List of French people
This is a list of famous French or French-speaking/writing people.
Actors/Actresses
Architects
Authors
See also: French language authors, French language poets, French novelists
- Marcel Achard -- playwright and scriptwriter
- Alain-Fournier
- Jean Anouilh -- 20th century dramatist
- Guillaume Apollinaire -- (born Russian) poet
- Antonin Artaud
- Honoré de Balzac -- realist author
- Henri Barbusse
- Charles Baudelaire, 19th century poet
- Pierre Beaumarchais, comedy playwright
- Simone de Beauvoir -- 20th century author
- Cyrano de Bergerac
- Georges Bernanos
- Tristan Bernard
- Maurice Blanchot
- Pierre Boulle
- Fernand Braudel
- André Breton
- Restif de le Bretonne
- Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
- Michel Butor
- Albert Camus -- existentialist author
- Louis-Ferdinand Céline -- 20th century author
- Blaise Cendrars
- Aimé Césaire-- 20th century author
- Chamfort
- René Char, 20th century poet
- François-René de Chateaubriand
- E. M. Cioran
- Paul Claudel
- Jean Cocteau -- 20th century poet and playwright
- Colette-- 20th century author
- Benjamin Constant
- Pierre Corneille -- classicist playwright
- Marquis de Custine -- travel writer
- Denis Diderot
- Alexandre Dumas, père, Author
- Alexandre Dumas, fils -- Playwright/author
- Marguerite Duras - 20th century novelist
- Mircea Eliade
- Paul Eluard
- Frantz Fanon -- 20th century author, psychiatrist
- Léon-Paul Fargue
- Georges Feydeau
- Alain Finkielkraut - essayist
- Gustave Flaubert -- realist author
- Anatole France
- Marie de France -- poet
- Romain Gary
- Jean Genet
- André Gide, Nobel Prize Winner
- Jean Giono
- Jean Giraudoux
- Françoise Giroud
- Julien Gracq
- Julien Green
- Pierre Guyotat
- Victor Hugo -- novelist, poet, and playwright
- Joris-Karl Huysmans
- Eugène Ionesco
- Jean de La Bruyère
- Jean de La Fontaine
- Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
- Comte de Lautréamont (Isidore Ducasse)
- Villiers de L'Isle-Adam
- Leconte de Lisle -- parnassian poet
- Alphonse de Lamartine
- Jacques Lacan - psychoanalyst
- Jules Laforgue
- Valéry Larbaud
- Stéphane Mallarmé -- poet
- Hector Malot -- 19th century author
- André Malraux
- Pierre de Marivaux - playwright
- Clément Marot -- poet
- Guy de Maupassant novelist
- François Mauriac - Roman Catholic writer
- Prosper Mérimée - 19th century novelist
- Henri Michaux
- Patrick Modiano
- Jean Baptiste Poquelin dit Molière -- 17th century comedic playwright and actor
- Alfred de Musset -- 19th century poet
- Anaïs Nin
- Marcel Pagnol
- Charles Péguy -- 20th century poet
- Charles Perrault -- Mother Goose Tales
- Georges Perec
- Saint-John Perse
- Jean Piaget - psychologist
- Christine de Pizan, historian, poet, philosopher
- Jacques Prevert -- 20th century poet
- Abbé Prévost
- Marcel Proust -- novelist
- François Rabelais -- Renaissance writer
- Raymond Radiguet
- Jean Racine -- classicist playwright
- Pauline Réage, novelist
- Arthur Rimbaud -- symbolist poet
- Alain Robbe-Grillet
- Pierre de Ronsard
- Edmond Rostand -- neo-romantic playwright
- Raymond Roussel
- Marquis de Sade -- erotic and philosophic author
- Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
- George Sand -- feminist author
- Nathalie Sarraute
- Victor Segalen
- Madame de Sévigné
- Madame de Staël
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery, humanist author and aviators.
