50+ Celebrities Born on May 31

Jules Burke
May 14, 2024 59 items

May 31 has given the world more than just spring vibes; it's also the birthday of some pretty cool celebrities and historical figures both living and deceased. This list celebrates those stars, highlighting not just their birthdate but also how they've made their mark in entertainment. Whether they're actors, such as Clint Eastwood and Brooke Shields, musicians, like Azealia Banks, or influencers, like Farrah Abraham, each has contributed something special to pop culture. So, let’s roll out the red carpet and get to know these famous faces who blow out their candles on May 31!

  • Clint Eastwood, a name synonymous with Hollywood's gritty charm and charisma, is celebrated for his remarkable contributions as an actor, filmmaker, musician, and political figure. Born on May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, California, Eastwood's journey to stardom began when he moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s. It was here that he broke into the entertainment industry, initially securing minor roles until he landed his breakthrough role as Rowdy Yates in the television series Rawhide. Eastwood's career took a monumental turn when he ventured into the Spaghetti Western genre under the direction of Sergio Leone. His iconic portrayal of the Man with No Name in films like A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly propelled him to international stardom. However, it was his role as Dirty Harry Callahan in the eponymous five-film series that solidified his status as a bona fide action star. His trademark squint and gravelly voice became cinematic staples, marking him as a symbol of rugged individualism. In addition to his acting career, Eastwood has also made significant contributions behind the camera. His directorial debut came in 1971 with Play Misty for Me, and he has since directed numerous acclaimed films, including Unforgiven, which won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Eastwood's influence extends beyond film and television; he served as the Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California from 1986 to 1988, and his passion for music has seen him score several of his own films. Clint Eastwood's diverse talents and enduring appeal have made him a true icon of American cinema and culture.
  • Brooke Shields, born on May 31, 1965, in New York City, is an American actress and model who gained worldwide recognition at a young age. Her mother, Teri Shields, was a key figure in her early career, serving as both a manager and a guiding force. Brooke's career took off when she was just 11 months old, modeling for Ivory Soap, marking the beginning of her journey in the entertainment world. However, it was the controversial role in the film Pretty Baby at the age of 12 that put her on the map. Shields navigated the tumultuous waters of fame with grace and perseverance. She continued to act throughout her teenage years, starring in notable films such as The Blue Lagoon and Endless Love. Despite her burgeoning career, she prioritized education and attended Princeton University, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in French Literature. This move demonstrated her commitment not only to her career but also to personal growth and intellectual development. Beyond her acting career, Shields made significant contributions to the fashion industry. In her early teens, she became the face of Calvin Klein jeans, delivering the famous line, "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins," which revolutionized advertising in the fashion industry. Later in life, Shields turned her focus towards writing, publishing several books including her memoir, There Was A Little Girl, which candidly explores her relationship with her mother.
  • Born in the heart of Dublin, Ireland, Colin Farrell would grow to become one of Hollywood's most versatile leading men. His acting journey began at the Gaiety School of Drama, where he honed his skills before making a breakout appearance in the BBC drama Ballykissangel. This role was the launching pad for a career that would span over two decades and encompass an array of genres, from gritty dramas to big-budget blockbusters. Farrell's breakthrough in Hollywood came with the war drama Tigerland directed by Joel Schumacher, earning him critical acclaim and paving the way for roles in high-profile films such as Minority Report alongside Tom Cruise and Phone Booth, reuniting him with Schumacher. His portrayal of Alexander the Great in Oliver Stone's epic Alexander showcased his ability to helm historical dramas, while his performance in Martin McDonagh's In Bruges brought him a Golden Globe Award, solidifying his standing as a force to be reckoned with in the industry. Off-screen, Farrell has been known for his dedication to several charitable causes. He has worked closely with the Special Olympics, an organization close to his heart due to his own son's diagnosis with Angelman Syndrome. Additionally, he has been an advocate for the LGBT community, publicly supporting marriage equality in Ireland. Despite the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, Farrell has remained grounded, valuing his Irish roots and using his platform to give back. His multifaceted career and passionate activism make him one of the most compelling figures in modern cinema.
