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30 Famous People from the 60s

Originally published by Ronny in February 2023 and Updated by Diana K in February 2024

Sixty years ago, one of the most exciting and turbulent decades in history was just getting started. Everything was in flux. Music, politics, culture, and art were all undergoing significant changes.

For those who lived through it, it may seem like yesterday. For those who did not, it may appear to be ancient history.

However, the 1960s, like today, were filled with famous actors, artists, bands, directors, and sports figures who captured our attention and left their mark on our culture. Let’s take a look at some of the people who made their names back then.

1. Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King. By Nobel Foundation

Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential civil rights activists in America. His fervent but nonviolent protests helped to raise awareness of America’s racial inequalities, resulting in significant political change.

Martin Luther King was also a gifted orator who captured the imagination and hearts of people of all races. During his time at university, Martin Luther King became aware of the vast inequality and injustice that black Americans faced; he was particularly influenced by Gandhi’s nonviolent protest philosophy.

Gandhi’s philosophy was consistent with the teachings of his Baptist faith. King married Coretta Scott, a beautiful and talented young woman when he was 24 years old. Following his marriage, King became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

read Famous People from the 50s

2. Lyndon Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson served as the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969, during one of the most turbulent and influential periods in American history.

Lyndon Johnson contributed to the implementation of the ‘Great Society’ reforms, which included expanding welfare benefits and enacting civil rights legislation. He also presided over the United States increasing involvement in the Vietnam War, which became increasingly divisive.

However, the new legislation did not always make a difference on the ground, and there were growing civil rights protests against continued racial discrimination. Martin Luther King led nonviolent protests, but others, such as Malcolm X, increasingly desired more radical action.

Lyndon Johnson stunned Americans by declining to run for re-election in 1968. In 1973, he died of a heart attack.

3. Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi. By Anefo.

She grew up in an intensely political environment because she was born into the politically powerful Nehru dynasty. Despite having the same surname as the statesman Mohandas Gandhi, she was not related to him.

She grew up in an environment where she was constantly exposed to political figures of the day, and she was especially influenced by her father. Indira Gandhi, n茅e Nehru, was the Prime Minister of the Republic of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977, and a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination in 1984, a total of fifteen years.

She was the first female Prime Minister of India. In a poll conducted by BBC News in 1999, she has voted the greatest woman of the past thousand years, beating out other contenders such as Queen Elizabeth I of England, Marie Curie, and Mother Teresa.

4. Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro was a Cuban revolutionary and the country’s president. Castro led Cuba through a Communist revolution that transformed the country’s economic and political fortunes.

Castro restructured the economy according to Marxist-Leninist principles. He is lauded by many for promoting education, social values, egalitarianism, and standing up to ‘US imperialism’. Many criticize him for suppressing dissent, a lack of democracy, and a deteriorating economy, which has driven many Cubans to flee the country.

Castro had not been involved in government since his retirement and ill health, but he remained one of Cuba’s dominant personalities. In 2015, Barack Obama declared that the United States would begin normalizing relations with Cuba, raising the prospect that decades of sanctions would be lifted.

The death of Fidel Castro was announced on November 25th, 2016. There was no mention of the cause of death.

read Famous People from the 90s

5. Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt was a left-wing politician from Germany who fled Nazi persecution in 1933. Following WWII, he rose to become an influential Mayor of West Berlin during a critical period of the Cold War.

After becoming Chancellor of West Germany in 1969, he pursued an Ostpolitik policy of seeking rapprochement with the East and forging closer ties between Germany and the rest of Europe.

In 1971, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and he lived to see Germany reunited in 1990. In 1989, Brandt was a leading proponent of immediate and total reunification, rather than a two-step process.

The statement was widely quoted in 1989. Brandt died of colon cancer on October 8, 1992, in Unkel, shortly after German reunification.

6. Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali. By John Mathew Smith

Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr., was his father’s name (who was named after the 19th-century abolitionist and politician Cassius Clay). After joining the Nation of Islam, Ali changed his name.

He later converted to Sunni Islam in 1975. Muhammad Ali (January 17, 1942 鈥� June 3, 2016) was an Olympic and World Champion boxer with a distinct personality based on self-belief and strong religious and political convictions.

