Biography

Biographies of notable people — their path, achievements and key facts.

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Heath Ledger

Actor Born Heathcliff Andrew Ledger, April 4, 1979, in Perth, Western Australia, Australia; son of Kim Ledger (an engineer and auto racer) and Sally Bell (a teacher); stepso...

Spike Lee

Born: March 20, 1957 Atlanta, Georgia African American filmmaker, actor, and author/poet Controversial (arousing opposing viewpoints) filmmaker Spike L...

Tsung-Dao Lee

Born: November 24, 1926 Shanghai, China Chinese-born American physicist Chinese-born physicist (specialist in the relationship between matter and ...

Bruce Lee

Born: November 27, 1940 San Francisco, California Died: July 20, 1973 Hong Kong American actor and martial arts master ...

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Jason Lee

Actor Born April 25, 1970, in Orange, CA; son of Greg (a car dealership manager) and Carol (a homemaker) Lee; married Carmen Llywellyn (an actress and photographer), 1995 (d...

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Chang-rae Lee

Author and professor 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 Michel...

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John Legend

Singer and songwriter Born John Stephens, December 28, 1978, in Springfield, OH. Education: University of Pennsylvania, B.A., 1999. Addresse...

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Stanislaw Lem

With the possible exception of France's Jules Verne, Polish author Stanislaw Lem (1921–2006) has been the best-known science fiction writer to work in a language other than English...

Vladimir Lenin

Born: April 10, 1870 Ulianovsk, Russia Died: January 21, 1924 Moscow, Russia Russian statesman The Russian statesman ...

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Luna Leopold

Born Luna Bergere Leopold, October 8, 1915, in Albuquerque, NM; died of emphysema and congestive heart disease, February 23, 2006, in Berkeley, California. Scientist. Luna Leopold transfor...

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Nanette Lepore

Fashion designer Born c. 1964, in Youngstown, OH; married Robert Savage (a company president); children: Violet. Education: Earned undergraduate degr...

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Sandy Lerner

Founder of Urban Decay and philanthropist Born c. 1955; married Leonard Bosack, 1980 (divorced). Education: Earned undergraduate degree from California Sta...

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Arthur Levitt

Financial expert Born Arthur Levitt Jr. in 1931, in New York, NY; son of Arthur Sr. (a government official) and Dorothy (a teacher) Levitt; married Marylin Blauner (a psychi...

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Eugene Levy

Actor, writer, and director Born December 17, 1946, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; married Deborah Devine, 1977; children: Dan, Sarah. Education: Grad...

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William Arthur Lewis

Sir William Arthur Lewis (1915–1991), born on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, virtually founded the entire discipline of development economics. Entering the fi...

Carl Lewis

Born: July 1, 1961 Birmingham, Alabama African American track and field athlete One of track and field's greatest performers, Carl Lewis in 1984 ...

Sinclair Lewis

Born: February 7, 1885 Sauk Centre, Minnesota Died: January 10, 1951 Rome, Italy American writer Although Sinclair Le...

C. S. Lewis

Born: November 29, 1898 Belfast, Ireland Died: November 24, 1963 Oxford, England Irish writer, novelist, and essayist ...

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Bella Lewitzky

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

Juan Ponce de LeÓn

Born: c. 1460 San Servas, Spain Died: July 1521 Havana, Cuba Spanish explorer and conqueror The Spanish conqueror and...