49.2608° N, 123.1138° W
VANCOUVER
Most Famous People Born in Vancouver, Canada
- Notable people
- 1,538
- Peak decade
- 1980s
- Median birth year
- 1965
- Most distinctive
- Hockey 6.1×
A young Pacific city whose economy runs on trees, ships, and Hollywood North. Vancouver's distinctive professions are ice hockey players, sprinters, swimmers, rowers, skaters, and actors — the last because American studios have been shooting television and film here since the 1990s. Ryan Reynolds, Seth Rogen, Hayden Christensen, Cobie Smulders, and Joshua Jackson all grew up in the same few neighbourhoods; the pre-1900 tail is almost nonexistent.
One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Vancouver during each.
Notable Births by Decade
Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 281 notable births.
What Vancouver Is Known For
Click any row to filter the list of people below.
Actor is Vancouver's biggest profession — 20% of all notables (304).
Vancouver over-indexes on hockey — 6.1× the global rate.
Vancouver under-produces writer — only 0.4× the global rate.
Profession Mix Over Time
Each band shows a profession family's share of Vancouver's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.
- Sports
- Film & TV
- Music
- Politics & Law
- Writing
- Art & Design
- Other
- Filtered to 1930s Clear ×
David Suzuki
Born 1936
Ian Hacking
Born 1936
Don Francks
1932 - 2016
Allan King
1930 - 2009
David McTaggart
1932 - 2001
Robert Ito
Born 1931
Joy Kogawa
Born 1935
Dave Barrett
1930 - 2018
Kazuko Shiraishi
Born 1931
Bob Houbregs
1932 - 2014
John Hemming (explorer)
Born 1935
John Ferguson Sr.
1938 - 2007
Wayson Choy
1939 - 2019
Doug McGrath
Born 1935
Roy MacLaren (politician)
Born 1934
Joan Lestor
1931 - 1998
Rafe Mair
1931 - 2017
Craig Oliver (Canadian journalist)
Born 1938
Campbell Lane
1935 - 2014
Bill McKerlich
Born 1936
Thomas Y. Drake
1936 - 2008
Pat Lowther
1935 - 1975
Philip Gilbert
1931 - 2004
Cole Harris
Born 1936
Diane Barwick
1938 - 1986
Mimi Hines
Born 1933
Jim Rimmer
1934 - 2010
Frank Iacobucci
Born 1937
Lorne Main
1930 - 2019
F. R. C. Clarke
1931 - 2009
Alice Whitty
1934 - 2017
David Helliwell
1935 - 1993
Glen Mervyn
1937 - 2000
Don Macintosh
1931 - 1994
Eleanor McKenzie
Born 1931
Heather Spears
Born 1934
Lois Mitchell
Born 1939
Robert Murray (artist)
Born 1936
David G. Sorensen
1937 - 2011
Gilbert Paul Jordan
1931 - 2006
Donald Ethell
Born 1937
Ron Bissett
1931 - 2015
Michael Peers
Born 1934
John McLeod (basketball)
Born 1934
Michael M. Ames
1933 - 2006
Mike Birch
Born 1931
David Toguri
1933 - 1997
Tom Rolston
1932 - 2010
Nobuo Kubota
Born 1932
Ed Wild
1935 - 2020
Walter Birtles
Born 1937
Doug Brinham
Born 1934
Mel Brown (basketball)
1935 - 2019
James Davies (cyclist, born 1934)
1934 - 2020
Raymond Culos
Born 1936
Kathleen Shannon
1935 - 1998
Earl Keeley
Born 1936
Norm McLeod (soccer)
Born 1938
Judith Copithorne
Born 1939
Nelson Skalbania
Born 1938
Anna Wong (artist)
1930 - 2013
Ken Pears
Born 1934
Fred Dyson
Born 1939
Sidney Craig
1932 - 2008
Philip Owen
Born 1933
Jim Conroy (Canadian football)
1937 - 2011
Ralph Sultan
Born 1933
Mike Cacic
1937 - 2008
Ray McLeod
Born 1934
Gordie Ion
Born 1934
Rich Healey
Born 1938
Frank Smith (Canadian football)
Born 1931
Pat Claridge
1938 - 2012
Robert Arthur Williams
Born 1933
Hugo Judd
1939 - 2017
Carole Itter
Born 1939
John T. Elson
1931 - 2009
Ted Tully
1930 - 2003
David Stothard
Born 1937
Logan Tait
1934 - 2016
Russell Fraser
Born 1934
Stan Wilbee
Born 1932
Mel Couvelier
1931 - 2011
Edward Graham Lee
Born 1931
Baz Nagle
1933 - 1997
Sam McMaster
Born 1936
Don Hamilton (lacrosse)
Born 1937
Kay McNamee
Born 1931
Luella Law
Born 1934
Lorne Nicolson
Born 1936
Ken Higgs (Canadian football)
Born 1931
Fred Randall
1931 - 2002
David Mercier
Born 1939
Daniel Jarvis
Born 1935
John Woyat
1933 - 1998
Stan Nelson
Born 1939
Jack Hibberd (politician)
1931 - 1997
Lorne Davies
1930 - 2015
Harvey Smith (Canadian politician)
1936 - 2017
Roy Thomas Cummings
1930 - 1976