Sports Illustrated named Ali “Sportsman of the Century” in 1999. He won three World Heavyweight Boxing titles, the North American Boxing Federation championship, and an Olympic gold medal.

7. Cesar Chavez

Cesar Chavez was a Latino-American labor leader and civil rights activist. He co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) with Dolores Huerta in order to turn farmworkers, particularly Latinos, into a major national organization.

Chavez was a formidable labor leader who helped to organize low-paid agricultural workers, leading major strikes to force farm owners to improve workers’ pay and working conditions.

During the 1968 Delano grape strike, he also led a national consumer boycott of grapes until farmworkers were paid more. Although the UFW never achieved widespread unionization on a national scale, his activism was instrumental in improving farmworker conditions.

His political activism was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s and Martin Luther King’s nonviolent movements. He also embarked on spiritual fasting to raise awareness and promote his cause.

8. Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong. By NASA.

He was an American astronaut who made history by being the first person to land and walk on the moon. Neil earned a B.A. in aeronautical engineering in 1955. He applied to be a test pilot for NACA – the High-Speed Flight Station – at Edwards Air Force Base after graduation.

This included the evaluation of new high-speed aircraft for the US military. He was chosen for the US Air Force’s Man in Space Soonest program in 1958.

In 1962, he was chosen for the Apollo program, which aimed to send a man into space and land on the moon. In his address to Congress on May 25, 1961, J.F. Kennedy stated that landing on the moon was America’s top priority.  Armstrong died on 25 August 2012, aged 82 from coronary complications.

read Fascinating Facts about Neil Armstrong

9. Jacqueline Kennedy 

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy was the wife of John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States; she served as First Lady from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.

Her contributions to art and the refurbishment of the White House are remembered. During her husband’s brief presidency, she was a valuable asset in gaining the respect of the press and public opinion.

 She met the Clintons in 1991 and assisted Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign; she also advised Hilary Clinton on how to raise a child in the White House.

Jacqueline passed away from cancer in May 1994. She left a $200 estate to her two children, Caroline and John. She is still regarded as one of the most popular first ladies.

10. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is a well-known meditation teacher. His transcendental meditation movement has been practiced by an estimated 5 million people worldwide since he began teaching meditation in 1955.

After earning a master’s degree in physics from Allahabad University in 1940, he became increasingly interested in spiritual matters. He became a disciple of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati after joining the Jyotirmath.

After studying meditation for 12 years under the direction of Shankaracharya, he traveled to Uttarkashi in the Himalayas in 1953. He entered a meditation retreat here, allowing him to deepen his meditation experience.

In 1955, he made the decision to teach meditation to the rest of the world, and he began teaching traditional meditation techniques.

11. Charles de Gaulle 

Charles de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French during WWII. He was one of the most powerful French politicians of the twentieth century, helping to establish the Fifth Republic in 1958 and serving as its first President from 1959 to 1969.

He was a staunch French nationalist and right-wing conservative. Gaullism is the name given to his brand of right-wing conservatism.

The final years of his presidency were fraught with turmoil. Massive student protests and riots destabilized the country, and he resigned in April 1969. He died soon after, on November 9, 1969.

12. Chairman Mao Zedong 

Chairman Mao was Communist China’s charismatic and brutal leader. After leading the Communist Party to power in 1949, Chairman Mao set about establishing his unrivaled authority and power, causing chaos in China.

Millions were harmed as a result of his schemes and the cultural revolution of the 1950s and 1960s. Mao began his life as a humble farm worker in the village of Shaoshan in Hunan Province in 1893.

However, he defied his father and went to Changsha to further his education. After dabbling in various occupations, he joined the fledgling Communist Party in 1921 and rose through its ranks to become its leader by the 1940s.

Mao was ruthless in his quest for power, willing to poison and kill opponents, no matter who they were. He died of cancer on September 9, 1976.

13. Margaret Sanger 

Picture By Los Angeles Times

Margaret Sanger was born in Corning, New York in 1879. Her parents were of Irish-American descent. Margaret Sanger was a birth control advocate, author, and nurse.

Her efforts to popularize birth control resulted in the legalization of contraception and a paradigm shift in family planning. She helped George Pincus develop the contraceptive pill and founded the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

She is widely regarded as the originator of the modern birth control movement. Her work as a nurse also demonstrated the negative impact of unplanned pregnancies on young girls.

