Generation X

Generation X describes the generation following the baby boom, especially Americans and Canadians born in the 1960s and 1970s. The term is used in demographics, the social sciences, marketing, and more broadly in popular culture.

Although the origins of the term go back at least as far as the early 1960s, it was popularized by Douglas Coupland's 1991 novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture.

It is mostly related to the Western culture and demography and generally refers to persons born in the 1960s and 1970s, although the exact dates of birth defining this age demographic are highly debated. Born after baby boomers, it has also been described as a generation consisting of those people whose "teen years touched the 1980s", though many people that are considered part of the generation had their teenage years during the 1990s.

The term is popularly associated with the people born between 1961 and 1981, although this is disputed. Another common description of Generation X includes within it those people who grew up in a period of transition (1945–1990) beginning with the end of World War II and the decline of colonial imperialism and ending with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. Thus, the transition between colonialism and globalization is thought to separate the Baby Boomers from the Baby Busters, a sub-generation of Generation X made up of the earliest born members. There are some older Generation Xers who frown upon the classification of those born in 1980 or 1981 as being part of Generation X; these individuals often prefer to classify Generation X as those born between 1964 and the mid to late 70's.

The history of the term

The term was coined as a result of a 1964 study of British youth by Jane Deverson. Initially, Deverson was asked by the editor of the magazine Woman's Own to conduct a series of interviews with teenagers of the time. The study revealed teenagers who "sleep together before they are married, don't believe in God, dislike the Queen and don't respect parents" which, due to being a new phenomenon, was deemed unsuitable for the magazine. Deverson, in an attempt to save her research, worked with Hollywood correspondent Charles Hamblett to create a book about the study. Hamblett would decide to name it Generation X.

In America during the 1960s and 1970s, the Civil Rights Movement and the non-conformist youth culture (hippies, etc) of that time defined the name and characteristics of Generation X. First, American civil rights activist Malcolm X changed his last name from 'Little' to 'X' . The letter 'X' became known as a symbol of defiance and rebellion to the societal issues that existed in the USA during the 1960s. Furthermore, the youth culture of the 1960s and 1970s developed a huge defiance against many of the political issues that existed during this time, such as segregation, the Vietnam War, and racism. The harassments experienced by certain social minorities became burning issues: sexual discrimination and homophobia got more attention, which resulted in the emergence of the feminist movement and gay rights. In 1992, a biographical film was made of Malcolm X's life. And, again the 'X' re-emerged to become a symbol of defiance to the societal/political issues that faced the USA during that time: high unemployment, high crime rates, homelessness, poverty, racism, womans rights, gay rights, workers rights, etc.

Simultaneously, the USA were on the verge of electing a Baby Boomer and Vietnam protester from the 1960s as the next President (Bill Clinton). Clinton had an outreach platform targeting the youth of this generation. Issues that this Generation would have to face became part of his presidential platform: such as soaring deficits, college tuition, social security, etc. Generation X voters played a pivotal role in the election of Clinton.

In 1976, the phrase was picked up as the name of a punk rock band featuring Billy Idol, which lasted until 1981. The term Generation X was later popularized in 1991 when Douglas Coupland's popular novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture was published. Coupland took the X from Paul Fussell's 1983 book Class, where the term "class X" designated a region of America's social hierarchy, rather than a generation. However, this term has transcended its roots in that country and expanded into other areas of the West.

Coupland first wrote of Generation X in September, 1987 (Vancouver Magazine "Generation X", pg 164), which was a precursor to the novel and slightly preceeded the term twentysomething. The main character Kevin is a Canadian Trailing Edge Baby Boomer who denies cohort affiliation with his older sister and friends, all Boomers. Kevin and his cohorts are all over-educated, under-employed, pay sky-rocketing living expenses and some are forced to move back home with their parents. Unlike older Boomers, they were too young to march for peace (Vietnam protesting to 1973, typically aged 16-25) and weren't born yet or don't recall when JFK was shot in 1963 (memory starting at age 5). Coupland was referring to those in Canada and America born form 1958 to 1966 or 1964 respectively. As the term Generation X later became somewhat interchangeable with twentysomething, he later revised his notion of Generation X to include anyone known as twentysomething in the years 1987 to 1991.

