List of Famous people born in Free State, South Africa

Jaco Peyper is a South African rugby referee

Ruan Pienaar is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays either as a scrum-half or as a fly-half for the Cheetahs in Pro14 rugby and the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup.

Mark Richard Shuttleworth is a South African-British entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of Canonical, the company behind the development of the Linux-based Ubuntu operating system. In 2002, Shuttleworth became the first South African to travel to space as a space tourist, and indeed the first African from an independent country to travel to space. He lives on the Isle of Man and holds dual citizenship from South Africa and the United Kingdom. According to the Sunday Times Rich List in 2020, Shuttleworth is worth an estimated £500 million.

Elias Sekgobelo "Ace" Magashule is a South African politician and an anti-apartheid activist who is the current Secretary General of the African National Congress. He served as the Premier of the Free State, one of South Africa's nine provinces, from 2009 until 2018.

Karel Schoeman was a South African novelist, historian, translator and man of letters. He was the author of 19 novels and numerous works of history. He was one of South Africa's most honoured authors. Schoeman wrote primarily in Afrikaans, although several of his non-fiction books were originally written in English. His novels are increasingly being translated into other languages, notably, English, French and Dutch.

Cornelius Michael 'Nelie' Smith was a South African rugby union player and coach.

Bismarck Wilhelm du Plessis is a South African professional rugby union player, who plays for Montpellier in the French Top 14. He played for the Free State Cheetahs in 2003, before moving to the Sharks in 2005 where he spent the bulk of his career.

Sir Laurens Jan van der Post, was a 20th-century South African Afrikaner author, farmer, soldier, political adviser to British heads of government, close friend of Prince Charles, godfather of Prince William, educator, journalist, humanitarian, philosopher, explorer and conservationist.

Martinus Theunis Steyn was a South African lawyer, politician, and statesman. He was the sixth and last president of the independent republic the Orange Free State from 1896 to 1902.