Celebrity birthdays for the week of Oct. 13-19:
Oct. 13: Gospel singer Shirley Caesar is 87. Musician Paul Simon is 83. Keyboardist Robert Lamm of Chicago is 80. Country singer Lacy J. Dalton is 78. Actor Demond Wilson (“Sanford and Son”) is 78. Singer Sammy Hagar is 77. Singer John Ford Coley of England Dan and John Ford Coley is 76. Model Beverly Johnson is 72. Actor John Lone (“The Last Emperor,” “Rush Hour 2″) is 72. “The X-Files” creator Chris Carter is 68. Singer Cherrelle is 65. Singer-actor-talk show host Marie Osmond is 65. Singer Joey Belladonna of Anthrax is 64. Actor T’Keyah Crystal Keymah (“That’s So Raven,” “In Living Color”) is 62. Country singer John Wiggins is 62. Actor Christopher Judge (TV’s “Stargate SG-1”) is 60. Actor Matt Walsh (“Veep”) is 60. Actor Reginald Ballard (“Martin,” ″The Bernie Mac Show”) is 59. Actor Kate Walsh (“Private Practice,” ″Grey’s Anatomy”) is 57. Musician Jeff Allen of Mint Condition is 56. Actor Tisha Campbell-Martin (“My Wife and Kids,” ″Martin”) is 56. Country singer Rhett Akins is 55. TV personality Billy Bush is 53. Actor Sacha Baron Cohen (“Borat,” ″Da Ali G Show”) is 53. Guitarist Jan Van Sichem Junior of K’s Choice is 52. Singers Brandon and Brian Casey of Jagged Edge are 49. Actor Kiele Sanchez (“Lost”) is 48. Singer Ashanti is 44. Singer-rapper Lumidee is 44. Contemporary Christian singer Jon Micah Sumrall of Kutless is 44. Actor Caleb McLaughlin (“Stranger Things”) is 23.
Oct. 14: Director Carroll Ballard (“The Black Stallion”) is 87. Country singer Melba Montgomery is 87. Singer Cliff Richard is 84. Singer Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues is 78. Actor Greg Evigan (“My Two Dads,” ″B.J. and the Bear”) is 71. Singer Thomas Dolby is 66. Actor Lori Petty (“A League of Their Own”) is 61. Actor Steve Coogan (“Night at the Museum” movies) is 59. Singer Karyn White is 59. Actor Edward Kerr (“Pretty Little Liars,” “Snoops”) is 58. Actor Jon Seda (“Chicago P.D.,” ″Homicide: Life On the Street”) is 54. Bassist Doug Virden (Sons of the Desert) is 54. Country singer Natalie Maines of The Chicks is 50. Singer Shaznay Lewis of All Saints is 49. Actor Stephen Hill (2018’s “Magnum, P.I.”) is 48. Singer Usher is 46. TV personality Stacy Keibler is 45. Actor Ben Whishaw (“Paddington”) is 44. Actor Skyler Shaye (“Bratz”) is 38. Comedian Jay Pharoah (“Saturday Night Live”) is 37. Actor Max Thieriot (“Fire Country,” “SEAL Team”) is 36.
Oct. 15: Singer Barry McGuire is 89. Actor Linda Lavin (“Alice”) is 87. Drummer Don Stevenson of Moby Grape is 82. Actor Victor Banerjee (“A Passage To India”) is 78. Musician Richard Carpenter of The Carpenters is 78. Actor Larry Miller (“Mad About You,” “Boston Legal”) is 71. Actor Jere Burns (“Good Morning, Miami,” ″Dear John”) is 70. TV chef Emeril Lagasse is 65. Drummer Mark Reznicek (The Toadies) is 62. Singer Eric Benet is 58. Actor Vanessa Marcil (“Las Vegas,” ″Beverly Hills 90210″) is 56. “Trading Spaces” host Paige Davis is 55. Actor Dominic West (“The Crown,” “The Wire”) is 55. Singer Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town is 55. Singer Ginuwine is 54. Singer Jaci Velasquez is 45. Actor Brandon Jay McLaren (TV’s “Ransom”) is 44. Singer Keyshia Cole is 43. Actor Vincent Martella (“Everybody Hates Chris”) is 32. Actor Bailee Madison (“Good Witch,” “Pretty Little Liars”) is 25.
