Entertainers
- accompanist
- a person who provides musical accompaniment (usually on a piano)
- accordionist
- a musician who plays the accordion
- actor
- a theatrical performer
- actress
- a female actor
- Agnes George de Mille
- United States dancer and choreographer who introduced formal dance to a wide audience (1905-1993)
- Albert Schweitzer
- French philosopher and physician and organist who spent most of his life as a medical missionary in Gabon (1875-1965)
- Alfred Hawthorne
- risque English comedian (1925-1992)
- Alfred Lunt
- United States actor who performed with his wife Lynn Fontanne in many stage productions (1893-1977)
- Alice-Josephine Pons
- United States coloratura soprano (born in France) (1904-1976)
- Alicia Alonso
- Cuban dancer and choreographer (born in 1921)
- Alla Nazimova
- United States actress (born in Russia) (1879-1945)
- Allen Stewart Konigsberg
- United States filmmaker and comic actor (1935-)
- alto
- a singer whose voice lies in the alto clef
- alto saxophonist
- a musician who plays the alto saxophone
- Andre Eglevsky
- United States ballet dancer (born in Russia) (1917-1977)
- Andres Segovia
- Spanish guitarist who made classical guitar a concert instrument (1893-1987)
- Anna Amalia Mercouri
- Greek film actress (1925-1994)
- Anna Pavlova
- Russian ballerina (1882-1931)
- Antoine Domino
- United States rhythm and blues pianist and singer and composer (born in 1928)
- Anton Bruckner
- Austrian organist and composer of romantic music (1824-1896)
- Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein
- Russian composer and pianist (1829-1894)
- Antonio Lucio Vivaldi
- Italian baroque composer and violinist (1675-1741)
- Antony Tudor
- United States dancer and choreographer (born in England) (1909-1987)
- Arcangelo Corelli
- Italian violinist and composer of violin concertos (1653-1713)
- Arthur Jacob Arshawsky
- United States clarinetist and leader of a swing band (1910-2004)
- Arthur John Gielgud
- English actor of Shakespearean roles who was also noted for appearances in films (1904-2000)
- Arthur Marx
- United States comedian; one of four brothers who made motion pictures together (1893-1964)
- Arthur Mitchell
- United States dancer who formed the first Black classical ballet company (born in 1934)
- Arthur Rubinstein
- United States pianist (born in Poland) known for his interpretations of the music of Chopin (1886-1982)
- Arthur Stanley Jefferson Laurel
- United States slapstick comedian (born in England) who played the scatterbrained and often tearful member of the Laurel and Hardy duo who made many films (1890-1965)
- Arthur Tatum
- United States jazz pianist who was almost completely blind; his innovations influenced many other jazz musicians (1910-1956)
- artiste
- a public performer (a dancer or singer)
- Artur Schnabel
- United States composer (born in Austria) and pianist noted for his interpretations of the works of Mozart and Beethoven and Schubert (1882-1951)
- Asa Yoelson
- United States singer (born in Russia) who appeared in the first full-length talking film (1886-1950)
- attracter
- an entertainer who attracts large audiences
- bagpiper
- someone who plays the bagpipe
- balladeer
- a singer of popular ballads
- ballerina
- a female ballet dancer
- ballet dancer
- a trained dancer who is a member of a ballet company
- ballet master
- a man who directs and teaches and rehearses dancers for a ballet company
- ballet mistress
- a woman who directs and teaches and rehearses dancers for a ballet company
- bandsman
- a player in a band (especially a military band)
- Barbra Joan Streisand
- United States singer and actress (born in 1942)
- baritone
- a male singer
- barnstormer
- an actor who travels around the country presenting plays
- Baron Olivier of Birghton
- English actor best know for his Shakespearean roles (1907-1989)
- bass
- an adult male singer with the lowest voice
- bassist
- a musician who play the bass viol
- bassoonist
- a musician who plays the bassoon
- baton twirler
- someone who twirls a baton
- Beatrice Lillie
- British actress (born in Canada) (1898-1989)
- Bela Bartok
- Hungarian composer and pianist who collected Hungarian folk music; in 1940 he moved to the United States (1881-1945)
- Bela Ferenc Blasko
- United States film actor (born in Hungary) noted for portraying monsters (1884-1956)
- bell ringer
- someone who plays musical handbells
- Belle Miriam Silverman
- United States operatic soprano (born in 1929)
- belly dancer
- a woman who performs a solo belly dance
- Benjamin David Goodman
- United States clarinetist who in 1934 formed a big band (including black as well as white musicians) and introduced a kind of jazz known as swing (1909-1986)
- Benjamin Kubelsky
- United States comedian known for his timeing and delivery and self-effacing humor (1894-1974)
- Bessie Smith
- United States blues singer (1894-1937)
- Bette Davis
- United States film actress (1908-1989)
