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
Politician90
Sort By

Showing 90 of 1,538 notable people

0057 POLITICIAN

Jennifer Granholm

Born 1959

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0153 POLITICIAN

Gordon Campbell

Born 1948

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0189 POLITICIAN

Dave Barrett

1930 - 2018

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0312 POLITICIAN

Sam Sullivan

Born 1960

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0351 POLITICIAN

Jody Wilson-Raybould

Born 1971

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0370 POLITICIAN

Filippos Sachinidis

Born 1963

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0396 POLITICIAN

Deborah Grey

Born 1952

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0418 POLITICIAN

Joan Lestor

1931 - 1998

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0449 POLITICIAN

Mark Warawa

1950 - 2019

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0476 POLITICIAN

Shawn Atleo

Born 1967

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0571 POLITICIAN

Stephen Owen (politician)

Born 1948

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0605 POLITICIAN

Willard Phelps

Born 1941

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0616 POLITICIAN

Mary Collins

Born 1940

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0626 POLITICIAN

Clarence Wallace

1893 - 1982

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0776 POLITICIAN

Gordon Wilson (British Columbia politician)

Born 1949

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0815 POLITICIAN

Richard Allen (Canadian politician)

1929 - 2019

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0820 POLITICIAN

Adrian Dix

Born 1964

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0831 POLITICIAN

Dianne Watts

Born 1959

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0866 POLITICIAN

Dawn Black

Born 1943

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0871 POLITICIAN

Alexander Macdonald (British Columbia politician)

1918 - 2014

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0885 POLITICIAN

Vicki Huntington

-

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0898 POLITICIAN

Dick Harris

Born 1944

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0944 POLITICIAN

George Heyman

-

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0998 POLITICIAN

Michael Lee (Canadian politician)

-

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1000 POLITICIAN

Dale Lovick

Born 1944

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1007 POLITICIAN

Raymond Louie

Born 1965

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1008 POLITICIAN

Ray Perrault

1926 - 2008

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1028 POLITICIAN

Joan Smallwood

Born 1950

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1046 POLITICIAN

Pat Bell

-

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1051 POLITICIAN

Spencer Chandra Herbert

Born 1981

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1055 POLITICIAN

Adriane Carr

Born 1952

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1056 POLITICIAN

Naomi Yamamoto

Born 1960

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1069 POLITICIAN

Ron Huntington

1921 - 1998

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1085 POLITICIAN

Blair Longley

Born 1950

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1087 POLITICIAN

Linda Reid

Born 1959

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1099 POLITICIAN

John Weston (politician)

Born 1958

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1151 POLITICIAN

Jamie Lee Hamilton

1955 - 2019

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1153 POLITICIAN

Kelly McCauley

Born 1964

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1157 POLITICIAN

Doug McCallum

-

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1167 POLITICIAN

Shane Simpson

-

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1175 POLITICIAN

Stuart Parker (politician)

Born 1972

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1204 POLITICIAN

Stephen Rogers (politician)

Born 1942

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1211 POLITICIAN

Ralph Sultan

Born 1933

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1243 POLITICIAN

John van Dongen

Born 1949

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1247 POLITICIAN

Maureen Ogden

Born 1928

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1256 POLITICIAN

Robert Arthur Williams

Born 1933

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1264 POLITICIAN

William Rathie

1914 - 1994

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1267 POLITICIAN

Lyle MacWilliam

Born 1949

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1270 POLITICIAN

Lois Boone

Born 1947

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1302 POLITICIAN

John Lambert Gibson

1906 - 1986

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1317 POLITICIAN

Bruce Yorke

1924 - 2015

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1320 POLITICIAN

Darrel Stinson

Born 1945

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1343 POLITICIAN

Ross Harvey

Born 1952

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1356 POLITICIAN

Robin Richardson

Born 1942

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1366 POLITICIAN

Eileen Dailly

1926 - 2011

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1386 POLITICIAN

Kelvin Ng

Born 1958

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1396 POLITICIAN

Russell Fraser

Born 1934

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1400 POLITICIAN

John Russell Taylor (politician)

1917 - 2002

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1401 POLITICIAN

Stan Wilbee

Born 1932

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1402 POLITICIAN

Arnold Webster

1899 - 1979

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1415 POLITICIAN

Austin Pelton

1920 - 2003

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1423 POLITICIAN

Tom Sigurdson

Born 1957

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1424 POLITICIAN

John Lang Nichol

1924 - 2020

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1428 POLITICIAN

Mel Couvelier

1931 - 2011

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1432 POLITICIAN

Ken Johnston (politician)

Born 1950

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1436 POLITICIAN

Doug Mowat

1929 - 1992

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1459 POLITICIAN

Wesley Drewett Black

1910 - 2000

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1462 POLITICIAN

Gary Lauk

Born 1940

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1466 POLITICIAN

Lorne Nicolson

Born 1936

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1475 POLITICIAN

Fred Randall

1931 - 2002

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1476 POLITICIAN

William James Hartley

1945 - 2003

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1483 POLITICIAN

Edward McGill

1912 - 1996

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1485 POLITICIAN

Angus Creelman Ree

1929 - 2009

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1487 POLITICIAN

Bernie Simpson

Born 1942

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1490 POLITICIAN

David Mercier

Born 1939

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1492 POLITICIAN

Daniel Jarvis

Born 1935

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1494 POLITICIAN

Hunter Vogel

1903 - 1990

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1495 POLITICIAN

Barbara Copping

Born 1944

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1509 POLITICIAN

Jean Gordon (politician)

1918 - 2008

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1511 POLITICIAN

Stan Nelson

Born 1939

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1513 POLITICIAN

John Groves Gould

1912 - 2002

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1518 POLITICIAN

Jack Pearsall

1915 - 1982

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1519 POLITICIAN

Campbell Millar

1911 - 1991

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1520 POLITICIAN

George Riley (Nova Scotia politician)

1922 - 2002

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1522 POLITICIAN

John Melvin Bryan Jr.

1893 - 1992

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1523 POLITICIAN

Harvey Smith (Canadian politician)

1936 - 2017

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1530 POLITICIAN

Gordon William Hanson

1943 - 2020

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1531 POLITICIAN

Roy Thomas Cummings

1930 - 1976

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1533 POLITICIAN

John Michael Parks

Born 1946

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1536 POLITICIAN

Frederick Morton Sharp

1911 - 2002

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