- 1720 Samuel Foote, British actor, dramatist and theatre manager (Mirror), born in Truro, Cornwall (d. 1777)
- 1858 Neel [Cornelia H] Doff, Dutch/French/Belgian painter's model/writer
- 1895 Harry Ruby [Harry Rubenstein], American composer and screen writer, born NYC, New York
- 1901 Willy Fritsch, German actor (Spies, Women in the Moon), born in Katowice, Upper Silesia, Germany (d. 1973)
- 1905 Howard McNear, American actor (The Andy Griffith Show, Anatomy of a Murder, Irma La Douce), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1969)
- 1911 Benay Venuta [Benvenuta Rose Crooke], American actress, singer and dancer (Annie Get Your Gun, Call Me Mister), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1995)
- 1920 John Box, British film production designer and art director (d. 2005)
- 1924 Brian Rix [Lord Rix], British actor and activist (Mencap), born in Cottingham, Yorkshire (d. 2016)
- 1924 Sabu [Dastagir], Indian actor (The Thief of Bagdad, Elephant Boy, Drum), born in Mysore, British India (d. 1963)
- 1926 Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (Cries & Whispers, Damned), born in Sollefteå, Sweden (d. 2004)
- 1927 Doretta Morrow, American actress (Because You're Mine), born in NYC, New York (d. 1968)
- 1927 Michael Craig [Gregson], American actor (Escape 2000, Vault of Horror), born in Poona, British India
- 1927 Nancy Dickerson, pioneering American radio and TV journalist (NBC, CBS), born in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin (d. 1997)
- 1931 John Hopkins, English TV, film and stage writer (Z-Cars), born in London (d. 1998)
- 1936 Troy Donahue, American actor (Surfside Six, Cockfighter, Hawaiian Eye), born in NYC, New York
- 1940 James Cromwell, American actor (Babe, The Green Mile), born in Los Angeles, California
- 1942 John Witherspoon, American actor
- 1950 Derek Acorah, English spirit medium and TV personality (Most Haunted), born in Bootle, England
- 1951 Scott Lane, American actor (Gary-McKeever & the Colonel), born in NYC, New York
- 1956 Mimi Rogers, actress (Paper Dolls, The Rousters), born in Coral Gables, Florida
- 1957 Frank Miller, American comicbook writer (Batman-The Dark Knight Returns)
- 1959 Patti Cohoon, actress (Molly-Here Come the Brides), born in Whittier, California
- 1961 Charlotte Kemp, playmate (Dec, 1982), born in Omaha, Nebraska
- 1961 Karen Velez, playmate (December, 1984), born in Rockville Center, New York
- 1961 Dina Bonnevie, Filipino actress
- 1964 Bridget Fonda, American actress (Scandal, Single White Female), born in Los Angeles, California
- 1965 Alan Cumming, Scottish actor
- 1966 Tamlyn Tomita, Okinawa, actress (Karate Kid 2, Ming Li-Santa Barbara)
- 1967 Carrington Garland, actress (Kelly Capwell-Santa Barbara), born in Los Angeles, California
- 1967 Bobby Deol, Indian actor
- 1967 Byron Mann, Hong Kong actor
- 1969 Patton Oswalt, American actor and writer
- 1970 Jon Douglas Rainey, American TV personality
- 1972 Guillermo, Mexican-born American TV personality
- 1973 Margot Bourgeois, Miss Universe-3rd place (Trinidad & Tobago, 1997)
- 1976 Clint Ford, American voice actor
- 1976 Ruby Lin, Taiwanese actress and singer
- 1979 Rosamund Pike, British actress (Gone Girl), born in London, England
- 1984 Davetta Sherwood, American actress
- 1987 Lily Donaldson, British model
January in History
'I Did Not Have Sexual Relations With That Woman'
One of the most notorious denials in political history came on this day when President Bill Clinton held a news conference on his relations with Monica Lewinsky.
January 26, 1998
Crippled Kaiser Had Grip of Iron
German Emperor 'Kaiser Bill,' was born on this day, strong-willed and determined to overcome the deformity that afflicted him from birth.
January 27, 1859
Riot Leader Accuses a Queen
How did Lord George Gordon, an aristocrat who led the Gordon Riots in London, lose a libel case on this day to French Queen Marie Antoinette?
January 28, 1788
Secret Behind Mona Lisa's Smile
The smile has beguiled art lovers for nearly 600 years and made the Mona Lisa the world's most famous work of art. But was her smile due to a medical condition?
January 29, 1987