Middle kids have some pretty special talents, and these famous middle children prove it
22 Famous People You Didn’t Know Are Middle Children
Updated on Jun. 18, 2025
Warren Buffett
Investment genius Warren Buffett is a middle child with a net worth of $154 billion, and more impressively, he’s donated nearly $62 billion to charity. He is the middle brother of two sisters, one deceased, and was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Ever the doer, Buffett was running a business at age 13, selling a horse racing tip sheet and delivering newspapers on his bike—which he used to claim a $35 tax deduction.
What does Buffett’s success have to do with being in the middle? Middle children don’t like conflict, and they learn to negotiate in order to avoid it, says Katrin Schumann, co-author of The Secret Power of Middle Children. These talents can come in very handy later in life, allowing them to finesse deals and get things done.
Mark Zuckerberg
The founder of Facebook, now Meta, grew up as the only brother to three sisters, one older and two younger. Birth order can play a role in a person’s mindset and disposition, according to Schumann.
“Unhampered by set parental expectations and willing to try new things, middle children are more likely to be innovators than firstborns,” she says. Zuckerberg has been an innovator from the start. Today’s social media juggernaut started as a college message board and is still changing the way people communicate, make friends and maintain relationships.
“Middle children, probably because they feel overlooked, will have a tendency to create stronger friendships and long-term relationships,” says pediatrician Lisa Lewis, MD, the author of Feed the Baby Hummus: Pediatrician-Backed Secrets from Cultures Around the World.
Jaden Smith
The gender-fluid actor and middle child shares dad Will Smith with older half-brother Trey, and mom Jada Pinket Smith with younger sister Willow. Middle kids have a tendency to be unconventional or rebellious, and famous middle children like Jaden are no exception. In an interview with Complex in October 2024, Jaden talked about how he used to want people to think he was “normal,” but that it’s frustrating and fruitless.
“So I actively try to be myself,” he said.
Jennifer Lopez
Lopez grew up in the Bronx with two sisters—older sister Leslie and younger sister Lynda. Lopez started out as a backup dancer on the comedy sketch show In Living Color in the 1990s, then moved on to singing and acting. For middle children, “becoming a performer is a surefire way of assuring that you won’t be lost in the crowd,” writes Schumann. Lopez also embodies some of the other classic traits of middle children, like being self-motivated and resilient.
Princess Diana
Diana grew up as the second-youngest of five kids. She was beloved in Great Britain and around the world, and was known for her kindness, generosity and charity work. Many middle-born children are natural peacekeepers who are focused on fairness. Diana was no stranger to conflict during her marriage to now-King Charles, but her legacy as a decent, fair person is what we remember.
Michael Jordan
The famous athlete is the second-youngest of five kids, three boys and two girls. Older brother Larry was also Jordan’s teammate in high school. “We played one year of varsity basketball together when I was a senior and Michael was a junior, and that’s when his play just went to another level,” he told ESPN.
Middle children can be competitive and like to stand out in a crowd. “His level of play was just so much higher than the rest of us,” Larry said. “People ask me all the time if it bothered me, but I can honestly say no, because I had the opportunity to see him grow. I knew how hard he worked.”
Amy Schumer
Schumer is little sister to half-brother Jason Stein, and big sister to writer and producer Kim Caramele. The comedian and actress is mom to son, Gene, and some research suggests that her status as a middle-born may give her a leg up on parenting. “Middles want to give their children structure and rules, but also want them to be free to make choices,” says Schumann.
Abraham Lincoln
The president who saw the nation through the Civil War and helped reunite the nation was the second child of parents Thomas and Nancy. After his mother died, Lincoln’s father remarried and he gained three more siblings. Sarah, his step-mother, became his biggest champion, and his role as a middle child could have had an influence in his role as both fighter and mediator in our deepest internal conflict.
Zoe Saldana
The acting business is a tough one, often filled with stiff competition and rejection. But famous middle children like Zoe Saldana are tenacious. “Having staying power in a work situation is critical to success,” writes Schumann. After making it big, Saldana also roped her siblings into working with her, posing with younger sister Cisley and older sister Mariel in an ad for Gap and a spread in W magazine.
Charles Darwin
Darwin was the second-youngest of six children. Although he was an average student in school, Darwin went on to become one of the most influential natural scientists in human history. His theory of evolution provides the basis of modern biology and other natural sciences. Darwin “showed above-average drive and passion for the things he did find interesting, a trait shared by many middles,” writes Schumann.
Miley Cyrus
Miley’s in the middle of her family, between older siblings Christopher, Trace and Brandi, and younger siblings Braison and Noah. While ambition and a drive for performing may lead many middle-born children to seek careers in the arts, Miley comes from a naturally artistic family—father Billy Ray is a world-famous country singer.
