John Malkovich (1953-)
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor and producer best known for his performance in movies, such as ‘Places in the Heart’ and ‘In the Line of Fire’ for which he received ‘Academy Award’ nominations. He has enjoyed a long and productive career spanning four decades in Hollywood. Starting out as an actor, he eventually made it big as a producer too. A love for performing arts was something he was born with, though neither of his parents was from show business. He displayed a keen interest in acting from childhood and was an active participant in high school plays. As a teenager, he was part of a folk-rock musical group and was also part of a summer theatre project.
Judi Dench (1934-)
Judi Dench is a British actress, best known for her role as ‘M’ in the 007 James Bond movies. She made her professional theatre debut at the Royal Court Theatre as Ophelia in ‘Hamlet’ produced by the Old Vic Company. She later joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared in a number of plays including ‘The Cherry Orchard’ at the Aldwych Theatre. She made her debut on the big screen in the film ‘The Third Secret’ and made her television debut in the BBC serial ‘Hilda Lessways’. In the course of her career, she has won over 50 awards with more than 200 nominations which include a Best Supporting Actress, Academy Award, for her role in ‘Shakespeare in Love’. Well passed 80, she is still actively involved in various philanthropic ventures and is in no mood to retire from her acting career.
Sonia Gandhi (1946-)
Sonia Gandhi is an Italian-born Indian politician who has held the position of president of the ‘Indian National Congress’ party since 1998. She was re-elected to this position for the fourth time in 2010, thus becoming the longest-serving president in the 125-year-history of the ‘Congress’ party. She is also the chairperson of the ‘United Progressive Alliance’ in the Lok Sabha, a position she is serving since 2004. Sonia Gandhi is the first foreign-born person to become president of the ‘Congress’ party since India’s independence in 1947. Born in Italy, she came to India after marrying Rajiv Gandhi, a scion of the politically powerful Nehru–Gandhi family, which had long been associated with the ‘Indian National Congress.’ She kept away from politics during the initial years of her marriage and vehemently refused to enter politics even after the tragic assassination of her husband in 1991. But the dwindling fortunes of the ‘Congress’ in the ensuing years motivated her to join the party as a primary member. Since then, she has played a significant role in Indian politics and is considered a powerful figure in the international political scenario as well. She was named among ‘Time 100 most influential people in the world’ in 2007 and 2008.
Kurt Angle (1968-)
Kurt Steven Angle is an Olympic gold medalist, professional wrestler, and actor from America. He is renowned for making the most successful transition from amateur to professional wrestling. Beginning his training at the age of seven, he went on to win ‘National Collegiate Athletic Association’ (NCAA) Division I Heavyweight Wrestling Championship twice, a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1995 ‘World Wrestling Championships’ and another gold medal at the 1996 ‘Summer Olympics.’ In 1998, he made his first in-ring appearance on the professional wrestling circuit before signing an eight-year contract with the ‘World Wrestling Federation’ (now World Wrestling Entertainment). He made his official WWF in-ring debut in November 1999. After 11 years, he returned to WWE in 2017 and served as the general manager of Raw. He then started wrestling again, headlining multiple pay-per-view events. He is known for his resilience, charm, and technique, and considered one of the all-time greats. He has broken his neck on five different occasions in his wrestling career.
McKayla Maroney (1995-)
McKayla Rose Maroney, also known as ‘Mack Air Maroney’, is a famous American gymnast who won a gold medal with the US Olympics gymnastics team and an individual silver medal for the vault event at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Her parents were involved in sports, which prompted her to take up gymnastics at an early age. She specialized in the vault and is the only athlete to defend a gold medal in the event, which she first won in the 2011 World Championship and later defended in the 2013 Championship. She was not very happy to get the silver medal for the vault in the 2012 Olympics and wanted to have another go for gold at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. However, due to injury and other health issues she had to announce her retirement from gymnastics before the Olympic Games commenced.
Beau Bridges (1941-)
Beau Bridges is a veteran American actor, producer, and director. Despite being born into a family that already was a part of Hollywood, Beau was more interested in basketball and briefly played for UCLA under the famous John Wooden. Though he appeared in many shows when he was a child, he branched out professionally to acting and Hollywood only in his twenties. He first starred in TV shows and then steadily started working in films as well. He wished to carve an identity for himself and soon began portraying different roles. His career has been steadily progressing and he continues to act even to this day. He soon became a director and has under his belt three feature films. To his name, he has won a Grammy, two Golden Globes, and several Emmys. In recognition of his services to Hollywood, where his career spanned over three decades, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
