List of famous left-handed people
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List of famous and infamous left-handers. (See left-handedness and laterality)
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Rulers/politicians
- Alexander the Great
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Senator Bill Bradley, Rhodes Scholar, basketball star
- George H. W. Bush (left-handed, but batted right-handed in baseball)
- Julius Caesar
- Fidel Castro
- Charlemagne
- Bill Clinton
- Gerald Ford
- Barney Frank
- Benjamin Franklin
- Mahatma Gandhi
- James A. Garfield
- HM King George II
- HM King George VI
- Lee Hsien Loong
- King Louis XVI
- Benjamin Netanyahu
- H. Ross Perot
- Ronald Reagan (converted to right-handedness in childhood)
- Nelson D. Rockefeller
- HM Queen Victoria
- HRH Prince William of Wales
- Tiberius
- Hideki Tojo
- Hugo Chávez
- Narbeh Davidian
- Bertie Ahern, Irish Prime Minister
Criminals / Terrorists
- Boston Strangler (Albert Henry DiSalvo), serial killer
- John Dillinger, bank robber
- Jack the Ripper (although some doctors originally thought the wounds infilicted by this serial killer indicated a left-handed killer, they were basing this idea on a frontal attack when he could have, as most authorities now believe, attacked from behind or from the side when the woman was already on the ground)
- Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda
- Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Artists
Authors
Musicians
- Eminem, rapper
- Rosalind Ashford, (Martha and the Vandellas)
- Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, composer
- Beethoven, composer
- David Byrne (Talking Heads) (although he plays guitar right-handed)
- Glen Campbell
- Vicki Carr
- Natalie Cole
- Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
- Phil Collins (Genesis)
- Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins, learnt and plays guitar as though right handed but performs most tasks as a left hander)
- Dick Dale (guitarist)
- Don Everly (The Everly Brothers)
- Phil Everly (The Everly Brothers)
- John Flansburgh (They Might Be Giants, Mono Puff)
- Béla Fleck, jazz musician
- Glenn Frey (the Eagles)
- Eric Gale, guitarist
- Noel Gallagher guitarist, (Oasis)
- Errol Garner, jazz pianist
- Judy Garland
- Crystal Gayle
- Glen Graham, drummer (Blind Melon)
- Kevin Griffin, guitarist & lead singer (Better than Ezra)
- Thomas Hedley, vocalist/musician
- Jimi Hendrix, guitar player, singer
- Isaac Hayes
- Tony Iommi, guitarist (Black Sabbath)
- Albert King, guitarist
- Mark Knopfler, guitarist (Dire Straits, Notting Hillbillies)
- Melissa Manchester
- Chuck Mangione, trumpet
- Martina McBride (?), country music singer
- Paul McCartney (The Beatles; Wings)
- Maureen McGovern, vocalist/songwriter
- Christie Marie Melonson (Operatic)
- George Michael (Wham!)
- Mozart
- Peter Nero, conductor
- Joe Perry (?) (Aerosmith)
- Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)
- Cole Porter, song-writer
- Sergei Rachmaninoff, composer
- Maurice Ravel (?), composer
- Lou Rawls
- John Lydon a.k.a. Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols / Public Image Ltd.)
- Craig Scanlon, guitarist (The Fall (band))
- Seal
- Paul Simon (Simon & Garfunkel)
- Ringo Starr (The Beatles)
- Michael Stipe (R.E.M.)
