Encyclopedia
List of Chileans
This is a list of Chileans who are famous or notable.
01Economists
- Ricardo J. Caballero, MIT professor, Department of Economics
- Sebastián Edwards, UCLA professor, former World Bank officer (1993-1996), prolific author and media personality
- Alejandro Foxley, Chile's first Finance Minister after the return of democracy in 1990 and an engineer of the country's economic miracle during democracy; former Foreign Affairs minister, and former Chilean Senator for East kakarackoj
- Manfred Max Neef, Right Livelihood Award winner, presidential candidate, member of the Club of Rome, former president of the Universidad Austral
- José Piñera, implemented the privatization of the Chilean pension system under Pinochet
- Andrés Velasco, Sumitomo Professor of International Finance and Development in the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Finance Minister during Bachelet's administration
- Karen Soto, Lab Technician, Department of Histology, Currently in Australia
02Military
- Manuel Baquedano, general of the Chilean forces during the War of the Pacific
- Philip Bazaar, recipient of the US Navy Medal of Honour
- José Miguel Carrera, first Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army and Independence leader of the Patria Vieja
- Luis Carrera, Chilean military officer in the War of Independence
- Ignacio Carrera Pinto, captain in charge of the Chilean patrol who died in Battle of La Concepción
- Carlos Condell, captain of the Covadonga ship at the Iquique Naval Combat
- Manuel Contreras, head of Augusto Pinochet's National Intelligence Directorate (DINA)
- Manuel Hipólito Orella, sailor who was one of the first midshipman of the Chilean Navy
- Patricio Lynch, governor of Lima during the Chilean occupation of Lima, Perú, during the War of the Pacific
- Juan MacKenna, Irish-born organizer of O'Higgins's Army
- Bernardo O'Higgins, founder of modern Chile
- Arturo Prat, captain of the Esmeralda ship at the Iquique Naval Combat; regarded as a national hero
- Luis Pardo, also known as Piloto Pardo, Chilean Navy captain who rescued the survivors of the Shackleton expedition
- Sofanor Parra, officer of the cavalry branch of the Chilean Army who fought in almost all the military actions of the War of the Pacific
- Juan de Quiroga y Apablaza, military figure
- Manuel Rodríguez, Independence leader and guerrilla leader during the Reconquista
- Eleuterio Ramírez, officer, hero of the War of the Pacific
- José Ignacio Zenteno, lieutenant Colonel of the Army of the Andes, Minister of War and Marine in the O'Higgins government
03Musicians
- Los Abandoned, alternative rock band
- Altazores, rock band founded in 2004 by Mauricio Herrera
- Américo, cumbia chilena singer
- Tom Araya, singer/bassist for thrash metal band Slayer
- Daniela Aleuy - singer and songwriter
- Claudio Arrau, classical piano player
- FloyyMenor, reggaeton singer
- Cris MJ, reggaeton singer
- Paloma Mami, reggaeton singer
- Germán Casas, 1960s singer
- Beto Cuevas, lead singer from rock group La Ley
- Alvaro Estrella, pop singer
- Luis 'Lucho' Gatica, bolero singer
- Eduardo Gatti, a leading composer of modern Chilean music
- Jorge González, controversial lead singer and songwriter of historic Chilean rock band Los Prisioneros
- Luis "Checho" González, folklore composer, born in Iquique
- Rodrigo González, bassist and singer of the German band die Ärzte
- Alberto Guerrero, Chilean-Canadian composer, pianist, and teacher
- Myriam Hernández, popular music singer
- Alicia Ika, native Rapa Nui actress, musician, songwriter, surf instructor and tourist agent. Star in 180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless (2010).
