43.2967° N, 5.3764° E

MARSEILLE

Most Famous People Born in Marseille, France

Notable people
2,271
Peak decade
1940s
Median birth year
1928
Most distinctive
Sculptor 2.8×

A Greek colony founded around 600 BC that is still, stubbornly, a Mediterranean city rather than a French one. Marseille's distinctive professions are sculptors, painters, and poets — the trades of a port city with a heavy North African and Italian presence and a long Mediterranean visual-arts lineage. Zinedine Zidane and Eric Cantona are both from here, as are Antonin Artaud and Edmond Rostand, and the 18th-century bench is unusually deep for a city outside Paris.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1940s with 178 notable births.

What Marseille Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Marseille's biggest profession — 13% of all notables (295).

Marseille over-indexes on sculptor2.8× the global rate.

  1. Football295
  2. Politician218
  3. Actor183
  4. Painter136
  5. Writer96
  6. Singer56
  7. Film51
  8. Journalist50
  1. Sculptor422.8×
  2. Painter1362.3×
  3. Poet461.9×
  4. Film511.8×
  5. Physician251.6×
  6. Actor1831.5×
  7. Historian361.5×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Writing
  • Film & TV
  • Politics & Law
  • Art & Design
  • Music
  • Other
All2,271
Sort By

Showing 148 of 2,271 notable people

0026 ACTOR

Ariane Ascaride

Born 1954

Preview
0027 FILM

Robert Guédiguian

Born 1953

Preview
0053 MUSIC

Marc-Édouard Nabe

Born 1958

Preview
0067 PIANIST

Cyprien Katsaris

Born 1951

Preview
0075 FOOTBALL

Rolland Courbis

Born 1953

Preview
0100 ARTIST

Didier Conrad

Born 1959

Preview
0107 POLITICIAN

Renaud Muselier

Born 1959

Preview
0110 WRITER

Régis Jauffret

Born 1955

Preview
0168 COMICS

Yann (auteur)

