1.2998° N, 103.8010° E
SINGAPORE
Most Famous People Born in Singapore, Singapore
- Notable people
- 1,315
- Peak decade
- 1980s
- Median birth year
- 1973
- Most distinctive
- Swimmer 4.9×
A city-state whose bench runs from British colonial civil servants to the post-independence technocracy that built modern Singapore. Distinctive professions are swimmers, models, entrepreneurs, singers, actors, business figures, and footballers — the profile of a small, young state that exports sport, finance, and pop at roughly equal densities. Lee Kuan Yew and his government hold down one half of the list; Joseph Schooling and the post-2000 entertainment wave hold down the other.
One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Singapore during each.
Notable Births by Decade
Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 255 notable births.
What Singapore Is Known For
Click any row to filter the list of people below.
Football is Singapore's biggest profession — 22% of all notables (290).
Singapore over-indexes on swimmer — 4.9× the global rate.
Singapore under-produces writer — only 0.5× the global rate.
Profession Mix Over Time
Each band shows a profession family's share of Singapore's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.
- Sports
- Film & TV
- Politics & Law
- Music
- Art & Design
- Writing
- Other
- Field: Business Clear ×
Brandon Wade
Born 1970
François Perrodo
Born 1977
Lee Hsien Yang
Born 1957
Claire Chiang
Born 1951
Lee Seng Wee
1930 - 2015
Carrie Perrodo
Born 1950
Kosaku Inaba
1924 - 2006
Desmond Kuek
Born 1963
Ng Yat Chung
-
Lee Boon Yang
Born 1947
Zainul Abidin (politician)
Born 1948
Jack Sim
-
Bey Soo Khiang
-
Ng Jui Ping
Died 2020
Mohamed Salleh Marican
Born 1949
Calvin Cheng
Born 1975
Lee Seng Tee
Born 1923
Douglas Gan
Born 1983
Goh Cheng Liang
Born 1927
Lim Neo Chian
-
Jacky Xu
Born 1984
Michael Kum
Born 1945
Tan Yinglan
Born 1981
Cynthia Chua
Born 1972
Kathleen Tan
-
John Chuang (Singaporean businessman)
Born 1948
Chew Gek Khim
Born 1961
Zena Tessensohn
1909 - 1991