- Claude Simon
- Stendhal -- novelist (born Henry Beyle)
- Paul Valéry -- 20th century poet
- Paul Verlaine -- symbolist poet
- Jules Verne -- novelist
- Boris Vian -- 20th century author
- Alfred de Vigny -- 19th century poet
- François Villon
- ÃÂmile Zola -- naturalist author
Aviators
- Clément Ader
- Jacqueline Auriol
- Louis Blériot
- Henry Farman
- Georges Guynemer
- Jean Mermoz
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, humanist author and aviators.
- Roland Garros, First to cross the mediterranean sea. French Open is named after him.
Business
- Bernard Arnault (born 1949), entrepreneur
- Marcel Bich, (1914-1994), Bic pens
- Vincent Bolloré (born 1952), transportation and engineering
- Ettore Bugatti (1881-1947), automobile manufacturer
- André Citroen (1878-1935), automobile manufacturer
- Marcel Dassault (1892-1986), aviation
- Gerard Louis-Dreyfus (born 1932), agricultural commodities
- Eleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (1771-1834), founder of DuPont
- Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817), entrepreneur
- Jacques Foccart (1913-1997), import-export
- Paul-Louis Halley (1934-2004), supermarket tycoon
- Max Hymans (1900-1961), aviation
- Jean-Marie Messier (born 1957), former Vivendi CEO
- François Pinault (born 1936), entrepreneur
- Jacques-Donatien Le Ray (1726-1803), shipping magnate and a "Father of the American Revolution"
- Marcel Renault (1872-1903), automobile manufacturer
- James Mayer Rothschild (1792-1868), banker
- Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988), wine maker
- Eugene Schueller (1881-1954), founder of L'Oreal
- Bernard Tapie (born 1943), entrepreneur
Composers
- Georges Auric
- Hector Berlioz
- Georges Bizet -- composer of Carmen
- Pierre Boulez -- avant garde composer
- Marc Antoine Charpentier
- François Couperin
- Michel Richard Delalande
- Georges Delerue
- Claude Debussy -- Impressionist composer
- Paul Dukas -- composer of The Sorcerer's Apprentice
- Gabriel Fauré
- César Franck -- also considered Belgian
- Jean-Jacques Goldman*
- Reynaldo Hahn
- Pierre Henry -- writer of musique concrète and electronic music
- Jean-Michel Jarre
- Maurice Jarre -- film music composer
- Michel Legrand
- Jean François Lesueur
- Jean Baptiste Lully, court composer to Louis XIV
- Darius Milhaud
- Jacques Offenbach -- noted for his operettas
- Francis Poulenc
- Jean Philippe Rameau
- Maurice Ravel
- Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle -- composer of "La Marseillaise", French National Anthem
- Edmond Roussel
- Camille Saint-Saëns
- Erik Satie composer of Musiques d'ameublement
- Pierre Schaeffer -- inventor of musique concrète
- Les Six -- group of composers
- Germaine Tailleferre
- Charles-Marie Widor
Criminals
For Collaboration with Nazi Germany see also the politicians section.- Jules Bonnot
- ÃÂmile Louis
- Henri Désiré Landru -- serial killer
- Jacques Mesrine
- Maurice Papon -- politician and war criminal
- Marcel Petiot -- serial killer
- Paul Touvier -- The only Frenchman convicted of crime against humanity
Dancers
- Roland Petit
- Jane Avril (1868-1943), singer/dancer
- See also Moulin Rouge and Folies Bergeres
Economists
Fashion
- Liliane de Bettencourt, majority owner of L'Oreal, wealthiest person in France
- Coco Chanel -- fashion designer
- Edouard de Givenchy
- Christian Dior -- fashion designer
- Jean-Paul Gaultier
- Madame Grey
- Daniel Hechter -- inventor of ready-to-wear
- Paul Poiret
- Yves Saint-Laurent -- fashion designer
Fictional characters
- Asterix, Obelix and Idefix (René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo) -- Gaul warriors
- Tintin (Hergé) -- Belgian reporter
- Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan (Alexandre Dumas) -- Musketeers of the King of France
- Cyrano de Bergerac (Edmond Rostand) -- not fictional but there's no better category ;)
- Rastignac (Honoré de Balzac) -- The most ambitious man in Paris?
