Lewis was born on April 3, 1985 in the London Borough of Islington , to Aural Josiah "Joe" Lewis, a youth worker from Guyana of Black African descent and Maria Lewis, a British social worker of Welsh , Italian and Irish descent.

She rose to fame as the winner of the third series of The X Factor , and became the first female winner of the show. Lewis has gone on to become a multi-platinum selling artist and three time Grammy Award nominee. Her debut single " A Moment Like This ", went on to become the fastest selling UK single after it was downloaded over 50,000 times within thirty minutes of its release. In November 2008, she set a UK record for the fastest selling download-only release of the Snow Patrol cover of "Run" which sold 69,244 copies in two days. Her second single, "Bleeding Love ", was released worldwide and reached over thirty number one positions in charts around the world and the biggest selling single of 2008.

Check out her website: leonalewismusic.co.uk

Rihanna was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988 to a Barbadian father (Ronald) and a Guyanese mother (Monica) in the Parish of St. Michael, Barbados.

Rihanna has sold over 25 million albums worldwide and has had number-one singles in 35 countries. She has achieved nine number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 since first appearing on the chart on June 11, 2005, which is the most by any artist during that time span. Rihanna has sold 5,563,000 albums in the United States. She won World's Best-Selling Pop Female Artist and Female Entertainer of the Year at the 2007 World Music Awards, and then Favourite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favourite Soul/R&B Female Artist at the 2008 American Music Awards.

Rihanna won 2 Grammy Awards in 2010 for the single, "Run This Town".

Check out her website: rihannanow.com

Eddy Grant
Platinum Selling Music Artist

Born in Plaisance, Guyana, on March 5, 1948, the young Edmond Montague Grant grew up on the sound of his homeland, tan singing, an Indo-Caribbean vocal style whose roots lay in south Asia and are the backbone of modern chutney. Then in 1960, the Grant family emigrated to England, taking up residence in the working-class Stoke Newington area of London. The young teen's musical horizons swiftly expanded, embracing R&B, blues, and rock that percolated across his new island home. He first made his name in the 1970s as lead singer of The Equals. His later solo hits include the anti-apartheid song, "Gimme Hope Jo'anna", "Electric Avenue", and "I Don't Wanna Dance", which went to #1 in the UK charts. "Electric Avenue" sold over a million copies in 1983 and was a UK Top Ten hit again in 2001 as a remix.

Check out his website: eddygrant.com

Deborah Cox
Platinum Selling Music Artist / Actress

Deborah was born on January 7, 1974 in Toronto, Canada to Guyanese parents with strong musical roots. She began singing for TV commercials at age 12, also entering various talent shows with her mother's help. Her 1999 smash hit "Nobody's Supposed to be Here" was the longest-running number one single in the history of Billboard magazine's R&B charts. She got into the music industry as a backup vocalist for Céline Dion, and after signing to Arista Records, released her self-titled debut album in 1994. The album made her a rising star, and set the stage for 1998's One Wish. The first single from that album, "Nobody's Supposed to be Here", spent a record 14 weeks atop the Billboard R&B charts. On February 17, 2004, Cox made her Broadway debut in the Elton John-Tim Rice musical Aida. Her third album, The Morning After, was released in November, 2002.

Check out her website: deborahcox.com

Maestro Fresh Wes
Pioneering Platinum Selling Music Artist / Actor

Wesley Williams was born on March 31, 1968 in Toronto, Canada to Guyanese parents. His pioneering status and outstanding acheivements have led him to being referred to as the "Godfather of Canadian Hip Hop". In 1989 he became the first Canadian rapper to have a Top 40 hit, "Let Your Backbone Slide". As of 2008, "Let Your Backbone Slide" remains the best-selling Canadian hip-hop single of all time, and the only certified gold single in Canadian hip hop history. Eighteen years after its release, Maestro's debut album, 'Symphony in Effect (1989), remains the top selling Canadian hip hop album of all time selling 190,000 units.

Maestro was inducted into the Scarborough Walk of Fame in 2006 and holds the following awards and distinctions: two Juno Awards, 12 Juno nominations, four MuchMusic Video Awards, first Canadian rap artist to go gold (album & single), first Canadian hip hop single to go gold, platinum album - Best Selling Hip Hop Artist in Canadian History, UMAC Pioneer Award - 1998, 2002 Harry Jerome Award for Excellence in Arts, 2003 REEL World Film Festival Trailblazer Award

Dave Baksh
Music Artist

Dave Nizaam Baksh (born 26 July 1980) is the former lead guitarist in the Canadian punk rock band Sum 41. He now leads a band called, Brown Brigade. He was born in Ajax, Ontario, Canada.

Baksh was born to West Indian-Canadian immigrants from Guyana. He is married to Jenn (Janice) Baksh and enjoys bands such as Metallica, Led Zeppelin,The Eagles, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Yngwie Malmsteen.

Baksh joined Sum 41 as the third member, after Deryck Whibley and Steve Jocz formed the band in the summer of 1996. He is the band's main musical driving force. In addition to being the lead guitarist, Baksh also provides back up-vocals. On May 11, 2006, Baksh announced in a statement through his management company that he was leaving Sum 41 for personal reasons.

Credit to: moonsammy.ca for the research on Dave.

Sol Raye
Music Artist

Sol Raye was born Neville Marshall-Corbin in Christianburg, Guyana in 1934. He was a Guyanese cabaret singer, composer and recording artist who moved to England in the 1960s and originally studied acting, performing with the English Stage Company.

