Famous people born in 1938
The best-known people born in 1938, ranked by how many languages Wikipedia covers them in.
Best known
Kofi Annan7th Secretary-General of the United Nations (1938-2018)
April 8 · d. 2018
Photo: US Mission in Geneva, Public domain
Vladimir VysotskySoviet singer-songwriter and actor (1938–1980)
January 25 · d. 1980
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, CC BY 4.0
Beatrix of the NetherlandsQueen of the Netherlands from 1980 to 2013 (born 1938)
January 31
Photo: RVD Koninklijk Huis, CC0
Donald KnuthAmerican computer scientist and mathematician (born 1938)
January 10
Photo: Alex Handy, CC BY-SA 2.0
Islam Karimov1st President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (1938–2016)
January 30 · d. 2016
Photo: Russian Presidential Press and Information Office, CC BY 4.0
Leonid KuchmaUkrainian businessman and politician, second President of Ukraine from 1994 to 2005
August 9
Photo: R. D. Ward, Public domain
Claudia CardinaleItalian actress (1938–2025)
April 15 · d. 2025
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
Adriano CelentanoItalian musician and actor (born 1938)
January 6
Photo: Collezione Biblioteca Comunale G.D. Romagnosi, Salsomaggiore Terme, Public domain
Heinz FischerAustrian politician (SPÖ), 8th president of Austria (born 1938)
October 9
Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag, CC BY-SA 4.0
Kenny RogersAmerican country singer (1938–2020)
August 21 · d. 2020
Photo: John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
Victor ChernomyrdinRussian diplomat and politician (1938–2010)
April 9 · d. 2010
Photo: Александр Стручков, CC BY-SA 3.0
Ted TurnerAmerican media mogul (1938–2026)
November 19 · d. 2026
Photo: Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer, Public domain
Rudolf NureyevSoviet ballet dancer and choreographer (1938–1993)
March 17 · d. 1993
Photo: Allan Warren, CC BY-SA 3.0
Liv UllmannNorwegian actress, director, and screenwriter (born 1938)
December 16
Photo: Nasjonalbiblioteket, CC BY 3.0
Anthony James LeggettBritish physicist (1938–2026)
March 26 · d. 2026
Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 3.0
Romy SchneiderGerman-French actress (1938–1982)
September 23 · d. 1982
Photo: Studio Harcourt., Public domain
Paul Martinprime minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006
August 28
Photo: Kate Gottli on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
Farah Pahlaviqueen/empress consort of Iran from 1959 to 1979
October 14
Photo: Ghazarians, Public domain
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January
- January 1 · Fuad Masum, 7th President of the Republic of Iraq
- January 1 · Frank Langella, American actor
- January 14 · Morihiro Hosokawa, 50th Prime Minister of Japan
- January 18 · Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens, British sociologist (born 1938)
- January 23 · Georg Baselitz, German artist (1938–2026)
- January 28 · Tomas Lindahl, Nobel prize winning Swedish biologist
February
- February 3 · Waheeda Rehman, Indian actress
- February 13 · Oliver Reed, British actor (1938–1999)
- February 18 · István Szabó, Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director (born 1938)
- February 23 · Jiří Menzel, Czech film director, actor, director, scriptwriter, writer and university educator (1938-2020)
- February 24 · Phil Knight, American billionaire and co-founder of Nike
- February 25 · Diane Baker, American actress
March
- March 2 · Ricardo Lagos, Chilean politician, president of Chile from 2000 to 2006
- March 5 · Lynn Margulis, American evolutionary biologist (1938–2011)
- March 16 · Carlos Bilardo, Argentine association football player and manager
- March 18 · Shashi Kapoor, Indian film actor and producer (1938–2017)
- March 24 · David Irving, British author and Holocaust denier (born 1938)
- March 30 · Klaus Schwab, German economist, founder of World Economic Forum
April
- April 7 · Jerry Brown, Governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019 (born 1938)
