Famous Birthdays on August 21

Robert Lewandowski is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire and captains the Poland national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time, he is one of only five players to have scored 100 goals with three different clubs, ranks third for the all-time top goalscorers in the UEFA Champions League with 109 goals, and ranks third for the all-time European men's top goalscorers in international football (89). He has scored over 750 senior career goals for club and country. In addition, he is also one of a select number of players who have amassed over 1,100 career appearances.

Alicia Roanne Witt is an American actress and musician. She first came to fame as a child actress after being discovered by David Lynch, who cast her in Dune (1984) as Alia and Twin Peaks (1990) as Gersten Hayward, a role she reprised in Twin Peaks: The Return (2017). Her 2026 album, Between Heaven and Earth, is a tribute to her relationship to Lynch and was described by the Times UK as ‘gorgeously sung… If this is what “directing from beyond” sounds like, it’s rather beautiful.” Witt was a regular on Cybill Shepherd's sitcom Cybill (1995–1998) for four seasons, playing the title character's daughter, Zoey Woodbine. She had a critically acclaimed role as a disturbed teenager in Fun (1994), appeared as a music student in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) and as a terrorized college student in the horror film Urban Legend (1998). She appeared in Vanilla Sky (2001) as Libby, Two Weeks Notice (2002), Last Holiday (2006), 88 Minutes (2007) as Kim Cummings, I Care A Lot (2020) and Longlegs (2024). Witt has made television appearances in shows such as The Walking Dead, The Sopranos, Friday Night Lights as Cheryl, Twin Peaks: The Return as Gersten Hayward, CSI: Miami, Supernatural, Justified and Orange Is the New Black. She starred in five episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Detective Nola Falacci in Season 7, temporarily replacing actress Julianne Nicholson, who was on maternity leave.

Carrie-Anne Moss is a Canadian actress. After early roles on television, she rose to international prominence for her role of Trinity in The Matrix series (1999–present). She has starred in Memento (2000), for which she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female, Red Planet (2000), Chocolat (2000), Fido (2006), Snow Cake (2006), for which she won the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Disturbia (2007), Unthinkable (2010), Silent Hill: Revelation (2012), Pompeii (2014), and Die Alone (2024), for which she was nominated for the Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Performance in a Drama Film. She also portrayed Jeri Hogarth in several television series produced by Marvel Television for Netflix, most notably Jessica Jones (2015–2019).

Peter Lindsay Weir, AM( WEER; born 21 August 1944) is an Australian retired film director, screenwriter, and producer. He directed films crossing various genres over forty years, such as Homesdale (1971), Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), The Plumber (1979), Gallipoli (1981), The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), Witness (1985), The Mosquito Coast (1986), Dead Poets Society (1989), Fearless (1993), The Truman Show (1998), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), and The Way Back (2010). He has received six Academy Award nominations and he has won two AACTA Award for Best Direction and two BAFTA Award for Best Direction. In 2022, he was awarded the Academy Honorary Award for his lifetime career achievement. In 2024, he received an honorary life-time achievement award at the Venice Film Festival.

James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica, 1st Duke of Fitz-James was a French-English army officer who was the eldest illegitimate son of James II of England by Arabella Churchill, the sister of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Born and raised in France, Berwick was a senior Jacobite commander in his father's army during the Williamite War in Ireland. He subsequently became a successful general in the service of Louis XIV and in 1706 he was made a Marshal of France. Berwick was honored with noble titles from the kings of both France and Spain, in addition to his English ducal title which was attainted in 1695. He was decapitated by a cannonball during the Siege of Philippsburg in 1734.

John Karl Wetteland is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He pitched for four teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers. A relief pitcher, Wetteland specialized as a closer, recording 330 saves during his career. In the 1996 season, Wetteland had a streak of 24 straight appearances in which he recorded a save, the most in MLB history, breaking the record of 19 set by Lee Smith the season before. With the Yankees, he won the 1996 World Series over the Atlanta Braves and won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award for saving four games in the series.

Emiliano Mercado del Toro was a Puerto Rican supercentenarian and military veteran who was, at age 115, the world's oldest person following the death of 116-year-old Elizabeth Bolden on December 11, 2006, until his own death on January 24, 2007. He had already been the world's oldest man from November 19, 2004, upon the death of Fred Harold Hale. At the time of his death in January 2007, aged 115 years and 156 days, Mercado was the second oldest fully validated male ever, behind Danish-American Christian Mortensen's record of 115 years 252 days. Japanese man, Shigechiyo Izumi, was still believed to be older at the time of Mercado's death, but his record was withdrawn by Guinness World Records in 2010.

Sudhakarrao Rajusing Naik was an Indian politician from Indian National Congress party who served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 25 June 1991 until 22 February 1993 following the communal riots. He also served as Governor of Himachal Pradesh from 1994 to 1995 He had given the new shape to the Panchayat Raj, started the continuous election process in Panchayat Raj systems all over the state, as desired by the former Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi, decentralisation of power and faster decision making process being motive of bringing back the Panchayat Raj in full-fledged functioning. He is called as the hero of Jalkranti, who started the irrigation revolution in the State of Maharashtra.