His singing style was reflective of Nat 'King' Cole. A nine-time winner of the Brit TV talent contest "Opportunity Knocks," he recorded such popular songs as "Mona Lisa," "How Sweet It Is," and "Come Home Love." He performed several cabaret tributes to Nat Cole and also produced and directed the 1985 TV tribute to Cole entitled "A Nightingale Sang." He was the opening act for such performers as The Supremes and Eartha Kitt. His younger brother, Robert Corbin, is the Leader of the Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR), the Main Opposition political party, in Guyana.

Ken "Snakehips" Johnson
Music Artist

Kenrick Reginald Huymans Johnson was born in British Guiana on September 10, 1914. At the age of 15, Johnson's parents sent him to Britain, where he attended Sir William Borlase's Grammar School before studying medicine at Edinburgh University. Having gained an interest in dance, he sought lessons from American choreographer, Buddy Bradley. It was in dance work that he earned his nickname, 'Snakehips', from his "fluid and flexible style". Johnson was invited to lead Leslie Thompson's band, before going on to start his own, called Ken Johnson and his Rhythm Swingers (later renamed The West Indian Orchestra), which played jazz and swing music.

The band had a residency at the London nightclub Café de Paris. Ken Snakehips Johnson was Britain's first black swing bandleader.

Melanie Fiona
Music Artist

Melanie Fiona Hallim was born on July 4, 1983 in Toronto, Canada to Guyanese parents.

Fiona was featured on Reggae Gold 2008 with "Somebody Come Get Me". Her debut single, "Give It to Me Right" peaked at number 20 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart and number 41 on the UK Singles Chart. Her second single, "It Kills Me" became her breakout song on the Billboard Hot 100 were it cracked the Top 50. The song earned Fiona a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. "The Bridge" also earned her a NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding New Artist.

Check out her website: melaniefiona.com

Eon Sinclair
Music Artist

Eon Sinclair was born in 1981 in Toronto, Canada to Guyanese parents - he is the bassist for the Canadian rock group Bedouin Soundclash.

The song, "Gyasi Went Home" is about one of Sinclair's visit to Guyana. The video for the song was also shot in Guyana. The Caribbean influence on this band is evident in a variety of songs done by Bedouin Soundclash.

Sean Patrick Thomas
Actor

Born December 17, 1970 in Wilmington, Delaware is a Guyanese-American actor. Originally went to the University of Virginia to study to be a lawyer. A chance audition for a part in "A Raisin In the Sun" changed his direction. He ultimately got his master's degree in drama from New York University in 1996. Thomas is best known for his roles in films such as Save the Last Dance and the Barbershop films.

Credit to: moonsammy.ca for the research on Sean.

Derek Luke
Actor

Derek was born April 24, 1974. He is an American actor. He won the Independent Spirit Award for his big-screen debut performance in the 2002 film Antwone Fisher, directed and produced by Denzel Washington.

Luke was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of pianist Marjorie Dixon and Guyanese native Maurice Luke, a former actor. He has two brothers, Daniel and Maurice. He is a graduate of Linden High School in Linden, NJ.

Marc Gomes
Actor

Born in in Georgetown, Guyana on March 12, 1965. He moved to Toronto at the age of eleven where he attended both high school and university. He graduated from The Ryerson Theatre School and began to work on the stage playing the lead in several productions including “Edmon,” “A Slow Dance On the Killing Ground,” “The Gayden Cronicles,” and the North American premiere of famed Polish writer Ryszard Kapuscinski’s “The Emperor.” He later moved to Los Angeles where he has gone on to star in numerous television series and movies. His series credits include “The Crow: Stairway to Heaven,” “Lightning Force” and “E.N.G.” Gomes has also directed several plays and recently wrote and directed a short film “Stir Crazy".

Ram John Holder
Actor / Musician

Born in Guyana in 1934. He began his performing career as a folk singer in New York. In 1962 he came to London and worked with Pearl Connor's Negro Theatre Workshop initially as a musician, and later as an actor. His theatre career saw him perform on the major stages in London such as the Royal National Theatre, the Donmar Warehouse and Bristol Old Vic.Holder played the role of Porkpie in the situation comedy Desmond's, which was written by Trix Worrell, and broadcast on Channel 4 from 1989 until 1994. He later had his own short-lived spin-off series Porkpie. Holder has appeared in several television productions and joined the cast of EastEnders in late September 2006, playing Cedric Lucas. Holder is a talented musician, who has recorded a number of albums; Black London Blues (1969), Bootleg Blues (1971), You Simply Are... (1975) and Ram Blues & Soul. He has also released various singles and contributed to soundtracks for film and television, including three songs for the film adaptation of Take a Girl Like You.

Norman Beaton
Actor

Norman Lugard Beaton was born in Georgetown, Guyana on October 31, 1934. Beaton taught School and played with the calypso band The Four Bees before leaving Guyana for London in 1960. He then landed a job as a teacher in Liverpool, becoming the first black teacher to be employed by the Liverpool Education Authority. Beaton would soon become frustrated with his job as a teacher and began writing plays, his first play the musical Jack of Spades centered on the doomed relationship between a black man and a white woman. The moderate success gave Beaton enough confidence to give up teaching to concentrate on the theater. In the early seventies, Beaton began to perform in plays in London's West End, in 1970 he played the role of Ariel Shakespeare's The Tempest, which he described in his autobiography as "the most important role of my acting career." In 1975, he helped to establish the Black Theatre of Brixton. In 1976, Beaton broke into television in the series The Fosters, however it was his 6 year run (starting in 1988) on Desmonds as the title character that would become his most well known. In 1991 he appeared as a guest on the Bill Cosby show, he also appeared in several movies including The Mighty Quinn (1989).

