50.8462° N, 4.3558° E

BRUSSELS

Most Famous People Born in Brussels, Belgium

Notable people
3,534
Peak decade
1960s
Median birth year
1912
Most distinctive
Painter 4.3×

A small capital with an outsized share of painters and architects. Brussels's distinctive professions are painters and architects at more than three times the global rate, alongside sculptors, artists, composers, and a deep film bench — the legacy of the Académie Royale, the franco-belge comics tradition, and a postwar Belgian cinema that punched above its weight. The 19th century is unusually heavy here, when Brussels was one of the wealthiest cities in Europe and art nouveau was inventing itself in the streets around the Palais Royal.

Through the Centuries

One face per century — the most globally famous figure born in Brussels during each.

What Brussels Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Painter is Brussels's biggest profession — 11% of all notables (399).

Brussels over-indexes on painter4.3× the global rate.

Brussels under-produces football — only 0.5× the global rate.

  1. Painter399
  2. Politician394
  3. Actor199
  4. Football198
  5. Writer170
  6. Architect108
  7. Lawyer89
  8. Singer82
  1. Painter3994.3×
  2. Architect1083.4×
  3. Sculptor612.6×
  4. Artist782.1×
  5. Film821.9×
  6. Composer751.6×
  1. Football1980.5×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Brussels's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

15001550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Art & Design
  • Politics & Law
  • Sports
  • Writing
  • Film & TV
  • Music
  • Other
Politician394
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Showing 394 of 3,534 notable people

3036 POLITICIAN

Edouard Poullet

Born 1929

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3049 POLITICIAN

Michèle Carthé

Born 1951

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3052 POLITICIAN

Robert Catteau

1880 - 1956

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3056 POLITICIAN

Henri Crombez

1856 - 1941

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3061 POLITICIAN

Pierre Falize

1927 - 1980

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3080 POLITICIAN

Magali Plovie

Born 1976

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3082 POLITICIAN

Jacques-Joseph Deglimes

1778 - 1828

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3083 POLITICIAN

Armand Steurs

1849 - 1899

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3084 POLITICIAN

Serge Van Overtveldt

Born 1959

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3087 POLITICIAN

Christiane Van Nieuwenhoven

Born 1945

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3092 POLITICIAN

Hasan Koyuncu

Born 1981

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3097 POLITICIAN

Thierry de Looz-Corswarem

Born 1932

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3100 POLITICIAN

François de Meester de Heyndonck

1879 - 1973

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3101 POLITICIAN

Édouard Klein

1933 - 2008

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3102 POLITICIAN

Pierre Bosson

1910 - 1942

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3105 POLITICIAN

Sophie Brouhon

Born 1972

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3108 POLITICIAN

Éric Bott

Born 1959

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3109 POLITICIAN

Daniël Cans

1801 - 1889

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3111 POLITICIAN

Anne Herscovici

Born 1949

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3114 POLITICIAN

Étienne de La Vallée Poussin (homme politique) �

1903 - 1996

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3115 POLITICIAN

François de Waha

1839 - 1900

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3116 POLITICIAN

Julie Fiszman

Born 1974

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3126 POLITICIAN

Pierre Rouelle

1910 - 2002

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3130 POLITICIAN

Félix Coenen

1895 - 1977

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3135 POLITICIAN

Frédéric Fortamps

1811 - 1898

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3138 POLITICIAN

Alain Leduc

Born 1952

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3140 POLITICIAN

Jean Goblet d'Alviella

1921 - 2002

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3141 POLITICIAN

Oscar Jolly

1824 - 1902

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3145 POLITICIAN

Raymond Willems

Born 1952

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3149 POLITICIAN

Henri Roger (homme politique)

1861 - 1917

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3150 POLITICIAN

Jean Taillard

1897 - 1981

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3151 POLITICIAN

François van Hoobrouck d'Aspre

1935 - 2020

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3155 POLITICIAN

Françoise Carton de Wiart

Born 1947

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3158 POLITICIAN

Victor Ernest

1875 - 1940

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3161 POLITICIAN

André Monteyne

Born 1934

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3173 POLITICIAN

Camille Desmaisières

1862 - 1921

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3177 POLITICIAN

Dominique Braeckman

Born 1956

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3180 POLITICIAN

Anne Swaelens

Born 1981

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3182 POLITICIAN

Jacques De Coster

Born 1945

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3183 POLITICIAN

Nicolas de Buisseret

1780 - 1855

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3184 POLITICIAN

Jacques De Staercke

1927 - 2017

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3188 POLITICIAN

Alain Daems

Born 1964

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3190 POLITICIAN

Édouard Lorois (1819-1885)

