30.0460° N, 31.2365° E

CAIRO

Most Famous People Born in Cairo, Egypt

Notable people
1,340
Peak decade
1940s
Median birth year
1948
Most distinctive
Sultan 94.0×

An Arab capital with a deep medieval memory. Cairo's most distinctive profession is sultan at nearly a hundred times the global rate — the Mamluk and Ayyubid courts left a long shadow — alongside the diplomats, journalists, and artists of a 20th-century pan-Arab capital. The modern half is footballers, actors, and the filmmakers of the golden age of Egyptian cinema, the Hollywood of the Arab world.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Cairo during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1940s with 167 notable births.

What Cairo Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Cairo's biggest profession — 13% of all notables (178).

Cairo over-indexes on sultan94.0× the global rate.

Cairo under-produces politician — only 0.6× the global rate.

  1. Football178
  2. Actor115
  3. Politician90
  4. Player62
  5. Writer49
  6. Film48
  7. Singer42
  8. Journalist34
  1. Sultan2694.0×
  2. Swimmer213.2×
  3. Film482.9×
  4. Diplomat212.7×
  5. Player622.4×
  6. Artist241.7×
  7. Actor1151.6×
  8. Journalist341.6×
  1. Politician900.6×
  2. Painter220.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Politics & Law
  • Science
  • Art & Design
  • Other
All1,340
Sort By

Showing 25 of 1,340 notable people

0022 SINGER

Mohammed Abdel Wahab

1904 - 1991

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0069 FILM

Goffredo Alessandrini

1904 - 1978

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0074 ACTOR

Alexander D'Arcy

1908 - 1996

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0114 FILM

Anwar Wagdi

1904 - 1955

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0129 AUTHOR

Yahya Haqqi

1905 - 1992

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0146 POLITICIAN

Mahmoud Fawzi

1900 - 1981

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0184 POLITICIAN

Umar al-Tilmisani

1904 - 1986

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0280 SINGER

Reda Caire

1905 - 1963

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0304 FOOTBALL

Mahmoud Mokhtar El-Tetsh

1905 - 1965

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0316 ACTOR

Seraj Munir

1904 - 1957

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0333 EGYPTOLOGIST

Pahor Labib

1905 - 1994

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0372 AVIATOR

Lotfia Elnadi

1907 - 2002

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0416 ECONOMIST

Giordano Dell'Amore

1902 - 1981

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0482 PRIEST

Stéphanos I Sidarouss

1904 - 1987

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0484 ACTOR

Zaki Rostom

1903 - 1972

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0637 ZOOLOGIST

Hamed Gohar

1907 - 1992

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0643 PAINTER

O. Louis Guglielmi

1906 - 1956

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0760 NEUROSCIENTIST

Angélique Arvanitaki

1901 - 1983

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0913 FOOTBALL

Ali El-Hassani

1902 - 1960

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0926 ACTOR

Eva Nil

1909 - 1990

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1099 POLITICIAN

Edmond Nessler

1907 - 2004

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1185 CRICKET

Charles Moberly

1907 - 1996

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1246 FENCER

Marcel Boulad

1905 - 1977

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1321 DOCENTE

Walter Bigiavi

1904 - 1968

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1333 HISTORIAN

Alice Elizabeth Burton

Born 1908

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