John Raitt Biography

Born John Emmet Raitt, January 20, 1917, in Santa Ana, CA; died of complications from pneumonia, February 20, 2005, in Pacific Palisades, CA. Actor.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen Biography

Born on January 26, 1953, in Ginnerup, Nørre Djurs, Denmark; son of Knud (a farmer) and Martha Rasmussen; married to Anne-Mette; children: three.Education:Earned degree in economics from the University of Århus, 1978.

Harry Reid Biography

Born December 2, 1939, in Searchlight, NV; son of Harry Sr. (a gold miner) and Inez (a laundry worker) Reid; married Landra Gould, 1959; children: Lana, Rory, Leif, Josh, Key.

Judith Rossner Biography

Born in 1935 in New York, Rossner grew up as Judith Perelman in the Bronx. Her father was a textile merchant, and her mother, a teacher, encouraged her daughter's literary ambitions.

Karl Rove Biography

Born December 25, 1950, in Denver, CO; married Valerie Wainwright, 1977 (divorced, 1979), married Darby Hickson, 1986; children: Andrew (from second marriage). Education: Attended the University of Utah, the University of Texas at Austin, and George Mason University.

Marjane Satrapi Biography

Born in 1969 in Rasht, Iran; married, c. 1994.Education: Graduated from L'Ecole de Beaux-Arts, Tehran, Iran; studied at Arts Deco in Strasbourg, France.

Kyra Sedgwick Biography

Born August 19, 1965, in New York, NY; married Kevin Bacon (an actor), September 3, 1988; children: Travis, Sosie. Education: Attended Sarah Lawrence College, New York, NY; attended University of Southern California, c.

John Sentamu Biography

Born June 10, 1949, in Kampala, Uganda; son of Rev. John (a preacher) and Ruth Walakira; married Margaret; children: Grace, Geoffrey.

Gyanendra Shah Biography

Born Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, July 7, 1947, in Kathmandu, Nepal; son of Mahendra (a king) and Indra Rajya Laxmi Devi; married Komal Rajya Laxmi Devi, 1970; children: Paras (a son), one daughter. Education: Earned degree from Tribhuvan University, 1969.

John Patrick Shanley Biography

Born October 13, 1950, in New York, NY; son of a meatpacker; married and divorced first wife; married Jayne Haynes (an actress; divorced); children: Nick, Frank. Education: New York University, B.S., 1977.

Artie Shaw Biography

Born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky, May 23, 1910, in New York, NY; died December 30, 2004, at his home in Newbury Park, CA. Clarinetist and bandleader.

Jaime Sin Biography

Born Jaime Lachica Sin, August 3, 1928, in New Washington, the Philippines; died of multiple organ failure, June 21, 2005, in the Philippines. Cardinal.

Harry Slatkin Biography

Addresses:Office—Slatkin & Co., 214 E. 52nd St., Flr.

Jimmy Smith Biography

Born James Oscar Smith, December 8, 1928, in Norristown, PA; died February 8, 2005, in Scottsdale, AZ. Jazz musician.

John W. Snow Biography

Born August 2, 1939, in Toledo, OH; married Carolyn; children: three. Education: University of Toledo, B.A., 1962; University of Virginia, Ph.D.

Susan Sontag Biography

Born Susan Rosenblatt, January 16, 1933, in New York, NY; died of leukemia, December 28, 2004, in New York, NY. Author.

Anne Stevens Biography

Born c. 1949 in Reading; PA; married Bill Stevens (a retired auto supplier manager), c.

Jens Stoltenberg Biography

Born March 16, 1959, in Oslo, Norway; son of Thorvald (a politician) and Karin (a politician) Stoltenberg; married Ingrid Schulerud (a diplomat); children: two. Education: Earned advance degree in economics from the University of Oslo.

Joss Stone Biography

Born Joscelyn Eve Stoker, April 11, 1987, in Ashill, Devon, England; daughter of Richard (a business owner) and Wendy Stoker.

System of a Down Biography

Members include John Dolmayan (born July 15, 1973, in Lebanon), drums; Daron Malakian (born July 18, 1975, in Hollywood, CA; son of artists), singer, guitar; Shavo Odadjian (born April 22, 1974, in Yerevan, Armenia), bass; Serj Tankian (born August 21, 1967, in Beirut, Lebanon), keyboards, singer.

Kenzo Tange Biography

Born September 4, 1913, Imabari, Shikoku Island, Japan; died of a heart ailment, March 22, 2005, in Tokyo, Japan. Architect.

Hannah Teter Biography

Born January 27, 1987, in Belmont, VT; daughter of Jeff (a foreman) and Pat (a nurse) Teter.

The White Stripes Biography

Group formed in 1997 in Detroit, MI; members include Jack White (born John Anthony Gillis, July 9, 1975, in Detroit, MI; married Meg White, 1996 [divorced, 2000]; married Karen Elson, 2005), vocals, guitar; Meg White (born Megan Martha White, December 10, 1974; married Jack White, 1996 [divorced, 2000]), drums, vocals.

Lily Tuck Biography

Born in France in 1938; married and divorced first husband; married second husband (died, 2002); children: three sons. Education: Received degrees from Radcliffe College and the Sorbonne.

Keith Urban Biography

Born Keith Lionel Urban, October 26, 1967, in Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand; son of Bob (a convenience store operator) and Marienne (a convenience store operator) Urban.

Tabaré Vázquez Biography

Born Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas, January 17, 1940; married to Maria Auxiliadora Delgado; children: four. Education: Received medical degree from the University of the Republic (Uruguay) as an oncology and radiology specialist, 1972.

Jay Van Andel Biography

Born June 3, 1924, in Grand Rapids, MI; died of Parkinson's disease, December 7, 2004, in Ada, MI. Entrepreneur.

