Birthdays: November 17

RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American actor, model, singer, songwriter, television personality, and author. As executive producer and host of the reality competition TV series RuPaul's Drag Race (2009), RuPaul has received fourteen Primetime Emmy Awards - the most wins for outstanding host of a reality or competition program and for any Black artist in history.

In 2022, RuPaul received a Tony Award as a producer of Best Musical A Strange Loop.

RuPaul is the most commercially successful drag queen of all time, and in 2017 was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.

RuPaul was born and raised in San Diego, CA and later moved to Atlanta, GA to study performing arts. After settling in New York City, RuPaul became a popular fixture on the nightclub scene before achieving international fame with the release of the 1993 song RuPaul: Supermodel, You Better Work (1993).

In 1995, RuPaul became the first spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics, raising millions of dollars for the MAC AIDS Fund and becoming the first man to land a major cosmetics campaign.

In 1996, RuPaul landed a TV talk show on VH1, RuPaul's Drag Race (2009), taping more than 100 episodes with co-host Michelle Visage, while simultaneously co-hosting a morning drive radio show with Visage on WKTU.

As a recording artist, RuPaul has co-written and co-produced eighteen studio albums to date, including Foxy Lady (1996), Champion (2009), Glamazon (2011), Born Naked (2014), American (2017), and Black Butta (2023).

RuPaul's Drag Race (2009) has produced sixteen seasons to date and has inspired several international spin-off series, including RuPaul's Drag Race UK (2019) and RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2012). RuPaul was also featured as a host on the series Skin Wars (2014): Fresh Paint, Good Work, Gay for Play Game Show Starring RuPaul, Lingo, Celebrity Lingo, and was the guest host of Saturday Night Live (1975) on February 8th, 2020.

As an actor, RuPaul has appeared in more than 50 films and television shows, both in and out of drag, including Crooklyn (1994), The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), the Comedy Central series Broad City (2014), Netflix originals Girlboss (2017) and Grace and Frankie (2015), and as the voice of Queen Chante in The Simpsons (1989). In 2020, RuPaul teamed up with Michael Patrick King (Sex in the City, 2 Broke Girls) to produce the Netflix original comedy series AJ & The Queen, in which RuPaul also starred.

As an author, RuPaul has published four books: the #1 New York Times bestseller The House of Hidden Meanings (Harper Collins, 2024), GuRu (Harper Collins, 2018), Workin' It! RuPaul's Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style (Harper Collins, 2010), and Lettin' It All Hang Out (Hyperion Books, 1995). On March 16, 2018, Jane Fonda presented RuPaul with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6652 Hollywood Blvd.

RuPaul lives in New York, California, and Wyoming, and is married to Australian rancher Georges LeBar. They met on the dance floor in 1994 at Limelight Disco in New York City.

Adam Howard is a senior Visual Effects Supervisor for motion picture, TV, music videos, commercials and theme park projects. Winner of four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Special Visual Effects (and five additional nominations.) Originally from Melbourne Australia, Adam is based in the United States and available now for work worldwide. He is also a fine artist whose portraits are held in private collections around the world.

Adrian Guacaran is known for Panchito Mandefua (1985).

Alfie Wise was born on 17 November 1943 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA. He is an actor, known for The Cannonball Run (1981), Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and Legends of the Superheroes (1979).

Andy Kusnetzoff was born on 17 November 1970 in Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina. He is an actor and producer, known for Graduates (2012), El rayo (1995) and No soy tu mami (2019).

Arturo Puig was born on 17 November 1944 in Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina. He is an actor, known for Primicias (2000), Camino Sinuoso (2018) and Only You (2013). He was previously married to Selva Alemán.

Azucena Maizani was born on 15 November 1902 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress and composer, known for Di que me quieres (1939), Buenos Aires canta (1947) and Nativa (1939). She died on 15 January 1970 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Before beginning her studies at the Danish National School of Theatre in 2000, Beate Bille had already appeared in the films "Angel of the night" and "The art of success". By the time she graduated in 2004, she had been offered her first leading role in the feature film "Menslaughter". This film, which won several Scandinavian film awards, gave her the opportunity to create an intense portrait of a young leftwing activist involved in an affair with a former teacher, played by Danish actor Jesper Christensen. She plays opposite the German actress Hanna Schygulla in "Die blaue Grenze". Appearances in Emmy Award winning Danish TV series include roles in "Unit One", "Taxa", "Ornen", and "Nikolaj og Julie". At 2006 she was selected as the Danish Shooting Star at the Berlinale Festival. She presently has a part in Hella Joof's "Fidibus" and Nikolai Arcels' film, "De fortabte Sjaeles O", which opens in 2007.

