1981 in film

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

Events

• January 19 – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it.
• March 30 - The 53rd Academy Awards are postponed due to the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan earlier that day. They are held the following day with a message from the President recorded for the ceremony prior to the assassination attempt.
• June 8 - Marvin Davis acquires 20th Century Fox for $720 million.
• June 12 – Raiders of the Lost Ark is released by Paramount Pictures. It became Paramount's highest-grossing film of all time and set a major standard for many action-adventure movies to date and spawned three sequels.
• August 21 – An American Werewolf in London is released and becomes a landmark in Visual Effects and Makeup.
• November 1 - United International Pictures is created to handle international distribution of films for United Artists, MGM, Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures to replace Cinema International Corporation following MGM's acquisition of UA.
• November 25 - Norman Lear and his partner Jerry Perenchio agree to buy Avco Embassy for $25 million.
• November 29 – Natalie Wood drowns in a boating accident off Santa Catalina Island.

  Awards

Notable films released in 1981

A

• Absence of Malice, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Paul Newman, Sally Field, Bob Balaban, Melinda Dillon
• All Night Long, starring Barbra Streisand, Gene Hackman, Diane Ladd, Dennis Quaid
• ...All the Marbles, starring Peter Falk, Vicki Frederick and Laurene Landon
• The Amateur, starring John Savage, Christopher Plummer, Marthe Keller
• American Pop, an animated rotoscope musical by Ralph Bakshi and starring Ron Thompson
• An American Werewolf in London, directed by John Landis, starring David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny Agutter –
• Amy, starring Jenny Agutter and Barry Newman
• Arthur, starring Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Stephen Elliott, Jill Eikenberry
• The Aviator's Wife, directed by Éric Rohmer –

  B

• Back Roads, directed by Martin Ritt, starring Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones
• Beau-père, directed by Bertrand Blier –
• Die Berührte, directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms –
• Betrayal –
• Bianco, rosso e Verdone –
• Blind Chance –
• The Blood of Hussain –
• Blood Wedding, directed by Carlos Saura –
• Blow Out, directed by Brian De Palma, starring John Travolta, Nancy Allen, Dennis Franz, John Lithgow
• The Boat Is Full –
• Body and Soul, starring Jayne Kennedy, Leon Isaac Kennedy, Michael V. Gazzo
• Body Heat, directed by Lawrence Kasdan, starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Ted Danson, Richard Crenna, J. A. Preston, Mickey Rourke
• Das Boot, directed by Wolfgang Petersen, starring Jürgen Prochnow –
• Buddy Buddy, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau
• Buriki no kunsho –
• The Burning, starring Brian Matthews –
• The Bushido Blade
• Bustin' Loose, starring Richard Pryor and Cicely Tyson

  C

• The Cannonball Run, directed by Hal Needham, starring Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Adrienne Barbeau
• Carbon Copy, starring George Segal, Denzel Washington, Susan Saint James, Jack Warden
• Cattle Annie and Little Britches, starring Burt Lancaster, Rod Steiger, John Savage, Diane Lane, Amanda Plummer
• Caveman, directed by Carl Gottlieb, starring Ringo Starr, Dennis Quaid, Shelley Long
• Chariots of Fire, directed by Hugh Hudson, starring Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nigel Havers, Ian Holm –
• Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen, starring Peter Ustinov, Lee Grant, Angie Dickinson
• Charlotte –
• The Chosen, starring Robby Benson, Barry Miller, Maximilian Schell, Rod Steiger
• Christiane F. – We Children from Bahnhof Zoo, directed by Uli Edel, starring Natja Brunckhorst –
• Chu Chu and the Philly Flash, directed by David Lowell Rich, starring Carol Burnett and Alan Arkin
• Circle of Deceit, directed by Volker Schlöndorff, starring Bruno Ganz, Hanna Schygulla and Jerzy Skolimowski –
• Clash of the Titans, starring Harry Hamlin, Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress –
• Condorman, starring Michael Crawford, Oliver Reed, Barbara Carrera –
• Le confort et l'indifférence –
• Continental Divide, starring John Belushi, Blair Brown, Allen Garfield
• Coup de torchon, directed by Bertrand Tavernier, starring Philippe Noiret and Isabelle Huppert –
• Cutter's Way, starring Jeff Bridges, Lisa Eichhorn, John Heard

