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Biopics Quiz

Can you guess the real-life people who were the primary subject of these biographical movies?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: April 16, 2024
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First submittedOctober 22, 2012
Times taken36,287
Average score54.5%
Rating4.07
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Year
Movie
Person
2024
___ ______: One Love
Bob Marley
2023
Maestro
Leonard Bernstein
2018
Bohemian Rhapsody
Freddie Mercury
2014
The Imitation Game
Alan Turing
2014
The Theory of Everything
Stephen Hawking
2012
The Iron Lady
Margaret Thatcher
2011
J. Edgar
J. Edgar Hoover
2008
W.
George W. Bush
2005
Walk the Line
Johnny Cash
2004
Ray
Ray Charles
2004
The Motorcycle Diaries
Che Guevara
2004
The Aviator
Howard Hughes
Year
Movie
Person
2004
Downfall
Adolf Hitler
2002
Frida
Frida Kahlo
2001
A Beautiful Mind
John Nash
1999
Man on the Moon
Andy Kaufman
1996
Evita
Eva Perón
1995
Braveheart
William Wallace
1984
Amadeus
Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart
1981
Mommie Dearest
Joan Crawford
1980
Coal Miner's Daughter
Loretta Lynn
1942
The Pride of the
Yankees
Lou Gehrig
46 Comments
+8
Level 67
Nov 14, 2012
Surprised so few people have seen Downfall. A beautiful mind is a great film too.
+5
Level 83
Sep 30, 2014
I think most people know of the parody scene, but don't remember the movie since I don't think it was released here in the US (at least not widely). Agreed that it's a excellent movie.
+1
Level 78
Nov 1, 2024
"IF YA BREAK YER LEGS...YOU CAN'T COOK ORANGUTAN!!!"
+7
Level 81
Jun 17, 2015
Wasn't really a biopic, was it? But that one scene is famous.
+8
Level 58
Jun 18, 2015
I have seen Downfall, but didn't recognize it, because I only know it by its German name ('Der Untergang')
+2
Level 48
Jan 24, 2020
The same for me, I didn't notice, that Downfall is "Der Untergang"
+1
Level 89
Oct 22, 2019
Don't break into a rage.
+2
Level 69
Jan 24, 2020
I've seen it, but only know it under its German title ('Der Untergang'). So I didn't recognize the title...
+4
Level 79
Feb 17, 2023
I am getting deja vu from all of the Der Untergang comments
+1
Level 67
Apr 22, 2024
Downfall is a literall translation of Der Untergang too! It's not like how Ghostbusters is called 'Phantom SOS' in France.
+1
Level 78
Jun 8, 2015
Never saw Downfall. Really, only got Nash because of the accident a few weeks ago. Loved the movie though.
+1
Level 76
Jun 17, 2015
Aww, I didn't know John Nash died. Makes me feel bad for forgetting what his name was now...
+1
Level 82
Apr 17, 2024
I didn't realise he was dead. Loved 'I Can See Clearly Now'
+1
Level 67
Apr 22, 2024
Oh dear xD
+1
Level 74
Jun 17, 2015
Good quiz. I missed five but found a few movies I'd like to see.
+1
Level 15
Oct 13, 2018
even by this site Frida Kahlo is pretty random not that she wasn't a great artist or anything but yea not that well known
+16
Level 89
Jul 9, 2019
I disagree. Not only would I deem her to be fairly well-known (she is the subject of a major Hollywood movie after all), but in the context of this quiz there are currently 11 answers that are guessed less often than her.
+1
Level 67
Apr 22, 2024
Frida Kahlo was a true innovator in art, we studied her works at school when I was 14, and you can find her face on t-shirts and mugs in any quirky, feminist shop.
+1
Level 78
Nov 1, 2024
She's extremely well known. I'm not even in the art community, but because of her self portraits and unibrow, she's sort of a cultural icon. Definitely an easy one for trivia folks.
+2
Level 76
Jan 21, 2020
Guessing Cheney results in a free one for Che.
+1
Level ∞
Jan 21, 2020
Changed the Cheney one to a Bush one.
+1
Level 72
Jan 24, 2020
I thought the motorcycle diaries was the documentary of Ewan McGregor's (star wars) motorcycle trip around the world..
+1
Level 74
Jan 24, 2020
Surprised to see Coal Miner's Daughter so low. It's such an amazing movie about such a talented person
+5
Level 67
Jan 24, 2020
Man on the Moon and Amadeus are my favorite biopics, and they're both directed by Milos Forman, who also did the People vs. Larry Flynt, which is also great. Forman is the best at biopics (and character studies generally -- he also did One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) because he uses a light touch and lets his actors be playful enough that we can appreciate that these people really loved what they did. So many biopics use tragedy in a kind of pornographic way (sorry, Mr. Flynt) to assure us that their subjects are capital-i Important. That's a problem both because it makes the viewing experience less enjoyable, and because, frankly the ubiquity of that approach has created a paint-by-numbers feel to so many biopics. You change the nouns based on the subject, but the story beats and circumstances are always the same. Forman's approach is way more effective and I wish more directors would consider it.
+1
Level 91
Jan 24, 2020
I haven't seen Man on the Moon yet but I did see Amadeus and I thought it was excellent. I also thought One Flew Over was pretty good as well.
+2
Level 74
Apr 20, 2024
I liked "Walk The Line" and "Ray"--but after seeing "Walk Hard" it's hard to take any biopic, in particular music biopics, seriously.