Betty Bronson's discovery reads like a Hollywood dream. As a New Jersey teenage bit-player, she was rocketed from obscurity when she was chosen to play the part of Peter Pan in 1924's Peter Pan (1924). She was hand-selected by author J.M. Barrie and beat several Hollywood superstars to the part, most notably Gloria Swanson and Mary Pickford. Pickford, though nearly 30, had built a career out of playing such parts, and faced the first serious threat to her status as "America's Sweetheart". Betty's beautifully expressive performance and unsophisticated looks earned her instant success. For the year following "Peter Pan"'s release, Bronson-mania easily equaled the sort of hysteria previously reserved only for Pickford.

Unfortunately, Bronson's studio seemed unsure of how to exploit this talent, which was wasted in small or unchallenging roles. "Peter Pan"'s 1925 follow-up, A Kiss for Cinderella (1925), seemed destined for the same success--but instead was a major flop. In only one year the public taste had changed so much as to render the sentimental entertainment of yesteryear obsolete. Had Bronson emerged ten years earlier she would have been a worthy competitor to Pickford; in 1925, audiences were suddenly more interested in the more adult charms of flappers such as Clara Bow and Colleen Moore. Betty, too, was re-launched as a flapper, sophisticate and occasional period dame. Her career was moderately successful but her superstardom had subsided. She sparkled and demonstrated an excellent voice in her first sound appearance (The Singing Fool (1928) with Al Jolson) but it became clear that her formidable skills as a pantomimist was wasted in the new form. She retired in 1933 to marry, and only appeared on-screen intermittently thereafter.

Bill was known by his friends as "Billy", when he was a youth. He attended public school, as many actors' sons and daughters did in the 1960s. He was never athletic since he was stricken with a childhood disease. He was well liked at Emerson Junior High School in West Los Angeles, California. He graduated from Emerson in June 1962. He was known as a friend to everyone, rich or not. After Emerson, he went on to University High School in Los Angeles.

Bob Mathias was born on 17 November 1930 in Tulare, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Bob Mathias Story (1954), The Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete (1960) and China Doll (1958). He was married to Gwen Alexander and Melba Wiser. He died on 2 September 2006 in Fresno, California, USA.

Novakovic was born on November 17, 1981 in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia. She moved to Australia in 1988, at the age of seven. Novakovic was initially interested in becoming a social worker or doctor, but after a significant set of events, she changed her mind and decided to pursue the performing arts. Novakovic studied at The McDonald College in Sydney, (where she was Dux of 1999) and graduated from NIDA with a BA in Dramatic Arts in 2002. She has a younger sister, Valentina Novakovic, who is also an actress, famous for having performed in the Australian soap opera, Neighbours (1985).

In 2003, Novakovic played Randa in the ABC mini-series Marking Time (2003), a role which won her an AFI Award for "Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama or Comedy". As an actor, Novakovic's film credits in Australia include Blackrock (1996), Strange Fits of Passion (1998), The Monkey's Mask (1999), Thunderstruck (2004), Solo (2005), and the Serbian movies Optimisti (2005) and Skinning (2010). From 2007 to 2009, she played Tippi in the TV series Satisfaction for Showtime Australia. Other breakout roles include: Drag Me to Hell (2009), Edge of Darkness (2009), Devil (2010), Burning Man (2011) and Generation Um(2012).

Theatre credits in Australia include These People, Away and Strange Fruit at the Sydney Theatre Company; The Female of the Species at the Melbourne Theatre Company; Woyzeck (Helpmann award nomination for best supporting actress in 2009), Criminology (Green Room award nomination for best actress 2007), Eldorado (Helpmann nomination for best supporting actress, 2006) and Necessary Targets at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne, Death Variations and Loveplay (Ride On) for B Sharp, Romeo and Juliet with Bell Shakespeare Company and Debris for Ride On Theatre (which received a Green Room nomination for best Independent production and best actress in 2006).

