List of Swiss people

This is a list of people associated with the modern Switzerland and the Old Swiss Confederacy. Regardless of ethnicity or emigration, the list includes notable natives of Switzerland and its predecessor states as well as people who were born elsewhere but spent most of their active life in Switzerland. For more information see the articles Swiss people and Demographics of Switzerland.

Archaeology

Eric Breuer, archaeologist
Ferdinand Keller, archaeologist
Heinrich Menu von Minutoli, archaeologist
Jean-Marc Moret, archaeologist and art historian
Fritz Puempin, archeologist and painter
Karl Schefold, classical archaeologist

Actors

Pasquale Aleardi, actor and musician
Lukas Ammann, actor
Ursula Andress, actress
Peter Arens, actor and stage director
Joel Basman, actor
Giuseppe Bausilio, actor, dancer and singer
Jean-Luc Bideau, comedian
Anne-Marie Blanc, actress
Ursula Cantieni, actress
Ettore Cella, actor and director
Dimitri, clown
Annemarie Düringer, film, television and stage actress
Bruno Ganz, actor
Kat Graham, actress, singer, model
Viktor Giacobbo, actor and comedian
Mathias Gnädinger, actor
Curt Goetz, actor and film director
Heinrich Gretler, actor
Grock, clown
Gardi Hutter, clown, entertainer and actress
Rebecca Indermaur, actress
Irène Jacob, actress
Roger Jendly, actor
Carla Juri, actress
Marthe Keller, actress and opera director
Christian Kohlund, actor
Mathis Künzler, film, television and stage actor
Stefan Kurt, actor
Ursina Lardi, actress
Max Loong, actor and producer
Walo Lüönd, actor
Andreas Matti, actor
Ursela Monn, actress and singer
Vincent Perez, actor and director
Liselotte Pulver, actress
Alfred Rasser, actor and comedian
Maximilian Schell, actor and producer
Hannes Schmidhauser, actor, screenwriter and film director
Michel Simon, actor and comedian
Emil Steinberger, comedian
Sigfrit Steiner, actor
Sabine Timoteo, actress
Roeland Wiesnekker, actor

Art

Arthur Aesbacher, poster artist
Jacques-Laurent Agasse, painter
Cuno Peter Amiet
Thomas Ammann, art dealer and collector
Albert Anker
Jean Arcelin, painter
Jean Arp, sculptor, painter and poet
René Auberjonois, painter
John Bernhard, photographer
Klaus Bietenholz, painter
Arnold Böcklin, painter
Karl Bodmer, painter of the American West
Ferdinand Brader, folk art sketch artist of rural farm life in USA
Mark Staff Brandl, painter, installation artist, and critic
Sonam Dolma Brauen, Swiss-Tibetan sculptor and painter
Frank Buchser, painter
Alexandre Calame, painter
Jean Crotti, painter
Adèle d'Affry, artist and sculptor
Jean Dunand, decorative artist, sculptor
Carl Durheim, lithographer and photographer
Hans Erni
Fischli & Weiss, artist duo
Adrian Frutiger, typeface designer
Henry Fuseli, painter
Johann Caspar Füssli, portrait painter
Johann Kaspar Füssli, entomologist
Karl Gerstner, graphic designer and painter
Salomon Gessner
Alberto Giacometti, sculptor, painter
H. R. Giger, illustrator
Anton Graff, painter
Eugène Grasset, decorative artist
Willi Gutmann, sculptor
Stefan Haenni, painter
Peter Hartmann, sculptor
Andreas Heusser, conceptual artist and curator
Ferdinand Hodler, painter
Max Huber, graphic designer
Anna Indermaur, painter and sculptor
Robert Indermaur, painter and sculptor
Angelica Kauffman, painter
Jorg Khun, wildlife artist and illustrator
Paul Klee, painter
Rudolf Koller, painter
Josef Benedikt Kuriger, sculptor
Rosa Lachenmeier, contemporary artist
Catherine Leutenegger, visual artist
Albert "Lindi" Lindegger, illustrator and painter
Rochus Lussi, artist
Niklaus Manuel, painter
Auguste de Niederhausern-Rodo, sculptor
Sibylle Pasche, sculptor
Roger Pfund, painter, graphic designer
James Pradier, sculptor
Marc Raymond, sculptor
Joseph Reinhart, painter
Oskar Reinhart, collector
Iris von Roten-Meyer, lawyer and artist
Jacques Sablet, painter
Niki de Saint Phalle, sculptor, became Swiss in 1971
Albin Schweri, painter, glass painter
Peter Schweri, painter, illustrator
Nadja Sieger, comedian, actress, jazz-vocalist, known as Nadeschkin
Gerold Späth, Swiss poet and writer
Théophile Steinlen, painter and printmaker
Harald Szeemann, curator
Sophie Taeuber-Arp, painter, sculptor
Myriam Thyes, new media artist
Jean Tinguely, kinetic artist
Rodolphe Toepffer
Félix Vallotton, painter
Isabelle Waldberg, sculptor
Ricco Wassmer, painter
Marianne von Werefkin, painter

