- David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE (pronounced) (born 2 May 1975) is an English professional football (soccer) midfielder who plays for Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy. He is also currently a member of the England national team. He was twice chosen runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year, and as recently as 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer. He was Google's most searched of all sports topics in both 2003 and 2004.
- Bobby Moore
Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE (born Barking, England, April 12, 1941 - died London, February 24, 1993) was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was skipper of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup.
- Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton MBE, OBE (born Leicester, England, 18 September 1949) was a goalkeeper who holds the record for playing more games than any other player. His international career earned him 125 caps, making him England's most capped player. In a 30-year career which took in eight clubs, three World Cups, two European Cup finals and more than 1,000 competitive matches, Shilton emerged as one of the English game's genuine legends.
- J. K. Rowling
Joanne "Jo" Rowling BA (Exon.) OBE is an English fiction writer who writes under the pen name J. K. Rowling. Rowling is the author of the "Harry Potter" fantasy series, which has gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, and sold over 325 million copies worldwide. In 2007, "The Sunday Times Rich List" estimated her fortune at £545 million (about US$1 billion), …
- Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE (born 9 January 1944) is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds, from late 1966 to 1968, before founding English rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is credited as a forefather of heavy metal by not only turning up the accepted volume of the electric guitar but also with his anthemic riffs and meticulous studio production.
- Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO OBE (born 26 September 1948) is a Grammy Award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated English-born Australian pop singer, songwriter and actress of Welsh and German descent. Her highly acclaimed vocal musical and acting talents made her a globally recognized name. Olivia Newton-John is also a small business entrepreneur and an avid activist in ecological or environmental issues.
- Violet Carson
Violet Carson OBE (1 September 1898 - 26 December 1983) was a British actress. She was born in Ancoats, Manchester. Before her transfer to television Violet Carson was a regular hostess on "Children's Hour" on the BBC Home Service where she was known as Auntie Vi. She introduced items and sang. However, she was best known for her role as the gruff moral voice of "Coronation Street", Ena Sharples, a role she played from 1960 to 1980.
- Doris Speed
Doris Speed, OBE (February 3, 1899 - November 16, 1994) was a British actress, most known for her role as snooty Rovers Return landlady Annie Walker on "Coronation Street", a role she played from 1960 to 1983. Towards the end of her run, a national newspaper published her birth certificate, which proved her to be many years older than she let on. She publicly fainted when she learned the news, and weeks later, burglars robbed her house while she was asleep.
- James Brown
Rt. Hon. James Brown (16 December 1862 - 21 March 1939) was a Scottish Labour politician. Educated at Annbank Public School, he was Secretary of the Ayrshire Miners and of the Scottish Miners' National Union. He unsuccessfully contested North Ayrshire in 1910 and was Member of Parliament for South Ayrshire from 1918-1931 and from 1935 until his death. He was awarded the OBE in 1917, appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1930.
- Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan OBE (born May 16, 1953) is an Irish actor and producer best known for portraying James Bond in four films from 1995 to 2002: "GoldenEye", "Tomorrow Never Dies", "The World Is Not Enough" and "Die Another Day". Since leaving the role, Brosnan has gone on to star in films such as "Evelyn" and "Seraphim Falls". In 1996, he also formed, along with Beau St. Clair, …
- Terry Pratchett
Terence David John Pratchett OBE (28 April 1948) is an English fantasy and science fiction author, best known for his "Discworld" series. Other works include the "Johnny Maxwell Trilogy" and the "Bromeliad Trilogy". He also closely collaborates on adaptations of his books, for example, computer games and plays. Pratchett started to write by the age of 13 and his first work was published commercially at the age of 15.
- Julie Walters
Julia Mary Walters, OBE (born February 22, 1950) is an English Golden Globe and BAFTA award-winning film, television and stage actress.
- Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood OBE is a BAFTA award winning English comedian, actor, singer and writer born 19 May 1953 in Prestwich Village, Greater Manchester. She has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with songs of her own composition, which she accompanies on piano.
- Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE (born Anthony Robert McMillan on March 30, 1950) is a Scottish television and film actor.
- Tom Jones
Sir Thomas Jones Woodward, an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, or OBE, born 7 June, 1940, who is better known, especially in the United States, by his stage name, Tom Jones, is a Grammy Award-winning Welsh popular music singer. He was born in Treforest, Pontypridd, near Cardiff in South Wales.
- Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE (born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian and writer known as Hugh Laurie. He is known in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe for his roles in "Blackadder" and for his long-running comedy collaboration with Stephen Fry, which has included "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" and "Jeeves and Wooster" (see Fry and Laurie for more detail).
- Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross OBE (born November 17, 1960) is an English television and radio presenter and film critic.
- David Suchet
David Suchet OBE (born May 2, 1946) is an English actor best known for his television portrayal of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot in the television series "Agatha Christie's Poirot".
- Midge Ure
Midge Ure OBE (born James Ure on October 10 1953 in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a rock and roll guitarist, singer, and songwriter from Scotland, who had particular success in the 1970s and 1980s. His stage name, Midge, is a phonemic reversal of his real name, Jim.
- Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard OBE (born Harry Rodger Webb on 14 October 1940) is an English singer, actor and businessman. With his backing band The Shadows, Richard dominated the British popular music scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s, before and during the The Beatles' first year in the charts. A conversion to Christianity and subsequent softening of his music led to his having more of a pop than rock image.
- Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart OBE (born July 13, 1940) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated English film, television and stage actor. He is also Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield. Stewart has had a distinguished career in theatre for nearly fifty years, including performances as various characters in Shakespearean productions. However, he is most famous for his roles as Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S Enterprise in "Star Trek: The Next Generation", …
- Tim Henman
Timothy Henry Henman OBE (born 6 September 1974 in Oxford) is an English tennis player. He is the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship. Having reached 6 grand slam semis and been ranked number 4 in the world he is Britain's most successful open era player. Nevertheless, he has been criticised by some for not winning a Grand Slam event and for refusing to retire.
- Leslie Phillips
Leslie Samuel Phillips OBE (b. April 20, 1924) is an English BAFTA-nominated actor, best known for comedy. He was born in Tottenham, London.
- Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour OBE (born Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg on February 15 1951) is an English actress probably best known today as the co-star of the James Bond film "Live and Let Die" and star of the TV series and film "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman".
- Brian Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss, OBE, (born August 18, 1925 in East Dereham, Norfolk) is a prolific English author of both general fiction and science fiction. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss. Greatly influenced by SF pioneer H. G. Wells, Aldiss is a vice-president of the international H. G. Wells Society.
- Steve Davis
Steve Davis, OBE, (born August 22, 1957, Plumstead, London) is an English professional snooker (and to a lesser extent pool) player. Davis has won more professional snooker titles (including six world and six UK Championships) Davis' most successful spell came during the 1980s, when he was snooker's world number one for seven years and reached eight world finals, culminating in him becoming the sport's first millionaire.
- Peter Molyneux
Peter Molyneux OBE (born 5 May 1959 in Guildford, Surrey, UK) is a computer game designer and game programmer, responsible for well known "God games" "Populous" and "Black & White", among others, as well as "Business Strategy" games such as "Theme Park" and most recently, "The Movies". In August 1997 Peter left Bullfrog Productions to establish a new development team, Lionhead Studios.
- Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson , born in Ireland, studied to be a teacher before turning to acting. He received an Academy Award nomination for his work in Schindlers List , a Golden Globe nomination for Michael Collins , and a Tony Award nomination for Anna Christie . He has starred in numerous films including Star Wars: Episode 1The Phantom Menace; Nell; and Husbands and Wives .
- Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins OBE (born May 23 1933) is a Golden Globe Award winning British actress and bestselling author. She is most widely known for her role as Alexis Colby in the 1980s primetime soap opera "Dynasty". She was born in London, England, Great Britain and is one of the United Kingdom's most popular actresses.
- Imelda Staunton
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton OBE (born on January 9, 1956) is an Academy Award-nominated English actress. She is now best-known for playing the title role in "Vera Drake" and Dolores Umbridge in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix".
- Ronnie Barker
Ronald William George Barker, OBE (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005), popularly known as Ronnie Barker was an English comic actor and writer. His best-known appearances were alongside his long-time comedy partner, Ronnie Corbett, in the very popular TV variety show "The Two Ronnies"; as Norman Stanley "Fletch" Fletcher in the sitcom "Porridge" and its BAFTA award winning sequel "Going Straight"; and as Arkwright, …
- Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker OBE (born John Robert Cocker, 20 May 1944, Sheffield) is an English rock/blues singer who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice and his cover versions of popular songs.
- Harriet Walter
Harriet Mary Walter, CBE, (born September 24, 1950) is a British actress.
- Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield OBE (16 April, 1939 - 2 March, 1999) was a popular English singer whose career spanned four decades. She achieved her most notable success during the 1960s, with a successful comeback in the late 1980s.
- David Jason
Sir David Jason, OBE (born 2 February 1940) is a highly regarded English actor, admired equally for his dramatic work as for his comedy roles. He is perhaps most famous for his portrayal of "Del Boy" in the BBC television situation comedy "Only Fools and Horses" which made him a household name in the United Kingdom, and for playing detective chief inspector Jack Frost on "A Touch of Frost".
- Ian Botham
Sir Ian Terence Botham, OBE, (born 24 November 1955) is a retired England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. He was a genuine all-rounder, and remains well known by his nicknames "Beefy" and "Guy the Gorilla".
- Van Morrison
Van Morrison was born in Belfast in 1945, the son of a shipyard worker who collected American blues and jazz records. Van grew up listening to the music of Muddy Waters, Mahalia Jackson , Lightnin' Hopkins and John Lee Hooker . As a teenager he played guitar, sax and harmonica with a series of local Irish showbands, skiffle and rock'n'roll groups before forming an r&b band called Them in 1964.
- Jools Holland
Jools Holland (born Julian Miles Holland in London on 24 January 1958), OBE, DL, is an English virtuoso pianist, bandleader and television presenter.
- David Pearce
:"This article is about Professor David Pearce, UK economist. For other people with this name, see David Pearce." Professor David Pearce OBE was an Emeritus Professor at the Department of Economics in the University College London. He specialised in, and was a pioneer of, Environmental Economics, having published over fifty books and over 300 academic articles on the subject including his 'Blueprint for a Green Economy' series.
- Jancis Robinson
Jancis Mary Robinson (born in Cumbria on April 22 1950) is a British wine writer and journalist. She studied Mathematics and Philosophy at Oxford University and worked for a travel company after leaving university. She started her wine career writing for the trade magazine Wine & Spirit in 1975. In 1984 she became the first person outside the wine trade to become a Master of Wine. She also served as British Airways's wine consultant, …