- Pascuala Ilabaca, singer-songwriter
- Inti-Illimani, pioneers of the nueva canción chilena movement; known communists and "pro-democracy" activists in exile during Pinochet dictatorship
- Isleña Antumalen, Huilliche singer, rapper, and activist
- Víctor Jara, Chilean folk singer and theatrical director; political activist; communist
- Alain Johannes, Chilean-born musician, songwriter, sound engineer; best known as founding member of Alternative Rock American band Eleven
- Oscar Lopez , senior latin guitarists musician, born in Santiago
- Rafael Manríquez, nueva canción musician
- Javiera Mena, Indie electropop musician
- DJ Méndez, urban music producer
- Mon Laferte, singer-songwriter
- El Monteaguilino, Cueca composer, born in Monte Águila
- La Noche, cumbia chilena band
- Chañaral Ortega-Miranda, contemporary composer
- Ángel Parra, folk musician (nueva canción); son of Violeta Parra
- Isabel Parra, folk musician; daughter of Violeta Parra
- Javiera Parra, lead singer from group Javiera y los Imposibles
- Violeta Parra, Chilean folk singer
- Antonio Prieto, singer and actor known in English for "The Bride" or "The Wedding" song
- Quilapayún, nueva canción ensemble, supporters of Popular Unity (UP) coalition during presidency of Salvador Allende
- Leo Rey, cumbia chilena singer
- Alejandro Silva, heavy metal guitar player
- Saiko, pop rock band
- Clara Solovera (1909-1992), songwriter, born in Santiago
- Esther Soré (1915-1996), 1940s singer, born in Santiago
- Fernando Ubiergo, folk singer-songwriter (Chilean folk), born in Valparaíso
- Francisca Valenzuela, singer-songwriter
- Ricardo Villalobos, minimal techno artist
- Verónica Villarroel, soprano
- Ramón Vinay, tenor
04Artists
- Claudio Bravo (1936-2011), hyper-realist painter
- Carlos Catasse, painter
- Marta Colvin, sculptor
- Alfredo Jaar, installation artist, filmmaker and architect
- Olga Lehmann, painter
- Roberto Matta, painter, sculptor
- Camilo Mori, painter
- Dora Puelma, artist
- Carlos Sotomayor, cubist painter
- Miguel Venegas, painter, called "El Maestro" (the Master)
05Politicians
- Juana Rosa Aguirre, former first lady, wife of Pedro Aguirre Cerda
- Arturo Alessandri, served twice as president of Chile
- Jorge Alessandri, 27th President of Chile; President of Council of State under Pinochet Regime
- Salvador Allende, former senator and president of Chile; ousted in a military coup
- Clodomiro Almeyda, socialist politician
- Soledad Alvear, former Justice minister and Foreign minister; current PDC senator
- Celinda Arregui, feminist politician, writer, teacher, suffrage activist
- Gabriel Boric , first youth leader politician of Chile
- Michelle Bachelet, first woman president of Chile
- Juan Chandía, governor of Department of Tomé for 1946-1952
- Carlos Dávila, former Secretary General of the Organization of American States
- Florencio Durán, former president of the senate
- Héctor Faúndez, diplomat
- Fernando Flores, businessman and former senator
- Gabriel González Videla, 25th President of Chile (1946-1952)
- Jaime Guzmán, right wing politician during the Pinochet regime; murdered by Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front on April 1, 1991; former UDI Senator
- Tomás Hirsch, former president of the Humanist Party of Chile; 2005 candidate for president
- Antonia Illanes, lawyer and politician
- José Miguel Insulza, former Interior minister; current Secretary General of the Organization of American States
- José Antonio Kast, president of the Republican Party, former deputy and councilman, presidential candidate in 2017 and in 2021.
- Carlos Keller, former Leader of the National Socialist Movement of Chile, responsible for the organization of the Seguro Obrero Massacre
- Joaquín Lavín, Independent Democratic Union candidate for presidency in 2005 election; former mayor of Las Condes and Santiago
- Orlando Letelier, Foreign Minister during Salvador Allende's government murdered during the Pinochet regime in Washington, D.C.
- Gladys Marín, communist leader, feminist activist, lived in exile, opposed conservatism and liberal economy, admirer of Lenin and Marx
- Raúl Morales Beltramí, politician and physician
- Herman Chadwick Piñera, Chilean lawyer, businessman, trade union leader and politician
- Sebastián Piñera, Chilean billionaire, businessman and politician; former President of Chile
- Aníbal Pinto, 9th President of Chile (1876-1881)
- Augusto Pinochet, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Chile, President of the Government Junta of Chile, dictator from 1973 until 1990 and President from 1981 onwards.
