Musicians & Composers
The makers of humanity's soundtrack.
records written
Modern era
Lehri (comedian)
January 2, 1929 – September 13, 2012
Pakistani actor and comedian
Contemporary era
Ismail Tara
November 16, 1949 – 2022
Pakistani actor
Modern era
Zia Mohyeddin
June 20, 1931 – February 13, 2023
Pakistani actor (1931–2023)
Modern era
Qavi Khan
November 15, 1942 – 2023
Pakistani film and television actor (1942-2023)
Contemporary era
Abid Ali (actor)
March 17, 1952 – September 5, 2019
Pakistani television actor
Contemporary era
Farooq Qaiser
October 31, 1945 – May 14, 2021
Pakistani artist, writer and actor (1945-2021)
Contemporary era
Shoaib Mansoor
b. April 4, 1952
Pakistani director, writer and musician
Contemporary era
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
b. November 12, 1978
Pakistani filmmaker and journalist (born 1978)
Contemporary era
Samina Peerzada
b. April 9, 1955
Pakistani actress
Modern era
Madhubala
February 14, 1933 – February 23, 1969
Indian actress (1933–1969)
Modern era
Nargis
June 1, 1929 – May 3, 1981
Indian actress (1929–1981)
Modern era
Waheeda Rehman
b. May 14, 1938
Indian actress
Contemporary era
Rekha
b. October 10, 1954
Indian actress
Contemporary era
Smita Patil
October 17, 1955 – December 13, 1986
Indian actress (1955–1986)
Modern era
Shashi Kapoor
March 18, 1938 – December 4, 2017
Indian film actor and producer (1938–2017)
Modern era
Shammi Kapoor
October 21, 1930 – August 14, 2011
Indian actor (1930-2011)
Modern era
Rajesh Khanna
December 29, 1942 – July 18, 2012
Indian actor and film producer (1942–2012)
Contemporary era
Irrfan Khan
January 7, 1967 – April 29, 2020
Indian actor (1967–2020)
Contemporary era
Om Puri
October 18, 1949 – January 6, 2017
Indian actor (1949–2017)
Contemporary era
Naseeruddin Shah
b. July 20, 1950
Indian actor and director
Contemporary era
Sushant Singh Rajput
January 21, 1986 – June 14, 2020
Indian actor (1986-2020)
Modern era
Ritwik Ghatak
November 4, 1925 – February 6, 1976
Indian Bengali filmmaker and script writer (1925–1976)
Modern era
Bimal Roy
July 12, 1909 – January 8, 1966
Indian film director (1909–1966)
Modern era
Mehboob Khan
1906 – May 28, 1964
Film director (1906–1964)
Modern era
K. Asif
June 14, 1922 – March 9, 1971
Indian director (1922–1971)
Contemporary era
Salman Shah (actor)
September 17, 1971 – September 6, 1996
Bangladeshi actor
Contemporary era
Ahmed Dawood
b. January 31, 1983
Egyptian actor
Asif Iqbal
Bangladeshi lyricist and composer
Early Modern era
Lalon Shah
1772 – October 17, 1890
Bengali poet, composer and Baul saint
Modern era
Norodom Sihanouk
October 31, 1922 – October 15, 2012
Cambodian monarch and politician (1922–2012)
Contemporary era
Sudirman
May 25, 1954 – February 22, 1992
Malaysian singer and songwriter (1954-1992)
Modern era
P. Ramlee
March 22, 1929 – May 29, 1973
Malaysian singer, actor and film director (1929–1973)
Modern era
Abai Qunanbaiuly
July 29, 1845 – June 23, 1904
Kazakh poet, philosopher and composer (1845-1904)
Modern era
Komitas
September 26, 1869 – October 22, 1935
Ottoman Armenian priest, musicologist, composer and vardapet (1869–1935)
Modern era
Aram Khachaturian
May 24, 1903 – May 1, 1978
Soviet Armenian composer (1903–1978)
Modern era
Forugh Farrokhzad
January 5, 1935 – February 13, 1967
Iranian poet (1935-1967)
Modern era
Violeta Parra
October 4, 1917 – February 5, 1967
Chilean musician and folklorist
Modern era
Carlos Gardel
December 11, 1890 – June 24, 1935
Uruguayan singer, songwriter, actor; the most prominent figure in the history of tango
Modern era
Mercedes Sosa
July 9, 1935 – October 4, 2009
Argentine singer (1935-2009)
Modern era
Carmen Miranda
February 9, 1909 – August 5, 1955
Brazilian singer (1909–1955)
Modern era
Liliuokalani
September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917
Monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom (1838–1917)
Modern era
Duke Kahanamoku
August 24, 1890 – January 22, 1968
American swimmer, surfer and actor (1890-1968)
Medieval era
Blanche of Castile
March 4, 1188 – November 27, 1252
Queen consort of France (1188–1252)
Medieval era
Alfonso X of Castile
November 23, 1221 – April 4, 1284
King of Castile from 1252 to 1284
Medieval era
Peter of Castile
August 30, 1334 – March 23, 1369
King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369
Medieval era
Abbas ibn Firnas
810 CE – 887 CE
9th century astronomer and physician
Medieval era
Ziryab
777 CE – 857 CE
9th-century poet and musician
Modern era
Alvaro de Luna
April 10, 1935 – November 2, 2018
Actor (1935-2018)
Contemporary era
Ramon Muntaner
September 29, 1950 – December 9, 2021
Catalan singer-songwriter and composer
Medieval era
Conradin
March 25, 1252 – October 29, 1268
Duke of Swabia, King of Jerusalem and King of Sicily (1252–1268)
Medieval era
Peter III of Aragon
1239 – 1285
King of Aragon and Valencia (1276–85); King of Sicily (1282–85)
Medieval era
Wolfram von Eschenbach
1170 – 1220
German knight and poet (1170–1220)
Medieval era
Walther von der Vogelweide
1170 – 1230
German minstrel singer (c. 1170 – c. 1230)
Medieval era
Guillaume de Machaut
1300 – 1377
Medieval French composer and poet (c. 1300–1377)
Medieval era
Guillaume Dufay
August 13, 1397 – November 27, 1474
Composer of the Renaissance (1397–1474)
Medieval era
Josquin des Prez
1455 – August 27, 1521
Composer of the Renaissance (c. 1450–1521)
Medieval era
Hartmann von Aue
1160 – 1210
Leading poet of the Middle High German period
Medieval era
Gottfried von Strassburg
1180 – 1215
Medieval German poet
Medieval era
Oswald von Wolkenstein
1377 – August 2, 1445
German poet, composer, and diplomat
Medieval era
Jaufre Rudel
1000 – 1148
Prince of Blaye and troubadour