15 famous people from Colombia: from singers to soccer stars
Colombia is a diverse and culturally rich country with a vibrant blend of indigenous, African, and European influences. Various famous people from Colombia have gained fame worldwide. Colombia boasts some of the industry's most talented individuals doing well, from singers to actors.
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Colombia is a country in South America, with insular regions in North America. The country has produced many famous individuals who have significantly contributed to various fields, such as acting, music, sports, and politics. Below is a list of notable figures from Colombia you can easily recognise.
15 most famous people from Colombia
Colombia has given rise to numerous individuals who have become popular worldwide. This list entails some of the most famous Colombians, ranging from actors, singers, and TV personalities to businesspeople.
1. Shakira
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- Full name: Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll
- Place of birth: Barranquilla, Colombia
- Date of birth: 2 February 1977
Shakira has been called the "Queen of Latin Music" and praised for her musical versatility. She is one of the famous Colombian celebrities doing great in the music industry. She served as a coach on two seasons of the American singing competition television series The Voice. Shakira has released 11 studio albums, five live, two compilations, and 69 singles.
2. Pablo Escobar
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- Full name: Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria
- Place of birth: Rionegro, Colombia
- Date of birth: 1 December 1949
Pablo Escobar made insane amounts of money from illegal dealings. He ran The Medellin Drug Cartel, one of the most violent gangs in history. Escobar was infamous for keeping cash in walls, beneath floors, and in other hidden locations. He did so while attempting to avoid arrest. Pablo Escobar died on 2 December 1993 in Medellín, Colombia. There have been many movies and TV series based on his life.
3. Sofía Vergara
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- Full name: Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara
- Place of birth: Barranquilla, Colombia
- Date of birth: 10 July 1972
Sofia is a talented Colombian and American actress and television personality. She has appeared in numerous films and TV series such as Collateral Damage, Madea Goes to Jail, My Wife and Kids and The Simpsons. She is also a businesswoman. She launched the beauty brand Toty, named after her childhood nickname.
4. Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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- Full name: Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez
- Place of birth: Aracataca, Colombia
- Date of birth: 6 March 1927
Gabriel is a novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist. Some of his best-known novels are One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967), Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981), and Love in the Time of Cholera (1985). García Márquez died on April 2014. He is regarded as one of the best and famous Colombians in history.
5. Catherine Siachoque
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- Full name: María Alexandra Catherine Siachoque Gaete
- Place of birth: 21 January 1972
- Date of birth: Bogotá, Colombia
Catherine is among the famous actors from Colombia. She has appeared in numerous numerous telenovelas such as La sombra del arco iris, Sin senos no hay paraíso and El final del paraíso. Since 1999, she has been married to Argentine-Colombian producer, actor, and director Miguel Varoni.
6. Charlie Zaa
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- Full name: Carlos Alberto Sánchez
- Place of birth: Girardot, Colombia
- Date of birth: 30 January 1974
Zaa is one of the famous singers from Colombia whose father, Luis Humberto Sánchez, was also a singer. Since commencing his solo career, Charlie Zaa has released over ten albums.
Lauren Mia Sanchez, his daughter, was a survivor of the Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in 2018, which killed 17 people, including one of her teachers.
7. Carmen Villalobos
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- Full name: Carmen Villalobos
- Place of birth: Barranquilla, Colombia
- Date of birth: 13 July 1983
Carmen Villalobos is among the famous Colombian people best known for her character Catalina Santana in the telenovela Sin senos no hay paraíso. She has also appeared in El Señor de los Cielos, Made in Cartagena and Hasta que la plata nos separe.
8. James Rodriguez
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- Full name: James David Rodríguez Rubio
- Place of birth: 12 July 1991
- Date of birth: Cúcuta, Colombia
James is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club São Paulo and the Colombia national team.
He has been praised for his technique, vision, and playmaking skills. He is among the most famous Colombian soccer players, having played for various teams such as Everton, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
9. Ana Lucía Domínguez
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- Full name: Ana Lucía Domínguez Tobón
- Place of birth: Bogotá, Colombia
- Date of birth: 2 December 1983
Ana has been passionate about acting since childhood. This made her study speech, acting, and body language. She has been nominated for several awards. Some of her acting credits include Sofia in Who Killed Sara?, Irene Buenaventura in El fantasma del Gran Hotel and Jackeline Monsalve in Se armó la gorda.
10. Jorge Enrique Abello
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- Full name: Jorge Enrique Abello
- Place of birth: Bogotá, Colombia
- Date of birth: 28 February 1968
Jorge is one of the famous people born in Colombia. He is an actor who has performed roles in various telenovelas. He has appeared in TV series such as Night School, Dreams Never Sleep, Night School, Thousand Fangs, and Los graduados.
11. Paula Garcés
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- Full name: Paula Garcés
- Place of birth: 20 March 1974
- Date of birth: Medellín, Colombia
Paula is one of the famous celebrities from Colombia who is known for her appearance in films such as Clockstoppers, Man of the House, Harold & Kumar, CSI: Miami, On My Block, The Shield, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Guiding Light and All My Children.
12. Germán Efromovich
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- Full name: Germán Efromovich
- Place of birth: La Paz, Bolivia
- Date of birth: 28 March 1950
Germán Efromovich is a Bolivian-born entrepreneur with Brazilian, Colombian, and Polish citizenship. His work history includes:
- Selling encyclopedias.
- Converting Mexican films into Portuguese.
- Running a school in So Bernardo do Campo.
He runs Synergy Group, which is in Rio de Janeiro. He also owns stakes in Wayraper, Avianca Ecuador, and OceanAir, renamed Avianca Brasil later.
13. Patricia Janiot
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- Full name: Ángela Patricia Janiot Martirena
- Place of birth: Bucaramanga, Colombia
- Date of birth: 2 October 1963
Patricia is a popular American-Colombian celebrity who is a news anchor, former beauty queen, and model. She was a senior news anchor for 25 years at CNN en Español. She also worked as a news anchor and senior correspondent at Noticias Univision. As a model, she participated in the Miss Colombia pageant in 1983.
14. Juan Pablo Montoya
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- Full name: Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán
- Place of birth: Bogotá, Colombia
- Date of birth: 20 September 1975
Juan Pablo Montoya is a Colombian racing driver who has competed in open-wheel, sports, and stock car racing events. He has driven the BMW FW26, ranked as one of the fastest F1 cars ever. Juan Pablo Montoya drove at an average speed of 162.9 mph or 162.2 km/h in qualifying and thus became a lap record.
15. J Balvin
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- Full name: José Álvaro Osorio Balvín
- Place of birth: Medellín, Colombia
- Date of birth: 7 May 1985
J Balvin is one of the best-selling Latin artists, with over 35 million records sold worldwide. Balvin has won numerous awards throughout his career, including eleven Billboard Latin Music Awards, six Latin Grammy Awards, and five MTV Video Music Awards. He is also the only Colombian celeb artist to reach number one on the Billboard charts 174 times.
Colombia has produced some of the best and most talented individuals. The above famous people from Colombia are talented and are regarded as high-profile individuals from the country. Many other individuals have also helped to put the country on the global map.
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