51.0534° N, 3.7250° E

GENT

Most Famous People Born in Gent, Belgium

Notable people
850
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1897
Most distinctive
Rower 9.6×

Charles V's birthplace and a Flemish Primitive stronghold — the Painter bench tracks Van Eyck's altarpiece and the long wake of Hugo van der Goes and Théo van Rysselberghe. The real oddity is a Rower cohort wildly out of proportion to anything else (thank the Watersportbaan) sitting next to a Conductor line that runs from Jacob Obrecht straight through Herreweghe's early-music revival.

Through the Centuries

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

What Gent Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Gent's biggest profession — 17% of all notables (146).

Gent over-indexes on rower9.6× the global rate.

Gent under-produces actor — only 0.4× the global rate.

  1. Politician146
  2. Painter90
  3. Sport54
  4. Football50
  5. Rower30
  6. Lawyer27
  7. Writer20
  8. Actor19
  1. Rower309.6×
  2. Conductor115.0×
  3. Painter904.0×
  4. Sport543.8×
  5. Sculptor132.3×
  6. Lawyer271.8×
  7. Composer181.6×
  8. Architect121.6×
  1. Actor190.4×
  2. Football500.5×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1500155016001650170017501800185019001950
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Art & Design
  • Music
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Other
All850
Sort By

Showing 59 of 850 notable people

0011 SINGER

Helmut Lotti

Born 1969

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0046 ARTIST

Berlinde De Bruyckere

Born 1964

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0065 ACTOR

Barbara Sarafian

Born 1968

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0068 FILM

Nic Balthazar

Born 1964

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0098 ASTRONAUT

Frank De Winne

Born 1961

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0160 PHOTOGRAPHER

Filip Naudts

Born 1968

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0161 ACTOR

Axel Daeseleire

Born 1968

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0174 SPORT

Sammie Moreels

Born 1965

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0180 HISTORIAN

Dominique Avon

Born 1968

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0194 POLITICIAN

Philip Claeys

Born 1965

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0209 FILM

Patrice Toye

Born 1967

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0238 POLITICIAN

Karim Van Overmeire

Born 1964

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0240 ATHLETE

Mieke Suys

Born 1968

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0249 POLITICIAN

Elke Sleurs

Born 1968

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0272 SPORT

Jan Goessens

Born 1962

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0281 ACTOR

Karlijn Sileghem

Born 1965

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0284 FOOTBALL

Thierry Pister

Born 1965

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0304 SPORT

Rik Van Slycke

Born 1963

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0335 ACTOR

Jack Lawrence (ator pornográfico)

Born 1967

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0337 SPORT

Jean-Pierre Heynderickx

Born 1965

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0344 SINGER

Bea Van der Maat

Born 1960

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0351 SWIMMER

Carine Verbauwen

Born 1961

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0353 ATHLETIC

Christophe Impens

Born 1969

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0362 SCREENWRITER

Dorothée Van Den Berghe

Born 1969

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0363 POLITICIAN

Bart Laeremans

Born 1966

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0379 PAINTER

Jan Van Imschoot

Born 1963

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0384 JOURNALIST

Wouter Vandenhaute

Born 1962

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0385 CIVIL SERVICE

Mario Verstraete

1962 - 2002

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0391 SINGER

Jan van der Crabben

Born 1964

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0415 COMPOSER

Frank Agsteribbe

Born 1968

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0464 PHYSICIAN

Bart Lambrecht

Born 1968

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0482 BUSINESS

Marc Coucke

Born 1965

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0485 ROWER

Rita Defauw

Born 1963

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0504 WRITER

Régina Louf

Born 1969

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0523 POLITICIAN

Jan Roegiers

Born 1967

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0558 CYCLIST

Peter Van Den Abeele

Born 1966

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0570 SKATER

Katrien Pauwels

Born 1965

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0589 FOOTBALL

Krist Porte

Born 1968

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0596 POLITICIAN

Peter Leyman

Born 1962

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0597 POLITICIAN

Patricia De Waele

Born 1960

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0602 POLITICIAN

Johan Deckmyn

Born 1967

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0615 SCIENTIST

Ann Van Gysel

Born 1964

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0618 FOOTBALL

David Gevaert

Born 1969

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0631 SPORT

Kenny De Maerteleire

Born 1961

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0645 FOOTBALL

Yves Soudan

Born 1967

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0652 ROWER

Jaak Van Driessche

Born 1969

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0668 POLITICIAN

Caroline Croo

Born 1963

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0669 PRIEST

Geert Stuyver

Born 1964

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0670 SWIMMER

Pascale Verbauwen

Born 1963

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0682 COLUMNIST

Saul Akkemay

Born 1964

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0707 GUITAR

Peter Hertmans

Born 1960

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0757 ENTREPRENEUR

Michel de Kemmeter

Born 1964

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0758 POLITICIAN

Frédéric Erens

Born 1968

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0784 BASKET

Yves Defraigne

Born 1965

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0817 SPORT

Filip Van Vooren

Born 1962

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0820 SPORT

Nadine Fiers

Born 1966

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0828 GYMNAST

Sarina Roberti

Born 1963

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0842 SCULPTOR

Linde Ergo

Born 1966

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0849 TRUMPET

Rudy Reunes

1967 - 2010

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