Famous Birthdays on October 15

Lawrence John Miller is an American comedian, actor, voice actor, podcaster, and columnist. He is primarily regarded as a character actor, with The A.V. Club noting that he "can be counted upon to improve every film or television show he appears in". His better known roles include Lou Bonaparte in Mad About You (1993–1998), Pointy-haired Boss in Dilbert (1999–2000), Edwin Poole in Boston Legal (2004–2008), Mr. Hollister in Pretty Woman (1990), Dean Richmond in The Nutty Professor (1996) and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), Walter Stratford in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Principal Elliot T. Jindraike in Max Keeble's Big Move (2001), and Paolo Puttanesca in The Princess Diaries (2001) and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). He reprised his role as Walter Stratford in the television series 10 Things I Hate About You (2009–2010).

Elgin Baylor Lumpkin, better known by his stage name Ginuwine, is an American R&B singer. He began his career as a member of the musical collective Swing Mob in the early 1990s. As a solo act, he signed with Epic Records to release his 1996 debut single, "Pony". The song peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded the release of his debut studio album, Ginuwine...the Bachelor (1996), which received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His second and third albums, 100% Ginuwine (1999) and The Life (2001), both peaked within the top five of the Billboard 200, while the latter spawned the single "Differences", which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains his highest-charting song.

Blaine Williamson Gabbert is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for the Missouri Tigers, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2010. Gabbert was selected 10th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2011 NFL draft and began his career as their starter, but his tenure lasted only three seasons due to inconsistent play and injuries. Gabbert alternated as the starter and backup for the San Francisco 49ers during his next three seasons and spent the rest of his career as backup with the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Kansas City Chiefs. Gabbert was a member of the Buccaneers team that won Super Bowl LV and the Chiefs team that won Super Bowl LVIII.

Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr. was an American historian, social critic, and public intellectual. The son of the influential historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. and a specialist in American history, much of Schlesinger's work explored the history of 20th-century American liberalism. In particular, his work focused on leaders such as Harry S. Truman, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. In the 1952 and 1956 presidential campaigns, he was a primary speechwriter and adviser to the Democratic presidential nominee, Adlai Stevenson II. Schlesinger served as special assistant and "court historian" to President Kennedy from 1961 to 1963. He wrote a detailed account of the Kennedy administration, from the 1960 presidential campaign to the president's state funeral, titled A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House, which won the 1966 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.

Jacques Joseph Tissot, better known as James Tissot, was a French painter, illustrator, and caricaturist. He was born to a drapery merchant and a milliner and decided to pursue a career in art at a young age, coming to incorporate elements of realism, early Impressionism, and academic art into his work. He is best known for a variety of genre paintings of contemporary European high society produced during the peak of his career, which focused on the people and women's fashion of the Belle Époque and Victorian England, but he would also explore many medieval, biblical, and Japoniste subjects throughout his life. His career included work as a caricaturist for Vanity Fair under the pseudonym of Coïdé.

Fredrick Kristian Hoiberg is an American college basketball coach and former player. He has served as the men's head basketball coach at the University of Nebraska since 2019. Hoiberg grew up in Ames, Iowa, and played college basketball at Iowa State University in Ames where he earned the nickname "the Mayor". He was drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) where, over his 10-year career, he played for the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, and Minnesota Timberwolves. After retiring as a player, he served as vice president for basketball operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves before beginning his coaching career at his alma mater, Iowa State University. He was there from 2010 to 2015 before coaching in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls from 2015 to 2018.

Stanley Fischer was an American and Israeli economist who served as the 20th vice chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017. Fischer previously served as the 8th governor of the Bank of Israel from 2005 to 2013. Born in Northern Rhodesia, he held dual citizenship in Israel and the United States. He previously served as First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund and as Chief Economist of the World Bank. On January 10, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Fischer to the position of Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve. On September 6, 2017, Fischer announced that he was resigning as vice-chair for personal reasons effective October 13, 2017. He was a senior advisor at BlackRock.

Brock Christian Nelson is an American professional ice hockey player who is a center for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nelson was drafted 30th overall in the first round of the 2010 NHL entry draft by the New York Islanders. Prior to playing at professional level, Nelson played for the University of North Dakota. His first experience in professional level was in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Islanders' affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Once he reached the NHL on a full-time basis, he would go on to play eleven seasons with the Islanders before being traded to the Avalanche. Nelson won a gold medal with Team USA in the 2026 Winter Olympics.

José Miguel Carrera Verdugo was a Chilean general, formerly Spanish military, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most important leader of the Chilean War of Independence during the period of the Patria Vieja. After the Spanish "Reconquista de Chile" ("Reconquest"), he continued campaigning from exile after defeat. His opposition to the leaders of independent Argentina and Chile, San Martín and O'Higgins respectively, made him live in exile in Montevideo. From Montevideo Carrera traveled to Argentina where he joined the struggle against the unitarians. Carreras' small army was eventually left isolated in the Province of Buenos Aires from the other federalist forces. In this difficult situation Carrera decided to cross to native-controlled lands all the way to Chile to once and for all overthrow Chilean Supreme Director O'Higgins. His passage to Chile, which was his ultimate goal, was opposed by Argentine politicians and he engaged together with indigenous tribes, among them the Ranquel, in a campaign against the southern provinces of Argentina. After the downfall of Carrera's ally, the Republic of Entre Ríos, and several victories against the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, Carrera's men were finally defeated by numerically superior forces near Mendoza. Carrera was then betrayed by one of his Argentine helpers, leading to his capture and execution in that city.

