CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
1. Born Christmas Day 1899, this American actor starred in movies such as "The Maltese Falcon", "Casablanca", "The Big Sleep", and "The African Queen".
2. Born Christmas Day 1908 as Denis Pratt this English-born author and homosexual activist is best known for "The Naked Civil Servant".
3. Born Richard Wayne Penniman on Christmas Day 1932, this US musician and singer was noted for standing up when playing the piano.
4. Born Mary Elizabeth on Christmas Day 1949, this American actress starred in "Carrie" and "The Coal Miner's Daughter"
5. Born on Christmas Day 1642 near Grantham in Lincolnshire. This mathematician and physicist was one of the foremost scientific intellects of all time.
6. Born in Denmark on Christmas Day 1968, this supermodel has recently tried her hand at acting in a TV movie 'Inferno' and followed it up with a cameo role in Robert Altman's 'Pret-A-Porter'.
7. Born in Scotland on Christmas Day 1907, this actor starred in many films, but his most famous role was on television as Dr Cameron in 'Dr Findlay's Casebook'.
8. Born on Christmas Day 1971, with the surname Armstrong, this singer started as a classical musician and also played in her brother's band Faithless. She hit the pop charts with her first album No Angel in 1999.
9. Born Louis Winogradsky on Christmas Day 1906, he was an influential showbusiness impresario and television company executive in the United Kingdom. He was instrumental in bringing The Muppet Show to the screen and was immortalized by a Muppet in his image -Dr Bunsen Honeydew
10. Born on Christmas Day 1887 of a hard-working Norwegian immigrant father and a devout Catholic mother, this American tycoon created one of the largest hotel chains in the world.
11. Born in Scotland on Christmas Day 1954, her solo debut LP, Diva, wasn't released until 1992, although she had gained success in the U.K. in the 1970s, 80s and 90s with her musical partner. She won a lifetime achievement award at the 1999 Brit Awards.
12. Born into a family of 13 children on Christmas Day 1918, he went on to become President of Egypt. During his life he won a Nobel Peace Prize, but was assassinated in 1981 during a military review.
13. Born on Christmas Day 1948 in Ilford, Essex, he was destined to spend over 30 years of his working life as one of the BBC's most successful radio and television presenters until his Saturday tea-time show was suddenly dropped by the BBC.
14. Born on Christmas Eve 1922 the daughter of a poor Southern sharecropper, this American actress went on to starring roles in such films as The Barefoot Contessa. Her husky voice and seductive personal presence had made her one of the best-known American actresses by the early 1950s. She married Mickey Rooney and Frank Sinatra.
15. Born on Christmas Eve 1905 this was arguably the most secretive and self-destructive man ever to win fame in California's two glamour industries --- movies and aviation He once held every air speed record of consequence and was hailed as the world's greatest flyer. He died in 1976, having become a mentally ill recluse.
16. Born on Christmas Eve 1971 in Puerto Rico, he has become an international superstar who has sold more than 15 million records worldwide. He recently turned down a chance to star opposite Jennifer Lopez in a film remake of West Side Story, on the grounds that the movie helps perpetuate Puerto Rican stereotypes.
17. Born on Christmas Eve 1961, she has become one of the most popular and highly paid presenters on television, best known as the face of numerous science and education programmes, as well as a daily appearance on daytime television. She was awarded the MBE for Services to Broadcasting in the New Year's Honours List 2001.
18. Born on December 26th 1893, became leader of the most populated country in the world. Famous for his quotations, many of which are contained in a little red book.
19. Born in London, December 26, 1791, he showed considerable talent in mathematics early in his life. He became interested in Astronomy and the equipment used to study the heavens, which appears to be the time when he got the idea for a mechanical calculation device. This led to him being credited with the invention of the calculation process of the modern computer.
20. Born on Boxing Day 1941, this American musician and producer created his own mark, called the "Wall of Sound". He wrote "River Deep, Mountain High", which he always considered among his greatest achievements. He became one of rock's most legendary recluses, rarely appearing in public, and has recently been charged with murder in America.
1. Humphrey Bogart
2. Quentin Crisp
3. Little Richard
4. Sissy Spacek
5. Isaac Newton
6. Helena Christensen
7. Andrew Cruikshank
8. Dido
9. Lew Grade
10. Conrad Hilton
11. Annie Lennox
12. Anwar Sadat
13. Noel Edmonds
14. Ava Gardner
15. Howard Hughes
16. Ricky Martin
17. Carol Vorderman
18. Mao-Tse Tung
19. Charles Babbage
20. Phil Spector
