List of Famous people born in Dominican Republic
Albert Pujols
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara is a Dominican professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played 11 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals, with whom he was a three-time National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) and nine-time All-Star. Since joining the Angels in 2012, he has made one All-Star appearance, in 2015. A right-handed batter and thrower, Pujols stands 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighs 235 pounds (107 kg).
David Ortiz
David Américo Ortiz Arias, nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican-American former professional baseball (MLB) designated hitter (DH) and first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. He also played for the Minnesota Twins. During his 14 seasons with the Red Sox, he was a ten-time All-Star, a three-time World Series champion, and a seven-time Silver Slugger winner. Ortiz also holds the Red Sox single-season record for home runs with 54, which he set during the 2006 season.
Starling Marte
Starling Javier Marte is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2012 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and has also played for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Marte is an MLB All-Star, and a two-time Gold Glove Award winner.
Jorge Lendeborg
Jorge David Lendeborg Jr. is a Dominican-American actor. Lendeborg was born in Santo Domingo, and moved to Miami, Florida, at around age four. He made his theatrical acting debut in the 2016 film, The Land. Since then, he has appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), the romantic comedy Love, Simon (2018), and the Transformers spin off Bumblebee (2018), in which he starred as Memo opposite Hailee Steinfeld. Lendeborg also appeared in the James Cameron-produced Robert Rodriguez movie Alita: Battle Angel. He featured as a recurring character, Jah Son, in Hulu's Wu-Tang: An American Saga (2019).
Wander Franco
Wander Samuel Franco Sr. is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Bartolo Colón
Bartolo Colón, nicknamed "Big Sexy", is a Dominican-American professional baseball pitcher for the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians (1997–2002), Montreal Expos (2002), Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004–2007), Boston Red Sox (2008), New York Yankees (2011), Oakland Athletics (2012–2013), New York Mets (2014–2016), Atlanta Braves (2017), Minnesota Twins (2017), and Texas Rangers (2018).
Al Horford
Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso is a Dominican professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida Gators and was the starting center on their back-to-back National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships teams in 2006 and 2007. He was drafted with the third overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks, a team he played nine seasons with before joining the Celtics in 2016.
Juan Soto
Juan José Soto Pacheco, nicknamed "Childish Bambino", is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Soto signed with the Nationals as an international free agent in 2015. He made his MLB debut in 2018. In 2020, he led the National League in batting average with .351.
Natti Natasha
Natalia Alexandra Gutiérrez Batista, better known by her stage name Natti Natasha, is a Dominican singer and songwriter. She was signed to Don Omar's label Orfanato Music Group. Her debut EP, All About Me, was released on March 28, 2012, by Orfanato Music Group. Her debut album, Iluminatti, was released on February 15, 2019, by Pina Records and Sony Music Latin.
Marcell Ozuna
Marcell Ozuna Idelfonso, nicknamed "The Big Bear", is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, and Atlanta Braves. He made his MLB debut in 2013 with the Marlins.
José Siri
José Alexander Siri is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). Siri signed with the Cincinnati Reds as an international free agent in 2012. He made his MLB debut in September 2021.
José Bautista
José Antonio Bautista Santos, nicknamed Joey Bats, is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder and third baseman. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies.
Sammy Sosa
Samuel Peralta Sosa is a Dominican American former professional baseball right fielder of Haitian descent. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox, Sosa joined the Cubs in 1992 and became regarded as one of the game's best hitters. Sosa hit his 400th home run in his 1,354th game and his 5,273rd at-bat, reaching this milestone quicker than any player in National League history. He is one of nine players in MLB history to hit 600 career home runs.
Fernando Tatís Jr.
Fernando Gabriel Tatís Medina, nicknamed "El Niño", is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019.
Felipe López
Luis Felipe López is a Dominican retired professional basketball player. He starred as a high school player and for the St. John's Red Storm in college basketball. López played for four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has played for teams in a half dozen countries, as well as in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) in the U.S. Most recently, he has been a broadcaster with Spanish-language networks.
Adrián Beltré
Adrián Beltré Pérez is a Dominican former professional baseball third baseman. Originally signed as an amateur free agent, he made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1998 at age 19. He subsequently played for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers. He batted and threw right-handed. He became one of the most all-around accomplished players in history; he ranks 13th in defensive Wins Above Replacement and was the fourth third baseman to reach 400 home runs and 1,500 runs batted in. Beltré was a four-time selection for the Silver Slugger Award and MLB All-Star Game, and a five-time winner of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
Junior Firpo
Héctor Junior Firpo Adames, known as Junior Firpo or simply Junior, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Barcelona. Mainly a left-back, he can also play as a centre-back or right-back.
Juan Luis Guerra
Juan Luis Guerra Seijas, is a Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. He has sold 30 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards including 21 Latin Grammy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and two Latin Billboard Music Awards. Guerra won 3 Latin Grammy Awards in 2010, including Album of the Year. In 2012, he won the Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year.
Rayderley Zapata Santana
Miguel Rayderley Zapata Santana is a Spanish male artistic gymnast of Dominican Republic origin, and a member of the national team. He won the gold medal in the men's floor exercise at the 2015 European Games, and bronze at the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow. Zapata was also selected to compete for the Spanish squad at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, missing out of the final by almost two tenths of a point from the qualifying phase of his signature apparatus exercise. Zapata won a silver medal for Spain in the artistic gymnastics competition at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Johnny Cueto
Johnny Cueto Ortiz is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Cueto signed in 2004 as an undrafted amateur free agent. He previously played for the Cincinnati Reds from 2008 through 2015, and the Kansas City Royals in 2015. He was traded by the Reds to the Royals during the 2015 season, and helped the Royals win the World Series.