Aviation

Oskar Bider, aviation pioneer
Alfred Comte, pilot, co-director Ad Astra Aero, engineer
Raphaël Domjan, explorer, founder and pilot of SolarStratos
Armand Dufaux
Henri Dufaux
Ernest Failloubaz, pilot, instructor, Swiss pilot's brevet number 1
René Grandjean, pilot, engineer
Else Haugk, first Swiss woman to earn a pilot's licence in May 1914
Walter Mittelholzer, pilot, director of Ad Astra Aero, Swissair
Claude Nicollier, pilot, astronaut
Bertrand Piccard, psychiatrist, balloonist, founder and pilot of Solar Impulse
Yves Rossy, pilot, "jet-man"
Eduard Spelterini, balloonist
Emile Taddéoli, pilot, Swiss pilot's brevet number 2, chief pilot on seaplanes Ad Astra Aero

Business

Daniel Aegerter, investor and entrepreneur
Carl Franz Bally, founder of the Bally Shoe company
Ernesto Bertarelli, entrepreneur, founder of Team Alinghi
Daniel Borel, founder of Logitech
Abraham-Louis Breguet, watchmaker
François-Louis Cailler, chocolatier
Arthur Chevrolet, automobile engineer, race car driver, entrepreneur
Louis Chevrolet, automobile engineer, race car driver, founder of Chevrolet
Raphael H. Cohen, serial entrepreneur and business angel
Yomi Denzel, entrepreneur and YouTuber
Rolf Dobelli, entrepreneur, author and founder of the World Minds foundation
Gottlieb Duttweiler, entrepreneur, founder of Migros
Alfred Escher, statesman, businessman and railway constructor
Hans Conrad Escher von der Linth, architect of the Lint melioration
Marc Faber, investment analyst and entrepreneur
Louis Favre, engineer of the Gotthard tunnel
Elsa Gasser, economist, business executive
Nessim Gaon, financier, founder of the Noga company
Adolf Guyer-Zeller, railway entrepreneur
Nicolas Hayek, entrepreneur, chairman, Swatch Group
Pierre Hemmer, one of the Internet pioneers in Switzerland
Baron Jean-Conrad Hottinguer, banker
Henri Nestlé, founder of Nestlé S.A.
Daniel Peter, inventor of milk chocolate
Georges Edouard Piaget, watchmaker
Beat Fischer von Reichenbach, held postal monopoly in Bern
Werner Reinhart, industrialist, philanthropist, music and literature patron
Tibor Rosenbaum, businessman
Guy Spier, investor, author
Philippe Suchard, chocolatier
Ernst Thomke in Biel/Bienne, turnaround manager, e.g. Swatch
Daniel Vasella, chairman of Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG
Reto Wittwer, hotelier, former hotel president and CEO
Martin Schlegel, economist, chairman of the Swiss National Bank