Guy Wellman
Actor

Guy Wellman was born in Guyana, South America on January 29, 1971 and raised in Newark, Delaware. After serving honorably in the United States Navy, Guy attended the University of Delaware, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Sociology. Guy has had a lifelong interest in acting and film that was furthered with his graduation from John Robert Powers Modeling Agency and encouraged when he enrolled in a college level drama course. Guy began his professional acting career on stage in the 2008 production of "Broadway Santa" with the Delaware Children's Theater. Since then, Guy has gone on to appear in an industrial film and other local theater productions. Guy makes his motion picture debut in "Browncoats: Redemption" as Dr. Cameron Alan.

Cy Grant
Actor / Singer

Cy was born on November 8, 1919 in Beterverwagting, Guyana. He was an actor, singer and writer who in the 1950's became the First black person to appear regularly on British television. Following service in the Royal Air Force during World War II, he worked as an actor and singer. He collaborated with John Mapondera to set upthe Drum Arts Centre in London in the 1974, which was considered a landmark in the development of black theatre. He was appointed director of Concord Multicultural Festivals in the early 1980s.

His screen, recording and writing credits are too many to mention as his career spanned over 60 years.

Robert Adams
Actor

Robert Adams was born in 1906 in Georgetown, Guyana. He was a British actor os stage and screen. He was the founder and director of the Negro Repertory Arts Theatre, one of the first professional Black theatre companies in Britain.

In Guyana, Robert worked as a teacher and actor before coming to England in 1934 to try and make it as a professional actor. In London, he worked as a labourer and became a champion wrestler before breaking into acting in 1935.

An early role was in the 1936 play, "Toussaint L'Ouverture", acting alongside Paul Robeson. Robert went on to star in filmes wiht Robeson and he took the lead in a television adaptation of "The Emperor Jones". The BBC version was transmitted live from Alexandra Palace on May 11, 1938 and Adams became the first black actor to play a leading dramatic role on British Television.

Maureen Bunyan
Lead Co-Anchor at WJLA-TV / TV Journalist

Born in Aruba to a Guyanese father and Aruban mother. Maureen is the lead co-anchor at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C. She is the founder and board member of IWMF (International Women's Media Foundation), a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists and President of Maureen Bunyan Communications, Inc.

She was inducted into the "Hall of Fame" of the Washington Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, inducted into the "Silver Circle" of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and the Broadcast Pioneers Club of Washington.

In 1992, Maureen was named "Washingtonian of the Year".

Dawnn Lewis
Actress / Musician

Born on August 13, 1961 in Brooklyn, New York to Guyanese parents. Dawnn is best known for her roles on sitcoms such as "A Different World" and "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper".

She co-wrote the theme song to "A Different World" and appeared for the first five of six seasons as "Jaleesa Vinson-Taylor". Dawnn left the show to appear in "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" and performed the theme song for Season 1. Since then, she has appeared in numerous TV series (including Futurama and LaBarbara) sitcoms and has done voice over work.

Flora Cheong-Leen
Actress / Ballerina / Fashion Designer

Flora Zeta Zhang Elizabeth Tian Ai Cheong-Leen was born in Hong Kong to a Chinese mother and Guyanese Father on November 20, 1959. Flora graduated from The Royal Ballet in the UK and at the Paris Opera in France. She starred as the lead actress in movies such as: "Life After Life", "Duel to the Death", "Chasing Girl" and "Return of the Deadly Blade".

After her brief career as an actress, she went on to create award winning costumes and manage and host over 50 television productions with Asia TV, Shanghai TV and Oriental TV. She also worked as an image director for Nina Ricci, French Vogue and Vidal Sassoon.

In 2007, Flora won The World Outstanding Chinese Award. In 2001, she won The French Chamber of Commerce Award of "Women of the 21st Century".

Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder
Actress

Born on Christmas Day in 1952 in Georgetown, Guyana she was raised on a sugar cane plantation. Her parents moved to the States while she was still a young girl, but she and her sister were sent to a convent boarding school in England where they were introduced to art and the classics. Following high school graduation she arrived in New York and studied at Ithaca College, where her acting talents were discovered. Her preference for a warmer climate led to her move to Hollywood in the late 70s. CCH's prominence came with television. Usually cast as a confident, strong-minded professional, she is known for her understated intensity and earned an Emmy nomination for her stint on the hospital drama "ER" (1994).

Jessica Angelique Caesar
Actress

Jessica was born on April 20, 1986 in Rockledge, Florida to a Guyanese mother and Antiguan father. After watching one of her older brothers, Jesse, in a Christmas play, she wanted to be an actress when she grew up. Although she did a couple of school plays in elementary school, she never really got serious about acting until she was in her teens. At that time she started performing at a local semi-professional theatre in her hometown. Pretty soon after finishing up her last stage performance, she re-located to Orlando, Florida. Orlando gave Jessica several opportunities to transition from the Theatre to Commercials, Television, and Film. After finding an agent, she started quickly booking local commercials and did several independent films. To improve her acting, she enrolled in classes at Art Sake's Film Acting Studio with teacher Yvonne Suhor and as another hobby, she danced at a Hip Hop studio in her spare time. Outgrowing the Orlando market, Caesar took the next step in her promising career and moved to Los Angeles, California.