As Coupland explained in a 1995 interview, "In his final chapter, Fussell named an "X" category of people who wanted to hop off the merry-go-round of status, money, and social climbing that so often frames modern existence." It was after the publication of Coupland's book (and the subsequent popularity of grunge music) that the term began being used as a name for the generation by the media and later by the general public. The media introduced Generation X as a group of flannel-wearing, alienated, overeducated, underachieving slackers with body piercing, who drank franchise-store coffee and had to work at McJobs, concepts that had some truth to them but were in many cases stereotypes. In fact, while Coupland's book is often seen as being an accurate description of the generation, Coupland maintains that the book was meant to show the lack of a single description for it.

Global factors defining Generation X

Japan has its own version of Generation X.

Developing countries, have a Generation X that differs from that in the West, due to poor education and little disposable income. The version of Generation X that the developing nations experience essentially came out of the end of World War II and the subsequent decline of colonial occupation, the changes demanded on social hierarchy that it accompanied among the second generation born since the Second World War, and the duality of democratic transition amid increasing information blockade and ever-increasing numbers of people seeking urban life over an agrarian economy.

The version of Generation X in the developing world is characterised by:

The aspects that bind Generation X across economic levels and cultures are the defining points of the 1970s: the Bretton Woods system and its subsequent failure, the impact of the contraceptive pill on social-interactional dynamics, and the oil shock of 1973.

Other common global influences defining Generation X across the world include: increasingly flexible and varied gender roles for women contrasted with even more rigid gender roles for men, the unprecedented socio-economic impact of an ever increasing number of women entering the non-agrarian economic workforce, and the sweeping cultural-religious impact of the Iranian revolution towards the end of the 1970s in 1979.

The global experience of a cultural transition like Generation X, although in various forms, revealed the inter-dependence of economies since World War II in 1945, and showed the huge impact of American economic policies on the world.

It is particularly important to note Generation X grew up during the end of the cold war and the Ronald Reagan/Margaret Thatcher/Mikhail Gorbachev eras but as they transitioned into adulthood watched the Soviet Union collapse and America become the only superpower.

Beginnings

The generation was traditionally begun at 1965, taking off from the birth-rate-based Baby Boom span of 1946–1964, but since many notable people who are normally thought of as clearly Gen-X, such as Courtney Love, Janeane Garofalo and Eddie Vedder, were born in 1964, this year is often cited as the preferred beginning of Generation X. In their book Generations William Strauss and Neil Howe called this generation the "13th Generation" because the tag, like this generation, is a little Halloweenish, and it is the thirteenth to know the flag of the United States (counting back to the peers of Benjamin Franklin), and set its birth years at 1961 to 1981.

This generation is sometimes also known as the Baby Busters, or just Busters, although in Anthony Brancato's system this generation is divided into two distinctive groups, the Baby Busters (Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain) and the Post-Busters (Ani DiFranco and Alanis Morissette), with the former group's first birth year being fixed at 1958, instead of 1961 (this system also observes 1980 and not 1981 as the last birth year for the Post-Busters). "Baby Busters" (and sometimes twentysomething) was, in fact, the characteristic name used for this generation before Coupland's book was published.

In continental Europe, the generation is often known as Generation E, or simply known as the Nineties Generation, along the lines of such other European generation names as "Generation of 1968" and "Generation of 1914". In France, the term Generation Bof is in use, with "bof" being a French word for "whatever", considered by some French people to be the defining Gen-X saying. In Iran, they are called the Burnt Generation. In some Latin American countries the name "Crisis Generation" is sometimes used due to the recurring financial crisis in the region during those years. In the Communist bloc, these Gen-Xers are often known to show a deeper dislike of the Communist system than their parents since they grew in an era of political and economic stagnation, and were among the first that embraced the ideals of Glasnost and Perestroika, which they tend to be called the Glasnost-Perestroika Generation.