  • Lea Thompson, an iconic figure in the American entertainment industry, has made significant contributions to the world of acting and directing. Born on May 31, 1961, in Rochester, Minnesota, Thompson's journey into the spotlight began as a professional ballet dancer before she made the transition into acting. Her prodigious talent became evident early on, leading to her big-screen debut in Jaws 3-D in 1983. Thompson gained nationwide fame with blockbuster hit Back to the Future in 1985, where she played Lorraine Baines McFly. This portrayal was a turning point in her career, and she reprised the role in two sequels, further solidifying her place in Hollywood. The breadth of her work is expansive, ranging from movies to television shows, demonstrating her versatility as an actress. She showcased her ability to connect with audiences through the long-running sitcom Caroline in the City, in which she starred from 1995 to 1999. In addition to her acting prowess, Thompson has also proven herself as a capable director. Her directorial debut was with the feature film The Year of Spectacular Men, in 2017. The film was unique in that it starred both of her daughters and was written by one of them. As an actress and director, Lea Thompson's varied career in the entertainment industry exemplifies commitment, versatility, and a passion for storytelling. Her diversified portfolio and lasting impact on the industry have undoubtedly made her an influential figure in Hollywood.
  • Farrah Abraham is an American reality television personality, singer, and writer. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa, she received public attention after being cast in the reality television series 16 and Pregnant in 2009, which documented the pregnancies and first months of motherhood for several young women. Later that year, she was cast in the spin-off series Teen Mom, and appeared in each of its four seasons until its conclusion in 2012. That August, she released her debut studio album and first memoir, both of which were titled My Teenage Dream Ended. The book made it onto The New York Times bestseller list.
  • Azealia Amanda Banks is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, Banks pursued an interest in musical theatre at a young age, studying at the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts before dropping out to focus on her musical career. In late 2008, she adopted the pseudonym "Miss Bank$", and began releasing music through MySpace, eventually being signed to XL Recordings at age 17. After signing a recording contract with Interscope and Polydor Records, Banks came to prominence by topping NME's Cool List in 2011 and finishing third in the Sound of 2012. Her debut single "212", first extended play 1991, and first mixtape Fantasea received critical acclaim. Banks' debut studio album Broke with Expensive Taste experienced several delays since its initial announcement before being unexpectedly released to online music stores.
  • Tom Berenger (born Thomas Michael Moore; May 31, 1949) is an American television and motion picture actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes in Platoon (1986). He is also known for playing Jake Taylor in the Major League films and Thomas Beckett in the Sniper films. Other films he appeared in include Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), The Dogs of War (1980), The Big Chill (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Betrayed (1988), The Field (1990), Gettysburg (1993), The Substitute (1996), One Man's Hero (1999), Training Day (2001), and Inception (2010). Berenger won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his performance as Jim Vance in the 2012 miniseries Hatfields & McCoys.
  • Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), better known as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's Do It", "Hard in da Paint", and "No Hands", with the latter peaking at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100. His debut studio album Flockaveli was released in 2010. His second studio album Triple F Life: Friends, Fans & Family was released in 2012 and was preceded by the lead single "Round of Applause".
  • Joseph William Namath (; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed Broadway Joe, is an American former football quarterback and actor. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant from 1962 to 1964, and professional football in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) during the 1960s and 1970s. Namath was an AFL icon and played for that league's New York Jets for most of his professional football career. He finished his career with the Los Angeles Rams. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. He retired after playing 143 games over 13 years in the AFL and NFL, including playoffs. His teams had an overall record of 68 wins, 71 losses, and four ties, 64–64–4 in 132 starts, and 4–7 in relief. He completed 1,886 passes for 27,663 yards, threw 173 touchdowns, and had 220 interceptions, for a career passer rating of 65.5. He played for three division champions (the 1968 and 1969 AFL East Champion Jets and the 1977 NFC West Champion Rams), earned one league championship (1968 AFL Championship), and one Super Bowl victory (Super Bowl III). In 1999, he was ranked number 96 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the only player on the list to have spent a majority of his career with the Jets. In his 1975 autobiography, Bryant called Namath the most natural athlete he had ever coached.Namath is known for boldly guaranteeing a Jets' victory over Don Shula's NFL Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III (1969), then making good on his prediction with a 16–7 upset (the win remains the Jets' only Super Bowl appearance). Already a celebrity, he was now established not only as a sports icon but a pop culture icon. He subsequently parlayed his notoriety into success with endorsement deals and as a nightclub owner, talk show host, pioneering advertising spokesman, theater, motion picture, and television actor, and sports broadcaster. He remained a highly recognizable figure in the media and sports worlds half a century after his brashness cemented his identity in the public mind.
