List of Famous people born on April 17th

Margot Honecker was an East German politician who was an influential member of that country's Communist regime until 1989. From 1963 until 1989, she was Minister of National Education of the GDR. She was married to Erich Honecker, the leader of East Germany's ruling Socialist Unity Party from 1971 to 1989 and concurrently from 1976 to 1989 the country's head of state.

Lela Rochon Staples is an American actress, best known for her starring role as Robin Stokes in the 1995 romantic drama film Waiting to Exhale. She also had notable roles in films Harlem Nights (1989), Boomerang (1992), The Chamber (1996), Gang Related (1997), Knock Off (1998), Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998), and Any Given Sunday (1999).

Horst Hrubesch is a German professional football manager and former player who last managed the German women's national team. As a player, Hrubesch won three West German championships with his club side, Hamburger SV, as well as the European Cup title in 1983. He was a key member of the West Germany team that made it to the final of the 1982 World Cup, losing to Italy. His nickname was Das Kopfball-Ungeheuer for his heading skills as a centre-forward.

Ronald Wycherley, better known as Billy Fury, was an English singer, musician, songwriter, and actor. An early star of both rock and roll and films, he equalled the Beatles' record of 24 hits in the 1960s and spent 332 weeks on the UK chart, though he never had a chart-topping single or album.

Rudolf Ernst Paul Schündler was a German actor and director. He played "Karl" in The Exorcist (1973).

Umut Kekıllı is a German-Turkish former professional footballer who last played for Aydınspor 1923.

Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan is a Sri Lankan cricket coach and former professional cricketer. Averaging over six wickets per Test match, Muralitharan is one of the most successful bowlers in international cricket and the first to take 800 wickets in Tests. As of December 2020 he has taken more wickets in Test matches than any other cricketer.

Travis Matthew Roy was an American college ice hockey player, author and philanthropist. In 1995, he was injured in his first shift as a college hockey player for Boston University and was paralyzed from the neck down. He later created the Travis Roy Foundation, which gives grants to enhance the life of people with spinal cord injuries and for research. His autobiography, Eleven Seconds, was published in 1998.

Zinedine Soualem is a French actor. He has appeared in at least five films directed by Cédric Klapisch.

Rebecca Luker was an American actress, singer, and recording artist noted for her "crystal clear operatic soprano" and for maintaining long runs in Broadway musicals over the course of her three decade long career. The New York Times compared her to actresses such as Barbara Cook and Julie Andrews. She was nominated for three Tony Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Award, and two Drama Desk Awards.