It’s important to realize that there are many factors that contribute to a child’s personality, says Arlene B. Englander, a psychotherapist in North Palm Beach, Florida. Birth order “may provide us with informative data in some situations, but we need to look at the whole picture and avoid stereotypes when seeking answers about how persons became who they are today,” Englander says.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
A drive for fairness and a deep need to confront injustice is common in many middle children, Schumann says. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., the beloved American civil rights leader, was the second-born in his family after older sister Christine. His little brother, Alfred, also became a reverend.
Dara Torres
Twelve-time Olympic swimming medalist Dara Torres set her first national record at age 12, and set another national record at age 40, just 15 months after giving birth. Dara’s mother, Marylu, taught Dara and her four older brothers and younger sister how to swim in their backyard pool. Good job, mom!
John Legend
Singer John Legend may be more famous for being a good husband than he is for his soulful voice, thanks to adorable and funny social media posts by his wife, model Chrissy Teigen. Studies suggest that middle kids are excellent life partners since they have a talent for getting along with lots of different personalities, says Catherine Salmon, co-author of The Secret Power of Middle Children. They also appear to be less likely to cheat on their partners than firstborns or youngest children, Salmon told Business Insider.
John F. Kennedy
High-achieving middle children tend to have powerful communication skills, coolness under pressure and natural leadership qualities, writes Schumann. In fact, half of American presidents have been middle children! Other middle-born commanders in chief: Thomas Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt.
Bill Gates
Famous middle children (and middle children in general) are often self-motivated and independent. Take billionaire Bill Gates. He dropped out of Harvard in 1975 to start his software company, Microsoft—and he’s now one of the richest and most philanthropic middle kids of all time.
Susan B. Anthony
Some research suggests that middle children may be more willing to take risks than their first-born siblings, Salmon told Prevention. Legendary suffragist Susan B. Anthony was one of the first American activists to buck the 19th-century status quo and demand that women be allowed to own property and vote. Ever the rebel, Anthony was arrested at age 52 for voting (illegally at that point) in the presidential election of 1872. She was born in 1820, the second of seven children.
Judd Apatow
Comedian, producer and director Judd Apatow has made some of the funniest films of the last several decades, including Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. After his parents divorced, Apatow’s older brother and younger sister moved in with their father. But Judd remained with their mom, who worked at a comedy club. He got a dishwashing job there as a teenager, and by 17 years old was up on stage himself.
Peyton Manning
You can’t argue with stats: Among other accomplishments on the field, Peyton Manning has won two Super Bowls with two different teams, is a five-time NFL Most Valuable Player and a 14-time Pro Bowl pick. Little brother Eli Manning is also a famous, two-time Super Bowl–winning QB. Big brother Cooper, a sports commentator, was set to play football at Ole Miss until he was diagnosed with a degenerative condition called spinal stenosis.
Madonna
Middle kids don’t exactly grow up in the spotlight, psychologist Julia Rohrer told Prevention. Perhaps that’s why many of them seek, and find, it as adults. Legendary pop artist Madonna has held the whole world’s attention for decades, while some of her seven older and younger siblings have struggled with addiction, homelessness and other difficulties.
Chris Hemsworth
Middle children often don’t get as much attention as their older and younger siblings. “It’s easy for them to be left out and get lost in the shuffle,” child and family therapist Michelle P. Maidenberg told Parents magazine. But Thor actor Chris Hemsworth certainly isn’t overshadowed now. Although his little brother, Liam, and older brother, Luke, are both well-known actors, Chris has become a world-famous movie star.
A whole bunch of late-night hosts
Original Tonight Show host and creator Johnny Carson was a middle child, as are David Letterman, former Late Late Show host James Corden and iconic former Daily Show host Jon Stewart. “One of the hidden benefits is that middle children … have this sense of independence, and they think outside the box a little bit more,” Schumann told NPR. There’s not many things harder in entertainment than succeeding at late-night TV, so that middle-child drive must come in handy.
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Sources:
- Katrin Schumann, journalist and co-author of The Secret Power of Middle Children: How Middleborns Can Harness Their Unexpected and Remarkable Abilities
- Lisa Lewis, MD, pediatrician and author of Feed the Baby Hummus: Pediatrician-Backed Secrets from Cultures Around the World
- Arlene B. Englander, LCSW, psychotherapist and author of Let Go of Emotional Overeating and Love Your Food
- Parents: “Does Birth Order Determine Your Child’s Personality?”
- Prevention: “Middle Child Syndrome: How Birth Order Impacts Your Personality”
