List of Famous people born in Latvia

Catherine I was the second wife and Empress consort of Peter the Great, and Empress regnant of Russia from 1725 until her death in 1727.

Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein was a Soviet film director and film theorist, a pioneer in the theory and practice of montage. He is noted in particular for his silent films Strike (1925), Battleship Potemkin (1925) and October (1928), as well as the historical epics Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ivan the Terrible. In its 2012 decennial poll, the magazine Sight & Sound named his Battleship Potemkin the 11th greatest film of all time.

Agata Muceniece is a Latvian-born Russian actress and model, and television presenter.

Kristaps Porziņģis is a Latvian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is one of the tallest active players in the NBA, standing at 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) tall, and plays both the power forward and center positions.

Jeļena Ostapenko, also known as Aļona Ostapenko, is a professional tennis player from Latvia. She has career-high WTA rankings of No. 5 in singles, achieved on 19 March 2018, and No. 17 in doubles, reached on 2 March 2020.

Mikhail Nikolayevich Zadornov was a Soviet and Russian stand-up comedian and writer. Zadornov was born into an artistic family, his father Nikolai Zadornov being a notable writer from Riga. Zadornov’s mother, Elena Matusevich (1909-1992), came from an old noble family, which can trace its roots to the Polish king Stephen Bathory.

Matīss Edmunds Kivlenieks was a Latvian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for Prizma Riga of the Latvian Hockey Higher League (LHL), the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL), and the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 2012 and 2021.

Arkady Isaakovich Raikin was a Soviet stand-up comedian, theater and film actor, and stage director. He led the school of Soviet and Russian humorists for about half a century.

Mikhail "Misha" Cirkunov is a Latvian-Canadian professional mixed martial artist of Russian heritage, who competes in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He lives in and fights out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. As of September 29, 2020, he is #10 in the UFC Light Heavyweight rankings.

Vitaly Vladasovich Grachev, known professionally as Vitas, is a Ukrainian singer and actor. He is known for his unique falsetto which he displays when performing his "turkey call" in "The 7th Element" and his trademark falsetto choruses. His eclectic musical style incorporates elements of techno, dance, classical, jazz, and folk music. His song "Opera #2" and the music video for "The 7th Element" became popular on various social networks, accounting for much of his worldwide recognition.

Heinz Erhardt was a German comedian, musician, entertainer, actor, and poet.

Laima Vaikule is a Latvian actress, singer, director, and choreographer, best known in Europe and in the former USSR for such popular hits as "Vernisage" and "Charlie," among other songs.

Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet Latvian-born Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male classical dancer of the 1970s and 1980s. He subsequently became a noted dance director.

Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons was a Latvian conductor. During his lifetime, Jansons was often cited as one of the world's top living conductors. He was best known for his interpretations of Mahler, Strauss and Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich.

Ernests Gulbis is a Latvian professional tennis player. In 2008, Gulbis won his first ATP Tour doubles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, teaming with Rainer Schüttler, and in 2010 won his first ATP Tour singles title in the Delray Beach, defeating Ivo Karlović in the final. In total, Gulbis has six ATP titles to his name. His best performance at a Grand Slam is reaching the semifinals of the 2014 French Open. He had previously reached the quarterfinals of the 2008 French Open. Gulbis' career-high singles ranking is world No. 10, making him the only Latvian tennis player ever to be ranked inside the top 10 in ATP Singles Ranking. He achieved this in June 2014.

Yuri Georgiyevich Bogatyryov was a Soviet actor, best known for his roles in five films by Nikita Mikhalkov, including At Home Among Strangers (1974). Bogatyryov, one of the leading actors of Sovremennik (1971-1977) and then Moscow Art Theater (1977-1989), was designated People's Artist of Russia in 1988.

Anastasija Sevastova is a professional tennis player from Latvia. She reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 in October 2018, after reaching her first Premier Mandatory final at the China Open. She has won four singles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as 13 singles and four doubles titles on the ITF Circuit.

Anton Konstantinovich Zabolotny is a Russian professional football player. He plays as a striker for PFC Sochi.

Ojārs Raimonds Pauls is a Latvian composer and piano player who is well known in Latvia, Russia, post-Soviet countries and world-wide. He was the Minister of culture of Latvia from 1988 to 1993.

Ivars Edmunds Kalniņš is a Latvian film and television actor. He graduated in 1974 from the Jāzeps Vītols Theatre Department of the Latvian Conservatory. He had already started acting however in 1972 at the Artistic Academic Theatre of J. Rainis. Kalniņš has performed in both Latvian language and Russian language films and television shows.