List of Dutch people
Dutch people who are famous or notable include:
Arts
Architecture
- Jaap Bakema
- Hendrik Petrus Berlage
- Jo van den Broek
- Jacob van Campen, Dutch Golden Age architect
- Pierre Cuypers
- Willem Marinus Dudok
- Aldo van Eyck
- Lieven de Key, renaissance architect
- Hendrick de Keyser, sculptor and architect
- Rem Koolhaas
- Jacobus Oud
- Satyendra Pakhale
- Pieter Post, Dutch Golden Age architect
- Gerrit Rietveld
Film
- Willeke van Ammelrooy, actress
- Antoinette Beumer, film director
- Marjolein Beumer, actress, screenwriter
- Jan de Bont, cinematographer
- Erik-Jan de Boer, animation director
- Rene Daalder, director
- Mike van Diem, screenwriter and director
- Bracha van Doesburgh, actress
- Philip Dorn, actor
- Paul Driessen, animator, director
- Bobbi Eden, porn actress
- Cyrus Frisch, director
- Laura Gemser, actress
- Rijk de Gooyer, actor
- Rutger Hauer, actor
- Johannes Heesters, actor
- Tom Holkenborg , composer
- Carice van Houten, actress
- Michiel Huisman, actor
- Famke Janssen, actress
- Martin Koolhoven, screenwriter and director
- John Kraaijkamp, Sr., actor
- Jeroen Krabbé, actor
- Sylvia Kristel, actress
- Rik Launspach, actor and writer
- Dick Maas, screenwriter and director
- Anneliese van der Pol, actress
- Renée Soutendijk, actress
- Johanna ter Steege, actress
- Monique van de Ven, actress
- Paul Verhoeven, director
- Wiebe van der Vliet, film editor
- Yorick van Wageningen, actor
- Alex van Warmerdam, actor, screenwriter and director
- Zara Whites, former pornographic film actress
- Michaël Dudok de Wit, animator, director
- Emmanuel Ohene Boafo, actor
- Michael Sanderson, Filmmaker and director
- Mimi Mariani, actress
Music
- Thomas Acda, singer, actor
- Sharon Den Adel, singer of Within Temptation
- Jan Akkerman, guitar player
- Amber, singer
- Elly Ameling, classical music singer
- Louis Andriessen, composer
- Dick Annegarn, singer, musician
- Bart Berman, pianist, composer
- Marco Borsato, singer
- Willem Breuker, jazz musician
- Herman Brood, rock musician and artist
- Frans Brüggen, conductor, recorder player and baroque flautist
- Theo Bruins, pianist, composer
- Armin van Buuren, trance DJ
- Ferry Corsten, trance DJ
- Esmée Denters, singer, made famous through YouTube
- Cristina Deutekom, singer, classical music
- Alphons Diepenbrock, composer
- Anita Doth, singer
- Candy Dulfer, saxophone player
- Margriet Ehlen, composer
- Caro Emerald, singer
- Tess Gaerthé, actress and singer
- Martin Garrix, House DJ
- Afrojack, House DJ
- Jan van Gilse, composer
- Boudewijn de Groot, singer, actor
- Jack Jersey, producer, composer, singer
- Guus Meeuwis, composer, singer
- Stephen van Haestregt, drummer of Within Temptation
- Bernard Haitink, conductor Concertgebouworkest
- Alex Van Halen, drummer of Van Halen
- Eddie Van Halen, guitarist of Van Halen
- Hardwell, house DJ
- Barry Hay, singer of Golden Earring
- André Hazes, singer
- Oliver Heldens, DJ
- Koen Heldens mixing engineer
- Ilse Huizinga, jazz singer
- Dominique van Hulst, singer, popularly known as Do
- Janine Jansen, violinist
- Ruud Jolie, guitarist of Within Temptation
- Gerard Joling, singer
- Tom Holkenborg, film composer, electronic musician, remixer, composer
- Isabelle van Keulen, classical violinist and violist, educator
- Tim Kliphuis, jazz violinist
- Peter Koelewijn, founder of Dutch rock & roll
- Astrid Kruisselbrink, composer
- Natalie La Rose, singer, dancer and model
- Arjen Anthony Lucassen, composer and musician
- Joris de Man, composer
- Gwendolyn Masin, violinist, author, pedagogue, founder of GAIA Chamber Music Festival
- Willem Mengelberg, conductor
- Rogier van Otterloo, composer
- Willem van Otterloo, composer
- Jetty Paerl, singer
- Willem Pijper, composer
- Abbie de Quant, flautist
- André Rieu, violinist, conductor, and composer
- Nicky Romero, house DJ
- Julius Röntgen, composer
- Ramses Shaffy, singer
- Eva Simons, singer-songwriter
- Simone Simons, vocalist of Epica
- Peter Slaghuis, disc jockey
- Ray Slijngaard, singer and disc jockey
- Jaap Spaanderman, pianist, cellist, conductor
- Martijn Spierenburg, keyboardist of Within Temptation
- Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, composer and organist
- Anouk Teeuwe, singer
- Herman van Veen, singer, theater performer
- Jeroen van Veen, classical pianist and composer
- Jeroen van Veen, bassist of Within Temptation
- Roel van Velzen, singer
- Matthijs Vermeulen, composer
- Matthijs Verschoor, classical pianist
- Tijs Verwest, DJ
- Klaas de Vries, composer
- Edo de Waart, conductor
- Johan Wagenaar, composer
- Tony Wall, guitarist
- Robert Westerholt, guitarist of Within Temptation
- Jaap van Zweden, violinist and conductor
- Joost Klein, singer and rapper
Visual arts
- Pieter van Abeele, medallist
- Bernard Accama, painter
- Karel Appel, painter
- Hendrick Avercamp, painter
- Ludolf Backhuysen, painter
- John Baselmans, painter and illustrator
- Helen Berman, painter
- Charles Bolsius, painters and print maker
- Hieronymus Bosch, painter
- Ambrosius Bosschaert, painter
- Jan de Bray, painter
- Dick Bruna, graphical artist
- Paul Citroen, painter
- Anton Corbijn, photographer
- Aelbert Cuyp, painter
- Theo van Doesburg, painter
- Willem Drost, painter and print maker
- Ger van Elk, sculptor
- M. C. Escher, graphical artist
- Vincent van Gogh, painter
- Jan van Goyen, painter
- Mieke Groot, glass artist
- Frans Hals, painter
- Jacoba van Heemskerck, painter, stained glass designer and graphic artist
- Milou Hermus, painter
- Jan van Herwijnen, painter
- Pieter de Hooch, painter
- Helena Klakocar, cartoonist
- Willem de Kooning, painter
- Andrea Kruis, illustrator
- Jeanne de Loos-Haaxman, art historian
- Han van Meegeren, forger of paintings
- Jacobus Anthonie Meessen, photographer
- Piet Mondrian, painter
- Rien Poortvliet, painter and illustrator
- Rembrandt van Rijn, painter
- Willem de Rooij, contemporary artist
- Jacob van Ruisdael, landscape painter
- Geertgen tot Sint Jans, painter
- Carolein Smit, ceramic art sculptor
- Peter Spier, illustrator
- Jan Steen, painter
- Marten Toonder, comic creator
- Thierry Veltman, painter and sculptor
- Johannes Vermeer, painter
- Gisèle d'Ailly van Waterschoot van der Gracht, painter
- Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, typographer and illustrator
- Jacob de Wit, painter
Writers
- A. C. Baantjer, writer of detective fiction
- Paul Biegel, writer of children's books
- Remco Campert, novelist and poet
- Jacob Cats, poet
- Isabelle de Charrière, novelist
- Louis Couperus, novelist and poet
- Willy Corsari, novelist, actress and composer
- Johan Fabricius, novelist, journalist and painter
- Geert Groote
- Arnon Grünberg
- Hella Haasse, novelist
- Jan de Hartog, novelist and playwright
- Herman Heijermans
- Willem Frederik Hermans, novelist and physical geographer
- Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft
- Constantijn Huygens
- Gerrit Krol, novelist, poet
- Hendrik Willem van Loon
- Geert Mak, writer of history books
- Harry Mulisch, novelist
- Multatuli, novelist
- Nescio
- Cees Nooteboom, novelist
- Willem Oltmans, journalist
- Gerard Reve, novelist
- Tjalie Robinson
- Annie M.G. Schmidt, children's writer
- Philip Slier
- Joost van den Vondel, poet and playwright
- Anne de Vries, novelist
- Janwillem van de Wetering, novelist
- Willy Wielek-Berg film critic, writer, columnist
- Jan Wolkers
- Yael van der Wouden, novelist
Exploration
- Willem Barentsz, several expeditions to Arctic waters; discovered Spitsbergen
- Abraham Blauvelt, Central America
- Adriaen Block, New Netherland
- Hendrik Brouwer, discovered the Roaring Forties
- Olivier Brunel, tried to find a passage around Siberia to China
- Jan Carstenszoon, New Guinea coast, navigated the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1623
- Robert Jacob Gordon, extensively traveled South Africa in the service of the Dutch East India Company
- Dirk Hartog, VOC captain, charted mid-western coast of Australia
- Jacob van Heemskerk, captain of one of Barent's ships on his last fatal expedition
- Cornelis de Houtman, brother to Frederick, established Dutch trading route to the Spice Islands
- Frederick de Houtman, brother to Cornelis, charted several constellations in the southern skies, explored coast of Western Australia
- Willem Janszoon, first European expedition to make landfall on the Australian continent
