National Medal of the Arts

1. Dorothy Chandler

Self | Inventing L.A.: The Chandlers and Their Times

Dorothy Chandler was born on May 19, 1901 in Lafayette, Illinois, USA. She was married to Norman Chandler. She died on July 6, 1997.

2. Frederica von Stade

Actress | The Marriage of Figaro

Frederica von Stade was born on June 1, 1945 in Somerville, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress, known for The Marriage of Figaro (1974), Les noces de Figaro (1980) and La Cenerentola (1982).

3. Frank Stella

Art_department | Odd Nerdrum: Time, Water, Recollection

Frank Stella was born on May 12, 1936 in Malden, Massachusetts, USA. He is known for Odd Nerdrum: Time, Water, Recollection (1992), Cage/Cunningham (1991) and American Art in the 1960s (1972). He has been married to Harriet McGurk since 1978. He was previously married to Barbara Rose.

4. Philip Johnson

Self | Beyond Utopia: Changing Attitudes in American Architecture

Philip Johnson was born on July 8, 1906 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He is known for Beyond Utopia: Changing Attitudes in American Architecture (1983), Richard Meier (1986) and Mies (1986). He died on January 25, 2005 in New Canaan, Connecticut, USA.

5. Luis Valdez

Renovate My Family

Luis Valdez is known for Renovate My Family (2004).

6. James A. Michener

Writer | Adventures in Paradise

James A. Michener was born on February 3, 1907 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Adventures in Paradise (1959), South Pacific (1958) and Return to Paradise (1953). He was married to Mari Michener, Vange Nord and Patti Koon. He died on October 16, 1997 in Austin, ...

7. Elliott Carter

Composer | Tiny Galaxy Concert @ Haw Par

Elliott Cook Carter Jr. was a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American Western-classical-music composer who was born in and lived in New York City. He studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris in the 1930s and then returned to the United States. After a neoclassical phase, he went on to write atonal, ...

8. Pinchas Zukerman

Soundtrack | The Prince of Tides

Pinchas Zukerman was born on July 16, 1948 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He is an actor, known for The Prince of Tides (1991), Alice (1990) and Pacific Heights (1990). He has been married to Amanda Forsyth since March 2004. He was previously married to Tuesday Weld and Eugenia Zukerman.

9. Ralph Ellison

Writer | Invisible Man

Ralph Ellison was born on March 1, 1914 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. He was a writer, known for Invisible Man, American Masters (1985) and The Fifties (1997). He was married to Fanny McConnell and Rose Poindexter. He died on April 16, 1994 in New York City, New York, USA.

10. José Ferrer

Actor | The Caine Mutiny

José Ferrer was a Puerto Rican actor and film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for playing the title character in Cyrano de Bergerac (1950). Ferrer was the first Puerto Rican actor to win an Academy Award, and also the first Hispanic actor to win an Academy Award.

In 1912, Ferrer was...

11. Martha Graham

Writer | Lamentation

American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham was a revolutionary artist of modern dance in the early 20th century. Born in Allegheny, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in May 1894, her family moved to California when she was 10. She was inspired at that early age to become a dancer when she ...

12. Lincoln Kirstein

Writer | Glory

Lincoln Kirstein was born on May 4, 1907 in Rochester, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Glory (1989) and Great Performances: Dance in America (1976). He died on January 5, 1996 in New York City, New York, USA.

13. Paul Mellon

Camera_department | Edinburgh Comedy Fest Live

Paul Mellon is known for Edinburgh Comedy Fest Live (2010), Being Victor (2010) and The Answer Trap (2021).

14. Louise Nevelson

Self | Masters of Modern Sculpture Part III: The New World

Louise Nevelson was born on September 23, 1899 in Pereyaslav, Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire [now Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, Kiev Oblast, Ukraine]. She was married to Charles Nevelson. She died on April 17, 1988 in New York City, New York, USA.

