December 22 birthdays
1949 MAURICE & ROBIN GIBB
Australian musicians
The Gibb twins emigrated to Australia with their family when they were eight years old. Shortly afterwards, they joined brother Barry and formed the singing group the Bee Gees. They finally enjoyed chart success with their 12th single, Spicks and Specks.
1951 JAN STEPHENSON Australian golfer
Stephenson joined the LPGA tour in 1974, winning three major championships and 16 LPGA Tour events in her career. She has recorded 15 holes-in-one, nine being in competition. Stephenson was inducted into world golf’s Hall of Fame in 2019.
1961 YURI MALENCHENKO Russian cosmonaut
Malenchenko became the first person to be married in space when he tied the knot with Ekaterina Dmitrieva on August 10, 2003. He was more than 380km above New Zealand, his bride was in Texas.
1962 RALPH FIENNES English actor
Fiennes gained international recognition with his portrayal of Nazi war criminal Amon
Goth in the 1993 film Shindler’s List. His other film credits include The English Patient, Quiz Show, In Bruges, Skyfall, The Grand Budapest Hotel and the Harry Potter series of movies.
1967 ROLAND HOLDER West Indian cricketer
Holder made his Test debut for the West Indies against
India in 1997. He played a total of 11 Test matches and 37 ODIs for West Indies during his career. Holder scored a total of 380 runs, with a top score of 91.
1983 JENNIFER HAWKINS Australian beauty queen
Hawkins was crowned Miss Universe in 2004 in Quito, Ecuador. Before the event, she had been listed as sixthfavourite to win the crown. Hawkins has since been the host of Ausatralia’s Next Top Model.
1993 GABRIEL MEDINA Brazilian surfer
Medina joined the World Surf League Tour in 2011, finishing within the top 12 in his rookie year at the age of 17. He has claimed the World Champion title three times – 2014, 2018 and 2021.