In the USA, this generation's parents are the Baby Boomers (post-WWII) and the Silent Generation. Generation X's typical grandparents are from the G.I. Generation (the World War II generation), but sometimes from the Silent Generation. Generation X's children will be or have been born in the 1990s and the following few decades, including Generation Y and the following generation (Generation Z). Assuming the average person has their children somewhere in his or her 30s, this means Generation X's children will be born between 1994 and 2010. Its typical grandchildren will be born from 2024 to about 2040.

In Western countries, Generation X consists of far fewer people than the baby boom generation and has had correspondingly less impact on popular culture, but it came into its own during the late 1980s and early 1990s. As is common in generational shifts, Gen-X thinking has significant overtones of cynicism against things held dear to the previous generation. A fashion for grunge music exemplified by the band Nirvana expressed the frustrations of a generation forever doomed to live in the shadow of its elders. Others point out that grunge derived its stance and musical values from 1970s punk and heavy metal, and thus was simply part of the wave of 1970s nostalgia that swept college campuses in the early 1990s. European music experienced a renaissance in the form of many kinds of electronic dance music such as Acid House, Rave etc pioneered by groups such as The Shamen which were less beholden to 1970s nostalgia, and more clearly descendant from 1980's American club "house" music. The electronic dance scene in Europe would experience great notoriety thanks to a number of highly publicised Ecstasy related deaths.

Outlook

Some have suggested that Generation Xers are proud not to be from the baby boom generation and actively rebel against the idealism the baby boomers advocated in the 1960s. Some would also argue that it is not merely the idealism of the 1960s that Generation Xers reject, but a deeper cynicism of the fact that such "idealism", inevitably doomed in its gratuitous naivete, so quickly gave way to an era unequivocally focused on commercial and industrial progress; a period which incubated many of the problems facing their, and coming, generations. Those who were born in the 1970s, growing up during the 1980s, and becoming young adults in the 1990s had little to no influence on the observed changes, and many of this generation blame their parents, the baby boomers, with scorn supplemented by self-pride and a respect for the past, specifically for the Lost Generation and Silent Generation, their grandparents, who are seen as actually ideal, as opposed to their parents who strove to be care free, thus quickly forgetting their values. Xers fantasize about how the 1960s and 1970s supposedly offered Boomers easy sex without consequence (though this was still available to the Gen-Xers who came of age in the 1970s) while resenting the lasting damage done by an era in which they now realize they were the babies adults were trying so much not to have. Hence, the rise in rates of divorce. Members of this generation who marry thus profess a desire to keep their marital vows, even though they are predicted more likely to themselves divorce (since Generation X began marrying, divorce rate continues at 50%).

Interestingly, however, while Generation Xers are often considered to be non-ideological politically, the generation has given birth to some extremely persuasive and decidedly ideological political thinkers and writers of many different kinds. Nonetheless, even ideological Generation Xers still appear to clash as much with prior generations and their ideologies and institutions, as they do with each other ideologically.

Other people born in the described time period reject the ideological labels as not particularly useful, and point to social class, geography, and other factors having far more influence than chronology.

