List of Latvians
This list of prominent Latvians includes:
- people who were born in the historical territory of what is now Latvia, regardless of ethnicity, citizenship, or time period; and
- people of Latvian descent regardless of their place of birth or citizenship.
A
- Valerians Abakovskis – inventor of a propeller-powered railcar, the aerowagon
- Rutanya Alda – actress
- Lidiia Alekseeva, Latvian poet and writer of short stories
- Viktor Alksnis – Soviet military officer and Russian communist politician known as "the Black Colonel"
- Juris Alunāns – writer and philologist
- Ingrīda Andriņa – actress
- Iveta Apkalna – organist
- Fricis Apšenieks – chess player
- Vija Artmane – actress
- Aspazija, pen-name of Elza Pliekšāne – poet and playwright
- Gunārs Astra – dissident, fighter for human rights
- Auseklis, pseudonym of Miķelis Krogzemis – poet, author and translator of German poets
B
- Ainars Bagatskis – basketball player
- Helmuts Balderis – ice hockey player, forward
- Jānis Balodis – army officer and politician
- Kārlis Balodis – economist, financist, statistician and demographist
- Krišjānis Barons – "the father of Latvian folk songs"; compiled and edited the first publication of Latvian folk-song texts, Latvju Dainas
- Mikhail Baryshnikov – ballet dancer
- Kārlis Baumanis – composer, author of the national anthem of the Republic of Latvia "Dievs, svētī Latviju!"
- Vizma Belševica – author, candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature
- Eduards Berklavs – politician, leader of Latvian national-communists
- Krišjānis Berķis – general
- Dairis Bertāns – basketball player
- Isaiah Berlin – philosopher
- Lilita Bērziņa – actress
- Eduards Bērziņš – soldier in the Red Army, later head of Dalstroy, the Kolyma forced-labour camps in North-Eastern Siberia
- Yan Karlovich Berzin – Soviet military intelligence officer
- Kaspars Bērziņš – basketball player
- Kārlis Bētiņš – chess player
- Andris Biedriņš – basketball player
- Gunārs Birkerts – architect
- Miervaldis Birze – writer
- Ernests Blanks – publicist, writer, historian, the first to publicly advocate for Latvia's independence
- Rūdolfs Blaumanis – writer and playwright
- Himans Blūms – painter
- Jānis Blūms – basketball player
- Ārons Bogoļubovs – Olympic medalist in judoka
- Mairis Briedis – world boxing champion
- Baiba Broka – actress
- Baiba Broka – lawyer and politician
- Ingūna Butāne – fashion model
C
- Frīdrihs Canders – pioneer of rocketry and spaceflight
- Valters Caps – designed first Minox 8 x 11 photo cameras
- Aleksandrs Cauņa – footballer
- Gustavs Celmiņš – fascist politician, leader of Pērkonkrusts movement
- Vija Celmins – American painter born in Latvia
- Tanhum Cohen-Mintz – Latvian-born Israeli basketball player
Č
- Māris Čaklais – poet
- Aleksandrs Čaks – poet
- Jānis Čakste – first President of Latvia
D
- Roberts Dambītis – general and politician
- Jānis Dāliņš – athlete, race walker
- Emīls Dārziņš – composer
- Volfgangs Dārziņš – composer, pianist, and music critic
- Kaspars Daugaviņš – ice hockey player
- Jacob Davis – inventor of denim
- Johans Aleksandrs Heinrihs Klapje de Kolongs – naval engineer
- Eliass Eliezers Desslers – Orthodox rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and Jewish philosopher
- Elīna Dikaioulaku – basketball player for Israeli team Elitzur Ramla
- Leor Dimant – DJ for the rap metal group Limp Bizkit
- Anatols Dinbergs – diplomat
- Aleksis Dreimanis – geologist
- Inga Drozdova – model and actress
- Domenique Dumont – music producer
