List of Famous people who born in 1961

Jean-Florent Ikwange Ibengé is a Congolese football coach who manages Vita Club.

Sir Simon Russell Beale, is an English actor.

Serena Harriet Scott Thomas is an English actress. Her television roles include Diana, Princess of Wales in Diana: Her True Story in 1993. Her film appearances include The World Is Not Enough (1999), Hostage (2005), Brothel (2008), and Inherent Vice (2014).

Kaname Tajima is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan. A native of Nagoya, Aichi he attended the University of Tokyo and also earned MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was elected for the first time in 2003 after working at NTT for 20 years.

Abderrahmane Sissako is a Mauritanian-born Malian film director and producer. His film Waiting for Happiness (Heremakono) was screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival official selection under Un Certain Regard, winning the FIPRESCI Prize. His 2007 film Bamako received much attention. Sissako's themes include globalisation, exile and the displacement of people. His 2014 film Timbuktu was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Yao Gang is a Chinese executive who served as one of four Vice-Chairmen at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), China’s top security regulator. He was investigated by the Communist Party of China's anti-graft agency in November 2015, after a stock market rout rocked global markets. Yao's downfall marked the widened government crackdown on corruption in the financial industry. Zhang Yujun (张育军), former assistant chairman of the CSRC, was placed under investigation in the end of 2015.

Orla Brady is an Irish theatre, television, and film actress born in Dublin. She has been nominated for several awards from the Irish Film & Television Academy for her work in televised programs, as well as starring in the RTÉ/BBC co-production A Love Divided where she portrayed Sheila Cloney, for which she won the 1999 Golden Nymph Best Actress Award. She began her career with the Balloonatics Theatre Company as a touring performer, later gaining her first minor role in television as a bank clerk in the series Minder in 1993. Her first role in film was as Vanessa in Words Upon the Window Pane in 1994. Brady starred in recurring roles in a number of US and UK series, and in a Doctor Who special. In 2020, she was listed as number 43 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

Antoine d'Agata is a French photographer and film director. His work deals with topics that are often considered taboo, such as addiction, sex, personal obsessions, darkness, and prostitution.

Dawnn Jewel Lewis is an American actress, singer, voice actress and songwriter. Lewis is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom A Different World from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in 1992, in addition to being on the show; Lewis co–wrote the theme song.

Bonita Friedericy is an American actress, best known for her role as Diane Beckman in the NBC series Chuck. Her husband is actor John Billingsley.