List of Famous people who are 72

Larisa Leonidovna Petrik is a former Soviet gymnast and Olympic champion. Petrik competed at the 1966 World Championships where she shared in the team silver medal and earned an individual bronze medal on the beam. She also competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where she received a gold medal in floor exercise, a gold medal in team combined exercises, and a bronze medal in balance beam. Her gold medal on floor was very controversial because originally, Čáslavská won outright. After the competition was concluded, Petrik's prelims scores were changed to let her tie with Čáslavská, an action which caused Čáslavská to publicly defy the Soviets who had recently invaded her home country.

Jacqueline Rose, FBA is a British academic who is Professor of Humanities at the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities.

Manuel "Manny" Bamba Villar, Jr. is a Filipino billionaire businessman and former politician. He previously served as senator from 2001 to 2013 and as the President of the Senate of the Philippines from 2006 to 2008. Before his stint in the senate, he represented the district of Las Piñas–Muntinlupa from 1992 to 1998, and Las Piñas's at-large district from 1998 to 2001. He also became the speaker of the House of Representatives from 1998 to 2000; in this term, he presided over the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada. From 2019 to 2022, Forbes magazine named Villar as the richest individual in the Philippines, with an estimated net worth of $8.3 billion.

John Duigan is an Australian film director and screenwriter. He is mostly known for his two autobiographical films The Year My Voice Broke and Flirting, and the 1994 film Sirens, which stars Hugh Grant.

Ibrahim Roshdy Mahlab is an Egyptian politician who was the Prime Minister of Egypt from 1 March 2014 until 19 September 2015. Previously he served as Minister of Housing.