List of Famous people born in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Schalk Willem Petrus Burger Jr. is a South African professional rugby union player. He plays as a flanker for Saracens in the English Premiership and has won 86 caps for South Africa.

Athol Fugard is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director widely regarded as South Africa’s greatest playwright. He is best known for his political plays opposing the system of apartheid and for the 2005 Oscar-winning film of his novel Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood. Acclaimed as “the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world” by Time in 1985, Fugard continues to write and has published over thirty plays. Fugard was an adjunct professor of playwriting, acting and directing in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of California, San Diego. He is the recipient of many awards, honours, and honorary degrees, including the 2005 Order of Ikhamanga in Silver "for his excellent contribution and achievements in the theatre" from the government of South Africa. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He was honoured in Cape Town with the opening of the Fugard Theatre in District Six in 2010, and received a Tony Award for lifetime achievement in 2011.

Daniel Alexander "Danny" Jordaan is the president of the South African Football Association (SAFA). He is a former lecturer, politician and anti-apartheid activist. He led South Africa's successful 2010 FIFA World Cup bid, the first successful one for Africa, as well as the country's unsuccessful bid four years earlier for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and was the Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. He is also the former Mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, having served from May 2015 until August 2016.

Atandwa Kani is a South African actor, and the son of South African veteran actor John Kani.

Elize du Toit is a South African-born English actress best known for playing the role of Izzy Davies in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks from 2000 to 2004, with a brief return in 2007.

Michael John Catt OBE is a South African-born former rugby union player who played for the England national rugby union team. He played professionally for the clubs London Irish and Bath. He earned 75 international caps for England and played in two World Cup Finals, in 2003 and 2007. With his appearance in the October 2007 final, at age 36 years 1 month, he became the oldest ever player to play in a Rugby World Cup final. Since 2008, Catt has coached various rugby teams, and has since 2019 been an assistant coach for the Ireland national rugby team.

James Leonard Brierley Smith, known more commonly as "J. L. B. Smith",, was a South African ichthyologist, organic chemist, and university professor. He was the first to identify a taxidermied fish as a coelacanth, at the time thought to be long extinct.

Dabula Anthony Mpako is a South African prelate of the Catholic Church who was appointed as the Archbishop of Pretoria on 30 April 2019. His installation was celebrated on the following 22 June. He was also appointed as the Military Bishop of South Africa. He was Bishop of Queenstown from 2011 to 2019.

Carel Johan du Plessis is a former South African rugby union coach and player.

Noxolo Kiviet is a South African politician, and the Premier of the Eastern Cape from 2009 to 2014. She is the former speaker of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature. She is also a member of the African National Congress. In June 2012 Kiviet was rated as the worst performing provincial premier by the South African Public Service Commission.