French people of note include:
Actors
A–C
Carole Achache Isabelle Adjani Renée Adorée Anouk Aimée Flo Ankah Arletty Antonin Artaud Fanny Ardant Jeanne Aubert Jean-Louis Aubert Jean-Pierre Aumont Claude Autant-Lara Daniel Auteuil Charles Aznavour Brigitte Bardot Emmanuelle Béart Loleh Bellon Jean-Paul Belmondo François Berléand Charles Berling Éric Bernard Adam Bessa Suzanne Bianchetti Juliette Binoche Bernard Blier Sandrine Bonnaire Élodie Bouchez Bourvil Dany Boon Angelique Boyer Charles Boyer Guillaume Canet Capucine Martine Carol Leslie Caron Isabelle Carré Vincent Cassel Jean-Pierre Cassel Laetitia Casta Monique Chaumette Robert Clary Grégoire Colin Marion Cotillard Clotilde Courau Darry Cowl
D–L
Béatrice Dalle Lili Damita Danielle Darrieux Alain Delon Danièle Delorme Julie Delpy Catherine Deneuve Élisabeth Depardieu Gérard Depardieu Guillaume Depardieu Patrick Dewaere Arielle Dombasle Michel Drucker Morgane Dubled Jean Dujardin Anny Dupérey Romain Duris Nicolas Duvauchelle Erwan Kepoa Falé Fernandel Brigitte Fossey Louis de Funès Félicité Du Jeu Jean Gabin Julie Gayet Annie Girardot Judith Godrèche Eva Green Sacha Guitry Isabelle Huppert Irène Jacob Claude Jade Marlène Jobert Valérie Kaprisky Louise Labèque Mélanie Laurent Jean-Pierre Léaud Virginie Ledoyen Noémie Lenoir Max Linder Sheryfa Luna
M–Z
Philippe Maidenberg Marcel Marceau Sophie Marceau Jean Marais Jean-Pierre Marielle Ali Marhyar Olivier Martinez Jean-Baptiste Maunier Bernard Minet Miou-Miou Mistinguett Yves Montand Jeanne Moreau Michèle Morgan Musidora Pierre Niney Gérard Philipe Michel Piccoli Clémence Poésy Alexia Portal Yvonne Printemps Marguerite Priola, stage name of Marguerite–Marie–Sophie Polliart Pérette Pradier Jérôme Pradon Rachel, pseudonym for Elisa-Rachel Félix Gabrielle Réjane Jean Reno Marine Renoir Pierre Richard Sebastian Roché Jean Rochefort Béatrice Romand Philippine de Rothschild Nathalie Roussel Michel Roux Emmanuelle Seigner David Serero Léa Seydoux Delphine Seyrig Simone Signoret Audrey Tautou Jean-Louis Trintignant Marie Trintignant Gaspard Ulliel Michael Vartan Hervé Villechaize Mallory Wanecque Lambert Wilson
Architects
Jacques-François Blondel Germain Boffrand Étienne-Louis Boullée Salomon de Brosse Libéral Bruant Androuet du Cerceau family Le Corbusier pseudonym for Charles Edouard Jeanneret (Swiss-born) Philibert de l'Orme Gustave Eiffel Pierre François Léonard Fontaine Ange-Jacques Gabriel Charles Garnier Tony Garnier Hector Guimard Villard de Honnecourt Pierre Jeanneret (Swiss-born) Henri Labrouste Claude Nicolas Ledoux Pierre Lescot André Lurçat Robert Mallet-Stevens François Mansart Jules Hardouin Mansart Louis Métezeau Michel Mimran (born 1954) Jean Nouvel Charles Percier Claude Perrault Dominique Perrault Auguste Perret Christian de Portzamparc Jean Prouvé Alain Provost Henri Sauvage Jacques-Germain Soufflot Louis Le Vau Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Artists
Painters
Photographers
Carole Achache Yann Arthus-Bertrand Brassaï born in Hungary Henri Cartier-Bresson Raymond Depardon Robert Doisneau Pierre Dubreuil Jules Gervais-Courtellemont Nadar Willy Ronis
Sculptors
Frédéric Bartholdi Antoine Bourdelle Antonin Carlès Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux César Antoine-Denis Chaudet Camille Claudel Paul Dubois Raymond Duchamp-Villon Alexandre Falguière Jean-Antoine Houdon René Iché Antonin Idrac Antonin Mercié Hippolyte Moulin Émile Louis Picault Jean-Baptiste Pigalle Antoine-Augustin Préault Auguste Rodin René Rozet François Rude Niki de Saint Phalle Sacha Sosno Marie-Renée Ucciani
Athletes
A–J