Carmen Munroe
Actress

Born in Berbice, Guyana in 1932. Since the early 1950s she has been a resident of the UK. She made her West End stage debut in 1962 and has since played an instrumental role in the development of black British theatre and representation on small screen. She has had high-profile roles on television in The Fosters (1976-77), Mixed Blessings (1978-80) both on ITV and on stage in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Alice Childress's Trouble in Mind and James Baldwin's The Amen Corner. She is however best known for her role as Shirley, the wife of eponymous barber Desmond Ambrose, played by Norman Beaton, in the British TV sitcom Desmond's (1989 to 1994). She was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2007 Queen Elizabeth's Birthday Honors List for her services to drama.

Rhona Fox
Actress

Rhona Fox is a Indian-American actress. Born on November 2, 1979 in Guyana, South America, Fox was raised in Nassau, Bahamas, where her parents, who are teachers, moved to secure a better life for her and her two older brothers. After graduating high school at 16, she journeyed to New York on a summer vacation and the rest was destiny. The infinite potential of the city that never sleeps captivated the grab-life-by-the-horns teenager. Majoring in Communication there, the Big Apple remained home and work for many years. Fox spent the first seven years of her career as a producer at ABC and FOX affiliates before becoming editor of a national magazine. Ultimately, she parlayed her extensive professional experience into launching her own public relations firm in the heart of Manhattan. She also develops independent projects for her own production company, Fox Star Films.

Valerie Amos, The Right Honourable Baroness Amos
Politician

The Baroness Amos was born on March 13, 1954 in Georgetown, Guyana. She is a British Labour Party politician and life peer, formerly serving as Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council. When she was appointed Secretary of State for International Development on 12 May 2003, following the resignation of Clare Short, she became the first black woman to sit in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. She left the cabinet when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister. She was then nominated to become the European Union special representative to the African Union by Gordon Brown. However after an independent selection process, Belgian diplomat Koen Vervaeke was chosen to represent the EU in Addis Ababa. In 2007, Baroness Amos was voted the "Most Influential Black Woman in the UK" by the New Nation newspaper.

Bernie Grant
Politician

Bernard Alexander Montgomery Grant was born in Georgetown, British Guiana on February 17, 1944. He was British politician who, with Paul Boateng and Diane Abbott, was one of the first persons of African descent to win election to the House of Commons. He was Labour member of Parliament for Tottenham. He took up the British government's offer to let people from colonies move to the UK to do blue-collar work, in 1963. In the mid-1960s he was for a period a member of the Socialist Labour League. He quickly became a trade union official, and moved into politics, becoming a Labour councillor in the London Borough of Haringey in 1978. When the Conservative government introduced "rate capping", Bernie Grant led the fight against it in the borough. This split the local Labour party, but through this split Grant became the Borough of Haringey leader in 1985.  Bernie Grant was praised from the heights of the Establishment, from Cabinet ministers and Scotland Yard to political associates and black community leaders, and Prime Minister Tony Blair described Grant as "an inspiration to Black British communities everywhere".

Trevor Phillips
Politician

Mark Trevor Phillips, OBE was born on December 31, 1953 to a seamstress and a British Railways clerk who emigrated to London, England from Guyana. He is a British broadcaster, politician and civil servant. He chairs the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and is a former television executive and presenter.

In 1978, Philips was elected the President of the National Union of Students, the first Black person to attain that position. During the 1980's and 1990's he worked as a television journalist in London. From the lower rung of London Weekend Television (LWT), Phillips rose to become head of productions and the head of his own production company, Peppers Productions.

He was elected to the London Assembly in 2000 and was its chair, but stood down in 2003 when appointed to chair the Commission for Racial Equality. In 2006, he was named as Chair of the Commission for Equalities and Human Rights.

Hilton Cheong-Leen
Politician

Hilton Cheong-Leen was born on August 6. 1922 in Georgetown, Guyana. He is the chairman and the founder of the Hong Kong Civic Association, which he founded in 1954. He was first elected as a member of the Civic Association to the Urban Council of Hong Kong on April 1, 1957 and also Vice-Chairman of the Council. He was later appointed to the Legislative Council in 1973 and indirectly elected in 1985.

He was the first elected member to ever serve in the Legislative Council. He served in the Urban Council until 1991. Hilton was instrumental in pushing for nine years of compulsory schooling.

His daughter is Flora Cheong-Leen.

David Lammy
Politician

David Lindon Lammy was born on July 19, 1972 to Guyanese parents in Tottenham, North London, England. He has been a Member of Parliament for Tottenham since 2000.

At the age of 11, David was awarded an Inner London Education Authority choral scholarship to The King's School, Peterborough. He then studied Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London obtaining a first class degree.

David became the first Black Briton to study a Master's in Law at Harvard Law School in 1997 and is a member of Lincoln's Inn having been Called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1994. David returned to England and stood as a Labour candidate for the newly created Greater London Assembly, securing a position as the GLA member with a portfolio for Culture and Arts. Following the sad death of Tottenham's longstanding MP Bernie Grant, David was elected as Labour MP for Tottenham at the age of 27 in June 2000.