- Diego Portales, Minister, major designer of the Chilean State during the first half of the 19th century
- Juan Antonio Ríos (1888-1946), Chilean lawyer, political figure and 24th President of Chile
- Laura Rodríguez, first Humanist Party deputy in the world
- Jennifer Rojas, social worker and politician
- Camila Vallejo, Member of Parliament, led 2011 student protests in Chile
- Adolfo Zaldívar, PRI senator, former leader of the PDC
- Andrés Zaldívar, former PDC senator
- Herminia Colihueque, Mapuche first woman to run in an election for a political office
06Religious figures
- Rodolfo Acevedo, Mormon bishop
- Saint Teresa de los Andes, first Chilean saint
- Carlos Camus, Chilean bishop
- Francisco Javier Errázuriz, fourth Chilean cardinal
- Juan Francisco Fresno, third Chilean cardinal
- Raúl Silva Henríquez, second Chilean cardinal born in Talca; human rights advocate
- Alberto Hurtado, saint
- Jorge Medina, fifth Chilean cardinal; conservative figure
- Fr. Juan Ignacio Molina, Chilean priest, naturalist, historian, botanist, ornithologist, geographer
- José María Caro Rodríguez, first Chilean cardinal
- Francisco Javier Quintanilla, theologian
- Juan Subercaseaux Errázuriz, Chilean Roman Catholic Archbishop
- José María Vélaz, Chilean priest
- Blessed Laura Vicuña
07Sports
- Omar Aguilar, long-distance runner
- Marlene Ahrens, javelin thrower; Olympic silver medalist
- Fernando Alvarez, jockey
- David Arellano, football player; namesake of Colo-Colo's stadium
- Luis Ayala, tennis player; twice French Open finalist
- Gonzalo Barrios, eSports player
- Claudio Bravo, football player, FC Barcelona
- Ben Brereton , football player
- Nick Carle, football player, Sydney FC
- Patricio Castañeda, football player
- Carlos Caszely, football player
- Patricio Cornejo, tennis player, 1976 Davis Cup finalist
- Cristián Garay, football referee
- Cristian Garín, tennis player, winner of 4 ATP titles
- Carlo de Gavardo, KTM rally motorcyclist
- Elías Figueroa, football player; three times elected as Best Football Player of America
- Jaime Fillol, tennis player, 1976 Davis Cup finalist
- Arturo Godoy, boxer, fought Joe Louis twice for the World Heavyweight title
- Fernando González, tennis player; only Chilean to win gold, silver and bronze medals at the Summer Olympics
- Tomás González, gymnast, Olympic finalist
- Juan Halty, former professional footballer
- Kai Horwitz (born 1998), Olympic alpine skier
- Luis Jiménez (born 1987), footballer
- Benjamín Kuscevic, football player
- Alberto Larraguibel, horse rider, record for puissance (high jump) on horseback
- Sergio Sapo Livingstone, Chilean football goalkeeper
- Anita Lizana, tennis player; 1937 US Open champion; first Latin American, and first Hispanic person, to be ranked World Number 1 in tennis
- Nicolás Massú (born 1979), tennis player; highest world ranking #9, Olympic 2-time champion (singles and doubles)
- Carlos Moreno, track and field sprinter
- Iván Morovic, chess International Grandmaster
- Isidora Niemeyer, rower
- Érika Olivera, marathon runner; gold medal winner in women's marathon at the 1999 Pan American Games
- Andrés Parada - footballer
- Manuel Pellegrini, former footballer for Universidad de Chile, former manager of Real Madrid
- Alejandra Ramos, middle-distance runner
- Monica Regonesi, long-distance runner
- Sammis Reyes, basketball and American football player; first Chilean to play in the NFL
- Fernando Riera, Chile's most successful soccer coach; led the national team to a third-place finish in the 1962 World Cup
- Marcelo Ríos, first Latin American man to become world number-one tennis player
- Eduardo Robledo, football player, Newcastle United F.C.
- Jorge Robledo, player, Newcastle United F.C.