Dancers

Giuseppe Bausilio, performs on Broadway in the titular role in the Tony Award-winning musical Billy Elliot
Flore Revalles, principal dancer with Ballets Russes c. 1915–1918
Manon Bannerman from katseye

Filmmakers

Arthur Cohn, film producer, received six Oscars
Marc Forster, film director, Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, and the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace
Jean-Luc Godard, director, screenwriter and critic
Claude Goretta, director
Moritz de Hadeln, director, film festival director
Markus Imhoof, director
Xavier Koller, director
Juerg Neuenschwander, director
Daniel Schmid, director
Alain Tanner, director
Ruth Waldburger, producer

Mathematics

Paul Bernays, made significant contributions to mathematical logic, axiomatic set theory, and the philosophy of mathematics
Daniel Bernoulli, mathematician and physicist
Jakob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician
Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician
Daniel Bleichenbacher, mathematician and cryptographer
Armand Borel, mathematician
Leonhard Euler, mathematician and geometer
Hugo Hadwiger, mathematician
Edward Kofler, mathematician
Konrad Osterwalder, mathematician and physicist
Michel Plancherel, mathematician
Georges de Rham, mathematician
Ludwig Schläfli, mathematician
Jakob Steiner, mathematician and physicist
Ernst Specker, mathematician
Eduard Stiefel, mathematician

Military

Pierre Victor Besenval de Bronstatt
Guillaume-Henri Dufour, General, geographer
Henri Guisan, General during World War II
Hans Herzog, General 1870–1871
Antoine-Henri Jomini, General, military writer
Christophe Keckeis, Chief of the Armed Forces
Elmar Mäder, commander of the Swiss Guard
Pius Segmüller, commander of the Swiss Guard
Theophil Sprecher von Bernegg
Ulrich Wille, General during World War I

Music

Mia Aegerter, pop musician
Martin Eric Ain, Celtic Frost bassist
Ernest Ansermet, conductor
Lys Assia, singer
Chiara Banchini, violinist, conductor
Rene Baumann, musician, dancer, known as DJ Bobo
Bertrand Bitz, singer and songwriter
Daniel Boemle, DJ and radio personality
Urs Bühler, tenor, member of Il Divo
Dominik Burkhalter, bandleader, composer, drummer
Caroline Charrière, composer, flautist, choir director, educator
Michel Corboz, conductor
Claudia D'Addio, pop musician, Eurovision Song Contest 2006 and MusicStars contestant
Rachel Kolly d'Alba, solo violinist
Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, musician, educator, developer of Eurhythmics
Philippe Decourroux, Christian singer and drummer
Henri Dès, singer and songwriter
Andy Egert, blues guitarist, singer and songwriter
Electroboy, electronic music producer
Edwin Fischer, pianist and conductor
Thomas Gabriel Fischer, Celtic Frost guitarist, singer
Peter Giger, percussionist and bandleader
Peter-Lukas Graf, flautist and conductor
Ernst Haefliger, tenor
Heinz Holliger, oboist
Arthur Honegger, composer
Philippe Huttenlocher, bass
Rahel Indermaur, opera singer
Christian Jacob, jazz pianist
Michael Jarrell, composer
Daniel Kandlbauer, pop musician and MusicStars contestant
Kuno Lauener, lead singer of Bernese rock band Züri West
Carlos Leal, rapper and actor; best known as a member of the hip-hop group Sens Unik
Pepe Lienhard, band leader and saxophone player
Frank Martin, composer
Mani Matter, singer
Jojo Mayer, drummer
Dieter Meier, singer of electronica band Yello, which had hits "Oh Yeah" and "The Race"
Mandy Meyer, guitarist, played in bands Asia, Gotthard and Krokus
Patrick Moraz, keyboardist with Yes and Moody Blues
Paolo Pandolfo, violist
Zlatko Perica, better known as "Slädu", played guitar in bands as Tangerine Dream or Gölä
Carlos Perón, producer and former singer of electronica band Yello
Werner Reinhart, industrialist, philanthropist, music and literature patron
Othmar Schoeck, composer
Ludwig Senfl, Renaissance composer
Marc Storace, Maltese-Swiss rock vocalist and songwriter; best known as singer of hard rock band Krokus
Éric Tappy, tenor
Martin Tillman, film music composer
Tina Turner, became Swiss in 2013
Silvio Varviso, conductor, especially of opera
Andreas Vollenweider, Grammy award-winning harpist
Chris von Rohr, musician and producer; best known as bassist of hard rock band Krokus
August Wenzinger, cellist, violist, pioneer of early music performance
Luzia von Wyl, composer and pianist
Roland Zoss, rock poetry musician
Alberich Zwyssig, priest, composer of the Swiss Psalm
YRU, rock band formed in 2006
Nemo, singer-rapper, violinist, pianist, drummer ; Eurovision 2024 winner

