1961

Feature films

 * January 25 - 101 Dalmatians
 * March 16 - The Absent-Minded Professor
 * June 21 - The Parent Trap
 * July 12 - Nikki, Wild Dog of the North
 * July 17 - Greyfriars Bobby
 * December 14 - Babes in Toyland

Shorts

 * March 16 - The Saga of Windwagon Smith
 * June 21 - Donald and the Wheel and The Litterbug
 * December 20 - Aquamania

Theme park happenings

 * The Disneyland Monorail System extends to the Disneyland Hotel.

Events

 * The California Institute of the Arts is founded.

Character debuts

 * September 24 - Ludwig Von Drake
 * December - Magica De Spell
 * December - John D. Rockerduck

Births

 * Alber Elbaz (fashion designer)
 * Jim Reardon (animation director and storyboard consultant)
 * January 4 - Graham McTavish (actor and voice actor)
 * January 9 - Candi Milo (voice actress)
 * January 12 - Simon Russell Beale (actor, author and historian)
 * January 13 - Julia Louis-Dreyfus (actress, comedian and producer)
 * January 18 - Bob Peterson (animator, screenwriter, director and voice actor)
 * March 4 - Steven Weber (actor)
 * March 8 - Camryn Manheim (actress)
 * March 13 - Paul Berry (stop-motion animator and director)
 * March 24 - Mitsuru Ogata (voice actor)
 * March 29 - Amy Sedaris (actress and comedian)
 * April 1 - Kujira (voice actress)
 * April 2 - Christopher Meloni (actor)
 * April 3 - Eddie Murphy (actor and comedian)
 * April 13 - Liz Callaway (actress and singer)
 * April 14 - Mau Heymans (comic book artist and comic book writer) and Robert Carlyle (actor)
 * April 18 - Jane Leeves (actress, comedian and dancer)
 * April 21 - Cathy Cavadini (actress and singer)
 * April 23 - George Lopez (actor and comedian)
 * May 6 - George Clooney (actor, director, producer and screenwriter)
 * May 16 - Kevin McDonald (voice actor)
 * May 27 - Peri Gilpin (actress)
 * May 29 - Melissa Etheridge (singer)
 * May 31 - Lea Thompson (actress, director and producer)
 * June 5 - Mary Kay Bergman (voice actress)
 * June 9 - Michael J. Fox (actor)
 * June 15 - Jim Hanks (voice actor)
 * June 17 - Kōichi Yamadera (voice actor and actor)
 * June 25 - Ricky Gervais (actor and comedian)
 * July 4 - Ted Elliott (screenwriter and producer)
 * July 10 - Jacky Cheung (actor)
 * July 15 - Forest Whitaker (actor) and Lolita Davidovich (actress)
 * July 23 - Woody Harrelson (actor)
 * July 30 - Elio (musician and singer)
 * July 30 - Laurence Fishburne (actor, playwright, director and producer)
 * August 2 - Mark Moseley (actor and comedian)
 * August 4 - Lauren Tom (voice actress) and Barack Obama (44th President of the United States of America)
 * August 5 - Janet McTeer (actress)
 * August 7 - Maggie Wheeler (actress)
 * August 17 - Takashi Aoyagi (scholar and voice actor)
 * August 20 - Tony Longo (actor)
 * August 25 - Billy Ray Cyrus (actor)
 * August 28 - Jennifer Coolidge (actress and comedian)
 * September 11 - Elizabeth Daily (voice actress)
 * September 15 - Noel MacNeal (puppeteer, screenwriter, performer and director)
 * September 18 - James Gandolfini (actor) and Andrew Airlie (actor)
 * September 20 - James Colby (actor)
 * September 22 - Bonnie Hunt (voice actress)
 * September 23 - Chi McBride (actor, singer and songwriter)
 * September 25 - Heather Locklear (actress)
 * October 10 - Jodi Benson (actress and singer)
 * October 31 - Peter Jackson (director, producer and screenwriter)
 * November 2 - k.d. lang (singer and actress)
 * November 14 - D. B. Sweeney (voice actor)
 * November 19 - Meg Ryan (actress)
 * November 29 - Kim Delaney (actress)
 * December 10 - Nia Peeples (singer and actress)
 * December 16 - Shane Black (screenwriter, actor and director)

Deaths

 * March 26 - Ned Norton (actor and voice actor)
 * November 13 - Wally Brown (actor and comedian)
 * Bob Stevens (Member of The Mellomen)