- Jacob Le Maire, Cape Horn, 1616 circumnavigation
- Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, New Jersey
- Olivier van Noort, 1598 circumnavigation
- Jacob Quaeckernaeck, reached Japan via Street of Magellan and Moluccas
- Matthijs Quast, Japan, Bonin Islands, and legendary islands East of Japan
- Jan Rijp, saved remainder of Willem Barentsz's crew in 1597
- Jakob Roggeveen, First European to reach Easter Island Easter 1722
- Willem Schouten, Cape Horn, 1616 circumnavigation
- Simon van der Stel, explored South Africa North and East of Cape Town
- Abel Tasman, extensive voyages around Australia and southwest Pacific, discovered a.o. Tasmania, New Zealand and Tonga
- François Thijssen, charted 1,000 miles of the Australian South Coast in 1627
- Alexine Tinne, Sahara desert crossing
- Willem de Vlamingh, Western Australia
- Sebald de Weert, discovered Falkland Islands
Fashion models
- Azra Akın
- Wilhelmina Cooper
- Kim Feenstra
- Bette Franke
- Daphne Groeneveld
- Daniella van Graas
- Tatjana Maul
- Rianne ten Haken
- Marpessa Hennink
- Querelle Jansen
- Kim Kötter
- Doutzen Kroes
- Karen Mulder
- Marcus Schenkenberg
- Iekeliene Stange
- Lara Stone
- Romee Strijd
- Yfke Sturm
- Mark Vanderloo
Fictional characters
Historians
- Henrica van Erp
- Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft
- Johan Huizinga
- Loe de Jong
- Jan Gerard Kerkherdere
- Jan Romein
- Petrus Scriverius
- Boudewijn Sirks
Journalists
Military
- Gaius Julius Civilis, Batavian military commander, leader of the Batavian rebellion
- Jan Pieterszoon Coen, governor general of the Dutch East Indies
- Karel Doorman, naval officer
- Piet Pieterszoon Hein, naval officer
- Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, general and stadtholder
- J. B. van Heutsz, governor general of the Dutch East Indies
- Hendrick Lucifer, naval officer turned pirate
- Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, general and stadtholder
- Michiel de Ruyter, naval officer
- Cornelis Tromp, naval officer
- Maarten Tromp, naval officer
- Witte Corneliszoon de With, naval officer
- Cornelis de Witt, naval officer and statesman
Philosophy
- Jacobus Arminius, philosopher and theologian
- Isaac Beeckman
- Evert Willem Beth
- Cornelius van Bynkershoek, jurist and legal theorist
- Pieter de la Court, economist and political theorist
- Herman Dooyeweerd, philosopher, Vrije Universiteit
- Desiderius Erasmus, writer, polemicist, humanist, Protestant Reformation
- Hugo Grotius, also lawyer, playwright, and poet
- François Hemsterhuis
- Bernard Mandeville, philosopher, political economist and satirist
- Johannes Jacobus Poortman
- Johan van den Sande, lawyer and historian
- Baruch Spinoza, philosopher
- Cornelis Petrus Tiele, theologian and historian of religion
Politics
Before 20th century
- Pier Gerlofs Donia, warrior and freedom fighter
- William the Silent, stadtholder
- Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, statesman
- Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, general and stadtholder
- Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, general and stadtholder
- Andries Bicker, regent of Amsterdam, statesman
- Cornelis de Graeff, regent of Amsterdam, statesman
- Andries de Graeff, regent of Amsterdam, statesman
- Jan van Riebeeck, administrator and colonizer of Cape Town
- Cornelis de Witt, statesman
- Johan de Witt, statesman
- William III of Orange, stadtholder and king of England
- Johan Rudolf Thorbecke, prime minister
20th and 21st centuries
- Dries van Agt, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Louis Beel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Barend Biesheuvel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Els Borst, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport
- Wouter Bos, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance
- Ben Bot, Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Hans van den Broek, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Commissioner
- Jo Cals, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Hendrikus Colijn, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Pieter Cort van der Linden, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis, first prominent Socialist
