Pete Townshend, The Who, Ernst-Merck-Halle, Hamburg, August 1972
Heinrich KlaffsCC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Pete Townshend, The Who, Ernst-Merck-Halle, Hamburg, August 1972

Today's celebrity birthdays: May 19, 2026

Last updated: May 19, 2026

Happy birthday to entertainers like Pete Townshend, Grace Jones, and Sam Smith! Keep on reading to see who else is celebrating their birthday and some career highlights!

Celebrity birthday highlights for May 19 2026:

Pete Townshend of The Who live at totally wicked stadium uk, 2023
ChrisJamesRyanPhotography // Shutterstock

Musician Pete Townshend (1945) built The Who's catalog as the band's lead guitarist and principal songwriter, scoring early hits "I Can't Explain" and "My Generation" before composing the rock opera "Tommy." He wrote the era-defining anthems "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again," was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Who, and received Kennedy Center Honors alongside his bandmates.

Grace Jones attends the "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," 2022
Loredana Sangiuliano // Shutterstock

Singer Grace Jones (1948) turned heads at Studio 54 before recording "Warm Leatherette" and "Nightclubbing," which gave her the hit "Pull Up to the Bumper." She menaced 007 as May Day in "A View to a Kill" and scored the club anthem "Slave to the Rhythm."

Sam Smith attends The Fashion Awards, 2023
Fred Duval // Shutterstock

Singer Sam Smith (1992) rocketed to fame as the featured vocalist on Disclosure's "Latch" before releasing the debut album "In the Lonely Hour" and its hit "Stay With Me." They swept four Grammys in 2015, including Best New Artist, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Writing's on the Wall," and topped the Billboard Hot 100 with "Unholy."

Other celebs celebrating birthdays today:

TV host David Hartman (1935), Actor James Fox (1939), Actress Nancy Kwan (1939), Football player Archie Manning (1949), Drummer Phil Rudd of AC/DC (1954), Actor Steven Ford (1956), Basketball player Bill Laimbeer (1957), Guitarist Iain Harvie of Del Amitri (1962), Author Jodi Picoult (1966), Actress Polly Walker (1966), Actress Geraldine Somerville (1967), Actor Jason Gray-Stanford (1970), Singer Israel Houghton (1971), Singer Jenny Berggren of Ace of Base (1972), Basketball player Kevin Garnett (1976), TV personality Kim Zolciak (1978), Soccer player Andrea Pirlo (1979), Soccer player Diego Forlán (1979), Singer Shooter Jennings (1979), Rapper Yo Gotti (1981), Comedian Michael Che (1983), Basketball player Mario Chalmers (1986), Actor Eric Lloyd (1986), DJ Marshmello (1992), Tennis player Heather Watson (1992), Singer Lainey Wilson (1992), Dancer-singer JoJo Siwa (2003)

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