15. Georgia O'Keeffe

Art_department | Marsalis on Music

The artist Georgia O'Keeffe was born in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin on November 18, 1887. In 1905, O'Keeffe attended the Art Institute of Chicago before moving to New York City to study at the Art Students League in New York City in the period 1907-08. After working as a commercial artist in Chicago, ...

16. Leontyne Price

Soundtrack | Romeo + Juliet

Leontyne Price was born on February 10, 1927 in Laurel, Mississippi, USA. She is an actress, known for Romeo + Juliet (1996), The Metropolitan Opera Presents (1977) and NBC Television Opera Theatre (1949). She was previously married to William Warfield.

17. Marian Anderson

Soundtrack | The Great Debaters

Marian Anderson was born on February 27, 1897, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the first of three sisters in the family. Her father, named John Anderson, was a salesman at a railroad station. Her mother, named Anna Anderson, was a schoolteacher. From the age of six, Anderson sang in the ...

18. Frank Capra

Director | It's a Wonderful Life

One of seven children, Frank Capra was born on May 18, 1897, in Bisacquino, Sicily. On May 10, 1903, his family left for America aboard the ship Germania, arriving in New York on May 23rd. "There's no ventilation, and it stinks like hell. They're all miserable. It's the most degrading place you ...

19. Aaron Copland

Soundtrack | He Got Game

Aaron Copland is an Academy Award-winning composer (The Heiress (1949)), author, conductor, lecturer and educator. He was educated at public schools and was a music student of his sister and later Leopold Wolfson, Victor Wittgenstein, Clarence Adler, Rubin Goldmark and Nadia Boulanger. In 1925, he ...

20. Willem de Kooning

Self | De kooning on de kooning

Willem de Kooning was born on April 24, 1904 in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands. He was married to Elaine de Kooning. He died on March 19, 1997 in Long Island, New York, USA.

21. Agnes de Mille

Oklahoma!

Agnes de Mille was born on September 18, 1905 in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Oklahoma! (1955), The Ragamuffin (1916) and Carousel (1956). She was married to Walter Foy Prude. She died on October 7, 1993 in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York ...

22. Dominique de Menil

Self | Max Ernst Hanging

23. Eva Le Gallienne

Actress | Resurrection

Legendary stage actress Eva Le Gallienne's life began just as grandly as the daughter of poet Richard Le Gallienne. Sarah Bernhardt was her idol growing up and, at age 18, was brought to New York by her mother. Making her London debut with "Monna Vanna" in 1914, she proved a star in every sense of ...

24. Alan Lomax

Soundtrack | Attack the Block

Alan Lomax was born on January 31, 1915 in Austin, Texas, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Attack the Block (2011), Gangs of New York (2002) and Basic (2003). He was married to Antoinette Marchand and Elizabeth Harold. He died on July 19, 2002 in Safety Harbor, Florida, USA.

25. Lewis Mumford

Writer | The City

Lewis Mumford was born on October 19, 1895 in Flushing, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for The City (1939), Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 2: The City - Cars or People? (1963) and Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 3: The City and Its Region (1963). He died on January 26, 1990 in Amenia, New ...

26. Eudora Welty

Writer | American Playhouse

Eudora Welty was born on April 13, 1909 in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. She was a writer, known for American Playhouse (1980), The Frost Whistle (2008) and The Purple Hat (2010). She died on July 23, 2001 in Jackson, Mississippi, USA.

27. Romare Bearden

Art_department | Gloria

Romare Bearden was born on September 2, 1912 in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. He is known for Gloria (1980), Marsalis on Music (1995) and The Core of the Apple (1986). He died on March 12, 1988 in New York City, New York, USA.

28. Ella Fitzgerald

Soundtrack | Sphere

On Saturday, June 15th, 1996, an era in jazz singing came to an end, with the death of Ella Fitzgerald at her home in California. She was the last of four great female jazz singers (including Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Carmen McRae) who defined one of the most prolific eras in jazz vocal ...

