Horses in the public eye
Famous people born in Horse years
The Horse runs across generations, and its five elements gather different crowds. Birth dates and facts only. No reading of a real person lives here.
Start here
Which celebrities were born in a Horse year?
Every Horse year, spaced twelve years apart, has its own famous names, and the element the year carried tells you which Horse each one is. Below they sit grouped by their element year, from the Metal Horses of 1930 to the Water Horse of 2002. These are birth facts, checked against the record, and nothing more is claimed about anyone.
By element year
The Horses, grouped
Metal Horse, 1930
- Clint Eastwood. Born May 31, 1930. actor and director, four Academy Awards across five decades of work.
- Neil Armstrong. Born August 5, 1930. the first person to walk on the Moon, July 1969.
Read the Metal Horse.
Water Horse, 1942
- Aretha Franklin. Born March 25, 1942. the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- Barbra Streisand. Born April 24, 1942. one of the few performers to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.
- Paul McCartney. Born June 18, 1942. songwriter and bassist of the Beatles.
Read the Water Horse.
Wood Horse, 1954
- Jackie Chan. Born April 7, 1954. actor and martial artist, honorary Academy Award in 2016.
- Angela Merkel. Born July 17, 1954. Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021.
- James Cameron. Born August 16, 1954. director of Titanic and Avatar.
- Denzel Washington. Born December 28, 1954. actor, two Academy Awards.
Read the Wood Horse.
Fire Horse, 1966
- Cindy Crawford. Born February 20, 1966. one of the defining supermodels of the 1990s.
- Janet Jackson. Born May 16, 1966. singer, more than 100 million records sold.
- Mike Tyson. Born June 30, 1966. the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history.
- Halle Berry. Born August 14, 1966. the first Black woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.
- Adam Sandler. Born September 9, 1966. comedian, actor, and producer.
Read the Fire Horse.
Earth Horse, 1978
- Zoe Saldaña. Born June 19, 1978. actress in four of the highest-grossing films ever made.
- Kobe Bryant. Born August 23, 1978. five NBA championships, all with the Los Angeles Lakers.
- John Legend. Born December 28, 1978. singer and songwriter, an EGOT winner.
Read the Earth Horse.
Metal Horse, 1990
- The Weeknd. Born February 16, 1990. born twenty days after the lunar boundary, so the Horse holds him; a January birthday that year belongs to the Snake.
- Emma Watson. Born April 15, 1990. actress, Hermione Granger across all eight Harry Potter films.
- Margot Robbie. Born July 2, 1990. actress and producer, three Academy Award nominations.
- Jennifer Lawrence. Born August 15, 1990. the second-youngest Best Actress winner in Academy history.
Read the Metal Horse.
Water Horse, 2002
- Jenna Ortega. Born September 27, 2002. actress, the title role in Wednesday.
Read the Water Horse.
The near misses
Born in January, so not a Horse
Two of the most famous January birthdays look like Horse years and are not. The lunar boundary decides, and both fall on the wrong side of it.
- Muhammad Ali. Born January 17, 1942, before the boundary on February 15, 1942, so a Water Snake, not a Horse.
- Oprah Winfrey. Born January 29, 1954, before the boundary on February 3, 1954, so a Water Snake, not a Horse.
The same rule holds for 2026. A January 2026 birthday belongs to the Snake. Check any borderline date with the year finder.
Cross the year
Where a Horse year meets a Sun sign
The Horse year is only half of anyone's crossing. Paul McCartney, a Water Horse, was born under Gemini and lands on the Swift. Kobe Bryant, an Earth Horse, was a Virgo, the Avocet. Emma Watson, a Metal Horse, was born under Aries, the Pronghorn. Same year element, different animal, because the Sun sign moves the cell.
See the sign itself in the Year of the Horse, or line up your own Western sign against the year.
Keep reading
More of the Fire Horse hub
Back to the hub. Read the Year of the Fire Horse.
This hub sits inside the evergreen Year of the Horse. See the whole grid at the twelve animals, or find your own year.