Born 1954

Preview
0174 SOCIOLOGIST

Nathalie Heinich

Born 1955

Preview
0179 ACTOR

Philippe Caubère

Born 1950

Preview
0186 FOOTBALL

Jean-Luc Ettori

Born 1955

Preview
0196 ARTIST

Philippe Vuillemin

Born 1958

Preview
0204 NOVELIST

Édouard Brasey

Born 1954

Preview
0213 MUSIC

Philippe Saisse

Born 1957

Preview
0244 ACTOR

Gérard Meylan

Born 1952

Preview
0254 POLITICIAN

Patrick Mennucci

Born 1955

Preview
0305 DIPLOMAT

Gérard Araud

Born 1953

Preview
0307 POLITICIAN

Dominique Tian

Born 1959

Preview
0358 SONGWRITER

Erick Benzi

Born 1959

Preview
0369 COMEDIAN

Jean Roucas

Born 1952

Preview
0384 POLITICIAN

Henri Jibrayel

Born 1951

Preview
0395 PHILOSOPHER

Bernard Manin

Born 1951

Preview
0398 AGRONOMIST

Marion Guillou

Born 1954

Preview
0401 CEO

Denis Ranque

Born 1952

Preview
0429 FOOTBALL

Gérard Gili

Born 1952

Preview
0434 FEMINIST

Nathalie Magnan

1956 - 2016

Preview
0439 WRITER

Philippe Carrese

1956 - 2019

Preview
0461 JUDO

Bernard Tchoullouyan

1953 - 2019

Preview
0493 BUSINESS

Pierre Mongin

Born 1954

Preview
0495 WRITER

Michel Orcel

Born 1952

Preview
0505 HISTORIAN

Anita Guerreau-Jalabert

Born 1950

Preview
0518 PLAYER

Jean-François Caujolle

Born 1953

Preview
0540 SCULPTOR

Richard Baquié

1952 - 1996

Preview
0552 FILM

Françoise Romand

Born 1955

Preview
0574 HELLENIST

Jacqueline Assaël

Born 1957

Preview
0586 FENCER

Pascale Trinquet

Born 1958

Preview
0596 PHYSICIAN

Yvon Berland

Born 1951

Preview
0618 ENGINEER

Jean-Yves Le Gall

Born 1959

Preview
0635 BASKET

Alain Weisz

Born 1953

Preview
0643 SCREENWRITER

Jean-Pol Fargeau

Born 1950

Preview
0649 FILM

Robert Salis

Born 1954

Preview
0652 THEATRE

Macha Makeïeff

Born 1953

Preview
0662 PLAYER

Bernard Fritz

Born 1953

Preview
0673 FOOTBALL

Marc Batta

Born 1953

Preview
0676 FENCER

Véronique Trinquet

Born 1956

Preview
0688 ACTOR

Michel Albertini

Born 1953

Preview
0704 ACTOR

Marie Vincent

Born 1955

Preview
0707 ESSAYIST

Jean-Paul Brighelli

Born 1953

Preview
0770 SOCIOLOGIST

Jean-Noël Ferrié

Born 1959

Preview
0781 POLITICIAN

Frédéric Dutoit

Born 1956

Preview
0788 ACTOR

Éric Thomas

Born 1957

Preview
0795 ESSAYIST

Guy Millière

Born 1950

Preview
0814 WRITER

Frédéric Valabrègue

Born 1952

Preview
0832 WRITER

Christian Garcin

Born 1959

Preview
0855 ACTOR

Isabelle Caubère

1954 - 2010

Preview
0859 SINGER

Claire d'Asta

Born 1953

Preview
0866 ACTOR

Robert Cantarella

Born 1957

Preview
0892 SCHOLAR

Paul Mattei

Born 1953

Preview
0903 JOURNALIST

Sylvie Kauffmann

Born 1955

Preview
0906 FOOTBALL

Henri Zambelli

Born 1957

Preview
0920 WRITER

Henri-Frédéric Blanc

Born 1954

Preview
0979 FOOTBALL

Roland Gransart

Born 1954

Preview
0989 WISSENSCHAFTLER

Olivier Coussy

1953 - 2010

Preview
0998 ACTOR

Serge Valletti

Born 1951

Preview
0999 BASKET

Christine Dulac

Born 1952

Preview
1007 COMPOSER

Alain Joule

Born 1950

Preview
1030 JOURNALIST

Paul-François Paoli

Born 1959

Preview
1038 SYNDICALISTE

Gérard Aschieri

Born 1952

Preview
1043 POLITICIAN

Georges Siffredi

Born 1956

Preview
1056 COMPOSER

Michel Redolfi

Born 1951

Preview
1067 SINGER

Mouron (chanteuse)

