List of Famous people who are 81

Ulrich Erben is a German painter. From 1980 to 2005, he was a Professor of Painting at the Kunstakademie Münster. He is known as a master of the color field style of abstract painting, closely related to abstract expressionism, in which he creates tension between a defined surface structure, his own method of applying paint to a canvas, and the relationship of various shades of white or color to each other in their placement as part of a composition on the flat plane of a canvas. In 1986 and 2008, he was awarded the Konrad-von-Soest Prize for Visual Arts by the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe.

Bishop Ivan Milovan is a Croatian Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Diocesan Bishop of Poreč-Pula since 18 November 1997 until his resignation on 14 June 2012.

Gian Paolo Pillitteri is a former Italian Democratic Socialist Party politician and film critic. He was also affiliated with the Italian Socialist Party from 1976 to 1994. He was born in Sesto Calende, Province of Varese, Lombardy. He served in the Chamber of Deputies of Italy in Legislature IX (1983–1987) and Legislature XI (1992–1994). He was mayor of Milan from 1986 to 1992.

Harold Phil Gant, better known as "Handsome Harry", is a retired American stock car racing driver best known for driving the No. 33 Skoal Bandit car on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series circuit during the 1980s and 1990s and his 4-race win streak in 1991.

Joan Haanappel is a Dutch former figure skater and sports presenter for NOS, AVRO, ZDF and Eurosport. She is a three-time European bronze medalist (1958–1960) and a four-time Dutch national champion.