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Eddy Grant
Musical Artist
Edmond Montague "Eddy" Grant is a Guyanese British musician. The Allmusic journalist Jo-Ann Greene noted: "Eddy Grant stands among an elite group of artists as one who has not just merely moved successfully across the musical spectrum, but has actually been at the forefront of genres and even created one of his own. From pop star to reggae radical, musical entrepreneur to the inventor of ringbang, the artist has cut a swath through the world of music and made it his own."
Red Café
Hip hop Artist
Jermaine Denny, better known as his stage name Red Café, is an American rapper. He was born to Afro-Guyanese parents and is signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik, Diddy's Bad Boy Records and Ciroc Entertainment and DJ Clue's Desert Storm label.
C. C. H. Pounder
Actor
Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder, known professionally as C. C. H. Pounder, is a Guyanese-born American film and television actress. She has appeared in numerous films, made-for-television films, television miniseries and plays, and has made guest appearances on notable television shows. From 2002 to 2008, she starred as Detective Claudette Wyms in the FX Networks police drama The Shield. In 2009, she starred as Mo'at in James Cameron's film Avatar. She currently appears in recurring roles as Irene Fredric on the TV series Warehouse 13, and DA Tyne Patterson on the TV series Sons of Anarchy.
Ezekiel Jackson
Wrestler
Rycklon Stephens is a Guyanese bodybuilder and professional wrestler. He is signed in WWE working under the ring name Ezekiel Jackson. Stephens is a one-time world champion, having won the ECW Championship in February 2010, and is recognized by WWE as the final ECW Champion. He is also a one-time Intercontinental Champion.
Mad Professor
Dub Artist
Mad Professor is a Guyanese dub music producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading producers of dub music’s second generation and was instrumental in transitioning dub into the digital age. He has collaborated with reggae artists such as Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sly and Robbie, Pato Banton, Jah Shaka and Horace Andy, as well as artists outside the realm of traditional reggae and dub, such as Sade, Massive Attack, The Orb, and Brazilian DJ Marcelinho da lua.
Clive Lloyd
Cricket - Batsman and Former Captain
Clive Hubert Lloyd CBE AO is a former West Indies cricketer. In 1971 he was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year. He captained the West Indies between 1974 and 1985 and oversaw their rise to become the dominant Test-playing nation, a position that was only relinquished in the later half of the 1990s. He is one of the most successful Test captains of all time: during his captaincy the side had a run of 27 matches without defeat, which included 11 wins in succession. He was the first West Indian player to earn 100 international caps. Lloyd captained the West Indies in three World Cups, winning in 1975 and 1979 while losing the 1983 final to India. Lloyd was a tall, powerful middle-order batsman and occasional medium-pace bowler. In his youth he was also a strong cover point fielder. He wore his famous glasses as a result of being poked in the eye with a ruler. His Test match debut came in 1966. Lloyd scored over 7,500 runs at Test level, at an average of 46.67. He hit 77 sixes in his Test career, which is the sixth highest number of any player. He played for his home nation of Guyana in West Indies domestic cricket, and for Lancashire in England. He is a cousin of spin bowler Lance Gibbs. Since retiring as a player, Lloyd has remained heavily involved in cricket, managing the West Indies in the late 1990s, and coaching and commentating. He was an ICC match referee from 2001–2006.
Walter Rodney
Historian
Walter Rodney was a prominent Guyanese historian, political activist and preeminent scholar, who was assassinated in Guyana in 1980.
Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos
Politician
Valerie Ann Amos, Baroness Amos, PC is the eighth and current UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Before her appointment to the UN, she had been British High Commissioner to Australia. She was made a Labour life peer in 1997 and served as Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council. When Amos was appointed Secretary of State for International Development on 12 May 2003, following the resignation of Clare Short, she became the first black woman to sit in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. She left the Cabinet when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister. She was then nominated to become the European Union Special Representative to the African Union by Brown. In July 2010 Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon announced Baroness Amos's appointment to the role of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and
Emergency Relief Coordinator.
