- May 1 Elquemedo Willett, West Indian cricket spin bowler (5 Tests, 11 wickets), born in Charlestown, Nevis
- May 1 Felix Hanemann, American rocker (Zebra), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- May 1 Glen Ballard, American songwriter and record producer (Alanis Morissette; Michael Jackson; Wilson Phillips; Jack Wagner), born in Natchez, Mississippi
- May 2 Jamaal Wilkes, American NBA forward (Golden State-Rookie of Yr 1975), born in Berkeley, California
- May 2 Valery Gergiev, Russian conductor (Mariinsky Orchestra, 1988 -present; Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, 1995-2008), born in Moscow, USSR
- May 3 Bruce Hall, American rock bassist (Reo Speedwagon), born in Champaign, Illinois
- May 6 Graeme Souness, Scottish soccer midfielder (54 caps; Middlesbrough FC, Liverpool FC 247 games) and manager (FA Cup: 1991–92 Liverpool; 3 x SPD Rangers), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
- May 6 Lynn Whitfield, American actress (Josephine Baker; Equal Justice), born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- May 6 Michelle Courchesne, Quebec politician
Tony Blair (70 years old)
May 6 British Prime Minister (Labour: 1997-2007), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
- May 7 Ian McKay, British soldier (VC recipient), born in Wortley, South Yorkshire, England (d. 1982)
- May 7 Pat McInally, American National Football League player, born in Villa Park, California
- May 8 Alex Van Halen, Dutch-American rock drummer (Van Halen - "Hot For Teacher"), born in Amsterdam The Netherlands,
- May 8 Andreas P. Nielsen, Danish author and composer, born in Kolding, Denmark (d. 2011)
- May 8 Billy Burnette, American rock guitarist (Fleetwood Mac, 1987-95), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- May 8 Devi Shetty, Indian surgeon and health entrepreneur (Narayana Health), born in Dakshina Kannada, India
- May 9 Amy Hill, American comedian and actress (All-American Girl - "Grandma"; Magnum, PI - "Kumu"), born in Deadwood, South Dakota
- May 9 Gregory Beecroft, Chorpus Christi TX, actor (Guiding Light)
- May 9 Ron Jackson, baseball player
- May 9 Scott McInnis, American politician who apologised for plagiarism (Rep-R-Colorado 1993-2005), born in Glenwood Springs
- May 10 Alex Foster, American jazz and session saxophonist (SNL Band; Mingus Big Band), born in Oakland, California
- May 10 John Diamond, English journalist, born in London, England (d. 2001)
- May 10 Lawrence Lau, actor (Jamie Frame-Another World)
- May 10 Steve Thomas, American drummer (Shooting Star - Summer Sun)
- May 10 Tito Santana, Mexican-American professional wrestler
- May 11 Boyd Gaines, American actor (Mark-One Day at a Time, Sure Thing), born in Atlanta, Georgia
- May 11 David Gest, American television producer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2016)
- May 12 Phil Beer, English multi-instrumentalist and composer (Show of Hands), born in Exminster, Devon
- May 14 Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia
- May 14 Tom Cochrane, Canadian rock vocalist and guitarist (Red Rider - "Lunatic Fringe"), born in Toronto, Ontario
George Brett (70 years old)
May 15 American Baseball Hall of Fame 3rd baseman (13 x MLB All Star; World Series 1985; AL MVP 1980; KC Royals), born in Glen Dale, West Virginia
- May 15 Mike Oldfield, British musician and composer (Tubular Bells), born in Reading, Berkshire
- May 16 David Maclean, British minister of state
Pierce Brosnan (70 years old)
May 16 Irish actor (Remington Steele, the 5th James Bond, 1995-2004), born in Drogheda, Ireland
- May 16 Richard Page, American singer and bassist (Mr Mister- "Broken Wings"; "Kyrie"), born in Keokuk, Iowa
- May 16 Rick Rhoden, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star (1976, 86; Silver Slugger Award 1984–86; LA Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, NY Yankees), born in Boynton Beach, Florida
- May 17 George Johnson, rocker (Brothers Johnson), born in Los Angeles, California
- May 17 Kathleen Sullivan, American newscaster (ABC-TV, CBS Morning Show), born in Pasadena, California
- May 17 Nicholas Bacon, premier baronet of England
