Curated playlist
1972 births
- Mina KubotaMina Kubota is a Japanese composer whose name turns up in the credits of an unusually varied run of anime. Her work sits behind the screen, in the songs and scores that shape how a story sounds. Most listeners will have heard her music…
- Cameron DiazCameron Diaz had never acted a day in her life when she auditioned for The Mask at the age of 21. The part was Tina Carlyle, a jazz singer, and she won it. Only after the casting did she begin taking acting lessons. Diaz was born in 1972,…
- Jude LawJude Law dropped out of school at 17 to become an actor. It led to an Oscar nomination for The Talented Mr. Ripley.
- EminemEminem performed with Elton John at the 43rd Grammy Awards while GLAAD protested outside.
- Naoshi MizutaNaoshi Mizuta studied law and economics before writing game music. He later scored Final Fantasy XI for over ten years.
- Large ProfessorLarge Professor turned down an executive producer credit on Nas's Illmatic. He still produced three of its ten songs.
- Jeru the DamajaRapper Jeru the Damaja answered a Fugees line on record after his album upset the group.
- Gwyneth PaltrowGwyneth Paltrow won the lead in Emma with a perfect Texas accent. The director said it sold him.
- TimbalandTimbaland taught himself to DJ with his left hand after being shot at 14. A co-worker shot him at a Red Lobster.
- The Notorious B.I.G.The Notorious B.I.G.'s second album hit number one sixteen days after he was shot dead. He was twenty-four.
- Kimbal MuskKimbal Musk sits on the boards of Tesla and SpaceX, yet the work he promotes most loudly happens in schoolyards. He was born on the 20th of September 1972. He is a businessman and restaurateur whose career runs from software to soil. His…
- Jennifer GarnerIn August 2018, Jennifer Garner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Variety praised her "radiant likability" and said she was second only to Tom Hanks. Garner is an American actress, and that honor capped a career with an…
- Anna KozlovaA stranger in a diner gave synchronized swimmer Anna Kozlova money for an immigration lawyer.
- Esther DufloEsther Duflo was 46 when she became the youngest Nobel economics winner ever. She shared it in 2019.
- Shaquille O'NealShaquille O'Neal twice broke steel backboard supports with his dunks. The NBA then redesigned its equipment.
- Sean PriceSean Price performed as Ruck in the Brooklyn duo Heltah Skeltah. Their 1996 debut album Nocturnal won acclaim.
- Ben AffleckBen Affleck directed Argo, and for it he collected the Golden Globe, the Directors Guild Award and the BAFTA for Best Director without ever being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. No director had done that before him. The…
- Idris ElbaIdris Elba spent a night locked alone in a cell on Robben Island. He did it to prepare to play Nelson Mandela.
- Zinedine ZidaneZinedine Zidane scored two headers from corners in the 1998 World Cup Final. France beat Brazil 3-0 in Paris.
- Gary WhittaGary Whitta once stayed on camera for 24 hours straight. In October 2011 he co-hosted a live-streamed edition of the show This is Only a Test with Tested creators Will Smith and Norman Chan. The marathon raised over $50,000 for Child's…
- Samantha SmithA ten-year-old from Maine wrote to the Soviet leader and got an answer. She then visited Moscow as his guest.
- Aafia SiddiquiOn the evening of the 17th of July 2008, police in the Afghan city of Ghazni noticed a woman crouching on the ground outside the provincial governor's compound. She held two small bags at her side, and a young boy stood with her. The…