Born 1954

Preview
1068 POLITICIAN

Hervé Schiavetti

Born 1956

Preview
1080 CHOREOGRAPHER

Daniel Larrieu

Born 1957

Preview
1106 TEACHER

Pierre Tapie

Born 1957

Preview
1109 ROMANIST

Georges Bonifassi

1952 - 1995

Preview
1115 BOXER

Richard Caramanolis

Born 1958

Preview
1131 DRAUGHTSWOMAN

Rolland Barthélemy

Born 1954

Preview
1133 JOURNALIST

Robert Colonna d'Istria

Born 1956

Preview
1139 GEOGRAPHER

Alain Musset

Born 1959

Preview
1144 POLITICIAN

François Bernardini

Born 1953

Preview
1173 WRITER

Jean-Pierre Ostende

Born 1954

Preview
1177 POLITICIAN

Olivier Darrason

Born 1954

Preview
1189 SWIMMER

Jean-Jacques Moine

Born 1954

Preview
1199 ECONOMIST

André Cartapanis

Born 1952

Preview
1203 BUSINESS

Gilles Michel

Born 1956

Preview
1221 ECONOMIST

Philippe Mongin

1950 - 2020

Preview
1237 LAWYER

Gilles Antonowicz

Born 1953

Preview
1246 POLITICIAN

Jean-Dominique Giuliani

Born 1956

Preview
1258 JUDO

Richard Melillo

Born 1953

Preview
1268 PUBLISHER

Jean Annestay

Born 1955

Preview
1278 ARTIST

Piotr Klemensiewicz

Born 1956

Preview
1290 SPORT

Jean-Pierre Bernès

Born 1957

Preview
1321 PHOTOGRAPHER

Jean-Marc Zaorski

Born 1952

Preview
1334 FONCTIONNAIRE

Jean Charbonniaud

Born 1951

Preview
1349 CHOREOGRAPHER

Bernardo Montet

Born 1957

Preview
1353 CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Mehdi Houas

Born 1959

Preview
1364 ACTOR

Michel Bellier

Born 1958

Preview
1385 ARCHAEOLOGIST

Luc Long

Born 1953

Preview
1388 ACTOR

Odile Massé

Born 1950

Preview
1396 DIPLOMAT

Denis Dobo-Schoenenberg

Born 1957

Preview
1400 ACTOR

Colette Nucci

Born 1950

Preview
1405 GEOGRAPHER

Isabelle Sacareau

Born 1959

Preview
1413 DANCER

Galia Salimo

Born 1950

Preview
1443 ACTIVIST

Michel Bernard (journaliste)

Born 1958

Preview
1456 POET

Sylvie Durbec

Born 1952

Preview
1468 ARCHAEOLOGIST

Gisèle Hadji-Minaglou

Born 1953

Preview
1532 BASKET

Irène Guidotti

Born 1950

Preview
1555 CHOREOGRAPHER

Georges Appaix

Born 1953

Preview
1556 ACTOR

Jean-Claude Baudracco

Born 1956

Preview
1558 ART CRITIC

Jacques Lucchesi

Born 1958

Preview
1562 OPERA

Armand Arapian

Born 1953

Preview
1567 DRIVER

Richard Dallest

Born 1951

Preview
1570 POLITICIAN

Éric Cesari

Born 1959

Preview
1573 ACTOR

Patrice Pujol

Born 1958

Preview
1589 FOOTBALL

Richard Ruffier

Born 1959

Preview
1597 BUSINESS

Olivier Spithakis

Born 1956

Preview
1628 CINÉMA

Hervé Digne

Born 1957

Preview
1638 SINGER

Chantal Kelly

Born 1950

Preview
1656 JUDO

Roger Hairabedian

Born 1958

Preview
1744 CLARINET

Hervé Bourde

Born 1951

Preview
1753 POLITICIAN

Corinne Valls

Born 1957

Preview
1781 SPORT

Bernard Giudicelli

Born 1958

Preview
1789 MISSING

Henri J. Nijdam

Born 1950

Preview
1796 BUSINESS

Xavier Giocanti

Born 1954

Preview
1813 BUSINESS

Gérard Dantec

Born 1955

Preview
1820 BUSINESS

Jean-Marc Forneri

Born 1959

Preview
1828 FOOTBALL

Michel Ciaravino

Born 1954

Preview
1848 FOOTBALL

Martine Auguet

Born 1957

Preview
1864 FOOTBALL

Bernard Maccio

Born 1950

Preview
1867 FOOTBALL

Josiane Marcassoli

Born 1958

Preview
1889 COMPOSER

Philippe Mabboux

Born 1957

Preview
1890 POLITICIAN

Lisette Narducci

Born 1958

Preview
1899 PHOTOGRAPHER

Jean Noël de Soye

Born 1955

Preview
1947 SINGER

Maria de Rossi

Born 1950

Preview
1948 POLITICIAN

Robert Assante

Born 1952

Preview
1953 DIVER

Luc Vanrell

Born 1959

Preview
1955 JOURNALIST

Christian Makarian

Born 1957

Preview
1979 FILM

Michèle Courbou

Born 1954

Preview
1981 FOOTBALL

Fernand Armenante

1953 - 2010

Preview
2012 JOURNALIST

Ronald Mary

Born 1953

Preview
2032 POLITICIAN

Jacqueline Grand

Born 1956

Preview
2038 POLO

Michel Idoux

Born 1953

Preview
2076 POLITICIAN

Gérard Monnier-Besombes

Born 1953

Preview
2110 FISHER

Bernard Salvatori

Born 1952

Preview
2115 FOOTBALL

Patrick Dho

Born 1955

Preview
2169 BASKET

Gérard Maza

Born 1955

Preview
2212 PHYSICIAN

Jean-Marc Valladier

Born 1957

Preview