26.2026° S, 28.0412° E

JOHANNESBURG

Most Famous People Born in Johannesburg, South Africa

Notable people
1,234
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1967
Most distinctive
Golf 14.8×

A young city with an old sporting establishment. Johannesburg's notables are dominated by cricketers, golfers, and rugby players at concentrations that, given the city's size, look almost statistical — the legacy of an English-speaking sporting culture that organised itself around the gold rush of the 1880s. There is almost no pre-20th-century tail at all; the entire bench fits inside the lifetime of the city itself.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 247 notable births.

What Johannesburg Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Cricket is Johannesburg's biggest profession — 13% of all notables (156).

Johannesburg over-indexes on golf14.8× the global rate.

Johannesburg under-produces politician — only 0.2× the global rate.

  1. Cricket156
  2. Player153
  3. Football110
  4. Actor65
  5. Sport50
  6. Politician32
  7. Golf31
  8. Singer28
  1. Golf3114.8×
  2. Cricket1569.9×
  3. Player1536.4×
  4. Swimmer254.2×
  5. Rower153.3×
  6. Boxer153.1×
  7. Sport502.4×
  8. Photographer132.2×
  1. Politician320.2×
  2. Writer280.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

19001925195019752000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Music
  • Science
  • Politics & Law
  • Other
All1,234
Sort By

Showing 112 of 1,234 notable people

0009 MUSIC

Dave Matthews

Born 1967

Preview
0012 GOLF

Ernie Els

Born 1969

Preview
0016 ACTOR

Gavin Hood

Born 1963

Preview
0026 PHOTOGRAPHER

Kevin Carter

1960 - 1994

Preview
0047 EXPLORER

Mike Horn

Born 1966

Preview
0052 FOOTBALL

Dimas (footballer)

Born 1969

Preview
0059 FILM

Wayne Kramer (filmmaker)

Born 1965

Preview
0061 MUSIC

Youth (musician)

Born 1960

Preview
0064 PRODUCER

Kevin Shirley

Born 1960

Preview
0065 COMPOSER

Lebo M.

Born 1964

Preview
0071 SINGER

Miriam Stockley

Born 1962

Preview
0078 FOOTBALL

Craig Johnston

Born 1960

Preview
0079 COACH

Jake White

Born 1963

Preview
0086 PHOTOGRAPHER

Ken Oosterbroek

1963 - 1994

Preview
0091 FILM

Darrell Roodt

Born 1963

Preview
0104 ACTIVIST

Zackie Achmat

Born 1962

Preview
0108 SINGER

Johannes Kerkorrel

1960 - 2002

Preview
0112 PHOTOGRAPHER

Jodi Bieber

Born 1967

Preview
0142 ADVOCATE

Thuli Madonsela

Born 1962

Preview
0169 PHOTOGRAPHER

Guy Tillim

Born 1962

Preview
0170 ARTIST

Kendell Geers

Born 1968

Preview
0173 PLAYER

Pieter Aldrich

Born 1965

Preview
0198 BOXER

Brian Mitchell (boxer)

Born 1961

Preview
0201 RUNNER

Mark Plaatjes

Born 1962

Preview
0207 PLAYER

Byron Talbot

Born 1964

Preview
0216 PLAYER

Brendan Venter

Born 1969

Preview
0219 POET

Aryan Kaganof

Born 1964

Preview
0230 ACTOR

Cliff Simon

Born 1962

Preview
0257 OPERA

Kobie van Rensburg

Born 1969

Preview
0266 JESUIT

David Neuhaus

Born 1962

Preview
0306 HISTORIAN

Jonathan Judaken

Born 1968

Preview
0308 CRICKET

Mickey Arthur

Born 1968

Preview
0312 COMPOSER

Wouter Kellerman

Born 1961

Preview
0325 FILM

Elaine Proctor

Born 1960

Preview
0350 ACTOR

Vusi Kunene

Born 1966

Preview
0358 GOLF

Wayne Westner

1961 - 2017

Preview
0387 PHOTOGRAPHER

Anton Hammerl

1969 - 2011

Preview
0407 POLITICIAN

Dennis Jensen

Born 1962

Preview
0408 PAINTER

Beverly Barkat

Born 1966

Preview
0417 TRAINER

Glen Dell

1962 - 2013

Preview
0428 FOOTBALL

Ace Khuse

Born 1968

Preview
0429 ACTOR

Trevyn McDowell

Born 1967

Preview
0447 PLAYER

Michael Robertson (tennis)

Born 1963

Preview
0460 AUTHOR

Rolf Majcen

Born 1966

Preview
0489 ACTOR

Phillippa Yaa de Villiers

Born 1966

Preview
0497 COMPOSER

Alan Lazar

Born 1967

Preview
0523 FOOTBALL

Mich d'Avray

Born 1962

Preview
0525 CONSERVATIONIST

Wayne Lotter

1965 - 2017

Preview
0531 FOOTBALL

Ian Palmer (soccer)