- Bob Dylan
- United States songwriter noted for his protest songs (born in 1941)
- bombshell
- an entertainer who has a sensational effect
- buffoon
- a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior
- bugler
- someone who plays a bugle
- busker
- a person who entertains people for money in public places (as by singing or dancing), usually while asking for money
- canary
- a female singer
- card
- a witty amusing person who makes jokes
- caricaturist
- someone who parodies in an exaggerated manner
- carillonneur
- a musician who plays a carillon
- caroler
- a singer of carols
- Cary Grant
- United States actor (born in England) who was the elegant leading man in many films (1904-1986)
- castrato
- a male singer who was castrated before puberty and retains a soprano or alto voice
- cellist
- someone who plays a violoncello
- character actor
- an actor who specializes in playing supporting roles
- Charles Camille Saint-Saens
- French pianist and composer (1835-1921)
- Charles Christopher Parker
- United States saxophonist and leader of the bop style of jazz (1920-1955)
- Charles Edward Berry
- United States rock singer (born in 1931)
- Charles Hardin Holley
- United States rock star (1936-1959)
- Charles Laughton
- United States film actor (born in England) (1899-1962)
- Charles Robert Redford
- United States actor and filmmaker who starred with Paul Newman in several films (born in 1936)
- choirboy
- a boy who sings in a choir
- chorine
- a woman who dances in a chorus line
- chorister
- a singer in a choir
- Clara Josephine Schumann
- German pianist and composer of piano music; renowned for her interpretation of music, especially the music of her husband Robert Schumann (1819-1896)
- clarinetist
- a musician who plays the clarinet
- co-star
- one of two actors who are given equal status as stars in a play or film
- Coleman Hawkins
- United States jazz saxophonist (1904-1969)
- coloratura
- a lyric soprano who specializes in coloratura vocal music
- comedian
- an actor in a comedy
- comedian
- a professional performer who tells jokes and performs comical acts
- comedienne
- a female comedian
- comedienne
- a female actor in a comedy
- compere
- British term for someone who introduces television acts or cabarets etc
- concertinist
- a person who plays the concertina
- conjurer
- someone who performs magic tricks to amuse an audience
- contralto
- a woman singer having a contralto voice
- Cornelia Otis Skinner
- United States actress noted for her one-woman shows (1901-1979)
- corner man
- a man at one end of line of performers in a minstrel show; carries on humorous dialogue with the interlocutor
- cornetist
- a musician who plays the trumpet or cornet
- countertenor
- a male singer with a voice above that of a tenor
- cowboy
- a performer who gives exhibitions of riding and roping and bulldogging
- cymbalist
- a performer on the cymbals
- Dame Alice Ellen Terry
- English actress (1847-1928)
- Dame Joan Sutherland
- Australian operatic soprano (born in 1926)
- Dame Kiri Janette Te Kanawa
- New Zealand operatic soprano (born in 1944)
- Dame Margot Fonteyn
- English dancer who danced with Rudolf Nureyev (born in 1919)
- Dame Myra Hess
- English pianist (1890-1965)
- Dame Sybil Thorndike
- English actress (1882-1976)
- dance master
- a professional teacher of dancing
- dancer
- a performer who dances professionally
- danseur
- a male ballet dancer who is the partner of a ballerina
- David Garrick
- English actor and theater manager who was the foremost Shakespearean actor of his day (1717-1779)
- Decimus Junius Juvenalis
- Roman satirist who denounced the vice and folly of Roman society during the reign of the emperor Domitian (60-140)
- Dino Paul Crocetti
- United States singer (1917-1995)
- diva
- a distinguished female operatic singer; a female operatic star
- Donald Robert Perry Marquis
- humorist who wrote about the imaginary life of cockroaches (1878-1937)
- Douglas Elton Fairbanks
- United States film actor noted for his swashbuckling roles (1883-1939)
- Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
- United States film actor; son of Douglas Elton Fairbanks, (1909-2000)
- drum majorette
- a female baton twirler who accompanies a marching band
- drummer
- someone who plays a drum
- Dudley Stuart John Moore
- English actor and comedian who appeared on television and in films (born in 1935)
- Dustin Hoffman
- versatile United States film actor (born in 1937)
- E. G. Marshall
- United States actor (1914-1998)
- ecdysiast
- a performer who provides erotic entertainment by undressing to music
- Edith Giovanna Gassion
- French cabaret singer (1915-1963)
- Edmund Kean
- English actor noted for his portrayals of Shakespeare's great tragic characters (1789-1833)
- Edward Goldenberg Robinson
- United States film actor noted for playing gangster roles (1893-1973)
- Edward Kennedy Ellington
- United States jazz composer and piano player and bandleader (1899-1974)