- April 7 · Freddie Hubbard, American jazz trumpeter (1938–2008)
- April 20 · Betty Cuthbert, Australian sprinter (1938–2017)
- April 25 · Jim Simons, American mathematician and hedge fund manager (1938–2024)
- April 26 · Manuel Blum, Venezuelan computer scientist
- April 30 · Larry Niven, American writer (born 1938)
May
- May 8 · Jean Giraud, French comics author (1938–2012)
- May 10 · Marina Vlady, French actress, singer, and writer (1938–2026)
- May 12 · Ayaz Mutallibov, President of Azerbaijan from 1990 to 1992
- May 15 · Mireille Darc, French actress and director (1938–2017)
- May 25 · Raymond Carver, penman, poet, screenwriter, novelist, prose writer, teacher, short story writer (1938-1988)
- May 28 · Jerry West, American basketball player and executive (1938-2024)
June
- June 2 · Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld, Swedish princess; elder sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (1938–2026)
- June 10 · Violetta Villas, Polish cabaret star, singer, actress, composer, songwriter (1938-2011)
- June 15 · Anna Hazare, Indian activist (born 1937)
- June 16 · Joyce Carol Oates, American author (born 1938)
- June 24 · Abulfaz Elchibey, 2nd President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
- June 28 · Leon Panetta, American politician, Secretary of Defense 2011–2013
July
- July 4 · Masakatsu Miyamoto, Japanese association football player and manager (1938–2002)
- July 18 · Paul Verhoeven, Dutch film director (born 1938)
- July 20 · Mamadou Tandja, President of Niger from 1999 to 2010
- July 22 · Terence Stamp, British actor (1938–2025)
- July 24 · José Altafini, Brazilian-Italian footballer
- July 28 · Luis Aragonés, Spanish football player and manager (1938–2014)
August
- August 7 · Giorgetto Giugiaro, Italian automobile designer (born 1938)
- August 9 · Rod Laver, Australian tennis player
- August 9 · Otto Rehhagel, German footballer and manager
- August 15 · Stephen Breyer, US Supreme Court justice from 1994 to 2022
- August 25 · Frederick Forsyth, English novelist (1938–2025)
- August 29 · Elliott Gould, American actor (born 1938)
September
- September 1 · Alan Dershowitz, American lawyer, author, and art collector (born 1938)
- September 2 · Giuliano Gemma, Italian actor (1938-2013)
- September 15 · James W. Christy, American astronomer
- September 22 · Dean Reed, singer, musician, actor, writer, director (1938-1986)
- September 28 · Ben E. King, American singer (1938–2015)
- September 29 · Wim Kok, Dutch politician (1938–2018)
October
- October 3 · Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Peruvian politician and economist; Prime Minister (2005–06), President (2016–18)
- October 4 · Kurt Wüthrich, Swiss chemist (born 1938)
- October 15 · Fela Kuti, Nigerian musician and activist (1938–1997)
- October 16 · Nico, German singer and actress (1938–1988)
- October 22 · Christopher Lloyd, American actor (born 1938)
- October 22 · Derek Jacobi, English actor (born 1938)
November
- November 2 · Queen Sofía of Spain, queen consort of Spain from 1975 to 2014
- November 2 · Pat Buchanan, American politician and commentator
- November 5 · Joe Dassin, French-American musician (1938–1980)
- November 5 · César Luis Menotti, Argentine footballer and manager (1938–2024)
- November 12 · Benjamin Mkapa, Tanzanian politician and former president (1938-2020)
- November 16 · Robert Nozick, American political philosopher (1938–2002)
December
- December 5 · J.J. Cale, American musician (1938–2013)
- December 8 · John Kufuor, fifth President of the Republic of Ghana and Lawyer
- December 11 · Enrico Macias, French recording artist; singer
- December 17 · Peter Snell, New Zealand athlete (1938–2019)
- December 23 · Bob Kahn, American Internet pioneer, computer scientist (born 1938)
- December 31 · Marien Ngouabi, President of Congo-Brazzaville from 1969 to 1977
People from Wikidata (CC0), photos from Wikimedia Commons; each photo shows its author and licence.