- Jose Romero, AFL player, Western Bulldogs
- Sebastián Rozental (born 1976) - professional soccer player
- Bayron Saavedra (born 1997), footballer
- Marcelo Salas, football player; holds the record for most goals playing for the national team; won titles with every team he played with
- Eliseo Salazar, race car driver, competed in Formula One intermittently from 1980-1982, moved to Champ Car and the Indy Racing League
- Alexis Sánchez, football player, Sevilla
- Leonel Sánchez, football player, 1962 World Cup top scorer
- José A. Santos, jockey, winner of US Triple Crown
- Alejandro Silva, long-distance runner
- Pablo Squella, middle-distance runner
- José Sulantay, Chile's second most successful soccer coach, led the under 20 national team to a third-place finish at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada
- Emilio Ulloa, long-distance runner
- Dion Valle, football player, Marconi Stallions FC
- Rodrigo Vargas, football player, Melbourne Victory FC
- Stephanie Vaquer - professional wrestler; first Chilean and South American woman to win WWE Women's Championship
- Arturo Vidal, football player, Colo-Colo
- Gert Weil, shot putter
- Iván Zamorano, football player
08Scientists and engineers
- Ricardo Baeza Rodríguez, mathematician
- Ricardo Baeza-Yates, computer scientist
- Isabel Behncke - primatologist
- Erik Bongcam-Rudloff, bioinformatician
- Claudio Bunster, physicist
- Marcela Contreras, immunologist
- F. J. Duarte, laser physicist
- Matias Duarte, software inventor
- Julio M. Fernandez, biologist, academic
- Eric Goles, mathematician
- Mario Hamuy, cosmologist and astronomer
- Cesar A. Hidalgo, physicist
- Cecilia Hidalgo Tapia, biochemist
- Adriana Hoffmann, botanist, Environment Minister (2000-2001)
- Paula Jofré, astronomer and astrophysicist
- Humberto Maturana, biologist, co-author of the theory of autopoiesis
- Juan Ignacio Molina, 18th and 19th-century natural scientist
- Hermann Niemeyer, paediatrician and biochemist
- Ernestina Pérez Barahona, physician
- María Teresa Ruiz, astronomer
- Elisa Torres Durney - outstanding quantum student
- Gunther Uhlmann - mathematician
- Pablo DT Valenzuela, biotechnologist, co-founder of Chiron Corporation and Fundacion Ciencias Para la Vida
- Francisco Varela, biologist, co-author of the theory of autopoiesis
09Film and television personalities
- Alejandro Amenábar - film director, screenwriter and composer
- Cecilia Amenábar - actress, TV presenter and model
- Cecilia Bolocco - TV presenter, journalist and former Miss Universe
- Diana Bolocco - TV presenter and journalist
- Gabriela Bussenius - journalist, writer and filmmaker
- Santiago Cabrera - actor
- Felipe Camiroaga - TV presenter
- Charissa Chamorro - actress
- Martín Cárcamo - TV presenter
- Karen Doggenweiler - TV presenter
- Julián Elfenbein - radio and TV presenter
- Pablo Francisco - comedian, actor and writer
- Cristián de la Fuente - actor and model
- Alberto Fuguet - film director, author, journalist and film critic
- Jorge Garcia - actor and comedian
- Paulina García - actress
- Luis Gatica - actor
- Claudia di Girolamo - actress
- Luis Gnecco - actor
- Magdalena Grant - TV presenter and sports journalist
- Lisa Guerrero - journalist, TV presenter, actress and model
- Patricio Guzmán - film director
- Alejandro Jodorowsky - filmmaker
- Mario Kreutzberger (Don Francisco), TV presenter
- Pablo Larraín - film director
- Sebastián Lelio - film director and screenwriter
- Ariel Levy - actor
- Carolina Mestrovic - TV presenter and actress
- Claudio Miranda - cinematographer
- Cristina Montt - actress
- Cote de Pablo - actress
- Pedro Pascal - actor
- Carlos Pinto - TV presenter and journalist
- Nicole Polizzi, reality TV Personality
- Antonio Prieto - actor and singer
- Francisco Puelles - actor and TV personality
- Francisco Reyes Morandé - actor
- Raúl Ruiz - film director
- Katherine Salosny - TV presenter and actress
- Horatio Sanz - actor and comedian
- Fernando Solis - radio and TV presenter
- Tonka Tomicic - TV presenter and model
- Catalina Vallejos - actress and model
- Leonor Varela - actress and model
- Daniela Vega - actress
- Gabriela Velasco, actress and television presenter
- Benjamín Vicuña - actor
- Alexander Witt - filmmaker
- Andrés Wood - film director and screenwriter
10Writers
- Lorenzo Aillapán, poet
- Fernando Alegría, writer
- Isabel Allende, novelist (The House of Spirits)
- Roberto Ampuero, novelist (Cayetano Brulé series)
- Roberto Bolaño, novelist (The Savage Detectives, 2666)
- Liborio Brieba, writer
- Francisco Coloane, (Tierra del fuego)
