THIS WEEK’S BIRTHDAYS
TODAY, JULY 15
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and horse-breeder, is 69. Forest Whitaker, actor, is 57. Linda Ronstadt, singer, is 72. Brigitte Nielsen, actress ex-wife of Sylvester Stallone, is 55. Marky Ramone, Ramones’ drummer, is 66. Julian Bream, classical guitarist, is 85.
MONDAY, JULY 16
Michael Flatley, Irish dancer, is 60. Danny Healy-Rae ,TD for Kerry, is 64. Margaret Court, former tennis champion, is 76. Will Ferrell, comedy actor, is 51. Stewart Copeland, drummer with The Police, is 66. Gareth Bale, Real Madrid and Wales striker, is 29. Colin Murphy, Irish comedian, is 50.
TUESDAY, JULY 17
Vincent Browne, journalist, is 74. Michael Colgan, former director of the Gate Theatre, is 68. Donald Sutherland, actor, is 83. Camilla Parker-Bowles, wife of Prince Charles, is 71. Diahann Carroll, actress and singer, is 83. David Hasselhoff, actor, is 66. Natasha Hamilton, Atomic Kitten singer, is 36. Angela Merkel, German chancellor, is 64. Peter Sissons, journalist, is 76. Spencer Davis, 1960s beat star, is 79. Richard Branson, Virgin boss, is 68. Vin Diesel, actor, is 51. Martha Reeves, soul singer, is 77. Nick Faldo, former champion golfer, is 61. Shane Horgan, retired Irish rugby player, is 40. Dion DiMucci, The Wanderer singer, is 79. MIA, English rapper, is 43. Jack Irons, drummer and founding member of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, is 56.
THURSDAY, JULY 19
Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish first minister, is 48. Benedict Cumberbatch, actor, is 42. Brian May, guitarist with Queen, is 71. Ilie Nastase, former tennis great, is 72. George King, former Sunday Independent sports editor who in 1970 initiated the campaign that led to the end of the GAA ban on “foreign” sports, is 87. Vitali Klitschko, boxer and politician, is 47.
FRIDAY, JULY 20
Gisele Bundchen, supermodel, is 38. Jacques Delors, former European Commission president, is 93. Carlos Santana, guitarist, is 71. Diana Rigg, actress, is 80. Judy Greer, actress, is 43. Cormac McCarthy, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, is 85. Kim Carnes, singer, is 73. Paul Cook, Sex Pistols’ drummer, is 62. Roger Hunt, former Liverpool forward and member of England’s World Cup winning team in 1966, is 80.
SATURDAY, JULY 21
Matt Cooper, journalist and TV presenter, is 52. Nina Carberry, retired jockey, is 34. Yusuf Islam, singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, is 70. Josh Hartnett, actor, is 40. Ross Kemp, actor, is 54. Steve Collins, former champion boxer, is 54. Garry Trudeau, Doonesbury cartoonist, is 70.