- Edward Lear
- British artist and writer of nonsense verse (1812-1888)
- Edward Vincent Sullivan
- United States host on a well known television variety show (1902-1974)
- Efrem Zimbalist
- United States violinist (born in Russia) (1889-1985)
- Eileen Farrell
- United States operatic soprano noted for the clarity and power of her voice (1920-2002)
- Eleanor Gwynne
- English comedienne and mistress of Charles II (1650-1687)
- Eleonora Duse
- Italian actress best known for her performances in tragic roles (1858-1924)
- Elizabeth Taylor
- United States film actress (born in England) who was a childhood star; as an adult she often co-starred with Richard Burton (born in 1932)
- Ella Fitzgerald
- United States scat singer (1917-1996)
- Elvis Aron Presley
- United States rock singer whose many hit records and flamboyant style greatly influenced American popular music (1935-1977)
- emcee
- a person who acts as host at formal occasions (makes an introductory speech and introduces other speakers)
- Emilie Charlotte le Breton
- British actress and mistress of the prince who later became Edward VII (1853-1929)
- Emmett Kelly
- United States circus clown (1898-1979)
- Enrico Caruso
- outstanding Italian operatic tenor (1873-1921)
- Erich von Stroheim
- United States film actor (born in Austria) (1885-1957)
- Ernestine Schumann-Heink
- United States operatic contralto (1861-1936)
- escape expert
- an entertainer who is expert in the art of escaping
- Ethel Barrymore
- United States actress; daughter of Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Barrymore (1879-1959)
- Ethel Merman
- United States singer who appeared in several musical comedies (1909-1984)
- Ethel Waters
- United States actress and singer (1896-1977)
- Eugene Curran Kelly
- United States dancer who performed in many musical films (1912-1996)
- Eva Le Gallienne
- United States actress (born in England) (1899-1991)
- executant
- a performer (usually of musical works)
- extra
- a minor actor in crowd scenes
- Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe Morton
- United States jazz musician who moved from ragtime to New Orleans jazz (1885-1941)
- fiddler
- a musician who plays the violin
- film star
- a star who plays leading roles in the cinema
- fire walker
- someone who walks barefoot on burning coals
- fire-eater
- a performer who pretends to swallow fire
- flautist
- someone who plays the flute
- folk singer
- a singer of folk songs
- fool
- a professional clown employed to entertain a king or nobleman in the Middle Ages
- Francis Albert Sinatra
- United States singer and film actor (1915-1998)
- Francis Poulenc
- French pianist and composer (1899-1963)
- Francois Couperin
- French composer of music for organ and a member of a family of distinguished organists (1668-1733)
- Francois Rabelais
- author of satirical attacks on medieval scholasticism (1494-1553)
- Frank Cooper
- United States film actor noted for his portrayals of strong silent heroes (1901-1961)
- Franz Liszt
- Hungarian composer and piano virtuoso (1811-1886)
- Fred Astaire
- United States dancer and cinema actor noted for his original and graceful tap dancing (1899-1987)
- Frederic Francois Chopin
- French composer (born in Poland) and pianist of the romantic school (1810-1849)
- Fritz Kreisler
- United States violinist (born in Austria) (1875-1962)
- Gaetan Vestris
- Italian dancing-master for Louis XVI who was considered the greatest dancer of his day; he was the first to discard the mask in mime (1729-1808)
- gagman
- a comedian who uses gags
- Galina Sergeevna Ulanova
- Russian ballet dancer (1910-1998)
- gambist
- a musician who performs upon the viola da gamba
- geek
- a carnival performer who does disgusting acts
- George Balanchine
- United States dancer and choreographer (born in Russia) noted for his abstract and formal works (1904-1983)
- George C. Scott
- award-winning United States film actor (1928-1999)
- George Harrison
- English rock star; lead guitarist of the Beatles (1943-2001)
- George Orson Welles
- United States actor and filmmaker (1915-1985)
- Georges Enesco
- Romanian violinist and composer (1881-1955)
- Georgiana Emma Barrymore
- United States actress; daughter of John Drew and wife of Maurice Barrymore; mother of Ethel Barrymore and John Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore (1854-1893)
- Gerard Depardieu
- French film actor (born in 1948)
- Gertrude Lawrence
- English actress (1898-1952)
- Glenda Jackson
- English film actress who later became a member of British Parliament (born in 1936)
- Gloria May Josephine Svensson
- United States actress in many silent films (1899-1983)
- Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen
- United States comedienne remembered as the confused but imperturbable partner of her husband, George Burns (1906-1964)
- Greta Louisa Gustafsson
- United States film actress (born in Sweden) known for her reclusiveness (1905-1990)