- Oļģerts Dunkers – actor and film director
- Christine Dzidrums – author
E
- Mihails Eizenšteins – architect
- Sergejs Eizenšteins – film director
- Modris Eksteins – Canadian historian and writer
- Ēriks Ešenvalds – composer
- Andrievs Ezergailis – historian of the Holocaust
F
- Movša Feigins – chess player
- Gregors Fitelbergs – conductor, composer and violinist
- Vesels fon Freitāgs-Loringhofens – colonel and member of the German resistance against German dictator Adolf Hitler
- Laila Freivalds – former Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs
G
- Inese Galante – opera singer; soprano
- Gints Gabrāns – artist
- Elīna Garanča – opera singer; mezzo-soprano
- Zemgus Girgensons – ice hockey centre
- Kārlis Goppers – general; founder of Latvian Boy Scouts
- Andrejs Grants – photographer
- Kristers Gudļevskis – ice hockey goaltender
- Ernests Gulbis – tennis player
- Natālija Gulbis – Latvian-descent LPGA golfer
- Pāvels Gumennikovs – Latvian film director, actor, writer, and producer
Ģ
- Uldis Ģērmanis – historian; under the alias of Ulafs Jāņsons, a social commentator
- Aivars Ģipslis – chess player
H
- Moriss Halle – linguist
- Filips Halsmans – Latvian-American photographer
- Juris Hartmanis – computer scientist; Turing Award winner
- Uvis Helmanis – basketball player
I
- Artūrs Irbe – ice hockey player, goalkeeper
- Kārlis Irbītis – aviation inventor, engineer, designer
J
- Gatis Jahovičs – basketball player
- Mariss Jansons – conductor
- Inese Jaunzeme – athlete
K
- Aivars Kalējs – organist, composer
- Konrāds Kalējs – alleged war criminal
- Sandra Kalniete – politician, diplomat, former Latvia's EU commissioner
- Bruno Kalniņš – Saeima member, Red Army General
- Imants Kalniņš – composer, politician
- Oskars Kalpaks – colonel, first Commander of Latvian National Armed Forces
- Kaspars Kambala – basketball player
- Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš – politician; Prime Minister of Latvia
- Mārtiņš Karsums – ice hockey player
- Reinis Kaudzīte – writer and journalist
- Renārs Kaupers – musician
- Jēkabs Ketlers – Duke of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
- Gustavs Klucis – painter and graphic designer
- Aleksandrs Koblencs – chess player
- Ābrams Izāks Kūks – chief rabbi, Jewish thinker, statesman, diplomat, mediator and scholar
- Aleksandrs Kovaļevskis – zoologist
- Ilsa Konrads – Olympic swimmer
- John Konrads – Olympic swimmer
- Gidons Krēmers – violinist and conductor
- Miķelis Krogzemis – poet, author and translator of German poets
- Juris Kronbergs – poet, writer, free-lance journalist, translator
- Atis Kronvalds – teacher and journalist; reformed the Latvian language; organized the first Latvian Song and Dance Festival
- Dainis Kūla – athlete
- Alberts Kviesis – President of Latvia
L
- Vilis Lācis – author and politician
- Aleksandrs Laime – explorer
- Ginta Lapiņa – fashion model
- Yan Larri Soviet children's and utopian fiction writer
- Natālija Lašenova – gymnastics Olympic champion
- Edvards Liedskalniņš – builder of Coral Castle in Florida; claimed to have discovered the ancient magnetic levitation secrets used to construct the Egyptian pyramids
- Jēkabs Mihaels Reinholds Lencs – author
- Marija Leiko – actress
- Vita Liberte – lawyer, art collector, patron and entrepreneur
- Māris Liepa – ballet dancer
- Peggy Lipton – Latvian-American actress
- Nikolajs Loskis – philosopher
- Jānis Lūsis – athlete; Olympic champion
Ļ
- Jevgēnija Ļisicina – organist
M
- Māris Martinsons – film director, producer, screenwriter and film editor