Generation X has survived a hurried childhood of divorce, latchkeys, space shuttle explosions (primarily in the United States), open classrooms, widespread political corruption, inflation and recession, post-Vietnam national malaise, environmental disaster, the Islamic Revolution (in Iran), devil-child movies, and a shift from "G" to "R" ratings (which had little effect outside the United States). Divorce became common place and affected families of all social and economic backgrounds. Naturally, Gen Xers were affected by the continual bombardment of images of the nuclear family and feelings of inadequacy and isolation from society resulted. They came of age curtailing the earlier rise in youth crime (particularly in South America, though crime fell in Iran) and fall in SAT test scores—yet heard themselves denounced as so wild and stupid as to put The Nation At Risk. As young adults, maneuvering through a sexual barricade of AIDS and blighted courtship rituals, they date cautiously. Divorce rates grew, however significant alternatives to traditional marriage (from remaining single to same-sex couples to merely "living together") also arose. Technology-wise the "creation" and spreading of the Internet rendered face-to-face communication secondary, books beside the point, near-infinite knowledge on hand at all times, and tech-related jobs a hot commodity. In jobs, they embrace risk and prefer free agency to loyal corporatism. Politically, they often lean towards nonaffiliation in the USA, but many express liberal or progressive views. Outside the US, many lean towards libertarianism or anarchism. Sometimes criticized as "slackers", they nevertheless were widely credited with a new growth of entrepreneurship and the resulting dot-com boom. The 1991 end of the Cold War was also very important, particularly for those within the former Soviet bloc.

Gen-Xer Celebrities

Generation X has been defined and influenced by many prominent leaders in the fields of business, film, music, politics and sports. Prominent Gen-Xer Celebrities include:

1964

• Jeff Bezos – founder, amazon.com
• Juliette Binoche, French actress
• Barry Bonds – MLB player, San Francisco Giants
• Nicolas Cage – actor, Raising Arizona; Adaptation.
• Tracy Chapman – blues vocalist
• Les Claypool – rock vocalist/bassist, Primus
• Chris Cornell – rock vocalist/guitarist, Soundgarden, Audioslave
• Courteney Cox – actress, Friends; Scream
• Matt Dillon – actor, Wild Things
• Brett Easton Ellis – novelist, Less Than Zero; American Psycho
• Chris Farley – comedian/actor, "Saturday Night Live"
• Calista Flockhart – actress, "Ally McBeal"
• Bridget Fonda – actress, Single White Female
• Vivica A. Fox - actress Soul Food, Independence Day, Kill Bill: Vol. 1
• Janeane Garofalo – actress/comedian
• Robin Givens - actress, Head of the Class
• Jasmine Guy - actress, A Different World
• Teri Hatcher – actress, Desperate Housewives
• Michael Johns – health care executive and former White House speechwriter
• Lenny Kravitz – rock vocalist/guitarist
• Bobby Labonte – NASCAR driver
• Courtney Love – vocalist/guitarist for the band Hole.
• Rob Lowe – actor, St. Elmo's Fire; The Outsiders
• Tom Morello – rock guitarist, Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave
• Keanu Reeves – actor, The Matrix; Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
• Jim Rome – sports tv/radio personality
• Yeardley Smith – actress, voice of Lisa Simpson
• Eddie Vedder – rock vocalist, Pearl Jam

1965

• Mike Bliss (NASCAR Driver)
• Jon Cryer – actor, Pretty in Pink; "The Famous Teddy Z"
• Tommy Davidson - actor/comedian Booty Call
• Michael Dell – founder, Dell, Inc.
• Robert Downey Jr. – actor, Weird Science; Natural Born Killers
• Dr. Dre - rapper/music producer
• Jami Gertz – actor, The Lost Boys; Sixteen Candles
• Martin Lawrence - actor/comedian, Martin
• Brandon Lee - actor, (son of Bruce Lee) The Crow (d. 1993)
• Sam Mendes - filmmaker, American Beauty
• Sarah Jessica Parker - actress, "Square Pegs"; "Sex and the City"
• Trent Reznor - industrial musician/vocalist, nine inch nails
• David Robinson – NBA forward
• Chris Rock - actor/comedian
• Joanne Kathleen Rowling - author, Harry Potter series
• Charlie Sheen – actor, Platoon; Wall Street (movie)
• Brooke Shields – model/actress, The Blue Lagoon
• Ben Stiller - actor, There's Something About Mary; Meet the Parents; Zoolander
• Shania Twain – country vocalist
• Larry Wachowski – filmmaker, The Matrix
• Veronica Webb - model/actress