Joseph Hector "Toe" Blake was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). Blake played in the NHL from 1935 to 1948 with the Montreal Maroons and Montreal Canadiens. He led the NHL in scoring in 1939, while also winning the Hart Trophy for most valuable player, and served as captain of the Canadiens from 1940 to his retirement. He won the Stanley Cup three times as a player: in 1935 with the Maroons, and in 1944 and 1946 with the Canadiens. While with the Canadiens, Blake played on a line with Elmer Lach and Maurice Richard which was dubbed the Punch line, as all three were highly-skilled players. In 2017, Blake was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. He was also known as "The Old Lamplighter" due to his skill for putting the puck in the net.

William Tulip Reay was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Reay played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1943 to 1953, winning two Stanley Cups. He then coached from 1957 to 1959 in the NHL and again from 1963 to 1977, primarily with the Chicago Black Hawks, who he coached to the Stanley Cup Final three times. While he did not win a Cup as a coach, Reay won over 500 games as a head coach, and he was the second coach to win 500 games with one team. When he retired, he was second in NHL history in wins, and he currently is one of thirty coaches to have won 500 games.

Lewis Pate "Bud" McFadin was an American professional football player and coach. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and was a unanimous selection at the guard position on the 1950 College Football All-America Team. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams (1952–1956) and in the American Football League (AFL) for the Denver Broncos (1960–1963) and Houston Oilers (1964–1965). A versatile player, he played tackle and linebacker on defense, as well as guard on offense. He was a Pro Bowl pick in 1955 and 1956, a Sporting News All-AFL defensive tackle in 1960, 1961 and 1962, and an American Football League West Division All-Star in 1963.

Orestes Jodie Meeks II is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of Kentucky. On January 13, 2009, he gained national recognition by breaking the Kentucky single-game scoring record with 54 points in a nationally televised game on ESPN against Tennessee. In the same game, he broke the university's single-game three-point record by making 10 three-pointers. Meeks won the 2019 NBA championship as a member of the Toronto Raptors. In 2024, Meeks was inducted into the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame.

Frank Joseph Perry Jr. was an American stage director and filmmaker. His 1962 independent film David and Lisa earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. The couple collaborated on five more films, including The Swimmer, Diary of a Mad Housewife, and the Emmy Award–nominated A Christmas Memory, based on a short story by Truman Capote. Perry went on to form Corsair Pictures, privately financed by United Artists Theatres, which produced Miss Firecracker and A Shock to the System, then folded. His later films include Mommie Dearest and the documentary On the Bridge, about his dealing with prostate cancer.

Donald Campbell Dewar was a Scottish statesman and politician who served as the first first minister of Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000 and leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 1998 until his death in 2000. He was widely regarded as the "Father of the Nation" during his tenure as first minister, and the "Architect of Devolution" whilst serving as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1997 to 1999. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Anniesland from 1978 to 2000. Dewar was also Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the equivalent seat from 1999 to 2000.

Melvin Van Peebles was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. His feature film debut, The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1967), was based on his own French-language novel La Permission and was shot in France, as it was difficult for a black American director to get work at the time. The film won an award at the San Francisco International Film Festival which gained him the interest of Hollywood studios, leading to his American feature debut Watermelon Man, in 1970. Eschewing further overtures from Hollywood, he used the successes he had so far to bankroll his work as an independent filmmaker.

James Edward Burton is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001, Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. He was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2024. Critic Mark Deming writes that "Burton has a well-deserved reputation as one of the finest guitar pickers in either country or rock ... Burton is one of the best guitar players to ever touch a fretboard." He is ranked number 24 in Rolling Stone list of 250 greatest guitarists of all time.

Kelis Rogers is an American singer. She attended Manhattan, New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she played saxophone and was selected for the Girls Choir of Harlem. Upon graduation, Rogers landed a role as a backing vocalist for the hip hop group Gravediggaz. She then began working with music producers Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo—collectively known as the Neptunes—who led her to sign with Virgin Records in 1998. The following year, she guest appeared on Ol' Dirty Bastard's Neptunes-produced single "Got Your Money", which marked her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.

Cameron Howard Winklevoss is an American cryptocurrency investor, former Olympic rower, and cofounder of Winklevoss Capital Management and Gemini cryptocurrency exchange. He competed in the men's pair rowing event at the 2008 Summer Olympics with his rowing partner and identical twin brother, Tyler Winklevoss. Winklevoss and his brother are known for co-founding HarvardConnection along with Harvard classmate Divya Narendra. In 2004, the Winklevoss twins sued Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, claiming he stole their ConnectU idea to create the social networking site Facebook. In addition to ConnectU, Winklevoss also co-founded the social media website Guest of a Guest with Rachelle Hruska.

James Robert McMahon Jr. is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the BYU Cougars, earning first-team All-American honors in 1980 after leading the NCAA in passing yards and passing touchdowns. The following year, McMahon won the Davey O'Brien Award and the Sammy Baugh Trophy and was named a unanimous All-American. He was selected by the Bears fifth overall in the 1982 NFL draft. In 1998 McMahon was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.