List of Famous people who born in 1961

Gabriele Zange is a retired German speed skater who specialized in the long distances, winning three Olympic bronze medals in these events in 1984 and 1988. In 1981 she won a European bronze medal in the 3000 m and later set a world record at the high-altitude rink of Medeo. In 1984, she won European championships, setting two world records, in the 5000 m (7:39.44) and allround, and finished third at the world championships. Next year she won a silver at the world championships, but then had no success until the 1987–88 season, when she set her fourth world record and won two Olympics medals. She retired soon after the 1988 Olympics and worked as a physiotherapist.

Luca Barbarossa is an Italian singer-songwriter who has released 12 albums since 1981, and is known for his participation in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest.

Scott Edward Parazynski is an American physician and a former NASA astronaut. A veteran of five Space Shuttle flights and seven spacewalks, Parazynski's latest mission was STS-120 in October, 2007 – highlighted by a dramatic, unplanned EVA to repair a live solar array. In May 2016 he was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame. He retired from NASA in March 2009 to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities in the private sector, and he is currently the CEO of a technology start-up. He is the first person to have both flown in space and summited Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth.

Craig Barron is an American visual effects artist, currently Creative Director at Magnopus, a Los Angeles media company that produces augmented and virtual-reality experiences.

Frederick Wilford "Rick"/"CJ" Sturckow is an engineer, retired United States Marine Corps officer, former NASA astronaut, and commercial spacecraft pilot. Sturckow is a veteran of four Space Shuttle missions. He flew on STS-88 and STS-105 as a pilot and STS-117 and STS-128 as a commander. All four missions docked with the International Space Station, making Sturckow one of two people to visit the station four times. Sturckow later was assigned to the Johnson Space Center as a CAPCOM. He left NASA in 2013 to become a pilot for Virgin Galactic.