  • Walt Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sensuality. Whitman's own life came under scrutiny for his presumed homosexuality. Born in Huntington on Long Island, Whitman worked as a journalist, a teacher, and a government clerk. At age 11, he left formal schooling to go to work. As a child and through much of his career he resided in Brooklyn. Whitman's major work, Leaves of Grass, was first published in 1855 with his own money. The work was an attempt at reaching out to the common person with an American epic. He continued expanding and revising it until his death in 1892. During the American Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C. and worked in hospitals caring for the wounded. His poetry often focused on both loss and healing. Two of his well known poems, "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", were written on the death of Abraham Lincoln. After a stroke towards the end of his life, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at age 72, his funeral was a public event.Whitman's influence on poetry remains strong. Mary Smith Whitall Costelloe argued: "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without Leaves of Grass ... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him." Modernist poet Ezra Pound called Whitman "America's poet ... He is America."
  • Christopher Nash Elliott (born May 31, 1960) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his comedic sketches on Late Night with David Letterman, starring in the comedy series Get a Life on Fox TV and Eagleheart on Adult Swim, as well as his recurring roles as Peter MacDougall on Everybody Loves Raymond and as Mickey Aldrin on How I Met Your Mother. He has also starred in the films Cabin Boy, There's Something About Mary, Scary Movie 2, and Groundhog Day. He is currently starring as Roland Schitt on CBC Television's Schitt's Creek.
  • Erik Sven Gunnar Karlsson (born 31 May 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Karlsson was drafted in the first round, 15th overall, by the Ottawa Senators at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Karlsson is a two-time winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best defenceman, winning the award in 2012 and 2015.
  • Susan Essman (born May 31, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer and television producer, best known for her role as Susie Greene on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bobbi Wexler on Broad City, and the voice of Mittens in Bolt.
  • Normani Kordei Hamilton (born May 31, 1996), recording mononymously as Normani, is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. She is a former member of the girl group Fifth Harmony. In 2017, she was a contestant in season 24 of Dancing with the Stars. Her first single as a soloist, the 2018 duet "Love Lies" with Khalid, recorded for the film Love, Simon, reached number 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Normani later featured on songs from Jessie Reyez and Quavo. She also collaborated with Calvin Harris on the two-single EP Normani x Calvin Harris, and released the single "Waves" featuring 6lack in November 2018. Her song with Sam Smith, "Dancing with a Stranger" was released in January 2019. Normani's debut solo album is set to be released in early 2019 by RCA/Keep Cool Records.
  • Patricia "Patti" Stanger (born May 31, 1961) is an American businesswoman and reality television personality. She is best known for starring in and producing her own matchmaking reality series, The Millionaire Matchmaker, on Bravo TV. She is also founder and CEO of Millionaire's Club International, Inc., a professional matchmaking service for millionaires.
  • Nathaniel Cornelius Robinson (born May 31, 1984) is an American professional basketball player. Born in Seattle, Robinson played college basketball for the University of Washington in Seattle and was the 21st pick in the 2005 NBA draft. The 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) point guard has also played for the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls, and Denver Nuggets. Robinson is the NBA's first three-time slam dunk champion.
  • Eric Christian Olsen (born May 31, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayals of Detective Marty Deeks on the CBS television series NCIS: Los Angeles, and of Austin in the film Not Another Teen Movie.