- Rich Szabo, trumpeter
- Tiny Tim
- Rudy Vallee
- Lenny White, drummer
- Paul Williams, song-writer
- Pink - singer
- Adam Levine - singer of Maroon 5 (but seems to be left-handed only for writing)
Actors
- Don Adams
- Dan Aykroyd
- Eddie Albert
- Jason Alexander
- Tim Allen
- June Allyson
- Sacha Baron Cohen, British comedian creator of Ali G
- Harry Anderson
- Amitabh Bachchan, Indian actor
- Herschel Bernardi
- Robert Blake
- Matthew Broderick
- Bruce Boxleitner
- Carol Burnett
- George Burns, comedian
- Ruth Buzzi, comedienne
- Sid Caesar, comedian
- Keith Carradine
- Drew Carey
- Jim Carrey
- Khaled Chahrour, Egyptian actor
- Charlie Chaplin
- Victor Garber
- George Gobel, comedian
- Bruce Cockburn
- Dorothy Collins, Canadian singer
- Chuck Connors
- Hans Conried
- James Cromwell
- Tom Cruise- Writes right handed, but does most other things left handed
- Quinn Cummings
- Daniel Davis
- Bruce Davison
- Matt Dillon
- Marty Engels, comedian
- Olivia de Havilland
- Robert DeNiro
- Vincent D'Onofrio
- Michael Dorn
- Fran Drescher, comedian
- Richard Dreyfuss
- Georgia Engel
- W.C. Fields
- Larry Fine (?) (of the Three Stooges)
- Laurence Fishburne
- Peter Fonda
- David Foster, Canadian musician
- Greta Garbo
- Teri Garr
- Marla Gibbs
- Paul Michael Glaser
- Whoopi Goldberg
- Betty Grable
- Cary Grant
- Peter Graves
- Bruce Greenwood
- Mark Hamill
- Rex Harrison
- Goldie Hawn
- Joey Heatherton
- Tippi Hedren
- Jim Henson, puppeteer of Kermit the Frog
- Rock Hudson
- Scarlett Johansson
- Angelina Jolie
- Shirley Jones (?)
- Gabe Kaplan
- Danny Kaye
- Diane Keaton
- George Kennedy
- Nicole Kidman
- Lisa Kudrow
- Michael Landon
- Hope Lange
- Billy "Froggy" Laughlin
- Joey Lawrence
- Peter Lawford
- Cloris Leachman
- Roy LeRoi
- Hal Linden
- Ray Liotta
- Cleavon Little
- Shirley MacLaine
- Dave Madden
- Andrew McCarthy
- Kristy McNichol
- Steve McQueen
- Howie Mandel, comedian
- Marcel Marceau, mime
- Harpo Marx
- Marsha Mason
- Mary Stuart Masterson
- Anne Meara, comedian
- S. Epatha Merkerson
- Sasha Mitchell
- Meredith Monroe
- Rick Moranis
- Robert Morse
- Anthony Newley
- Kim Novak
- Ryan O'Neal
- Mary-Kate Olsen (twin-sister of Ashley Olsen)
- Gary Owens
- Sarah Jessica Parker
- Estelle Parsons
- Anthony Perkins
- Ron Perlman
- Luke Perry
- Bronson Pinchot
- Joe Piscopo, comedian
- Robert Preston
- Michael J. Pollard
- Marilyn Monroe
- Richard Pryor, comedian
- Robert Redford
- Keanu Reeves
- Don Rickles, comedian
- Julia Roberts
- Chris Rock
- Mickey Rourke
- Eva Marie Saint
- Telly Savalas
- Jean Seberg
- Jerry Seinfeld, comedian
- Christian Slater
- Dick Smothers, comedian
- Brent Spiner
- Sylvester Stallone (?)
- Terence Stamp
- Jessica Steen
- Rod Steiger
- Jon Stewart
- Terry-Thomas, comedian
- Alan Thicke
- Emma Thompson
- Rip Torn
- Peter Ustinov
- Brenda Vaccaro
- Karen Valentine
- Rudy Vallee
- Dick Van Dyke- Ambidextrous
- Graham Walker a.k.a. Grumbleweeds, English comedian
- Wil Wheaton
- Ian Whyte (from his performance as Scar Predator in Alien vs. Predator)
- James Whitmore
- David Walliams British comedian
- Treat Williams
- Bruce Willis
- William Windom
- Oprah Winfrey
- Mare Winningham
- Joanne Woodward
- Keenan Wynn
- Stephanie Zimbalist
Directors
Athletes
Baseball
Left-handedness is uniquely prized in baseball, especially among pitchers. Among speedy hitters, left-handedness is prized as the natural motion of swinging at a baseball gives you momentum running down the line to first; among power hitters, left-handedness is prized because left-handed hitters routinely hit right-handed pitchers better than right-handed hitters. The opposite side to this is that left-handed pitchers are like gold; it is frequently described as being near impossible to not find a major league job when you're a left-handed pitcher, no matter how old or limited your skills are, as enough left-handed sluggers have severe trouble hitting left-handed pitchers to make left-handed pitching valuable. See left-handed specialist.