Check out his website: davidlammy.co.uk

Lord Herman Ouseley, Baron Ouseley
Politician

Lord Ouseley was born in Guyana in 1945, and came to England when he was 11. He is a British parliamentarian, who has run public authorities, including local councils and is an adviser and reviewer of public services organisations.

He was a local government officer between 1963-1993, working at Chief Officer level; was chair and chief executive in the Commission for Racial Equality from 1993-2000. When Lord Ouseley became the Chief Executive of the London Borough of Lambeth and the former Inner London Education Authority, he was the first black person to hold that position in office.

Lord Ouseley has twelve honorary degrees from the University of Edinburgh, Sheffield Hallam, Bradford, Leicester, Leeds Met., Warwick, Oxford Brookes, Greenwich, Southbank, London Metropolitan, North East London and Brighton. He was knighted in 1997 for his services to local government and community relations and was made a life peer as Baron Ouseley, of Peckham Rye in the London Borough of Southwark on June 26, 2001.

The Luckhoos
Political Family Dynasty

The Luckhoo family is a dynasty of politicians and lawyers that acheived the highest of honours in office and diplomatic status. It starts in 1866, when 7 year old Moses Luckhoo left India and arrived in Guyana to pursue riches in the New World. When Moses grew up, he married Elizabeth Saywack and they had 8 children. One of the 8 children was Edward Alfred Luckhoo, who was the first Indian solicitor of Guyana and Mayor of New Amsterdam, Guyana. Edward married Evelyn Maude Mungal-Singh and had the following 2 famous sons:

Sir Edward Victor Luckhoo, was born on May 24, 1912 in New Amsterdam, Guyana. He was the Governor General of Guyana from 1966 to 1969 and became its Acting President upon independance. he was knighted on January 1, 1970.

Sir Lionel Alfred Luckhoo was born on March 14, 1914 in New Amsterdam, Guyana. He was a politician, diplomat and well-known lawyer, famed for his 245 consecutive defences in murder cases. He was educated at Queen's College in Georgetown, Guyana and then went on to study medicine at St. Thomas' Hospital in England. He shifted over to legal studies and was called to the English Bar in the Middle Temple in 1940. He maintained his private legal practice from 1940-1985, and became a Queen's Counsel in 1954. His reputation earned him an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records (1990) where he is dubbed the "World's Most Successful Lawyer".

In addition to his legal practice, Lionel also had a political career. He was the head of four trade unions and served in the Legislative Council of Guyana. He was involved in the negotiations for independance for both Guyana and Barbados, he was appointed High Commissioner for Guyana and Barbados in Britain and was the Ambassador for both countries. From 1967-1970 he served as joint ambassador for Guyana and Barbados in France, Germany and the Netherlands. Lionel received the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1962, and was made a knight bachelor in 1977, and received the KCMG (Knights Commader of St Michael and St George) in 1969.

Shridath Ramphal
Politician

Sir Shridath Surendranth "Sonny" Ramphal was born on October 3, 1928 in New Amsterdam, Guyana. He is a barrister, politician and international civil servant. He was independant Guyana's first Attorney General, and later Minister of Foreign Affairs and Justice. As Secretary General of the Commonweatlh, he played a prominent part in supporting the struggle for freedom in Southern Africa and in promoting alternative views of global economic issues, more favourale to the needs of developing countries and the world's poor.

Sir Sonny became an exceptional contributor to world negotiations, serving on the independent and international commissions by bodies such as the United Nations to study some of the issues facing the world community.

Alongside former Swedish Prime Minister, Ingvar Carlsson, he co-chaired of the Commission on Global Governance, which reported on issues of international development, international security, globalization and global governance. Sir Sonny was made an Honorary Fellow of Royal Society of Arts in May 2006. He is a Vice-President of the Royal Commonwealth Society.

Check out his website: ramphalcentre.org

Shirley Chisholm
Politician

Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was born on November 30, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York to immigrant parents. Her mother, Ruby Seale was from Christ Church, Barbados, and her father, Charles Christopher St. Hill, was from Guyana.

Shirley was a Congresswoman, representing New York State's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1968, she became the FIRST black woman elected to Congress. On January 25, 1972, she became the first major-party black candidate for President of the United States and the first woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination. She received 152 first-ballot votes at the 1972 Democratic National Convention.

From 1977 to 1981, during the 95th and 96th Congress, Chisholm was elected to a position in the House Democratic Leadership, as Secretary of the House of Democratic Caucus. Throughout her tenure in Congress, Chisholm worked to improve opportunities for inner-city residents. She was a vocal opponent of the draft and supported spending increases for education, health care and social services, and reductions in military spending. In 1970, she authored a child care bill. The bill passed the House and the Senate, but was vetoed by President Richard Nixon, who called it "the Sovietization of American children".

In 1975, Shirley Chisholm was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Smith College. In 1993, Chisholm was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Priscilla Lopes-Schliep
Olympic Bronze Medalist in Hurdling

Born on August 26, 1982 in Toronto to John and Sharon Lopes, who immigrated to Canada from Guyana. She is a Canadian hurdler in track and field athletic competition. Lopes-Schliep won a Bronze Medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in women's 100m hurdles. It was the first medal for Canada in Athletics at the Summer Olympics since the 1996 Games and the first medal for a Canadian woman in Olympic track and field since the 1992 Games. On August 19, 2009, Lopes-Schliep won a Silver Medal in the 100m hurdles at the World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany, in a time of 12.54s.