29. Sydney Lewis

Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The Life of William Haines

Sydney Lewis is known for Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The Life of William Haines (2001) and Studs Terkel: Listening to America (2009).

30. Howard Nemerov

Writer | Tall Story

Howard Nemerov was born on February 29, 1920 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Tall Story (1960) and Howard Nemerov: Collected Sentences (1981). He was married to Margaret Russel. He died on July 5, 1991 in University City, Missouri, USA.

31. Alwin Nikolais

Composer | Zelt

Alwin Nikolais was born on November 25, 1910 in Southington, Connecticut, USA. He was a composer and director, known for Zelt (1969), The Company (2003) and Motel (1989). He died on May 8, 1993 in New York City, New York, USA.

32. Isamu Noguchi

Director | Shizukanaru boryoku

Isamu Noguchi was born on November 17, 1904 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a director and production designer, known for Shizukanaru boryoku (1963), Great Performances: Dance in America (1976) and Appalachian Spring (1944). He was married to Shirley Yamaguchi. He died on December 30, 1988 ...

33. William Schuman

Composer | Omnibus

William Schuman was born on August 4, 1910 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a composer, known for Omnibus (1952), Night Journey (1960) and Eye on New York (1956). He died on February 15, 1992 in Manhattan, New York, USA.

34. Robert Penn Warren

Writer | All the King's Men

Robert Penn Warren was born on April 24, 1905 in Guthrie, Kentucky, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for All the King's Men (2006), All the King's Men (1949) and Band of Angels (1957). He was married to Eleanor Clark and Emma Brescia. He died on September 15, 1989 in Stratton, Vermont, USA.

35. Brooke Astor

Self | Empire City

Brooke Astor was born on March 30, 1902 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA. She died on August 13, 2007 in Briarcliff Manor, New York, USA.

36. Saul Bellow

Actor | Zelig

Saul Bellow was born on July 10, 1915 in Lachine, Québec, Canada [now Lachine, Montréal, Québec, Canada]. He was a writer and actor, known for Zelig (1983), Henderson the Rain King and Thirty-Minute Theatre (1965). He was married to Janis Bellow, Alexandra Ionesco Tuleca, Susan Glassman, Alexandra ...

37. Sydney Freedberg

38. Helen Hayes

Actress | Airport

Known as "The First lady of the American Theater", Helen Hayes had a legendary career on stage and in films and television that spanned over eighty years. Hayes was born in Washington, D.C., to Catherine Estelle "Essie" Hayes, an actress who worked in touring companies, and Francis van Arnum Brown,...

39. Gordon Parks

Director | The Learning Tree

The pre-eminent American photojournalist of sub-Saharan descent. An acclaimed photographer for Life magazine from the late 40s through late 60s, he turned to directing films, his second of which, the blaxploitation movie Shaft (1971), achieved success at the box office. In 1989 his first film ...

40. I.M. Pei

Art_department | Une nuit, le Louvre avec Lambert Wilson

I.M. Pei was born on April 26, 1917 in Canton, China. He was an actor, known for Une nuit, le Louvre avec Lambert Wilson (2017), A Place to Be (1979) and Berlin Babylon (2001). He was married to Eileen Loo. He died on May 16, 2019 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.

41. Jerome Robbins

Writer | West Side Story

Jerome Robbins was one of the founding members of the Ballet Theatre when it was formed in 1940 portraying a variety of roles for several years before devising his own creations such as 'Fancy Free' about 3 sailors on leave in New York which marked a long association with Leonard Bernstein. With ...

42. Rudolf Serkin

Soundtrack | Slaughterhouse-Five

Rudolf Serkin was born on March 28, 1903 in Eger, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Cheb, Czech Republic]. He was married to Irene Busch. He died on May 8, 1991 in Guilford, Vermont, USA.

43. Roger L. Stevens

West Side Story

Roger L. Stevens was born on March 11, 1910. He is known for West Side Story (1961), Deathtrap (1982) and Boom! (1968). He died on February 3, 1998.

