10 Extraordinary People Turning 60 In 2015

Many of the boomers who defined their generation in technology, entertainment, media, politics and fashion will be turning 60 in 2015. Here, we highlight 10 trailblazers who made their mark and continue to do so through teaching, philanthropy, activism and inspiring second acts. They are sorted by their 2015 birthdates.

JOHN G. ROBERTS, Jr. - Supreme Court Chief Justice, January 27

John Roberts, the court’s second youngest member in a job with no retirement age, is likely to wield influence for many years if he is afforded the longevity of his predecessors. Since 2005, he has presided over an ideologically-divided court which has issued significant opinions on health care, campaign finance and gay rights.

GARY SINISE, Actor, March 17

It's hard to say whether Gary Sinise is better known these days as an actor or a veterans' advocate. A stage performer who earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of troubled Vietnam veteran Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, Sinise formed the real-life Lt. Dan Band to entertain troops abroad. Through those performances, he formed a close bond with veterans and founded the Gary Sinise Foundation to support military families and first responders.

BARBARA KINGSOLVER, Author, April 8

Kingsolver, a biologist turned author, has written more than 14 books, mostly novels, including her best-known work The Poisonwood Bible. In 2000, she received the National Humanities Medal from President Bill Clinton. In 2005, she moved her family to a farm in Appalachia and attempted to subsist only on locally-produced foods for a year, an experiment she chronicled in her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. In 2012, Kingsolver founded the Bellwether Prize, a $25,000 award for an unpublished novel promoting social change, as many of her books do.