- The Man in the Iron Mask -- Not fictional either, but who knows who he was?
- Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie) -- a Belgian private detective.
Filmmakers
- Olivier Assayas
- Jacques Becker
- Jean-Jacques Beineix
- Luc Besson
- Bertrand Blier
- Catherine Breillat
- Robert Bresson
- André Cayatte
- Jean Cocteau
- Jacques Cousteau -- inventor of the modern aqua lung
- Jacques Demy
- Abel Gance
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- Mathieu Kassovitz -- also actor
- Patrice Leconte
- Claude Lelouch
- Louis Malle
- André Malraux
- Georges Méliès
- Maurice Pialat
- Roman Polanski
- Jean Renoir
- Alain Resnais
- Alain Sarde
- Jacques Tati
- Maurice Tourneur (1878-1961), director
- François Truffaut, director
- Roger Vadim -- director
- Agnès Varda
- Jean Vigo
Humorists
- Coluche
- Francis Blanche
- Pierre Dac humorist and Resistance worker
- Pierre Desproges
Monarchs
See also French monarchs, members of the French Royal Families- Charlemagne
- Henri IV
- Louis XIV, the Sun King -- King of France
- Louis XVI -- King of France when the Revolution started.
- Marie Antoinette -- Austrian born Queen of France, wife of Louis XVI.
- Napoléon Bonaparte and Joséphine de Beauharnais -- Emperor and Empress of France
- Napoleon III -- Président and Emperor
Musicians, singers
- Charles Aznavour
- Josephine Baker, American born entertainer
- Jane Bathori, opera singer
- Barbara
- Guy Béart
- Michel Berger
- Lucienne Boyer
- Georges Brassens
- Aristide Bruant
- Manu Chao
- Dalida
- Damia
- Marie Dubas
- Claude François -- popular singer 1960's 1970's
- Fréhel
- France Gall
- Serge Gainsbourg
- Yvette Guilbert
- Gipsy Kings
- Jean-Jacques Goldman
- Georgius
- Stéphane Grappelli -- jazz musician
- Juliette Gréco
- Gribouille (Marie-France Gaîté)
- Johnny Hallyday
- David Hallyday
- Joëlle
- Kiki -- "Queen of Montparnasse"
- La Goulue
- Claudine Longet
- Luis Mariano
- Didier Marouani — musician and composer
- Félix Mayol
- Mireille Mathieu
- Mireille
- Mistinguett
- Pierre Perret
- Edith Piaf
- Tino Rossi
- Jean Sablon
- Alain Souchon
- Charles Trénet
- Sylvie Vartan
- Pauline Garcia-Viardot - opera singer & composer
Painters
- François Boucher
- Pierre Brissaud
- Gustave Caillebotte
- Paul Cézanne
- Jules Chéret
- Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot
- Gustave Courbet
- Thomas Couture
- Jacques Louis David
- Edgar Degas
- Eugène Delacroix
- Robert Delaunay
- André Derain
- Marcel Duchamp
- Suzanne Duchamp
- Henri Fantin-Latour
- Jean-Honoré Fragonard
- Antonio de La Gandara
- Paul Gauguin
- Jean-Baptiste Gros
- Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
- Charles de La Tour
- Georges Lacombe
- Fernand Léger
- Edouard Manet
- Henri Matisse
- Claude Monet
- Gustave Moreau
- Berthe Morisot
- Francis Picabia
- Camille Pissarro
- Nicolas Poussin
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir
- Georges Seurat
- Nicolas de Staël
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
- Maurice Utrillo
- Suzanne Valadon
- Horace Vernet
- Jacques Villon
- Philippe Watteau
Philosophers
- Louis Althusser
- Jean le Rond d'Alembert
- Georges Bataille
- Roland Barthes
- Jean Baudrillard -- philosopher and sociologist
- Pierre Bourdieu, sociologist
- Julien Benda
- Henri Bergson
- Emile Boutroux
- Jean de Crèvecoeur
- Michel de Certeau
- Guy Debord
- Gilles Deleuze
- Jacques Derrida
- René Descartes -- scientist and philosopher
- Denis Diderot -- Enlightenment author and atheist philosopher