- guitar player
- a musician who plays the guitar
- ham
- an unskilled actor who overacts
- Harlean Carpenter
- United States film actress who made several films with Clark Gable (1911-1937)
- harlequin
- a clown or buffoon (after the Harlequin character in the commedia dell'arte)
- Harley Granville-Barker
- English actor and dramatist and critic and director noted for his productions of Shakespearean plays (1877-1946)
- harmoniser
- a musician who sings or plays in harmony
- Harold Clayton Lloyd
- United States comic actor in silent films; he used physical danger as a source of comedy (1893-1971)
- harper
- someone who plays the harp
- harpsichordist
- someone who plays the harpsichord
- Harry Houdini
- United States magician (born in Hungary) famous for his ability to escape from chains or handcuffs or straitjackets or padlocked containers (1874-1926)
- Harry Lillis Crosby
- United States singer and film actor (1903-1977)
- headliner
- a performer who receives prominent billing
- heartthrob
- an object of infatuation
- heavy
- an actor who plays villainous roles
- Helen Hayes
- acclaimed actress of stage and screen (1900-1993)
- Helen Porter Mitchell
- Australian operatic soprano (1861-1931)
- Helen Traubel
- United States operatic soprano (1903-1972)
- Henriette Rosine Bernard
- French actress (1844-1923)
- Henry Fonda
- United States film actor (1905-1982)
- Henry Purcell
- English organist at Westminster Abbey and composer of many theatrical pieces (1659-1695)
- Henry Wheeler Shaw
- United States humorist who wrote about rural life (1818-1885)
- Herbert Marx
- United States comedian; one of four brothers who made motion pictures together (1901-1979)
- Hiram King Williams
- United States country singer and songwriter (1923-1953)
- hoofer
- a professional dancer
- hornist
- a musician who plays a horn (especially a French horn)
- Huddie Leadbetter
- United States folk singer and composer (1885-1949)
- Hume Blake Cronyn
- Canadian actor who frequently played character parts with his wife Jessica Tandy (1911-2003)
- hummer
- a singer who produces a tune without opening the lips or forming words
- humorist
- someone who acts speaks or writes in an amusing way
- Humphrey DeForest Bogart
- United States film actor (1899-1957)
- idol
- someone who is adored blindly and excessively
- Ignace Jan Paderewski
- Polish pianist who in 1919 served as the first Prime Minister of independent Poland (1860-1941)
- Imogene Coca
- United States comedienne who starred in early television shows with Sid Caesar (1908-2001)
- ingenue
- an actress who specializes in playing the role of an artless innocent young girl
- Ingrid Bergman
- Swedish film actress (1915-1982)
- instrumentalist
- someone who plays a musical instrument (as a profession)
- interlocutor
- the performer in the middle of a minstrel line who engages the others in talk
- ironist
- a humorist who uses ridicule and irony and sarcasm
- Isaac Stern
- United States concert violinist (born in Russia in 1920)
- Isadora Duncan
- United States dancer and pioneer of modern dance (1878-1927)
- Israel Strassberg
- United States actor and film director (born in Austria) who was a leader in developing method acting in the United States (1901-1982)
- Jack Lemmon
- United States film actor (1925-2001)
- James Byron Dean
- United States film actor whose moody rebellious roles made him a cult figure (1931-1955)
- James Cagney
- United States film actor known for his portrayals of tough characters (1899-1986)
- James Douglas Morrison
- United States rock singer (1943-1971)
- James Grover Thurber
- United States humorist and cartoonist who published collections of essays and stories (1894-1961)
- James Maitland Stewart
- United States film actor who portrayed incorruptible but modest heros (1908-1997)
- James Marshall Hendrix
- United States guitarist whose innovative style with electric guitars influenced the development of rock music (1942-1970)
- James Neville Mason
- English film actor (1909-1984)
- Jane Fonda
- United States film actress and daughter of Henry Fonda (born in 1937)
- Janis Joplin
- United States singer who died of a drug overdose at the height of her popularity (1943-1970)
- jazz musician
- a musician who plays or composes jazz music
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- United States rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)
- Jessica Tandy
- United States actress (born in England) who made many stage appearances, often with her husband Hume Cronyn (1909-1994)
- Jessye Norman
- United States operatic soprano (born in 1945)
- Jim Henson
- United States puppeteer who created a troupe of puppet characters (1936-1990)
- Jimmy Durante
- United States comedian remembered for his large nose and hoarse voice (1893-1980)
- Joan Crawford
- United States film actress (1908-1977)