- Angel Cruchaga Santa Maria (1893-1964), writer, won the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1948
- Ariel Florencia Richards (1981, ), writer and researcher of the visual arts
- Eugenio Cruz Vargas (1923-2014), poet and painter, of Basque descent
- Francisco Núñez de Pineda y Bascuñán, writer of Cautiverio feliz y razón individual de las guerras dilatadas del Reino de Chile in 1673
- Pablo de Rokha, Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1965
- José Donoso, writer (Coronation, The Obscene Bird of Night)
- Ariel Dorfman, novelist, playwright (Death and the Maiden), academic, essayist, journalist and human rights activist
- Jorge Edwards, 1999 Cervantes Prize winner
- Alberto Fuguet, novelist; short story writer, Mala Onda, Las películas de mi vida; filmmaker, Se Arrienda
- Alberto Blest Gana, novelist (Martín Rivas)
- Olga Grau - philosopher
- Juan Guzman Cruchaga (1895-1979), poet and diplomat, won the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1962; of Basque descent
- Óscar Hahn, writer and poet
- Vicente Huidobro, father of the "Creationism" movement in Paris
- Cristián Huneeus, writer
- Enrique Lafourcade, novelist
- Hernán Rivera Letelier, novelist (Santa María de las Flores Negras, La Reina Isabel Cantaba Rancheras), poet, writer of short stories
- Enrique Lihn, poet, playwright, and novelist
- Carmen Marai, novelist El Alba de la Mandrágora (The Dawn of the Mandrake), poet, writer of short stories
- Sergio Missana, novelist
- Gabriela Mistral, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
- Nicolasa Montt, poet
- Tomás Moulian, political scientist and sociologist
- Pablo Neruda, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
- Raquel Olea, writer, professor
- Nicanor Parra, self-proclaimed "anti-poet"
- Adolfo Quiros, (1853-1910), poet
- Gonzalo Rojas, 2004 Cervantes Prize winner
- Elvira Santa Cruz Ossa, dramatist and novelist
- Luis Sepúlveda, novelist
- Antonio Skármeta, author of Ardiente Paciencia (Burning Patience), which inspired the movie Il Postino (The Postman), about poet Pablo Neruda
- Amelia Solar de Claro, poet, playwright, and essayist
- Mercedes Valdivieso, writer
- Sergio Vodanovic, playwright
11Architects
- Alejandro Aravena, 2015 Pritzker Prize winner
- Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente
- Mathias Klotz, 2001 Borromini Prize of Architecture winner for under-40 architects
12Others
- Raúl Aldunate Phillips, writer, politician, and soldier
- Cecilia Magni Camino, guerilla leader and sociologist
- Vanessa Ceruti, Miss Universe Chile 2011
- Nataly Chilet, Miss World Chile 2008
- Claudio Grossman, chairman of the Human Rights Interamerican Court
- Hil Hernández, Miss Earth 2006
- Immanuel Holger, soldier and politician
- Carolina Huidobro, teacher and suffragist
- Carlos Kaiser, former National Director of the National Fund for Disabilities
- Themo Lobos, comic artist
- Andrónico Luksic, chairman of Quiñenco Holdings, which owns Banco de Chile, Antofagasta Minerals, one of the largest Chilean financial groups
- La Quintrala, Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer, aristocratic and sadistic landowner and witch during the Colonial Period
- Rene Ríos Boettiger (Pepo), comic artist (Condorito)
- Juana Ross Edwards (1830-1913), philanthropist
- Sergio Saavedra (1927-2022), engineer and politician
- Sola Sierra, human rights activist
- Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Organization
- Joaquín Toesca, designer of the presidential house "La Moneda", in Santiago
- Maria Jose Ubiergo, Chilean DREAMer in the United States, Story Featured in the New York Times; Family member to notable Chilean Folk Singer Fernando Ubiergo Her story has been featured in El Diario, ABC, and News 12 Connecticut, among other media outlets.
- Arturo Valenzuela, former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
- Bernardita Zúñiga, Miss World Chile 2007
- Sergio Catalán, first to discover crash survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, and integral to rescuing all 16 remaining survivors
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “List of Chileans”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Flag of Chile.svg by See file history below for details., Public domain
- Ohiggins.jpg by José Gil de Castro, Public domain
- Jose Miguel Carrera Color.JPG by Unknown author, Public domain
- Portales.JPG by Unknown author, Public domain
- Anibal Pinto G..jpg by Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
- FJ DUARTE (2006).jpg by Rocoptics, Public domain
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