Famous Canadians

Inspired by this, I have compiled a list of famous Canadians. To make the list people have to (a) have lived a significant portion of their life in Canada; and (b) be sufficiently famous that a significant percentage of people in at least one country besides Canada have heard of them or their work.

Here, then, is the list (in alphabetical order). I welcome comments, corrections, and suggestions for additions; please e-mail me.

-- Jeffrey Rosenthal

• Scott Abbott and Chris Haney (inventors of game "Trivial Pursuit")
  
  
• Bianca Andreescu (tennis player; 2019 US Open champion)
  
  
• Dan Aykroyd (movie actor; Elwood of "The Blues Brothers")
  
  
• Bryan Adams (musician and songwriter; Grammy award winner; writer of international hit "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You")
  
  
• Pamela Anderson (actress on "Baywatch")
  
  
• Paul Anka (singer and songwriter; writer of song "My Way")
  
  
• Louise Arbour (Chief Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal, The Hague)
  
  
• Arcade Fire (rock band; won 2011 Grammy for album of the year)
  
  
• Margaret Atwood (writer; author of "The Handmaid's Tale")
  
  
• Donovan Bailey (sprinter; 100m Olympic Gold Medalist, 1996)
  
  
• Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) (rock group; writers of songs "You Ain't Seen Nuthin' Yet" and "Takin' Care of Business")
  
  
• Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis (co-founders of RIM, developer of Blackberry smartphone)
  
  
• The Band (rock group; performed extensively with Bob Dylan)
  
  
• Frederick Banting and Charles Best (discoverers of diabetes drug insulin, 1921)
  
  
• Barenaked Ladies (rock group; writers of song "If I Had a Million Dollars")
  
  
• Samantha Bee (late-night U.S. television host)
  
  
• Alexander Graham Bell (inventor of the telephone in Canada, though he lived more in Scotland and the U.S.)
  
  
• Norman Bethune ("Bai Qiu En") (medical doctor; hero in Chinese civil war)
  
  
• Justin Bieber (teen international singing sensation)
  
  
• Roberta Bondar (space shuttle astronaut)
  
  
• Paul Brandt (country singer; CMA 2005 Global Artist of the Year)
  
  
• Norman Breakey (inventor of the paint roller)
  
  
• Kurt Browning (figure skater; four-time world champion)
  
  
• Michael Bublé (pop/jazz singer; won 2007 Grammy award)
  
  
• Genevieve Bujold (movie actress; 1969 Academy Award nominee)
  
  
• Raymond Burr (actor; star of "Perry Mason" television show)
  
  
• James Cameron (director of movie "The Titanic")
  
  
• John Candy (comedic actor; police officer Burton Mercer in "The Blues Brothers")
  
  
• Jim Carrey (actor; star of such movies as "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective")
  
  
• Kim Cattrall (actress; co-star of "Sex and the City" -- lived in Canada from three months old to 16 years old)
  
  
• Michael Cera (film and television actor)
  
  
• Robert Charlebois (French-language singer and songwriter)
  
  
• John de Chastelain (general; overseer of IRA disarmament)
  
  
• Hayden Christensen (actor; Anakin Skywalker in the later "Star Wars" movies)
  
  
• Cirque de Soleil (acrobatic circus performers)
  
  
• Leonard Cohen (poet, singer, and songwriter)
  
  
• Holly Cole (jazz singer; especially popular in Japan)
  
  
• Douglas Coupland (writer; author of "Generation X")
  
  
• H.S.M. Coxeter (world-renowned mathematician; developer of Coxeter groups)
  
  
• David Cronenberg (movie director; Cannes Jury Prize winner, 1996)
  
  
• Robertson Davies (author; writer of "Fifth Business")
  
  
• Romeo Dallaire (general; commander of Rwanda international peacekeeping mission)
  
  
• Celine Dion (ballad singer; many huge hits including "Where Does My Heart Beat Now")
  
  
• The Dionne Quintuplets (first ever surviving quintuplets)
  
  
• Dennis Doherty (musician; founding member of "The Mamas & The Papas")
  
  
• Xavier Dolan (filmmaker; two-time winner of Palme d'Or at Cannes)
  
  
• James Doohan (actor; Scotty of "Star Trek")
  
  
• Drake (Grammy-winning hip-hop artist)
  
  
• Atom Egoyan (movie director; 1998 Academy Award nominee)
  
  
• Percy Faith (composer and bandleader; initiator of "easy listening" genre)
  
  
• J.C. Fields (mathematician; initiator of the Fields Medal)
  
  
• Sandford Fleming (creator of Universal Standard Time, 1879; knighted in 1897)
  
  
• Michael J. Fox (television and movie actor; star of "Family Ties" and "Back to the Future")
  
  
• Northrop Frye (ledendary literary critic)
  
  
• David Foster (music producer of Whitney Houston, Barbara Streisand, The Corrs, etc.)
  
