6.9170° N, 79.8339° E

COLOMBO

Most Famous People Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Notable people
732
Peak decade
1990s
Median birth year
1967
Most distinctive
Cricket 36.5×

Colombo is essentially a cricket ground with a harbor attached — the sport runs at better than thirty-six times the global baseline, among the most dominant professions on the entire site, and Sri Lankan Test teams have been drafted from the school grounds of Colombo-7 since independence. The Beauty Pageant count and the colonial-era Judge and Diplomat benches tell you the rest: a small anglophone elite that still runs the law courts, the foreign service and the Sunday society pages.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1990s with 133 notable births.

What Colombo Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Cricket is Colombo's biggest profession — 46% of all notables (340).

Colombo over-indexes on cricket36.5× the global rate.

Colombo under-produces writer — only 0.5× the global rate.

  1. Cricket340
  2. Politician49
  3. Actor22
  4. Writer13
  5. Singer13
  6. Swimmer11
  7. Judge11
  8. Business11
  1. Cricket34036.5×
  2. Beauty Pageant821.6×
  3. Judge113.2×
  4. Swimmer113.1×
  5. Diplomat102.3×
  6. Business111.5×
  1. Writer130.5×
  2. Politician490.6×
  3. Actor220.6×
  4. Player90.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Music
  • Other
Politician49
Sort By

Showing 49 of 732 notable people

0006 POLITICIAN

Chandrika Kumaratunga

Born 1945

Preview
0007 POLITICIAN

Ranasinghe Premadasa

1924 - 1993

Preview
0016 POLITICIAN

Ranil Wickremesinghe

Born 1949

Preview
0022 POLITICIAN

Lakshman Kadirgamar

1932 - 2005

Preview
0023 POLITICIAN

Radhika Coomaraswamy

Born 1953

Preview
0030 POLITICIAN

Nirj Deva

Born 1948

Preview
0033 POLITICIAN

Ponnambalam Ramanathan

1851 - 1930

Preview
0034 POLITICIAN

D. M. Jayaratne

1931 - 2019

Preview
0038 POLITICIAN

Anura Bandaranaike

1949 - 2008

Preview
0046 POLITICIAN

Lalith Athulathmudali

1936 - 1993

Preview
0050 POLITICIAN

Alexander Khloponin

Born 1965

Preview
0062 POLITICIAN

Rosy Senanayake

Born 1958

Preview
0067 POLITICIAN

Felix Dias Bandaranaike

1930 - 1985

Preview
0071 POLITICIAN

Petrus Albertus van der Parra

1714 - 1775

Preview
0082 POLITICIAN

Alexander Robert Johnston

1812 - 1888

Preview
0127 POLITICIAN

Vivienne Goonewardena

1916 - 1996

Preview
0160 POLITICIAN

Sajith Premadasa

Born 1967

Preview
0196 POLITICIAN

Thilanga Sumathipala

Born 1964

Preview
0199 POLITICIAN

Duminda Silva

Born 2010

Preview
0200 POLITICIAN

Pieter Keuneman

1917 - 1997

Preview
0225 POLITICIAN

A. J. M. Muzammil

Born 1949

Preview
0231 POLITICIAN

Carlo Fonseka

1933 - 2019

Preview
0244 POLITICIAN

M. P. Drahaman

1889 - 1963

Preview
0248 POLITICIAN

T. B. Ekanayake

1954 - 2020

Preview
0280 POLITICIAN

Solomon Dias Bandaranaike

1862 - 1946

Preview
0288 POLITICIAN

Tikiri Banda Subasinghe

1913 - 1995

Preview
0311 POLITICIAN

Hirunika Premachandra

Born 1987

Preview
0317 POLITICIAN

Rukman Senanayake

Born 1948

Preview
0331 POLITICIAN

Milinda Moragoda

Born 1964

Preview
0338 POLITICIAN

Anil Moonesinghe

1927 - 2002

Preview
0340 POLITICIAN

Mano Wijeyeratne

1957 - 2011

Preview
0352 POLITICIAN

Mujibur Rahman (Sri Lankan politician)

Born 1968

Preview
0366 POLITICIAN

Wijayapala Mendis

1928 - 2012

Preview
0370 POLITICIAN

Wirantha Fernando

1959 - 2000

Preview
0375 POLITICIAN

E. L. B. Hurulle

1919 - 2009

Preview
0393 POLITICIAN

Monty Gopallawa

1941 - 2005

Preview
0396 POLITICIAN

Srimani Athulathmudali

1946 - 2004

Preview
0399 POLITICIAN

Ajith Nivard Cabraal

Born 1954

Preview
0406 POLITICIAN

Harindra Corea

1936 - 2008

Preview
0408 POLITICIAN

Asanga Abeyagoonasekera

Born 1977

Preview
0436 POLITICIAN

Dharmasiri Senanayake

1933 - 2000

Preview
0468 POLITICIAN

Sanjeewa Kavirathna

1969 - 2014

Preview
0469 POLITICIAN

Tudor Gunasekara

Born 1935

Preview
0491 POLITICIAN

Azath Salley

-

Preview
0531 POLITICIAN

Elina Jayewardene

1913 - 2007

Preview
0552 POLITICIAN

Sirisena Cooray

Born 1989

Preview
0553 POLITICIAN

James Aubrey Martensz

1885 - 1963

Preview
0719 POLITICIAN

Fred Van Buren (politician)

1936 - 2006

Preview
0731 POLITICIAN

Sandrasegaran Woodhull

1932 - 2003

Preview