What do Ben Kingsley, Donna Summer and Henri Matisse have in common?

Born Krishna Pandit Bhanji, 80-year-old Sir Ben Kingsley changed his name in the 1960s, as he thought a foreign name would hamper his career. Yet, the one Oscar he has won to date was for his 1982 portrayal of Indian independence leader, Mahatma Gandhi. He even adopted Gandhi's habits of practicing yoga and eating a vegetarian diet to play the role, which is one of his most critically acclaimed.

Henri Matisse, who died at the age of 85 in 1954, is said to be one of the undisputed masters of modern art. He led the Fauvist movement that thrived in France in the early 20th century. Fauvism was a style of painting where artists applied paint straight from the tubes to create a riot of colors on their canvasses. One shocked art critic back then dubbed these artists "fauves" — or "wild beasts."

Legend has it that in 1912 Canadian-American cosmetics entrepreneur Elizabeth Arden handed out tubes of red lipstick to mark her solidarity with suffragettes who were marching down Fifth Avenue in New York (where her salon was located), demanding equal rights and representation. A beauty innovator and entrepreneur, she was an early role model for women, achieving success in a male-dominated era.

A survivor of five Nazi concentration camps, Simon Wiesenthal was born 115 years ago on December 31. A former architect, he dedicated his life post-World War II to tracking down Nazi war criminals and speaking for the 6 million Jews who died during the Holocaust, among them 89 of his own relatives. Wiesenthal contributed to the prosecution of 1,100 war criminals. He died in 2005.

Designer Diane von Furstenberg was only 26 when she created a wardrobe staple that has sealed her spot in the annals of fashion history: the feminine yet functional wrap dress. This landed the Belgian-born daughter of a Holocaust survivor on the 1976 Newsweek cover that described her as the biggest name in fashion since Coco Chanel. "Feel like a woman, wear a dress," was her mantra at the time.

Five-time Grammy Award winner Donna Summer would have turned 75 this year. Her breakthrough hit was the erotically charged "Love to Love You Baby" in 1975, marking the start of a slew of disco-flavored hits, including the techno-ish "I Feel Love," "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls." She would later reveal that she was abused as a child, was depressive and harbored suicidal thoughts despite career highs.

Hailed as one of China's best actors, 58-year-old Gong Li has starred in three of the four Chinese-language films that have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Having often worked with Chinese director Zhang Yimou, she is perhaps best known to a broader global audience for her role as a 1930s Japanese geisha in Rob Marshall's 2005 film, "Memoirs of a Geisha."

Turning 55 on December 31, 2023, Dominican-born American author Junot Diaz is renowned for his work exploring the Latino immigrant experience in the US. Diaz won a Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for his debut novel "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" (2007). His first children's picture book, titled "Islandborn" (2018), depicts the emigration journey of a 6-year-old Afro-Caribbean child, Lola.

Singer and rapper Psy, 46, chose this stage name for himself as he thought of himself as slightly "psycho." Park Jae-Sang was already known in his native South Korea as a controversial and satirical hip-hop artist. But he rose to global fame in 2012 with the music video to his catchy pop song "Gangnam Style," which became the first video to have more than 1 billion views on YouTube.