February 22: Today's Notable Birthdays

Is February 22nd your birthday? Was someone special to you born on February 22nd? With whom will you choose to celebrate this excellent occasion?

If today is your birthday, then you are in excellent company.

February 22nd was the birth date of several notable (or even notorious) individuals. Here they are:

February 22nd Birthdays: Famous Artists

Polish classical music pianist and composer Frederic Francois Chopin was born on February 22, 1810. Frederic Chopin was portrayed by actor Hugh Grant in the 1991 motion picture, Impromptu.

Jonathan Demme, American film director (Beloved, Caged Heat, Fighting Mad, Last Embrace, The Manchurian Candidate, Man from Plains, Married to the Mob, Melvin and Howard, Neil Young: Heart of Gold, Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, The Silence of the Lambs, Something Wild, Stop Making Sense, Swimming to Cambodia and Swing Shift) and Academy Award winner (1991), was born on February 22, 1944.

Peter Hurd, American Realist painter (Dona Nestorita and Tierra del Sol), was born on February 22, 1904.

American portrait painter Rembrandt Peale (William Henry Harrison, Thomas Jefferson, General Thomas Sumter and Washington Before Yorktown) was born on February 22, 1778. The son of painter Charles Willson Peale, Rembrandt Peale was brother to artists Raphaelle Peale, Rubens Peale and Titian Peale.

American Primitive painter Horace Pippin (End of the War, Self-Portrait and Suppertime) was born on February 22, 1888.

Luis Bunuel Portoles, Spanish film director (Belle de Jour and Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie) and Academy Award winner (1972), was born on February 22, 1900.

Jan Wils, Dutch architect (Amsterdam's Olympic Stadium), was born on February 22, 1891.

American film and television director Bud Yorkin (An Evening with Fred Astaire and The Jack Benny Specials) was born on February 22, 1926.

February 22nd Birthdays: Famous Athletes

Sidney Gerald (Sid) Abel, Canadian professional hockey player (Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Indianapolis Capitals and Pittsburgh Hornets), was born on February 22, 1918.

American professional golfer Amy Alcott was born on February 22, 1956.

George Lee (Sparky) Anderson, American professional baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies) and manager (Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies), was born on February 22, 1934.

Chinese-American professional tennis player Michael Chang was born on February 22, 1972.

Julius Erving, American professional basketball player (New York Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Virginia Squires), was born on February 22, 1950. Julius Erving has been known as "Dr. J."

Beatriz Gigi Fernandez, Puerto Rican-American tennis star and Olympic gold medalist (1996), was born on February 22, 1964.

Lisa Fernandez, American softball player and Olympic gold medalist (1996), was born on February 22, 1971.

American professional hockey player Pat Lafontaine (Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders and New York Rangers) was born on February 22, 1965.

Andreas Nikolaus (Niki) Lauda, Austrian race car driver, aviator and airline executive, was born on February 22, 1949.

American boxing champion Gustav George (Gus) Lesnevich was born on February 22, 1915.

Dutch professional tennis player Tom Okker was born on February 22, 1944. Tom Okker has been called "The Flying Dutchman" and "Tom the Twitch."

Vijay Singh, Fijian professional golfer, was born on February 22, 1963.

American professional basketball player Chet Walker (Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers and Syracuse Nationals) was born on February 22, 1940. Known as "Chet the Jet," Chet Walker wrote a memoir, titled Long Time Coming: A Black Athlete's Coming-of-Age in America.

February 22nd Birthdays: Famous Authors and Journalists

American Unitarian hymnist Sarah Fuller Flower Adams was born on February 22, 1805. Sarah Flowers' best known hymns include "He Sendeth Sun - He Sendeth Shower" and "Nearer My God to Thee."

Edward Moore (Ted) Kennedy, American politician, U.S. Senator (D-MA) and author (Decisions for a Decade and In Critical Condition), was born on February 22, 1932. Son of American diplomat Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Ted Kennedy was brother to 35^th U.S. President John F. Kennedy and U.S. Attorney General and Senator (D-NY) Robert (Bobby) Kennedy.

