29.8579° S, 31.0251° E

DURBAN

Most Famous People Born in Durban, South Africa

Notable people
589
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1972
Most distinctive
Surfer 45.2×
Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 137 notable births.

What Durban Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Cricket is Durban's biggest profession — 19% of all notables (113).

Durban over-indexes on surfer — 45.2× the global rate.

Durban under-produces politician — only 0.4× the global rate.

  1. Cricket113
  2. Player94
  3. Football60
  4. Politician27
  5. Actor24
  6. Sport21
  7. Singer13
  8. Golf10
  1. Surfer745.2×
  2. Cricket11315.1×
  3. Golf1010.0×
  4. Player948.2×
  5. Swimmer103.5×
  6. Sport212.1×
  1. Politician270.4×
  2. Writer100.5×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1850187519001925195019752000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Politics & Law
  • Music
  • Writing
  • Art & Design
  • Other
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Showing 25 of 589 notable people

0014 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Phillip V. Tobias

1925 - 2012

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0017 WRITER

Fatima Meer

1928 - 2010

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0055 ACTIVIST

Lionel Bernstein

1920 - 2002

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0122 BOTANIST

Olive Mary Hilliard

Born 1925

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0183 ACTOR

Joan Brickhill

1924 - 2014

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0193 CRICKET

Hugh Tayfield

1929 - 1994

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0236 PALAEONTOLOGIST

Alfred W. Crompton

Born 1927

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0250 CRICKET

John Watkins (South African cricketer)

Born 1923

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0271 CRICKET

Ian Smith (South African cricketer)

1925 - 2015

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0283 POLITICIAN

Billy Nair

1929 - 2008

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0284 SPY

Phyllis Latour

Born 1921

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0285 TEACHER

Michael Maule

1921 - 2017

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0304 ENGINEER

Trevor Wadley

1920 - 1981

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0319 POLITICIAN

Joe Matthews (politician)

1929 - 2010

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0320 POLITICIAN

Peter Brown (South African politician)

1924 - 2004

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0321 SCREENWRITER

Harry Preston (writer)

1923 - 2009

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0328 POLITICIAN

Ian Lloyd (politician)

1921 - 2006

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0335 GEOLOGIST

Robert B. Hargraves

1928 - 2003

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0397 SALES

Vause Raw

1921 - 2001

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0406 AIR FORCE

Gerald Stapleton

1920 - 2010

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0521 FOOTBALL

Jackie Carr (footballer, born 1926)

1926 - 1996

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0539 CRICKET

James Draper (umpire)

1925 - 2013

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0549 CRICKET

Simon Roberts (Cambridge cricketer)

Born 1926

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0578 ARCHITECT

Revel Fox

1924 - 2004

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0582 RUGBY

Keith McMillan (rugby union)

1927 - 1998

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