Since we're celebrating 1981 this week, let's look at who was born that year! Happy 39th birthday to all of 'em and if YOU were born in '81 say so in the comments. Look at these lovelies you share it with!
The Oscar Winners
In chronological order...
• Jennifer Hudson (Best Supporting Actress, Dreamgirls)
• Natalie Portman (Best Actress, Black Swan)
• Ryan Bingham (Best Original Song, Crazy Heart)...
• Graham Moore (Best Adapted Screenplay, The Imitation Game)
• Rami Malek (Best Actor, Bohemian Rhapsody)
• Matthew A Cherry (Best Animated Short, Hair Love)
Actress Who Shoulda Won the Oscar Last Season
Cho Yeo Jeong (Parasite)
Oscar Nominees:
In chronological order:
• Catalina Sandino Moreno (Best Actress, Maria Full of Grace)
• Rinko Kikuchi (Best Supporting Actress, Babel)
• Lukasz Zal (pictured above. Best Cinematography nominations for Ida and Cold War)
• Ciro Guerro (Best Foreign Language Film, Embrace of the Serpent)
Yes, we realize the directors aren't *technically* nominees for that category but they should be!
• Fred Berger (Best Picture, La La Land)
Emmy Winners:
• Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black)
• Alexis Bledel (The Handmaid's Tale)
• Amy Schumer (Inside Amy Schumer)
Tony Nominees or Winners (who also do TV & Film)
• Leslie Odom Jr (Hamilton)
• Nikki M James (The Book of Mormon)
• Megan Hilty (Noises Off)
Spawn of Celebrity
• Bryce Dallas Howard (actress daughter of Ron Howard)
• Jonas Cuarón (writer/director son of Alfonso Cuarón)
Three Actresses Who Deserve Mainstream Showbiz Trophies and Currently Have (gasp) None*
• Michelle Dockery (4 Emmy nods... * has won SAG but as part of an ensemble, Downton Abbey)
• Carrie Coon (1 Emmy nod, 1 Tony nod)
• Andrea Riseborough (*has won SAG but as part of an ensemble, Birdman)
Top Ten Actors Born in 1981 Most Likely to Make Us Quiver Under Our Bodice:
Chris Evans 🇺🇸 (Knives Out, Captain America, Snowpiercer, Defending Jacob)
O-T Fagbenie 🇬🇧 (Looking, Maxxx, The Handmaid's Tale, Black Widow)
Jérémie Renier 🇧🇪 (Double Lover, Saint Laurent, Summer Hours, Amour Fou)
Roy Chiu 🇹🇼 (Dear Ex, Detective Chinatown, The 9th Precinct)
Russell Tovey 🇬🇧 (Looking, Being Human, Years and Years, The Good Liar)
Michiel Huisman 🇳🇱 (Black Book, Game of Thrones, Age of Adaline, The Other Lamb)
Tahar Rahim 🇫🇷 (Un Prophète, The Eddy, Mary Magdalene, The Past)
Allen Leech 🇮🇪 (Downton Abbey, Imitation Game, Bohemian Rhapsody)
Jesse Williams 🇺🇸 (Grey's Anatomy, Little Fires Everywhere, Jacob's Ladder)
Alexander Fehling 🇩🇪 (Labyrinth of Lies, Homeland, A Hidden Life)
Still More Actors Born in 1981: Fan Bingbing, Chris New, Tom Hiddleston, Jess Weixler, Elijah Wood, Raphaël Personnaz, Sienna Miller, Krysten Ritter, Michael Pitt, Kate Lambert, Taylor Kitsch, Julia Stiles, Hayden Christensen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rupert Friend, Boyd Holbrook, Matthias Schweighöfer, Jessica Alba, Coco Martin, Sammy Sheik, Ben Barnes, Summer Glau, Josh Gad, Elodie Young, Tom Burke, Kim Rae-won, Nora Zehetner, Fran Kranz, Swann Arlaud, and Amit Shah.
Other Celebrities: Beyoncé, Sharon Needles, Alicia Keys, Britney Spears, Meghan Markle, Justin Timberlake, Paris Hilton, Beth Ditto, Josh Groban, Brandi Carlile, Kelly Rowland, Anna Kournikova, Brandon Jenner, and Brandon Flowers
Writers and/or Directors: Ali Abbasi (pictured, director of the amazing Swedish Oscar submission and Best Makeup nominee Border), Aaron Kats (Land Ho!), Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Joe Swanberg (Happy Christmas, Hannah Takes the Stairs), Justin Chon (Gook), Melina Matsoukas (Queen & Slim), and Mia Hansen-Løve (Eden), Lisa Brühlmann (Killing Eve).
Our Verdict? 1981 was a good vintage!
More from our 1981 retrospective
- The 1981 Supporting Actress Smackdown
- Katharine Hepburn's fourth Oscar
- Meryl's first Best Actress nomination
- Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Jessica Harper in Pennies From Heaven
- Marilia Pera in Pixote
- Only When I Laugh and the Razzies
- Kathryn Harrold in Modern Romance
- Vintage: Pop Culture in 1981
- Kathleen Turner's sizzling debut in Body Heat