Morgan Freeman joins a slew of other celebrities in celebrating a happy birthday today. These other celebrities include comedienne Amy Schumer, model-actress Heidi Klum, actor Jonathan Pryce, and singer Alanis Morissette. They all share a birthday in common with a cinematic legend who has become a role model for women everywhere, Marilyn Monroe.
Amy Schumer gained fame over the past few years, starting as a relatively unknown comedienne whose humor centers on sex. After a few roasts, she rose to become one of the biggest funny ladies in entertainment, starring in Trainwreck with WWE’s John Cena and becoming a vocal spokeswoman for feminism alongside Emma Watson and Jennifer Lawrence.
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Happy birthday, Amy Schumer! Celebrate with six of her biggest badass moments: https://t.co/c0EE3cEU45 pic.twitter.com/4saS41t1Gr
— Us Weekly (@usweekly) June 1, 2016
Heidi Klum is famous for her on-screen roles in Ella Enchanted , as well as reality shows Germany’s Next Top Model , Project Runway , and America’s Got Talent . That’s only the surface of what she’s done with her career, as she’s also a businesswoman, TV producer, and fashion designer. Possibly inspiring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, she tends to stay out of the spotlight and focus on clothing.
Jonathan Pryce shares the most in common with Morgan Freeman. While his on-screen roles aren’t as well-known, he has won several awards and been nominated for a Golden Globe. Those roles weren’t from G.I. Joe , Pirates of the Caribbean , or Tomorrow Never Dies , but he was recognized several times for 1995’s Carrington .
Happy 79th birthday to Morgan Freeman! pic.twitter.com/O1bOdphXsb
— TheLADbible (@TheLadBible) June 1, 2016
According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle , Alanis Morissette is one of those singers most of us know from her Jagged Little Pill days, making classic angst-driven tunes like “Ironic,” “You Outta Know,” and “Thank You.” She has also had some screen time most notably in Kevin Smith’s Dogma , where she played the role of God, one of whose messengers included the late Alan Rickman.
Happy birthday, Morgan Freeman! To celebrate, we played “20 Questions” with him. #StoryOfGod https://t.co/EExMHTKLeH
— Nat Geo Channel (@NatGeoChannel) June 1, 2016
Morgan Freeman is an actor whose roles have been some of the most renowned in film history. His resume looks even more impressive when you realize he suffers from fibromyalgia, a nervous system disorder that causes the victim to live in almost perpetual pain. You can’t tell that from his ever-calm demeanor, as he’s been known to be the voice of reason and a favorite actor for voice-overs.
Freeman’s first big role was in the TV series The Electric Company , where he was Mark, Mel Mounds, the easy reader, and others. A bit of trivia you might not be aware of is that another one of the singers of the original theme song was none other than Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito, who would eventually become better known as drug kingpin Gustavo Fring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPI63UKkdHY
Morgan Freeman finally saw big-screen love when he was cast in The Bonfire of the Vanities as Judge Leonard White and in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves as Azeem. Since then he has landed some of the most notable roles, such as Ellis Boyd Redding in the film adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Shawshank Redemption . Freeman was God in Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty , Lucius Fox in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, and detective Alex Cross in the film adaptations of Tom Clancy’s Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider , as well as Somerset in Se7en .
Actor Morgan Freeman has proven that it is possible to cast aside stereotypes and make a name for yourself in the film industry. He still has several films on the way up through next year.
Happy Birthday, Morgan Freeman. You are in great company having been born on June 1.
[Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus]