“Born on the Fourth of July” is the title of Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic’s autobiography, as well as Oliver Stone’s film adaptation of the book, starring Tom Cruise. Of course Ron Kovic isn’t the only famous American born on Independence Day. President Calvin Coolidge and advice columnist Ann Landers were, too (along with others as diverse as Bill Withers, Geraldo Rivera, George Steinbrenner, and Gina Lolabrigida).
24/7 Tempo has consulted numerous websites, including AP News, Famous Birthdays, Born Today, and Wikipedia to create a list of famous people born on major holidays, including New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Valentine’s Day, Leap Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Labor Day, Halloween, Veteran’s Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve.
Click here to see a list of famous people born on major holidays
The youngest names on our list are gymnast Gabby Douglas, born on Christmas Day in 1995, and musician Post Malone, born on Independence Day in 1995. The oldest names are scientist Isaac Newton, born in 1642 on Christmas Day, and author Nathaniel Hawthorne, another Independence Day baby, born in 1804. (This is the most famous person the same age as you.)
In between are names such as Salma Hayek and Keanu Reeves, hard-working actors both born on Labor Day. (These are the 25 biggest Keanu Reeves movies ranked worst to best.)
Spare a thought, though, for actor Dennis Farina and musician Ja Rule, both born on a Leap Day. People born on February 29 are known as leaplings and get to celebrate on February 28 or March 1 instead of their actual birthday three out of four years.
Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images
Isaac Newton
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1642
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, England
>Occupation: Scientist
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Nathaniel Hawthorne
> Born on: July 4, 1804
> Holiday: Independence Day
> Hometown: Salem, MA
>Occupation: Writer
Source: usnationalarchives / Flickr
Clara Barton
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1821
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: Oxford, MA
>Occupation: Nurse, founder of the American Red Cross
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Stephen Foster
> Born on: July 4, 1826
> Holiday: Independence Day
> Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
>Occupation: Songwriter
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Pud Galvin
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1856
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: St. Louis, MO
>Occupation: Baseball player
Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images
Calvin Coolidge
> Born on: July 4, 1872
> Holiday: Independence Day
> Hometown: Plymouth, VT
>Occupation: 30th president of the US
Humphrey Bogart
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1899
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: New York City, NY
>Occupation: Film and theater actor
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Howard Hughes
> Born on: Dec. 24, 1905
> Holiday: Christmas Eve
> Hometown: Humble, TX
>Occupation: Business magnate, pilot
Source: library_of_congress / Flickr
Cab Calloway
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1907
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: Rochester, NY
>Occupation: Musician, dancer
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Ben Chapman
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1908
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: Nashville, TN
>Occupation: Baseball player
Ann Landers
> Born on: July 4, 1918
> Holiday: Independence Day
> Hometown: Sioux City,IA
>Occupation: Advice columnist
Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images
Ava Gardner
> Born on: Dec. 24, 1922
> Holiday: Christmas Eve
> Hometown: Grabtown, NC
>Occupation: Actor
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Rod Serling
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1924
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: Syracuse, NY
>Occupation: Screenwriter and playwright
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Nellie Fox
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1927
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: St. Thomas Township, PA
>Occupation: Baseball player
Source: Timothy Hiatt / Getty Images
Anthony Hopkins
> Born on: Dec. 31, 1937
> Holiday: New Year’s Eve
> Hometown: Margam, Wales
>Occupation: Actor
Frank Langella
> Born on: Jan. 1, 1938
> Holiday: New Year’s Day
> Hometown: Bayonne, NJ
>Occupation: Actor
Dr. Anthony Fauci
> Born on: Dec. 24, 1940
> Holiday: Christmas Eve
> Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
>Occupation: Immunologist
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Geraldo Rivera
> Born on: July 4, 1943
> Holiday: Independence Day
> Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
>Occupation: Lawyer, political commentator
Ben Kingsley
> Born on: Dec. 31, 1943
> Holiday: New Year’s Eve
> Hometown: Snainton, England
>Occupation: Actor
Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Dennis Farina
> Born on: February 29, 1944
> Holiday: Leap Day
> Hometown: Chicago, IL
>Occupation: Actor
Source: Allsport / Getty Images
Ken Stabler
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1945
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: Foley, AL
