1. Germaine (1999)

Pop Singer

Venezuelan pop singer known as Germaine. She went viral for her hit "Esta Noche Quiero Fiesta," which garnered over 100,000 views on YouTube.

2. Cardinal Richelieu (1585)

Religious Leader

This powerful seventeenth-century religious and political leader served as Chief Minister to King Louis XIII of France and was also appointed French Secretary of State. He played a major role...

3. Jean Chapelain (1595)

17th-century French Poet And Cri

French poet and literary critic whose best known work is "La Pucelle," a 1656 epic poem about Joan of Arc. He is also known for an academic work entitled "Sentiments...

4. Daniel Roche (1999)

English Actor

Actor known for his role in the English series Outnumbered, a role that earned him Best Male Newcomer at the 2009 British Comedy Awards. In 2018, he enrolled at Kings...

5. Sonia Ben Ammar (1999)

Actor

Tunisian singer and model who has been signed to IMG Worldwide. She became known for her relationship with Brooklyn Beckham. 

6. Léon Gaumont (1864)

Inventor

Inventor who began a groundbreaking French film production company and gained a patent for his chronophone invention.

7. Iman Perez (1999)

Model

Print and runway model most well known for being signed to Next Models. She has walked for designers like Jean Paul Gaultier and appeared in magazines like Harper's Bazaar.

8. Charles Perrault (1628)

French Writer

French author who wrote the classic fairy tales Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. He is best known for his 1697 work, Tales of Mother Goose.

9. Pierre Beauchamp (1631)

French Choreographer Dancer And

Remembered for his choreographic work with French playwright Moliere's Troupe du Roy theater company and for his leadership of the Academie Royale de Danse, Beauchamp was a major figure in...

10. Jean Chardin (1643)

Explorer

This French jeweler's travel's to the Middle East became one of the best contemporary accounts of the region.

11. Voltaire (1694)

Enlightenment Philosopher

French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher who became known for his wit and his pointed social critique. His popular work, Candide, satirized French nobility and the church.

12. Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain (1710)

Sculptor

French sculptor who created a neoclassical style with Rococo charm. He sculpted La Baigneuse (Diane), finished in 1778.

13. Nora Arnezeder (1989)

French Actress Singer And Model

Actress most well known for her portrayal of Anna Maria in the Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle and as Chloe Tousignant in the CBS series Zoo, a show based...

14. Jacques-Louis David (1748)

French Painter In The Neoclassic

Important French Neoclassical painter whose most famous works included "Oath of the Horatii" from 1784 and "The Death of Marat" from 1793.

15. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754)

French Diplomat

An esteemed French diplomat known as Talleyrand. Despite being distrusted by many he was kept around through the regime of Louis XVI, several governments of the French Revolution and then...

16. Pierre Cartellier (1757)

French Artist

French sculptor who made monuments and statues in France. He made a twice life-size sculpture of General Valhubert.

17. Sophie Germain (1776)

Mathematician

Late 18th and early 19th-century mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. She is remembered for her contributions to number theory, differential geometry, and elasticity theory.

18. Michaël Llodra (1980)

Tennis Player

French tennis player and Olympic silver medalist who turned pro in 1999; by 2013, he was a three-time doubles Grand Slam champion.

19. Augustin-Louis Cauchy (1789)

French Mathematician

Pioneer in mathematical analysis who basically founded complex analysis singlehandedly, formulated and proved theorems in infinitesimal calculus, and rejected early mathematicians belief in the heuristic principal.

20. Sophie Daguin (1801)

French Actor And Ballet Dancer

French ballet dancer, most remembered for her work as ballet mistress at the Royal Swedish Ballet.

21. Benjamin Bonneville (1796)

Union Army General

Explorer who blazed large portions of the Oregon Trail in the 1830's. He was also a fur trapper who served as a brevet Brigadier General in the American Civil War.

22. Adolphe Adam (1803)

French Composer

Best known for his 1844 Christmas carol "Minuit, chrétiens!" It was later given English lyrics and popularized as "O Holy Night" in 1847.

23. Napoleon III (1808)

First President Of The French Re

Nineteenth-century French leader who held office as the French Republic's first President. From 1852-1870, he also served as French Emperor.

24. Eliphas Levi (1810)

Magician

Ceremonial magician and occultist writer who wrote the late 19th-century book Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine and Ritual.

25. Léon Foucault (1819)

French Physicist

French physicist who demonstrated the Earth's rotation and measured the speed of light. For his breakthrough discoveries he was elected a member of the Royal Society of London, even though...

26. Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813)

French Composer And Pianist

One of Paris' leading virtuoso pianists during the 1830s and 1840s. He was considered to be Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt's equal and was known for his reclusiveness.

