Robin Williams, the funnyman who made not just America but the whole world laugh at his wonderful antics, was an American actor and comedian loved equally by both kids and adults for his quirky expressions, charming clumsiness, and innocent yet witty dialogues. Even though more famous as a comedian, Williams was a very talented personality who could pull off a very serious role with the same ease as he performed a comedic one. Thrice nominated for the coveted Academy Awards, he won it once for his much acclaimed performance in the movie ˜Good Will Hunting'. The son of a senior executive, showbiz seemed to be an unlikely career path for the young Robin. As a boy he always joked around at school and made others laugh with his jokes, no doubt his classmates voted him the Funniest! He began his career as a stand-up comedian where he found success. One thing led to another and soon he was on television doing comedy shows. The hit sitcom ˜Mork & Mindy' made him so popular that he realized that he was meant for greater success. Thus, he entered the world of movies and became the funnyman everyone fell in love with.

Mark Richard Hamill is an American actor and voice actor who is famous for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the famous Star Wars movie series. Born in Oakland, California, Hamill studied at the Los Angeles City College, where he majored in drama. He was soon cast in the space opera film ˜Star Wars' which was directed by George Lucas. The film was a huge success commercially and critically. The first film of the famous and critically acclaimed ˜Star Wars' movie series, the film has earned a cult status over the years. Hamill reprised his role in multiple other films of the franchise. He was most recently seen in ˜Star Wars: The Last Jedi' which grossed more than a billion dollars. He has also voiced the famous DC comics' supervillian ˜The Joker' in several animated movies based on Batman, the famous vigilante superhero. A much decorated actor, he has won several awards throughout his career, including two Saturn Awards. Recently, he was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has also been nominated for an Emmy Award and an Annie Award.

Multi-instrumentalist and singer for The Police, known for such hits as "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and "Message in a Bottle." He also became a successful solo artist, releasing his first album The Dream of the Blue Turtles in 1985, followed by ten more albums the next two decades.  

Retired bass player and composer best known for being in the British rock group, Queen, whose notable for hit songs like "We are the Champions" and "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Founder of one of the world's most premium luxury lifestyle brands, Thomas Jacob Hilfiger is the creative genius behind the billion dollar enterprise, the 'Tommy Hilfiger Corporation'. His label has enjoyed tremendous success for over 25 years, all over the world. He has launched men's and women's clothing lines, collection of fragrances, sportswear, home furnishings, accessories and denims. He went on to become one of the wealthiest designers in the market, catering to the needs of hip-hop artists and music industry biggies. His innovative and loud advertising campaigns went a long way in helping him establish in the fashion industry. No other American designer of his time, managed to prominently put their name and logo on clothes, like the way he did. This caught the attention of the urban youth and he soon opened up a number of stores and franchises across the world. Born in Elmira, New York, Hilfiger displayed creative abilities even as a teenager, buying jeans, remodelling them and selling them. He began his career with the opening of his store, ˜People's Place', after the success of which, he went on to pursue a career as a full-fledged fashion designer.

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III, popularly known as Rush Limbaugh is a famous American radio personality, political commentator and author. He currently hosts his own talk show on ABC Radio Networks called ˜The Rush Limbaugh Show' ” the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United States. In 2008, he signed a contract extension through 2016, worth $400 million . The contract broke records for any broadcast and put him right amongst the highest paid people in the U.S. media. Starting a career in radio was a challenge for Limbaugh as he belonged to a family of professional lawyers and his father aspired for him to get into the same league as everyone else in the family. But he showed consistent passion towards radio since a young age and worked many radio jockey jobs in various cities of America. It was his job as a talk show host at KFBK in Sacramento, California, that made him one of the top radio hosts of the city, which is why ABC Radio hired him. Limbaugh's conservative views and strong criticism of liberal policies and politicians is extremely famous among his listeners and he has not only publicized his opinions through radio but also through television and books ” ˜The Way Things Ought to Be (1992)' and ˜See, I Told You So (1993)'.

Phil Collins (Philip David Charles Collins) is an English musician, drummer, singer, and actor, who mostly worked solo and was also part of the famous rock band ˜Genesis.' Starting his career with acting in the mid-60s, he identified his passion for music in the 70s. ˜Genesis' turned out to be a game changer for Phil. Phil rocked the music charts in the 80s with his solo outings, and he is one of the very few artists who have proved their worth in both group and solo music endeavors. He became a cultural rage in the 80s and has had more US top 40 singles than any other artist of his time. Some of his most powerful singles from that time are ˜In the Air Tonight,' ˜One more Night,' and ˜Another Day in Paradise.' Having sold about 34 million copies of records, across eight albums, Collins is certainly one of the best-selling artists of this generation. During his illustrious career, he has been showered with multiple awards, which include six ˜Brit Awards,' seven ˜Grammy Awards,' two ˜Golden Globe Awards,' and one ˜Academy Award,' recognizing his service to the field of music and acting.