Check out her website: gopriscilla.com

Corinne Van Ryck de Groot
Professional Boxer / Actress / American Gladiator

Born June 6, 1969 to Guyanese parents Toronto, Canada. Made her professional boxing debut on June 25, 1998 and went on to be undefeated with a record of 11 wins, 7 knockouts. She is ranked number 2 in the world by WIBA in the Bantam weight division.
Corinne is also an actress that appeared in "The Guardian" with Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher, co-starred with Billy Zane in, "Bet Your Life". Corrine has also appeared on TV in "LOST", "HEROES", "Ghost Whisperer" and "CSI:NY". Besides being "Panther" on American Gladiators, Corinne is also a celebrity trainer with clients including Damon Wayans, Richard Gladstein and Allie Larter.

Check out her website: sexypanther.com

Nicolette Fernandes
Professional Squash Player

Born on June 19, 1983 in Toronto, Canada to Guyanese parents. Nicolette is a professional squash player who represented Guyana. She won the only Gold Medal for Guyana at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games.

In February 2010, Nicolette was named Guyanese Sportswoman of the Year for 2009 by the Guyanese National Sports Commission. In May 2007, Nicolette was ranked No. 27 in the world for professional women's squash.

Dwayne De Rosario
Professional Soccer Player

Born May 15, 1978 to Guyanese parents in Toronto, Canada. Dwayne plays for the D.C. United for Major League Soccer. He previously was club captain for Toronto FC. He also plays for the Canadian National Team. Dwayne has won the male Canadian Player of the Year three consecutive times. In 2007, he scored 5 goals in 8 games, the most in a year for the CMNT since 1993.

He is the cousin of Priscilla Lopes-Schleip.

Phil Edwards
Olympic Bronze Medalist Athlete

Philip Aaron Edwards, MD, was born on September 13, 1907 in Georgetown, Guyana. He is known as the "Man of Bronze" as he was Canada's most decorated Olympian, the first black Canadian man to win a trophy at the Commonwealth Games, the first ever winner of the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete. He went on to serve as a captain in the Canadian army and as a highly-regarded physician and expert of tropical diseases.

Phil Edwards was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and McGill University Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. An annual award in his name, the Phil A. Edwards Memorial Trophy, has been presented to Canada's outstanding track athlete annually since 1972.

At the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, he won Bronze medals in the 4x400 metres race. At the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, he won Bronze medals in 800 metres, 1500 metres and 4x400 metres races. In the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, he won Bronze in the 800 metre race. In 1934, he won Gold at the Commonwealth Games in London for the 880 yards race.

Marcus McKoy
Olympic Gold Medalist Athlete

Mark Anthony McKoy was born on December 10, 1961 in Georgetown, Guyana. He is an Olympic hurdler who won a Gold Medal at the 1982 Commonwealth Gamesin Brisbane in 110m hurdles and won a Silver Medal in 4x100m relay.

At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, McKoy won a Gold Medal completing the 110m hurdles in 13.12 seconds. At the 1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships, he won the 60m hurdles earning a Gold Medal.

Check out his website: markmckoy.com

Troy Ross
Professional Boxer / Actor

Troy Amos-Ross was born on July 17, 1975 in Mahicony, Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana. He is Canada's top ranked boxing athlete who competed in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He is currently ranked as the 4th best cruiserweight boxer in the world.

In 2007, he won the Commonwealth Cruiserweight title. In 2009, Troy Ross joined the boxing reality TV show, "The Contender" and won it all to become the Contender Champion. His professional boxing record is 24 wins (16 knockouts, 7 decisions), 2 losses and 0 draws.

Troy Ross has also been in movies: "Cinderella Man" with Russell Crowe, "Resurrecting the Champ" with Josh Hartnett and Samuel L. Jackson.

Check out his website: troyross.ca

Dennis Andries
Professional Boxer

Born November 5, 1953 in Georgetown, Guyana. Dennis is a professional boxer in the light heavyweight division.

He is a 3 time WBC Light Heavyweight Champion and has a record of 49 wins (30 knockouts), 14 losses and 2 draws.

Sean Foley
Professional Golf Instructor

Born in 1974 in Burlington, Ontario to an Irish dad and a Guyanese mother. Sean Foley has coached PGA Tour Golf Professionals Sean O'Hair, Hunter Mahan, Stephen Ames and Parker McLachlin. Sean is most known for becoming Tiger Woods right hand man in improving his game. Sean currently works with Tiger Woods twice a week in the off-season.

Sean has been the head coach for the Canadian Junior Golf Association since 2003, and teaches at Core Golf Junior Academy in Florida.

Howard Eastman
Professional Boxer

Born on December 8, 1970 in New Amsterdam, Guyana, Howard Eastman is a Middleweight boxer, nicknamed the "Battersea Bomber". He won the British Middleweight Title in 1998 and then again in 2003 and in 2006. He won the Commonwealth Middleweight Title in 2000 and again in 2003 and 2007. Howard won the European title in 2003. He also won the Guyanese Middleweight Title. His professional boxing record is 46 wins (36 knockouts), 6 losses and 0 draws.

Maritza Correia
Olympic Silver Medalist Swimmer

Born December 23, 1981 to Vincent and Anne who moved from Guyana to Puerto Rico. Maritza became the first black woman to qualify for an Olympic swim team in 2004. Correia is only the second black swimmer to make a US Olympic team. She also became the first black US swimmer to set and American and World swimming record.