  • Marco Reus (born 31 May 1989) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Germany national team and Borussia Dortmund, where he is the captain. Reus spent his youth career at Borussia Dortmund, prior to leaving for Rot Weiss Ahlen. He joined Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2009, where he had his most successful season in 2012 when, scoring 18 goals and having 8 assists in the Bundesliga, he helped Borussia Mönchengladbach secure a place in the following season's UEFA Champions League. Reus joined his home club Borussia Dortmund at the end of that season, helping the club reaching the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final in his first season. With Dortmund, Reus won the DFL-Supercup three times in 2013, 2014, 2019 and the DFB-Pokal in 2017, and has scored over 100 goals for the club. With the Germany national team, Reus has only 41 caps, due to his recurring injuries in recent years. He missed the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which Germany won, but played in UEFA Euro 2012 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
  • Denholm Elliott, a British actor known for his diverse and emotionally charged performances, has secured his legacy as one of the most accomplished figures in the world of stage and screen. Born on May 31, 1922, in Ealing, London, Elliott's career spanned more than five decades, during which he demonstrated his exceptional versatility by embodying a wide array of characters across genres. Elliott's journey to stardom was not without obstacles. After serving as a radio operator in the Royal Air Force during World War II, he was captured by the Germans and spent several years as a prisoner of war. Upon his return to England, Elliott turned to acting as a means of coping with his experiences. After studying at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he took the theatre world by storm, winning acclaim for his roles in plays like The Cocktail Party and Waiting for Godot. His talent didn't go unnoticed in Hollywood either, as he landed significant roles in films such as Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, A Room with a View, and Trading Places, garnering widespread appreciation and several award nominations. Despite his success, Elliott's personal life was marked by hardship and tragedy. He battled alcoholism and tuberculosis, and grappled with the loss of his daughter Jennifer, who died from a drug overdose. Despite these challenges, his enduring spirit and love for acting never waned, enabling him to deliver powerful performances until his death on October 6, 1992. Denholm Elliott's contribution to the world of theater and film remains etched in cinematic history, underscoring his status as a timeless icon of the performing arts.
  • Evan Fong (born 31 May 1992), better known through his YouTube videos as VanossGaming (or simply Vanoss) is a Canadian video game commentator and internet personality. He produces content on YouTube centered on playing popular video games with other YouTube collaborators. As of December 2017, Fong's channel has over 8 billion video views and 22 million subscribers on YouTube, making it the 20th most subscribed channel on YouTube.
  • Baroness Alida Maria Laura Altenburger von Marckenstein-Frauenberg (31 May 1921 – 22 April 2006), better known by her stage name Alida Valli (or simply Valli), was an Italian actress who appeared in more than 100 films, including Mario Soldati's Piccolo mondo antico, Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case, Carol Reed's The Third Man, Michelangelo Antonioni's Il Grido, Luchino Visconti's Senso, Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900, Georges Franju's Les Yeux sans Visage, and Dario Argento's Suspiria.
  • Meredith Kathleen Hagner (born May 31, 1987) is an American actress, best known for her role as "lovable narcissist" Portia in the TBS dark comedy Search Party (2016–present). She is also known for playing Liberty Ciccone in the CBS daytime soap opera As the World Turns (2008–10) and Amy Jordan in the TBS sitcom Men at Work (2012–14). Since 2017, she has starred as Cam in the Facebook Watch series Strangers.
  • Elaine Stewart (born Elsy Steinberg; May 31, 1930 – June 27, 2011) was an American actress and model.
  • Darryl Matthews McDaniels (born May 31, 1964), better known by his stage name DMC, is an American musician and rapper. He is a founding member of the hip hop group Run–D.M.C., and is considered one of the pioneers of hip hop culture.
  • Jordy Ray Nelson (born May 31, 1985) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Kansas State, where he received All-America honors, and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. During his tenure in Green Bay, he was regarded by sports analysts as one of the elite wide receivers in the NFL, and won Super Bowl XLV with the team over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2010 season. After spending 10 seasons in Green Bay, he played one year with the Oakland Raiders before announcing his retirement.
  • Vir Das (born 31 May 1979) is an Indian comedian, actor and comedy musician. After beginning a career in standup comedy, Das moved to Hindi cinema starring in films like Badmaash Company (2010), Delhi Belly (2011), and Go Goa Gone (2013) in supporting roles. In 2017, he acted in the Netflix special Abroad Understanding. Das has performed in approximately 35 plays, over 100 stand-up comedy shows, 18 films, eight TV shows and six comedy specials. He has written comedic columns for Femina, Maxim, Exotica, DNA and Tehelka. In 2019, he made his debut in American television with the television series, Whiskey Cavalier.
