47.2172° N, 1.5539° W

NANTES

Most Famous People Born in Nantes, France

Notable people
1,043
Peak decade
1970s
Median birth year
1910
Most distinctive
Architect 4.4×

Jules Verne grew up watching the Loire shipyards that would populate every one of his adventure novels with captains and engineers, and the architect over-index at 4.4× keeps that maker tradition alive five generations later. A newer wave — Christine and the Queens, Madeon — has been exporting French pop from the same port the slave trade once made rich.

Through the Centuries

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1970s with 103 notable births.

What Nantes Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Nantes's biggest profession — 16% of all notables (169).

Nantes over-indexes on architect4.4× the global rate.

Nantes under-produces football — only 0.4× the global rate.

  1. Politician169
  2. Painter65
  3. Writer49
  4. Actor48
  5. Football47
  6. Architect41
  7. Journalist34
  8. Priest26
  1. Architect414.4×
  2. Rower133.4×
  3. Sculptor172.5×
  4. Painter652.4×
  5. Artist232.1×
  6. Physician152.1×
  7. Journalist342.1×
  8. Historian211.9×
  1. Football470.4×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Politics & Law
  • Art & Design
  • Writing
  • Sports
  • Science
  • Film & TV
  • Other
All1,043
Sort By

Showing 61 of 1,043 notable people

0014 ARTIST

Claire Bretécher

1940 - 2020

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0046 POLITICIAN

Jean-Claude Boulard

1943 - 2018

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0064 MATHEMATICIAN

Luc Illusie

Born 1940

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0084 SCHOLAR

Alain Supiot

Born 1949

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0098 FILM

Jean-Loup Hubert

Born 1949

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0195 POLITICIAN

Marie-Françoise Clergeau

Born 1948

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0212 WRITER

Xavier Armange

Born 1947

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0219 PROFESSOR

Gérard Dédéyan

Born 1942

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0243 HISTORIAN

Jean-Pierre Arrignon

Born 1943

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0318 ACTOR

Érik Colin

1947 - 2013

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0330 WRITER

Michel Guérin

Born 1946

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0339 PAINTER

Alain Thomas

Born 1942

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0358 SCULPTOR

Jacques Le Nantec

Born 1940

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0368 MAGISTRAT

Georges Courtois

1947 - 2019

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0384 ARTIST

Michel Bourdais

Born 1943

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0389 ARCHITECT

Bernard Hamburger

1940 - 1982

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0405 ACTOR

Loïc Pichon

Born 1943

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0411 ATHLETIC

Jacqueline André

Born 1946

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0415 SPORT

Paul Lemeteyer

Born 1942

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0435 LAWYER

Yann Choucq

Born 1946

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0439 ACTOR

François Joxe

Born 1940

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0450 FONCTIONNAIRE

Yannick Moreau (femme politique)

Born 1945

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0462 POLITICIAN

Alain Levoyer

1940 - 2017

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0469 WRITER

Jean-Claude Pinson

Born 1947

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0478 JOURNALIST

Noël Couëdel

Born 1942

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0481 PHYSICIAN

Jean-Luc Harousseau

Born 1948

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0485 ACTOR

Michel Valmer

Born 1947

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0515 JOURNALIST

Michel Renaud (voyageur)

1945 - 2015

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0520 ACADEMIC

Dominique David

Born 1949

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0524 WRITER

Jean-Pierre Martin

Born 1948

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0546 ROWER

Michel Viaud

Born 1940

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0548 WRITER

Lauric Guillaud

Born 1949

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0563 SOCIOLOGIST

Jean-Yves Petiteau

1942 - 2015

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0577 BUSINESS

Alain-Dominique Perrin

Born 1942

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0581 ARTISTE

Jacques Yves Bruel

1948 - 2010

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0583 ACTOR

Jean-Jacques Grand-Jouan

1949 - 2020

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0586 GEOGRAPHER

Maryvonne Le Berre

1940 - 2012

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0589 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Marion Aubrée

Born 1942

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0604 PAINTER

Moris Gontard

Born 1940

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0614 BUSINESS

Jean-François Dehecq

Born 1940

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0635 MUSIC

Jean-Louis Jossic

Born 1947

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0636 CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Jean-Luc Bélingard

Born 1948

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0644 POLITICIAN

Michel Lambert (homme politique)

Born 1942

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0647 PHOTOGRAPHER

Raoul Vaslin

1945 - 1985

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0651 WRITER

Emmanuel Cocke

1945 - 1973

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0677 POLITICIAN

Jean-Pierre Bazin

Born 1947

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0719 FILM

François Gauducheau

Born 1947

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0740 ACTOR

Joël Martineau

Born 1945

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0757 POLITICIAN

Françoise Seillier

Born 1945

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0760 FINANCIER

Mériadec Rivière

Born 1949

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0791 URBAN PLANNER

Philippe Thébaud

Born 1946

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0793 WRITER

Jean-Claude Montel

1940 - 2013

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0812 SPORT

Jean-Claude Largeau

Born 1949

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0845 POLITICIAN

Gilles Retière

Born 1947

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0868 FONCTIONNAIRE

Claude Bourmaud

Born 1947

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0896 POLITICIAN

Dominique Pervenche

Born 1948

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0930 ACTOR

Christian Mousset (comédien)

Born 1943

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0944 ROWER

Yvon Petit

Born 1945

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0946 FOOTBALL

Joël Prou

Born 1946

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0964 JOURNALIST

Gérard Petitjean

Born 1944

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1042 OFFICIER

Yves de Kersauson

1942 - 2001

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