Celebrity Birthdays for June 17 – Barry Manilow, Venus Williams and More

Here’s a look at some notable birthdays being celebrated today:

Barry Manilow

Age: 68

Occupation: Singer and Songwriter

Known For: An incredibly prolific pop music career including ‘Copacabana’ and dozens of songs for musicals, films and commercials

Venus Williams

Age: 31

Occupation: Pro Tennis Player

Known For: Winning 21 Grand Slam titles, being ranked a World No. 1 on three separate occasions, and sometimes showing up on the court in rather, uh, questionable outfits

Newt Gingrich

Age: 68

Occupation: Politician

Known For: His service as 58th Speaker of the US House of Representatives, his current seemingly doomed candidacy for president and his recently reported status as one of Tiffany’s very best customers

Tommy Franks

Age: 65

Occupation: US Army General

Known For: Leading the 2001 attack on the Taliban in Afghanistan in response to the September 11 attacks, and leading the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein

Joe Piscopo

Age: 60

Occupation: Actor and Comedian

Known For: Being a regular on ‘Saturday Night Live’ from 1980-1984 and having a rather disappointingly sad career trajectory since

Greg Kinnear

Age: 48

Occupation: Actor

Known For: Being the first host of E!’s hilarious ‘Talk Soup’ and appearing in more than 20 movies, including an Oscar-nominated turn in ‘As Good as It Gets’

Will Forte

Age: 41

Occupation: Actor, Writer, and Comedian

Known For: Eight years as a cast member of ‘Saturday Night Live’ and gigs writing for series such as ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ and ’3rd Rock From the Sun’