Rohan Kanhai
Cricket - Batsman
Rohan Bholalall Kanhai is a former Guyanese cricketer who represented the West Indies in 79 Test matches. He is widely considered as one of the best batsmen of the 1960s. Kanhai featured in several great West Indian teams, playing with, among others, Sir Garfield Sobers, Roy Fredericks, Lance Gibbs, and Alvin Kallicharran. C. L. R. James wrote in the New World journal that Kanhai was "the high peak of West Indian cricketing development", and praised his "adventuresome" attitude. Kanhai was part of the West Indian team that won the inaugural World Cup. Kanhai made his Test debut during the West Indies' 1957 tour of England and kept wicket for his first three Tests, in addition to opening the batting. Gerry Alexander took over the gloves for the last two Tests. A right-handed batsman, Kanhai scored 6,227 runs in 79 Tests at a robust average of 47.53, with his highest score of 256 coming against India in a Test at Calcutta. When Kanhai retired, his batting average was the fifth-highest of all West Indian cricketers with more than 20 Tests. He was famous for his unorthodox shots, most notably the "falling hook" shot, in which he finished his follow through lying on his back, famously during the West Indies' 1963 tour England when his innings of 77 at The Oval won the match for West Indies. In the 1975 World Cup final, when he was grey-haired and 40, his steady half-century set the platform for an explosive innings by Clive Lloyd.
Carl Hooper
Cricket - Batsman & Bowler (Allrounder)
Carl Llewellyn Hooper is a former West Indian cricket player and captain.
Forbes Burnham
Politician
Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham was a Guyanese political leader and leader of Guyana from 1964 until his death, as the Prime Minister from 1964]] to 1980 and as President from 1980 to 1985.
Alvin Kallicharran
Cricket - Batsman
Alvin Isaac Kallicharran is a former West Indian batsman of Indo-Guyanese ethnicity who played from 1972 to 1981. Kallicharran was born in Georgetown, British Guiana. His brother Derek played first class cricket for Guyana and later the United States of America. A left-handed batsmand and right-arm off spinner, Kallicharran was known for his elegant, watchful batting style. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1973. He was part of the 1975 and 1979 team that won the Cricket World Cup. His highest innings was a score of 187 against India in the 1978–79 tour. He also found success with Warwickshire in English County cricket. While playing against minor county Oxfordshire in the 1984 one day Natwest Trophy he scored 206 and took 6 for 32. One of his most noted international innings, a knock of 158 against England, was shrouded in controversy when he was run out by Tony Greig on the final ball the end of the first day. He attempted to join World Series Cricket, but failed, and was appointed captain of the West Indies in 1977–1978 when Clive Lloyd resigned over the Packer issue. Kallicharan was later involved in further controversy when he led an unofficial rebel tour to South Africa in defiance of the Gleneagles Agreement and anti-apartheid protesters in that country who asserted that official sporting structures were discriminatory. He saw out the rest of his career playing for Orange Free State and Transvaal in South African domestic cricket. He is currently manager of Lashings World XI.
Leona Lewis
Multi-Platinum Selling Music Artist
Lewis was born on April 3, 1985 in the London Borough of Islington , to Aural Josiah "Joe" Lewis, a youth worker from Guyana of Black African descent and Maria Lewis, a British social worker of Welsh , Italian and Irish descent. She rose to fame as the winner of the third series of The X Factor , and became the first female winner of the show. Lewis has gone on to become a multi-platinum selling artist and three time Grammy Award nominee.
