Celebrity Birthdays - September

Roger Howarth has spent more than three decades proving that in daytime television, death, disappearance, identity crises, long-lost relatives, and even becoming an entirely different character are merely occupational hazards. Best known for One Life to Live, As the World Turns, and General Hospital, the Daytime Emmy winner has made a specialty of complicated men—and apparently refuses to let something as trivial as one character's demise interfere with steady employment.

September 13, 1968, in Westchester County, New York

Trivia

• He trained at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center.
• Todd Manning was originally intended as a limited role.
• He won a Daytime Emmy in 1994.
• He played Paul Ryan until As the World Turns ended.
• He portrayed three major General Hospital characters.
• His Broadway credits include The Lion in Winter.
• He received another Daytime Emmy nomination in 2026.

Augustus Caesar turned up in Roman history as Gaius Octavius and eventually left it with an empire, a month named after him, temples in his honor, and enough titles to make a modern business card completely impractical. Julius Caesar may have provided the famous family name, but Augustus was the man who transformed Rome from a battered republic emerging from decades of civil war into an imperial system that would shape Europe and the Mediterranean world for centuries.

September 23, 63 BC, in Rome, Italy

August 19, 14 AD, in Nola, Italy

Trivia

• The Senate granted him the name Augustus in 27 BC.
• His only biological child was Julia the Elder.
• He was married to Livia for more than 50 years.
• His forces defeated Antony and Cleopatra at Actium.
• August ultimately took its name from Augustus.
• Tiberius succeeded him as emperor.

Samuel Adams was a revolutionary long before Americans decided that putting his portrait on a bottle of beer seemed appropriate. A master of political organization, persuasive writing and making British officials thoroughly miserable, Adams helped turn resistance to parliamentary taxation into a movement for independence — and then put his own name on the Declaration that announced it.

September 27, 1722, in Boston, Massachusetts

October 2, 1803, in Boston, Massachusetts

Trivia

• He graduated from Harvard College.
• John Adams was his second cousin.
• He helped organize Boston's Committee of Correspondence.
• He represented Massachusetts in the Continental Congress.
• He signed the Declaration of Independence.
• He also signed the Articles of Confederation.
• He later served as governor of Massachusetts.

Chrissie Hynde celebrates her birthday on September 7, and after decades of fronting The Pretenders, she remains one of rock's most unmistakable voices. Armed with a guitar, trademark eyeliner and an attitude suggesting that she has absolutely no interest in whether you approve, Hynde helped turn punk-era rebellion into some of rock's most enduring music.

September 7, 1951, in Akron, Ohio

Trivia

• She studied art at Kent State University.
• She once wrote for Britain's NME.
• She formed The Pretenders in 1978.
• Neil Young inducted The Pretenders into the Rock Hall.
• She became vegetarian in 1969.
• She published her memoir Reckless in 2015.

Ian McShane possesses the sort of voice that could make reading the instructions on a packet of frozen peas sound vaguely threatening. Add the raised eyebrow, the beautifully measured delivery and a remarkable ability to play rogues who remain charming despite overwhelming evidence that you should run away from them, and it is easy to understand why McShane has spent more than six decades being cast as everyone from an antiques dealer to a saloon keeper, pirate, Norse god and impeccably dressed manager of a hotel for professional assassins.

September 29, 1942, in Blackburn, England

Trivia

• His father was professional footballer Harry McShane.
• He trained at RADA.
• John Hurt was a lifelong friend.
• IMDb says McShane has a photographic memory.
• He directed four episodes of Lovejoy.
• He voiced Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda.

Jeremy Irons is an English actor whose unmistakable voice can make Shakespeare sound effortless, a Disney lion genuinely terrifying and even the telephone directory seem as though something sinister is about to happen on page 47. With an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmys and two Golden Globes to his name, Irons has spent decades moving between stage, television and film while making impeccable diction sound suspiciously dangerous.

September 19, 1948, on the Isle of Wight, England

Trivia

• He played Virgil in Battle for the Planet of the Apes.
• He played Little Enos in the Smokey and the Bandit films.
• He wrote the lyrics for The Love Boat theme.
• He co-wrote “Rainbow Connection.”
• He collaborated with Daft Punk on Random Access Memories.

Ludacris is the rapper who turned clever wordplay and rapid-fire rhymes into an art form — and then casually became a Hollywood star while he was at it. Whether he’s dropping chart-topping hits, cracking jokes in the Fast & Furious crew, or literally going to space in a car (yes, that happened), Ludacris does everything with style, swagger, and a grin that says he’s about to outsmart you.

September 11, 1977, in Champaign, Illinois

Trivia

• He wrote his first rap at nine.
• He once worked as Atlanta radio personality Chris Lova Lova.
• His stage name plays on "ludicrous" and "Chris."
• He co-founded Disturbing tha Peace.
• He first played Tej Parker in 2 Fast 2 Furious.
• Ludacris has won three Grammy Awards.
• He created the children's series Karma's World.

Linda Hamilton went from being chased around Los Angeles by an unstoppable killing machine to becoming sufficiently formidable that the killing machines probably should have started worrying about her. As Sarah Connor in the Terminator films, Hamilton helped transform the Hollywood action heroine—and made doing pull-ups in a psychiatric hospital look considerably more intimidating than anyone had previously imagined.

September 26, 1956, in Salisbury, Maryland

Trivia

• She has an identical twin sister.
• She studied acting with Lee Strasberg.
• Sarah Connor became her signature role.
• She trained intensively for Terminator 2.
• Her twin appeared in Terminator 2.
• She starred opposite Ron Perlman on television.
• Hamilton returned for Terminator: Dark Fate.

Kieran Culkin spent years quietly building an impressive acting career before Succession handed him Roman Roy, a billionaire's son with expensive suits, terrible judgment and absolutely no internal mechanism for deciding whether something should remain unsaid. Suddenly, quiet was no longer part of the equation.

September 30, 1982, in New York City

Trivia

• Home Alone was his first film.
• He played Kevin McCallister's cousin Fuller.
• Macaulay Culkin is his older brother.
• Igby Goes Down earned him an early Golden Globe nomination.
• He played Wallace Wells in Scott Pilgrim.
• Roman Roy brought him an Emmy Award.
• A Real Pain earned him an Academy Award.

David Allan Coe was an outlaw country singer who didn't merely cultivate a rebellious reputation—he spent decades making sure nobody could possibly mistake him for the fellow who came to Nashville to play nicely. Prison, rhinestones, motorcycles, controversy, country classics and enough outrageous stories to keep several biographers employed all became part of the Coe legend. Somewhere beneath all that noise, however, was a remarkably gifted songwriter whose words helped define outlaw country music.

September 6, 1939, in Akron, Ohio

April 29, 2026, in Akron, Ohio

Trivia

• His debut album was Penitentiary Blues.
• Tanya Tucker had a major hit with a song Coe wrote.
• He wrote Johnny Paycheck's “Take This Job and Shove It.”
• “Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile” reached No. 2 on the country chart.
• He recorded “Tennessee Whiskey” years before Chris Stapleton.
• Coe collaborated with members of Pantera on Rebel Meets Rebel.

William Thomas Medley possesses the sort of voice that sounds as though it should arrive wearing a dinner jacket and carrying its own bottle of bourbon. As one half of the Righteous Brothers, his deep baritone helped define “blue-eyed soul,” while his later duet “(I've Had) The Time of My Life” ensured that nobody could watch the end of Dirty Dancing without at least briefly considering an extremely ill-advised attempt at that lift.

September 19, 1940, in Santa Ana, California

Trivia

• His father was a saxophonist and bandleader.
• Bobby Hatfield was not actually his brother.
• Medley produced “(You're My) Soul and Inspiration.”
• He sang “(I've Had) The Time of My Life” with Jennifer Warnes.
• The Dirty Dancing duet earned him a Grammy.
• The Righteous Brothers entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

Faith Ford is the American actress who became famous as Corky Sherwood, the cheerful beauty queen turned television journalist on Murphy Brown. Surrounded by cynical Washington reporters, Corky somehow maintained her optimism for a decade—an achievement that may have required greater endurance than covering Congress itself.

September 14, 1964, in Alexandria, Louisiana

Trivia

• Her early television work included daytime soap operas.
• She received five Emmy nominations for Murphy Brown.
• She earned two Golden Globe nominations as Corky.
• She starred opposite Kelly Ripa in Hope & Faith.
• She published Cooking with Faith in 2004.

Anastacia arrived with a voice approximately three sizes larger than anyone expected and turned "I'm Outta Love" into an international smash. Mixing pop, rock and soul with unmistakable vocals, she became a major star around the world while building a career marked by both enormous success and remarkable resilience.

September 17, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois

Trivia

• She worked as a dancer before becoming a recording star.
• "I'm Outta Love" was her international breakthrough.
• She calls her soul-pop-rock style "sprock."
• She recorded the official song of the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
• She won The Masked Singer Australia as Vampire.

Tyler Perry built an entertainment empire by doing something Hollywood traditionally finds rather alarming: owning his work. Writer, director, producer, actor, playwright, studio owner, philanthropist, and the six-foot-something man underneath Madea's wig, Perry turned a struggling stage production into a billion-dollar business—and discovered that an armed grandmother with absolutely no patience for foolishness could be an exceptionally sound investment.

September 13, 1969, in New Orleans, Louisiana

Trivia

• His first play premiered in 1992.
• Madea began as a stage character.
• Diary of a Mad Black Woman opened at number one.
• He plays Madea, Joe, and Brian.
• Tyler Perry Studios covers more than 330 acres.
• He received the 2020 Television Academy Governors Award.
• He received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2021.

Moon Bloodgood has enjoyed the sort of screen career in which an ordinary day might involve battling killer machines, treating survivors of an alien invasion or simply trying to keep Dwayne Johnson from killing everybody in sight. Best known for playing resistance pilot Blair Williams in Terminator Salvation and Dr. Anne Glass in Falling Skies, Bloodgood brought intelligence and toughness to science-fiction roles without becoming the standard action heroine who apparently keeps a flamethrower beside the toaster.

September 20, 1975, in Alliance, Nebraska

Trivia

• She played Blair Williams in Terminator Salvation.
• She voiced Uriel in Darksiders.
• She spent five seasons on Falling Skies.
• She shared a Sundance ensemble acting prize for The Sessions.

Zachary Levi has made a career out of playing men who discover that their lives are considerably more complicated than they thought. Chuck Bartowski accidentally downloaded government secrets into his brain, Flynn Rider discovered that stealing a crown could lead to singing with a princess, and Billy Batson discovered that shouting one word could turn him into a full-sized superhero. Levi, meanwhile, somehow turned all of this into a perfectly respectable acting career.

September 29, 1980, in Lake Charles, Louisiana

Trivia

• He began performing when he was six.
• He played Chuck Bartowski in 91 episodes of Chuck.
• He voiced Flynn Rider in Disney's Tangled.
• Levi sang Flynn's songs himself.
• He made his Broadway debut in First Date.
• He has appeared in both Marvel and DC films.

Geri Jewell turned being underestimated into something of a professional inconvenience for everyone doing the underestimating. A stand-up comedian, actress, author, speaker, and television pioneer, she helped change what American audiences expected to see on screen—first by making them laugh on The Facts of Life, and decades later by wandering into the decidedly less wholesome neighborhood of Deadwood.

September 13, 1956, in Buffalo, New York

Trivia

• She began performing stand-up comedy in 1978.
• Norman Lear helped open the door to The Facts of Life.
• Cousin Geri appeared in 12 Facts of Life episodes.
• She played Jewel in 23 episodes of Deadwood.
• Stephen J. Cannell bought one of her 21 Jump Street ideas.
• She later returned as Jewel in Deadwood: The Movie.

Ray Charles could sit down at a piano, strike a few notes, let loose that unmistakable voice and make musical boundaries seem like somebody else's problem. Blues, gospel, jazz, R&B, pop and country all found their way into his music, often during the same evening. Nicknamed “The Genius,” Charles did not merely master several musical styles; he stirred them together until American popular music sounded different.

September 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia

June 10, 2004, in Beverly Hills, California

Trivia

• He lost his sight during childhood.
• He read and wrote music in Braille.
• Quincy Jones became a lifelong friend.
• “Georgia on My Mind” became Georgia's state song.
• He was an inaugural Rock Hall inductee.
• Charles was also an enthusiastic chess player.

José Feliciano has spent a lifetime making the guitar sound as though it has a passport, a remarkable singing voice, and a standing invitation to every Christmas party on Earth. The Puerto Rican singer-songwriter is best known for “Feliz Navidad,” but his career reaches far beyond the holiday season, encompassing Latin music, rock, jazz, television, and some unforgettable interpretations of familiar songs. Born on September 10, he has given the world plenty of reasons to celebrate—and one tune that can make an entire supermarket sing along before anyone has even bought the turkey.

September 10, 1945, in Lares, Puerto Rico

Trivia

• He began making music with a tin cracker can.
• He taught himself guitar largely by listening to records.
• His version of “Light My Fire” reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• He performed a controversial acoustic national anthem at the 1968 World Series.
• “Feliz Navidad” was written while he was homesick in Los Angeles.
• He composed the theme for Chico and the Man.

Jackie Sandler has spent decades proving that marrying Adam Sandler may get you invited to the set, but repeatedly stealing scenes when you get there is entirely your own department. Actress, former model, producer, and seemingly permanent member of the Happy Madison family, she has quietly accumulated an impressive collection of appearances while leaving the louder Sandler mayhem to everyone else.

September 24, 1974, in Coral Springs, Florida

Trivia

• Began modeling while attending high school.
• Rob Schneider helped introduce her to acting.
• Her film debut came in Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.
• She appeared in Big Daddy before marrying Adam Sandler.
• Voiced Jennifer in Eight Crazy Nights.
• Married Adam Sandler in 2003.

Ian Bohen survived werewolves in Teen Wolf, ranch politics in Yellowstone and Gotham City in The Dark Knight Rises. After decades of playing cops, cowboys and complicated authority figures, he has become exceptionally good at looking as though trouble has just ridden into town.

September 24, 1976, in Carmel, California

Trivia

• He began acting as a child.
• Bohen played young Wyatt Earp in Wyatt Earp.
• He once played young Hercules.
• Peter Hale became his signature Teen Wolf role.
• He plays ranch hand Ryan in Yellowstone.
• He appeared in The Dark Knight Rises.