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
Politician32
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Showing 32 of 1,234 notable people

0005 POLITICIAN

F. W. de Klerk

Born 1936

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0029 POLITICIAN

Helen Zille

Born 1951

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0040 POLITICIAN

Kgalema Motlanthe

Born 1949

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0075 POLITICIAN

Ronnie Kasrils

Born 1938

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0150 POLITICIAN

Gill Marcus

Born 1949

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0184 POLITICIAN

Nicola Blackwood

Born 1979

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0202 POLITICIAN

Cuthbert Alport

1912 - 1998

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0242 POLITICIAN

Emma Mashinini

1929 - 2017

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0254 POLITICIAN

Ben Schoeman

1905 - 1986

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0324 POLITICIAN

Lindiwe Sisulu

Born 1954

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0359 POLITICIAN

Robert Baden-Powell, 3rd Baron Baden-Powell

1936 - 2019

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0371 POLITICIAN

Joe Modise

1929 - 2001

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0384 POLITICIAN

Frene Ginwala

Born 1932

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0407 POLITICIAN

Dennis Jensen

Born 1962

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0418 POLITICIAN

Barend du Plessis

Born 1940

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0621 POLITICIAN

Derek Keys

1931 - 2018

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0648 POLITICIAN

Ian Ollis

Born 1970

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0675 POLITICIAN

Popo Molefe

Born 1952

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0728 POLITICIAN

Mohammed Valli Moosa

Born 1957

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0767 POLITICIAN

Jessie Duarte

Born 1953

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0798 POLITICIAN

Joyce Piliso-Seroke

Born 1933

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0810 POLITICIAN

Penuell Maduna

Born 1952

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0871 POLITICIAN

Alfred Ernest Trollip

1895 - 1972

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0911 POLITICIAN

Annelie Lotriet

-

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0925 POLITICIAN

Michael Sutherland

Born 1954

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1066 POLITICIAN

Joe Nhlanhla

1936 - 2008

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1095 POLITICIAN

Johnson Mlambo

Born 1940

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1200 POLITICIAN

Sam de Beer

Born 1944

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1213 POLITICIAN

Leslie M. Gumbi

1959 - 2012

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1220 POLITICIAN

Dirk Ommeln

Born 1968

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1224 POLITICIAN

Joachim Upmeyer

1914 - 1987

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1225 POLITICIAN

William Thorneycroft Lofts

Born 1902

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