Ricardo Lagos Biography

Born Ricardo Lagos Escobar, March 2, 1938, in Santiago, Chile; son of Don Froilán Lagos (a landowner) and Emma Escobar (a teacher); married Carmen Weber, early 1960s (divorced, c. 1967); married Luisa Durán de La Fuente, 1971; children: Ricardo, Ximena (from first marriage), Francisca, two stepchildren (from second marriage).

Avril Lavigne Biography

Born Avril Ramona Lavigne, September 27, 1984, in Belleville, Ontario, Canada; daughter of John and Judy Lavigne.

Matt LeBlanc Biography

Born July 25, 1967, in Newton, MA; son of Paul LeBlanc (a mechanic) and Pat Grossman (an office manager); married Melissa McKnight (a model), May 3, 2003; children: Jacki (stepchild), Tyler (stepchild), Marina. Education: Attended Wentworth Institute of Technology.

Chang-rae Lee Biography

Born July 29, 1965, in Seoul, South Korea; immigrated to the United States, 1968; son of Young Yong (a psychiatrist) and Inja (Hong) Lee; married Michelle Branca (an architect), June 19, 1993; children: Annika, Eva. Education: Yale University, B.A., 1987; University of Oregon, M.F.A., 1993.

Janet Leigh Biography

Leigh was born in 1927 to Fred and Helen Morrison. She was an only child of wanderlust parents who switched jobs frequently, moving from city to city and apartment to apartment.

Sandy Lerner Biography

Born c. 1955; married Leonard Bosack, 1980 (divorced).

Edward B. Lewis Biography

Born on May 20, 1918, in Wilkes-Barre, PA; died of prostate cancer, July 21, 2004, in Pasadena, CA. Geneticist.

Bella Lewitzky Biography

Born January 13, 1916, in Los Angeles, CA; died from complications of a stroke, July 16, 2004, in Pasadena, CA. Dancer and choreographer.

Jet Li Biography

Born Li Lian Jie, April 26, 1963, in Hebei, China; married Qiuyan Huang, 1987 (divorced, 1990); married Nina Chi Li, September 19, 1999; children: two daughters (from first marriage), two daughters (from second marriage).

Peter Liguori Biography

Born July 6, 1960, in the Bronx, NY; married Hannah; children: Jackson, Susannah. Education: Yale University, B.A.

Lindsay Lohan Biography

Born Lindsay Morgan Lohan, July 2, 1986, in Long Island, NY; daughter of Michael (a salesman and actor) and Dina (an actress, dancer, analyst, and talent manager) Lohan.

Derek Lovley Biography

Born c. 1954; married Marie; children: Erika, Zak, Cole.

Susan Lyne Biography

Born April 30, 1950, in Boston, MA; married George Crile (a television producer); children: two daughters. Education: Attended the University of California, Berkeley.

Wangari Maathai Biography

Born Wangari Muta Maathai, April 1, 1940, in Nyeri, Kenya; married (divorced, c. 1984); children: three.

Ellen MacArthur Biography

Born July 8, 1976, in Derbyshire, England; daughter of Ken (a teacher) and Avril (a teacher) MacArthur.

Julien Macdonald Biography

Born c. 1973 in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales; son of a factory worker and a homemaker.

Madame Chiang Kai-shek Biography

Born Soong Mei-ling, December 2, 1898, in Kwangtung, China; died October 23, 2003, in New York, NY. Politician.

Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara Biography

Belonging to an indigenous noble family in a British colonial society, Mara grew up in Vanuabalavu in the archipelago of Lau. Fiji consists of some 300 islands, its populace generally divided between Melanesian and Polynesian cultures.

Alexander McCall Smith Biography

Born August 24, 1948, in Bulawayo, Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe); married Elizabeth Parry (a physician), 1982; children: Lucy, Emily. Religion: Scottish Presbyterian.

Phil McGraw Biography

Born Phillip C. McGraw, September 1, 1950, in Vinita, OK; son of Joe (an oilrig equipment supplier turned psychologist) and Jerry McGraw; married first wife (divorced); married Robin, c.

Tug McGraw Biography

Born Frank Edwin McGraw, August 30, 1944, in Martinez, CA; died from cancer, January 5, 2004, in Franklin, TN. Professional baseball player.

James McGreevey Biography

Born James Edward McGreevey, August 6, 1957; son of Jack (a trucking company director) and Veronica (a nurse) McGreevey; married Kari Schutz (a librarian), c. 1991 (divorced, c.

Aaron McGruder Biography

Born Aaron Vincent McGruder in 1974, in Chicago, IL; son of Bill (a communications specialist) and Elaine (a homemaker) McGruder. Education: University of Maryland, Afro-American studies, 1997.

Brad Meltzer Biography

Born in 1970; married Cori (an attorney); children: one son. Education: University of Michigan, B.A., 1993; Columbia Law School, J.D., 1996.

Stipe Mesic Biography

Born Stjepan Mesic, December 24, 1934; married Milka Dudunic; children: two daughters. Education: University of Zagreb, law degree, 1961.

