- Jan 1 Glenn Trimble, cricketer (son of Sam Two ODI's for Australia 1986)
- Jan 1 Lance Smith, NFL guard (NY Giants)
- Jan 1 Lina Kačiušytė, Lithuanian swimmer
- Jan 2 David Cone, baseball pitcher (NY Mets/Tor Blue Jays/NY Yankees), born in Kansas City, Missouri
- Jan 2 Edgar Martinez, American baseball 1st baseman (Seattle Mariners), born in NYC, New York
- Jan 3 Aamer Malik, cricketer (Pakistani batsman in 13 Tests 1987-90)
- Jan 3 Ashley Chinner, golfer (1992 CGIA Canadian Tour), born in Cape Town, South Africa
- Jan 3 Jim Everett, NFL quarterback (LA Raiders, New Orleans Saints, San Diego Chargers)
- Jan 3 Vic Grimes, American professional wrestler, born in NYC, New York
- Jan 3 Jerome Young, American professional wrestler
- Jan 3 Alex Wheatle MBE, black British novelist
- Jan 4 Dave Foley, actor and comedian (Kids In The Hall, Dave Nelson on NewsRadio)
- Jan 4 Linda Muri, rower (Olympics 1996), born in Killingly, Connecticut
- Jan 4 Till Lindemann, German singer (Rammstein)
- Jan 5 Jeff Fassero, pitcher (Montreal Expos), born in Springfield, Illinois
- Jan 5 Rick Ambrose, singer (Jewel)
- Jan 6 Norm Charlton, Fort Polk LA, pitcher (Seattle Mariners)
- Jan 6 Paul Brindley, English pop bassist (Sundays, Can't Be Sure)
- Jan 6 Philippe Perrin, Meknes Morocco, Lt Col FAF/astronaut
- Jan 7 Craig Shipley, Australian-American baseball infielder (San Diego Padres)
- Jan 7 Clint Mansell, English musician and composer
- Jan 8 Hiromi Kobayashi, Fukushima Japan, LPGA golfer (1993 JAL Big Apple)
- Jan 9 Michael Everson, expert in writing systems and Unicode
- Jan 10 Mark Pryor, American politician
- Jan 11 Jason Connery, actor (Robin Hood), born in London, England
- Jan 11 Kate Gompert, Ames lA, tennis star
- Jan 11 Petra Schneider, East German swimmer (Olympic gold 400m, 400m medley Moscow), born in Chemnitz, Germany
- Jan 11 Tracy Caulkins, Winona Minn, swimmer (Olympic-3 gold-1984)
- Jan 12 François Girard, French-Canadian film director and screenwriter
- Jan 13 Dirk Tazelaar, cricketer (Queensland & Surrey left-arm pace bowler)
- Jan 13 Felita Carr, dance skater (& Komarov-1995 Pac Champ), born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Jan 13 Timothy "Tim" Kelly, American guitarist (Slaughter), born in Trenton, New Jersey (d. 1998)
- Jan 13 Kevin McClatchy, American businessman
Steven Soderbergh
Jan 14 Steven Soderbergh, American producer, director, writer (Ocean's Eleven, Traffic), born in Atlanta, Georgia
Steven Soderbergh
- Jan 15 Erling Kagge, Norwegian explorer (South Pole)
- Jan 15 Lijuan Geng, Hebei China, Canadian tennis player (Olympics 1996)
- Jan 15 Richard Nasheim, hockey forward (Team Austria 1998)
- Jan 15 Yaro Dachniwsky, team handball goalie (Olympics 1996), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Jan 16 James May, English television presenter
- Jan 17 Kai Hansen, German singer and guitarist (Gamma Ray)
- Jan 18 Maxime Bernier, French Canadian politician
- Jan 18 Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland
- Jan 18 Yury Zakharevich, Soviet weightlifter
- Jan 19 Adele Peterson, LPGA golfer
- Jan 19 Caron Wheeler, English singer (Soul II Soul-Keep on Movin')
- Jan 19 Michael Adams, NBA guard (Charlotte Hornets)
- Jan 19 Martin Bashir, Pakistani-born reporter
- Jan 20 Scott Fisher, Australian basketball forward (Olympics 1996), born in San Jose, California
- Jan 20 James Denton, American actor
- Jan 21 Cindy Schreyer, Forest Park GA, LPGA golfer (1993 Sun-Times Challenge)
- Jan 21 Detlef Schrempf, German NBA forward (Mavericks, Pacers, Supersonics)
- Jan 21 Jessie Hester, NFL player (St Louis Rams)
Hakeem Olajuwon
Jan 21 Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-American NBA center (Houston Rockets, Olympic gold 1996), born in Lagos, Nigeria
Hakeem Olajuwon
- Jan 22 Jeff Treadway, American baseball infielder (LA Dodgers)
- Jan 22 Andrei Tchmil, Ukrainian-Belgian cyclist
- Jan 23 Gail O'Grady, actress (Hitman, Nobody's Perfect, NYPD Blue), born in Detroit, Michigan
- Jan 23 Rocco Romano, CFL guard (Calgary Stampeders)
- Jan 24 Martyn Grimley, English field hockey player
- Jan 24 Arnold Vanderlyde, Dutch boxer
- Jan 25 Carl Fysh, rocker (Brother Beyond-Can You Keep a Secret)
- Jan 25 Joe Lloyd, Highland Park Ill, Canadian Tour golfer (1993 Space Coast)
- Jan 26 Andrew Ridgeley, England, rock guitarist (Wham-Wake Me Up)
- Jan 26 Jazzie B, [Beresford Romeo], English rapper (Soul II Soul-Feel Free)
- Jan 26 Simon O'Donnell, cricketer (Deniliquin NSW ODI all-rounder 1985-90)
- Jan 26 José Mourinho, Portuguese football manager (Chelsea), born in Setúbal, Lisbon
- Jan 28 Colleen Harp, WPVA volleyballer (US Open-9th-1994), born in Washington, D.C.
- Jan 28 Danny Spitz, heavy metal guitarist (Anthrax-Protest & Survive)
- Jan 28 Denise Biellmann, Swiss figure skater (Olympic 4th 1980), born in Zurich, Switzerland
- Jan 29 Michelle Bell, Melrose MA, LPGA golfer (1981 Mass School Girls Champ)
- Jan 29 Bob Holly, American professional wrestler
- Jan 31 John Dye, Amory Mass, actor (Andrew-Touched by an Angel)