In 2001, Maritza won a Gold medal in the 800m freestyle and 2 Bronze medals in medley and 400m freestyle events at the 2001 World Championship in Japan. In 2003, Maritza earned a Gold Medal in the prelim 400m free relay at the World Championships. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, she won a Silver medal in the 400m free relay. Maritza is the World Record Holder in the 400m SCM at 2000 NCAA Championships.

Correia started swimming as a seven-year-old when a doctor suggested the sport could help with her scoliosis, a curvature of the spine.

Charmaine Hooper
Professional Soccer Player

Born January 15, 1968 in Georgetown, Guyana. She was a striker for the Canadian women's national soccer team.

Charmaine has played a total of 131 times and scored 71 goals for Canada, both national records. Her international debut was on a July 7, 1986 against the United States. She was a member of the Canada squad at the 1995 and 1999 Women's World Cups.

Charmaine became the only Canadian player in WUSA history to score in the Founders Cup III. She was named the Atlanta Beat MVP and was inducted into the United Soccer League's Hall of Fame in 2002. Charmaine played professionaly in Norway, Italy, Japan, USA and Canada. During her years at North Carolina State University, she earned numerous state and NCAA records.

Ezekiel Jackson
Professional Wrestler / Bodybuilder

Rycklon Stephens was born April 22, 1978 in Linden, Guyana. He is a bodybuilder and professional wrestler. He is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), working on its SmackDown brand under the ring name Ezekiel Jackson. He is a one-time world champion, having won the ECW Championship in February 2010, and is recognized by WWE as the final ECW Champion.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked him as #93 of the top 500 single wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010.

Egerton Marcus
Olympic Silver Medalist / Pro Boxer

Egerton Marcus was born on February 2, 1965 in Essequibo, West Demerara, Guyana. He is a Canadian boxer who won the Silver Medal in the Middleweight division at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

Marcus turned pro in 1989 and began his career with 14 consecutive wins, including a TKO win over Andrew Maynard. Egerton ran his own boxing gym in Toronto (The Egerton Marcus Boxing Academy) until 2006.

His professional boxing record is 17 wins (12 knockouts), 4 losses and 1 draw.

Mark Teixeira
Major League Baseball Player for the New York Yankees

Mark Charles Teixeira was born on April 11, 1980 in Annapolis, Maryland to John and Margy Teixeira. Mark's father, (John Gordon Teixeira), grandfather (Stanley Gordon Teixeira) and great grandfather (John Gordon) are all Guyanese.

Mark is mostly a first baseman and has also played third base and in the outfield. He played college baseball at Georgia Tech where in 2001, he won the Dick Howser Trophy as the national collegiate baseball player of the year.

Mark was drafted in 2001 by the Texas Rangers, and made his MLB debut in 2003. In 2007 he was traded to the Atlanta Braves, and in mid 2008 was traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In December of 2008, he agreed to a contract to the New York Yankees. Teixeira has won four Gold Glove Awards and three Silver Slugger Awards.

Hugh Ross
World Champion Bodybuilder

Hugh Arlington Ross was born on June 26, 1959 in Guyana. He served as an officer in the Guyana Defense Force from 1980 to 1989 when he resigned as a Captain. Hugh's specialties are paratrooping, jungle warfare, amphibious operations, close quarter combat and skills at arms. He has a third degree black belt in Shotokan and second degree in Tae-Kwon-do.

Hugh stands at 5 feet 10.5 inches tall, and weighs 212 pounds. He competes at a weight of 193. Hugh is a decorated power lifting champion with numerous titles. His best poundage was a squat of 650lbs, Bench Press of 430lbs and a deadlift of 688lbs.

On October 30, 2010, Hugh Ross won 1st Place of the Mr. Universe title of the NABBA (National Amateur Body Builders' Association) in the Masters Over-50 category in London, England.

Shakira Baksh Caine
Model / Actress

Born Feb. 23, 1947 in Guyana. After graduating from high school, Shakira, influenced by her mothers talent as a dressmaker was inspired to become a fashion designer. She put aside her aspirations and went to work as a secretary, her boss encouraged her to enter the Miss Guyana contest, and went as far as to mail her application and photos in. She won Miss Guyana and placed third in the 1967 Miss World competition in London at the age of 19. After her appearance in the Miss World contest worked for four years as a professional model in advertisements for Maxwell House coffee, and other companies. She has been married to actor Michael Caine since 1973 they have a daughter, Natasha. She appeared in the film "The Man Who Would Be King," with her husband and Sean Connery and then choose to give up her showbiz career to raise her family.

Nicole Narain
Model / Actress

Born on July 28, 1974 in Aurora, Illinois to Guyanese parents. She was Playboy Magazine's Miss January Playmate of the Month. Currently living in Los Angeles persuing an acting career. Has appeared on 'Celebrity Fear Factor' and 'One On One'.

Janice Elizabeth Moorgen
Beauty Pageant Winner

Janice was born in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) to Guyanese parents but moved to Saskatoon Saskatchewan (Canada) at the age of 11. Her credits include: Miss Saskatoon 2007, Miss Saskatchewan 2007, 2008, 2009 and Mrs. Canada 2011.She graduated from Bishop James Mahoney High School in 2002 and attended the University of Saskatchewan.

Dr. Mike Philips
Writer

Writer Mike Phillips was born in Georgetown, Guyana, and grew up in London. He was educated at the University of London (English), the University of Essex (Politics), and at Goldsmiths College London (Education). He worked for the BBC as a journalist and broadcaster before becoming a lecturer in media studies at the University of Westminster.