Anjulie
Platinum Selling Music Artist / Songwriter
Anjulie was born Anjulie Persaud in 1983 to Indo-Guyanese parents in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Her unreleased singles, "Rain", "Crazy That Way", and "The Heat" have been featured on the MTV television series The Hills and "Addicted2Me" on The City. The single "Boom" has been featured on ABC's Eastwick, The CW's Melrose Place, The Vampire Diaries, and Canada's Next Top Model. Anjulie wrote the single "Don't Call Me Baby" by Canadian recording artist Kreesha Turner which reached number eight on Billboard's Canadian Hot 100 in 2008 and number one on the US Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play Chart. She co-wrote the single "I Want You" with its performer Fefe Dobson. "I Want You" has appeared on various projects ranging from promos for TV shows to promos for films to even a version recorded in Simlish for the PC game The Sims 3: World Adventures. Anjulie's music is featured in the 2009 movie/musical Fame. She wrote and performed "Big Things" which plays during the opening scene of the film.
Sean Patrick Thomas
Actor
Sean Patrick Thomas was born on December 17, 1970 in Wilmington, Delaware to Guyanese parents (Carlton and Cheryl Thomas). He originally went to the University of Virginia to study to be a lawyer. He ultimately got his Master's degree in drama from New York University at the Tisch School of the Arts in 1995. Thomas is best known for his role in the movie Save the Last Dance and Barbershop. He was a cast member on The District, a recurring character on Reaper, Lie To Me and Ringer.
Derek Luke
Critically Acclaimed Actor
Derek was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on April 24, 1974. He won the Independent Spirit Award for his big-screen debut performance in the 2002 film Antwone Fisher, directed and produced by Denzel Washington.
He is the son of pianist, Marjorie Dixon and Guyanese native Maurice Luke, a former actor. He has two brothers, Daniel and Maurice. He is a graduate of Linden High School in Linden, New Jersey. Luke played one of the four male leads in Spike Lee's 2008 war film Miracle at St. Anna, replacing Wesley Snipes, who had to leave the film due to his highly-publicized tax problems. Luke played a small part as a nurse in the 1999 episode "White Collar" of the sitcom The King of Queens, and appeared on on the NBC show Trauma. He played one of the group members of Mayhem in the Moesha episode "Mayhem at the Jam Esp' (March 19, 2001). He plays Alicia Keys' love interest in her music video for "Teenage Love Affair". He played singer Monica's love interest in the her music video for "So Gone". Luke played Sean 'Puffy' Combs in the 2009 film Notorious, and James 'Boobie' Miles in the 2004 film Friday Night Lights. Luke played, Gabe Jones, a member of the Howling Commandos in Captain America: The First Avenger. In June 2011, Luke also began starring in the TNT original medical drama series HawthoRNe as Miles Bourdet, an assistant surgeon from Chicago. From February to April 2013, Luke played the character of "Gregory" in the F/X series The Americans.
Ram John Holder
Actor / Musician
Born in Guyana in 1934, he began his performing career as a folk singer in New York. In 1962 he came to London and worked with Pearl Connor's Negro Theatre Workshop initially as a musician, and later as an actor. His theatre career saw him perform on the major stages in London such as the Royal National Theatre, the Donmar Warehouse and Bristol Old Vic. Holder played the role of Porkpie in the situation comedy Desmond's, which was written by Trix Worrell, and broadcast on Channel 4 from 1989 until 1994. He later had his own short-lived spin-off series Porkpie. Holder has appeared in several television productions and joined the cast of EastEnders in late September 2006, playing Cedric Lucas. Holder is a talented musician, who has recorded a number of albums; Black London Blues (1969), Bootleg Blues (1971), You Simply Are... (1975) and Ram Blues & Soul. He has also released various singles and contributed to soundtracks for film and television, including three songs for the film adaptation of Take a Girl Like You. He is the cousin of jazz musician Frank Holder.