1966

• Michelle Akers – soccer player
• Halle Berry – actress, Monster's Ball; Jungle Fever
• Ricky Craven (NASCAR Driver)
• Cindy Crawford – model/actress
• John Cusack – actor, Being John Malkovich; Sixteen Candles
• Janet Jackson – pop vocalist/actress
• Greg Maddux – MLB pitcher
• Adam Sandler - actor/comedian, "Saturday Night Live"; Happy Gilmore
• Kiefer Sutherland – actor, The Lost Boys; Stand by Me
• David Schwimmer - actor/director, "Friends"
• Mike Tyson – boxer, undisputed heavyweight champion
• Rob Zombie - rock vocalist, White Zombie

1967

• Jim Abbott – MLB player
• Pamela Anderson – centerfold/actress, "Baywatch"
• Boris Becker – tennis pro
• Lisa Bonet – actress, "The Cosby Show"
• Jeff Burton (NASCAR Driver)
• Kurt Cobain –rock vocalist/guitarist, Nirvana (died 1994)
• Harry Connick Jr, singer, musician, actor
• Billy Corgan - rock vocalist, Smashing Pumpkins; Zwan
• Evan Dando – rock vocalist/guitarist, Lemonheads
• Jamie Foxx - actor In Living Color, Booty Call, Ray
• Nicole Kidman - Australian actress and singer
• Dave Matthews – jazz & rock vocalist/guitarist, Dave Matthews Band
• Matt LeBlanc - actor, "Friends"
• Liz Phair - rock vocalist/musician
• Julia Roberts - actress, Pretty Woman (movie)
• Andy Wachowski – filmmaker, The Matrix
• Moon Unit Zappa – entertainer; daughter of Frank Zappa

1968

• Patricia Arquette – actor, True Romance; Ed Wood
• Damon Albarn – musician, Gorillaz, Blur.
• Toni Braxton - singer, actress, broadway
• Gary Coleman – actor, "Diff'rent Strokes"
• Tim Commerford – bassist, Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave
• Celine Dion Angelil – pop vocalist
• Anthony Michael Hall – actor, The Breakfast Club; Weird Science
• Tony Hawk – skateboarding legend
• Salma Hayek – actress, Four Rooms
• LL Cool J - Hip-Hop artist, actor
• Karyn Parsons - actress, Fresh Prince of Bel Air
• Mary Lou Retton – gymnast, 1984 Olympic gold medalist
• Molly Ringwald – actor, The Breakfast Club; Pretty in Pink
• Barry Sanders – Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, Detroit Lions
• John Singleton - film director Boyz N the Hood , 2 Fast 2 Furious
• Will Smith – rapper/actor, Independence Day; Men in Black
• Sammy Sosa – MLB player, Chicago Cubs
• Wuer Kaixi – Chinese politician
• Brad Wilk – drummer, Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave

1969

• Jennifer Aniston – actor, "Friends"
• Marc Anthony - pop vocalist
• Tucker Carlson – conservative television commentator
• Brett Favre – NFL quarterback, Green Bay Packers
• Kim Fields - actress, The Facts of Life
• Steffi Graf – tennis player
• David Grohl - rock vocalist/drummer/guitarist, Nirvana; Foo Fighters
• Ice Cube - rapper/actor, N.W.A.; Boyz N the Hood; Friday
• Spike Jonze - filmmaker, Being John Malkovich
• Jennifer Lopez - actress/singer]/dancer, In Living Color, Gigli
• Marilyn Manson - rock vocalist, Marilyn Manson
• Edward Norton - actor, Fight Club
• Trey Parker, co-creator of South Park
• Matthew Perry - actor, "Friends"
• Jason Priestley - actor, Beverly Hills, 90210
• The RZA – rapper/producer, Wu-Tang Clan
• Christian Slater - actor, Heathers
• Emmitt Smith – NFL running back, Dallas Cowboys; Arizona Cardinals
• Gwen Stefani - rock vocalist, No Doubt
• Renee Zellweger - actress, Jerry Maguire