She was especially concerned about the risks of illegal abortions, which were common at the time. As a nurse, she was frequently confronted with the consequences of young girls who sought out back-alley, illegal abortions.

read Famous People from the 70s

14. Malcolm X

Malcolm X  was a powerful African-American leader in the 1960s. He was a member of the Nation of Islam at first, which advocated for the separation of black and white Americans.

Later, he became a Sunni Muslim and founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Malcolm X was an outspoken supporter of Pan-Africanism and black self-determination.

In contrast to the mainstream civil rights movement, Malcolm X rejected the philosophy of nonviolence and advocated for the legal use of self-defense. He was assassinated in New York on February 21, 1965, by members of the Nation of Islam.

Malcolm X undoubtedly had a significant influence on American society and racial attitudes. He was instrumental in forging the black power and radicalism movements that diverged from Martin Luther King’s nonviolent approach.

15. Rachel Carson

Picture By Fish and Wildlife Service

Rachel Carson was a marine scientist and environmentalist who wrote extensively about the effects of human behavior on the environment.

Her seminal work “Silent Spring” (1962) had a significant impact on raising environmental concerns and questioning the direction of human scientific progress.

Her book is widely regarded as a seminal work in the modern environmental movement. Carson was invited to give numerous speeches, including one to a US Senate subcommittee.

Unfortunately, her health was failing at the height of her public profile, as her breast cancer returned. She became ill with a respiratory virus in early 1964, having been weakened by chemotherapy. By February, she had anemia and her cancer had spread to her liver. She died as a result of a heart attack.

16. Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is a key member of the Beatles. After the Beatles split up in 1970, he pursued his own successful solo career, recording with a variety of artists, including his group ‘The Wings’.

He is the best-selling artist of all time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Paul McCartney has over 60 gold records to his credit and has sold over 100 million singles. ‘Yesterday,’ from his 1965 album Help!, is the most covered song in history.

Paul McCartney became interested in vegetarianism and human rights after marrying Linda McCartney in 1969. He has donated to numerous animal welfare organizations.

17. Joan Baez

Joan Baez is a well-known singer, songwriter, and social activist from the United States. She began her recording career in 1960 and had a meteoric rise to prominence becoming labeled the “Queen of Folk”.

Joan was an iconic figure in the 1960s anti-war protests, and she performed live at the 1969 Woodstock festival.

She has had a long and successful musical career, performing in both English and Spanish for nearly six decades.

Her primary musical style is folk, but she also performs pop, country, gospel, Latin, and Americana.

18. Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso. By Argentina. Revista

Picasso Pablo was a Spanish painter, sculptor, ceramicist, and poet. He was a Cubist pioneer and one of the twentieth century’s most influential artists. Picasso was a powerful peace activist whose art depicted the horrors of war.

Picasso’s simple bird drawing as a symbol of peace was another important painting. Picasso gave it to the Soviet-sponsored World Peace Congress in 1949.

It signaled the beginning of a new era in Picasso’s art – the power of simplicity. Until his death, Picasso was a member of the French Communist Party.

Picasso was a prolific artist with an abundance of artistic inspiration. His total artistic output was close to 50,000. There were 1,885 paintings, 1,228 sculptures, 2,880 ceramics, and approximately 12,000. He passed away at the age of 91.

19. Richard Henry

On September 8, 1925, Richard Henry “Peter” Sellers was born. His parents, who were both vaudeville performers, raised him. He used to travel a lot with his family when he was a kid.

Peter became fascinated by observing the behavior of others he used to meet. This helped him hone his observational humor and mimicry skills. His family was musical, and Peter was encouraged to learn various instruments such as the banjo, ukulele, and drums.

Peter quickly mastered these instruments, demonstrating his diverse artistic and musical abilities. He once considered becoming a jazz drummer. Peter Sellers is remembered fondly for his distinct characterizations and comedic performances that have withstood the test of time.

20. Brigitte Bardot

Brigitte Bardot. By MGM – Ebay

Brigitte Bardot is a French actress, singer, and model. During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, she was an iconic fashion icon, influencing fashion trends such as the popularity of the bikini.

She has been an animal rights activist since she retired from the entertainment industry in the 1970s. Brigitte has also sparked debate in France by criticizing immigration and Islam.