44. Virgil Thomson

Composer | Louisiana Story

One of the driving forces, both as critic and musician, of 20th century American music, Thomson studied music at both Harvard University and elsewhere in the Boston area before moving to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger in 1921. After spending a short time in his native land, he returned to ...

45. Katherine Dunham

Actress | Star Spangled Rhythm

Dancer, choreographer, composer and songwriter, educated at the University of Chicago. She made world tours as a dancer, choreographer, and director of her own dance company. She directed the Katherine Dunham School of Dance in New York, and was artist-in-residence at Southern Illinois University. ...

46. Martin Freedman

Art_department | Agnes of God

Martin Freedman was born on February 26, 1946. Martin is known for Agnes of God (1985) and The Guardian (1984). Martin died on December 18, 2011.

47. Dizzy Gillespie

Soundtrack | The Talented Mr. Ripley

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie, along with Charlie Parker, ushered in the era of Be-Bop in the American jazz tradition. He was born in Cheraw, South Carolina, and was the youngest of nine children. He began playing piano at the age of four and received a music scholarship to the Laurinburg Institute ...

48. Vladimir Horowitz

Soundtrack | Great Performances

Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz was born on October 1, 1903, in Berdichev (near Kiev), Ukraine (then Russian Empire). His father, named Simeon Horowitz, was an electrical engineer. His mother, named Sophie Horowitz, was a professional pianist and teacher at the Kiev Conservatory. Young Vladimir ...

49. Czeslaw Milosz

Writer | Robinson warszawski

Czeslaw Milosz was born on June 30, 1911 in Szetejnie, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire [now Seteniai, Lithuania]. He was a writer, known for Robinson warszawski (1950), Teatr Polskiego Radia (2004) and Dolina Issy (1982). He was married to Carol Marie Thigpen and Janina Dluska. He died on August ...

50. Robert Motherwell

Self | Robert Motherwell: Summer of 1971

Robert Motherwell was born on January 4, 1915 in Aberdeen, Washington, USA. He was married to Helen Frankenthaler. He died on July 16, 1991 in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA.

51. John Updike

Writer | The Witches of Eastwick

John Updike is among the leading novelists of the late 20th century, having twice won the Pulitzer Prize. Updike graduated Harvard College in 1954 to the staff of the New Yorker, with whom he has worked ever since as a contributor and reviewer. Updike has published 15 novels and lives in ...

52. George Abbott

Writer | The Pajama Game

Legendary Broadway writer/producer/director George Abbott was born in 1887 in Forestville, New York. His father was mayor of Salamanca, New York, for two terms. In 1898 his family moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Abbott attended Kearney Military Academy. The family returned to New York, where Abbott...

53. Hume Cronyn

Actor | Cocoon

Hume Cronyn was a Canadian actor with a lengthy career. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in "The Seventh Cross" (1944).

Cronyn was born to a prominent family. His father was politician Hume Blake Cronyn (1864-1933), Member of Parliament for London, ...

54. Merce Cunningham

Director | Variations V

Merce Cunningham was born on April 16, 1919 in Centralia, Washington, USA. He was a director and writer, known for Variations V (1966), Deli Commedia (1984) and Merce Cunningham (1998). He was married to John Cage. He died on July 26, 2009 in New York City, New York, USA.

55. Jasper Johns

Camera_department | The Shallow Tale of a Writer who Decided to Write about a Serial Killer

From 1947 to 1948, Jasper Johns was a student at the University of South Carolina. He then studied at a private art school in New York from 1949 to 1952. After graduating, he did his military service for two years. Among other things, he also came to Japan. From there he took inspiration for his ...

56. B.B. King

Actor | Blues Brothers 2000

Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 - May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimmering vibrato and staccato picking that influenced many ...