André the Giant, professional wrestler Tareq Abdesselem, Karateka Sarah Abitbol, pairs figure skater (with Stéphane Bernadis); World Figure Skating Championship bronze Tariq Abdul-Wahad (born Olivier Saint-Jean), basketball player Luc Alphand, Alpine skier Jacques Anquetil, cyclist Jonathan Assous, France/Israel, defensive midfielder (Beitar Ramat Gan) Fabien Barthez, football player and racing driver Elliot Benchetrit, tennis player Brice Blanc, jockey Marion Bartoli, tennis player Fabrice Benichou, world-champion super bantamweight boxer Stéphane Bernadis, pairs figure skater (with Sarah Abitbol) Alain Bernard, Olympic swimmer Serge Betsen, Cameroon-born French citizen, rugby player Serge Blanco, Venezuela-born French citizen, rugby player Jean Bloch, Olympic silver football player Louison Bobet, cyclist Stéphanie Bodet, rock climber Surya Bonaly, figure skater Sébastien Bourdais, Indycar driver Frédéric Bourdillon (born 1991), French-Israeli basketball player in the Israel Basketball Premier League Andrée Brunet and Pierre Brunet, 1928 and 1932 Olympic skating gold medalists Jean-Luc Cairon (born 1962), gymnast and coach Alain Calmat, figure skater, Olympic silver, world championship gold, silver, two-time bronze Philippe Candeloro, figure skater Eric Cantona, football player Georges Carpentier, world-champion boxer Marcel Cerdan, world-champion boxer François Cevert (born François Goldenberg), Formula One driver Eugène Christophe, cyclist Albert Clément (c. 1878–1907), motor racing driver Robert Cohen, world-champion bantamweight boxer Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, tennis player Eugène Criqui, world-champion boxer Jean Cruguet, jockey of Seattle Slew Richard Dacoury, basketball player Pierre Darmon, tennis player, highest world ranking # 8 André Darrigade, cyclist Mathieu Debuchy, football player Émile Delahaye, race car pioneer Marcel Desailly, Ghana-born French citizen, football player Abou Diaby, football player Boris Diaw, basketball player David Douillet, judoka Yves Dreyfus, épée fencer, Olympic bronze medal, French champion Isabelle Duchesnay and Paul Duchesnay, ice dancers Alojzy Ehrlich, Poland, table tennis, 3x won silver and 1x won bronze in the World Championships, incarcerated by the Nazis in Auschwitz, represented France after 1945. Andre Ethier, Major League Baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers Patrice Evra, football player for Monaco and Manchester United André Fabre, horse trainer Evan Fournier, basketball player Laurent Fignon, cyclist Jeremy Flores, surfer Just Fontaine, football player Jacques Fouroux, rugby union player and coach Jessica Fox (born 1994), French-born Australian, slalom canoer, Olympic and world champion gold medalist Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, slalom canoer, Olympic bronze (K-1 slalom), five golds at ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships (two-time K-1, three-time K-1 team) Pierre Galle, basketball player and coach Pierre Gasly, racing driver currently competing in Formula One with Alpine F1 Team Camille du Gast, race car driver Lucien Gaudin, fencer Fabien Gilot, Olympic and world champion swimmer Yoann Gourcuff, football player Antoine Griezmann, football player Stéphane Haccoun, boxer Rudy Haddad, soccer midfielder (Hapoel Ashkelon & U21 national team) Isack Hadjar, racing driver currently competing in Formula One with Red Bull Racing Team Alphonse Halimi ("la Petite Terreur"), world-champion bantamweight boxer Marlène Harnois (born 1986), taekwondo practitioner Thierry Henry, football player Bernard Hinault, cyclist Jaylen Hoard (born 1999), French-American basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League Pierre Houseaux, triathlete Cristobal Huet, hockey player Constant Huret, cyclist Olivier Jacque, motorcycle rider Rene Jacquot, boxer, underdog who became world champion Laurent Jalabert, cyclist Max Jean, Formula One driver Brian Joubert, figure skater Natan Jurkovitz (born 1995), French-Swiss-Israeli basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
K–Z
