29 celebrities who were born on Leap Day

Being born on Leap Day is far from the most prominent thing Wellman did. The World War I veteran directed dozen of movies, successfully transitioning from silent films to talkies. However, if one film will be his legacy, it’s “Wings,” the first movie to ever win a Best Picture Oscar.

Wellman was born on the last Leap Day of the 1800s, and Dorsey was born on the first one of the 1900s. The jazz musician and big band leader was one of the most successful musicians of his era. In fact, he played clarinet on two songs in the Grammy Hall of Fame, including the original recording of “Georgia on my Mind.”

Martin had an excellent nickname, “The Wild Horse of the Osage,” and he was compared to Ty Cobb in his day. Granted, his career wasn’t on the level of that of the “Georgia Peach,” mostly because his career was shortened by injuries due to his aggressive style. However, that style helped him get to four All-Star Games and lead the National League in stolen bases three times.

She was name dropped in Adam Sandler’s “The Hanukkah Song,” which is fitting for a singer in her own right. Are you familiar with the advertising jingle “See the USA in your Chevrolet?” Shore was the voice behind that. She also did some acting, mostly on television, as well and hosted the popular 1950s variety show "The Dinah Shore Show."

Franz was a character actor in his day, never really starring in but often playing small roles in dozens of movies and TV shows. The late actor starred alongside the likes of John Wayne and Ronald Reagan in his career, and his best-known role was probably in 1954’s “The Caine Mutiny.”

You may not know Mitchell from his ballet career, though he was an accomplished dancer. However, if you watched soap operas in their heyday, you may have seen his acting. Mitchell played Palmer Cortlandt on “All My Children” for just a bit of a stretch. That is to say, he performed in that role from 1979 through 2009. In his time, he was nominated for seven Daytime Emmys.

Morgan is better known in her native France than in America, but she still had a successful acting career in the states. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, after all. However, in France she is considered one of the best actresses the country ever produced. In fact, she won the first-ever Best Actress Award at Cannes.

Apparently being born on Leap Day is good for your baseball career. Rosen is the second baseball player on this list, though his career was better than Martin’s. “The Hebrew Hammer” led the American League in home runs and RBI twice and was named AL MVP in 1953.

Ackland, born in 1928, is the first person on this list who is still alive. The British actor has had a lengthy career in film; you may know him best as Hans from “The Mighty Ducks.” Or maybe you remember him from his role as Mr. Topps in the truly insane spectacle that is “The Apple.”

Gregory raced on the Formula 1 circuit in the ‘50s and ‘60s, appearing in 46 races. While he never won a Formula 1 race, he did find success in another auto racing competition. In 1965, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a particularly grueling race.

Grist did a little screen acting, though basically all in Germany. Additionally, most opera singers aren’t terribly famous. However, we are including the soprano on this list because she was one of the first African-American singers to have an international opera career.

Richard didn’t quite have the career of his brother, the legendary Maurice “Rocket” Richard. That being said, he had a 20-year NHL career and won 11 Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens. Richard, known as “The Pocket Rocket” went on to have a Hall of Fame career and was named one of the NHL’s 100 best players in 2017.

Maybe you know him as Moe Greene in “The Godfather.” Or maybe you know him as the voice of Roger Meyers Jr. on “The Simpsons.” He even won an Emmy for the forgotten show “The Famous Teddy Z.” However you remember him, he made an impact on the screen.

Before he was an actor, Farina was a cop in Chicago. It makes sense, as for his entire career he looked, and sounded, like a Chicago cop and often played authority roles. His extensive, impressive career included roles in movies like “Midnight Run” and “Get Shorty.”

Farina was born in 1944, but we have to jump all the way to 1968 to find the next celebrity born on a Leap Day. There were a few unremarkable years there. Paup had a 10-year NFL career and was named the Defensive Player of the Year in 1995, when he also led the league in sacks.

Woodley is not known in the States unless you are a big fan of Australian comedy. He and fellow Australian comedian Colin Lane had a successful duo for years, getting their own TV shows. Eventually they broke up, and in that time Woodley started a solo career, even getting his own titular sitcom.

Sabato first gained notoriety as an underwear model before becoming a mildly successful actor. You’ve also seen him on reality shows like “Dancing with the Stars.” However, if you’ve heard of him, it may be because of Sabato’s outspoken political views. He’s made some baffling comments, including a weird preoccupation with asserting Barack Obama is secretly a Muslim.

On the opposite side of the political spectrum from Sabato comes Zamora. He’s arguably the most-known person to ever appear on “The Real World.” The openly gay Zamora unfortunately contracted HIV, which was covered during his time on “The Real World.” Tragically he died at the age of 22, but not before doing a lot of work for LGBT and HIV awareness.

Williams’ band Drowning Pool wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but people who liked metal seemed to like them. His vocals were well received by metalheads, and he could have had a great career with his band. Sadly, Williams died at the age of 30 from an undiagnosed heart issue.

Two musicians with the last name Williams were born on the same Leap Day in 1972. However, Saul’s music is quite different from Dave’s. This Williams is a hip-hop artist and quasi-spoken word performer who is as known for his poetry as his rapping.

If you are a basketball fan, you may remember Cummings name. Although, that may just be because his name is “Vonteego Cummings.” While he was a first-round pick in 1999, Cummings lasted only three years in the NBA. He spent the bulk of his career in Europe and South America.

Ja Rule did not have vocals that you would consider traditional. That being said, his raspy voice was heard all over music in the 2000s. Six of his albums made the top 10 of the Billboard charts, including two that rose to No. 1. His collaborations with Jennifer Lopez also got him two No. 1 songs as well.

Not to be confused with the Chris Conley who plays in the NFL or the Chris Conley who has been an entertainment writer and TV host for years. This Chris Conley is the one who is the frontman of the band Saves the Day. In the late ‘90s, when pop punk was at its peak of popularity, Saves the Day got a little shine, so you may remember Conley’s voice, not to mention his distinct blond locks.

We now have two NHL players to go with two MLB players. Gagne isn’t going to make the Hall of Fame like Henri Richard, but he’s no slouch. He twice had 40-goal seasons with the Flyers and finished his career with a total of 291. His 601 career points helped him make two All-Star Games as well.

Twellman was one of the best players in MLS history. The American soccer star was the youngest player to tally 100 career MLS goals at the age of 29. He also played 30 caps for the United States national team. Twellman had to retire young due to concussions, but since then he’s been a soccer analyst for ESPN.

Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte aren’t the only two male American swimmers to have success in recent years. In fact, during the 2012 Summer Olympics, Jones picked up two silver medals and one gold medal, although the latter was for a relay race in which he swam in the preliminaries.

And hockey pulls ahead of baseball! Ward took over as the starting goalie for the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2005-06 season. That team happened to win the Stanley Cup, and Ward actually took home the Conn Smythe as playoffs MVP. Alas, that would be the peak of his career. While he played in the NHL for over a decade, Ward finished his career with a 2.74 GAA and .908 save percentage.

Do you remember that song “Pumped Up Kicks?” It became a big hit out of nowhere, climbing the charts in 2011. That song was by the band Foster the People, and you can probably guess the name of its frontman. Foster and his band are still making music, with their most recent album coming out in 2017.

We started with a man born in 1896, and we’re ending with a woman born in 1988. You may not know Gercke if you haven’t spent time in Europe. There, though, she won the first season of “Germany’s Next Topmodel” and would go on to host “Austria’s Next Topmodel.”