  • Peter Yarrow (born May 31, 1938) is an American singer and songwriter who found fame with the 1960s folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Yarrow co-wrote (with Leonard Lipton) one of the group's greatest hits, "Puff, the Magic Dragon". He is also a political activist and has supported liberal causes that range from opposition to the Vietnam War to the creation of Operation Respect, an organization that promotes tolerance and civility in schools.
  • Andrew John Hurley (born May 31, 1980) is an American musician. He is the drummer for the rock band Fall Out Boy. Prior to Fall Out Boy, Hurley played in several hardcore punk bands. He joined Fall Out Boy as the full-time drummer in 2003 and was in the band's lineup until its hiatus in 2009. Following that, he formed the heavy metal supergroup The Damned Things with Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman; the group went on hiatus after its debut album, Ironiclast (2010), due to band members focusing on their original bands' new album cycles. Hurley moved on to hardcore punk band Enabler which released a debut album and toured in 2012. Fall Out Boy regrouped and announced a new album and tour on February 4, 2013. The band's fifth studio album, Save Rock and Roll, was released April 16, 2013, with the punk EP PAX AM Days announced on September 30 and was released on October 15 the same year. The band's sixth studio album American Beauty/American Psycho was released on January 16, 2015 and debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200.
  • Gregory Neale Harrison (born May 31, 1950) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Chandler in the 1987 cult favorite North Shore and as Dr. George Alonzo "Gonzo" Gates, the young surgeon assistant of Dr. Trapper John MacIntyre (played by Pernell Roberts) on the CBS series Trapper John, M.D. (1979–86). Since 2015, he has played Joe O'Toole, father of Oliver, in the Hallmark Channel expansion films of Signed, Sealed and Delivered.
  • Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Lofton was a six-time All-Star (1994–1999), four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1993–1996), and at retirement, was ranked 15th among all-time stolen base leaders with 622. During his career, he played for the Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians (three different times), Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Texas Rangers. Lofton attended the University of Arizona on a basketball scholarship. The Wildcats made it to the Final Four in 1988. He did not join the school's baseball team until his junior year. Lofton made 11 postseason appearances, including World Series appearances in 1995 and 2002 with the Indians and Giants, respectively. From 2001 to 2007, Lofton did not spend more than one consecutive season with a team. For his career, the Indians were the only team he played with for longer than one season and the only franchise he played for more than once. Lofton played ​9 1⁄2 seasons with the Indians, helping the organization win six division titles. In 2010, he was inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame. During his professional baseball career, Lofton's single-season stolen base count led the American League (AL) on five occasions and three times for MLB. In 1994, he led the American League in hits. Lofton broke Rickey Henderson's record of 33 career postseason stolen bases during the 2007 postseason. Of his base running, Frank White said, "Lofton has out-thought a lot of major-league players" and later, "a smart, complete baseball player."
  • Corey Mitchell Hart (born May 31, 1962) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for his hit singles "Sunglasses at Night" and "Never Surrender". He has sold over 16 million records worldwide and recorded nine US Billboard Top 40 hits. In Canada, 30 of Hart's recordings have been Top 40 hits, including 11 in the Top 10, over the course of over 35 years in the music industry. Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1984, Hart is an inductee of both Canada's Music Hall of Fame and Canada's Walk of Fame, and is also a multiple Juno award nominee and winner, including the Diamond Award for his best-selling album Boy in the Box. He has also been honoured by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN).
  • Adriana Volpe (31 May 1973, Trento, Italy) is an Italian television presenter, model and actress.
  • Wesley Lawrence Willis (May 31, 1963 – August 21, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter and visual artist. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1989, Willis began a career as an underground singer-songwriter in the outsider music tradition, with songs featuring his bizarre, humorous and often obscene lyrics sung over the auto accompaniment feature on his Technics KN keyboard.Willis gained a large cult following in the 1990s, particularly after the release of his 1995 Greatest Hits album on the Alternative Tentacles label. Jello Biafra compiled the album's track list. In addition to a large body of solo musical work, Willis fronted his own punk rock band, the Wesley Willis Fiasco, during the 1990s. He was also a visual artist long before he developed an interest in music, and produced hundreds of intricate, unusual, colored ink-pen drawings, most of them of various Chicago streetscapes; he frequently sold these on the street for between $20 and $40.Despite his mainly underground career, Willis has influenced a variety of media: for example, music software company Nullsoft took their slogan "It really whips the llama's ass!" for Winamp from Willis's song "Whip the Llama's Ass".