57. Jacob Lawrence

Animation_department | The Promised Land

Jacob Lawrence was born on September 7, 1917 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. He is known for The Promised Land (1995), They Drew Fire (2000) and Soul! (1968). He was married to Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence. He died on June 9, 2000 in Seattle, Washington, USA.

58. Beverly Sills

Actress | Live from Lincoln Center

This vibrant, fine-humored coloratura was able to accomplish what most others of her ilk could or would not do -- she humanized opera and made it approachable to the masses. There were no diva-like traits in this star and the public absolutely adored her for it. Dubbed "America's Queen of Opera" in...

59. Jessica Tandy

Actress | Driving Miss Daisy

A beloved, twinkly blue-eyed doyenne of stage and screen, actress Jessica Tandy's career spanned nearly six and a half decades. In that span of time, she enjoyed an amazing film renaissance at age 80, something unheard of in a town that worships youth and nubile beauty. She was born Jessie Alice ...

60. Roy Acuff

Soundtrack | Night Train to Memphis

Roy Acuff was born on September 15, 1903 in Maynardville, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor, known for Night Train to Memphis (1946), Home in San Antone (1949) and Smoky Mountain Melody (1948). He was married to Mildred Louise Douglas. He died on November 23, 1992 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

61. Pietro Antonio Belluschi

This Space Between Us

Pietro Antonio Belluschi is known for This Space Between Us (1999) and Groove (2000).

62. J. Carter Brown

Self | A Place to Be

63. Charles 'Honi' Coles

Actor | Dirty Dancing

Charles 'Honi' Coles was born on April 2, 1911 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Dirty Dancing (1987), Rocky II (1979) and The Cotton Club (1984). He was married to Marion Coles. He died on November 12, 1992 in New York City, New York, USA.

64. John Crosby

Self | Star Search

65. Kitty Carlisle

Actress | A Night at the Opera

Kitty Carlisle Hart wore a cloak of many professional and elegant colors. Actress, opera singer, Broadway performer, TV celebrity, game show panelist, patron of the arts, and, at age 95, this vital woman continued her six-decade musical odyssey with songs and reminisces in her one-woman show: "...

66. Pearl Primus

Actress | Great Performances: Dance in America

Pearl Primus was born on November 29, 1919 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. She was an actress, known for Great Performances: Dance in America (1976), All Star Revue (1950) and Floor Show (1948). She died on October 29, 1994 in New Rochelle, New York, USA.

67. Isaac Stern

Soundtrack | Fiddler on the Roof

Isaac Stern was born on July 21, 1920 in Kremenets/Krzemieniec, Ukrainian People's Republic [now Kremenets, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine]. He was an actor, known for Fiddler on the Roof (1971), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and Humoresque (1946). He was married to Linda Reynolds, Vera Lindenblit and ...

68. Marilyn Horne

Soundtrack | Strange Days

Marilyn Horne was born on January 16, 1934 in Bradford, Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress, known for Strange Days (1995), Carmen Jones (1954) and Orlando furioso (1990). She was previously married to Henry Lewis and Nicola Zaccaria.

69. Allan Houser

Self | Allan Houser/Haozous: The Lifetime Work of an American Master

Allan Houser died on August 22, 1994 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.

70. James Earl Jones

Actor | Rogue One

Widely regarded as the one of greatest stage and screen actors both in his native USA and internationally, James Earl Jones was born on January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi. At an early age, he started to take dramatic lessons to calm himself down. It appeared to work as he has since starred ...

71. Lila Wallace

72. Minnie Pearl

Actress | That Tennessee Beat

Sarah Colley studied dramatics in Belmont College in Nashville, intending to be a serious actress, but while touring with an Atlanta company, she created the Minnie Pearl character that became her life's work. Her first Grand Old Opry appearance was on the radio show in 1940, followed by 27 years ...

