August 17 is the birthday of 59 notable people we've found so far, including authors, entrepreneurs, actors and athletes, and 4 of them are billionaires.
Lawrence Joseph Ellison is an American businessman. He co-founded the software company Oracle Corporation, and was its CEO from 1977 to 2014. He now serves as its CTO and executive chairman.
Chaleo Yoovidhya was a Thai businessman and entrepreneur. He was the originator of Krating Daeng and co-creator of the Red Bull brand of energy drinks.
Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler is a German businesswoman and one of the owners of Schaeffler Group, one of the world's largest producers of rolling bearings. The other owner is her son Georg F. W. Schaeffler.
Hamdi Akın is a Turkish businessman and the chairman of the board of directors of Akfen Holding. In 2016, Forbes ranked him as the 1694th richest person in the world with a net worth of $1 billion, and the 27th richest in Turkey.
Industries of the companies the 4 wealthy people born on August 17 founded or led.
food and beverage50% (1 people)
software50% (1 people)
Who shares August 17
What kind of people are born on August 17?
Share of the 59 people we list, by documented field. People can belong to more than one.
Authors34% (20 people)
Entrepreneurs25% (15 people)
Actors22% (13 people)
Athletes20% (12 people)
Musicians20% (12 people)
Politicians14% (8 people)
Scientists14% (8 people)
Countries
26 countries, most often United States
Citizenship as recorded on Wikidata, one country per person.
United States17 (17 people)
France7 (7 people)
United Kingdom5 (5 people)
Russia4 (4 people)
Brazil2 (2 people)
Germany2 (2 people)
Japan2 (2 people)
Life timeline
What were people born on August 17 doing at your age?
Dated milestones from Wikidata (company foundings, awards, top jobs, notable works), placed at the age each person reached them. Add your birth year above to see the ones you have passed.
By 25
~25Thierry HenryNamed Premier League Golden Boot (2002)
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. His accolades include three Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and nominations for an Emmy Award and a Grammy Award.
Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Thierry Daniel "Titi" Henry is a French professional football manager, pundit, and former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in Premier League history, he was known for his speed, technical ability, composure, finesse shots and tactical intelligence.
Helen Elizabeth McCrory was an English actress. After studying at the Drama Centre London, she made her professional stage debut in The Importance of Being Earnest in 1990.
INCA Productions, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Austin Robert Butler is an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he has received a British Academy Film Award and Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, two Critics' Choice Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Gabriel Hutchinson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mathis Rayan Cherki is a French professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Manchester City and the France national team.
Margaret Elaine Hamilton is an American computer scientist. She directed the Software Engineering Division at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, where she led the development of the on-board flight software for NASA's Apollo Guidance Computer for the Apollo program.
Daphne Weld Nichols, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Samuel Goldwyn was a Polish-born American film producer and pioneer in the American film industry, who produced the United States's first major motion picture. He was best known for being the founding contributor and executive of several motion picture studios.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. was a Jamaican political activist. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, through which he declared himself Provisional President of Africa.
from George Grantham Bain Collection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior is a Brazilian former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from 1978 to 1991. Piquet won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in 1981, 1983, and 1987, and won 23 Grands Prix across 14 seasons.
Agência Brasília, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gary Maurice "Joyner" Lucas Jr. is an American rapper. Lucas first gained exposure online with his 2015 single "Ross Capicchioni". After three self-released projects, he signed with Atlantic Records to release his fourth mixtape and major label debut, 508-507-2209 (2017).
The Come Up Show from Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Phoebe Lucille Bridgers is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Her indie folk music typically centers on acoustic guitar and electronic production, with melancholic lyrical themes. She has won four Grammy Awards from eleven nominations.
Belinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, and she went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist.
Taissa Farmiga is an American actress. Her numerous appearances in horror films have established her as a scream queen, alongside her older sister Vera Farmiga.
Maureen O'Hara was an Irish and American actress and singer who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural redhead who was known for playing passionate but sensible heroines, often in Westerns and adventure films.
USMC Archives from Quantico, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
David Crockett was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives and fought in the Texas Revolution.
James Hamilton Shegogue, 1806 - 1872, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Ederson Santana de Moraes, simply known as Ederson, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe and the Brazil national team.
Edward James Hughes was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1984 and held the office until his death.
Layle Silbert, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford, known professionally as Julian Fellowes, is an English actor, novelist, writer, producer, film director, and Conservative peer.
Mingle MediaTV, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gazzy Fabio Garcia, known professionally as Lil Pump, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as part of the SoundCloud rap scene in the late 2010s, gaining distinction for his minimalist music and rambunctious public persona.
Julio Enriquez from Denver,CO, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
David Harold McCormick is an American politician, businessman, and former Army officer serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from Pennsylvania.
United States Senate, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
James Spencer Courier is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 58 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in 1992.
William Eric Gallas is a French football coach and former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played most of his footballing career in France and England before finishing his career in Australia with A-League club Perth Glory.
Кирилл Венедиктов, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli, known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer best known as the former lead vocalist of the symphonic metal band Nightwish.
Andreas Lawen, Fotandi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pierre de Fermat was a French magistrate, polymath, and above all, a mathematician who is given credit for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus, including his technique of adequality.
Rolland Lefebvre, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Philippe Mario Aghion is a French economist who is Chair of Economics of Institutions, Innovation and Growth professor at the Collège de France, Kurt Björklund Chaired Professor in Innovation and Growth at INSEAD, and Visiting Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics.
File:Phillipe Aghion - The State of France (cropped).jpg: Center for the Study of Europe Boston University from Boston, , CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Philip Nikodem Jagielka is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is primarily known for his lengthy tenures at Sheffield United and Everton.
1761–1834 · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
William Carey was an English Christian missionary, Particular Baptist minister, translator, social reformer and cultural anthropologist who founded the Serampore College and the Serampore University, the first degree-awarding university in India and cofounded the Serampore Mission Press.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Herta Müller is a Romanian-German novelist, poet, essayist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. She was born in Nițchidorf, Timiș County in Romania; her native languages are German and Romanian.
Bernhard Holub, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Guillermo Vilas is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He was the world No. 1 of the ITF Grand Prix seasons in 1974, 1975 and 1977. He won 62 singles titles and 16 doubles titles during his career, including four Grand Slam singles titles and the 1974 Tour Finals.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Andrés Pastrana Arango is a Colombian politician who was President of Colombia from 1998 to 2002, following in the footsteps of his father, Misael Pastrana Borrero, who was president from 1970 to 1974.
Guillermo Ramos Flamerich, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Jelena Karleuša is a Serbian singer and media personality. Born and raised in Belgrade, she began her music career with the release of her debut album Ogledalce (1995) at the age of 16.
RTV Stara Pazova, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
James II, called the Just, was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He was also the King of Sicily from 1285 to 1295 and the King of Majorca from 1291 to 1298.
Manuel Aguirre y Monsalbe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Bengt Erik Markus Berg is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently the assistant coach of Allsvenskan club IFK Göteborg.
This page lists 59 people born on August 17, every one traced to a Wikidata record and, where shown, a Wikipedia summary (CC BY-SA) and a licensed Wikimedia Commons photo. 4 of them carry a dated net-worth estimate citing Forbes or Bloomberg; combined wealth is the sum of the low end of those estimates, the newest as of June 2020. Rankings compare all 366 dates in the dataset built on 2026-09-28. Milestone ages come from dated Wikidata statements; a tilde marks year-only dates. Nothing on this page is a prediction about anyone born on August 17. Read the full methodology.
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