Philosophy

Henri Frédéric Amiel, philosopher and poet
Richard Avenarius, formulated the radical positivist doctrine of "empirical criticism"
Peter Bieri, philosopher, author
Benjamin Constant
Jeanne Hersch, philosopher
Henri Lauener, philosopher
Dominik Perler, philosopher
Hans A. Pestalozzi, social critic
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, philosopher
Alexandru Șafran, rabbi and philosopher

Psychology and pedology

Peter Baumann, psychiatrist
Ludwig Binswanger, psychologist
Eugen Bleuler, psychiatrist
Carl Gustav Jung, founder of analytical psychology
Emma Jung, psychoanalyst and author
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, psychiatrist, pioneer in near-death studies
Max Lüscher, inventor of the Lüscher color test
Richard Meili, psychologist
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, pedagogue
Oskar Pfister, psychologist and pastor
Jean Piaget, psychologist
Hermann Rorschach, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst

Politics

See also:

List of 2005 office-holders in Switzerland
List of Federal Chancellors of Switzerland
List of the first female holders of political offices: Switzerland
List of mayors of Aarau, Altstätten, Arbon, Baden, Basel, Bellinzona, Bern, Biel/Bienne, Brig, Brig-Glis, Bulle, Burgdorf, Carouge, Chur, Davos, Delémont, Frauenfeld, Fribourg, Geneva, Grenchen, Herisau, Köniz, Kreuzlingen, La Chaux-de-Fonds, La Tour-de-Peilz, Lausanne, Le Châtelard, Les Planches, Liestal, Locarno, Lucerne, Lugano, Martigny, Montreux, Morges, Murten, Naters, Neuchâtel, Nyon, Olten, Rapperswil-Jona, Rheinfelden, Schaffhausen, Sierre, [List of mayors of List of mayors of Sion, Switzerland|Sion, Switzerland|Sion], Solothurn, St. Gallen, Thun, Trimbach, Uster, Vevey, Wädenswil, Wil, Winterthur, Yverdon, Zofingen, Zug, Zürich
List of members of the Swiss Council of States
List of members of the Swiss Federal Council
List of members of the Swiss National Council
List of officials of the Helvetic Republic
List of presidents of the Swiss Confederation
List of presidents of the Swiss Council of States
List of presidents of the Swiss Diet
List of presidents of the Swiss National Council