Victoria Regina Spivey, sometimes known as Queen Victoria, was an American blues singer, songwriter, and record company founder. During a recording career that spanned 40 years, from 1926 to the mid-1960s, she worked with Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Clarence Williams, Luis Russell, Lonnie Johnson, and Bob Dylan. She also performed in vaudeville and clubs, sometimes with her sisters Addie "Sweet Peas" Spivey and Elton Island Spivey. Among her compositions are "Black Snake Blues" (1926), "Dope Head Blues" (1927), and "Organ Grinder Blues" (1928). In 1961, she co-founded Spivey Records with one of her husbands, Len Kunstadt. Her recordings are considered important examples of classic female blues, and scholars note that her music reflected the themes and performance styles that were common among major women blues artists of the 1920s and 1930s.

Adolf Brudes von Breslau was a Formula One driver from Germany and a member of German nobility. He started racing motorcycles in 1919. As an owner of a BMW and Auto Union dealership in Breslau, he had the opportunities to go racing, which he did from 1928 onwards, initially in hillclimbs. After World War II wiped out his business, he moved to Berlin and for a while became a mechanic, wherever he could find jobs. However he soon was back racing, and he continued until 1968, in hillclimbs. He participated in one World Championship Grand Prix, the 1952 Großer Preis von Deutschland, but scored no championship points. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races.

Tom Boonen is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for the U.S. Postal Service and Quick-Step Floors teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes in Belcar, having previously competed in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. Boonen won the 2005 UCI World Road Race Championships, and was a single-day road specialist with a strong finishing sprint. He won the cycling monuments Paris–Roubaix four times and the Tour of Flanders three times, among many other prestigious victories, such as prevailing five times in the E3 Harelbeke, winning six stages of the Tour de France and winning the overall title of the Tour of Qatar four times.

Haim Saban is an Israeli and American media proprietor, investor, musical composer and producer of records, film, and television. A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media, he has an estimated net worth of $3.3 billion. Saban is the founder of Saban Entertainment, producer and distributor of children's television programs in the US such as Power Rangers. He headed up consortiums which purchased the broadcasters ProSiebenSat.1 Media and Univision Communications. He is a major donor to the United States Democratic Party and active in pro-Israel political efforts in the United States. In March 2017, Saban was honored with the 2,605th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his achievements in television.

Mervyn LeRoy was an American film director and producer. During the 1930s, he was one of the two great practitioners of economical and effective film directing at Warner Brothers studios, the other being his colleague Michael Curtiz. LeRoy's most acclaimed films of his tenure at Warners include Little Caesar (1931), I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932), Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Anthony Adverse (1936), and They Won't Forget (1937). LeRoy left Warners and moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in 1939 to serve as both director and producer. He is best known for producing the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, as well as for directing the 1951 Oscar-nominated film Quo Vadis.

Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 3 in women's singles and world No. 5 in women's doubles by the WTA. Dementieva won 16 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, adding to a silver medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She was also the runner-up at the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open, and reached seven other major semifinals. Dementieva was part of the victorious Russian team at the 2005 Fed Cup. In doubles, she won six titles, including the 2002 WTA Championships with Janette Husárová, and was runner-up in two US Open finals.

Didier Claude Deschamps, popularly known as Dédé, is a French professional football manager and former player. He played as a defensive midfielder for several clubs in France, Italy, England and Spain, namely Marseille, Juventus, Chelsea and Valencia, as well as Nantes and Bordeaux. Nicknamed "the water-carrier", Deschamps was an intelligent, hard-working defensive midfielder who excelled at winning back possession and subsequently starting attacking plays, and also stood out for his leadership throughout his career. As a French international, he was capped on 103 occasions and took part in three UEFA European Championships and one FIFA World Cup, captaining his nation to victories in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.

Nasser El Sonbaty was an IFBB professional bodybuilder. He represented FR Yugoslavia at competitions. Born in Stuttgart, Sonbaty began bodybuilding in 1983. His first appearance in the Mr. Olympia competition was in 1994, where he placed 7th. His best placing in the Mr. Olympia competition was in 1997, where in a controversial result he placed 2nd behind Dorian Yates. Many bodybuilders, including Jay Cutler and Ronnie Coleman, agree he deserved 1st place in that year's contest. After placing 2nd in the Arnold Classic twice, in 1997 and 1998, he won the title in 1999, defeating Kevin Levrone. He was known for his shoulder development.

William Eldon O'Ree is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player from Fredericton, New Brunswick. He is widely recognized for being the first black player in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing as a winger for the Boston Bruins. His accomplishment of breaking the colour barrier in the NHL has led him to sometimes be referred to as the "Jackie Robinson of hockey," whom he had the chance to meet when he was younger. In 2018, O'Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and starting that year the NHL has introduced the annual Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award in his honour.

Lee Donghae, known mononymously as Donghae, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and actor. He became a trainee under SM Entertainment after winning a prize at SM's Youth Best Contest in 2001. After four years of training, Donghae debuted as a member of boy group Super Junior in November 2005. In July 2023, Donghae left SM Entertainment, although he remains as a member of Super Junior. Two months later, Donghae along with Eunhyuk, founded a new label under the name of ODE.en to manage his solo activities as well as D&E's activities. He is the co-founder of the label.