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
Golf31
Sort By

Showing 31 of 1,234 notable people

0011 GOLF

Gary Player

Born 1935

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0012 GOLF

Ernie Els

Born 1969

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0032 GOLF

Justin Rose

Born 1980

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0069 GOLF

Charl Schwartzel

Born 1984

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0248 GOLF

Ashleigh Buhai

Born 1989

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0330 GOLF

Shaun Norris (golfer)

Born 1982

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0354 GOLF

Dylan Frittelli

Born 1990

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0358 GOLF

Wayne Westner

1961 - 2017

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0368 GOLF

Thomas Aiken

Born 1983

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0379 GOLF

Hugh Baiocchi

Born 1946

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0430 GOLF

David Carter (golfer)

Born 1972

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0437 GOLF

John Bland

Born 1945

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0467 GOLF

Vincent Tshabalala

1942 - 2017

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0509 GOLF

Justin Walters

Born 1980

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0512 GOLF

Trevor Fisher Jnr

Born 1979

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0517 GOLF

Bobby Verwey

Born 1941

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0530 GOLF

Tyrone van Aswegen

Born 1982

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0553 GOLF

Gavan Levenson

Born 1953

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0571 GOLF

André Bossert

Born 1963

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0573 GOLF

John Fourie

Born 1939

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0589 GOLF

Daniel Silva (golfer)

Born 1966

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0639 GOLF

Clinton Whitelaw

Born 1970

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0650 GOLF

Bobby Lincoln

Born 1953

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0700 GOLF

Wallie Coetsee

Born 1972

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0723 GOLF

Bradford Vaughan

Born 1975

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0730 GOLF

Ashley Roestoff

Born 1963

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0732 GOLF

Richard Kaplan

Born 1962

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0735 GOLF

Grant Muller

Born 1970

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0766 GOLF

Allan Henning

Born 1944

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0844 GOLF

Laurette Maritz

Born 1964

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0877 GOLF

Tienie Britz

Born 1945

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