  
• Nelly Furtado (singer and songwriter)
  
  
• Yousuf Karsh (portrait photographer of Bogart, Einstein, Eisenhower, Hemingway, Kennedy, Churchill, ...)
  
  
• John Kenneth Galbraith (economist; advisor to many U.S. presidents)
  
  
• Marc Garneau (space shuttle astronaut)
  
  
• Frank Gehry (architect; designed e.g. the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain)
  
  
• William Gibson (science fiction author; inventor of "cyberpunk" genre)
  
  
• Malcolm Gladwell (writer and journalist; author of "The Tipping Point")
  
  
• James Gosling (creator of the Java computer language)
  
  
• Ryan Gosling (Hollywood actor; star of "Crazy Stupid Love")
  
  
• Glenn Gould (leading classical piano player)
  
  
• Lorne Greene (actor; star of television show "Bonanza")
  
  
• Nancy Greene (skier; 1968 Olympic gold medalist)
  
  
• Wayne Gretzky (hockey superstar)
  
  
• Paul Gross (actor; played Mountie Benton Fraser on "Due South")
  
  
• Group of Seven (early twentieth century painters)
  
  
• The Guess Who (rock band; writers of song "American Woman")
  
  
• Chris Hadfield (astronaut; commander of the International Space Station)
  
  
• Monty Hall (host of television show "Let's Make a Deal")
  
  
• Paul Haggis (Academy Award-winning director of "Crash")
  
  
• Phil Hartman (comedian on Saturday Night Live)
  
  
• Keith Hastings (inventor of Metropolis-Hastings computer algorithm)
  
  
• Douglas Henning (magician, and advocate of Transcendental Meditation)
  
  
• Jack Hopps (inventor of the first artificial pacemaker in 1951)
  
  
• Gordie Howe (hockey superstar)
  
  
• IMAX Corporation (group of Canadians that invented the IMAX movie format, 1970)
  
  
• Kenneth Iverson (creator of the APL computer language)
  
  
• Peter Jennings (ABC television news host)
  
  
• Norman Jewison (movie director; winner of 1999 Special Academy Award)
  
  
• Ben Johnson (former world-class sprinter)
  
  
• Lynn Johnston (creator of "For Better or For Worse" comic strip)
  
  
• Brian Kernighan (co-creator of the C computer language)
  
  
• Margot Kidder (actress; Lois Lane of "Superman" movies)
  
  
• W.P. Kinsella (author of novel "Shoeless Joe", later made into the movie "Field of Dreams")
  
  
• K'naan (musician; writer of World Cup anthem "Wavin' Flag")
  
  
• Diana Krall (best-selling jazz singer)
  
  
• Guy LaFleur (hockey superstar)
  
  
• k.d. lang (rock/country singer and songwriter)
  
  
• Daniel Lanois (musician and producer of Bob Dylan, U2, etc.)
  
  
• Avril Lavigne (rock singer and songwriter)
  
  
• Stephen Leacock (comedic writer)
  
  
• Mario Lemieux (hockey superstar)
  
  
• Eugene and Dan Levy (actors; Emmy-winning co-creators of Schitt's Creek)
  
  
• Gordon Lightfoot (folk singer and songwriter)
  
  
• Art Linkletter (TV personality; co-host of "Kids Say the Darndest Things")
  
  
• Rich Little (voice impressionist)
  
  
• Guy Lombardo (big-band leader; 1929-62 performer of "Auld Lang Syne" in New York on New Year's Eve)
  
  
• Lewis MacKenzie (general; commander of Sarajevo international peacekeeping mission)
  
  
• Steve MacLean (space station astronaut)
  
  
• Robert MacNeil (U.S. television news commentator; co-creator of The MacNeil/Lehrer Report)
  
  
• Howie Mandel (comedic actor; host of "Deal or No Deal")
  
  
• Raymond Massey (movie actor; portrayed Abraham Lincoln)
  
  
• Rachel McAdams (movie actor; Regina of "Mean Girls")
  
  
• Eric McCormack (actor; played "Will" on TV show "Will & Grace")
  
  
• Loreena McKennitt (celtic-style musician)
  
  
• Sarah McLachlan (rock singer and songwriter; Lilith Fair organiser)
  
  
• Marshall McLuhan (communication theorist)
  
  
• David McTaggart and Paul Watson (co-founders of Greenpeace)
  
  
• Deepa Mehta (Academy Award-nominated director of "Water")
  
  
• Men Without Hats (rock group; performers of international top-ten song "The Safety Dance")
  
  
• Mike Myers (comedic actor; writer and star of "Wayne's World" and "Austin Powers")
  
  
• Lorne Michaels (creator and producer of "Saturday Night Live")
  
  
• Joni Mitchell (folk singer and songwriter)
  
  
• Lucy Maud Montgomery (author of "Anne of Green Gables")
  
  
• Rick Moranis (comedic actor; co-star of movie "Ghost Busters")
  