>Occupation: Football quarterback
Joe Louis Walker
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1945
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: San Francisco, CA
>Occupation: Musician
Gregory Hines
> Born on: Feb. 14, 1946
> Holiday: Valentine’s Day
> Hometown: New York City, NY
>Occupation: Dancer, actor
Ron Kovic
> Born on: July 4, 1946
> Holiday: Independence Day
> Hometown: Ladysmith, WI
>Occupation: Anti-war activist, US marine
Source: Rick Diamond / Getty Images
Jimmy Buffett
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1946
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: Pascagoula, MS
>Occupation: Musician
Merry Clayton
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1948
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: New Orleans, LA
>Occupation: Musician
Source: Fin Costello / Redferns via Getty Images
Donna Summer
> Born on: Dec. 31, 1948
> Holiday: New Year’s Eve
> Hometown: Boston, MA
>Occupation: Musician
Sissy Spacek
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1949
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: Quitman, TX
>Occupation: Actor
Source: Andreas Rentz / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
Annie Lennox
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1954
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: Aberdeen, Scotland
>Occupation: Musician, political activist
Rickey Henderson
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1958
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: Chicago, IL
>Occupation: Baseball player
Alannah Myles
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1958
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: Toronto, Canada
>Occupation: Musician
Lee Daniels
> Born on: Dec. 24, 1959
> Holiday: Christmas Eve
> Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
>Occupation: Film director
Val Kilmer
> Born on: Dec. 31, 1959
> Holiday: New Year’s Eve
> Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
>Occupation: Actor
Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
Rob Schneider
> Born on: Oct. 31, 1963
> Holiday: Halloween
> Hometown: San Francisco, CA
>Occupation: Actor
Source: Christopher Polk / Getty Images
Rob Lowe
> Born on: March 17, 1964
> Holiday: St. Patrick’s Day
> Hometown: Charlottesville, VA
>Occupation: Actor
Source: Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images
Keanu Reeves
> Born on: Sept. 2, 1964
> Holiday: Labor Day
> Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon
>Occupation: Actor
Salma Hayek
> Born on: Sept. 2, 1966
> Holiday: Labor Day
> Hometown: Coatzacoalcos, Mexico
>Occupation: Actor
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Vanilla Ice
> Born on: Oct. 31, 1967
> Holiday: Halloween
> Hometown: Dallas, TX
>Occupation: Musician
Helena Christensen
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1968
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: Copenhagen, Denmark
>Occupation: Model
Morris Chestnut
> Born on: Jan. 1, 1969
> Holiday: New Year’s Day
> Hometown: Cerritos, CA
>Occupation: Actor
Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Regina King
> Born on: Jan. 15, 1971
> Holiday: Martin Luther King Day
> Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
>Occupation: Actor, Film director
Source: Gustavo Caballero / Getty Images
Ricky Martin
> Born on: Dec. 24, 1971
> Holiday: Christmas Eve
> Hometown: San Juan, Puerto Rico
>Occupation: Musician
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Courtesy of Dido via Facebook
Dido
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1971
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: London, England
>Occupation: Musician
Source: Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images
Leonardo DiCaprio
> Born on: Nov. 11, 1974
> Holiday: Veteran’s Day
> Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
>Occupation: Actor
Ryan Seacrest
> Born on: Dec. 24, 1974
> Holiday: Christmas Eve
> Hometown: Dunwoody, GA
>Occupation: TV personality
Source: John Parra / Getty Images
Ja Rule
> Born on: February 29, 1976
> Holiday: Leap Day
> Hometown: Queens, NY
>Occupation: Musician
Armin van Buuren
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1976
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: Leiden, The Netherlands
>Occupation: DJ
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Courtesy of Rob Kardashian via Facebook
Rob Kardashian
> Born on: March 17, 1987
> Holiday: St. Patrick’s Day
> Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
>Occupation: TV personality
Demaryius Thomas
> Born on: Dec. 25, 1987
> Holiday: Christmas
> Hometown: Montrose, GA
>Occupation: Football wide receiver
Source: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
Adele
> Born on: May 5, 1988
> Holiday: Cinco de Mayo
> Hometown: London, England
>Occupation: Musician
Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Chris Brown
> Born on: May 5, 1989
> Holiday: Cinco de Mayo
> Hometown: Tappahannock, VA
>Occupation: Musician
Source: Joshua Blanchard / Getty Images
Freddie Highmore
> Born on: Feb. 14, 1992
> Holiday: Valentine’s Day
> Hometown: London, England
>Occupation: Actor
Source: Tabatha Fireman / Getty Images
Post Malone
> Born on: July 4, 1995
> Holiday: Independence Day
> Hometown: Syracuse, NY
>Occupation: Musician
Gabby Douglas
> Born on: Dec. 31, 1995
> Holiday: New Year’s Eve
> Hometown: Newport News, VA
>Occupation: Artistic gymnast
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