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
Diplomat21
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Showing 21 of 1,340 notable people

0139 DIPLOMAT

Ahmed Aboul Gheit

Born 1942

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0403 DIPLOMAT

Sameh Shoukry

Born 1952

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0452 DIPLOMAT

Ahmad Maher (diplomat)

1935 - 2010

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0467 DIPLOMAT

Ismail Fahmi

1922 - 1997

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0510 DIPLOMAT

Rowland Baring, 2nd Earl of Cromer

1877 - 1953

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0556 DIPLOMAT

Mohamed Kamel Amr

Born 1942

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0598 DIPLOMAT

Youssef Wahba

1852 - 1934

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0784 DIPLOMAT

Ibrahim Shihata

1937 - 2001

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0813 DIPLOMAT

David Sultan

Born 1938

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0835 DIPLOMAT

Arshak Poladian

Born 1948

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0911 DIPLOMAT

Nasser Kamel

Born 1959

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0967 DIPLOMAT

Nadia Younes

1946 - 2003

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0982 DIPLOMAT

Aziz Ezzat Pasha

1869 - 1961

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1072 DIPLOMAT

Carlos Miranda y Elío

Born 1943

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1149 DIPLOMAT

Mohamed Shaker

1933 - 2018

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1156 DIPLOMAT

Ayman Kamel

Born 1965

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1264 DIPLOMAT

Hassan Nashat

1895 - 1964

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1286 DIPLOMAT

Gordon Etherington-Smith

1914 - 2007

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1296 DIPLOMAT

Hesham Youssef

-

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1307 DIPLOMAT

Mahmoud Hassan Pasha

Born 1893

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1331 DIPLOMAT

André Parodi

1910 - 1990

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