2. James Dean
Born on February 8, 1931, James Dean was an American actor, and a cultural icon of the United States.
Dean’s first television appearance was in a Pepsi Cola television commercial, after which he quit college to act full-time.
James Dean attended drama classes at UCLA University, and in the early 50s he starred in many small time television and film roles.
But he didn’t become internationally famous until the release of the 1953 adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden, in which Dean played the loner Cal Trask.
He quickly followed up his role in Eden with a starring role as Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause, a movie that would prove to be hugely popular among teenagers.
The well known sex symbol died in an automobile accident on September 30, 1955, at the age of only 24.