James Russell Lowell, American abolitionist, poet, editor (Atlantic Monthly, North American Review and The Pioneer) and author (Among My Books, The Bigelow Papers, Democracy and Other Addresses, A Fable for Critics, Fireside Travels, My Study Windows, New Letters, Poems and The Vision of Sir Launfal), was born on February 22, 1819.

Edna St. Vincent Millay, American poet, playwright, author (Aria da Capo, The Ballad of the Harp Weaver, Conversation at Midnight, Fatal Interview, A Few Figs from Thistles, The King's Henchman, Make Bright the Arrows, Renascence, Second April and Two Slatterns and a King) and Pulitzer Prize winner (1922), was born on February 22, 1892. Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote poetry for Vanity Fair, using the pen name Nancy Boyd.

German philosopher and author Arthur Schopenhauer (The Basis of Morality, On the Will in Nature and The World as Will and Representation) was born on February 22, 1788.

Giorgios Seferis, Greek poet (The Cistern, Deck Diary I, Exercise Book, Tale of Legends, Three Hidden Poems and The Thrush) and Nobel Prize winner (1963), was born on February 22, 1900.

February 22nd Birthdays: Famous Performers

American actor John Ashton (Beverly Hills Cop, Beverly Hills Cop II, Beverly Hills Cop III, Beverly Hills Cop IV, Dallas, M*A*S*H and Midnight Run) was born on February 22, 1948.

Drew Barrymore, American actress (50 First Dates, The Amy Fisher Story, Babes in Toyland, Bad Girls, Batman Forever, Charlie's Angels, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Donnie Darko, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Ever After, Everyone Says I Love You, Fever Pitch, Never Been Kissed, Poison Ivy, Scream and The Wedding Singer), was born on February 22, 1975. Drew Barrymore is the daughter of actors John Drew Barrymore and Ildiko Jaid Mako Barrymore. Her grandparents were actors John Barrymore and Dolores Costello, and her grand-uncle was actor Lionel Barrymore. Film director Steven Spielberg is Drew Barrymore's godfather.

Sheldon Leonard Bershad, American actor (Another Thin Man, Big Eddie, Decoy, Guys and Dolls, It's a Wonderful Life, Open Secret and To Have and Have Not), radio personality (The Jack Benny Program), and television producer (The Andy Griffith Show, The Danny Thomas Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show and I Spy), was born on February 22, 1907.

British folk and pop guitarist, singer and songwriter James Blunt ("1973," "Carry You Home" and "You're Beautiful") was born on February 22, 1974.

Paul Dooley, American actor (Breaking Away, Endangered Species, Flashback, Insomnia, Last Rites, Paternity, The Player, Sixteen Candles, Slap Shot and The Underneath), was born on February 22, 1928.

Rachel Dratch, American comedienne (Dratch & Fey - with comedienne Tina Fey), television personality (Saturday Night Live) and actress (Click, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, Down with Love, The Hebrew Hammer, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, King of Queens, Martin & Orloff and Third Watch), was born on February 22, 1966.

British model and singer Jenny Frost (Atomic Kitten) was born on February 22, 1978.

Ellen Greene, American singer, voice-over artist (Out of Jimmy's Head and Rock-a-Doodle) and actress (Cybill, I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can, Law & Order, Leon, Little Shop of Horrors, Miami Vice, Pushing Daisies, Suddenly Susan, Talk Radio and The X-Files), was born on February 22, 1951. Ellen Green married musician Christian Klikovits.

French actress Sylvette (Miou-Miou) Hery (Entre Nous, Going Places, La Lectrice and Little Indian Big City) was born on February 22, 1950.

Liza Huber, American actress (Passions), was born on February 22, 1975.

American actor (Apollo 13, Baywatch, Full House, Jack the Bear, Kindergarten Cop, Mercury Rising, The Nanny, Pet Sematary, Roswell, Spawn, Surf School, Touched by an Angel, Wes Craven's New Nightmare and Zeus and Roxanne) and voice-over artist (Baby Geniuses and Life with Louie) Miko Hughes was born on February 22, 1986.

Kyle MacLachlan, American actor (Blue Velvet, Desperate Housewives, Dune, The Flintstones, In Justice, Sex and the City, Showgirls, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, Touch of Pink, The Trial, Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me), was born on February 22, 1959.