- Hermanis Matisons – chess player
- Zenta Mauriņa – writer, literary scholar, culture philosopher
- Juris Māters – author, lawyer and journalist; translated laws to Latvian and created the foundation for Latvian law
- Jānis Medenis – poet
- Arnis Mednis – singer
- Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics – first Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Mareks Mejeris – basketball player for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Alan Melikdjanian – independent filmmaker, YouTuber
- Leo Mihelsons – artist
- Arnolds Mikelsons – artist
- Mikhail Tal – chess player Grandmaster
- Jevgēņijs Millers – tsarist Russian general
- Kārlis Mīlenbahs – linguist
N
- Arkādijs Naidičs – chess player; now resident in Germany
- Andris Nelsons – conductor, Boston Symphony Orchestra
- Andrievs Niedra – pastor, writer, prime minister of German puppet government
- Arons Nimcovičs – chess player
- Reinis Nitišs – World Rallycross driver
- Fred Norris – radio personality, ''The Howard Stern Show''
O
- Staņislavs Olijars – athlete
- Jeļena Ostapenko – tennis player
- Vilhelms Ostvalds – received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1909 for his work on catalysis, chemical equilibria and reaction velocities
- Elvīra Ozoliņa – athlete
- Sandis Ozoliņš – ice hockey player, defense
- Valdemārs Ozoliņš – composer, conductor
- Auseklis Ozols – artist
P
- Artis Pabriks – Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Ināra Petrusēviča – artist
- Kārlis Padegs – graphic artist, painter
- Marians Pahars – soccer player
- Raimonds Pauls – composer; widely known in Russia
- Lūcija Peka – artist of the Latvian diaspora
- Konstantīns Pēkšēns – Art nouveau architect
- Jēkabs Peterss – revolutionary and Soviet Cheka leader
- Kristīne Petrikina – footballer
- Kaspars Petrovs – serial killer
- Vladimirs Petrovs – chess player
- Oskars Perro – soldier and writer
- Andris Piebalgs – politician and diplomat; European Commissioner for Energy
- Jānis Pliekšāns – writer; author of a number of poetry collections
- Juris Podnieks – film director, producer
- Nikolajs Poļakovs – circus performer; creator of Coco the Clown
- Jānis Poruks – writer
- Kristaps Porziņģis – basketball player, Boston Celtics
- Rosa von Praunheim – German film director, author, painter and gay rights activist
- Sandis Prūsis – athlete, bobsleigh
- Uldis Pūcītis – actor, director
- Boris Pugo – Soviet communist politician
- Jānis Pujats – Roman Catholic cardinal
- Andrejs Pumpurs – poet; author of Latvian national epic ''Lāčplēsis''
R
- Rainis, pseudonym of Jānis Pliekšāns – poet and playwright
- Dan Rapoport – American financier and philanthropist
- Laura Rizzotto – Latvian-Brazilian singer
- Lauris Reiniks – singer-songwriter, actor and television personality
- Einars Repše – politician
- Jānis Rieksts – photographer
- Lolita Ritmanis – orchestrator, composer
- Iļja Ripss – inventor of the Bible code
- Fricis Rokpelnis – author
- Markuss Rotkovičs – abstract expressionist painter
- Elza Rozenberga – poet, playwright; married to Jānis Pliekšāns
- Margaret Romans, supercentenarian and oldest Latvian-born person in history
- Juris Rubenis – Lutheran pastor
- Mārtiņš Rubenis – athlete; bronze medalist at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin
- Brunis Rubess – businessman
- Inta Ruka – photographer
- Wolf Ruvinskis – versatile actor, a memorable face of the Cinema of Mexico
S
- Rudolfs Saule – ballet master; performer with the Latvian National Ballet