  D

• Dance Craze, concert documentary featuring Madness, The Beat, The Specials and others –
• Dark Night of the Scarecrow
• Dead & Buried, starring James Farentino
• Deadly Blessing. starring Sharon Stone and Ernest Borgnine
• Death Hunt, starring Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, Andrew Stevens, Carl Weathers, Angie Dickinson
• The Decline of Western Civilization, a documentary film
• Deprisa, Deprisa, directed by Carlos Saura – – Golden Bear winner
• The Devil and Max Devlin, starring Elliott Gould and Bill Cosby
• Diva, directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix –
• Do You Remember Dolly Bell? –
• Dragonslayer, starring Peter MacNicol
• Dreszcze –

  E

• Eijanaika, directed by Shohei Imamura –
• Ek Duuje Ke Liye –
• Endless Love, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt
• The Entity, starring Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver, Margaret Blye
• Escape from New York, directed by John Carpenter, starring Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Isaac Hayes, Adrienne Barbeau
• Escape to Victory, directed by John Huston, starring Michael Caine, Sylvester Stallone, Max von Sydow, Pelé
• The Evil Dead, directed by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell
• Excalibur, directed by John Boorman, starring Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicol Williamson, Nicholas Clay, Liam Neeson
• An Eye for an Eye, starring Chuck Norris
• Eye of the Needle, starring Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan –
• Eyewitness, directed by Peter Yates, starring William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Plummer, James Woods

  F

• The Fan, directed by Edward Bianchi, starring Lauren Bacall, James Garner, Maureen Stapleton and Michael Biehn
• Fever, directed by Agnieszka Holland –
• First Monday in October, starring Walter Matthau and Jill Clayburgh
• For Your Eyes Only, starring Roger Moore, with Carole Bouquet, Lynn-Holly Johnson –
• Fort Apache, The Bronx, directed by Daniel Petrie, starring Paul Newman, Ed Asner, Ken Wahl
• Four Friends, directed by Arthur Penn, starring Craig Wasson and Jodi Thelen
• The Four Seasons, directed by and starring Alan Alda, with Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, Sandy Dennis, Len Cariou, Jack Weston
• The Fox and the Hound, with the voices of Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Pearl Bailey
• The French Lieutenant's Woman, directed by Karel Reisz, starring Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons –
• Friday the 13th Part II, directed by Steve Miner, starring Amy Steel, John Furey and Adrienne King
• Full Moon High, starring Adam Arkin
• The Funhouse, directed by Tobe Hooper

  G

• Gallipoli, directed by Peter Weir, starring Mel Gibson –
• Gangster Wars, starring Michael Nouri, Joe Penny, Brian Benben, Madeleine Stowe
• Garde à Vue, starring Romy Schneider and Michel Serrault –
• Gas, starring Susan Anspach, Sterling Hayden, Helen Shaver –
• Ghost Story, starring Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Melvyn Douglas, John Houseman
• The Girl with the Red Hair –
• Going Ape!, starring Tony Danza, Stacey Nelkin, Jessica Walter, Danny DeVito
• Goodbye Pork Pie –
• Graduation Day, starring Christopher George
• The Great Muppet Caper, directed by Jim Henson –
• Gregory's Girl, directed by Bill Forsyth –
• Grendel Grendel Grendel, starring Peter Ustinov –