Mark Harmon is an American actor and has starred in a number of films, television shows and stage productions. His ability to dabble with a number of roles, both vivid and banal, with professionalism, sets him apart from others. This Emmy-nominated actor was offered his first acting gig in ˜Ozzie's Girl's and from then on, there was no looking back. Acting, above everything else, became his prime focus in life and he has left an indelible impression on the viewers. Be it the Special Agent, Leroy Jethro Gibbs on the military drama, ˜JAG' or Dr. Robert Caldwell in the Emmy Award-winning show, ˜St. Elsewhere', he has played all his roles with great finesse and confidence. Before his career as an actor took off, he was briefly a part of the UCLA Bruins league as a collegiate football quarterback. He has portrayed a number of characters ranging from a police detective, to a psychopath murderer and to a doctor. It speaks volumes about his versatility. This heart-throb not only captured the fancy of millions of teenage girls during his prime, but also became the inspiration for a number of promising actors who wished to emanate charisma and perfectionism the way he did.

Ben Carson, now a retired American neurosurgeon and acclaimed author, was the first man to have successfully separated conjoined twins who were joined at the head. Numerous attempts had been made previously by other physicians, but often one of the babies or both were unable to survive the surgery. Separating twins joined at the head is a highly risky procedure as the conjoined twins often share important blood vessels that if ruptured may lead to the twins' death. Ben Carson and his team of doctors created history in 1987 by successfully separating the Binder twins, Patrick and Benjamin, both of whom survived and went on to lead individual lives. Today it might seem impossible to imagine that this brilliant neurosurgeon was once a poor student in school. Raised by a single mother, childhood was not easy for young Ben and he seemed poised to get into trouble. His mother Sonya though uneducated herself persuaded her children to study well and guided the boy away from trouble. Under her direction he blossomed into a great student who went to medical school. Eventually he became a world renowned neurosurgeon who specialized in separating conjoined twins. Carson is also the author of several best-sellers and has an interest in politics.

Michael Keaton is an American actor, producer and director best known for his performance in the movie ˜Birdman'. A versatile actor, he is equally adept at playing comedic roles as well as dramatic ones and has also portrayed a few romantic characters. He has appeared in several action thrillers too. He developed an interest in acting and performing, when he was in his teens, and tried his luck at stand-up comedy as a young man. His comedy career was not successful though it paved the way for his acting career. Unable to find success as a comedian, he took up a job as a television cameraman in a cable station. It was while working there that he realized that he actually wanted to be in front of the camera, not behind it. Somehow he managed to bag a television role and appeared in several episodes of ˜Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'. He was a naturally gifted actor and soon became a popular television star. He embarked on a film career with great ambitions and found considerable fame with his comedic roles and earned even greater acclaim when he portrayed the eponymous superhero in <a title='Tim Burton' href='/famous/tim-burton.htm'>Tim Burton</a>'s ˜Batman'. He matured as an actor with time and also ventured into production and direction. He received several awards and nominations for his lead performance in the film ˜Birdman' in 2014.

One of the few people in Hollywood who have successfully leaped from being a child actor to an acclaimed ˜A' list movie star, Kurt Russell is perhaps the most engaging actor in the entertainment industry today. He made his first major appearance in the made-for-television biographical movie ˜Elvis', which is considered one the finest performances of his career. After he partnered with director John Carpenter, he played some of the most memorable characters in his films, the most popular of them being ˜Snake Plissken', the villain in Carpenter's cult classic ˜Escape from New York'. Some of his other powerful performances were in movies like, ˜Silkwood', ˜Backdraft', ˜Big Trouble In Little China', ˜Stargate', ˜Grindhouse' and his most outstanding role as ˜R.J. MacReady' in Carpenter's gory cult movie, ˜The Thing'. As the son of actor Neil Oliver ˜Bing' Russell, Kurt grew up in and around the entertainment industry that gave him many opportunities to pursue a career in the field. He was an avid and passionate baseball player but unfortunately retired form the game due to shoulder injuries.

Sally Ride was an American physicist and astronaut who achieved iconic status by becoming the first American woman and third overall to travel to space. Although she was interested in science from a very young age, tennis was actually her first love. She made a brave decision to quit her studies at ˜Swarthmore College' to try a career in professional tennis. However, after being unable to make any major inroads in her tennis career, she returned to science with a renewed vigor. Ride spent the next few years accumulating degrees and knowledge, which would help her get selected for NASA's space program. She successfully completed an intense training and joined NASA for what would become a historic mission. In a span of four years, Ride was selected to travel in a space flight, which she embraced gladly. Her journey in the ˜Challenger' shuttle served as an inspiration for millions of women worldwide. Ride moved on to have a stellar career, going to space once more in the process, and garnering a host of awards and honours. She was involved in a lot of charity work during her older years, most of which was dedicated to girls and young women. Looking back at her incredible career, it would indeed be fitting to state that sports' loss was science's gain.