27. Charles Baudelaire (1821)

French Poet

Nineteenth-century French prose poet, essayist, translator, and critic associated with the Symbolist and Modernist literary movements. His best-known works include Les Fleurs du mal, Les paradis artificiels, and Le Spleen...

28. Gustave Moreau (1826)

French Painter

Symbolist painter best known for 'Oedipus and the Sphinx' and other works featuring mythological and biblical images. He taught such future notables as Henri Matisse and Georges Rouault while a professor at...

29. Marcellin Berthelot (1827)

French Chemist

French chemist who specialized in thermochemistry and is known for his role in developing the Thomsen-Berthelot principle. He successfully disproved the theory of vitalism, the idea that living organisms are...

30. Édouard Manet (1832)

French Artist

"Le Bar aux Folies-Bergère" painter whose scenes of Parisian life bridged the gap between Realism and Impressionism. He painted "Le déjeuner sur l'herbe" and "Olympia," both of which came to...

31. Camille Saint-Saëns (1835)

French Pianist Organist And Comp

Romantic-era organist, conductor, and pianist who became known for his compositions "The Carnival of Animals," "Samson and Delilah," and "Danse macabre." His Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1,...

32. Alfred Sisley (1839)

French Painter

Famous for his Impressionist landscapes, this nineteenth-century French-born painter is remembered for Church in Moret (1889); Molesey Weir – Morning (1874); Flood at Port-Marly (1876), and numerous other works.

33. Jules Dalou (1838)

French Artist

French sculptor admired for his perceptiveness and realism. He sculpted The Triumph of the Republic, finished in 1899.

34. Edgar Degas (1834)

French Painter

French Impressionist painter whose famous ballet-themed works included "Dance Class" and "Fin d'Arabesque." Considered to be one of the founders of Impressionism, a term he refused to accept.

35. Auguste Rodin (1840)

French Sculptor Author Of The Th

French sculptor best known for such pieces as The Thinker, The Kiss, and The Burghers of Calais. He was known for his unique ability to mold clay.

36. Louis Diémer (1843)

French Composer

Virtuoso who founded the Société des Instruments Anciens in the 1890s. He was known for his harpsichord recitals and prolific works as a composer.

37. Stéphane Mallarmé (1842)

French Writer

French symbolist poet whose best-known works include L'apres-midi d'un faune and Les Mots anglais.

38. Claude Monet (1840)

Painter

French Impressionist painter famous for such works as Impression, Sunrise and Water Lilies. His artistic mission was to document the French countryside through the various hours of the day and...

39. Paul Gauguin (1848)

Artist And Writer

Post-Impressionist artist who depicted village life in Tahiti in such colorful works as "Spirit of the Dead Watching." His work became popular after his death and influenced such notables as Pablo...

40. Anatole France (1844)

French Novelist

A French author and poet, he is known for La Rotisserie de la Reine Pedauque; Thais; Les dieux ont soif, and other works. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for...

41. Louis-Ernest Barrias (1841)

French Artist

French sculptor of the Beaux-Arts school whose sculptures often featured voluptuous women figures.

42. Sarah Bernhardt (1844)

Actress

Late nineteenth and early twentieth-century melodramatic actress of stage and screen. She appeared in plays by Ibsen, Shakespeare, Racine, Moliere, and Scribe, as well as in a 1911 film version...

43. Alphonse Pénaud (1850)

Engineer

French aviation pioneer known for creating the first successful flying model, known as the Planophore, in 1871. Despite his many innovations, including the use of twisted rubber, he was unable...

44. Henri Moissan (1852)

French Chemist

A French chemist whose work isolating the chemical element fluorine led to the invention of the electric furnace. He received the 1906 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his important work.

45. Henri Becquerel (1852)

French Physicist

French physicist who shared the 1903 Nobel Prize In Physics for helping to discover radioactivity. The SI unit for radioactivity, the becquerel (Bq) is named in his honor.

46. Cécile Chaminade (1857)

French Musician

Greatly admired and acclaimed in her day. She was a prolific composer whose works largely fell by the wayside in the latter 20th century.

47. Georges Seurat (1859)

Painter

Post-Impressionist painter and draftsman whose iconic work, "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte," exemplified his pointillist style.

48. Rudolf Diesel (1858)

German Engineer And Inventor Of

German engineer who built his eponymous internal combustion engine.

49. Pierre Curie (1859)

French Chemist

Husband of radioactivity pioneer Marie Curie who collaborated with her on her most important research. He and his wife jointly received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics for their research...

50. Georges Méliès (1861)

Innovative Early French Filmmake

Director who utilized stop motion photography techniques and was known for his film A Trip to the Moon.