73. Robert Saudek

Producer | Profiles in Courage

Robert Saudek was born on April 11, 1911 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for Profiles in Courage (1964), Omnibus (1952) and The Road to the Wall (1962). He was married to Elizabeth Koch. He died on March 17, 1997 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

74. Earl Scruggs

Soundtrack | Bonnie and Clyde

Earl Scruggs was born on January 6, 1924 in near Shelby, North Carolina, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Love Guru (2008) and Penguins of Madagascar (2014). He was married to Louise Scruggs. He died on March 28, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

75. Rob Shaw

Director | Unhappy Happy

Rob Shaw is known for Unhappy Happy (2013), Waltz (2004) and Big and Small (2008).

76. Billy Taylor

Soundtrack | Mr. Church

Billy Taylor was born on July 24, 1921 in Greenville, North Carolina, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Mr. Church (2016), Film '72 (1971) and The World Unseen (2007). He was married to Theodora Taylor. He died on December 28, 2010 in New York City, New York, USA.

77. Robert Venturi

Self | Beyond Utopia: Changing Attitudes in American Architecture

Robert Venturi was born on June 25, 1925 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was married to Denise Scott Brown. He died on September 18, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

78. Denise Scott Brown

Self | Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown

Denise Scott Brown was previously married to Robert Venturi and Robert Scott Brown.

79. Robert Wise

Director | West Side Story

Robert Earl Wise was born on September 10, 1914 in Winchester, Indiana, the youngest of three sons of Olive R. (Longenecker) and Earl Waldo Wise, a meat packer. His parents were both of Pennsylvania Dutch (German) descent. At age nineteen, the avid moviegoer came into the film business through an ...

80. Cab Calloway

Soundtrack | The Blues Brothers

Bandleader, songwriter ("Minnie the Moocher", "Are You Hep to That Jive?"), composer, singer, actor and author, educated at Crane College. While studying law, he sang with the band The Alabamians, and took over the group in 1928. He led The Missourians orchestra, then organized and led his own ...

81. Ray Charles

Actor | The Blues Brothers

A tragic fate may have given this visionary a heightened sensitivity, perception, awareness, even expansion to his obvious musical gifts that he may have never touched upon had he not suffered from his physical affliction. Whatever it was, Ray Charles revolutionized American music and was ...

82. Bess Hawes

Director | Pizza Pizza Daddy-O

Bess Hawes was born on January 21, 1921 in Austin, Texas, USA. She was a director and writer, known for Pizza Pizza Daddy-O (1967), Buckdancer (1965) and Say Old Man Can You Play the Fiddle (1970). She was married to Baldwin Hawes. She died on November 27, 2009 in Portland, Oregon, USA.

83. Robert Merrill

Soundtrack | The Immigrant

One of the Metropolitan Opera's most enduring and acclaimed baritones, Brooklyn-born Robert Merrill was born Moishe Miller on June 4, 1917 (some sources list 1919), the son of Polish émigrés. His father, Abraham, was a shoe salesman and mother Lillian was an operatic soprano who performed in ...

84. Arthur Miller

Writer | The Crucible

Arthur Asher Miller was born on October 17, 1915, in New York City, one of three children born to Augusta (nee Barnett) and Isidore Miller. His family was of Austrian Jewish descent. His father manufactured women's coats, but his business was devastated by the Depression, seeding his son's ...

85. Robert Rauschenberg

Actor | Linoleum

In 1946 and 1947 Robert Rauschenberg studied at the Kansas City Art Institute. He then left America and moved to Paris. There he continued his art studies at the Académie Julian in 1947. The following year he returned to America and attended Black Mountain College until 1949. There he was a student...

86. Lloyd Richards

Director | American Playhouse

Lloyd Richards was born on June 29, 1919 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was a director and actor, known for American Playhouse (1980), The Wide World of Mystery (1973) and The Piano Lesson (1995). He was married to Barbara Davenport. He died on June 29, 2006 in New York City, New York, USA.

