Did you know about Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema won 25 trophies with Real Madrid, including four La Liga titles, three Copa del Rey titles, and five UEFA Champions League titles.
Famous Birthdays on December 19
December 19 has 238 recorded notable births across history, from 1343 to 1998. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
1987 — Karim Benzema
French footballer
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Famous Birthdays
238 source records
1343 – 1998
Sagittarius
Today in history
Major events on December 19
See what else happened on this day in history.
Did you know about King Princess
In February 2018, she released her debut single "1950", from her debut extended play (EP) Make My Bed, released later that year.
Did you know about Ralph Richardson
Along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave, Laurence Olivier and Alec Guinness, he made up a quintet of male actors who dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century.
Did you know about Arvydas Sabonis
Playing the center position, Sabonis won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics, in South Korea, for the Soviet Union, and later earned bronze medals at the 1992 Olympic Games and 1996 Olympic Games representing Lithuania.
Did you know about Mo Williams
In the 2016 NBA Finals, he won his only NBA championship with the Cavaliers.
More major people born on December 19
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1998
King Princess
American singer-songwriter and musician
Mikaela Mullaney Straus, known professionally as King Princess, is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and actor from Brooklyn, New York. She was signed to Mark Ronson's label Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records. In February 2018, she released her debut single "1950", from her debut extended play (EP) Make My Bed, released later that year. The song was a commercial success, charting in multiple territories, and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her second single, "Talia", was certified gold in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). King Princess released her debut studio album Cheap Queen in 2019 to widespread critical acclaim. She left Zelig Records before the release of her 2025 album Girl Violence, which was released by Section1. She made her acting debut in the 2025 show Nine Perfect Strangers.
1902
Ralph Richardson
English actor (died 1983)
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor. Along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave, Laurence Olivier and Alec Guinness, he made up a quintet of male actors who dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. Neverthless, he worked in films throughout most of his career, playing more than sixty cinema roles. From an artistic but not theatrical background, Richardson had no thought of a stage career until a production of Hamlet in Brighton inspired him to become an actor. He learned his craft in the 1920s with a touring company and later the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. In 1931 he joined the Old Vic, playing mostly Shakespearean roles. He led the company the following season, succeeding Gielgud, who had taught him much about stage technique. After he left the company, a series of leading roles took him to stardom in the West End and on Broadway.
1964
Arvydas Sabonis
Lithuanian basketball player
Arvydas Romas Sabonis is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. Sabonis won the Euroscar six times and the Mr. Europa Award twice. He played in a variety of leagues, including the Spanish ACB League, and spent seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Playing the center position, Sabonis won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics, in South Korea, for the Soviet Union, and later earned bronze medals at the 1992 Olympic Games and 1996 Olympic Games representing Lithuania. He retired from professional basketball in 2005. Sabonis was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 1986 NBA draft, but he did not play his first NBA game until 1995, at the age of 30.
1982
Mo Williams
American basketball player
Maurice Williams is an assistant men's basketball coach at the University of Kentucky and a former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a successful high school career at Murrah High School in Jackson, Mississippi, Williams attended college at the University of Alabama, where he led his team as a freshman to a 27–8 record, and also shared an SEC regular-season championship. After two seasons at Alabama, Williams entered the 2003 NBA draft where he was selected with the 47th overall pick by the Utah Jazz. Throughout his career, he has also played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers. In 2009, Williams was selected as an NBA All-Star. In the 2016 NBA Finals, he won his only NBA championship with the Cavaliers. He retired as a player in 2017.
1875
Carter G. Woodson
American historian and author, founded Black History Month (died 1950)
Carter Godwin Woodson was an American historian, author, journalist, and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). He was one of the first scholars to study the history of the Black African diaspora in the United States. A founder of The Journal of Negro History in 1916, Woodson has been called the "father of Black history." In February 1926, he launched the celebration of "Negro History Week," the precursor of Black History Month. Woodson was an important figure to the movement of Afrocentrism, due to his perspective of placing people of Sub-Saharan African descent at the center of the study of history and the human experience.