Religion

Jakob Abbadie, Protestant preacher
Gilberto Agustoni, cardinal
Jacob Amman
Karl Barth, theologian
Heinrich Bullinger, reformer in Zürich
Greti Caprez-Roffler,Swiss pastor.
Georges Cottier, cardinal, theologian
Niklaus Manuel Deutsch, painter, dramatician, politician and reformer in Bern
Johann Augustanus Faber, theologian and historian
William Farel, reformer in Lausanne
Theodosius Florentini
Gaston Frommel
Berchtold Haller, reformer in Bern
Karl Rudolf Hagenbach
Johann Jakob Herzog
Hans Küng, theologian
Johann Kaspar Lavater, pastor and physiognomist
Oswald Myconius
Johannes Oecolampadius, reformer in Basel
Frère Roger, founder of Taizé
Philip Schaff
Henri Schwery, cardinal, former Bishop of Sion
Erika Sutter, medical missionary to South Africa
Clemens Thoma
Alexandre Rodolphe Vinet, theologian and critic
Pierre Viret, reformer in Vaud Canton
Lukas Vischer, theologian and writer
Johann Jakob Wettstein, theologian
John Joachim Zubly, pastor, delegate to the Continental Congress
Huldrych Zwingli, reformer in Zürich

Science

Sports

Paul Accola, skiing champion
David Aebischer, former National Hockey League goaltender
Jeff Agoos, Swiss-born American soccer defender
Daniel Albrecht, alpine skier
Simon Ammann, gold medallist in ski jumping at the 2002 Winter Olympics, ski jumping at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Manuel Bachmann, footballer
Timea Bacsinszky, tennis player
Sven Bärtschi, National Hockey League player for the Vancouver Canucks
Madeleine Berthod, 1956 gold medallist in downhill skiing
Denise Biellmann, world champion figure skater
Sepp Blatter, FIFA president
Sébastien Buemi, Formula One driver
Clint Capela, NBA player for the Houston Rockets
Ursula Bruhin, snowboarder
Fabian Cancellara, cyclist
Claudio Castagnoli, pro wrestler
Stéphane Chapuisat, footballer
Dario Cologna, cross-country skiing champion
Didier Cuche, alpine skier
Didier Défago,, alpine skier
Johan Djourou, footballer
Oscar Egg, cyclist
Roger Federer, tennis champion: 20-time Grand Slam singles champion
Michela Figini, alpine skiing champion
Marcel Fischer, fencing champion, gold medallist in Athens Olympics
Alexander Frei, footballer
Tanja Frieden, snowboarder
Martin Gerber, NHL goaltender for the Ottawa Senators
Arnold Gerschwiler, skater
Hans Gerschwiler, world champion figure skater
Jack Gerschwiler, coach
Stefan Grogg, ice hockey player
Franz Heinzer, alpine skier
Stéphane Henchoz, footballer
Erika Hess, alpine skiing champion
Martina Hingis, tennis champion; five-time Grand Slam singles champion
Nico Hischier, NHL forward for the New Jersey Devils; first Swiss player to be drafted #1 overall in the NHL Entry Draft
Jakob Hlasek, tennis player
Ambrosi Hoffmann, alpine skiing medalist
Andy Hug, karate and kickboxing champion
Benjamin Huggel, professional footballer
Patrick Hürlimann, Olympic curling champion
Roman Josi, NHL defenseman for the Nashville Predators
Natan Jurkovitz, French-Swiss basketball player
Bruno Kernen, alpine skier, winner of the 1983 Kitzbühel downhill race
Bruno Kernen, alpine skier, bronze medalist and former world champion in downhill
Hugo Koblet, cycling champion
Franz Krienbühl, speed skater
Ferdy Kübler, cycling champion
Andreas Küttel, ski jumper
Stéphane Lambiel, figure skater, Olympic silver medalist
Peter Lüscher, alpine skiing champion
Daniela Meuli, snowboarder
Lise-Marie Morerod, alpine skiing champion
Nicolas Müller, snowboarder
Peter Müller, alpine skiing champion
Xeno Müller, rower, Olympic gold medalist
Marie-Theres Nadig, alpine skiing champion
Sonja Nef, alpine skiing champion
Maya Pedersen, skeleton athlete
Manuela Pesko, snowboarder
Alina Popa, IFBB professional bodybuilder
Walter Prager, alpine skiing champion
Clay Regazzoni, racing driver
Corinne Rey-Bellet, alpine skier
Tony Rominger, cyclist who won major tours four times in his career
Marc Rosset, tennis player, gold medallist in Barcelona Olympics
Bernhard Russi, alpine skiing champion
Martina Schild, downhill skiing champion
Hedy Schlunegger, downhill Olympic champion of 1948
Olivier Schmutz, judoka
Vreni Schneider, alpine skiing champion
Patty Schnyder, professional tennis player
Thabo Sefolosha, NBA player for the Oklahoma City Thunder
Philippe Senderos, footballer
Xherdan Shaqiri, professional footballer
Jo Siffert, racing driver
Mark Streit, NHL defenceman for the Philadelphia Flyers
Marc Surer, racing driver
Alain Sutter, footballer
Kubilay Türkyilmaz, footballer
Maria Walliser, alpine skiing champion
Stanislas Wawrinka, professional tennis player
Jean Wicki, gold medallist in bobsleigh
Granit Xhaka, footballer
Hakan Yakin, footballer
Murat Yakin, footballer
Heidi Zurbriggen, skier
Matthias Zurbriggen, mountain guide and alpinist
Pirmin Zurbriggen, alpine skiing champion
Silvan Zurbriggen, skier
Lara Gut-Behrami, skier