- Willem Drees, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Wim Duisenberg, Minister of Finance, President of the European Central Bank
- Pim Fortuyn, politician, candidate for Prime Minister, assassinated during the 2002 election
- Cornelis van Geelkerken, National-Socialist, co-founder of the NSB
- Dirk Jan de Geer, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Secretary General of NATO
- Hans Janmaat, right-wing nationalist
- Piet de Jong, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Wim Kok, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Neelie Kroes, Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, European Commissioner for Competition
- Abraham Kuyper, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Ruud Lubbers, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Joseph Luns, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Secretary General of NATO
- Victor Marijnen, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Anton Mussert, National-Socialist, founder of the NSB
- Pieter Oud, Founder of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
- Alexander Pechtold, Minister for Government Reform and Kingdom Relations
- Jan Pronk, Minister for Development Cooperation, Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, Head of the United Nations Mission in Sudan
- Jan de Quay, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Johan Remkes, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior
- Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Piet de Ruiter, member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands between 1971 and 1976
- Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Secretary General of NATO
- Pieter Jelles Troelstra, political activist for universal suffrage
- Joop den Uyl, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Rita Verdonk, Minister for Integration & Immigration
- Hans Wiegel, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Queen's Commissioner of Friesland
- Geert Wilders, prominent critic of Islam
- Gerrit Zalm, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance
- Jelle Zijlstra, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria
Royal Family
- William I of the Netherlands, King
- William II of the Netherlands, King
- William III of the Netherlands, King
- Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Queen consort, Queen regent
- Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Queen
- Juliana of the Netherlands, Queen
- Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, Prince-consort
- Beatrix of the Netherlands, Queen
- Prince Claus, Prince-consort
- Princess Irene of the Netherlands
- Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
- Princess Christina of the Netherlands
- Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, King
- Máxima of the Netherlands, Queen consort
- Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau
- Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands
- Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands
- Princess Alexia of the Netherlands
- Princess Ariane of the Netherlands
Science and technology
Before 20th century
- Herman Boerhaave, physician
- C.H.D. Buys Ballot, chemist and meteorologist
- Ludolph van Ceulen, mathematician
- Carolus Clusius, doctor and botanist
- Menno van Coehoorn, military engineer
- Laurens Janszoon Coster, printer
- Cornelius Drebbel, inventor and engineer
- Eise Eisinga, astronomer who built a scale of the Solar System in his house
- David Fabricius, astronomer
- Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, German-Polish physicist and engineer, lived most of his life in the Dutch Republic
- Regnier de Graaf, physician and anatomist, who made key discoveries in reproductive biology
- Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, chemist
- Coenraad Johannes van Houten, chemist, inventor, known for the Dutch process chocolate
- Christiaan Huygens, mathematician and physicist
- Constantijn Huygens, Jr., scientific instrument maker, technological chronicler
- Jan Ingenhousz, physiologist, botanist and physicist.