- Uļjana Semjonova – basketball player
- Haralds Silovs – short track and long track speed skater
- Kārlis Skalbe – poet
- Kārlis Skrastiņš – ice hockey player
- Baiba Skride – violinist
- Andrew Smith – American-Latvian basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Konstantīns Sokoļskis – romance and tango singer
- Ksenia Solo – Latvian-Canadian actress
- Serge Sorokko – art dealer and publisher
- Raimonds Staprans – Latvian-American painter
- Jānis Šteinhauers – industrialist, entrepreneur, and civil rights activist
- Gotthard Friedrich Stender – first Latvian grammarian
- Līna Šterna – biologist and social activist
- Roze Stiebra – animator
- Henrijs Stolovs – stamp dealer
- Jānis Streičs – film director, screenwriter, actor
- Jānis Strēlnieks – basketball player
- Pēteris Stučka – author, translator, editor, jurist and educator
- Jānis Sudrabkalns – poet and journalist
- Jevgēņijs Svešņikovs – chess player
- Staņislavs Svjanevičs – economist and historian
Š
- Viktors Ščerbatihs – athlete, weightlifter
- Pauls Šīmanis – Baltic German journalist, politician, activist defending and preserving European minority cultures
- Vestards Šimkus – pianist
- Aleksejs Širovs – chess player
- Andris Šķēle – politician; Prime Minister of Latvia
- Armands Šķēle – basketball player
- Ainārs Šlesers – politician, chairman of Latvia First
- Ernests Štālbergs – architect, ensemble of the Freedom Monument
- Īzaks Nahmans Šteinbergs – politician, lawyer and author
- Māris Štrombergs – BMX cyclist; gold medal winner at 2008 and 2012 Olympics
T
- Esther Takeuchi – materials scientist and chemical engineer
- Mihails Tāls – the 8th World Chess Champion
- Jānis Roberts Tilbergs – painter, sculptor
U
- Guntis Ulmanis – President of Latvia
- Kārlis Ulmanis – Prime Minister of Latvia; President of Latvia
- Juris Upatnieks – physicist and inventor; pioneer in the field of holography
- Andrejs Upīts – poet and writer
V
- Ojārs Vācietis – writer
- Romāns Vainšteins – cyclist, World Road Champion in 2000
- Krišjānis Valdemārs – public figure, writer, publicist and economist
- Pauls Valdens – chemist
- Miķelis Valters – state official, journalist, diplomat
- Valdis Valters – basketball player
- Aleksandrs Vanags – footballer
- Jānis Vanags – Lutheran archbishop
- Jūlijs Vanags – author and translator
- Deniss Vasiļjevs – figure skater
- Pēteris Vasks – contemporary composer
- Jukums Vācietis – first commander of the Soviet Army
- Ojārs Vācietis – poet
- Kaspars Vecvagars – basketball club BC Žalgiris player
- Eduards Veidenbaums – poet and translator
- Makss Veinreihs – linguist
- Ed Viesturs – mountaineer
- Igors Vihrovs – gymnast, gold medalist at Sydney Olympics in 2000
- Edvarts Virza – writer
- Alvis Vītoliņš – chess master
- Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga – former President of Latvia
- Jāzeps Vītols – composer
- Māris Verpakovskis – footballer
- Aleksandrs Voitkevičs – chess player
Z
- Kārlis Zāle – sculptor; author of the Freedom Monument in Riga
- Juris Zariņš – archaeologist and professor at Missouri State University
- Kārlis Zariņš – diplomat
- Rihards Zariņš – graphic artist
- Valdis Zatlers – former President of Latvia
- Elmārs Zemgalis – chess player
- Gustavs Zemgals – former President of Latvia
- Imants Zemzaris – contemporary composer
- Valdis Zeps – author and linguist; pseudonym Jānis Turbads
- Imants Ziedonis – poet and folklorist
- Mārtiņš Zīverts – playwright
- Kaspars Znotiņš – stage and film actor
Ž
- Sergejs Žoltoks – ice hockey player, forward