- Elisabeth Bourdiau de Fontenay
- Michel Foucault
- Félix Guattari
- Vladimir Jankelevitch
- ÃÂtienne de La Boétie -- philosopher and politician
- Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe
- Henri Lefèbvre
- Marcel Légaut - christian philosopher
- Jean de Léry -- corsaireand ethnologist, anti-racism acivist
- Emmanuel Lévinas
- Jean-François Lyotard
- Nicolas Malebranche
- Gabriel Marcel -- philosopher
- Maurice Merleau-Ponty -- phenomenologist
- Michel de Montaigne -- philosopher essayist
- Montesquieu, political philosopher
- Emmanuel Mounier -- philosopher
- Jean Luc Nancy -- philosopher
- Blaise Pascal -- scientist, Christian philosopher and author
- Paul Ricoeur
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- Jean-Paul Sartre -- existentialist philosopher
- Michel Serres
- Jean-Marie Arouet dit Voltaire -- Enlightenment author, deist/agnostic philosopher
- Simone Weil
Politicians
See also: Prime Ministers of France, Presidents of France- Robert Badinter -- lawyer, statesman and anti death sentence activist
- Léon Blum
- José Bové -- anti-globalization activist
- Marcel Cachin -- founder of the daily periodic L'Humanité
- Jacques Chirac
- Samuel de Champlain -- 1st governor of Canada
- Georges Clemenceau
- Gaspard de Coligny
- Bertrand Delanoë
- Jacques Delors
- Félix Faure, President of France who died of a heart attack while making love to his mistress
- Charles de Gaulle
- Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
- Guizot, Prime Minister
- Gisèle Halimi lawyer and feminist activist
- Jean Jaurès, politician, pacifist
- Lionel Jospin
- Bernard Kouchner -- founder of Medecins du Monde and other "French Doctors"
- Jean-Marie Le Pen
- Alain Lipietz -- green economist
- Pierre Mendès-France -- Lawyer and Statesman
- Honoré Mirabeau
- François Mitterrand -- Lawyer and Statesman
- Jean Monnet
- Henri Philippe Pétain -- Head of Vichy France
- Alexandre de Prouville, Viceroy of New France
- Jean-Pierre Raffarin -- Prime Minister of France since 2002
- Victor Schoelcher -- anti-slavery activist
- Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
- Maurice Thorez
- Jacques Toubon
- Dominique Voynet -- Physician and Green politician
Popes
- Pope Urban IV (1261-1264): Jacques Pantaléon
- Pope Clement IV (1265-1268): Guy Foulques
- Pope Innocent V (1276)
- Pope Martin IV (1281-1285): Simon de Brie
- Pope Clement V (1305-1314): Bertrand de Got
- Pope John XXII (1316-1334): Jacques d'Euse
- Pope Benedict XII (1334-1342): Jacques Fournier
- Pope Clement VI (1342-1352): Pierre Roger
- Pope Innocent VI (1352-1362): Stephen Aubert
- Pope Urban V (1362-1370): Guillaume de Grimoard
- Pope Gregory XI (1370-1378): Pierre Roger de Beaufort
Resistance workers
See also French Resistance- Lucie Samuel-Aubrac(born 1912), human rights activist
- Raymond Aubrac (born 1914), statesman
- Robert Benoist (1895-1944), SOE operative, champion race car driver
- Denise Bloch (1915-1945), SOE operative: King's Commendation for Brave Conduct, Legion of Honor, French Resistance Medal
- Andrée Borrel (1919-1944), SOE operative: Croix de Guerre
- Madeleine Damerment (1917-1944), SOE operative: Legion of Honor, Croix de Guerre, Médaille combattant volontaire de la Résistance
- Marie Louise Dissard
- William Grover-Williams (1903-1945), SOE operative, champion race car driver
- Cecily Lefort (1900-1945), SOE operative: Croix de Guerre
- Pierre Mendès-France (1907-1982), lawyer, statesman
- Jean Moulin (1899-1943), statesman