1970

• Andre Agassi – tennis player
• Beck - musician/songwriter
• Lara Flynn Boyle - actress; Wayne's World, The Practice
• Kirk Cameron - actor Growing Pains
• Naomi Campbell - model
• Mariah Carey – pop vocalist
• Matt Damon - actor, Good Will Hunting
• Zack de la Rocha - rapper/political activist, Rage Against The Machine
• Ani DiFranco – pop vocalist
• Harold Ford, Jr. - Tennessee Congressman, United States House of Representatives
• Deborah Gibson – pop vocalist
• Heather Graham - actress
• Macy Gray - singer/songwriter
• Regina Hall - actress
• Stephanie Herseth - South Dakota Congresswoman, United States House of Representatives
• Malcolm-Jamal Warner - actor, "The Cosby Show"
• Kwame Kilpatrick - Mayor of Detroit, Michigan
• Nia Long - actress Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Soul Food
• Michelle Malkin - writer, political commentary
• Sharmba Mitchell - boxer
• Shemar Moore - model/actor
• Alonzo Mourning - basketball player
• P. Diddy (a.k.a. Puff Daddy) – rapper/music producer
• River Phoenix – actor, Stand by Me (died 1993)
• Queen Rania of Jordan - Queen of Jordan
• Michael Rapaport - actor/comedian
• Kelly Ripa - actress. Live! With Regis and Kelly
• Roselyn Sanchez - actress Rush Hour 2
• Rick Schroeder - actor, "Silver Spoons"; "NYPD Blue"
• M. Night Shyamalan – filmmaker, The Sixth Sense
• Queen Latifah - actress, hip-hop artist, Living Single, Set It Off
• Claudia Schiffer - model
• Uma Thurman - actress, Pulp Fiction
• Vince Vaughn - actor Swingers, Old School, Wedding Crashers

1971

• Christina Applegate - actress, Married... with Children
• Lance Armstrong – cyclist, seven–time Tour de France winner
• Derek R. Audette - Poet, artist, musician
• Dido, pop vocalist
• Shannen Doherty - actress, Beverly Hills, 90210
• Amy Hillgren Peterson– Pulitzer-nominated author
• Brad Friedel – soccer player
• Jeff Gordon – Nascar Driver, four–time Winston Cup Champion
• Regina King - actress 227), Jerry Maguire, Ray
• Pedro Martinez – MLB player
• Selena Quintanilla – (a.k.a. Selena) Latin vocalist (died 1995)
• Alfonso Ribeiro - actor Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Silver Spoons
• Scott Riggs (NASCAR Driver)
• Winona Ryder – actress, Heathers; Edward Scissorhands
• Pete Sampras – tennis player
• Tupac Shakur – rapper/actor/poet (died 1996)
• Jada Pinkett Smith – actress, married to Will Smith
• Tony Stewart (NASCAR Driver)
• Matt Stone, co-creator of South Park
• Christine Taylor – actress
• Tiffany (singer) – pop vocalist
• Felix Trinidad – boxer
• Mark Wahlberg - (formerly known as Marky Mark) rapper, actor
• Shawn Wayans - Scary Movie
• Ryan White – AIDS activist (died 1990)
• Luke Wilson – actor, The Royal Tenenbaums; Old School

1972

• Billie Joe Armstrong – rock singer; Green Day
• Jill Arrington – college football reporter, ESPN
• Ben Affleck – actor
• Stanton Barrett (NASCAR Driver/Stuntman)
• Elizabeth Berkley - actress, Saved By The Bell, Showgirls
• Tre Cool – rock drummer; Green Day
• Cameron Diaz – actress, There's Something About Mary
• Mike Dirnt – rock bassist; Green Day
• Carmen Electra - actor, singer, dance Baywatch
• Eminem – rapper/actor, 8 Mile
• Mia Hamm – soccer player
• Matt Kenseth (NASCAR Driver)
• Alyssa Milano - actress, Who's The Boss?, Melrose Place, Charmed
• Thandie Newton - actress, Mission Impossible 2
• The Notorious B.I.G. – (a.k.a. Biggie Smalls) rapper (died 1997)
• Shaquille O'Neal – NBA center, Orlando Magic; Los Angeles Lakers; Miami Heat
• Snoop Dogg – rapper ; hip hop artist
• Trista Rehn – The Bachelorette
• Samantha Smith – political activist (died 1985)
• Chris Tucker - actor Rush Hour, Friday
• Marlon Wayans - actor Scary Movie
• Wil Wheaton – actor, Stand by Me