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- German baroque organist and contrapuntist; composed mostly keyboard music; one of the greatest creators of western music (1685-1750)
- John Barrymore
- United States actor; son of Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Barrymore (1882-1942)
- John Birks Gillespie
- United States jazz trumpeter and exponent of bebop (1917-1993)
- John Dowland
- English lutenist and composer of songs for the lute (1563-1626)
- John Drew
- United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
- John Hemminge
- English actor who edited the first folio of Shakespeare's plays (1556-1630)
- John Lennon
- English rock star and guitarist and songwriter who with Paul McCartney wrote most of the music for the Beatles (1940-1980)
- John McCormick
- United States operatic tenor (born in Ireland) (1884-1945)
- John Wayne
- United States film actor who played tough heroes (1907-1979)
- John Wilkes Booth
- United States actor and assassin of President Lincoln (1838-1865)
- Johnny Cash
- United States country music singer and songwriter (1932-2003)
- joker
- a person who enjoys telling or playing jokes
- Jonathan Swift
- an English satirist born in Ireland (1667-1745)
- Joseph Francis Keaton
- United States comedian and actor in silent films noted for his acrobatic skills and deadpan face (1895-1966)
- Joseph Joachim
- Hungarian violinist and composer (1831-1907)
- Joseph Oliver
- United States jazz musician who influenced the style of Louis Armstrong (1885-1938)
- Judith Jamison
- United States dancer and choreographer (born in 1944)
- Judy Garland
- United States singer and film actress (1922-1969)
- juggler
- a performer who juggles objects and performs tricks of manual dexterity
- Julio Iglesias
- Spanish singer noted for his ballads and love songs (born in 1943)
- Julius Marx
- United States comedian; one of four brothers who made motion pictures together (1890-1977)
- kachina
- a masked dancer during a Pueblo religious ceremony who is thought to embody some particular spirit
- Karl Czerny
- Austrian virtuoso pianist and composer of many works for the piano; studied with Beethoven and was a teacher of Liszt (1791-1857)
- Katharine Houghton Hepburn
- United States film actress who appeared in many films with Spencer Tracy (1907-2003)
- Katherine Cornell
- United States actress noted for her performances in Broadway plays (1893-1974)
- Kathryn Elizabeth Smith
- United States singer noted for her rendition of patriotic songs (1909-1986)
- keyboardist
- a musician who plays a keyboard instrument
- Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavsky
- Russian actor and theater director who trained his actors to emphasize the psychological motivation of their roles (1863-1938)
- koto player
- a musician who plays the koto
- lampooner
- mimics literary or musical style for comic effect
- Laszlo Lowestein
- United States actor (born in Hungary) noted for playing sinister roles (1904-1964)
- Lauritz Lebrecht Hommel Melchior
- United States operatic tenor (born in Denmark) noted for his Wagnerian roles (1890-1973)
- lead
- an actor who plays a principal role
- leading lady
- actress who plays the leading female role
- leading man
- actor who plays the leading male role
- Lee Yuen Kam
- United States actor who was an expert in kung fu and starred in martial arts films (1941-1973)
- Lena Calhoun Horne
- United States singer and actress (born in 1917)
- Leonard Marx
- United States comedian; one of four brothers who made motion pictures together (1891-1961)
- Leonide Fedorovitch Massine
- French choreographer and ballet dancer (born in Russia) (1895-1979)
- Leslie Howard Stainer
- English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
- Leslie Townes Hope
- United States comedian (born in England) who appeared in films with Bing Crosby (1903-2003)
- Lester Willis Young
- United States jazz tenor saxophonist (1909-1959)
- lieder singer
- a singer of lieder
- Lilian Alicia Marks
- English ballet dancer (born in 1910)
- Lillian Gish
- United States film actress who appeared in films by D. W. Griffith (1896-1993)
- Lillian Russell
- United States entertainer remembered for her roles in comic operas (1861-1922)
- Lionel Barrymore
- United States actor; son of Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Barrymore (1878-1954)
- Lionel Hampton
- United States musician who was the first to use the vibraphone as a jazz instrument (1913-2002)
- Lord of Misrule
- a person appointed master of revels at a Christmas celebration
- Loretta Young
- United States film and television actress (1913-2000)
- Louis Armstrong
- United States pioneering jazz trumpeter and bandleader (1900-1971)
- Luciano Pavarotti
- Italian tenor (born in 1935)
- Lucille Ball
- United States comedienne best known as the star of a popular television program (1911-1989)
- lutanist
- a musician who plays the lute
- Lynn Fontanne
- United States actress (born in England) who married Alfred Lunt and performed with him in many plays (1887-1983)
