Generation J [Born between 1955-1965]

Born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Barack Obama is the 44th and current president of the United States. He was a civil-rights lawyer and teacher before pursuing a political career. He was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996, serving from 1997 to 2004. He was elected to the U.S.

Entrepreneur Bill Gates, born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington, began to show an interest in computer programming at the age of 13. Through technological innovation, keen business strategy, and aggressive competitive tactics, he and his partner Paul Allen built the world's largest software business, Microsoft.

Actor and producer Brad Pitt was born on December 18, 1963, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Pitt's first jobs came in television in the late 1980s. Pitt made his big screen debut in 1989's horror film Cutting Class. Pitt's next few films failed to boost his acting credibility.

Eddie Murphy was born in Brooklyn on April 3, 1961. He began doing stand-up comedy as a teenager and later joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live. At age 21, Murphy co-starred with Nick Nolte in 48 Hours and went on to further box-office success with Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop.

Born on January 26, 1958, in Metairie, Louisiana, Ellen DeGeneres became big as a stand-up comedian before starring on her own sitcom, Ellen. In 1997, she came out as gay and has become a staunch advocate of LGBT rights.

George Clooney was born May 6, 1961, son of Nick, a local TV host/newsman, and nephew of Rosemary, a popular mid-century singer. He scored his breakout role in 1992 as Dr. Doug Ross on TV's ER. The hit show lead to major film roles, including a turn as Batman.

Entrepreneur and e-commerce pioneer Jeff Bezos was born on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bezos had an early love of computers and studied computer science and electrical engineering at Princeton University. After graduation, he worked on Wall Street, and in 1990 became the youngest senior vice president at the investment firm D.E.

Born in Yate, England, on July 31, 1965, J.K. Rowling came from humble economic means before writing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, a children's fantasy novel. The work was an international hit and Rowling wrote six more books in the series, which sold into the hundreds of millions and was adapted into a blockbuster film franchise.

Katie Couric was born on January 7, 1957, in Arlington, Virginia. Her first job was as a desk assistant at ABC. She went on to report for NBC, eventually becoming coanchor of Today. Her popularity continued to increase, and she became a contributing anchor for Dateline.

Laurence Fishburne was born on July 30, 1961, in Augusta, Georgia. It wasn't until the 1990s that he became a recognized actor. His string of successes included Boyz N The Hood, What's Love Got to Do With It? (for which he received an Academy Award nomination) and The Matrix and its sequels.

Pop music singer Madonna was born in Bay City, Michigan, on August 16, 1958. In 1981 she went solo as a pop singer and became a sensation on the then male-dominated 80s music scene. By 1991, she had achieved 21 Top 10 hits in the United States and sold more than 70 million albums internationally.

Born on February 23, 1965, in Houston, Texas, Michael Dell showed an early interest in technology and gadgets. At the age of 15, he purchased an early Apple computer in order to take it apart to see how it worked. In college, he started building computers and selling them directly to people, focusing on strong customer support and cheaper prices.

Dubbed the "King of Pop," singer-songwriter Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, on August 29, 1958. As a child, he performed as the lead singer of the Jackson family's popular Motown group, the Jackson 5. Jackson went on to become one of the most internationally famous award-winning solo pop sensations to date.

Michael J. Fox was born June 9, 1961, in Canada. He first became known for his role as Alex P. Keaton on the popular sitcom Family Ties, and went on to star in such films as Back to the Future and Teen Wolf as well as the TV series .

Michelle Obama was born on January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. She attended Princeton University, graduating cum laude in 1985, and went on to earn a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. Following law school, she worked at a Chicago law firm, where she met her husband, President Barack Obama.

Born Diana Spencer on July 1st, 1961, Princess Diana became Lady Diana Spencer after her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975. She married heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, on July 29, 1981. They had two sons and later divorced in 1996.

Stephen Harper is a Conservative Party Canadian politician who became Prime Minister after his party won a minority government in the 2006 federal election. In high school, Harper joined the Young Liberals Club. He went on to found the Reform Party. As Prime Minister, he has pushed for the recognition of Quebec as a nation and sought to secure control over Arctic waters for petroleum resources.

Steve Jobs was born in San Francisco, California, on February 24, 1955, to two University of Wisconsin graduate students who gave him up for adoption. Smart but directionless, Jobs experimented with different pursuits before starting Apple Computers with Steve Wozniak in 1976.

Susan E. Rice was born on November 17, 1964, in Washington, D.C. She went on to study at Stanford University and the University of Oxford in Oxfordshire with a focus on international affairs. She worked with President Clinton as part of the National Security Council and oversaw African affairs, later working at the Brookings Institution.

Born in Alabama on November 1, 1960, Tim Cook graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering in 1982, and went on to earn an M.B.A. from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in the late '80s. Following a 12-year career at IBM, in 1994, Cook became a chief operating officer (Reseller Division) at Intelligent Electronics.

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, better known as Tom Cruise, was born on July 3, 1962 in Syracuse, New York. Cruise became interested in acting when he won the lead in a high school production of Guys and Dolls. His role in 1981's Taps, his second film, caught critics' attention, and he eventually went on to star in many box office hits.

Tom Hanks (born July 9, 1956, in Concord, California) began performing with the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in 1977 and later moved to New York City. He starred on the TV sitcom Bosom Buddies, but became far more known when he starred in Ron Howard's Splash.

Hockey player and NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, in 1961. He started skating at age 2 and by the age of 6 was regularly playing with older boys. He played his first full NHL season in 1979-80 for the Edmonton Oilers.