  H

• Halloween II, directed by Rick Rosenthal, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence
• The Hand, directed by Oliver Stone, starring Michael Caine
• Hands Up!,, directed by Jerzy Skolimowski – – originally made in 1967 but withheld
• Happy Birthday to Me, starring Melissa Sue Anderson and Glenn Ford –
• Hard Country, starring Jan-Michael Vincent and Kim Basinger
• Hardly Working, directed by and starring Jerry Lewis
• Harry's War, starring Edward Herrmann
• Heartbeeps, directed by Allan Arkush, starring Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters
• Heavy Metal, starring John Candy –
• Hell Night, starring Linda Blair
• History of the World, Part I, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, with Gregory Hines, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman
• Honky Tonk Freeway, starring William Devane, Beau Bridges, Teri Garr, Beverly D'Angelo, Howard Hesseman, Jessica Tandy
• The Hound of the Baskervilles –
• The Howling, directed by Joe Dante, starring Dee Wallace and Patrick Macnee

  I-J

• I Love You, starring Sônia Braga –
• The Incredible Shrinking Woman, starring Lily Tomlin, Charles Grodin and Ned Beatty
• Inseminoid, starring Judy Geeson, Stephanie Beacham, Victoria Tennant –
• The Inventor –
• Just Another Missing Kid, winner of Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature –

  K

• Killing Heat, starring Karen Black –
• The Killing of Angel Street –
• Knightriders, starring Ed Harris
• Kranti, starring Dilip Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Shashi Kapoor –

  L

• Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, starring Diane Lane and Laura Dern
• Lady Chatterley's Lover, starring Sylvia Kristel and Nicholas Clay
• The Land of Hunger –
• The Last Chase, starring Lee Majors
• Lawaaris, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman –
• The Legend of the Lone Ranger, starring Klinton Spilsbury, winner of a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor
• Light Years Away, starring Trevor Howard –
• Lili Marleen, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Hanna Schygulla –
• Lion of the Desert, starring Anthony Quinn –
• The Little Fox –
• Lola, a German film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Barbara Sukowa and Armin Mueller-Stahl –
• Looker, directed by Michael Crichton, starring Albert Finney, James Coburn, Susan Dey
• Looks and Smiles, directed by Ken Loach –
• The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie
• Loophole, starring Albert Finney and Martin Sheen

  M

• Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, starring Mel Gibson –
• Man of Iron, directed by Andrzej Wajda – – Palme d'Or winner
• Mandala –
• Marianne and Juliane, directed by Margarethe von Trotta, starring Barbara Sukowa - Golden Lion winner –
• Il Marchese del Grillo, directed by Mario Monicelli, starring Alberto Sordi –
• Masada, TV miniseries, starring Peter O'Toole, Peter Strauss, Barbara Carrera, David Warner
• The Melody Haunts My Memory –
• Mephisto, directed by István Szabó, starring Klaus Maria Brandauer –
• Il minestrone, starring Roberto Benigni –
• Modern Romance, directed by and starring Albert Brooks, with Kathryn Harrold and Bruno Kirby
• Mommie Dearest, starring Faye Dunaway, Diana Scarwid, Steve Forrest – winner of five Golden Raspberry Awards including Worst Picture and Worst Actress
• Montenegro, starring Susan Anspach and Erland Josephson –
• Ms. 45, directed by Abel Ferrara
• Muzhiki! –
• My Bloody Valentine –
• My Dinner with Andre, starring Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory
• The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians –
• The Mystery of the Third Planet –

  N

• Naseeb, starring Amitabh Bachchan –
• National Heritage, directed by Luis García Berlanga –
• Neighbors, starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd
• The Nesting, starring Bill Rowley, Gloria Grahame
• Nice Dreams, a Cheech & Chong film
• Nighthawks, starring Sylvester Stallone, Rutger Hauer, Billy Dee Williams, Lindsay Wagner, Persis Khambatta, Nigel Davenport
• The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, starring Kristy McNichol, Dennis Quaid, Mark Hamill
• Nobody's Perfekt, starring Gabe Kaplan, Alex Karras, Robert Klein

  O

• The Oil, the Baby and the Transylvanians –
• , starring Sam Neill, Rossano Brazzi –
• On Golden Pond, directed by Mark Rydell, starring Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda
• On the Right Track, starring Gary Coleman
• Only When I Laugh, starring Marsha Mason, Kristy McNichol, James Coco, Joan Hackett
• Outland, directed by Peter Hyams, starring Sean Connery and Peter Boyle –

