List of Famous people born in Austria

Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor Francis I, and the brother of Marie Antoinette. He was thus the first ruler in the Austrian dominions of the House of Lorraine, styled Habsburg-Lorraine. Joseph was a proponent of enlightened absolutism; however, his commitment to modernizing reforms subsequently engendered significant opposition, which resulted in failure to fully implement his programs. Meanwhile, despite making some territorial gains, his reckless foreign policy badly isolated Austria. He has been ranked, with Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick the Great of Prussia, as one of the three great Enlightenment monarchs. His reputation as an enlightened monarch was somewhat legendary, leading to false, but influential letters depicting him as a radical philosopher. His policies are now known as Josephinism. He was a supporter of the arts, and most importantly of composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. He died with no sons and was succeeded by his younger brother, Leopold II.

Peter Stöger is an Austrian football coach and a former player. He is the head coach of Austria Wien.

Cesár Sampson is an Austrian singer, songwriter, producer, dancer and model. He was also a social worker and fitness teacher. He represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Nobody but You", winning the jury vote, coming in 13th place in the televote and finishing in third place overall.

Paul Watzlawick was an Austrian-American family therapist, psychologist, communication theorist, and philosopher. A theoretician in communication theory and radical constructivism, he commented in the fields of family therapy and general psychotherapy. Watzlawick believed that people create their own suffering in the very act of trying to fix their emotional problems. He was one of the most influential figures at the Mental Research Institute and lived and worked in Palo Alto, California.

Hans Knauß is an Austrian former alpine skier. He competed at the 1994, 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal in the Super-G at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. Knauß tested positive for the anabolic steroid Nandrolone at a World Cup downhill in Canada on 27 November 2004 and was given an 18-month ban from sport.

Rusty-Jake Rodriguez is a professional Austrian darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. In 2017, he was the inaugural winner of the JDC World Championship.

Christian Fuchs is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a left back for Premier League club Leicester City.

Theodore Meir Bikel was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist and political activist. He appeared in films including The African Queen (1951); Moulin Rouge (1952); The Kidnappers (1953); The Enemy Below (1957); I Want to Live! (1958); My Fair Lady (1964); The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966) and 200 Motels (1971). For his portrayal of Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones (1958), he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Dietrich Mateschitz is an Austrian billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and 49% owner of the Red Bull energy drink company. As of 24 July 2020, according to Forbes, Mateschitz's net worth was estimated at $26.9 billion, making him the 40th wealthiest person in the world.

Lisa Theresa Hauser is an Austrian biathlete. She competed at the Biathlon World Championships 2013, and at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, in sprint, pursuit and individual. She reached her first individual podium in the 2020–21 season in the Stage 5 sprint competition in Oberhof, finishing 3rd, and won the women’s Mass Start at the Biathlon World Championships 2021.