Italian actress (Nights of Cabiria and La Strada) Giuletta Masina was born on February 22, 1921. Giuletta Masina was married to film director Federico Fellini.

Will McGinnis, American Christian rock bassist and singer (Audio Adrenaline), was born on February 22, 19--.

American actress Tamara Mello (7^th Heaven, Boy Meets World, The Brady Bunch Movie, Diagnosis: Murder, Popular, She's All That and Worst Week) was born on February 22, 1976.

British actor (Around the World in 80 Days, Frankenstein, Gandhi, The Ghost Camera, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Great Expectations, King Rat, Oklahoma Crude, Ryan's Daughter, The Swiss Family Robinson, A Tale of Two CitiesWar and Peace) and Academy Award winner (1970) Sir John Mills was born on February 22, 1908. Sir John Mills married actresses Aileen Raymond and Mary Hayley Bell. His daughters are actresses Hayley Mills and Juliet Mills.

American singer Marni Nixon was born on February 22, 1930. Known as "The Voice of Hollywood," Marni Nixon provided a dubbed singing voice for many movie stars, including Audrey Hepburn, Deborah Kerr, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Moreno and Natalie Wood. Marni Nixon recorded the role of Grandmother Fa in Disney's 1998 animated movie Mulan. Marni Nixon was married to composer Ernest Gold. Her son is singer and songwriter Andrew Gold.

Brad Nowell, American rock guitarist and singer (Sublime), was born on February 22, 1968.

American radio and television personality (Jeopardy, The Price Is Right, Saturday Night Live, Search for Tomorrow and Wheel of Fortune) Don Pardo was born on February 22, 1918.

Jeri Ryan, American actress (Boston Public, Dark Skies, Down with Love, The Last Man, The O.C., Shark and Star Trek: Voyager), was born on February 22, 1968. Jeri Ryan was married to Illinois politician Jack Ryan.

Filipino singer and actress Lea Salonga was born on February 22, 1971. Lea Salonga starred on Broadway in Les Miserables and Miss Saigon and provided the singing voice for Disney's Fa Mulan (Mulan and Mulan II) and Princess Jasmine (Aladdin).

Daniel E. Smith, American actor (John Q), was born on February 22, 1990.

American actor Jose Solano (Baywatch, Curse of Alcatraz, Devil's Knight, El Dorado, Purgatory and Resurrection Boulevard) was born on February 22, 1971.

William Oliver Swofford, American pop singer (The Good Earth and The Virginians), was born on February 22, 1945. Oliver Swofford's best known hit single was "Good Morning Starshine."

British actress Julie Walters (Billy Elliott, Calendar Girls, The Canterbury Tales, Driving Lessons, Educating Rita, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Head of the Class, Just Like a Woman, Mack the Knife, Mamma Mia, Murder, My Beautiful Son, Pick Up Your Ears and The Summer House) was born on February 22, 1950.

American actor Robert Young (The Bride Wore Red, Crossfire, Father Knows Best, Honolulu, Marcus Welby M.D.Northwest Passage) was born on February 22, 1907.

February 22nd Birthdays: Famous Scientists

Steve Robert Irwin, Australian zookeeper, conservationist and television personality (The Crocodile Hunter), was born on February 22, 1962. Steve Irwin was co-owner and director of the Australia Zoo, along with his wife, Terri Irwin.

February 22nd Birthdays: Famous World (and Other) Leaders

Romulo Betancourt, President of Venezuela, was born on February 22, 1908.

French King Charles VII was born on February 22, 1403.

Charles Evans Whittaker, American jurist and 91^st U.S. Supreme Court Justice, was born on February 22, 1901.

George Washington, 1^st President of the United States, was born on February 22, 1731.

William I, Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia, was born on February 22, 1797.

Do you know any others who are celebrating birthdays on February 22nd?

If you know additional notable people (including yourself) who may be celebrating a birthday on February 22nd, please indicate so in a comment below. Thank you!

Happy Birthday, February 22nd.

Other Notable Birthdates:

Click here to check other calendar dates for notable birthdates.

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