1924
Doug Harvey
Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 1989)
Douglas Norman Harvey was a Canadian professional hockey defenceman. Widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders in National Hockey League (NHL) history, Harvey was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973 and was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history in 2017. Individually he won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the best defenceman seven times, and was named to the end of season NHL All-Star team as a First All-Star 10 times. He played from 1947 until 1964, and from 1966 until 1969. Best known for playing with the Montreal Canadiens, Harvey also played for the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and St. Louis Blues, as well as several teams in the minor leagues. He also served as the player-coach of the Rangers for one season, and served a similar role for the minor-league Kansas City Blues. He was also a coach.
1966
Alberto Tomba
Italian skier
Alberto Tomba is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Italy. He was the dominant technical skier in the late 1980s and 1990s. At 182 cm and 90 kg, his powerful build was a contrast to the lighter, more traditional technical skiers who prioritised agility over muscle. Tomba was able to take advantage of the introduction of spring-loaded ski gates which replaced the older, solid gates in the early 1980s by using his power to maintain a faster, more direct line through courses. Tomba won three Olympic gold medals, two World Championships, and nine World Cup season titles: four in slalom, four in giant slalom, and one overall title. He was popularly called Tomba la Bomba.
1974
Mige (musician)
Finnish musician, bassist and founding member of the gothic rock band HIM
Mikko Henrik Julius Paananen, better known as Mige, is a Finnish musician, best known as the bassist and founding member of the gothic rock band HIM. Born to an artistic family, Mige attended the Sibelius Upper Secondary School of music and dance, when he first formed HIM with Ville Valo. The band broke up after Mige began his national military service, but they reformed in 1995. HIM would go on to release eight studio albums and become one of the most commercially successful Finnish bands of all time. The band announced their retirement in March 2017, and played their final show on New Year's Eve 2017.
1964
Lorie Kane
Canadian golfer
Lorie Kane, is a Canadian professional golfer on the LPGA Tour. She began her career on the LPGA Tour in 1996 and has four career victories and 99 top-10 finishes on the tour. She won the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award in 2000 and became a member of the Order of Canada at a ceremony in December 2006. Kane was the second Canadian to have multiple wins on the LPGA circuit in one season, in 2000, after Sandra Post performed the feat twice, in 1978 and 1979. The next person to do so was Brooke Henderson, in 2016. In 2015, she was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. In May 2020, it was announced that she would be awarded the Order of Sport, marking her induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020-2021.
1930
Anca Giurchescu
Romanian academic (died 2015)
Anca Giurchescu née Ciortea was a Romanian researcher of folk dance, and an ethnochoreologist, one of the founders of the discipline. Born in Bucharest to a family formerly from Translylvania, she lived in that region as a child. Entering university, she studied dance at the National Institute of Physical Education. During her schooling, she participated in competitive target shooting and was a silver (team) and bronze (individual) medalist in the 1955 European Shooting Championship. While still studying, she began working as a researcher at the Folklore Institute and in 1962 became a member of the International Council for Traditional Music. The Council established a working group which included Giurchescu, that laid the foundation for the science of ethnochoreology.
1923
Robert V. Bruce
American historian and author (died 2008)
Robert Vance Bruce was an American historian specializing in the American Civil War, who won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for History for his book The Launching of Modern American Science, 1846–1876 (1987). After serving in the Army during World War II, Bruce graduated from the University of New Hampshire, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. He received his Master of Arts in history and his Doctor of Philosophy from Boston University, where he was later a professor. He also taught at the University of Bridgeport, Lawrence Academy at Groton, and the University of Wisconsin. Bruce was also a lecturer at the Fortenbaugh Lecture at Gettysburg College.
1925
Robert B. Sherman
American songwriter and screenwriter (died 2012)
Robert Bernard Sherman was an American songwriter. Best known for his work in musical films with his brother, Richard M. Sherman, they, known as Sherman brothers, produced more motion picture song scores than any other songwriting team in film history. Some of their songs were incorporated into live action and animation musical films including Mary Poppins, The Happiest Millionaire, The Sword in the Stone, The Jungle Book, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Slipper and the Rose, and Charlotte's Web. Their best-known work is "It's a Small World " possibly the most-performed song in history.