87. William Styron

Writer | Sophie's Choice

William Styron was born on June 11, 1925 in Newport News, Virginia, USA. He was a writer, known for Sophie's Choice (1982), Lie Down in Darkness and Playhouse 90 (1956). He was married to Rose Burgunder. He died on November 1, 2006 in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA.

88. Paul Taylor

Great Performances: Dance in America

Paul Taylor was born on July 29, 1930 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He is known for Great Performances: Dance in America (1976), The Wrecker's Ball: Three Dances by Paul Taylor (1996) and Singer Presents Burt Bacharach (1971). He died on August 29, 2018 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, ...

89. Billy Wilder

Writer | The Apartment

Originally planning to become a lawyer, Billy Wilder abandoned that career in favor of working as a reporter for a Viennese newspaper, using this experience to move to Berlin, where he worked for the city's largest tabloid. He broke into films as a screenwriter in 1929 and wrote scripts for many ...

90. Harry Belafonte

Actor | Bobby

Harold George Belafonte was born on March 1, 1927 in New York City. He was educated at the New York Dramatic Workshop. He grew up in Jamaica, British West Indies, and did folk-singing in nightclubs and theaters, and on television and records. His debut was at the Village Vanguard in New York. Also,...

91. Dave Brubeck

Soundtrack | Inland Empire

Dave Brubeck was born on December 6, 1920 in Concord, California, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for Inland Empire (2006), Constantine (2005) and Baby Driver (2017). He was married to Iola Brubeck. He died on December 5, 2012 in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA.

92. Celia Cruz

Soundtrack | Carlito's Way

Celia Cruz was born on October 21, 1925 in Havana, Cuba. She was a music artist and actress, known for Carlito's Way (1993), Amores Perros (2000) and Tower Heist (2011). She was married to Pedro Knight. She died on July 16, 2003 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA.

93. Dorothy Delay

Self | 60 Minutes

Dorothy Delay was born on March 31, 1917 in Medicine Lodge, Kansas, USA. She was married to Edward Newhouse. She died on March 24, 2002 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.

94. Julie Harris

Actress | The Haunting

One of the finest classical and contemporary leading ladies ever to grace the 20th century American stage, five-time Tony Award winner Julie Harris was rather remote and reserved on camera, finding her true glow in front of the theatre lights. The freckled, red-haired actress not only was nominated...

95. Erick Hawkins

Actor | Appalachian Spring

Erick Hawkins was born on April 23, 1909 in Trinidad, Colorado, USA. He was an actor, known for Appalachian Spring (1944), Galaxie (1966) and American Masters (1985). He died on November 23, 1994 in New York, USA.

96. Gene Kelly

Soundtrack | Singin' in the Rain

Eugene Curran Kelly was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the third son of Harriet Catherine (Curran) and James Patrick Joseph Kelly, a phonograph salesman. His father was of Irish descent and his mother was of Irish and German ancestry.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was the largest and most powerful studio in...

97. Pete Seeger

Soundtrack | Just Cause

Sixteen-year-old Pete Seeger enrolled at the Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut and then decided to become a hermit. His life since then has been one social cause after another, buoyed by an almost indefatigable career as a self-described "sing-along leader."

During the 1930s he attended Harvard, ...

98. Wayne Thiebaud

Self | Behind the Scenes

Wayne Thiebaud was born on November 15, 1920 in Mesa, Arizona, USA. He was married to Betty Jean Carr and Patricia Patterson. He died on December 25, 2021 in Sacramento, California, USA.

99. Richard Wilbur

Soundtrack | Me and You and Everyone We Know

Richard Wilbur was born on March 1, 1921 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), Great Performances (1971) and Candide. He was married to Mary Charlotte Hayes Ward. He died on October 14, 2017 in Belmont, Massachusetts, USA.

100. Licia Albanese

Actress | Otello

Licia Albanese was born on July 23, 1909 in Bari, Apulia, Italy. She was an actress, known for Otello (1948), Serenade (1956) and Great Performances (1971). She was married to Joseph A. Gimma. She died on August 15, 2014 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.