  P

• Passion of Love, directed by Ettore Scola –
• Paternity, directed by David Steinberg, starring Burt Reynolds and Beverly D'Angelo
• La Pelle, directed by Liliana Cavani, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale –
• Pennies from Heaven, starring Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Jessica Harper, Christopher Walken – based on the TV series by Dennis Potter
• Pixote, directed by Héctor Babenco –
• Polyester, directed by John Waters, starring Divine
• Le Pont du Nord, directed by Jacques Rivette –
• Porky's, directed by Bob Clark, starring Dan Monahan, Wyatt Knight, Kim Cattrall, Boyd Gaines, Alex Karras, Susan Clark
• Possession, starring Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill –
• The Postman Always Rings Twice, directed by Bob Rafelson, starring Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange
• Priest of Love, starring Ian McKellen, Janet Suzman, Ava Gardner –
• Prince of the City, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Treat Williams and Jerry Orbach
• Private Lessons, starring Sylvia Kristel, Howard Hesseman, Ed Begley Jr.
• The Prodigal Son, directed by and starring Sammo Hung –
• The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper, starring Treat Williams, Robert Duvall, Kathryn Harrold

  Q

• Quartet, directed by James Ivory, starring Alan Bates, Maggie Smith, Isabelle Adjani –
• Quest for Fire, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud –

  R

• Race for the Yankee Zephyr, starring Ken Wahl, Lesley Ann Warren, George Peppard –
• Raggedy Man, starring Sam Shepard and Sissy Spacek
• Ragtime, directed by Miloš Forman, starring James Cagney, Howard E. Rollins Jr., Elizabeth McGovern, Mandy Patinkin, Mary Steenburgen, Brad Dourif
• Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Harrison Ford and Karen Allen
• Reds, directed by and starring Warren Beatty, with Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Maureen Stapleton, Gene Hackman, Paul Sorvino
• Rich and Famous, directed by George Cukor, starring Jacqueline Bisset and Candice Bergen
• Roar, directed by Noel Marshall, starring Tippi Hedren and Melanie Griffith
• Ritam zločina –
• Roadgames, directed by Richard Franklin, starring Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis –
• Rollover, directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Jane Fonda and Kris Kristofferson
• Ruckus, starring Dirk Benedict, Linda Blair, Richard Farnsworth

  S

• S.O.B., directed by Blake Edwards, starring Julie Andrews, William Holden, Robert Preston, Richard Mulligan
• The Salamander, starring Anthony Quinn, Franco Nero, Eli Wallach, Claudia Cardinale
• Saturday the 14th, starring Paula Prentiss and Richard Benjamin
• Scanners, directed by David Cronenberg –
• Sharky's Machine, directed by and starring Burt Reynolds, with Rachel Ward, Henry Silva, Vittorio Gassman, Charles Durning, Earl Holliman
• Shaukeen, starring Ashok Kumar –
• Shikake-nin Baian –
• Shock Treatment, starring Jessica Harper and Cliff DeYoung
• Short Working Day, directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski –
• Shaolin and Wu Tang, Directed by Liu Chia-Hui, starring Adam Cheng, Gordon Liu and Wang Lung-wei –
• Silence of the North, directed by Allan King, Tom Skerritt, Gordon Pinsent and Ellen Burstyn –
• The Simple-Minded Murderer, starring Stellan Skarsgård –
• The Sixth –
• Smash Palace, directed by Roger Donaldson –
• Sogni d'oro, directed by and starring Nanni Moretti –
• Southern Comfort, directed by Walter Hill, starring Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe and Fred Ward
• Sphinx, starring Lesley-Anne Down and Frank Langella
• Station –
• Strange Affair, starring Michel Piccoli –
• Strange Behavior, starring Michael Murphy and Louise Fletcher –
• Stripes, directed by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates, John Larroquette, John Candy
• Student Bodies
• Suddenly at Midnight –

