Leap Day birthday 2024: List of celebrities set to celebrate their birth anniversary on February 29, 2024

About 5 million people worldwide share a Leap Day birthday, according to Associated Press. This number refers to 0.06 percent of the 8 billion people on the earth.

Leap year’s origin can be traced back to over 2,000 years ago. This was done to help align the standard Gregorian calendar with the solar calendar and take into account the fact that the Earth takes slightly over 365 days to orbit the sun that is 365.2422 days, to be exact.

Also read: Take a second to look before you leap

According to the Gregorian calendar that is the world’s most widely used civil calendar, each leap year consists of 366 days instead of 365. This extra day, known as Leap Day, adjusts for the fact that an astronomical year is slightly less than 365 days and 6 hours. The last Leap Day occurred in 2020, and the next will arrive in 2028.

Also read: February 29: What would happen without a Leap Day? It’s more than you might think

In New Zealand, the official birthday of ‘Leap year babies’ falls on February 28 in common years; in other countries like the United Kingdom, these people with birthdays on a rare date have to wait until March 1.

Also read: What’s in a leap year? Eternal youth, wedding bells and tech bugs

Let’s have a look at 32 celebrity leaplings who were born on Leap Day.

Indians who mark their birthday on Leap Day are:

Morarji Desai who was a freedom fighter and former Indian prime minister was born on February 29 in the year 1896. He passed away on April 10, 1995. Morarji Desai marked just 24 birthdays while alive despite being alive for 99 years.
Prakash Nanjappa, an Olympian and Arjuna Awardee Indian shooter, was born on 29 February in the year 1976. He has been honoured with several accolades including a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and bronze medals respectively at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, the 2016 ISSF World Cup in Korea and the 2013 Changwon World Cup.
Rukmini Devi who was a legendary Bharatanatyam dancer and founder of Kalakshetra was on February 29 in the year 1904.

Other celebrities across the world who mark their birthday on Leap Day are:

Ja Rule (rapper)
Tony Robbins (motivational speaker and life coach)
Peter Scanavino (actor, stars in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”)
Mark Foster (lead singer of the band Foster the People)
Dennis Farina (actor, known for his roles in “Crime Story” and “Law & Order”)
Dinah Shore (singer, talk show host)
Jessie Usher (actor, co-starred in “Independence Day: Resurgence”)
Ken Foree (actor, best known from the horror film “Dawn of the Dead”)
Saul Williams (rapper)
Jimmy Dorsey (big band leader, saxophonist)
Cam Ward (hockey player)
Cullen Jones (Olympic medal-winning swimmer)
Al Rosen (Major League Baseball player)
Henri Richard (hockey player)
Monte Kiffin (football coach)
Pedro Sánchez (prime minister of Spain)
Bart Stupak (former U.S. representative)
Alex Rocco (actor, played Moe Greene in “The Godfather”)
Jack Lousma (NASA astronaut)
Sir Lucian Grainge (businessman, chief executive officer of Universal Music Group)
Michèle Morgan (French film actor)
James Mitchell (actor, best known for the soap opera “All My Children”)
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (composer)
Joss Ackland (British actor)
Pepper Martin (Major League Baseball player)
William Wellman (Oscar-winning screenwriter and film director)
Taylor Twellman (soccer player)
Jessica Long (Paralympic swimmer)
Chris Conley (Singer and guitar player in the band Saves the Day)

Also read: ‘Couples who get married on Feb 29…’: Check superstitions, traditions around Leap Year 2024

“Leap year babies” will get the opportunity to mark their rare birthday on February 29 this year as the day comes only once every four years. Hence, this day has been the centre of occasional bureaucratic challenges and has often been the centre of several jokes.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it’s all here, just a click away! Login Now!