Norman Beaton
Actor / Musician
Norman Lugard Beaton was born in Georgetown, Guyana on October 31, 1934. Beaton taught School and played with the calypso band The Four Bees before leaving Guyana for London in 1960. He then landed a job as a teacher in Liverpool, becoming the first black teacher to be employed by the Liverpool Education Authority. Beaton would soon become frustrated with his job as a teacher and began writing plays, his first play the musical Jack of Spades centered on the doomed relationship between a black man and a white woman. The moderate success gave Beaton enough confidence to give up teaching to concentrate on the theater. In the early seventies, Beaton began to perform in plays in London's West End, in 1970 he played the role of Ariel Shakespeare's The Tempest, which he described in his autobiography as "the most important role of my acting career." In 1975, he helped to establish the Black Theatre of Brixton. In 1976, Beaton broke into television in the series The Fosters, however it was his 6 year run (starting in 1988) on Desmonds as the title character that would become his most well known. In 1991 he appeared as a guest on the Bill Cosby show, he also appeared in several movies including The Mighty Quinn (1989).
Tommy Eytle
Actor & Musician
Tommy Daniel Hicks Eytle was born on July 16, 1927 in Georgetown, Guyana. Eytle's career began in the 1950s. He initially found success playing African and Caribbean music with his calypso band. He continued to perform musically until the mid-1990s. He had many roles on television, radio, film and stage, but he was most famous for playing the role of Jules Tavernier in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 1990 to 1997.
Eytle appeared in films such as Naked Fury (1959), The Criminal (1960) and The Hi-Jackers (1963) and on television in programmes such as The Big Pride (ITV, 1961), a psychological drama about a prison breakout in Guyana written by Jan Carew and Sylvia Wynter. Other credits included Danger Man (1965); The Spies (1966); Adam Adamant Lives! (1966); The Saint (1967); The Troubleshooters (1970); Never Say Die (1970); Quiller (1975); Rumpole of the Bailey (1983); Johnny Jarvis (1983) and Casualty (1987) and Bob's Weekend (1996), among others.
Dawnn Lewis
Actress / Musician
Born on August 13, 1961 in Brooklyn, New York to Guyanese parents. Dawnn is best known for her roles on sitcoms such as "A Different World" and "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper". She co-wrote the theme song to "A Different World" and appeared for the first five of six seasons as "Jaleesa Vinson-Taylor". Dawnn left the show to appear in "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" and performed the theme song for Season 1. Since then, she has appeared in numerous TV series (including Futurama and LaBarbara) sitcoms and has done voice over work.
Dr Cheddi Jagan
Politician
HE Cheddi Berret Jagan was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 1992 to 1997. Jagan is widely regarded in Guyana as the Father of the Nation.
David Lammy
Politician
David Lindon Lammy was born on July 19, 1972 to Guyanese parents in Tottenham, North London, England. He has been a Member of Parliament for Tottenham since 2000.
At the age of 11, David was awarded an Inner London Education Authority choral scholarship to The King's School, Peterborough. He then studied Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London obtaining a first class degree.
David became the first Black Briton to study a Master's in Law at Harvard Law School in 1997 and is a member of Lincoln's Inn having been Called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1994. David returned to England and stood as a Labour candidate for the newly created Greater London Assembly, securing a position as the GLA member with a portfolio for Culture and Arts. Following the sad death of Tottenham's longstanding MP Bernie Grant, David was elected as Labour MP for Tottenham at the age of 27 in June 2000.
Major Shawna Kimbrell
Pioneering Fighter Pilot
Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell is a major in the United States Air Force, and the First female African-American fighter pilot in the history of that service. She flies the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and is stationed at Aviano Air Base, Italy. Kimbrell was born in Lafayette, Indiana, on April 20, 1976, to Guyanese parents. Her mother and father, who were naturalized U.S. citizens by the time she was born, moved to the U.S. for education and opportunities. Their hard work and dedication paid off in her father earning a degree from Howard University and a doctorate from Purdue University, which in turn earned him a job offer in Parker, Colo. That focus on education was a big part of life for Kimbrell and her three older siblings as they spent their school years in Parker. "(Education) was the thing that opened doors," Kimbrell said. "If you got your education, you could do whatever you wanted to do. That was how our house was run." Military decorations awarded: Air Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal.
