22.9085° S, 43.1965° W

RIO DE JANEIRO

Most Famous People Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Notable people

5,466

Peak decade

1980s

Median birth year

1956

Most distinctive

Martial Art 13.2×

The capital that wasn't, but acted like one. Rio's most distinctive profession is martial arts at more than thirteen times the global rate — the home of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the Gracie family — alongside the composers, singers, and music players of bossa nova and samba and a deep diplomatic-and-journalistic bench from its century as the seat of the Portuguese and then Brazilian empires. Footballers and actors are tied at almost exactly the same share, a balance that you don't see in any other Brazilian city.