  • Pope Pius XI, (Italian: Pio XI) born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (Italian: [amˈbrɔ:dʒo daˈmja:no aˈkille ˈratti]; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929. He took as his papal motto, "Pax Christi in Regno Christi," translated "The Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ." Pius XI issued numerous encyclicals, including Quadragesimo anno on the 40th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's groundbreaking social encyclical Rerum novarum, highlighting the capitalistic greed of international finance, the dangers of socialism/communism, and social justice issues, and Quas primas, establishing the feast of Christ the King in response to anti-clericalism. The encyclical Studiorum ducem, promulgated 29 June 1923, was written on the occasion of the 6th centenary of the canonization of Thomas Aquinas, whose thought is acclaimed as central to Catholic philosophy and theology. The encyclical also singles out the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum as the preeminent institution for the teaching of Aquinas: "ante omnia Pontificium Collegium Angelicum, ubi Thomam tamquam domi suae habitare dixeris" (before all others the Pontifical Angelicum College, where Thomas can be said to dwell).To establish or maintain the position of the Catholic Church, Pius XI concluded a record number of concordats, including the Reichskonkordat with Nazi Germany, whose betrayals of which he condemned four years later in the encyclical Mit brennender Sorge ("With Burning Concern"). During his pontificate, the longstanding hostility with the Italian government over the status of the papacy and the Church in Italy was successfully resolved in the Lateran Treaty of 1929. He was unable to stop the persecution of the Church and the killing of clergy in Mexico, Spain and the Soviet Union. He canonized important saints, including Thomas More, Peter Canisius, Bernadette of Lourdes and Don Bosco. He beatified and canonized Thérèse de Lisieux, for whom he held special reverence, and gave equivalent canonization to Albertus Magnus, naming him a Doctor of the Church due to the spiritual power of his writings. He took a strong interest in fostering the participation of lay people throughout the Catholic Church, especially in the Catholic Action movement. The end of his pontificate was dominated by speaking out against Hitler and Mussolini and defending the Catholic Church from intrusions into Catholic life and education. Pius XI died on 10 February 1939 in the Apostolic Palace and is buried in the Papal Grotto of Saint Peter's Basilica. In the course of excavating space for his tomb, two levels of burial grounds were uncovered which revealed bones now venerated as the bones of St. Peter.
  • Diana Damrau (German pronunciation: [diːˈana ˈdamʁaʊ]; born 31 May 1971 in Günzburg) is a German operatic soprano. She is particularly associated to works of Mozart, Strauss and the Italian bel canto repertory. Damrau is a Kammersängerin of the Bavarian State Opera.
  • Daul Kim

    Daul Kim

    Kim Daul was an international South Korean fashion model, Painter and blogger. She committed suicide at the age of 20.
  • Francisco Pascasio Moreno (May 31, 1852 – November 22, 1919) was a prominent explorer and academic in Argentina, where he is usually referred to as Perito Moreno (perito means "specialist, expert"). Perito Moreno has been credited as one of the most influential figures in the Argentine incorporation of large parts of Patagonia and its subsequent development.
  • Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greatest success in the 1970s as a force in country music's "Outlaw Movement" popularized by artists David Allan Coe, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, and Merle Haggard. In the 1980s, his music career slowed due to drug, alcohol and legal problems. He served a prison sentence in the early 1990s and his declining health effectively ended his career in early 2000. In 1980, Paycheck appeared on the PBS music program Austin City Limits (season 5).
