Gary Lineker

Gary Lineker has been lucky enough to enjoy not one but two successful careers. He first rose to fame in the '80s and '90s as a top-ranked British football player, and then transitioned into sports broadcasting and TV presenting after retiring from competitive play. Lineker, long known as a fair and easygoing sportsman, began his broadcasting career hosting several BBC radio sports programs and was promoted in 1999 to host of "Match of the Day," the long-running primetime sports series. From 1995 to 2003 he served as co-host of the popular game show "They Think It's All Over Now," which features well-known British comedians competing to answer questions about different athletes and sporting events. A Football Hall of Fame member, Lineker has participated in numerous documentaries and TV specials; he appeared alongside David Beckham in the 2004 special "Old Big 'Ead: A Tribute to Brian Clough," and offered commentary in "Facism and Football," which explores how European dictators like Benito Mussolini and Francisco Franco used football as a means of controlling and subjugating their citizens. He portrayed a parodic version of himself in the British TV miniseries "The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything" and, in a rare film appearance, played himself in "Bend It Like Beckham,"the 2002 surprise global hit about a Sikh girl who dreams of becoming a famous footballer. He has since lent his voice to the title character in "Underground Ernie," an animated children's program about a train supervisor and his friends.