With one exception: "Yankee Doodle Dandy." Not because it's accurate (Cohan saw the film before the premiere while he was dying of cancer and reportedly said "Nice film--who's it about?"). but because Cagney was a real song-and-dance man in his own right and gives a knockout performance, rather than merely trying to imitate his subject, which is, in the final analysis, all that Foxx and Phoenix try to do. Take a look at this number which Jimmy improvised: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlvB4xk4LNQ. And then go watch the movie as a whole and you'll see why Cagney won the Oscar for this role.

+1
Level 49
Apr 20, 2024
Go watch "Control" and get back to me.
+1
Level 74
Apr 20, 2024
Thanks for the tip--I'll keep an eye out for it.
+1
Level 62
Apr 20, 2024
Really enjoyed Man on the Moon, Amadeus, and Walk the Line.

One Love less so. The accents were so thick that they really needed subtitles. It was hard enough following what was going on even though I am fairly familiar with his story. I also thought it was an odd choice to focus on a short few years of his life; I wasn't sure why or what message they were trying to convey.

It felt more like a musical tbh. I kid you not when I say that there might be barely intelligible dialogue for 5 minutes and then we got another song montage.

+1
Level 14
Feb 27, 2021
Would love it if you also included Rocketman and Eddie the Eagle. I adore these movies and they're great biopics!😍
+2
Level 55
Jan 23, 2022
I don't know abut other non-english speaking countries, but in Belgium Downfall is only known as Der Untergang. Enjoyed the movie, didn't recognize the translated title. Nice quiz though!
+1
Level 69
Sep 14, 2023
Fun quiz
+3
Level 71
Apr 16, 2024
Did anyone else gets Man on the Moon because of the eponymous R.E.M. song?

"Andy are you goofing on Elvis/Hey baby, we're losing touch"

+1
Level 68
Apr 20, 2024
No, but I learned about Andy through the song!
+2
Level 76
Apr 21, 2024
The movie title came from that song. And then R.E.M. did the whole soundtrack.
+6
Level 55
Apr 20, 2024
Can Salieri also be correct for Amadeus, seeing as it's also about him?
+4
Level 49
Apr 20, 2024
I'd argue it is more of a Salieri pic than a Mozart one.
+4
Level 68
Apr 20, 2024
Like many of Mel Gibson's films, Braveheart is as close to a biopic as Star Wars.
+1
Level 67
Apr 22, 2024
Same is true for Amadeus, isn't it? Neither are biopics, both are Best Picture winners, and one is far more deserving than the other!
+1
Level 65
Apr 20, 2024
This site sure loves putting Ray Charles in its thumbnails :)
+1
Level 63
Apr 20, 2024
and what's wrong with that?
+1
Level 76
Apr 21, 2024
It's probably a conspiracy. You should do a serious analysis of the rate of Ray Charles thumbnails vs other people you would be less apt to take note of. I bet you'll uncover some serious skulduggery. Report back with your findings.

Alternatively, maybe you just ran across multiple examples in a relatively short time span. That's called coincidence. It happens to the best of us.

+1
Level 58
Apr 20, 2024
i def cried for imitation game
+3
Level 33
Apr 20, 2024
Why can't you accept Queen? The film is as much about the whole band as it is just Freddie.
+1
Level 67
Apr 22, 2024
Yeah I heard a rumour that all the band members needed equal screen time (Brian May and Roger were producers).
+1
Level 51
Apr 20, 2024
Incredibly easy, got them all.