  • Rainer Werner Fassbinder (German: [ˈʁaɪ̯nɐ ˈvɛɐ̯nɐ ˈfasˌbɪndɐ]; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a West German filmmaker, actor, playwright, theatre director, composer, cinematographer, editor, and essayist. He is widely regarded as a prominent figure and catalyst of the New German Cinema movement. Success was not immediate for Fassbinder. His first feature-length film, a gangster movie called Love Is Colder Than Death (1969), was met with mixed reviews at the Berlin Film Festival. His next piece, Katzelmacher (1969), was a minor critical success, garnering five prizes after its debut at Mannheim. In subsequent years, he made such controversial films as Pioneers in Ingolstadt (1971) and Whity (1971), which dealt with human savagery, before scoring his first domestic commercial success with The Merchant of Four Seasons (1972), and his first international success Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974), both of which are considered masterpieces by contemporary critics. Big budget projects followed, such as Despair (1978), Lili Marleen (1981), and Lola (1981). His greatest success came with The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), chronicling the rise and fall of a German woman in the wake of World War II. Other notable films include The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), Fox and His Friends (1975), Satan's Brew (1976), and Querelle (1982), all of which focused on gay and lesbian themes. Fassbinder died on 10 June 1982, at the age of 37, from a lethal cocktail of cocaine and barbiturates. Although Fassbinder's career lasted less than two decades, he was extremely prolific; by the time of his death, Fassbinder had completed over forty feature films, two television series, three short films, four video productions, and twenty-four plays.
  • Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is a six-time Grammy Award winner. McBride has performed and recorded with a number of jazz musicians and ensembles, including Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Joe Henderson, Diana Krall, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, Eddie Palmieri, Joshua Redman, and Ray Brown's "SuperBass" with John Clayton, as well as with pop, hip-hop, soul and classical musicians like Sting, Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Isaac Hayes, The Roots, Queen Latifah, Kathleen Battle, Renee Fleming, Carly Simon, Bruce Hornsby, and James Brown.
  • Billy Ray Bates (born May 31, 1956) is a retired American professional basketball player. Bates played shooting guard at McAdams High in Mississippi and attended Kentucky State University. Bates played four seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Bullets and Los Angeles Lakers. He also played overseas, in Switzerland, Mexico, Uruguay, and most notably in the Philippines for the Crispa Redmanizers and Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association. In the PBA, Bates had a legendary career with Crispa and is considered the greatest foreign player in that league's history.
  • Glenda A. Hatchett (born May 31, 1951) is the star of the former court show, Judge Hatchett and current day The Verdict with Judge Hatchett, and founding partner at the national law firm, The Hatchett Firm.
  • Jeremy Hotz (born May 31, 1963) is a Canadian actor and stand-up comedian. He has appeared on Comedy Central Presents, the Just For Laughs comedy festival, the Late Show with David Letterman, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He has also worked as a staff writer for Paramount's The Jon Stewart Show and has appeared in various American and Canadian motion pictures including: My Favorite Martian, Speed 2: Cruise Control, and Married Life.
  • Yael Grobglas is an actress and fashion model.
  • Sharon Marguerite Gless (born May 31, 1943) is an American actress, who is known for her television roles as Maggie Philbin, the naïve, young receptionist of Frank MacBride and Pete Ryan (played by Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner) on Switch (1975–78), Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series Cagney & Lacey (1982–88), the title role in The Trials of Rosie O'Neill (1990–92), as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television series Queer as Folk (2000–2005), and as Madeline Westen on Burn Notice (2007–2013). A 10-time Emmy Award nominee and seven-time Golden Globe Award nominee, she won a Golden Globe in 1986 and Emmys in 1986 and 1987 for Cagney & Lacey, and a second Golden Globe in 1991 for The Trials of Rosie O'Neill. Gless received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995.
  • John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program The Fred Allen Show (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the Golden Age of American radio.His best-remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny, but it was only part of his appeal; radio historian John Dunning (in On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio) wrote that Allen was perhaps radio's most admired comedian and most frequently censored. A master ad libber, Allen often tangled with his network's executives (and often barbed them on the air over the battles) while developing routines whose style and substance influenced fellow comic talents, including Groucho Marx, Stan Freberg, Henry Morgan and Johnny Carson; his avowed fans also included President Franklin D. Roosevelt, humorist James Thurber, and novelists William Faulkner, John Steinbeck and Herman Wouk (who began his career writing for Allen). Allen was honored with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for contributions to television and radio.
  • June Konadu Sarpong (born 31 May 1977) is a British television broadcaster and former panellist on ITV's Loose Women. She is currently a panellist on the Sky News programme The Pledge.
  • Barbara Pepper (born Marion B. Pepper; May 31, 1915 – July 18, 1969) was an American stage, television, radio, and film actress. She is best known as the first "Doris Ziffel" on the sitcom Green Acres.
