Richard Starkey, MBE (born 7 July 1940), better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for the rock group The Beatles. When The Beatles formed in 1960, Starr belonged to another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in 1962, taking over from Pete Best. In addition to his contribution as drummer, Starr featured as lead singer on a number of successful Beatles songs (in particular, "With a Little Help from My Friends" , "Yellow Submarine","Good Night") and also as songwriter with the songs "Don't Pass Me By", "Octopus's Garden", and in collaboration with the other members, the songs "What Goes On", "Flying", and "Dig It".

As drummer for The Beatles, Starr was musically creative, and his contribution to the band's music has received high praise from notable drummers in more recent times. Starr described himself as "your basic offbeat drummer with funny fills", technically limited by being a left-handed person playing a right-handed kit. Drummer Steve Smith said that Starr's popularity "brought forth a new paradigm" where "we started to see the drummer as an equal participant in the compositional aspect" and that Starr "composed unique, stylistic drum parts for The Beatles songs".

Starr is the most documented actor of The Beatles, playing the central character in several Beatles films, and has appeared in numerous other films both during and after his time with The Beatles. After The Beatles' break-up in 1970, Starr achieved commercial success with a number of solo singles and albums, and continued occasional work with each of his fellow ex-Beatles as they too developed their post-Beatles musical careers. He has also featured in a number of TV documentaries, hosted TV shows, and acted as the narrator for the children's TV series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. He now tours with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.