50.9422° N, 6.9578° E

COLOGNE

Most Famous People Born in Cologne, Germany

Notable people
3,487
Peak decade
1960s
Median birth year
1934
Most distinctive
Art Historian 6.5×

A Rhenish capital whose roots go back to Agrippina's Roman colony in 15 AD. Cologne's distinctive professions are art historians and authors at the top — the legacy of one of Europe's oldest cathedral chapters and the Wallraf-Richartz museum — alongside architects, sculptors, and the actors of a postwar German television capital. Adenauer was born here, Offenbach composed here, and Heinrich Böll anchored the postwar literary bench; the city also has one of the deepest pre-1500 tails of any in Germany.

Through the Centuries

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

What Cologne Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is Cologne's biggest profession — 10% of all notables (346).

Cologne over-indexes on art historian6.5× the global rate.

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

  1. Actor346
  2. Politician277
  3. Football171
  4. Painter157
  5. Writer144
  6. Academic143
  7. Author123
  8. Architect92
  1. Art Historian436.5×
  2. Author1234.1×
  3. Academic1434.0×
  4. Entrepreneur423.5×
  5. Architect923.0×
  6. Sculptor642.8×
  7. Actor3461.9×
  8. Painter1571.7×
  1. Football1710.5×
  2. Politician2770.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

15001550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Writing
  • Film & TV
  • Art & Design
  • Sports
  • Science
  • Politics & Law
  • Other
Actor346
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Showing 346 of 3,487 notable people

2705 ACTOR

Daniel Heck

Born 1983

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2725 ACTOR

Dominik Hees

Born 1989

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2733 ACTOR

Caroline Maximiliane Döbbelin

1758 - 1828

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2749 ACTOR

René Wedeward

Born 1976

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2752 ACTOR

Hellmut Grube

1906 - 1970

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2754 ACTOR

Frank Maier

Born 1977

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2761 ACTOR

Carl Schreiner

1869 - 1931

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2787 ACTOR

Carolin Karnuth

Born 1984

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2821 ACTOR

Natalie de la Piedra

Born 1965

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2844 ACTOR

Samuel Prost

Born 1995

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2846 ACTOR

Mathieu Pfeil

1862 - 1939

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2858 ACTOR

Adolf Wentzel

1825 - 1890

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2859 ACTOR

Claus-Peter Lüttgen

Born 1927

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2864 ACTOR

Nora Koppen

Born 1989

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2873 ACTOR

Max Vierlinger

1903 - 1944

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2884 ACTOR

Sebastian Schwiecker

Born 1989

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2889 ACTOR

Frank Logemann

Born 1964

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2900 ACTOR

Serena Fiorello

Born 1985

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2922 ACTOR

Sven Gey

Born 1986

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2934 ACTOR

Astrid Maus

Born 1969

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2935 ACTOR

Jonny Goertz

1909 - 1972

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2951 ACTOR

Erna Flecke-Schiefenbusch

1905 - 1944

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2952 ACTOR

Toni Dameris

1909 - 1976

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2968 ACTOR

Paul Henning Gödderz

Born 1972

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2993 ACTOR

Marie-Agnes Reintgen

1944 - 2017

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3009 ACTOR

Grete Fluss

1892 - 1964

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3021 ACTOR

Klaus Höring

Born 1934

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3023 ACTOR

Ulla Willick

1940 - 2019

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3029 ACTOR

Giovanni Luzi

Born 1960

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3054 ACTOR

August Becker (Schauspieler)

1834 - 1877

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3059 ACTOR

Helene Bensberg-Mauthner

1853 - 1940

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3060 ACTOR

Alexander Mokos

Born 1977

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3081 ACTOR

Julius Christian Koch

1792 - 1860

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3097 ACTOR

Fulgencio Morente Gómez

-

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3122 ACTOR

Aischa-Lina Löbbert

Born 1984

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3127 ACTOR

Emmy Jülich

1901 - 1971

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3128 ACTOR

Tino Lindenberg

Born 1975

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3143 ACTOR

Heino Thiele

1891 - 1964

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3148 ACTOR

Edda Fischer

Born 1969

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3165 ACTOR

Marie Simone Steinbauer

Born 1969

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3190 ACTOR

Serdar Keskin

Born 1984

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3199 ACTOR

Ursel Eberz

Born 1942

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3255 ACTOR

Ruben Bench

Born 1990

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3291 ACTOR

Selda Akhan

Born 1969

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3345 ACTOR

Camilla Eibenschütz

1884 - 1958

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3461 ACTOR

Tolga Seker

Born 1990

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