Mike has written full-time since 1992. Best-known for his crime fiction, his most recent novel, A Shadow of Myself (2000), is the first of a trilogy set in Eastern Europe. Mike Phillips co-wrote Windrush: The Irresistible Rise of Multi-Racial Britain (1998) to accompany a BBC television series. His most recent book, London Crossings: A Biography of Black Britain (2001), is a series of interlinked essays and stories. Mike  writes for the Guardian, and is cross-cultural curator at the Tate. He is also a trustee of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

E.R. Braithwaite
Writer

Born in Guyana on June 27,1920. He attended Queen's college there, City College (now City University of New York) in 1940, and Cambridge, in 1949, where he received a Master's degree in Physics. During World War II he also enlisted as a Royal Airforce Pilot. Despite his extensive training, however, Braithwaite like several other disillusioned black men after the war, could not find work in his field and reluctantly took up a job as a schoolteacher in London's East End. His experiences were memorialised in To Sir with Love (1959). Braithwaite had turned to social work, (while writing To Sir) and it was his job to find foster homes for non-white children for the London County office, Department of Child welfare. These harrowing experiences and resulted in his second novel Paid Servant (1962).

Martin Carter
Poet

Martin Wylde Carter was born in Georgetown, Guyana on June 7, 1927. He has been compared in stature to W.B. Yeats and Pablo Neruda, as well as being called "the most Caribbean of Caribbean poets". He began publishing in 1950 in Thunder and in A.J. Seymour's literary journal Kyk-over-Al. His collection Poems of Resistance, published in 1954, established his reputation as a powerful moral and political voice.

At the "Live from Lincoln Center" jazz concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Danny Glover quoted some lines of Carter's, bringing him to public attention in North America for the first time in the twenty-first century.

Edgar Mittelholzer
Novelist

Edgar Mittelholzer was born on December 16, 1909 in New Amsterdam, Guyana. He began writing in 1929 and despite constant rejection letters, persisted with his writing. In 1937, he self-published "Creole Chips" and sold it from door to door. By 1938, he completed "Corentyne Thunder", though it was not published until 1941 because of the intervention of the war. In 1941, he moved to Trinidad and served in the Trinidad Royal Volunteer Naval Reserve. In 1948, he left for England with the manuscript of "A Morning at the Office", which was published in 1950. Between 1951 and 1965, he had published a further twenty-one novels and two works of non-fiction, including his autobiographical, "A Swarthy Boy".

John Agard
Playwright, Poet and Writer

Born in Guyana on June 21,1949. He is playwright, poet and children's writer, who moved to the United Kingdom in 1977. He has written many books for children and adults. His poem "Half-caste" is on the AQA English GCSE syllabus, and every year he tours the UK performing with other top poets for GCSE students.His children's poetry includes We Animals Would Like a Word with You, Laughter is an Egg, Einstein the Girl Who Hated Maths and Hello H2O. His adult collections include Mangoes and Bullets, From the Devil's Pulpit and Weblines.He became the first writer-in-residence at the South Bank Centre in 1993 and at the BBC in 1998. His awards include the Casa de las Americas Poetry Prize, the Guyana Prize, a CLPE Award, a Cholmodeley Prize. In 2007 in was nominated for a Nibbie.

David Dabydeen
Writer and Novelist

Born as David Horace Clarence Harilal Sookram in Berbice, Guyana on December 9, 1955. He is a Professor at the Centre fo British Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Warwick. He is a member of UNESCO's Executive Board. David is the author of four novels, three collections of poetry and several works of non-fiction and criticism. His first book, Slave Song (1984), a collection of poetry, won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize and the Quiller-Couch Prize.

Dabydeen has been awarded the title of fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He is the second West Indian writer and the only Guyanese to receive the title. In 2010, David Dabydeen was appointed as Guyana's Ambassador to China.

Brenda Chester DoHarris
Writer and Professor

Born in Georgetown, Guyana in 1946 to Rebecca Theresa Chester (a nurse-midwife) and Clement Vincent Chester (government dispenser).

Brenda is a professor of English at Bowie State University in Bowie, Maryland and a graduate of Columbia University and Howard University where she received her PhD in English. She was the first Guyanese woman to run in Guyana for office of the presidency of a trades union.

Brenda has published two novels: The Coloured GIrl in the Ring: A Guyanese Woman Remembers and Calabash Parkway.

M. Jamal Deen
Professor - B.Sc, M.S., Ph.D, F.R.S.C, F.C.A.E., F.I.E.E.E, F.E.I.C., F.E.C.S., F.A.A.A.S.

Jamal Deen is currently Professor and Senior Canada Research Chair in Information Technology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is also the Director of the Micro- and Nano-Systems Laboratory. His research specialty are in the broad areas of electrical engineering and appllied physics.

Deen completed a Bachelors of Science degree in Mathematics and Physics at the University of Guyana in 1978, winning both the Chancellor's Medal as well as the Dr. Irving Adler's Prize for being the best mathematician student. After working for two years at the University of Guyana, he won the prestigious Fullbright scholarship to undertake graduate work at Case Western Reserve University. Later as a doctoral student, he won an American Vacuum Society Scholarship. He completed his doctoral dissertation on the design and modeling of a new CARS (coherent anti-Stokes scattering) spectroscopy system for dynamic temperature measurements and combustion optimization in rockets and jet engines in 1985.