Famous people starting with w - FMSPPL.com

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, was a British statesman, army officer, and writer. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from two years between 1922 and 1924, Churchill was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies. Ideologically an economic liberal and imperialist, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, as leader from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.

Willard Carroll Smith Jr. is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Smith has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards, and has won four Grammy Awards.

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. They also continue to be studied and reinterpreted.

William Shatner is a Canadian actor, author, producer, director, screenwriter, and singer. In his seven decades of acting, Shatner became a cultural icon for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the Star Trek franchise. He has written a series of books chronicling his experiences playing Captain Kirk, being a part of Star Trek, and life after Star Trek. Shatner has also co-written several novels set in the Star Trek universe, and a series of science fiction novels called TekWar, that were adapted for television.

Wesley Wales Anderson is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their symmetry, eccentricity and distinctive visual and narrative styles, and he is regarded by some critics as a modern-day example of the auteur. Three of his films – The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, and The Grand Budapest Hotel – appeared in BBC Culture's 2016 poll of the greatest films since 2000.

Winona Laura Horowitz, known professionally as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. She is the recipient of several awards, including a Golden Globe Award and has been nominated for two Academy Awards. She is best known for taking on quirky roles in her earlier films, then went on to play more prominent roles in the 1990s.

Wi Ha-joon is a South Korean actor and model. He came to prominence with his roles in the horror film Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum and romance series Something in the Rain.

William Garson Paszamant is an American actor. He has appeared in over 75 films, and more than 300 TV episodes. He is known for playing Stanford Blatch on the HBO series Sex and the City and in the related films Sex and the City and Sex and the City 2, and for his role as Mozzie in the USA Network series White Collar from 2009 to 2014. He appears on Hawaii Five-0 as Gerard Hirsch. He also played the character Martin Lloyd in the sci-fi series Stargate SG-1.

William Jack Poulter is an English actor. He first gained recognition for his role as Eustace Scrubb in the fantasy adventure film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010). Poulter received further praise for his starring role in the comedy film We're the Millers (2013), for which he won the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer and actress. She was certified as the most awarded female artist of all time by Guinness World Records and is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston released seven studio albums and two soundtrack albums, all of which have been certified diamond, multi-platinum, platinum, or gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). She is regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. Her crossover appeal on the popular music charts as well as her prominence on MTV influenced several African-American female artists.

Walter Elias Disney was an American entrepreneur, animator, writer, voice actor and film producer. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film producer, Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards earned by an individual, having won 22 Oscars from 59 nominations. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period.

William, Prince of Wales is a member of the British royal family and the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales.

Winsome Earle Sears is an American politician who is the lieutenant governor-elect of Virginia. A Republican, Sears served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002 to 2004 after defeating longtime incumbent Billy Robinson Jr. In September 2018, she entered the race for U.S. Senate as a Republican write-in alternative to Corey Stewart. Sears was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in the 2021 election which she won, becoming the first woman, black woman, and first person of Jamaican origin to be elected to a statewide office in Virginia.

Wladimir Wladimirowitsch Klitschko is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held the world heavyweight championship twice, including the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and Ring magazine titles. A strategic and intelligent boxer, Klitschko is considered to be one of the best heavyweight champions of all time. He was known for his exceptional knockout power, using a strong jab, straight right hand and left hook, as well as great footwork and mobility, unusual for boxers of his size.

Warren Edward Buffett is an American investor, business tycoon, philanthropist, and the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is considered one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net worth of over US$85.6 billion as of December 2020, making him the world's fourth-wealthiest person.

John William Ferrell is an American actor, comedian, producer, writer, and businessman. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in comedy films such as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), Talladega Nights (2006), Step Brothers (2008), The Other Guys (2010), and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), all but one of which he co-wrote with his comedy partner Adam McKay. The two also founded the comedy website Funny or Die in 2007. Other film roles include Elf, Old School, Blades of Glory (2007), Daddy's Home (2015), and the animated films Megamind (2010) and The Lego Movie (2014).

Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, martial artist and author. His prominent film roles include New Jack City (1991), White Men Can't Jump (1992), Passenger 57 (1992), Demolition Man (1993), U.S. Marshals (1998) and the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy (1998–2004), The Expendables 3 and for his role on The Player (2015). Snipes was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his work in The Waterdance and won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his performance in the film One Night Stand.

Walter Ferguson Smith is a Scottish former football player, manager and director. He is primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Scottish club Rangers.

Wayne Michael Bridge is an English retired footballer who played as a left back.

Wayne Mark Rooney is an English football manager and former player who currently manages Championship club Derby County, for which he previously served as interim player-manager. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while also being used in various midfield roles. Widely considered to be one of the best players of his generation, Rooney is the record goalscorer for both the England national team and Manchester United.

William James "Willem" Dafoe is an American-Italian actor. He is known for his distinct gravelly voice, and has received multiple accolades, including nominations for four Academy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. He has frequently collaborated with filmmakers Paul Schrader, Abel Ferrara, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, and Wes Anderson.

Wanda Nara is an Argentine media personality, football agent, showgirl, television presenter and model. She married Mauro Icardi, her client and a professional footballer, in 2014.

James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger Jr. was an Irish-American organized crime boss and FBI informant who led the Winter Hill Gang in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, a city directly northwest of Boston. On December 23, 1994, Bulger fled the Boston area and went into hiding after his former FBI handler, John Connolly, tipped him off about a pending RICO indictment against him. Bulger remained at large for sixteen years. After his 2011 arrest, federal prosecutors tried Bulger for nineteen murders based on the grand jury testimony from Kevin Weeks and other former criminal associates.

William Joseph Baldwin is an American actor, producer and writer. A member of the Baldwin family, he is the third-oldest of the four Baldwin brothers. He has starred in the films Flatliners (1990), Backdraft (1991), Sliver (1993), Virus (1999), The Squid and the Whale (2005), played himself in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and currently stars in and produces the Netflix show Northern Rescue. Baldwin is married to singer Chynna Phillips.

Woodrow Tracy Harrelson is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, and has been nominated for three Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards.

Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, known as Wallis Simpson, was an American socialite and wife of the Duke of Windsor, the former British king Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a constitutional crisis that led to Edward's abdication.

Woody Allen is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning movies. He began his career as a comedy writer on Sid Caesar's comedy variety program, Your Show of Shows, working alongside Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart and Neil Simon. He also began writing material for television, published several books featuring short stories, and writing humor pieces for The New Yorker. In the early 1960s, he performed as a stand-up comedian in Greenwich Village alongside Lenny Bruce, Elaine May, Mike Nichols, and Joan Rivers. There he developed a monologue style, and the persona of an insecure, intellectual, fretful nebbish, which he maintains is quite different from his real-life personality. He released three comedy albums during the mid to late 1960s, even earning a Grammy Award nomination for his 1964 comedy album entitled simply, Woody Allen. In 2004 Comedy Central ranked Allen fourth on a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians, while a UK survey ranked Allen the third-greatest comedian.

Wilbur Addison Smith was a Zambian-born South African novelist specialising in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries, seen from the viewpoints of both black and white families.

Wayne Douglas Gretzky is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "The Great One", he has been called the greatest hockey player ever by many sportswriters, players, the NHL itself, and by The Hockey News, based on extensive surveys of hockey writers, ex-players, general managers and coaches. Playing centre, Gretzky is the leading goal scorer, leading assist producer and leading point scorer in NHL history, and garnered more assists in his career than any other player scored total points. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season, a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, Gretzky tallied over 100 points in record 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive, also a record. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 61 NHL records: 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 All-Star records.