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.

Through the Decades

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 hockey6.1× the global rate.

Vancouver under-produces writer — only 0.4× the global rate.

  1. Actor304
  2. Football148
  3. Hockey111
  4. Politician90
  5. Singer53
  6. Basket46
  7. Swimmer40
  8. Film36
  1. Hockey1116.1×
  2. Sprint156.1×
  3. Swimmer405.4×
  4. Rower295.1×
  5. Skater154.0×
  6. Actor3043.7×
  7. Novelist213.5×
  8. Basket462.4×
  1. Writer220.4×
  2. Politician900.5×

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.

187519001925195019752000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Music
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Art & Design
  • Other
Actor304
Sort By

Showing 304 of 1,538 notable people

1391 ACTOR

Emily Haine

-

Preview
1394 ACTOR

Lim Cho Cho

1905 - 1979

Preview
1403 ACTOR

Darren Mann

Born 1989

Preview
1454 ACTOR

Carolyn Jones (British actress)

1941 - 2018

Preview