1973

• Tyra Banks - model/actress, Coyote Ugly, Higher Learning
• Kate Beckinsale - actress, The Aviator
• Neve Campbell - actress, Party of Five, Scream
• Dave Chappelle - actor/comedian
• Shannon Elizabeth - actress, American Pie
• Faith Evans - R&B singer
• Brian Austin Green - actor Beverly Hills 90210
• Claudia Jordan - model The Price is Right
• Monica Lewinsky - former White House intern, President Bill Clinton's mistress
• Juliette Lewis - actress, Natural Born Killers
• Rose McGowan – actress, Scream
• Monica Seles – tennis player
• Tori Spelling - actress, Beverly Hills, 90210
• Ichiro Suzuki – MLB outfielder

1974

• Leonardo DiCaprio actor, Titanic
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. – NASCAR Driver
• David Faustino - actor Married... With Children
• Jewel – vocalist
• Alanis Morissette - rock vocalist
• Kate Moss - supermodel
• Mekhi Phifer - actor I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, 8 Mile
• Tiffani-Amber Thiessen - actress, Saved By The Bell, Beverly Hills, 90210
• Lark Voorhies - actress, Saved By The Bell
• Meg White - drummer, The White Stripes

1975

• Drew Barrymore – actress, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; Scream
• David Beckham – soccer player
• Lauryn Hill – hip–hop vocalist
• Eva Longoria - actress, Desparate Housewives
• Heather O'Rourke - actress, Poltergeist series (d. 1988)
• Alex Rodriguez – MLB shortstop
• Kate Winslet – actress, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• Tiger Woods – golfer
• Jack White - musician, producer and actor The White Stripes

1976

• Jennifer Capriati – tennis player
• Tim Duncan – NBA center, San Antonio Spurs
• Peyton Manning – NFL quarterback, Indianapolis Colts
• Ronaldo – Brazilian soccer player
• Alicia Silverstone – actress, Clueless
• Reese Witherspoon – actress, Election; Legally Blonde

1977

• Dustin Diamond (TV Series "Saved By The Bell")
• Edward Furlong (Feature Films)
• James Van Der Beek (TV Series "Dawson's Creek")
• Liv Tyler (Feature Films)
• Jenna Von Oy (TV Series "Blossom")
• Jaleel White (TV Series "Family Matters")

1978

• Katie Holmes (TV Series "Dawson's Creek")
• Joshua Jackson (TV Series "Dawson's Creek")
• Kimberly McCullough (TV Series "General Hospital)
• A. J. McLean (singer- Backstreet Boys)
• Kel Mitchell (TV Series "Kenan & Kel")
• Tia and Tamera Mowry (TV Series "Sister, Sister")
• Usher Raymond (Music Artist)
• Kenan Thompson (TV Series "Kenan & Kel")

1979

• Aaliyah (Music Artist) (d. 2001)
• Tatyana Ali (TV Series "Fresh Prince of Bel Air")
• Lance Bass (singer- NSYNC)
• Claire Danes (Feature Films)
• Carl Edwards (NASCAR Driver)
• Jennifer Love Hewitt (TV Series "Party Of Five")
• Mya (Music Artist)
• Michael Owen (English Soccer Player)
• Pink (Music Artist)
• Keshia Knight Pulliam (TV Series "The Cosby Show")
• Rider Strong (TV Series "Boy Meets World")

Contemporary Cultures