- Madonna Louise Ciccone
- United States pop singer and sex symbol during the 1980s (born in 1958)
- madrigalist
- a singer of madrigals
- Mae West
- United States film actress (1892-1980)
- Mahalia Jackson
- United States singer who did much to popularize gospel music (1911-1972)
- Manuel de Falla
- Spanish composer and pianist (1876-1946)
- Marc Blitzstein
- United States pianist and composer of operas and musical plays (1905-1964)
- Marcel Marceau
- French mime famous for his sad-faced clown (born in 1923)
- Maria Magdalene von Losch
- United States film actress (born in Germany) who made many films with Josef von Sternberg and later was a successful cabaret star (1901-1992)
- Maria Meneghini Callas
- Greek coloratura soprano (born in the United States) known for her dramatic intensity in operatic roles (1923-1977)
- Maria Tallchief
- United States ballerina who promoted American ballet through tours and television appearances (born in 1925)
- Marian Anderson
- United States contralto noted for her performance of spirituals (1902-1993)
- Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert
- Irish dancer (1818-1861)
- Marilyn Horne
- United States operatic mezzo-soprano (born 1934)
- Marta Brigit Nilsson
- Swedish operatic soprano who played Wagnerian roles (born in 1918)
- Martha Graham
- United States dancer and choreographer whose work was noted for its austerity and technical rigor (1893-1991)
- Mary Leontyne Price
- United States operatic soprano (born 1927)
- Mary Martin
- United States actress (1913-1990)
- Mary Pickford
- United States film actress (born in Canada) who starred in silent films (1893-1979)
- Maurice Barrymore
- United States actor; husband of Georgiana Emma Barrymore and father of Ethel Barrymore and John Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore (1847-1905)
- Maurice Chevalier
- French actor and cabaret singer (1888-1972)
- Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson
- Australian actor (born in the United States in 1956)
- Merce Cunningham
- United States dancer and choreographer (born in 1922)
- Meryl Streep
- United States film actress (born in 1949)
- mezzo
- a soprano with a voice between soprano and contralto
- Michael Joe Jackson
- United States singer who began singing with his four brothers and later became a highly successful star during the 1980s (born in 1958)
- Michael Philip Jagger
- English rock star (born in 1943)
- Mikhail Baryshnikov
- Russian dancer and choreographer who migrated to the United States (born in 1948)
- Miles Dewey Davis Jr.
- United States jazz musician; noted for his trumpet style (1926-1991)
- mime
- an actor who communicates entirely by gesture and facial expression
- mind reader
- a magician who seems to discern the thoughts of another person (usually by clever signals from an accomplice)
- minstrel
- a performer in a minstrel show
- Moira Shearer
- Scottish ballet dancer and actress (born in 1926)
- monologist
- an entertainer who performs alone
- movie actor
- an actor who plays a role in a film
- Natalie Wood
- United States film actress (1938-1981)
- Nathan Birnbaum
- United States comedian and film actor (1896-1996)
- nautch girl
- a professional dancing girl in India
- Niccolo Paganini
- Italian violinist and composer of music for the violin (1782-1840)
- Norma Jean Baker
- United States film actress noted for sex appeal (1926-1962)
- oboist
- a musician who plays the oboe
- Oliver Hardy
- United States slapstick comedian who played the pompous and overbearing member of the Laurel and Hardy duo who made many films (1892-1957)
- opera star
- singer of lead role in an opera
- organist
- a person who plays an organ
- Otis Skinner
- United States actor (1858-1942)
- Pablo Casals
- an outstanding Spanish cellist noted for his interpretation of Bach's cello suites (1876-1973)
- Paul Bustill Robeson
- United States bass singer and an outspoken critic of racism and proponent of socialism (1898-1976)
- Paul Leonard Newman
- United States film actor (born in 1925)
- Paul Simon
- United States singer and songwriter (born in 1942)
- Pearl Mae Bailey
- United States singer (1918-1990)
- percussionist
- a musician who plays percussion instruments
- performer
- an entertainer who performs a dramatic or musical work for an audience
- Peter Alexander Ustinov
- British actor and playwright (1921-2004)
- Peter Seamus O'Toole
- British actor (born in Ireland in 1932)
- Peter Seeger
- United States folk singer who was largely responsible for the interest in folk music in the 1960s (born in 1919)
- Peter Sellers
- English comic actor (1925-1980)
- pianist
- a person who plays the piano
- Pinchas Zukerman
- Israeli violinist (born in 1948)
- pipe major
- the chief piper in a band of bagpipes
- Placido Domingo
- Spanish operatic tenor noted for performances in operas by Verdi and Puccini (born in 1941)
- plant