Ann Miller Biography

Born Johnnie Lucille Collier, April 12, 1923, in Chireno, TX; died of lung cancer on January 22, 2004, in Los Angeles, CA. Actress and dancer.

Czeslaw Milosz Biography

Born June 30, 1911, in Szetejnie, Lithuania; died August 14, 2004, in Krakow, Poland. Poet.

Helen Mirren Biography

Born Ilyena Lydia Mironoff, July 26, 1945, in Hammersmith, London, England; married Taylor Hackford (a film producer and director), December 31, 1997.

Alfred Molina Biography

Born May 24, 1953, in London, England; married Jill Gascoine (an actress and novelist); children: Rachel. Education: Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.

Arturo Moreno Biography

Born in August of 1946, in Tucson, AZ; son of Art and Mary Moreno; married (divorced); married Carole; children: Bryan (from first marriage), Rico, Nikki (from second marriage). Military: U.S.

Doug Morris Biography

Born November 23, 1938, in New York; married. Education: Columbia University, undergraduate degree.

Morrissey Biography

Born Steven Patrick Morrissey, May 22, 1959, in Manchester, England; son of Peter Aloysius (a security guard) and Elizabeth (Betty) Ann (a librarian; maiden name, Dwyer) Morrissey. Education: Attended Stretford Technical School, Stretford, England, 1975-76.

Mos Def Biography

Born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973, in Brooklyn, NY; son of Abdul (Abi) Rahman and Sheron (Umi) Smith.

Brittany Murphy Biography

Born November 10, 1977, in Atlanta, GA; daughter of Sharon Murphy (in advertising).

Carl Mydans Biography

Born May 20, 1907, in Boston, MA; died of heart failure, August 16, 2004, in Larchmont, NY. Photographer.

Andrew S. Natsios Biography

Born September 22, 1949, in Philadelphia, PA; son of Basil and Eta Natsios; married Elizabeth; children: Emily, Alexander, Philip. Education: Georgetown University (bachelor's degree); Harvard University Kennedy School of Government (master's degree in public administration), 1979.

Ryan Newman Biography

Born December 8, 1977, in South Bend, IN; son of Greg and Diana Newman. Education: Purdue University, bachelor's degree in vehicle structural engineering, 2001.

Seane O'Keef Biography

Born Sean Charles O'Keefe, January 27, 1956, in Monterey, CA; son of Patrick Gordon (a U.S. Navy nuclear submarine engineer) and Patricia Carlin O'Keefe; married Laura Jean McCarthy, October 7, 1978; children: Lindsey, Jonathan, Kevin.

Jack Paar Biography

Born Jack Harold Paar, May 1, 1918, in Canton, OH; died January 27, 2004, in Greenwich, CT. Television personality, actor, and radio-show host.

Rafael Palmeiro Biography

Born Rafael Corrales Palmeiro, September 24, 1964, in Havana, Cuba; married Lynne; children: Patrick, Preston. Education: Attended Mississippi State University.

Violet Palmer Biography

Born c. 1964, in Compton, CA; daughter of James and Gussie Palmer.

Alexander Payne Biography

Born February 10, 1961, in Omaha, NE; married Sandra Oh (an actress), January 1, 2003 (separated). Education: Earned undergraduate degree from Stanford University, and M.F.A.

Holly Robinson Peete Biography

Born Holly Robinson, September 18, 1964, in Philadelphia, PA; daughter of Matthew (a television actor, producer, and writer) and Dolores (a school teacher, television station publicist, and talent manager) Robinson; married Rodney Peete (a professional football player), June 10, 1995; children: Ryan Elizabeth, Rodney Jackson, Robinson James. Education: Sarah Lawrence College, undergraduate degree in French and psychology, 1986.

Ty Pennington Biography

Born October 19, 1965, in Atlanta, GA. Education: Attended Kennesaw College, Atlanta, GA; Art Institute of Atlanta, B.A.; Atlanta College of Art, studied art and sculpture.

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk Biography

Born in 1950 in Bryn Mawr, PA; daughter of an architect and a landscape architect; married Andres Duany (an architect and urban planner), 1976. Education: Earned undergraduate degree in architect from Princeton University, 1972; Yale University, M.Arch., 1976.

John Pople Biography

Born John Anthony Pople, October 31, 1925, in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, England; died of liver cancer, March 15, 2004, in Chicago, IL. Mathematician and chemist.

Carolyn Porco Biography

Born Carolyn C. Porco in 1953, in New York, NY.

Nora Pouillon Biography

Born Nora Aschenbrenner in 1943, in Vienna, Austria; married Pierre Pouillon (a journalist; divorced); companion of Steven Damato; children: Alexis, Olivier (from first marriage), Nina, Nadia (with Damato).

Samantha Power Biography

Born in 1970, in Ireland; daughter of a physician; emigrated to the United States, 1979. Education: Attended Yale University and Harvard Law School.

Larry Probst Biography

Born Lawrence F. Probst III, c.