Novakovic also runs her own independent theatre company, Ride On Theatre Sydney and Melbourne) with co-director Tanya Goldberg. She was a producer and performer for the 2004 Ride On Theatre sell out season of "Loveplay" at the Downstairs Belvoir Street Theatre, and the 2006 Green Room nominated production of Debris (in which she was also nominated for best actress).

In 2008, she translated, adapted and directed Fake Porno in Melbourne, which was invited to be part of the Powerhouse season in Brisbane in 2009, and also received three Green Room nominations including best production. Outside of Ride On, she wrote and directed with Melbourne's Black Lung Theatre for the critically acclaimed production of Sugar at the 2007 Adelaide Fringe Festival. In 2010, Novakovic received an AFI nomination for International Award for Best Actress for her role in Edge of Darkness.

Novakovic landed the part of a beautiful prostitute-turned-law-student in Fox's series, Rake, starring Greg Kinnear. The show was canceled in May, 2014. She portrayed Clare Hitchens in The Hallow, a horror film set in Ireland and directed by Corin Hardy.

Earlier this year [2015], The Toronto Film Festival premiered her feature film The Little Death. Novakovic can be seen playing the lead in the ABC pilot Agatha, and has also booked a recurring role in Showtime dramedy Shameless.

She's repped by CAA, Management 360, Lisa Mann Creative Management in Australia and attorney Bob Wallerstein.

Born Brandon Spencer Lee Call on November 17th, 1976, in Torrance, California, Brandon started performing at the tender age of two. His movie debut, albeit lending his voice, was in Disney's The Black Cauldron (1985), so his first live-action acting role was opposite Glenn Close in Jagged Edge (1985). He made a number of television appearances before gaining popularity playing David Hasselhoff's son on Baywatch (1989). However, his stint on Baywatch (1989) was short-lived as he stayed on the series for only a season. He then pursued another television program, the Brady Bunch-esque show Step by Step (1991), where he portrayed the cool JT Lambert with Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers as his parents.

Growing up, Brandon enjoyed such simple pleasures as playing basketball, boogie boarding, and listening to music. September 3, 1996, was probably a night Brandon will never forget because he was involved in a traffic dispute where he was shot in both arms. Luckily, Step by Step (1991) was a mid-season show, so he had time to recuperate before filming began. This wasn't the first time that Brandon got into trouble, though, as two weeks prior, his off-screen problems made the news. He seemed to have dropped off into relative obscurity, as his last televised role was a guest spot on the Hulk Hogan series Thunder in Paradise (1994).

Brett Gipson was born November 17, 1983 on his mother's birthday in San Jose, California. He then graduated from California State University Fresno with degrees in Communication and Theater Arts. Brett appears in the much anticipated, Knights of Badassdom, as the overzealous viking, Gunther. There he worked alongside Peter Dinklage, Steve Zahn, Ryan Kwanten, and Summer Glau under the direction of Joe Lynch.

Brian T. Delaney was born on 17 November 1976 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is an actor, known for Fallout 4 (2015), Total Recall (2012) and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013). He has been married to Rebecca Delaney since 27 September 2003.

Byron Keith was born on 17 November 1917 in El Paso, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for The Stranger (1946), 77 Sunset Strip (1958) and Batman (1966). He was married to Dorothy Bennett and Lois Dorothy Ritter. He died on 19 January 1996 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Carlo Verdone is considered by many the heir of Alberto Sordi, expecially when they acted together in Troppo forte and In viaggio con papa', in these films many similarities with Sordi were apparent, the popular language, the romanesco, and the embodiment of Italian middle man in the '80s that Sordi did in the '50s and '60s.

In the last ten years Verdone has shown in his films the anguishes and the neurosis of Italian modern man. He is the brother-in-law of Christian de Sica. His father is an appreciated university Italian professor in cinema history.

Cecilia Dopazo was born on 17 November 1969 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is an actress and writer, known for Wild Tango (1993), La Argentina de Tato (1999) and No sos vos, soy yo (2004).

Cecilia Freire was born on 17 November 1981 in Madrid, Spain. She is an actress, known for Velvet (2013), Sin vergüenza (2001) and Reevolution (2017).

