22.2748° N, 114.1560° E

HONG KONG

Most Famous People Born in Hong Kong, China

Notable people
1,988
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1968
Most distinctive
Justice 47.5×

A former British colony whose 20th-century entertainment industry became one of the largest in Asia. Almost one in five of Hong Kong's notables is an actor — a share matched by almost nowhere else — and the distinctive shelves beyond that are justices, legislators, badminton players, and chief executives, the vocabulary of a city that ran itself as a legal-commercial entrepôt. Jackie Chan, Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung, and Wong Kar-wai's regulars all belong to this bench.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 352 notable births.

What Hong Kong Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is Hong Kong's biggest profession — 20% of all notables (390).

Hong Kong over-indexes on justice47.5× the global rate.

  1. Actor390
  2. Football225
  3. Politician180
  4. Singer141
  5. Film75
  6. Player70
  7. Badminton68
  8. Business58
  1. Justice2347.5×
  2. Badminton6815.0×
  3. Driver345.5×
  4. Actor3903.7×
  5. Singer1413.4×
  6. Entrepreneur213.1×
  7. Film753.1×
  8. Business582.9×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1850187519001925195019752000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Politics & Law
  • Music
  • Business
  • Science
  • Other
All1,988
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Showing 10 of 1,988 notable people

0512 ENTREPRENEUR

Lawrence Kadoorie, Baron Kadoorie

1899 - 1993

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0550 BOTANIST

Woon Young Chun

1890 - 1971

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0741 POET

Wilhelm Ehmer

1896 - 1976

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1177 BUSINESS

Chau Tsun-nin

1893 - 1971

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1191 BANK

Li Tse-fong

1891 - 1953

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1241 DESIGNER

Betty Joel

1894 - 1985

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1539 PROFESSOR

Tomás Rodríguez Bachiller

1899 - 1980

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1727 MISSING

Delf Norona

1895 - 1974

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1728 DIPLOMAT

Mariano Garchitorena

1898 - 1961

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1929 DOCTOR

F. M. G. Ozorio

1892 - 1937

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