- an actor situated in the audience whose acting is rehearsed but seems spontaneous to the audience
- pleaser
- a pleasing entertainer
- prima ballerina
- a leading female ballet dancer
- Princess Grace of Monaco
- United States film actress who retired when she married into the royal family of Monaco (1928-1982)
- punster
- someone overly fond of making puns
- puppeteer
- one who operates puppets or marionettes
- question master
- the host or chairman of a radio or tv quiz show or panel game
- rapper
- someone who performs rap music
- Ravi Shankar
- Indian sitar player who popularized classical Indian music in the West (born in 1920)
- recitalist
- a musician who gives recitals
- recorder player
- someone who plays the recorder
- reenactor
- a person who enacts a role in an event that occurred earlier
- Reginald Carey Harrison
- English actor on stage and in films (1908-1990)
- Renata Tebaldi
- Italian operatic soprano (born in 1922)
- rhythm and blues musician
- a performer (and sometimes composer) of rhythm and blues music
- Richard Burbage
- English actor who was the first to play the leading role in several of Shakespeare's tragedies (1567-1619)
- Richard Burton
- Welsh film actor who often co-starred with Elizabeth Taylor (1925-1984)
- Richard Starkey
- rock star and drummer for the Beatles (born in 1940)
- Riley B King
- United States guitar player and singer of the blues (born in 1925)
- Ringgold Wilmer Lardner
- United States humorist and writer of satirical short stories (1885-1933)
- ringmaster
- the person in charge of performances in a circus ring
- Robert Charles Benchley
- United States humorist (1889-1945)
- Robert De Niro
- United States film actor who frequently plays tough characters (born 1943)
- Robert Mitchum
- United States film actor (1917-1997)
- Robert Nesta Marley
- Jamaican singer who popularized reggae (1945-1981)
- rock 'n' roll musician
- a performer or composer or fan of rock music
- rock star
- a famous singer of rock music
- Rosa Melba Ponselle
- United States soprano (1897-1981)
- Rose Louise Hovick
- United States striptease artist who became famous on Broadway in the 1930s (1914-1970)
- Roy Orbison
- United States composer and rockabilly tenor popular in the 1950s (1936-1988)
- Rudolf Nureyev
- Russian dancer who was often the partner of Dame Margot Fonteyn and who defected to the United States in 1961 (born in 1938)
- Rudolf Serkin
- United States concert pianist (born in Czechoslovakia) (1903-1991)
- Ruth Saint Denis
- United States dancer and choreographer who collaborated with Ted Shawn (1877-1968)
- Salome
- woman whose dancing beguiled Herod into giving her the head of John the Baptist
- Samuel Langhorne Clemens
- United States writer and humorist best known for his novels about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1835-1910)
- Sarah Kemble Siddons
- English actress noted for her performances in Shakespearean roles (1755-1831)
- Sarah Vaughan
- United States jazz singer noted for her complex bebop phrasing and scat singing (1924-1990)
- Savoyard
- a person who performs in the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan
- saxist
- a musician who plays the saxophone
- scene-stealer
- an actor who draws more attention than other actors in the same scene
- second banana
- a performer who acts as stooge to a comedian
- Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff
- composer and piano virtuoso born in Russia (1873-1943)
- Shirley Temple Black
- popular child actress of the 1930's (born in 1928)
- Sidney Caesar
- United States comedian who pioneered comedy television shows (born 1922)
- Sidney Poitier
- United States film actor and director (born in 1927)
- sightreader
- a performer who reads without preparation or prior acquaintance (as in music)
- singer
- a person who sings
- Sir Alec Guinness
- English stage and screen actor noted for versatility (1914-2000)
- Sir Anthony Philip Hopkins
- Welsh film actor (born in 1937)
- Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin
- English comedian and film maker; portrayed a downtrodden little man in baggy pants and bowler hat (1889-1977)
- Sir Harry MacLennan Lauder
- Scottish ballad singer and music hall comedian (1870-1950)
- Sir Henry Maxmilian Beerbohm
- English writer and caricaturist (1872-1956)
- Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree
- English actor and theatrical producer noted for his lavish productions of Shakespeare (1853-1917)
- Sir James Paul McCartney
- English rock star and bass guitarist and songwriter who with John Lennon wrote most of the music for the Beatles (born in 1942)
- Sir Noel Pierce Coward
- English dramatist and actor and composer noted for his witty and sophisticated comedies (1899-1973)
- Sir Ralph David Richardson
- British stage and screen actor noted for playing classic roles (1902-1983)
- Sir Yehudi Menuhin
- British violinist (born in the United States) who began his career as a child prodigy in the 1920s (1916-1999)