Position players
- Brady Anderson
- Harold Baines
- Barry Bonds
- Wade Boggs
- Lou Brock
- Brett Butler
- Will Clark
- Ty Cobb
- Lenny Dykstra
- John Franco
- Leon "Goose" Goslin
- Ken Griffey, Jr.
- Tony Gwynn
- Rickey Henderson (left-handed thrower, but right-handed batter)
- Kent Hrbek
- "Shoeless" Joe Jackson
- Reggie Jackson
- David Justice
- Wally Joyner
- John Kruk
- Tommy Lasorda (manager)
- Kenny Lofton
- Fred Lynn
- Kevin Maas
- John McGras
- Fred McGriff
- Heinie Manush
- Dave Martinez
- Don Mattingly
- Jackie Mitchell
- Stan Musial
- Troy O'Leary
- Paul O'Neill
- John Olerud
- Mel Ott
- Rafael Palmeiro
- Dan Pasqua
- Babe Ruth
- "Prime Time" Deion Sanders
- Casey Stengel
- Darryl Strawberry
- Lou Whitaker
- Ted Williams (right-handed thrower, left-handed batter)
Pitchers
- Jim Abbott (left-handed by necessity; born without a right hand)
- Steve Avery
- Steve Carlton
- Whitey Ford
- Paul Gibson
- Tom Glavine
- Lefty Gomez
- Lefty Grove
- Ron Guidry
- Steve Howe
- Al Hrabosky
- Carl Hubbell
- Bruce Hurst
- Tommy John
- Randy Johnson
- Bob Kipper
- Sandy Koufax
- Al Leiter
- Joe Magrane
- Eric Milton
- Andy Pettitte
- Billy Pierce
- Babe Ruth
- Warren Spahn
- Greg Swindell
- Fernando Valenzuela
- Frank Viola
- David Wells
- Dontrelle Willis
- Barry Zito
Basketball
- Nate Archibald
- Walter Berry
- Larry Bird (shot basketballs mostly right-handed, but does most other tasks left-handed)
- Adrian Branch
- Calbert Cheaney
- Dave Cowens
- Adrian Dantley
- Charles "Lefty" Driesell
- Mark Eaton
- Manu Ginobili
- Gail Goodrich
- Ron Kellogg
- Toni Kukoc
- Bob Lanier
- Brad Lohaus
- Harold Miner (?)
- Dick Motta
- Chris Mullin
- Lamar Odom
- Sam Perkins
- Digger Phelps
- Willis Reed
- David Robinson
- Guy Rodgers
- Bill Russell
- Wayman Tisdale
- Nick Van Exel
- Bill Walton
- Lenny Wilkens
- Manuel Zuleta
Billiards
Bowling
- Bill Allen
- Patrick Allen
- Earl Anthony
- Mike Aulby
- Steve Cook
- Patty Costello
- Dave Davis
- Cara Honeychurch
- Tish Johnson
- Johnny Petraglia
- Andy Varipapa
Boxing
- Carmen Basilio
- James "Gentleman Jim" Corbett
- Marvin Hagler
- "Prince" Naseem Hamed
- Oscar de la Hoya
- Reggie Johnson
- Rafael "Bazooka" Limon
- Freddie Miller
- Jacker Patterson
- Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker
Cricket
- Allan Border
- Alistair Campbell
- Denis Compton
- Saurav Ganguly
- David Gower
- Brian Lara
- Gary Sobers
- Sachin Tendulkar (bats right-handed)
- Daniel Vettori
- Wasim Akram
Fencing
- Cécile Argiolas
- Laura Flessel-Colovic
- Fabrice Gazin
- Matthieu Gourdain
- Fabrice Jeannet
- Giuseppe Mangiarotti
- Hugues Obry
- Anne-Lise Touya
- Adeline Wuilleme
Football (soccer)
- Hans van Breukelen
- Dan Burbott (?)