Legendary and folk heroes

Helvetia, personification of Switzerland
Arnold von Melchtal, legendary founding father of Switzerland
, legendary hero of the 1405 battle at Stoss
William Tell, legendary 14th-century hero
Arnold von Winkelried, legendary hero of the 1386 battle of Sempach

Others

Sarah, Crown Princess of Brunei, wife of Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah, half Swiss and half Bruneian
Othmar Ammann, civil engineer, bridge engineer to the New York Port Authority
Nick Auf der Maur, Canadian journalist, Swiss parents
Louise Bachofen-Burckhardt, art collector
Alfred Baur, businessman and art collector
Maximilian Bircher-Benner, physician and Muesli inventor
Johann Georg Bodmer, inventor
Johann Jakob Bodmer
Hans Ormund Bringolf, adventurer and autobiographer
Jacob Burckhardt, art historian
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, traveller and orientalist
Michée Chauderon, the last person to be executed for sorcery in Geneva
Arthur Cohn, film producer, received six Oscars
Kadie Karen Diekmeyer, Canadian vegan activist and Internet personality, known online as That Vegan Teacher.
Lydia Welti-Escher, Swiss patron of the arts and founder of the Gottfried Keller Stiftung
Philipp Emanuel von Fellenberg
Peter Friederich, diplomat and money launderer
Marie Grossholtz, known as Madame Tussaud
Paul Grueninger, commander of police and humanitarian
Felix Hemmerlin, theologian
Michelle Hunziker, TV presenter previously married to the Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti
Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, Swiss resident 1976–2014
Carl Lutz, diplomat and humanitarian
Robert Maillart, civil engineer, inventor of many concrete bridge techniques
Peter Hildebrand Meienberg, missionary
Christoph Meili, whistle-blower
Christian Menn, civil engineer
Max Miedinger, typeface designer, inventor of Helvetica
Claude Nobs, founder and general manager of the Montreux Jazz Festival
Ernest Prodolliet, diplomat
Rosa Rein, oldest living Swiss
Werner Reinhart, philanthropist, music and literature patron
Archibald Reiss, criminologist
Beat Richner, pediatrician, founder of children's hospitals in Cambodia
Niklaus Riggenbach, engineer
Frithjof Schuon, Sufi writer, born in Basel
Victor Snell, journalist
John Sutter, California settler
Stefi Talman, shoe designer
Alain Tanner, film director
Lukas Vischer, collector, traveler, artist