- sitar player
- a musician who plays the sitar
- snake charmer
- a performer who uses movements and music to control snakes
- Sofia Scicolone
- Italian film actress (born in 1934)
- soloist
- a musician who performs a solo
- songster
- a person who sings
- songstress
- a woman songster (especially of popular songs)
- Sophie Tucker
- United States vaudevillian (born in Russia) noted for her flamboyant performances (1884-1966)
- soprano
- a female singer
- Spencer Tracy
- United States film actor who appeared in many films with Katharine Hepburn (1900-1967)
- standby
- an actor able to replace a regular performer when required
- starlet
- a young (film) actress who is publicized as a future star
- Stephane Grappelli
- French jazz violinist (1908-1997)
- Stephen Butler Leacock
- Canadian economist best remembered for his humorous writings (1869-1944)
- Steve Martin
- United States actor and comedian (born in 1945)
- strongman
- a man who performs feats of strength at a fair or circus
- Swedish Nightingale
- Swedish soprano who toured the United States under the management of P. T. Barnum (1820-1887)
- symposiarch
- the person who proposes toasts and introduces speakers at a banquet
- syncopator
- a musician who plays syncopated jazz music (usually in a dance band)
- Tallulah Bankhead
- uninhibited United States actress (1903-1968)
- Tamara Karsavina
- Russian dancer who danced with Nijinsky (1885-1978)
- Tammy Wynetter Pugh
- United States country singer (1942-1998)
- tap dancer
- a dancer who sounds out rhythms by using metal taps on the toes and heels of the shoes
- taxi dancer
- a woman employed to dance with patrons who pay a fee for each dance
- Ted Shawn
- United States dancer and choreographer who collaborated with Ruth Saint Denis (1891-1972)
- tenor
- an adult male with a tenor voice
- tenor saxophonist
- a musician who plays the tenor saxophone
- Thelonious Sphere Monk
- United States jazz pianist who was one of the founders of the bebop style (1917-1982)
- Thomas J. Hanks
- United States film actor (born in 1956)
- Thomas Tallis
- English organist and composer of church and secular music; was granted a monopoly in music printing with William Byrd (1505-1585)
- Thomas Wright Waller
- United States jazz musician (1904-1943)
- thrush
- a woman who sings popular songs
- timpanist
- a person who plays the kettledrums
- toast mistress
- a woman toastmaster
- top banana
- the leading comedian in a burlesque show
- torch singer
- a singer (usually a woman) who specializes in singing torch songs
- tragedian
- an actor who specializes in tragic roles
- tragedienne
- an actress who specializes in tragic roles
- trombone player
- a musician who plays the trombone
- TV star
- a star in a television show
- Twyla Tharp
- innovative United States dancer and choreographer (born in 1941)
- upstager
- a selfish actor who upstages the other actors
- Vaslav Nijinsky
- Russian dancer considered by many to be the greatest dancer of the 20th century (1890-1950)
- vaudevillian
- a performer who works in vaudeville
- ventriloquist
- a performer who projects the voice into a wooden dummy
- vibist
- a musician who plays the vibraphone
- violist
- a musician who plays the viola
- Virginia Katherine McMath
- United States dancer and film actress who partnered with Fred Astaire (1911-1995)
- Vivien Leigh
- English film actress (1913-1967)
- Vladimir Horowitz
- Russian concert pianist who was a leading international virtuoso (1904-1989)
- voice
- (metonymy) a singer
- walk-on
- plays a small part in a dramatic production
- Wanda Landowska
- United States harpsichordist (born in Poland) who helped to revive modern interest in the harpsichord (1879-1959)
- warbler
- a singer; usually a singer who adds embellishments to the song
- whiteface
- a clown whose face is covered with white make-up
- William Byrd
- English organist and composer of church music; master of 16th century polyphony; was granted a monopoly in music printing with Thomas Tallis (1543-1623)
- William Clark Gable
- United States film actor (1901-1960)
- William Claude Dukenfield
- United States comedian and film actor (1880-1946)
- William Henry Pratt
- United States film actor (born in England) noted for his performances in horror films (1887-1969)
- William John Clifton Haley Jr.
- United States rock singer who was one of the first to popularize rock'n'roll music (1925-1981)
- William Penn Adair Rogers
- United States humorist remembered for his homespun commentary on politics and American society (1879-1935)
- Woodrow Charles Herman
- United States jazz musician and bandleader (1913-1987)
- Woodrow Wilson Guthrie
- United States folk singer and songwriter (1912-1967)
- xylophonist
- someone who plays a xylophone
- yodeller
- a singer who changes register rapidly (popular is Swiss folk songs)
- zany
- a buffoon in one of the old comedies; imitates others for ludicrous effect