1819 - 1885

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3191 POLITICIAN

Jean-Claude Maene

Born 1955

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3192 POLITICIAN

Pierre-Joseph Olbrechts

1744 - 1815

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3194 POLITICIAN

Prosper Wielemans-Ceuppens

1850 - 1932

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3200 POLITICIAN

Philippe Coppyn

1796 - 1874

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3202 POLITICIAN

Victor Anoul

1792 - 1862

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3203 POLITICIAN

Édouard Brunard (1843-1914)

1843 - 1914

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3208 POLITICIAN

Samson Wiener

1851 - 1914

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3209 POLITICIAN

Cédric du Monceau

Born 1956

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3214 POLITICIAN

Albert Bauwens

1861 - 1950

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3218 POLITICIAN

Édouard Brunard (1869-1939)

1869 - 1939

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3219 POLITICIAN

Philippe Smits

Born 1950

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3223 POLITICIAN

Jean Berlemont

1901 - 1937

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3226 POLITICIAN

Joseph De Grauw

1907 - 1992

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3227 POLITICIAN

Robert Maréchal (homme politique)

1920 - 1992

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3229 POLITICIAN

Dominique Brunard

1844 - 1897

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3230 POLITICIAN

Horácio Gomes Leite de Carvalho

1879 - 1958

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3236 POLITICIAN

Philippe Debry

Born 1957

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3240 POLITICIAN

Martin Fery

1754 - 1809

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3244 POLITICIAN

Mariem Bouselmati

Born 1966

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3246 POLITICIAN

Michel Moock

Born 1951

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3252 POLITICIAN

Jacques Brassinne de La Buissière

Born 1929

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3261 POLITICIAN

Edmond Steurs

1843 - 1917

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3262 POLITICIAN

François Broustin

1809 - 1884

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3263 POLITICIAN

Anne Dirix

Born 1949

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3275 POLITICIAN

Charles Schauffler

1896 - 1951

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3278 POLITICIAN

Alexandre Corbeau

1913 - 1981

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3281 POLITICIAN

Pierre Van Roye

1925 - 2013

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3294 POLITICIAN

Pierre Warnant

1905 - 1967

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3310 POLITICIAN

Frédéric Basse

1785 - 1848

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3313 POLITICIAN

Jean-François Herman

1783 - 1835

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3358 POLITICIAN

Michel De Herde

Born 1964

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3370 POLITICIAN

Sebastian Pini

Born 1967

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3395 POLITICIAN

Victor Gendebien

1820 - 1896

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3403 POLITICIAN

Charles Madoux

1874 - 1929

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3420 POLITICIAN

Jean-François Wauwermans

1776 - 1856

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3426 POLITICIAN

André-Étienne-Joseph O'Kelly

1755 - 1815

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3437 POLITICIAN

Gustave de Mévius

1834 - 1877

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3448 POLITICIAN

Georges Huygens

1868 - 1949

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3470 POLITICIAN

Adhémar de Steenhault de Waerbeeck

1840 - 1906

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3471 POLITICIAN

Jean De Hertog

1938 - 2012

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3491 POLITICIAN

Émile Rotiers

1867 - 1945

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3492 POLITICIAN

Théodore-Nicolas-Joseph Aerts

Born 1787

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3496 POLITICIAN

Pierre Schoonejans

1859 - 1946

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3497 POLITICIAN

Émile Idiers

1830 - 1911

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3498 POLITICIAN

Égide-Charles Bouvier

Born 1872

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3500 POLITICIAN

André Goossens

1772 - 1807

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3510 POLITICIAN

Henri Schoofs

Born 1846

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3513 POLITICIAN

Jean Massaux

1773 - 1830

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3516 POLITICIAN

Charles Van Hove

1787 - 1854

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3527 POLITICIAN

Lina Buscham

1889 - 1978

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3528 POLITICIAN

Charles de Hemricourt de Grunne

1875 - 1937

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