Christopher Sciueref was born on 17 November 1972 in London, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Skyfall (2012), 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) and Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014).

Curt Lowens was born on 17 November 1925 in Allenstein, East Prussia, Germany [now Olsztyn, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Poland]. He was an actor, known for Angels & Demons (2009), The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and Flightplan (2005). He was married to Katherine Guilford. He died on 8 May 2017 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Daisy Fuentes was born on 17 November 1966 in Havana, Cuba. She is an actress, known for Baywatch (1989), Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1995) and Loving (1983). She has been married to Richard Marx since 23 December 2015. She was previously married to Timothy Adams.

Danny DeVito has amassed a formidable and versatile body of work as an actor, producer and director that spans the stage, television and film.

Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. was born on November 17, 1944, in Neptune, New Jersey, to Italian-American parents. His mother, Julia (Moccello), was a homemaker. His father, Daniel, Sr., was a small business owner whose ventures included a dry cleaning shop, a dairy outlet, a diner, and a pool hall.

While growing up in Asbury Park, his parents sent him to private schools. He attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel grammar school and Oratory Prep School. Following graduation in 1962, he took a job as a cosmetician at his sister's beauty salon. A year later, he enrolled at New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts so he could learn more about cosmetology. While at the academy, he fell in love with acting and decided to further pursue an acting career. During this time, he met another aspiring actor Michael Douglas at the National Playwrights Conference in Waterford, Connecticut. The two would later go on to collaborate on numerous projects. Soon after he also met an actress named Rhea Perlman. The two fell in love and moved in together. They were married in 1982 and had three children together.

In 1968, Danny landed his first part in a movie when he appeared as a thug in the obscure Dreams of Glass (1970). Despite this minor triumph, Danny became discouraged with the film industry and decided to focus on stage productions. He made his Off-Broadway debut in 1969 in "The Man With the Flower in His Mouth." He followed this up with stage roles in "The Shrinking Bride," and "Lady Liberty." In 1975, he was approached by director Milos Forman and Michael Douglas about appearing in the film version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), which would star Jack Nicholson in the leading role. With box office success almost guaranteed and a chance for national exposure, Danny agreed to the role. The movie became a huge hit, both critically and financially, and still ranks today as one the greatest movies of all time. Unfortunately, the movie did very little to help Danny's career. In the years following, he was relegated to small movie roles and guest appearances on television shows. His big break came in 1978 when he auditioned for a role on an ABC sitcom pilot called Taxi (1978), which centered around taxi cab drivers at a New York City garage. Danny auditioned for the role of dispatcher Louie DePalma. At the audition, the producers told Danny that he needed to show more attitude in order to get the part. He then slammed down the script and yelled, "Who wrote this sh**?" The producers, realizing he was perfect for the part, brought him on board. The show was a huge success, running from 1978 to 1983.

Louie DePalma, played flawlessly by Danny, became one of the most memorable (and reviled) characters in television history. While he was universally hated by TV viewers, he was well-praised by critics, winning an Emmy award and being nominated three other times. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Danny maintained his status as a great character actor with memorable roles in movies like Romancing the Stone (1984), Ruthless People (1986), Throw Momma from the Train (1987) and Twins (1988). He also had a great deal of success behind the camera, directing movies like The War of the Roses (1989) and Hoffa (1992). In 1992, Danny was introduced to a new generation of moviegoers when he was given the role of The Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot in Tim Burton's highly successful Batman Returns (1992). This earned him a nomination for Best Villain at the MTV Movie Awards. That same year, along with his wife Rhea Perlman, Danny co-founded Jersey Films, which has produced many popular films and TV shows, including Pulp Fiction (1994), Get Shorty (1995), Man on the Moon (1999) and Erin Brockovich (2000). DeVito has many directing credits to his name as well, including Throw Momma from the Train (1987), The War of the Roses (1989), Hoffa (1992), Death to Smoochy (2002) and the upcoming St. Sebastian.

In 2006, he returned to series television in the FX comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005). With a prominent role in a hit series, Devito's comic talents were now on display for a new generation of television viewers. In 2012, he provided the title voice role in Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (2012).

These days, he continues to work with many of today's top talents as an actor, director and producer.

Darian Weiss was born on 17 November 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Without a Trace (2002), Days of Our Lives (1965) and Mad Men (2007).