- Zacharias Janssen, scientific instrument maker from Middelburg, associated with the invention of the first optical telescope
- Petrus Jacobus Kipp, chemist, inventor of the Kipp apparatus
- Jan Leeghwater, hydraulic engineer and mill builder
- Anton van Leeuwenhoek, scientist
- Hans Lippershey, inventor and scientific instrument maker, associated with the invention of the first telescope
- Pieter van Musschenbroek, Dutch scientist, scientific instrument maker and inventor of Leyden jar
- Frederik Ruysch, botanist and anatomist
- Marie du Saar, ophthalmologist
- Frans van Schooten, mathematician
- Willebrord Snell, astronomer and mathematician
- Thomas Joannes Stieltjes, mathematician
- Simon Stevin, mathematician and engineer
- Jan Swammerdam, scientist
- Franciscus Sylvius, physician and anatomist
- Nicolaes Tulp, physician, surgeon and mayor of Amsterdam
- Gustav de Vries, mathematician
- Hugo de Vries, geneticist
- Johannes Diderik van der Waals, physicist
- Nicolaes Witsen, statesman, shipbuilder, geographer and cartographer
- Hendrik Zwaardemaker, scientist
20th century
- Wiebe Bijker, social scientist
- Nicolaas Bloembergen, physicist
- Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer, mathematician
- Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn, mathematician
- Hendrik Casimir, physicist
- Paul J. Crutzen, atmospheric chemist
- David van Dantzig, mathematician
- Paul Ehrenfest, physicist
- Chaim Elata, Israeli professor of mechanical engineering, President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and Chairman of the Israel Public Utility Authority for Electricity
- George Uhlenbeck, theoretical physicist
- Samuel Goudsmit, Dutch-American physicist
- Dirk Brouwer, astronomer
- Cornelis Johannes van Houten, astronomer
- Tom Gehrels, astronomer
- Willem Johan Kolff, physician and inventor
- Peter Debye, chemist
- Robbert Dijkgraaf, physicist
- Edsger Dijkstra, computer scientist
- David Adriaan van Dorp, chemist
- Eugène Dubois, paleontologist and anatomist
- Christiaan Eijkman, physician and pathologist
- Willem Einthoven, physician
- Anthony Fokker, aviation engineer
- Valerie Frissen, social scientist
- Richard D. Gill, mathematician
- Jaap Haartsen, inventor of Bluetooth
- Arend Heyting, mathematician
- Gerardus 't Hooft, physicist
- Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, physicist
- Jacobus Kapteyn, astronomer
- Willem Hendrik Keesom, physicist
- Hendrik Anthony Kramers, physicist
- Pieter Kok, physicist
- Tjalling Koopmans, economist
- Gerard Kuiper, astronomer
- Hendrik Lorentz, physicist
- Arend Lijphart, political scientist
- Simon van der Meer, physicist
- Bram Moolenaar, computer programmer, author of text-editor Vim
- Wubbo Ockels, astronaut
- Jan Oort, astronomer
- Lou Ottens, inventor of the compact cassette
- Anton Pannekoek, astronomer
- Guido van Rossum, computer programmer, inventor of the Python programming language
- Carel van Schaik, primatologist
- Maarten Schmidt, astronomer
- Kees Schouhamer Immink, engineer, development of CD, DVD and Blu-ray
- Willem de Sitter, mathematician, physicist and astronomer
- Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Computer scientist, developer of Minix which inspired Linus Torvalds to write Linux
- Hendrik Tennekes, aerodynamics professor
- Jan Tinbergen, economist
- Nico Tinbergen, ecologist
- Martinus J. G. Veltman, physicist
- Frans de Waal, primatologist
- Bartel Leendert van der Waerden, mathematician
- Pieter Zeeman, physicist
- Frits Zernike, physicist
- Andre Geim, Russian-born British-Dutch physicist
- Konstantin Novoselov, Russian-born British physicist, undertook his PhD studies at the University of Nijmegen before moving to the University of Manchester
Sports
- Estella Agsteribbe, Olympic champion gymnast
- Christijan Albers, Formula 1 driver
- Ryan Babel, football player
- Raymond van Barneveld, darts player