  
• Alanis Morissette (rock singer and songwriter; won 7 Grammy awards)
  
  
• Carrie-Anne Moss (actress; Trinity in "The Matrix" movies)
  
  
• Farley Mowat (author and conservationist; writer of "Never Cry Wolf")
  
  
• Alice Munro (short-story writer, won Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013)
  
  
• Anne Murray (pop singer of e.g. mega-hit "You Needed Me")
  
  
• James Naismith (inventor of basketball, 1892)
  
  
• Steve Nash (NBA basketball star and two-time MVP)
  
  
• Daniel Nestor (tennis player; two-time Wimbledon doubles champion)
  
  
• Nickelback (rock band; eleventh best-selling in U.S. in 2000s)
  
  
• Leslie Nielsen (comedic movie actor; starred in "Airplane" and "Naked Gun" series)
  
  
• Sandra Oh (actress; Dr. Cristina Yang on "Grey's Anatomy")
  
  
• Michael Ondaatje (author of "The English Patient", later made into a movie)
  
  
• Bobby Orr (hockey superstar)
  
  
• Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page) (movie actor; 2008 Academy Award nominee)
  
  
• Julie Payette (space shuttle astronaut)
  
  
• Lester Pearson (originator of U.N. Peacekeeping Forces; winner of 1957 Nobel Peace Prize)
  
  
• Matthew Perry (actor; Chandler of T.V. show "Friends")
  
  
• Russell Peters (stand-up comedian)
  
  
• Oscar Peterson (legendary jazz piano player; won 7 Grammy awards)
  
  
• Mary Pickford (early movie actor)
  
  
• Christopher Plummer (actor; co-star of movie "The Sound of Music")
  
  
• John Polanyi (chemist; winner of 1986 Nobel Prize)
  
  
• Sarah Polley (Oscar-winning director, screenwriter and actor)
  
  
• Jason Priestly (television actor on "90210")
  
  
• Raffi (children's music performer)
  
  
• James Randi, a.k.a. "The Amazing Randi" (magician and skeptic)
  
  
• Keanu Reeves (movie actor; star of "The Matrix")
  
  
• Ryan Reynolds (movie actor; star of "The Proposal" and "Green Lantern")
  
  
• Mordecai Richler (author; writer of "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz")
  
  
• Maurice "Rocket" Richard (hockey superstar)
  
  
• Peter Lymburner Robertson (inventor of the square screwdriver)
  
  
• Seth Rogen (Hollywood actor)
  
  
• Stan Rogers (folk singer and songwriter)
  
  
• Mark Rowswell ("Da Shan") (TV host and comedy star in China)
  
  
• Greg Rusedski (professional tennis player; later played for Britain)
  
  
• Rush (progressive rock / heavy metal group; received "Living Legend Award" from London's Classic Rock)
  
  
• Morley Safer (reporter/correspondent for CBS News and 60 Minutes)
  
  
• Buffy Sainte-Marie (Oscar-winning singer/songwriter)
  
  
• Robert J. Sawyer (science fiction author; Nebula and Hugo Award winner)
  
  
• Myron Scholes (economist; winner of 1997 Nobel prize)
  
  
• Paul Shaffer (band leader on David Letterman's "Late Night" television show)
  
  
• William Shatner (actor; Captain Kirk of "Star Trek")
  
  
• Domee Shi (Oscar-winning director of animated films)
  
  
• Martin Short (comedic movie actor)
  
  
• Joe Shuster (creator of "Superman" character, 1938)
  
  
• Hank Snow (country singer; released mega-hit "I'm Movin' On" in 1950)
  
  
• Andrew Michael Spence (economist; winner of 2001 Nobel Prize)
  
  
• Elvis Stojko (figure skater)
  
  
• Donald and Kiefer Sutherland (father & son acting stars)
  
  
• Alan Thicke (TV actor, host, and theme song writer)
  
  
• Alex Trebek (host of television show "Jeopardy")
  
  
• Pierre Trudeau (politician and statesman)
  
  
• Shania Twain (country singer and songwriter)
  
  
• Nia Vardalos (writer and star of movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding")
  
  
• Gilles Vigneault (French-language singer and songwriter)
  
  
• Gilles and Jacques Villeneuve (father & son champion racecar drivers)
  
  
• Roch Voisine (French-language rock singer)
  
  
• Al Waxman (actor; Lt. Bert Samuels of "Cagney and Lacey")
  
  
• Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster (comedy duo; Ed Sullivan's most frequent recurring guests)
  
  
• The Weeknd (award-winning singer and songwriter)
  
  
• Mike Weir (golf champion)
  
  
• Neil Young (singer, musician, and songwriter)
  
  
• Robert Young (co-founder of Red Hat linux company)
  
  
• Mortimer Zuckerman (publisher/owner of New York Daily News)

See also other related lists here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

-- Jeffrey Rosenthal (contact me)