Luther Vandross Biography

Born Luther Ronzoni Vandross, April 20, 1951, in New York, NY; died July 1, 2005, in Edison, NJ. Singer and songwriter.

John Varvatos Biography

Born c. 1955; children: two.

Guy Verhosfstadt Biography

Born Guy Maurice Marie-Louise Verhofstadt, April 11, 1953, in Dendermonde, Belgium; married to a professional opera singer; children: two.Education: Earned law degree from Rijksuniversiteit, Ghent, Belgium, 1975.

Sophie Von Hellermann Biography

Born in 1975, in Munich, Germany. Education: Studied at the Kunstakademie in DĂĽsseldorf, Germany, 1993-98; earned graduate fine-arts degree from the Royal College of Art, London, 2001.

Jeannette Walls Biography

Born c. 1960, in Phoenix, AZ; daughter of Rex (an electrician) and Rose Mary (an artist) Walls; married Eric Goldberg, 1988 (divorced, 1996); married John Taylor (a journalist), 2002.Education:Received degree from Barnard College, 1984.

Jeremy Wariner Biography

Born January 31, 1984, in Irving, TX. Education: Attended Baylor University.

Alice Waters Biography

Born April 28, 1944, in Chatham, NJ; daughter of Charles (a business psychologist and management consultant) and Margaret (a homemaker) Waters; married to Stephen Singer (a wine consultant); children: Fanny. Education: Attended University of California—Santa Barbara; received degree from the University of California—Berkeley, 1967; did postgraduate work at the Montessori School, London, England.

Sam Waterston Biography

Born November 15, 1940, in Cambridge, MA; son of George Chychele (a teacher) and Alice Tucker (a painter) Waterston; married Barbara Rutledge Johns (a photographer and writer; divorced); married Lynn Louisa Woodruff, January 26, 1976; children: James (from first marriage), Graham, Elisabeth, Katherine (from second marriage). Education: Yale, B.A., 1962; studied acting at the Sorbonne, Paris, France; studied with the American Actor's Workshop, Frank Corsaro, and Herbert Berghoff.

Naomi Watts Biography

Born September 28, 1968, in Shoreham, Sussex, England; daughter of Peter (a sound engineer) and Myffanwy (a store owner) Watts.

Jennifer Weiner Biography

Born Jennifer Agnes Weiner, March 28, 1970, in De Ridder, LA; daughter of Lawrence (a psychiatrist) and Fran (a teacher) Weiner; married Adam Bonin (an attorney), October 27, 2001; children: Lucy Jane. Education: Princeton University, bachelor's degree (summa cum laude), 1991; trained in journalism at Poynter Institute for Media Studies.

Rachel Weisz Biography

Born March 7, 1971, in London, England; daughter of Georg (an inventor) and Edith (a psychoanalyst) Weisz; children: a son (with Darren Aronofsky, a director). Education: Earned degree from Cambridge University, c.

Ezer Weizman Biography

Born Ezer Weizmann, June 15, 1924, in Tel Aviv, Israel; died of respiratory infections, April 24, 2005, in Caesarea, Israel. Politician.

Seth Wescott Biography

Born June 28, 1976, in Durham, NC; son of Jim Wescott (a college professor and coach) and Margaret Gould-Wescott (a college professor). Education: Attended Western State College, Gunnison, CO.

Kanye West Biography

Born Kayne Omari West, June 8, 1977; son of Ray (a marriage counselor) and Donda (a professor) West. Education: Attended The American Academy of Art and Chicago State University.

William C. Westmoreland Biography

Born William Childs Westmoreland, March 26, 1914, in Spartanburg, SC; died July 18, 2005, in Charleston, SC. Military general.

Joss Whedon Biography

Born Joseph Hill Whedon, June 23, 1964, in New York, NY; son of Tom Whedon (a television scriptwriter) and Lee Stearns (a teacher); married Kai Cole (an architect), late 1980s; children: two. Education: Wesleyan University, Connecticut, film studies degree, 1987.

Patrick Whitney Biography

Born Patrick Foster Whitney, c. 1952; married Cheryl Kent (an author).

Simon Wiesenthal Biography

Born Szymon Wiesenthal, December 31, 1908, in Buczacz, Galicia (now part of Ukraine); died of kidney disease, September 20, 2005, in Vienna, Austria. Nazi war crimes investigator and human-rights activist.

Gretchen Wilson Biography

Addresses: Record company—Sony Nashville, 8 Music Square West, Nashville, TN 37212. Website— http://www.gretchenwilson.com.

Robert Wise Biography

Welles was a major industry figure at the time, and hired Wise to work on his next project, The Magnificent Ambersons. Studio bosses demanded its 148-minute running time be cut when preview audiences walked out, and because Welles was out of the country at the time, gave Wise the job of fixing it.

Edward Witten Biography

Born August 26, 1951, in Baltimore, MD; son of Louis W. Witten (a physicist); married Chiara Nappi (a physicist); children: Daniela, Ilana, Rafael.

Viktor Yushchenko Biography

Born Viktor Andriyovich Yushchenko, February 23, 1954, in Khoruzhivka, Sums'ka Oblast, Ukraine; son of Andriy Andriyovych (a teacher) and Varvara Tymofiyovna (a teacher) Yushchenko; married and divorced first wife; married Kateryna Chumachenko (a former U.S. State Department official), 1998; children: a son and a daughter (from first marriage), a son and two daughters (from second marriage).

Ziyi Zhang Biography

Born Zhang Ziyi, February 9, 1979, in Beijing, China; daughter of Zhang Yuan Xiao (a government economist) and Li Zhou Sheng (a kindergarten schoolteacher). Education: Attended China Central Drama Academy.