- Abbé Pierre (1912- ), Priest and founder of Emmaus
- Christian Pineau(1904-1995), statesman
- Eliane Plewman (1917-1944), SOE operative: Croix de Guerre
- Germaine Ribière
- Elise Rivet (1890-1945), nun executed by Nazis for aiding the resistance
- Lilian Rolfe (1914-1945), SOE agent executed by the Nazis
- Odette Sansom (1912-1995), SOE operative: George Cross, MBE, Legion of Honor
- Suzanne Spaak, Belgian-born agent: "Red Orchestra" intelligence network; executed 1944
- Violette Szabo (1921-1945), SOE operative: George Cross, Croix de Guerre
- Jean-Pierre Wimille (1908-1949), SOE operative, champion race car driver
Scientists
- Louis Agassiz -- geologist
- André-Marie Ampère -- scientist
- François Arago -- physicist, astronomer (and also politician)
- Antoine Arbogast -- mathematician
- Jean Baptiste Biot -- physicist
- Jean-Charles de Borda -- mathematician, physicist, political scientist
- Henri Braconnot -- chemist and pharmacist
- Louis de Broglie -- 1929 Physics Nobel Prize winner.
- Lazare Nicolas Marguerite Carnot -- physicist
- Augustin Louis Cauchy -- mathematician
- Jean-François Champollion -- egyptologist
- Emilie du Chatelet -- 18th century mathematician
- Georges Charpak -- physicist, Nobel price winner
- Marquis de Condorcet -- philosopher, mathematician and political scientist
- Charles-Augustin de Coulomb -- physicist, mathematician, engineer
- Jacques Cousteau, Marine scientist
- Joseph Cugnot
- Irène Joliot-Curie -- scientist
- Marie Curie -- scientist
- Pierre Curie -- scientist
- Guillaume Delisle, cartographer
- René Descartes -- scientist and philosopher
- Girard Desargues -- mathematician
- Georges Duby -- historian
- Pierre de Fermat -- mathematician
- Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier -- mathematician and physicist
- Pierre Gassendi -- philosopher mathematician
- Pierre-Gilles de Gennes -- physicist, Nobel prize winner
- Evariste Galois -- mathematician
- Frédéric Joliot -- scientist
- Joseph Louis Lagrange -- mathematician
- Pierre-Simon Laplace -- mathematician and physicist
- Antoine Lavoisier
- Jean-Marie Lehn -- chemist, Nobel prize winner in 1987
- Claude Lévi-Strauss, anthropologist
- Antoine Lévi-Leblond -- physicist
- Albert Matthiez -- historian
- André Michaux -- botanist and explorer
- Jules Michelet -- historian
- Abraham de Moivre -- mathematician
- Theodore Monod -- naturalist and theologian
- Claude Mossé -- (Ms), historian
- Denis Papin
- Louis Pasteur -- scientist
- Blaise Pascal -- mathematician and philosopher
- ÃÂtienne Pascal -- mathematician
- Henri Poincaré -- mathematician and physicist
- Simeon Poisson -- mathematician and physicist
- Michel Rolle -- mathematician
- Jean Rostand
- Albert Soboul -- historian
- Jean-Pierre Vernant -- historian
- Pierre Vidal-Naquet -- historian and Civil Rights activist
- Pierre Vilar, historian
- Christophe Victor -- geographer
- Paul-Emile Victor -- ethnologist
Sculptors
- Frédéric Bartholdi
- Antonin Carlés
- Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
- César
- Camille Claudel
- Paul Dubois
- Raymond Duchamp-Villon
- Alexandre Falguière
- Jean Antoine Houdon
- Antonin Idrac
- Georges Lacombe
- Antonin Mercié
- Hippolyte Moulin
- Auguste Préault
- Auguste Rodin
- Francois Rude
- Niki de Saint Phalle
Sportsmen and -women
- Tariq Abdul-Wahad -- NBA player (born Olivier Saint-Jean)
- Louis Acaries -- boxer, former world title challenger, now promoter
- Jacques Anquetil -- cyclist
- Fabien Barthez -- football player
