Duke Ellington was born as Edward Kennedy Ellington on April 29, 1899 in Washington, D.C. His parents were James Edward Ellington and Daisy Kennedy Ellington. Even from a young age, Ellington was interested in music. He started piano lessons at age 7 and was largely self-taught, learning by ear and through experimentation on the keyboard. … Read more
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on February 5th, 1985 in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. He was the youngest of four children born to Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and José Dinis Aveiro. His father worked as a municipal gardener and his mother was a cook. Ronaldo grew up in poverty sharing a small tin … Read more
Claude Monet was born on November 14, 1840 in Paris, France. From an early age, he demonstrated an interest and talent for drawing and painting. When Monet was five years old, his family moved to Le Havre on the Norman coast. He grew up by the sea and developed a lifelong appreciation for nature and … Read more
Celine Dion was born on March 30, 1968 in Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada. From a young age, she showed an interest and talent for singing. Musical Upbringing Celine was the youngest of 14 children in a musically inclined family. Her parents owned a piano bar, and Celine would perform there from age 5. Her brother Jacques … Read more
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in December 1770. His family origins were Flemish, with his grandfather becoming a singer at the court of the Elector of Cologne. Beethoven’s father Johann was also a singer employed by the Elector of Cologne. Johann had ambitions for his young son to become the next musical … Read more
Arthur Engoron (born May 14, 1949) grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Abraham Lincoln High School, graduating in 1967. Engoron went on to receive his B.A. in History from Columbia University in 1971. He then attended Brooklyn Law School, graduating with his Juris Doctor degree in 1974. Law Career After passing the bar … Read more
Alan Komissaroff was born in 1947 in New York City. From a young age, Komissaroff displayed an aptitude for math and science. He attended the renowned Stuyvesant High School, where he excelled in physics and chemistry. Komissaroff graduated as the valedictorian of his high school class in 1965. He went on to study at MIT, … Read more
Simone Biles was born on March 14, 1997 in Columbus, Ohio. Her birth mother struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, so Simone and her siblings were placed in foster care when she was just a toddler. At age 6, Simone and her younger sister Adria were adopted by their maternal grandfather Ron Biles and his … Read more
Shakira was born Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll on February 2, 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia to parents Nidia Ripoll and William Mebarak Chadid. Her father was born in New York to Lebanese parents and her mother was a native Colombian. Family and Ancestry Shakira comes from a family of Middle Eastern descent. On her father’s side, … Read more
Selena Gomez was born on July 22, 1992 in Grand Prairie, Texas. She was named after the popular Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez, who died in 1995. Her mother is Amanda Dawn “Mandy” Teefey and her father is Ricardo Joel Gomez. Her parents divorced when she was five years old, and she was raised primarily by … Read more