Best known for his performance as Joey in the TV sitcom Friends, Matt LeBlanc was initially told he was too short to be in the modeling industry. Despite the discouragement, he went on to become a model and then established himself as an actor. He is also known for his performance in the sitcom Episodes, for which he won a Golden Globe.
Lele Pons is one of the many internet stars who started their journey on the now-defunct service, Vine. After becoming the first person to reach one billion loops on Vine, Pons started branching out and created comedy sketches for YouTube. She has since used her popularity to establish herself in the mainstream entertainment industry, appearing in films and TV series.
Irish wrestler Fergal Devitt performs as Finn Bálor for the NXT brand under WWE. He has won titles such as the NXT Championship, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Also known as Prince Devitt, he co-founded NWA Ireland, his own promotion.
Givanildo Vieira de Sousa, better known as Hulk due to his strong built, is a Brazilian football player. He is currently one of the most important members of the Shanghai SIPG F.C., which competes in the Chinese Super League. Also a key player for Brazil, Hulk helped his national team win the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Actor and singer, Walter Brennan, was one of the best known Hollywood actors in the mid-20th century. The veteran actor was the recipient of three Academy Awards, becoming one of only three male actors to do so. In an extensive career spanning almost five decades, he had appeared in over a hundred films and TV shows.
Iman is a Somali fashion model, entrepreneur, and actress. At the peak of her fashion modeling career, Iman served as a muse for influential designers like Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Gianni Versace, and Yves Saint Laurent. Also known for her philanthropic activities, Iman is involved in several charitable endeavors. She is closely associated with the non-profit organization, Children's Defense Fund.
Model and actress Shantel VanSanten has been featured in the magazines Teen Vogue and Seventeen. She began her modeling career as a teenager and eventually made her foray into acting. Initially, she played minor roles in TV series and then started taking up film projects as well. She has also appeared in a couple of music videos.
Model and adult-film actor Tera Patrick is best known for her appearances in Playboy and Penthouse. She established a talent agency and has also appeared in a photo series for Time magazine. She has also been inducted into the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame, and has co-written a memoir.
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. was a US Navy lieutenant. The eldest of the famous Kennedy siblings, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. was groomed by his father from a very young age to become the president of the United States. After his death during World War II at age 29, John F. Kennedy took it upon himself to materialize his father's dreams.
Brad Renfro was living in a trailer park when director Joel Schumacher spotted him and cast him in The Client. Over the years, Renfro appeared in films such as Tom and Huck and Apt Pupil. He, however, struggled with drug abuse and died of a heroin overdose at 25.
In the 1950s, a teenage African-American boy, Emmett Till was kidnapped, tortured and brutally killed for allegedly misbehaving with a white woman. Those responsible were never convicted but the brutality of the crime brought focus on racial discrimination and African-American Civil Rights Movement. It eventually played a crucial role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
One of the first Black football players of the NFL, Woody Strode was also a talented decathlete. He had dabbled in professional wrestling, too, but later gained fame solely for his film roles, such as that of gladiator Draba in Spartacus, for which he earned a Golden Globe nomination.
James Lafferty is an American actor, producer, and director. He is best known for playing Nathan Scott in the popular drama television series One Tree Hill, which ran from September 23, 2003 to April 4, 2012. Also an ardent basketball player, James Lafferty is a supporting partner of the professional basketball team Wilmington Sea Dawgs.
Juan Pablo Di Pace is an Argentine singer and actor best known for his portrayal of Jesus Christ in the American biblical drama television series A.D. The Bible Continues, which earned him a couple of MovieGuide Awards in 2016. Juan Pablo Di Pace is also renowned for his theatre work in the UK and Spain.
The daughter of former WTA player Angelikí Kanellopoúlou, Sakkari was introduced to tennis at age six. Greek tennis sensation Maria Sakkari has had a career-high ranking of number 6 in singles. Known for her aggressive style, Sakkari was born and raised in Athens but moved to Barcelona at 18 to train.
Social philosopher and author Eric Hoffer was rendered half-blind at 7 due to an accident but regained his sight at 15. Orphaned in his 20s, he took up odd jobs, and once even contemplated suicide. His first book, The True Believer, catapulted him to fame, and he never looked back.
Thomas Eakins was an American photographer, realist painter, fine arts educator, and sculptor. Often counted among the most prominent American artists of all time, Eakins painted several hundred portraits during his lifetime. As an educator, Thomas Eakins played an important role in influencing the American art during his generation.
John B. Goodenough is an American solid-state physicist and materials scientist. He is credited with developing the lithium-ion battery. In 2019, he became the oldest person to receive a Nobel Prize when he was honored with the prestigious award for his work on lithium-ion batteries. He is also a recipient of the Copley Medal and the National Medal of Science.