Famous people born in 1942
The best-known people born in 1942, ranked by how many languages Wikipedia covers them in.
Best known
Joe Biden46th President of the United States (2021–2025)
November 20
Photo: Adam Schultz, Public domain
Stephen HawkingBritish theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author (1942–2018)
January 8 · d. 2018
Photo: NASA, Public domain
Paul McCartneyEnglish musician and member of the Beatles (born 1942)
June 18
Photo: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0
Jimi HendrixAmerican guitarist (1942–1970)
November 27 · d. 1970
Photo: Original photographer unknown, Public domain
Amitabh BachchanIndian film actor (born 1942)
October 11
Photo: File:Amitabh Bacchan and Shrinivas Kulkarni.jpg : Shrinivaskulkarni1388 derivative work: Junior Jump, CC BY-SA 4.0
Hu Jintaoformer General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party
December 21
Photo: Pete Souza, Public domain
Aretha FranklinAmerican singer, songwriter, and pianist (1942–2018)
March 25 · d. 2018
Photo: Atlantic Records (Life time: Published before 1978 without a copyright notice), Public domain
Barbra StreisandAmerican singer and actress (born 1942)
April 24
Photo: NIH Image Gallery from Bethesda, Maryland, USA, Public domain
Jacob Zuma4th President of South Africa (2009–2018)
April 12
Photo: Presidential Press and Information Office / Пресс-служба Президента России, CC BY 4.0
Muhammadu Buhariformer President of Nigeria from 1983 to 1985 and 2015 to 2025 (1942–2025)
December 17 · d. 2025
Photo: Bayo Omoboriowo, CC BY-SA 4.0
Peter HandkeAustrian writer, playwright and film director (born 1942)
December 6
Photo: "Wild + Team Agentur - UNI Salzburg", CC BY-SA 3.0
Wen Jiabao6th Premier of the People's Republic of China from 2003 to 2013 (born 1942)
September 15
Photo: World Economic Forum, CC BY-SA 2.0
Mohamed ElBaradeiEgyptian law scholar and diplomat, 4th Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient
June 17
Photo: IAEA, CC BY-SA 2.0
José Eduardo dos SantosPresident of Angola from 1979 to 2017
August 28 · d. 2022
Photo: Ricardo Stuckert/PR, CC BY 3.0 br
Michael BloombergAmerican businessman and politician; 108th Mayor of New York City
February 14
Photo: Bloomberg Philanthropies, CC0
Michael CrichtonAmerican author, screenwriter, film director (1942–2008)
October 23 · d. 2008
Photo: Jon Chase photo/Harvard News Office, CC BY-SA 3.0
John CaleWelsh composer, singer-songwriter and record producer (born 1942)
March 9
Photo: Hreinn Gudlaugsson, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bob HoskinsEnglish actor (1942–2014)
October 26 · d. 2014
Photo: Bob hoskins filming ruby blue.jpg : James Laurence Stewart derivative work: KoS, CC BY 2.0
Teodoro ObiangEquatoguinean politician, President of Equatorial Guinea since 1979
June 5
Photo: U.S. Department of State, Public domain
Werner HerzogGerman film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and opera director (born 1942)
September 5
Photo: Nicolas Genin, CC BY-SA 3.0
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January
- January 1 · Alassane Ouattara, President of Ivory Coast since 2010
- January 1 · Brian Kernighan, Canadian computer scientist, co-inventor of the Unix operating system
- January 3 · László Sólyom, politician and former President of Hungary (1942–2023)
- January 4 · John McLaughlin, English guitarist, founder of the Mahavishnu Orchestra
- January 12 · Michel Mayor, Swiss astrophysicist & Nobel laureate of Physics
- January 27 · Tasuku Honjo, Japanese professor of immunology and genomic medicine (1942–)
February
- February 1 · Terry Jones, Welsh actor, comedian, director, historian and writer (1942–2020)
- February 9 · Carole King, American singer-songwriter and musician (born 1942)
- February 12 · Ehud Barak, 10th Prime Minister of Israel
- February 20 · Mitch McConnell, American politician and lawyer (born 1942)
- February 27 · Robert H. Grubbs, Nobel prize winning American chemist (1942-2021)
- February 28 · Dino Zoff, Italian association football player and manager
March
- March 2 · John Irving, American novelist and screenwriter
- March 5 · Felipe González, Prime Minister of Spain from 1982 to 1996
- March 23 · Michael Haneke, Austrian film director and screenwriter (born 1942)
- March 26 · Erica Jong, American novelist, poet, memoirist, critic