Oct. 16: Actor-producer Tony Anthony (“The Stranger” movies) is 87. Actor Barry Corbin (“Yellowstone,” ″Northern Exposure”) is 84. Bassist C.F. Turner of Bachman-Turner Overdrive is 81. Guitarist Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead is 77. Producer-director David Zucker (“The Naked Gun,” “Airplane!”) is 77. Actor Martha Smith (“Animal House,” ″Scarecrow and Mrs. King”) is 72. Actor Andy Kindler (“Bob’s Burgers,” “Everybody Loves Raymond”) is 68. Actor-director Tim Robbins is 66. Guitarist Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) is 65. Singer Bob Mould (Husker Du) is 64. Actor Randy Vasquez (“JAG”) is 63. Bassist Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is 62. Actor Christian Stolte (“Chicago Fire”) is 62. Actor Terri J. Vaughn (“All of Us,” ″The Steve Harvey Show”) is 55. Singer Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips is 55. Rapper B-Rock of B-Rock and the Bizz is 53. Singer Chad Gray of Mudvayne is 53. Actor Paul Sparks (“Boardwalk Empire”) is 53. Actor Kellie Martin (“Christy,” ″Life Goes On”) is 49. Singer-songwriter John Mayer is 47. Actor Jeremy Jackson (“Baywatch”) is 44. Actor Caterina Scorsone (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 44. Actor Brea Grant (“Heroes”) is 43. Actor Kyler Pettis (“Days of Our Lives”) is 32.
Oct. 17: Singer Gary Puckett of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap is 82. Actor Michael McKean is 77. Actor George Wendt is 76. Singer-comedian Bill Hudson of The Hudson Brothers is 75. Country singer Alan Jackson is 66. Actor Grant Shaud (“Murphy Brown”) is 64. Animator Mike Judge (“King of the Hill,” ″Beavis and Butthead”) is 62. Singer Rene’ Dif (Aqua) is 57. Reggae singer Ziggy Marley is 56. Actor Wood Harris (“Empire,” “The Wire”) is 55. Singer Wyclef Jean of The Fugees is 55. Singer Chris Kirkpatrick of ’N Sync is 53. Rapper Eminem is 52. Actor Sharon Leal (“Boston Public,” “Why Did I Get Married?”) is 52. Actor Matthew Macfadyen (“Deadpool and Wolverine,” “Succession”) is 50. Actor Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything”) is 41. Actor Chris Lowell (“The Help,” ″Private Practice”) is 40. Actor Dee Jay Daniels (“The Hughleys,” ″In The House”) is 36.
Oct. 18: Singer Russ Giguere of The Association is 81. Actor Joe Morton is 77. Actor Pam Dawber is 74. Gospel singer Vickie Winans is 71. Director David Twohy (“Riddick” movies) is 69. Actor Jon Lindstrom (“General Hospital”) is 67. Actor Jean-Claude Van Damme is 64. Jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is 63. Actor Vincent Spano is 62. Bassist Tim Cross (Sponge) is 58. Singer Nonchalant is 57. Actor Joy Bryant (“Parenthood”) is 50. Guitarist Peter Svensson of The Cardigans is 50. Actor Wesley Jonathan is 46. Singer Ne-Yo is 45. Country singer and “American Idol” contestant Josh Gracin is 44. Country musician Jesse Littleton (Marshall Dyllon) is 43. Actor Freida Pinto (“Slumdog Millionaire”) is 40. Jazz musician Esperanza Spalding is 40. Actor Zac Efron (“High School Musical,” ″Hairspray”) is 37. Actor Joy Lauren (“Desperate Housewives”) is 35. Actor Tyler Posey is 33. Actor Toby Regbo (“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”) is 33.
Oct. 19: Artist Peter Max is 87. Actor John Lithgow is 79. Singer Jeannie C. Riley is 79. Singer Patrick Simmons of The Doobie Brothers is 76. Actor Annie Golden (“Orange is the New Black”) is 73. Talk show host Charlie Chase is 72. Singer Jennifer Holliday is 64. TV host Ty Pennington (“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”) is 60. Singer-guitarist Todd Park Mohr of Big Head Todd and the Monsters is 59. Actor Jon Favreau is 58. “South Park” co-creator Trey Parker is 55. Comedian Chris Kattan (“Saturday Night Live”) is 54. Singer Pras Michel of The Fugees is 52. Actor Omar Gooding (“Unsolved,” “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper”) is 48. Country singer Cyndi Thomson is 48. Writer-director Jason Reitman (“Juno”) is 47. Actor Benjamin Salisbury (“The Nanny”) is 44. Actor Gillian Jacobs (“Community”) is 42. Actor Rebecca Ferguson (“Dune,” “The Greatest Showman”) is 41. Singer Zac Barnett of American Authors is 38. Actor Ciara Renee (“Legends of Tomorrow”) is 34. Actor Hunter King (“Life in Pieces,” “The Young and the Restless”) is 31.
FILE - Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, left, and Lauryn Hill, of the Fugees, perform during the 25th anniversary tour for "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' in Inglewood, Calif., on Nov. 5, 2023. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Becky Pepper-Jackson finished third in the discus throw in West Virginia last year though she was in just her first year of high school. Now a 15-year-old sophomore, Pepper-Jackson is aware that her upcoming season could be her last.
West Virginia has banned transgender girls like Pepper-Jackson from competing in girls and women's sports, and is among the more than two dozen states with similar laws. Though the West Virginia law has been blocked by lower courts, the outcome could be different at the conservative-dominated Supreme Court, which has allowed multiple restrictions on transgender people to be enforced in the past year.
The justices are hearing arguments Tuesday in two cases over whether the sports bans violate the Constitution or the landmark federal law known as Title IX that prohibits sex discrimination in education. The second case comes from Idaho, where college student Lindsay Hecox challenged that state's law.