  T

• Take This Job and Shove It, starring Robert Hays, Barbara Hershey, Art Carney
• Tales of Ordinary Madness, starring Ben Gazzara and Ornella Muti –
• Taps, directed by Harold Becker, starring Timothy Hutton, George C. Scott, Ronny Cox, Sean Penn, Tom Cruise
• Tarzan, the Ape Man, starring Bo Derek and Richard Harris
• Tattoo, starring Bruce Dern and Maud Adams
• Taxi zum Klo –
• Teheran 43, starring Alain Delon –
• They All Laughed, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Audrey Hepburn and Ben Gazzara
• Thief aka Violent Streets, directed by Michael Mann, starring James Caan, Tuesday Weld, James Belushi, Robert Prosky
• This Is Elvis, a documentary
• Three Brothers, directed by Francesco Rosi –
• Threshold, directed by Richard Pearce, starring Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum, Mare Winningham –
• Ticket to Heaven, starring Nick Mancuso, Saul Rubinek, Meg Foster –
• Time Bandits, directed by Terry Gilliam, starring John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall –
• Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Ugo Tognazzi and Anouk Aimée –
• Tree of Knowledge –
• True Confessions, directed by Ulu Grosbard, starring Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Charles Durning, Burgess Meredith, Kenneth McMillan
• The True Story of Ah Q –
• Tuck Everlasting

  U-V

• Under the Rainbow, starring Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher and Billy Barty
• Les Uns et les Autres, directed by Claude Lelouch –
• Útlaginn –
• Variola Vera –
• Vernon, Florida, a documentary

  W

• Whose Life Is It Anyway?, directed by John Badham, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Bob Balaban, Christine Lahti, John Cassavetes
• , starring Robert Conrad
• Winter of Our Dreams, directed by John Duigan, starring Judy Davis, Brian Brown, and Baz Luhrmann –
• Wolfen, starring Albert Finney, Diane Venora and Gregory Hines
• The Woman Next Door, directed by François Truffaut, starring Gérard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant –
• Woman Who Exposes Herself –

  Z

• Zoot Suit, starring Edward James Olmos
• Zorro, The Gay Blade, starring George Hamilton, Lauren Hutton, Brenda Vaccaro, Ron Leibman

  1981 Wide-release movies

January–March

• January 1981
• *January 7
• **Scream
• *January 14
• **Scanners
• *January 28
• **Blood Beach
• **Zombi 2
• *January 30
• **Earthbound
• **The Incredible Shrinking Woman
• February 1981
• *February 6
• **Fort Apache, The Bronx
• *February 11
• **My Bloody Valentine
• **Sphinx
• *February 13
• **American Pop
• **Eyewitness
• March 1981
• *March 6
• **All Night Long
• **The Devil and Max Devlin
• **Maniac
• **On the Right Track
• *March 13
• **Back Roads
• **The Funhouse
• **Modern Romance
• *March 20
• **Amy
• **
• **The Postman Always Rings Twice
• *March 23
• **Inseminoid
• *March 27
• **Eyes of a Stranger
• **Thief

  April–June

• April 1981
• *April 3
• **Alice in Wonderland
• **Atlantic City
• **Hardly Working
• *April 4
• **This Is Elvis
• **Nighthawks
• *April 10
• **Excalibur
• **Going Ape!
• **The Howling
• **Knightriders
• *April 17
• **Caveman
• *April 24
• **Cattle Annie and Little Britches
• **The Hand
• **Ms. 45
• **Night School
• **Take This Job and Shove It
• May 1981
• *May 1
• **Friday the 13th Part 2
• **Graduation Day
• **King of the Mountain
• *May 3
• **Image of the Beast
• *May 8
• **The Burning
• *May 15
• **The Fan
• *May 21
• **Death Hunt
• *May 22
• **Bustin' Loose
• **The Four Seasons
• **The Legend of the Lone Ranger
• **Outland
• *May 29
• **Dead & Buried
• **The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia
• **Polyester
• June 1981
• *June 5
• **Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams
• **Final Exam
• **Tuck Everlasting
• *June 12
• **Clash of the Titans
• **History of the World, Part I
• **Raiders of the Lost Ark
• *June 19
• **The Cannonball Run
• **Superman II
• *June 26
• **Dragonslayer
• **For Your Eyes Only
• **The Great Muppet Caper
• **Stripes