- March 27 · John Sulston, British biologist and Nobel laureate (1942–2018)
- March 28 · Daniel Dennett, American philosopher (1942–2024)
April
- April 5 · Peter Greenaway, Welsh film director (born 1942)
- April 6 · Barry Levinson, American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer
- April 18 · Jochen Rindt, German racing driver (1942–1970)
- April 20 · Arto Paasilinna, Finnish poet, novelist, screenwriter, and jourrnalist (1942–2018)
- April 22 · Giorgio Agamben, Italian philosopher (b. 1942)
- April 27 · Valeri Polyakov, Soviet and Russian cosmonaut
May
- May 2 · Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee from 2001 to 2013
- May 3 · Věra Čáslavská, Czechoslovak sports official, artistic gymnast and coach (1942–2016)
- May 9 · John Ashcroft, 79th United States Attorney General
- May 13 · Pál Schmitt, President of Hungary from 2010 to 2012
- May 24 · Fraser Stoddart, Scottish chemist and Nobel Laureate in 2016 for the design and synthesis of molecular machines
- May 28 · Stanley B. Prusiner, American neurologist and biochemist
June
- June 3 · Curtis Mayfield, American singer-songwriter (1942–1999)
- June 8 · Jacques Dubochet, Swiss chemist
- June 12 · Bert Sakmann, German biologist and physician (1991 Nobel Prize)
- June 20 · Brian Wilson, American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer (1942–2025)
- June 24 · Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, President of Chile from 1994 to 2000
- June 26 · Gilberto Gil, Brazilian recording artist, singer, guitarist, songwriter and politician
July
- July 1 · Geneviève Bujold, Canadian actress (born 1942)
- July 2 · Vicente Fox, 62th president of Mexico
- July 10 · Ronnie James Dio, American heavy metal singer (1942–2010)
- July 14 · Javier Solana, Spanish politician
- July 16 · Margaret Court, Australian tennis player
- July 18 · Giacinto Facchetti, Italian association football player (1942–2006)
August
- August 1 · Giancarlo Giannini, Italian actor
- August 17 · Muslim Magomayev, Soviet-Azerbaijani singer
- August 19 · Fred Thompson, American politician and actor (1942–2015)
- August 20 · Isaac Hayes, American musician and actor (1942-2008)
- August 21 · Maria Kaczyńska, First Lady of Poland (1942-2010)
- August 24 · Karen Uhlenbeck, American mathematician (born 1942)
September
- September 1 · António Lobo Antunes, Portuguese writer (1942-2026)
- September 1 · C. J. Cherryh, United States science fiction and fantasy author
- September 15 · Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe
- September 18 · Wolfgang Schäuble, German politician and statesman (1942–2023)
- September 29 · Bill Nelson, American politician and attorney (born 1942)
- September 29 · Felice Gimondi, Italian cyclist
October
- October 4 · Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Icelandic politician
- October 6 · Britt Ekland, Swedish actress (born 1942)
- October 8 · Nguyễn Minh Triết, Sixth President of Vietnam (2006-2011)
- October 20 · Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, German biologist (1995 Nobel Prize)
- October 21 · Christopher A. Sims, American econometrician and macroeconomist (1942-2026)
- October 31 · David Ogden Stiers, American actor (1942–2018)
November
- November 1 · Larry Flynt, American publisher
- November 8 · Sandro Mazzola, Italian association football player (1942–2026)
- November 10 · Robert F. Engle, American economist and Nobel laureate (born 1942)
- November 15 · Daniel Barenboim, Israeli Argentine-born pianist and conductor (born 1942)
- November 19 · Calvin Klein, American fashion designer (born 1942)
- November 24 · Billy Connolly, Scottish actor and comedian
December
- December 1 · John Clauser, American physicist
- December 3 · Pedro Rocha, Uruguayan association football player and manager (1942–2013)
- December 10 · Aritatsu Ogi, Japanese association football player
- December 22 · Yasuyuki Kuwahara, Japanese association football player (1942–2017)
- December 29 · Rajesh Khanna, Indian actor and film producer (1942–2012)
- December 30 · Vladimir Bukovsky, Soviet dissident; prominent in the Soviet dissident movement of the 1960s and 1970s and spent a total of twelve years in psychiatric prison-hospitals, labor camps and prisons within the Soviet Union
People from Wikidata (CC0), photos from Wikimedia Commons; each photo shows its author and licence.