- May 17 Yoko Shimada, Kumamota Japan, author (Kir Royal)/actress (Shogun)
- May 18 (Feliciano) "Butch" Tavares, American R&B singer (Tavares - "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel"), born in Providence, Rhode Island
- May 18 Helen Chadwick, English artist, born in Croydon, England (d. 1996)
- May 19 Dawud M. Mu'Min, American convicted murderer (d. 1997)
- May 19 Henry Lascelles, English grandson of princess Mary
- May 19 Roddy Lorimer, Scottish session and touring trumpeter and flugelhorn player (Waterboys; Blur; Pete Townshend; Spiritualized; Dr. John), born in Glasgow, Scotland
- May 19 Shavarsh Karapetyan, Soviet Armenian finswimmer
- May 19 Victoria Wood, British comedian and actress (Dinner Ladies), born in Bury, Lancashire (d. 2016)
- May 20 Robert Doyle, Australian politician
- May 22 Cha Bum-Kun, South Korean footballer and manager, born in Hwaseong, South Korea
- May 22 Doris Barnett, German politician, born in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, West Germany
- May 22 John Edward Stevens, American bank robber (FBI Most Wanted List), born in NYC, New York
- May 22 Paul Mariner, English soccer striker (35 caps; Plymouth Argyle, Ipswich Town, Arsenal, Portsmouth) and coach (Plymouth Argyle, Toronto FC), born in Farnworth, England (d. 2021)
- May 22 Stuart Elliott, British rock session drummer (Kate Bush; Alan Parsons Project; Al Stewart), born in London, England
- May 23 Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Prime Minister of Rwanda (1993-94) and one of the 1st female political figures in Africa, born in Nyaruhengeri, Rwanda (d. 1994)
- May 23 Rick Fenn, British rock guitarist (10cc - "I'm Not In Love"; "The Things We Do for Love"), born in Oxford, England
- May 24 Alfred Molina, British actor (Spider Man 2, Frida, Chocolat), born in London, England
- May 24 Mark Rivera, American saxophonist, musical director (Billy Joel; Ringo Starr), and corporate entertainment provider born in Brooklyn, New York
- May 24 Nell Campbell [Laura], Australian actress (Rocky Horror), born in Sydney, New South Wales
- May 25 D. A. Weibring Jr., American golfer (Senior Players Championship 2008), born in Quincy, Illinois
- May 25 Daniel Passarella, Argentine footballer, born in Chacabuco, Argentina
- May 25 Eve Ensler, American playwright (The Vagina Monologues), born in NYC, New York
- May 25 Gaetano Scirea, Italian soccer defender (78 caps, FIFA World Cup 1982; Juventus 377 games), born in Cernusco sul Naviglio, Italy (d. 1989)
- May 25 Jane Priest, Australian model who kissed Prince Charles on the beach, born in Perth, Australia
- May 25 Rich Alves, American country guitarist (Pirates of Mississippi - "Feed Jake"), born in Pleasanton, California
- May 25 Stan Sakai, Japanese-American cartoonist (Usagi Yojimbo), born in Kyoto, Japan
- May 26 Dan Roundfield, American basketball forward (3-time NBA All Star), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2012)
- May 26 Michael Portillo, British politician
- May 28 Arto Lindsay, American guitarist, composer (Lounge Lizards; Ambitious Lovers), and producer (Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Lucas Santtana), born in Richmond, Virginia
- May 29 Big Daddy Graham [Edward Gudonis], American comedian, writer, actor, recording artist, and radio personality, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2021)
Danny Elfman (70 years old)
May 29 American singer-songwriter (Oingo Boingo - "Weird Science"), and Emmy and Grammy Award-winning composer (The Simspons Theme; Good Will Hunting; Tim Burton films), born in Los Angeles, California
- May 29 Karla DeVito, American stage and screen actress and singer, born in Mokena, Illionis
- May 29 Ranjy Nanan, West Indian cricket spin bowler (WI 1 Test; Trinidad & Tobago), born in Preysal, Trinidad
- May 29 Rick Henderson, American singer (Mason Dixon - "Karen Comes Around"), born in Beaumont, Texas
- May 30 Colm Meaney, actor (Star Trek Deep Space 9)
- May 31 Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor
About May 1953
How Old? 70 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No