- Marco van Basten, manager and retired football player
- Stan van Belkum, water polo player
- Xander Bogaerts, MLB player for the Boston Red Sox
- Carina Benninga, field hockey player, Olympic champion, bronze
- Dennis Bergkamp, manager and retired football player
- Juliette Bergmann, IFBB pro bodybuilder
- Jorrit Bergsma, speed skater
- Det de Beus, field hockey goalkeeper
- Fanny Blankers-Koen, athlete
- Jan Blokhuijsen, speed skater
- Rens Blom, 2005 world champion pole vaulter
- Femke Bol, athlete
- Frank de Boer, retired football player
- Ronald de Boer, retired football player
- Floris Jan Bovelander, field hockey player
- Mart Bras, water polo player
- Jacques Brinkman, field hockey player
- Giovanni van Bronckhorst, football player
- Inge de Bruijn, swimmer
- Roel Buikema, football player
- Ton Buunk, water polo player
- Johan Cruijff, retired football player and former manager
- Edgar Davids, football player
- Marc Delissen, field hockey player
- Cees Jan Diepeveen, field hockey player
- Ellen van Dijk, road and track cyclist, four-time world champion
- Sjoukje Dijkstra, figure skater
- Robert Doornbos, Formula One driver
- Eva Duldig, Austrian-born Australian and Dutch tennis player, author
- Francisco Elson, NBA player for Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs
- Jacco Eltingh, tennis player
- Max Euwe, chess player
- Didi Gregorius, MLB player for New York Yankees
- Louis van Gaal, football player and manager
- Dan Gadzuric, NBA player for Milwaukee Bucks
- Anton Geesink, judoka
- Yuri van Gelder, gymnast
- Yvonne van Gennip, speed skater
- Stefan Groothuis, speed skater
- Anky van Grunsven, dressage
- Ruud Gullit, football player and coach
- Paul Haarhuis, tennis player
- Eddy Hamel, Jewish-American soccer player for Dutch club AFC Ajax who was killed by the Nazis in Auschwitz concentration camp
- Willem van Hanegem, football player and coach
- Wil Hartog, Grand Prix motorcycle racer
- Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, football player
- John Heitinga, football player
- Guus Hiddink, manager and retired football player
- Ellen Hoog, field hockey player
- Pieter van den Hoogenband, swimmer
- Ernesto Hoost, kickboxer
- Jan Janssen, cyclist
- Bob de Jong, speed skater
- Niek Kimmann, champion BMX rider
- Jelle Klaasen, darts player
- Bep van Klaveren, boxer
- Patrick Kluivert, football player
- Sjinkie Knegt, short-track speed skater
- Ronald Koeman, football player and manager
- Ada Kok, swimmer
- Richard Krajicek, tennis player
- Sven Kramer, speed skater
- Ties Kruize, field hockey player
- Dirk Kuyt, football player
- Nico Landeweerd, water polo player
- Ellen van Langen, athlete
- Elka de Levie, Olympic champion gymnast
- Arie Luyendyk, race car driver
- Joost Luiten, golfer
- Rie Mastenbroek, swimmer
- Loek van Mil, baseball player
- Lion van Minden, Olympic fencer, who was killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp
- Leontien van Moorsel, cyclist
- Bob Mulder, football player
- Boyito Mulder, figure skater
- Dustley Mulder, football player
- Eefke Mulder, field hockey player
- Erwin Mulder, football player
- Jan Mulder, football player
- Lau Mulder, field hockey player
- Michel Mulder, speed skater
- Ronald Mulder, speed skater
- Teun Mulder, cyclist
- Youri Mulder, football player
- Bennie Muller, football player
- Ruud van Nistelrooy, football player
- Teun de Nooijer, field hockey player
- Helena Nordheim, Olympic champion gymnast
- Simon Okker, Olympic fencer killed in Auschwitz
- Tom Okker, tennis player, won 1973 French Open Men's Doubles, 1976 US Open Men's Doubles, highest world ranking # 3 in singles, and # 1 in
doubles - Tinus Osendarp, athlete
- Alistair Overeem, MMA fighter and former kickboxer
- Mathieu van der Poel, professional cyclist
- Robin van Persie, football player
- Annie Polak, Olympic champion gymnast
- Daniël de Ridder, football player, forward winger/attacking midfielder
