- Jan 1 Nina Bott, German actress
- Jan 1 Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda, Indian spiritualist
- Jan 1 Philip Mulryne, Northern Irish soccer midfielder (27 caps; Norwich City) and Dominican friar and priest, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Jan 1 Tarik O'Regan, British contemporary classical composer (Threshold of Night; Heart of Darkness), born in London, England
- Jan 2 Devin Doherty, actor (Jimmy Clayton-Swan's Crossing)
- Jan 2 Karina Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American ballroom dancer and TV personality (Dancing with the Stars), born in Kharkiv, Ukraine
- Jan 2 Toyoguchi Megumi, Japanese seiyuu (voice actress)
- Jan 3 Dominic Wood, English children's television presenter and magician
- Jan 3 Kimberley Locke, American pop-dance singer-songwriter and television personality, born in Hartsville, Tennessee
- Jan 3 Park Sol-mi, South Korean actress
- Jan 4 Dominik Hrbatý, Slovakian tennis player, born in Bratislava, Slovakia
- Jan 4 Mai Meneses, Spanish pop singer-songwriter (Nena Daconte), born in Madrid, Spain
- Jan 4 Patrick Farrell, American jazz and klezmer accordionist, born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Jan 5 Franck Montagny, French Formula One driver, born in Feurs, France
January Jones (45 years old)
Jan 5 American actress (Betty Draper-Mad Men; X-Men: First Class) and model, born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Jan 5 Sabrina Harman, American military figure and accused torturer, born in Lorton, Virginia
- Jan 6 Casey Fossum, American baseball player, born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey
- Jan 6 Nikki Einfeld, Canadian coloratura soprano, born in Manitoba
- Jan 6 Steve Hartsell, American pairs skater (with partner Danielle Hartsell), born in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Jan 6 Tara Spencer-Nairn, Canadian actress, born in Montreal, Canada
- Jan 7 Dan Forrest, American classical pianist, composer (Requiem for the Living; Good Night, Dear Heart), and educator, born in Breesport, New York
- Jan 7 Israel Keyes, American serial killer, born in Richmond, Utah (d. 2012)
- Jan 7 Kevin Mench, American baseball player, born in Wilmington, Delaware
- Jan 8 Boris Avrukh, Israeli chess grandmaster, born in Karaganda, Kazakhstan
- Jan 9 A.J. McLean, American pop singer (Backstreet Boys), born in West Palm Beach, Florida
- Jan 9 Chad Johnson, American football player, born in Miami, Florida
- Jan 9 Gennaro Gattuso, Italian footballer, born in Corigliano Calabro, Italy
- Jan 9 Maggie Rizer, American model & AIDS activist, born in Staten Island, New York
- Jan 9 Mathieu Garon, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Chandler, Canada
- Jan 10 Brent Smith, American rock singer (Shinedown), born in Knoxville, Tennessee
- Jan 10 Matt Roberts, American rock guitarist (3 Doors Down - "When I'm Gone"), born in Escatawpa, Mississippi (d. 2016)
- Jan 11 Emile Heskey, English footballer, born in Leicester, United Kingdom
- Jan 11 Holly Brisley, Australian actress, born in Adelaide, Australia
- Jan 11 Michael Duff, Northern Irish footballer, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Jan 12 Bonaventure Kalou, Ivorian footballer, born in Oumé, Côte d’Ivoire
- Jan 12 Jeremy Camp, American musician, born in Lafayette, Indiana
- Jan 12 Kim Sa Rang, Korean actress, born in Daegu, South Korea
- Jan 12 Kris Roe, American musician (The Ataris), born in Anderson, Indiana
- Jan 12 Luis Ayala, Mexican baseball pitcher, born in Los Mochis, Mexico
- Jan 14 Just Blaze [Justin Smith], American hip hop producer, born in Paterson, New Jersey
- Jan 14 Shawn Crawford, American sprinter, born in Van Wyck, South Carolina
- Jan 15 Eddie Cahill, American actor, born in NYC, New York
- Jan 15 Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist, born in Latisana, Italy
- Jan 16 Alfredo Amézaga, Mexican baseball player, born in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico
- Jan 17 Charles Richard "Ricky" Wilson, British singer-songwriter (Kaiser Chiefs - "Ruby"), born in Keighley, West Yorkshire, England
- Jan 18 Brian Falkenborg, American baseball player, born in Newport Beach, California
- Jan 18 Thor Hushovd, Norwegian former professional road bicycle racer widely considered the greatest Norwegian cyclist of all time, born in Grimstad, Norway
- Jan 20 Allan Søgaard, Danish football player, born in Brædstrup, Denmark
- Jan 20 Joy Giovanni, American actress & glamour model, born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Jan 20 Omar Sy, French actor (Lupin), born in Trappes, France
- Jan 20 Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete, born in Finsterwalde, Germany
- Jan 21 Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player
- Jan 21 Faris al-Sultan, German-Iraqi triathlete
- Jan 21 Phil Stacey, American Idol finalist
- Jan 21 Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin, American rapper, songwriter, and record producer (Dru Hill), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- Jan 22 Chone Figgins, American baseball player, born in Leary, Georgia
- Jan 25 Charlene Princess of Monaco [Charlene Wittstock], Zimbabwean South African born wife of Prince Albert II, and Olympic swimmer, born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia
- Jan 25 Denis Menchov, Russian cyclist, born in Oryol, Russia
- Jan 25 Jason Roberts, English-born footballer, born in London, United Kingdom
Volodymyr Zelensky (45 years old)
Jan 25 Ukrainian actor (Servant of the People), comedian, and President of Ukraine (2019-), born in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Soviet Union
- Jan 26 Corina Morariu, American tennis player (Wimbledon doubles 1999; Australian Open mixed doubles 2001), born in Detroit, Michigan
- Jan 26 Kelly Stables, American actress, born in St Louis, Missouri
- Jan 28 Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
- Jan 28 Jamie Carragher, English footballer
- Jan 28 Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese soccer midfielder (63 caps; Lens, Fulham, Portsmouth, West Ham Utd), born in Dakar, Senegal (d. 2020)
- Jan 29 Martin Schmitt, German ski jumper (Olympic gold team 2002, silver 1998, 2010; World C'ship gold x 4), born in Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany
- Jan 29 Rob Bironas, American football placekicker (First-team All-Pro, Pro Bowl, PFW Golden Toe Award 2007; Tennessee Titans), born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 2014)
- Jan 30 John Patterson, American baseball player, born in Orange, Texas
- Jan 31 Brad Rutter, American "Jeopardy!" champion, born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
- Jan 31 Fabián Caballero, Argentine footballer, born in Misiones Province, Argentina
- Jan 31 Ray Shah, Irish Big Brother contestant, born in Dublin, Ireland
About January 1978
How Old? 45 years old
Generation: Generation X
Leap Year: No