  • Marlies Raich (née Schild, born 31 May 1981) is a retired Austrian World Cup alpine ski racer. She specializes in the technical disciplines of slalom and giant slalom. Schild won four Olympic medals, with silvers in the combined (2006) and slalom (2010, 2014) and a bronze in slalom (2006). She has seven World Championship medals and has won five World Cup season titles. Schild completed her World Cup career with 37 wins, all but two in slalom. She retired from international competition at age 33 in September 2014.
  • Matthew Joseph Harpring (born May 31, 1976) is a retired American professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is currently paired with play-by-play broadcaster Craig Bolerjack as the color analyst in broadcasting games for the Utah Jazz.
  • Saint-John Perse (French: [pɛʁs]; also Saint-Leger Leger, pronounced [ləʒe]; pseudonyms of Alexis Leger) (31 May 1887 – 20 September 1975) was a French poet-diplomat, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1960 "for the soaring flight and evocative imagery of his poetry." He was a major French diplomat from 1914 to 1940, after which he lived primarily in the United States until 1967.
  • David or Dave Hernandez may refer to: David Hernandez (actor) (born 1968) American film and Television ActorDavid Hernandez (singer) (born 1983), American singer David Hernandez (baseball) (born 1985), American baseball player David Hernandez (poet) (born 1971), American poet Dave Hernandez (born 1970), musician best known for playing with the American band The Shins David Hernández de la Fuente (born 1974), writer from Spain David Hernández Pérez (born 1960), Mexican politician
  • David Ray Roberts (born May 31, 1972) is an American professional baseball manager and former outfielder who is the current manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for five Major League teams over a ten-year career and then coached for the San Diego Padres before being named Dodgers manager for the 2016 season. The son of a Japanese mother and African American father, Roberts became the first manager of Asian heritage to lead a team to the World Series in 2017, when the Dodgers captured the National League pennant. Although he played for the Boston Red Sox for only part of one season, his most notable achievement as a player was a key stolen base in the 2004 ALCS that ignited the Red Sox's drive to their championship that year. Roberts batted and threw left-handed.
  • Lynda Bellingham, OBE (31 May 1948 – 19 October 2014) was an English actress, broadcaster and author perhaps best known for her appearances as the mother in the long-running series of "Oxo Family" British TV adverts between 1983 and 1999. She is also known for her roles in the drama series All Creatures Great and Small, Second Thoughts and Faith in the Future. She was a panellist on the ITV lunchtime chat show Loose Women between 2007 and 2011.
  • Julio Oscar Mechoso (May 31, 1955 – November 25, 2017) was a Cuban American actor.
  • Edward Randle "Ed" LaChapelle (May 31, 1926 – February 1, 2007) was an American avalanche researcher, glaciologist, mountaineer, skier, author, and professor. He was a pioneer in the field of avalanche research and forecasting in North America.
  • Charles Blacker Vignoles (31 May 1793 – 17 November 1875) was an influential British railway engineer, and eponym of the Vignoles rail.
  • Al Young (born May 31, 1939) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and professor. On May 15, 2005, he was named Poet Laureate of California by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In appointing Young as Poet Laureate, the Governor praised him: "He is an educator and a man with a passion for the Arts. His remarkable talent and sense of mission to bring poetry into the lives of Californians is an inspiration." Muriel Johnson, Director of the California Arts Council declared: "Like jazz, Al Young is an original American voice." Young's many books include novels, collections of poetry, essays, and memoirs. His work has appeared in literary journals and magazines including Paris Review, Ploughshares, Essence, The New York Times, Chicago Review, Seattle Review, Brilliant Corners: A Journal of Jazz & Literature, Chelsea, Rolling Stone, Gathering of the Tribes, and in anthologies including the Norton Anthology of African American Literature, and the Oxford Anthology of African American Literature.
  • Lee Soo-hyuk

    Lee Soo-hyuk

    Lee Soo-hyuk (born Lee Hyuk-soo on May 31, 1988) is a South Korean model and actor. As a model he has appeared in magazines such as GQ, Bazaar, and Elle and walked runway shows for designers such as Balenciaga, J.W. Anderson, and Balmain. As an actor, he is known for his roles in the television series including Born Again (2020) and Tomorrow (2022), as well as roles in films including The Boy from Ipanema (2010) and Pipeline (2021).