- Frank Rijkaard, football player and manager
- Lucia Rijker, boxer and kickboxer
- Dorian van Rijsselberghe, windsurfer
- Rintje Ritsma, speed skater
- Arjen Robben, football player
- Johnny Roeg, football player, striker for Ajax
- Gianni Romme, speed skater
- Wim Ruska, judoka
- Bas Rutten, mixed martial artist
- Edwin van der Sar, football player
- Ard Schenk, speed skater
- Dafne Schippers, athlete
- Clarence Seedorf, football player
- Aryeh "Arie" Selinger, volleyball player & coach
- Avital Selinger, Olympic silver medallist
- Gerald Sibon, football player
- Judijke Simons, Olympic champion gymnast
- Emil Sitoci, pro wrestler
- Jan Smeekens, speed skater
- Rutger Smith, athlete
- Rik Smits, NBA player
- Wesley Sneijder, football player
- Petra van Staveren, swimmer
- Betty Stöve, tennis player
- Sjaak Swart, footballer
- Bernard D. H. Tellegen, electrical engineer, inventor, known for Tellegen's theorem in circuit theory
- Carole Thate, field hockey player
- Jan Timman, chess player
- Regilio Tuur, boxer
- Jochem Uytdehaage, speed skater
- Wilma van den Berg, sprinter, competed at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics
- Rick VandenHurk, baseball player
- Arnold Vanderlyde, boxer
- Jim Vandermeer, Dutch-Canadian ice hockey player
- Bart Veldkamp, speed skater
- Kees Verkerk, speed skater
- Martin Verkerk, tennis player
- Jos Verstappen, F1 Grand Prix racing driver
- Max Verstappen, F1 Grand Prix racing driver
- Koen Verweij, speed skater
- Bert van Vlaanderen, long-distance runner
- Gregory van der Wiel, football player
- Harm Wiersma, checkers player
- Hans Wouda, water polo player
- Marcel Wouda, swimmer
- Joop Zoetemelk, cyclist
- Epke Zonderland, gymnast
- Anish Giri, chess player
- Virgil van Dijk, football player
- Arne Slot, football manager
Other
- Willem Doorn, for 33 years vicar of Nobel Street Church in The Hague
- Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Sicily
- Pope Adrian VI, pope from 1522 to 1523
- Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper, oldest person in the world from 29 May 2004 to 30 August 2005
- Corrie ten Boom, Christian activist during the Holocaust
- Aaron Abbas, Jewish editor and printer
- Geert Adriaans Boomgaard, officially first ever validated supercentenarian
- Evert Dudok, president of EADS Astrium Space Transportation
- Gretta Duisenberg, pro-Palestinian activist and the wife of Wim Duisenberg
- Esmée van Eeghen, Dutch resistance member
- Jacob Eelkens, first commander of the first Dutch fort in America
- Jetske van den Elsen, television presenter
- Caro van Eyck, stage and television actress
- Ferry Piekart, writer on children's games
- Anne Frank, diarist in World War II Amsterdam
- Harry Gideonse, American President of Brooklyn College, and Chancellor of the New School for Social Research
- Alfred Henry (Freddy) Heineken, commercial mastermind of the Heineken Imperium; grandson of the founder of Heineken
- Mata Hari, spy
- Frans van der Hoff, co-founder of Max Havelaar, the first Fairtrade certification initiative
- Aletta Jacobs, first Dutch female to complete a university degree and the first female physician
- Nicolaas Godfried van Kampen Dutch Mennonite deacon
- Frederik Lauesen, television presenter
- Marinus van der Lubbe, see: Reichstag fire
- George Maduro, Dutch Resistance member; the miniature city of Madurodam is named after him, as well as the Maduroplein area in Scheveningen, in The Hague
- Adrienne van Melle-Hermans, peace activist
- Maria van Pallaes, philanthropist in Utrecht
- Anton Philips, co-founder of the Royal Philips Electronics
- Gerard Philips, co-founder of the Royal Philips Electronics
- Roel Pieper, businessman and professor
- Jan Sloot, inventor
- Joran van der Sloot, convicted murderer
- Peter Stuyvesant, governor of the New Netherland
- Jason Walters, sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges related to Islamic terrorism