Decisions are expected by early summer.
President Donald Trump's Republican administration has targeted transgender Americans from the first day of his second term, including ousting transgender people from the military and declaring that gender is immutable and determined at birth.
Pepper-Jackson has become the face of the nationwide battle over the participation of transgender girls in athletics that has played out at both the state and federal levels as Republicans have leveraged the issue as a fight for athletic fairness for women and girls.
“I think it’s something that needs to be done,” Pepper-Jackson said in an interview with The Associated Press that was conducted over Zoom. “It’s something I’m here to do because ... this is important to me. I know it’s important to other people. So, like, I’m here for it.”
She sat alongside her mother, Heather Jackson, on a sofa in their home just outside Bridgeport, a rural West Virginia community about 40 miles southwest of Morgantown, to talk about a legal fight that began when she was a middle schooler who finished near the back of the pack in cross-country races.
Pepper-Jackson has grown into a competitive discus and shot put thrower. In addition to the bronze medal in the discus, she finished eighth among shot putters.
She attributes her success to hard work, practicing at school and in her backyard, and lifting weights. Pepper-Jackson has been taking puberty-blocking medication and has publicly identified as a girl since she was in the third grade, though the Supreme Court's decision in June upholding state bans on gender-affirming medical treatment for minors has forced her to go out of state for care.
Her very improvement as an athlete has been cited as a reason she should not be allowed to compete against girls.
“There are immutable physical and biological characteristic differences between men and women that make men bigger, stronger, and faster than women. And if we allow biological males to play sports against biological females, those differences will erode the ability and the places for women in these sports which we have fought so hard for over the last 50 years,” West Virginia's attorney general, JB McCuskey, said in an AP interview. McCuskey said he is not aware of any other transgender athlete in the state who has competed or is trying to compete in girls or women’s sports.
Despite the small numbers of transgender athletes, the issue has taken on outsize importance. The NCAA and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committees banned transgender women from women's sports after Trump signed an executive order aimed at barring their participation.
The public generally is supportive of the limits. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in October 2025 found that about 6 in 10 U.S. adults “strongly” or “somewhat” favored requiring transgender children and teenagers to only compete on sports teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth, not the gender they identify with, while about 2 in 10 were “strongly” or “somewhat” opposed and about one-quarter did not have an opinion.
About 2.1 million adults, or 0.8%, and 724,000 people age 13 to 17, or 3.3%, identify as transgender in the U.S., according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.
Those allied with the administration on the issue paint it in broader terms than just sports, pointing to state laws, Trump administration policies and court rulings against transgender people.
"I think there are cultural, political, legal headwinds all supporting this notion that it’s just a lie that a man can be a woman," said John Bursch, a lawyer with the conservative Christian law firm Alliance Defending Freedom that has led the legal campaign against transgender people. “And if we want a society that respects women and girls, then we need to come to terms with that truth. And the sooner that we do that, the better it will be for women everywhere, whether that be in high school sports teams, high school locker rooms and showers, abused women’s shelters, women’s prisons.”
But Heather Jackson offered different terms to describe the effort to keep her daughter off West Virginia's playing fields.
“Hatred. It’s nothing but hatred,” she said. "This community is the community du jour. We have a long history of isolating marginalized parts of the community.”
Pepper-Jackson has seen some of the uglier side of the debate on display, including when a competitor wore a T-shirt at the championship meet that said, “Men Don't Belong in Women's Sports.”
“I wish these people would educate themselves. Just so they would know that I’m just there to have a good time. That’s it. But it just, it hurts sometimes, like, it gets to me sometimes, but I try to brush it off,” she said.
One schoolmate, identified as A.C. in court papers, said Pepper-Jackson has herself used graphic language in sexually bullying her teammates.
Asked whether she said any of what is alleged, Pepper-Jackson said, “I did not. And the school ruled that there was no evidence to prove that it was true.”
The legal fight will turn on whether the Constitution's equal protection clause or the Title IX anti-discrimination law protects transgender people.
The court ruled in 2020 that workplace discrimination against transgender people is sex discrimination, but refused to extend the logic of that decision to the case over health care for transgender minors.
The court has been deluged by dueling legal briefs from Republican- and Democratic-led states, members of Congress, athletes, doctors, scientists and scholars.
The outcome also could influence separate legal efforts seeking to bar transgender athletes in states that have continued to allow them to compete.
If Pepper-Jackson is forced to stop competing, she said she will still be able to lift weights and continue playing trumpet in the school concert and jazz bands.
“It will hurt a lot, and I know it will, but that’s what I’ll have to do,” she said.
Heather Jackson, left, and Becky Pepper-Jackson pose for a photograph outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Heather Jackson, left, and Becky Pepper-Jackson pose for a photograph outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Becky Pepper-Jackson poses for a photograph outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
The Supreme Court stands is Washington, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
FILE - Protestors hold signs during a rally at the state capitol in Charleston, W.Va., on March 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, file)