She used her celebrity after she retired from acting to promote animal rights. She established the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals in 1986, and she also became a vegetarian. Brigitte has frequently expressed her opposition to activities that involve the killing of animals.

21.  John F. Kennedy

, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The 35th President of the United States, served from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. As president, Kennedy confronted mounting Cold War tensions in Cuba, Vietnam, and elsewhere. His leadership during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 is credited with averting nuclear war. On the domestic front, Kennedy advanced major social reforms including civil rights, education, health care, and space exploration.

He called on Americans to be more active citizens through his New Frontier domestic program and the Peace Corps overseas aid program. Kennedy’s assassination sent shock waves around the world and ended the optimism and idealism that his presidency represented. He continues to rank highly in historians鈥� evaluations of U.S. presidents.

22.  Gamal Abdel Nasser  

, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

He was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death in 1970. He was a central figure in the Arab world during the 1950s and 1960s, known for his powerful oratory and promotion of pan-Arab unity. Nasser led the 1952 overthrow of the Egyptian monarchy and British occupation. As president he implemented socialist and modernizing reforms in Egypt, including land redistribution, industrialization, and social justice measures. He nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956, leading to the Suez Crisis with Britain, France and Israel.

Though Egypt was defeated, the crisis made Nasser a hero across the Arab world. He united Egypt with Syria from 1958-1961 under the United Arab Republic. Nasser promoted Arab world solidarity against Western imperialism and Zionism. His radio broadcasts electrified Arab masses with messages of liberation and unity. Nasser remains an iconic figure in Egypt and the Arab world.

23.  Nikita Khrushchev

Krushchev led the Soviet Union during the tense Cold War years from 1958 to 1964. As First Secretary of the Communist Party, he denounced Stalin’s cult of personality and repressive policies, initiating a “thaw” that saw freer debate and cultural openness. In foreign affairs Khrushchev engaged in brinksmanship with the West, including building the Berlin Wall in 1961. He deployed missiles to Cuba in 1962, leading to a tense nuclear standoff with the U.S. His decision to remove the missiles averted catastrophe.

While chaotic and unpredictable, Khrushchev’s leadership tempered totalitarianism at home while seeking peaceful coexistence abroad. His ouster in 1964 marked the end of his reformist vision for the Soviet system. While flawed, Khrushchev confronted the ghosts of Stalin and tried moving the USSR in more moderate directions during difficult times.

24. Ernesto “Che” Guevara

, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Che Guevara was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla leader. As a young medical student, he embarked on a motorcycle journey across South America that opened his eyes to poverty and oppression, inspiring his radical political views. Guevara was instrumental in Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution, helping to overthrow Fulgencio Batista’s regime in 1959. As a top commander of the revolutionaries’ guerrilla campaign, his tactical genius, bravery, and charisma became legendary.

After the victory, Guevara served in Cuba’s new government but later focused on fomenting global revolution, including failed efforts in Congo and Bolivia, where he was executed. His iconic image sporting long hair, beard, beret with star, and defiant gaze has been reproduced on countless murals, posters, shirts and other media over the decades. While a controversial figure connected with armed leftist struggle, Guevara’s popular legacy as a symbol of rebellion, idealism, and countercultural defiance lives on.

25.  Twiggy

, , via Wikimedia Commons

Dame Lesley Lawson DBE better known as Twiggy is an English model, actress and singer who rocketed to fame as a teenager in the late 1960s. Her rail-thin build, dramatic eye makeup and short gamine haircut launched a mod, androgynous look that came to define the style and attitudes of the ‘swinging sixties’. Just 16 years old when discovered, Twiggy captured the spirit of youth culture and newfound freedom for women. She earned her nickname from her slender physique.

Her huge eyes, long eyelashes and exaggerated eyeliner became Twiggy’s trademark, influencing cosmetic and fashion trends worldwide. She was named “The Face of 1966” by the Daily Express and went on to model the latest Carnaby Street fashions. While momentarily the world鈥檚 top supermodel, Twiggy stood at the epicenter of cultural change as the icon of the original generation of waifish models. 