  July–September

• July 1981
• *July 1
• **S.O.B.
• *July 10
• **Escape from New York
• **The Fox and the Hound
• *July 17
• **Arthur
• **Endless Love
• **Zorro, The Gay Blade
• *July 24
• **Blow Out
• **Wolfen
• *July 31
• **Under the Rainbow
• August 1981
• *August 7
• **Condorman
• **Heavy Metal
• **Student Bodies
• *August 14
• **Deadly Blessing
• **An Eye for an Eye
• **They All Laughed
• *August 21
• **An American Werewolf in London
• **First Monday in October
• **Prince of the City
• *August 28
• **Body Heat
• **Chu Chu and the Philly Flash
• **Hell Night
• **Private Lessons
• September 1981
• *September 18
• **Continental Divide
• **Mommie Dearest
• **Raggedy Man
• *September 23
• **Only When I Laugh
• **Rich and Famous
• *September 25
• **The Boogens
• **Carbon Copy
• **So Fine
• ** True Confessions

  October–December

• October 1981
• *October 2
• **Enter the Ninja
• **Paternity
• **Zoot Suit
• *October 9
• **Full Moon High
• **Tattoo
• *October 11
• **My Dinner with Andre
• *October 14
• **Just Before Dawn
• *October 16
• **All the Marbles
• *October 23
• **Galaxy of Terror
• **Nightmare
• **The Pit
• **Silence of the North
• *October 30
• **Looker
• **Halloween II
• November 1981
• *November 6
• **The Prowler
• **Fantasies
• **Time Bandits
• *November 13
• **Porky's
• **The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper
• *November 20
• **The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie
• ** Ragtime
• December 1981
• *December 4
• **On Golden Pond
• **Reds
• *December 11
• **Buddy Buddy
• **Dawn of the Mummy
• **Four Friends
• **Pennies from Heaven
• **Rollover
• *December 18
• **Absence of Malice
• **Ghost Story
• **Neighbors
• **Sharky's Machine
• *December 20
• **Chariots of Fire
• **Taps
• *December 25
• **Modern Problems

