Kitee, Finland

December 25, 1976

Known primarily as the mastermind behind Finnish symphonic metal collective Nightwish, composer, multi-instrumentalist, screenwriter, and producer Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen was born in the town of Kitee on December 25, 1976. An ardent student of jazz, classical, heavy metal, and film music, Holopainen began playing live in 1993. He formed Nightwish in 1997 and, as of 2014, has issued seven studio albums with the group. He issued his debut solo album, a musical based on the popular Walt Disney graphic novel The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, in early 2014. ~ James Christopher Monger