Born 1966

Preview
0545 CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Ivan Gazidis

Born 1964

Preview
0556 PROFESSOR

John Antonakis

Born 1969

Preview
0558 PAINTER

Paul du Toit

1965 - 2014

Preview
0560 PLAYER

Mark Kaplan (tennis)

Born 1967

Preview
0571 GOLF

André Bossert

Born 1963

Preview
0576 CRICKET

David Nosworthy

Born 1967

Preview
0581 PHYSICIST

Thomas W. Baumgarte

Born 1966

Preview
0589 GOLF

Daniel Silva (golfer)

Born 1966

Preview
0590 COLUMNIST

Russell Smith (writer)

Born 1963

Preview
0605 CRICKET

Clive Eksteen

Born 1966

Preview
0610 ENGINEER

Jonty Hurwitz

Born 1969

Preview
0613 LAWYER

Christian Dierks

Born 1960

Preview
0625 PLAYER

Charlton Eagle

Born 1963

Preview
0627 WRITER

Andrew Brel

Born 1960

Preview
0633 AUTHOR

Roger Smith (Autor)

Born 1960

Preview
0654 PLAYER

Kevin Moir

Born 1961

Preview
0662 ACTOR

Andre Jacobs

Born 1961

Preview
0682 WRESTLER

Rein Ozoline

Born 1967

Preview
0709 CREATOR

Jonathan Klein (Getty Images)

Born 1960

Preview
0716 ACADEMIC

Taddy Blecher

Born 1967

Preview
0730 GOLF

Ashley Roestoff

Born 1963

Preview
0732 GOLF

Richard Kaplan

Born 1962

Preview
0749 CRICKET

Billy Stelling

Born 1969

Preview
0784 ACTOR

Frank Opperman

Born 1960

Preview
0785 CRICKET

Francois Weideman

1960 - 2001

Preview
0804 CRICKET

Chris Goldie

Born 1960

Preview
0811 FILM

Mark Vicente

Born 1965

Preview
0838 PLAYER

Charles Honey

Born 1962

Preview
0839 CRICKET

Jonathan Garth

Born 1965

Preview
0844 GOLF

Laurette Maritz

Born 1964

Preview
0848 ZOOLOGIST

Lindy Rodwell

Born 1962

Preview
0853 SPORT

Johannes Sauer

Born 1968

Preview
0859 MANAGER

Jacqueline Hunt

Born 1968

Preview
0878 ARTIST

Ralph Lazar

Born 1967

Preview
0880 JOURNALIST

Jenni Russell

Born 1960

Preview
0886 MILITAR

Fabian Msimang

Born 1960

Preview
0891 SCULPTOR

Michael Berger (Künstler)

Born 1966

Preview
0915 ARTIST

Neil Abramson (filmmaker)

Born 1963

Preview
0916 PLAYER

Shawn Lipman

Born 1964

Preview
0927 WRESTLER

Tornado (wrestler)

Born 1966

Preview
0930 FOOTBALL

George Wright (footballer, born 1969)

Born 1969

Preview
0946 FOOTBALL

Shane McGregor

Born 1963

Preview
0954 PRESENTER

Jeremy Maggs

Born 1961

Preview
0960 WRESTLER

Steve Simpson (wrestler)

Born 1963

Preview
0977 CRITIC

Mark Shenton

Born 1962

Preview
0997 COACH

David Sammel

Born 1961

Preview
1006 WRESTLER

Shaun Simpson (wrestler)

Born 1966

Preview
1019 ARTS

Michael Allemeier

Born 1968

Preview
1023 ENTREPRENEUR

Robert Hersov

Born 1960

Preview
1027 NOVELIST

Lisa de Nikolits

Born 1966

Preview
1055 WRITER

Mark Winkler

Born 1966

Preview
1067 FOOTBALL

Ivan McKinley

Born 1969

Preview
1072 ROWER

Mark Rowand

Born 1968

Preview
1074 BUSINESS

Marthinus Strydom

Born 1965

Preview
1077 ROWER

Gareth Costa

Born 1964

Preview
1087 FOOTBALL

Gavin Nebbeling

Born 1963

Preview
1091 ACTOR

Sandi Schultz

Born 1964

Preview
1128 CEO

Paul Theron

Born 1966

Preview
1135 ARTIST

Gordon Froud

Born 1963

Preview
1136 CRICKET

Rudi Birkenstock

Born 1963

Preview
1137 ARCHITECT

Sarah Calburn

Born 1964

Preview
1220 POLITICIAN

Dirk Ommeln

Born 1968

Preview
1231 JAZZ

Ntshuks Bonga

Born 1963

Preview