  Births

• January 6
• *Rinko Kikuchi, Japanese actress and director
• *Jérémie Renier, Belgian actor
• January 8 – Genevieve Cortese, American actress
• January 21 – Izabella Miko, Polish actress and dancer
• January 22 – Beverley Mitchell, American actress
• January 24 – Carrie Coon, American actress
• January 28 – Elijah Wood, American actor
• January 31 – Justin Timberlake, American singer and actor
• February 9 – Tom Hiddleston, English actor
• February 10 - Stephanie Beatriz, Argentine actress
• February 11 – Kelly Rowland, American singer and actress
• February 12 - Lauri Lagle, Estonian actor, director and screenwriter
• February 17 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor
• February 19 – Beth Ditto, American singer-songwriter
• February 22 – Elodie Yung, French actress
• February 23 – Josh Gad, American actor and comedian
• March 2 – Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
• March 6 – Ellen Muth, American actress
• March 11 – David Anders, American actor
• March 28 – Julia Stiles, American actress
• March 29 – Alexander Fehling, German actor
• March 30 - Katy Mixon, American actress
• April 10
• * Laura Bell Bundy, American actress
• * Michael Pitt, American actor
• April 13 – Courtney Peldon, American actress
• April 19
• * Hayden Christensen, Canadian actor
• * Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian actress
• April 28 – Jessica Alba, American actress
• May 5
• * Danielle Fishel, American actress
• * Farid Kamil, Malaysian actor and film director
• May 11 – Austin O'Brien, American actor
• May 12 – Rami Malek, American actor
• May 15 – Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress
• May 28 – Laura Bailey, American voice actress
• June 1 – Amy Schumer, American actress and comedian
• June 4 – T.J. Miller, American actor, stand-up comedian, producer and writer
• June 7 – Larisa Oleynik, American actress
• June 9 – Natalie Portman, Israeli-American actress
• June 10 – Jonathan Bennett, American actor
• June 13 – Chris Evans, American actor
• June 14 – Chauncey Leopardi, American actor
• June 20 – Alisan Porter, American former actress
• July 24 – Summer Glau, American actress
• July 30
• * Brandon Scott, American actor
• * Lisa Wilhoit, American actress
• August 1 – Taylor Fry, American former child actress
• August 3 – Travis Willingham, American voice actor
• August 4
• * Marques Houston, American singer and actor
• * Meghan Markle, American actress and model
• * Abigail Spencer, American actress
• August 8 – Meagan Good, American actress
• August 20 – Ben Barnes, English actor
• August 24 – Chad Michael Murray, American actor
• August 25 – Rachel Bilson, American actress
• August 27 – Patrick J. Adams, Canadian actor
• September 4 – Beyoncé Knowles, American singer and actress
• September 8 – Jonathan Taylor Thomas, American actor
• September 12 – Jennifer Hudson, American singer and actress
• September 16 – Alexis Bledel, American actress
• September 23 – Misti Traya, American actress
• September 26 – Christina Milian, American singer and actress
• September 29 – Shay Astar, American singer and actress
• September 30 – Ashleigh Aston Moore, American-Canadian former child actress
• October 1 – Rupert Friend, English actor
• October 3 – Seth Gabel, American actor
• October 9 – Zachery Ty Bryan, American actor
• October 12 – Tom Guiry, American actor
• October 22 – Michael Fishman, American actor
• November 9 – Scottie Thompson, American actress
• November 16 – Caitlin Glass, American voice actress
• November 18 – Nasim Pedrad, Iranian-American actress and comedian
• November 20 – Andrea Riseborough, English actress
• December 2 – Britney Spears, American singer and actress
• December 3 – Liza Lapira, American actress
• December 13 – Amy Lee, American singer-songwriter
• December 16 – Krysten Ritter, American actress
• December 18 – Josh Dallas, American actor
• December 27 – Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress
• December 28 – Sienna Miller, English actress

  Notable deaths

Film debuts

• Ben Affleck – The Dark End of the Street
• Jason Alexander – The Burning
• Christina Applegate – Jaws of Satan
• Kim Basinger – Hard Country
• Bart the Bear – Windwalker
• Kenneth Branagh – Chariots of Fire
• Gabriel Byrne – Excalibur
• James Cameron –
• Dana Carvey – Halloween II
• Kevin Costner – Malibu Hot Summer
• Tom Cruise – Endless Love
• Jeff Daniels – Ragtime
• Dennis Farina – Thief
• Stephen Fry – Chariots of Fire
• Jami Gertz – Endless Love
• Bob Gunton – Rollover
• Glenne Headly – Four Friends
• Holly Hunter – The Burning
• Ciarán Hinds – Excalibur
• Jennifer Jason Leigh – Eyes of a Stranger
• Peter MacNicol – Dragonslayer
• Steve Miner – Friday the 13th Part 2
• Alfred Molina – Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Demi Moore – Choices
• Bill Nighy – Eye of the Needle
• Chris Noth – Waitress!
• Sean Penn – Taps
• Ron Perlman – Quest for Fire
• Amanda Plummer – Cattle Annie and Little Britches
• Geoffrey Rush – Hoodwink
• Meg Ryan – Rich and Famous
• Vinessa Shaw – Home Sweet Home
• Mindy Sterling – The Devil and Max Devlin
• Fisher Stevens – The Burning
• Madeleine Stowe – Gangster Wars
• Henry Thomas – Raggedy Man
• Kathleen Turner – Body Heat
• Diane Venora – Wolfen
• Denzel Washington - Carbon Copy
• Hugo Weaving – ...Maybe This Time