List of Chileans

This is a list of Chileans who are famous or notable.

thumb|upright|[[Bernardo O'Higgins, founder of modern Chile]]

Economists

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

Military

thumb|upright|[[Jose Miguel Carrera]]

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

Musicians

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

File:Claudio Arrau 1 Allan Warren.jpg|Claudio Arrau

File:Parra01f.PNG|Violeta Parra

File:Concierto_de_Myriam_Hernández_en_Piñas.jpg|Myriam Hernández

File:Francisca Valenzuela.jpg|Francisca Valenzuela

File:Mon_Laferte_en_Querétaro_(28348181570).jpg|Mon Laferte

</gallery>

Artists

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)

Politicians

thumb|upright|[[Diego Portales]]

thumb|upright|[[Aníbal Pinto]]

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 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

Religious figures

thumb|upright| Saint [[Alberto Hurtado]]

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

Sports

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
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

File:Anita Lizana.jpg|Anita Lizana

File:Fernando Gonzalez 2007 Australian Open R2.jpg|Fernando González

File:Nicolas Massu 2007 Australian Open R1.jpg|Nicolás Massú

File:Leonel Sanchez.JPG|Leonel Sánchez

File:Alexis Sánchez 2011.jpg|Alexis Sánchez

File:Stephanie Vaquer, April 2024 2.jpg|Stephanie Vaquer

</gallery>

Scientists and engineers

thumb|upright=.6|[[F. J. Duarte]]

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

Film 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

File:Cecilia Bolocco (2)-2.jpg|Cecilia Bolocco

File:Santiago Cabrera by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg|Santiago Cabrera

File:Cote de Pablo retouch.jpg|Cote de Pablo

File:Pedro Pascal by Gage Skidmore.jpg|Pedro Pascal

File:Leonor Varela(2).jpg|Leonor Varela

</gallery>

Writers

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

Architects

Alejandro Aravena – 2015 Pritzker Prize winner
Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente
Mathias Klotz – 2001 Borromini Prize of Architecture winner for under-40 architects

Others

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

List of Chileans

Economists

Military

Musicians

Artists

Politicians

Religious figures

Sports

Scientists and engineers

Film and television personalities

Writers

Architects

Others

See also

References