26.  Andy Warhol

He was the leading American artist in the pop art movement of the 1960s. Known for challenging established views of art, his works depicted iconic American consumer goods and celebrities using bright colors and commercial silkscreening techniques that blurred the line between fine art and mass production. Warhol’s famous paintings feature repeated images like Campbell’s Soup cans and Marilyn Monroe portraits, reflecting mass media’s repetitive messages. Warhol also made experimental films like Chelsea Girls (1966).

Moreover, Warhol promoted avant-garde performers, artists and Velvet Underground musicians through his Exploding Plastic Inevitable shows. Warhol’s New York “Factory” studio and entourage were leaders at the epicenter of 1960鈥檚 counterculture. Blond-wigged Warhol himself grew into a cultural icon, associated with breaking down hierarchies between commercialism, celebrity and traditional art.

27.  Audrey Hepburn

, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

She was a graceful and elegant Hollywood actress known for her poise, versatility and sense of style. Starring in a range of dramas, comedies and musicals, Hepburn shined in classic films like Roman Holiday (1953), Sabrina (1954), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) and My Fair Lady (1964). She often played charming leading ladies 鈥� whether a princess, Cockney flower girl or New York socialite. Hepburn鈥檚 swanlike neck, soft voice and slim silhouette made her beauty iconic.

Off-screen she devoted time to humanitarian work with UNICEF. While she took breaks from acting to focus on motherhood, Hepburn鈥檚 later career stays showed her talents endured. Revered as both a beloved movie star and humanitarian, Audrey Hepburn鈥檚 legacy as a 20th century style icon remains one of old-world glamour that continues to inspire beauty and fashion looks today. 

28.  Bob Dylan

, , via Wikimedia Commons

Rose to fame as a leading singer-songwriter of the 1960s folk music scene. The voice of a generation of disaffected youth, his powerful protest songs on albums like The Freewheelin鈥� Bob Dylan and Highway 61 Revisited resonated with the anti-establishment sentiments of the era. Early songs like Blowin鈥� in the Wind and The Times They Are a-Changin became anthems of the civil rights and anti-war movements by giving poetic voice to social injustice.

Dylan’s mastery of lyrics fused folk, rock, pop and blues traditions into iconic tracks spanning decades. Never one to stand still musically, Dylan explored new frontiers like electric instruments and country music despite criticism from his folk base. The iconic troubadour has won most top music honors from Grammys to the Nobel Prize in Literature while remaining a cultural force interpreting America鈥檚 story over 50+ years and counting.

29.  James Brown

He earned the title 鈥淕odfather of Soul鈥� as the legendary singer, songwriter and bandleader behind hits that shifted rhythm and blues into funk innovations starting in the 1960s. Known as 鈥渢he hardest working man in show business,鈥�James Brown kept up a grueling touring schedule for decades while influencing generations of musicians with songs like Papa鈥檚 Got a Brand New Bag, I Got You (I Feel Good) and It鈥檚 a Man鈥檚 Man鈥檚 Man鈥檚 World. His dynamic stage act mixed brilliantly timed spins, flowing capes, dramatic drops to his knees and electrifying vocal improvs into dazzling performances.

30.  Aretha Franklin

, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Reigned supreme as the 鈥淨ueen of Soul鈥� recording era-defining popular music songs imbued with the depth and power of her gospel roots. Though she recorded in styles from jazz to R&B over decades, Franklin鈥檚 voice 鈥� alternately stormed with righteous fire or wrapped listeners in warm velvet 鈥� routinely received praise as one of the greatest of all time. Aretha Franklin hit her pop stride in the late 1960s releasing smash hits like Respect, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman and Think while uniquely amplifying messages of black pride, women鈥檚 empowerment and social justice.

Preacher鈥檚 daughter Franklin won countless Grammys plus the Kennedy Center Honors. Even through later health issues, Franklin stirred souls until the very end with her singular voice channeling hard won truths about life and liberty into beloved anthems woven through the American songbook.

The 1960s was a remarkable decade that brought about cultural and political changes still felt today. The famous figures detailed in this article were at the forefront driving these changes, whether through civil rights activism, technological innovations, artistic movements, or shaping new musical genres. Though coming from diverse backgrounds, they shared a spirit of revolution and creativity that defined the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Their actions and ideas inspired future generations and left indelible marks across politics, science, arts and  music  in the latter half of the 20th century.