- Louison Bobet -- cyclist
- Surya Bonaly - figure skater
- Philippe Candeloro - figure skater
- Eric Cantona -- football player
- Georges Carpentier -- world champion boxer
- Marcel Cerdan -- world champion boxer
- Eugene Criqui -- world champion boxer
- Jean Cruguet -- jockey of Seattle Slew
- Emile Delahaye -- race car pioneer
- Marcel Desailly -- Ghana born French citizen, football player
- David Douillet -- judo
- Laurent Fignon -- cyclist
- Lucien Gaudin -- fencer
- Thierry Henry -- football player
- Bernard Hinault -- cyclist
- Constant Huret -- cyclist
- Olivier Jacque -- motorcycle rider
- Rene Jacquot -- boxer, underdog who became world champion
- Laurent Jalabert -- cyclist
- Jean-Claude Killy -- skier
- Suzanne Lenglen -- tennis player
- Bixente Lizarazu - football player
- Jeannie Longo -- cyclist
- Amelie Mauresmo -- tennis player
- Jose Meiffret -- cyclist
- Alain Mimoun -- athlete
- Antoine Monteiro -- boxer, lost to Santos Laciar for the world title
- Carole Montillet -- skier
- Yannick Noah -- tennis player
- Tony Parker -- Belgian born French citizen, NBA player
- Marie-José Perec -- athlete
- Mary Pierce-- Canadian born French citizen, tennis player
- Julien Pillet -- fencer
- Michel Platini -- football player
- Alain Prost -- automobile racer
- Georges Stern -- thoroughbred racing jockey
- Marcel Thil -- world champion boxer
- Christophe Tiozzo -- world champion boxer
- Fabrice Tiozzo -- world champion boxer, Christophe's brother
- Damien Touya -- fencer
- Patrick Vieira -- Senegal born French citizen, football player
- Richard Virenque -- cyclist
- Jean-Pierre Wimille, race car driver
- Zinédine Zidane -- football player
Theologians
- Marie-Emile Boismard o.p.
- Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
- Jean Calvin
- Sebastian Castellion -- translator of the Bible
- Bernard of Clairvaux
- Yves Congar o.p.
- André Gounelle
- Pierre Lagrange o.p. -- founder of the Ecole Biblique et Archeologique de Jérusalem
- Hubert Languet
- Maurice Leenhardt -- ethnologist, theologien
- Etienne Mennegoz
- Wilfred Monod
- Etienne Nodet o.p.
- Rachi de Champagne
- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin s.j.
- Auguste Sabatier
- Antonin Sertillanges o.p. -- founder of the Revue Thomiste
- Bernard Sesboué s.j.
Others
- André the Giant, professional wrestler
- Paul Bocuse -- Chief cook
- Charles Cros -- poet and inventor
- Jeanne d'Arc -- (Joan of Arc) warrior, Saint.
- Pierre de Coubertin -- initiator of the modern Olympic Games
- Bob Denard -- mercenary
- Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt
- Ninon de l'Enclos -- courtesan, patron of the arts
- Cavalier de la Salle -- explorer
- Alfred Dreyfus
- René Dumont -- agronomist engineer and sociologist and ecology activist
- Jules Dumont d'Urville
- Maurice Duverger -- jurist
- Gustave Eiffel -- engineer
- Marquis de la Fayette -- military leader in the American Revolution
- Ferdinand Foch -- general
- Paul Héroult -- inventor
- Claude de Jouffroy d'Abbans, designed the first steamship in 1783
- René Lalique -- artist
- Charles Leclerc -- general
- Auguste and Louis Lumière -- inventors
- Jean Paul Marat
- Marcel Mazoyer -- agronomist
- Montgolfier brothers -- balloonists
- Jean-Marie Pelt -- botanist
- Lionel Poilâne -- boulanger
- Elisée Reclus -- geographer and anarchist
- Maximilien Robespierre
- Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin -- magician, namesake of "Harry Houdini"
- Philippe Starck - designer