- Willem van Hanegem
- Diego Maradona
- Hernán Medford
- Ruud van Nistelrooy
- Pelé
- Arjen Robben
- Hugo Sánchez
- Richard Witschge
- Boudewijn Zenden
- Ryan Giggs
American football
- Frankie Albert
- Terry Baker
- Mark Brunell
- Bobby Douglass
- Norman "Boomer" Esiason
- Jim Del Gaizon
- David Humm
- Paul McDonald
- Scott Mitchell
- Deion Sanders
- Gale Sayers
- Allie Sherman (coach)
- Kenny Stabler
- Michael Vick (only throws with left hand. Writes right handed)
- Steve Young
- Jim Zorn
Golf
- Sir Bob Charles
- Russ Cochran
- Connie Decker
- Ben Hogan (played right-handed, but was actually left-handed)
- Phil Mickelson (plays left-handed, but is actually right-handed)
- Mike Weir (plays left-handed, but is actually right-handed)
- Bonny Bryant
Ice hockey
Motor sport
- Jenson Button (Formula One)
- Johnny Herbert (Formula One)
- Terry Labonte (NASCAR)
- Valentino Rossi (motorcycle racer)
- Ayrton Senna (Formula One)
- Karl Wendlinger (Formula One)
Tennis
- Wayne Arthurs
- Norman Brookes
- Jimmy Connors
- Kenneth Carlsen
- Dwight F. Davis, founder of the Davis Cup
- Courtney De Mone
- Guy Forget
- Andres Gomez (Santos)
- Goran Ivanisevic
- Rod Laver
- Henri Leconte
- Michael Llodra
- Feliciano Lopez
- John McEnroe
- Ricardo Mello
- Jurgen Melzer
- Thomas Muster
- Rafael Nadal
- Martina Navratilova
- Jarkko Nieminen
- Manuel Orantes
- Niki Pilic
- Mariano Puerta
- Renee Richards
- Marcelo Ríos
- Greg Rusedski
- Monica Seles
- Roscoe Tanner
- Fernando Verdasco
- Guillermo Vilas
- Mark Woodforde
Other sports
- Francis X. Gorman (diving)
- Dorothy Hamill (skating)
- Erik Poul Hoejer (badminton)
- Bruce Jenner (decathlon)
- Nikita Koloff (wrestling)
- Greg Louganis (diving)
- Percy Montgomery (kicks left-footed in rugby)
- Peter Rasmussen (badminton)
- Mark Spitz (swimming)
- Donna Stacey (netball)
- John Taylor (rugby; despite being a flanker, he famously converted a kick from the right touchline for a 19-18 Welsh victory over the Scots in 1971. Only a left footed kicker [and a good one] would have been able to make the kick.)
- Jonny Wilkinson (kicks left-footed in rugby)
- Mirko Filipovic (kickboxing and mixed martial arts)
- Andy Hug (kickboxing)
- Jerome Lebanner (kickboxing)
Miscellaneous
- Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts (ambidextrous)
- Henry Ford, automobile manufacturer
- Matt Groening, Simpsons cartoonist (his characters, Bart Simpson, Montgomery Burns and Ned Flanders are all left handed. Flanders even had a "left handed store" for a brief time)
- Ken Jennings, all time Jeopardy! champion
- Joan of Arc (?), French saint
- Helen Keller, advocate for the blind
- John F. Kennedy, Jr., lawyer/publisher
- Jay Leno, TV host
- Lawrence Lessig, professor, activist, lawyer
- Marshall McLuhan
- David Rockefeller, banker
- John Romero, game designer
- Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., General
- Ishihara Shintaro Governor of Tokyo and author
- Albert Einstein, scientist
- Lören GriçhŒk, famous wrestler and diplomat
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