A common problem many people have is that they remember people’s faces, but they don’t know their names. That being said, do you sometimes hear a name, but can’t quite put a face to them? Here are 10 people whose names you’ve heard, but you probably wouldn’t know them from just seeing a picture.
Oscar Wilde
Famous for The Portrait if Dorian Grey, and for being probably the most quoted writer of his generation. To this day he is the person who set the bar for sarcastic comebacks, witty remarks, and memorable quips about things like friendship, marriage, money, status, etc. However, for a person who is extremely famous for his words, many people don’t know what his face look like. I’m glad I was able to be here and fix this for you!
Grace Jones
Grace Jones was ahead of her time in many, many ways. She was one of the most famous African American models of the 80s in an industry that was dominated by white models. She was a striking, beautiful, androgynous model in an industry dominated by skinny, feminine models. And yet she was the household name for YSL and Kenzo. Furthermore, she had a successful music career, collaborating with musicians like Nile Rogers, Basement Jaxx, and Lady Gaga. And yet, for all the mentions of her in songs and news articles, many people from our generation don’t know how she looks.
Cheech & Chong
Cheech and Chong were the Harold and Kumar of the previous generation. (Wait, should Harold and Kumar be on this list?) Their main schtick was making hilarious movies that revolved (in one way or another) around smoking copious amounts of MJ and going on rambunctious adventures together. If you listened to any hip-hop in the 90s and early 2000s you surely have heard their names. And now, you also know their faces.
Henry Ford
Henry Ford revolutionized the line-manufacturing process. He was a true efficiency powerhouse of industrial car manufacturing. And yet, for a person who played a crucial role in shaping the world we live in today, few people actually take the time to research him and find out what he looks like.
Mother Teresa
You know who she is. She’s, like, the epitome of a “good person”. Whenever someone in my family does something bad and gets called out for it, they’re surely to reach for the “Well, I’m not Mother Teresa” excuse for their actions. Not that it’s a viable excuse or anything. And truly, anyone comparing themselves to Mother Teresa is doing a disservice to the stupendous amount of humanitarian work she has done in her lifetime. This is the face of a saint. She died in 1997 at the age of 87, and this is what she looked like.
Banksy
Okay, I realize that it’s cheating to include somebody on this list whose face is a mystery to everyone. But over the years there have been many guesses as to who is behind some of the most famous works of street art in the world. Right now, the best guess people have been able to make is that Banksy is the singer of world-famous trip-hop band Massive Attack, Robert Del Naja.
Amelia Earhart
She was an aviation pioneer! She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She inspired millions of women to pursue careers in aviation. She was truly a legend of her era and is still being looked up to today.
Steve Wozniak
Everyone knows who Steve Job is and what he looks like. Everybody also knows that Apple wasn’t built by one man in a garage – it was built by several people in a garage. And the more “in the loop” admirers of Apple know that Steve Wozniak was the brains behind the operation while Jobs was the businessman and flashy presenter of new products. And yet, for all this fame, few people know what Steve Wozniak looks like.
Tommy Wiseau
You know him the way James Franco played him in The Disaster Artist. Tommy Wiseau is the screenwriter and director who birthed the world’s worst movie — The Room. He is a mysterious character. Nobody knows where he came from, where he got the money to make his movie, or how he makes a living. What people do know is that he’s made the worst movie ever and has become a hero for doing this. Few people take the time to find out what he looks like. But, trust me, once you see it, this is a face that you will never forget.
Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf is one of the most famous writers in the world. Amongst famous women writers, she is up there with Emily Dickenson, Emily Bronte, Jane Austin, and Margaret Atwood. She was a feminist writer, penning what many consider to be the manifesto for female writers, A Room of One’s Own. This is what she looked like.
Burt Reynolds
Before Arnold Schwartzeneger, Bruce Willis, Al Pacino, Vin Diesel, The Rock and Chuck Norris — Burt Reynolds was the epitome of macho-actor. His mustache, his signature cowboy hat, his chest hair, women swooned. And yet when he gets mentioned in conversation, many people confuse him with Andrew Reynolds, who (despite my love for Mr. Deadpool) doesn’t exactly display the same level of machismo as old Burt here.
