roles in Anaconda (1997), Desperado (1995)
Died aged 39
African-American revolutionary, human rights activist & a prominent figure during the civil rights movement, who was assassinated in 1965
81 years old
American R&B singer who has sold over 50 million records worldwide & is known as the Godmother of Soul, famous 1970s hit Lady Marmalade
37 years old
American TV personality, singer famous as daughter of wrestler Hulk Hogan & stars in TV series Hogan Knows Best (2005 to 2007)
May Historical Events
1st May 1707: The Act of Union was signed between England and Scotland. With the signing, the two countries become one kingdom, and the Scottish and English Parliaments became united, thereby forming the Parliament of Great Britain.This new joint house was based in the home of the English Parliament at the Palace of Westminster in London. Scotland retained its independence in terms of their legal and religious systems. However, taxation, coinage, trade, parliament, sovereignty and flag became one with Britain.
2nd May 2011: The US Navy SEALS of SEAL Team Six killed 54-year old Osama bin Laden in his compound in the city of Abbottabad, Pakistan. The leader of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda was a mastermind of many notable terrorist attacks against the United States, including the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.4th May 1494: Christopher Columbus, the famous European explorer, discovered Jamaica and met the Arawak and the Taino, the indigenous people of the Caribbean country. 10th May 1994: Nelson Mandela, the famous anti-apartheid activist and former political prisoner, became the first black president of South Africa. His inauguration on this date ended more than three centuries of minority white rule.His winning party, The African National Congress (ANC), won the country's 1st multi-racial elections by taking 62% of the vote. His presidency ended on 14 June, 1999.
21st May 1991: Former Indian Prime Minister and husband to Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, was assassinated at the age of 46. He had become the 6th and youngest Indian Prime minister at 40 years of age, and had succeeded his mother, the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who was also assassinated. Rajiv Gandhi served as PM between 1984 and 1989.