1972
Warren Sapp
American football player and analyst
Warren Carlos Sapp is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, winning the Lombardi Award and the Bronko Nagurski and Bill Willis trophies in 1994. Sapp was selected in the first round of 1995 NFL draft by the Buccaneers, where he spent his first nine seasons. In his final four seasons, he was a member of the Oakland Raiders. In addition, Sapp served as an assistant coach for the Colorado Buffaloes from 2024 to 2025.
1683
Philip V of Spain (died 1746)
Philip V was king of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign is the longest in the history of the Spanish monarchy, surpassing Philip IV. Although his ascent to the throne precipitated the War of the Spanish Succession, Philip V instigated many important reforms in Spain, most especially the centralization of power of the monarchy and the suppression of regional privileges, via the Nueva Planta decrees, and restructuring of the administration of the Spanish Empire on the Iberian Peninsula and its overseas regions.
1963
Til Schweiger
German actor, director, and producer
Tilman Valentin Schweiger is a German actor and filmmaker. He became known in the 1990s for films such as Manta, Manta, Der bewegte Mann and Knockin' on Heaven's Door. He went on to star in international film productions such as Inglourious Basterds, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life and King Arthur. He founded his own production company Barefoot Films. Films like Rabbit Without Ears, Rabbit Without Ears 2, Kokowääh and Head Full of Honey, in which he was director, producer and actor, drew large audiences, making Schweiger the most commercially successful German filmmaker.
1928
Nathan Oliveira
American painter and sculptor (died 2010)
Nathan Oliveira was an American painter, printmaker, and sculptor, born in Oakland, California to immigrant Portuguese parents. Since the late 1950s, Oliveira has been the subject of nearly one hundred solo exhibitions, in addition to having been included in hundreds of group exhibitions in important museums and galleries worldwide. He taught studio art for several decades in California, beginning in the early 1950s, when he taught at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. After serving as a Visiting Artist at several universities, he became a Professor of Studio Art at Stanford University.
1972
Alyssa Milano
American actress, television personality, and activist
Alyssa Jayne Milano is an American actress, singer and activist. She has played Samantha Micelli in Who's the Boss? (1984–1992), Jennifer Mancini in Melrose Place (1997–1998), Phoebe Halliwell in Charmed (1998–2006), Billie Cunningham in My Name Is Earl (2007–2008), Savannah "Savi" Davis in Mistresses (2013–2014), Renata Murphy in Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017), and Coralee Armstrong in Insatiable (2018–2019). As an activist, Milano is known for her role in the #MeToo movement in October 2017. She was the replacement of the role of Roxie Hart, and did her own singing in Chicago.
1980
Marla Sokoloff
American actress and musician
Marla Sokoloff is an American actress. She is known for playing Gia Mahan on Full House and Fuller House, Cokie Mason in The Babysitters Club movie, and Lucy Hatcher on the legal drama series The Practice. She also appeared as Joey's sister Dina on Friends and as the nanny Claire on Desperate Housewives. She has starred in the films True Crime (1996), The Climb (1999), Whatever It Takes (2000), Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), Sugar & Spice (2001), The Tollbooth (2004), Love on the Side (2006), Play the Game (2009), and The Merry Gentlemen (2024).
1943
Ross M. Lence
American political scientist and academic (died 2006)
Ross Marlo Anthony Lence was an American political scientist. He was professor of political science at the University of Houston from 1971 to 2006, where he was John and Rebecca Moores Professor and then held the Ross M. Lence Distinguished Teaching Chair, named and endowed in his honor in 2001. He taught political philosophy, American political thought, and American government as a member of the political science and honors college faculties. He edited a Liberty Fund volume of the works of John C. Calhoun, Union and Liberty: The Political Philosophy of John C. Calhoun.