Tidjan Keita (born 1996), French-Guinean basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League Jean-Claude Killy (born 1943), skier Raymond Kopa, football player Pascal Lavanchy, ice dancer (with Sophie Moniotte) Claude Legrand, skier Suzanne Lenglen, tennis player Alexander Lévy (born 1990), American-born professional golfer Alexandre Lippmann (1881–1960), épée fencer, two-time Olympic champion, two-time silver, bronze Bixente Lizarazu, football player Sébastien Loeb (born 1974), rally driver and nine-time champion Jeannie Longo, cyclist Mickaël Madar (born 1968), footballer André Mahé, cyclist Claude Makélélé, football player Laure Manaudou, swimmer Amélie Mauresmo, tennis player Jacques Mayol, freediver Kylian Mbappé, football player Jose Meiffret, cyclist Éric Millot, figure skater Alain Mimoun, athlete Sophie Moniotte, ice dancer (with Pascal Lavanchy) Carole Montillet, skier Armand Mouyal (1925–1988), épée fencer, Olympic bronze, world champion Moustapha N'Diaye (born 1984), basketball player Alfred "Artem" Nakache (1915–1983), swimmer, world record (200 m breaststroke), one-third of French two-time world record (3x100 relay team) Claude Netter (1924–2007), foil fencer, Olympic champion, silver Hellé Nice, pioneer female race car driver Joakim Noah, NBA basketball player (Chicago Bulls) Yannick Noah, tennis player Jacques Ochs (1883–1971), French-born Belgian artist and Olympic fencing champion Esteban Ocon, Formula One driver Sébastien Ogier, rally driver and nine-time champion Micheline Ostermeyer, Olympic champion in discus and shot put, bronze in high jump Frédéric Ouvret (born 1970), former professional footballer Simon Pagenaud, Indy car driver Tony Parker, Belgian-born French citizen, basketball player Gwendal Peizerat, ice dancer Marie-José Pérec, athlete Mary Pierce, Canadian-born French citizen, tennis player Stéphane Peterhansel, car and motor racer, nine-time Dakar Rally winner Julien Pillet, fencer Michel Platini, football player Alain Prost, Formula One driver and four-time champion Antoine Rigaudeau, basketball player Arthur Rozenfeld (born 1995), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League François Rozenthal (born 1975), ice hockey player Maurice Rozenthal (born 1975), ice hockey player Michel Sebastiani, modern pentathlete and Olympic fencing coach Georges Stern (1882–1928), jockey Jean Stern (1875–1962), épée fencer, Olympic champion Léon Théry, race car driver Marcel Thil, world-champion boxer Christophe Tiozzo, world-champion boxer; brother of Fabrice Tiozzo Fabrice Tiozzo, world-champion boxer; brother of Christophe Tiozzo David Trezeguet, football player Tristan Vautier, Indy car driver Patrick Vieira, Senegal-born French citizen, football player Richard Virenque, Morocco-born French citizen, cyclist Roger Walkowiak, cyclist Jean-Pierre Wimille, race car driver Albert Wolff (1906–1989), French-born American Olympic fencer Zinedine Zidane, football player
Authors
A–E
David Abbasi Carole Achache Marcel Achard Alain-Fournier Mathilde Alanic, novelist, short story writer Olivier Ameisen Alix André, romance novelist Jean Anouilh, 20th-century dramatist Guillaume Apollinaire Louis Aragon Marie Célestine Amélie d'Armaillé, writer, biographer, and historian Antonin Artaud Marcel Aymé Jean-Louis Baghio'o Honoré de Balzac, realist author Henri Barbusse Charles Baudelaire, 19th-century poet Pierre Beaumarchais, comedy playwright Simone de Beauvoir, 20th-century author Dany Bébel-Gisler Cyrano de Bergerac Jean Bernabé Georges Bernanos Tristan Bernard Maurice Blanchot Stella Blandy Antoine Blondin Nicolas Boileau Lucie Boissonnas, 19th-century author Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Pierre Boulle Fernand Braudel André Breton Retif de la Bretonne Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin Michel Butor Marguerite de Cambis Albert Camus, existentialist author Marie-Magdeleine Carbet Louis-Ferdinand Céline, 20th-century author Blaise Cendrars Aimé Césaire, 20th-century poet Nicolas Chamfort Patrick Chamoiseau René Char, 20th-century poet Victorine Chastenay François-René de Chateaubriand Pierre Choderlos de Laclos Emil Cioran Fanny Clar, journalist and author Paul Claudel Jean Cocteau, 20th-century poet and playwright Colette, 20th-century author Henri Collomb, psychiatrist Joséphine Colomb, 19th-century children's writer Maryse Condé Raphaël Confiant Benjamin Constant Tristan Corbière