List of Famous people born in Nicaragua
Román González
Román Alberto González Luna, best known by his nickname "Chocolatito", is a Nicaraguan professional boxer. He is the first boxer from Nicaragua to win world titles in four weight classes, having surpassed his mentor, idol, and former three-weight world champion, the late Alexis Argüello. González is also the first boxer in history to win world titles in all four of the lowest weight classes: minimumweight, light flyweight, flyweight, and super flyweight.
Rosario Murillo
Rosario María Murillo Zambrana is the vice president and first lady of Nicaragua. She is married to the current president Daniel Ortega. She was also first lady when, in 1985, her husband became president six years after the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) overthrew the Somoza dynasty. Murillo has served as the Nicaraguan government's lead spokesperson, government minister, head of the Sandinista Association of Cultural Workers, and Communications Coordinator of the Council on Communication and Citizenry. She was sworn in as vice president of Nicaragua on 10 January 2017.
Ana Navarro
Ana Violeta Navarro-Cárdenas is an American political strategist and commentator. She appears on various television programs and news outlets, including CNN, CNN en Español, ABC News, and Telemundo. She is also a weekly guest co-host of the daytime talk show The View, garnering an Emmy nomination for her work.
Bianca Jagger
Bianca Jagger is a Nicaraguan social and human rights advocate and a former actress. Jagger currently serves as a Council of Europe goodwill ambassador, founder and chair of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, member of the Executive Director's Leadership Council of Amnesty International USA, and a trustee of the Amazon Charitable Trust.
Barbara Carrera
Barbara Carrera is a Nicaraguan American film and television actress and former model. She is known for her roles as SPECTRE assassin Fatima Blush in Never Say Never Again, as Maria in The Island of Dr. Moreau, and as Angelica Nero on the soap opera Dallas.
Ricardo Mayorga
Ricardo Antonio Mayorga Perez is a Nicaraguan ex professional boxing and former mixed martial artist. In boxing he is a former two-weight world champion, having held the unified WBA (Super), WBC, Ring magazine, and lineal welterweight titles in 2003, and the WBC super welterweight title from 2005 to 2006. Mayorga first became well known to boxing fans upon being featured on the cover of The Ring's December 2003 issue, entitled "The craziest man in the sport: Mayorga lights up boxing." He has since maintained this infamous reputation with his relentless trash-talk in the build-up to most of his fights, as well as his smoking and drinking habits outside the ring.
Violeta Barrios
Violeta Chamorro is a Nicaraguan politician who served as President of Nicaragua from 1990 to 1997. She was the first and, to date, only woman to hold the position of president in Nicaragua.
Hernaldo Zúñiga
Hernaldo Zúñiga is a Nicaraguan singer-songwriter. He was born in Managua, but spent his childhood and adolescence in Masaya.
Claudia Maria Poll
Claudia Maria Poll Ahrens is a Costa Rican swimmer who competes in the 200 m to 800 m freestyle events. She is Costa Rica's only Olympic gold-medalist, having won the country's first Olympic gold medals at the 1996 Olympics in the 200 meter freestyle. She is a multiple national record holder in the freestyle events.
Yokasta Valle
Yokasta Galeth Valle Álvarez is a Costa Rican professional boxer. She is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the IBF female mini flyweight title since 2019 and previously the IBF female junior mini flyweight title in 2016. She has also challenged once for the WBO female junior flyweight title in 2017 and once for the WBC female mini flyweight title in 2018. As of May 2020, she is ranked as the world's fourth best active female mini flyweight by BoxRec.
Silvia Poll
Sylvia Poll Ahrens is an Olympic and National Record holding swimmer from Costa Rica. At the 1988 Olympics, she won Costa Rica's first Olympic medal, when she garnered the silver in the women's 200 free. As of 2009, she and her younger sister Claudia are Costa Rica's only Olympic medalists. Sylvia also swam for Costa Rica at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Enrique Bolaños
Enrique José Bolaños Geyer is a Nicaraguan former politician who served as President of Nicaragua from January 10, 2002 to January 10, 2007. He received his education in the United States, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Saint Louis University in 1962.
Juan Barrera
Juan Ramón Barrera Pérez is a Nicaraguan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Real Estelí FC and the Nicaragua national team.
Xiomara Blandino
Xiomara Blandino is a Nicaraguan architecture student who held the title of Miss Nicaragua 2007.She participated in the Miss Universe 2007 contest representing Nicaragua and made it to the semifinals. She placed 10th overall where Miss Japan Riyo Mori went on to win the title.
Dora María Téllez
Dora María Téllez Argüello is a Nicaraguan historian known for her involvement in the Nicaraguan Revolution. As a young university medical student in Leon in the 1970s, Téllez was recruited by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). Téllez went on to become a comandante in the popular revolt to oust the Nicaraguan dictator, Anastasio Somoza Debayle. In the subsequent FSLN government, she served as Health Minister and has also been an advocate for women's rights. She ultimately became a critic of repression and corruption under FSLN President Daniel Ortega and left the party to found the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS).
Carlos Mejía Godoy
Carlos Mejía Godoy is a Nicaraguan musician (accordion), composer and singer. He was born in Somoto, Madriz. Son of Carlos Mejía Fajardo and María Elsa Godoy, his brother Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy, three years younger than he is, is also an acclaimed and much-loved musician. Carlos and Luis Enrique were pivotal in the New Song Movement in Central America beginning in the 1970s. They were both honored with Nicaragua's highest cultural distinction, the Order of Rubén Darío.
Carlos Chavarría
Carlos Alberto Chavarría Rodriguez is a Nicaraguan footballer who currently plays for Real Estelí. Chavarría has also represented Nicaragua internationally, both at U-20s, and senior level.
Luis Somoza Debayle
Luis Anastasio Somoza Debayle was the 26th President of Nicaragua from 21 September 1956 to 1 May 1963, but was effectively dictator of the country from 1956 until his death.
Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier
Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier served as President of Costa Rica from 1990 to 1994. He was the presidential candidate of the Social Christian Unity Party for the national elections held in February 2010, but resigned his candidacy on 5 October 2009, when he was sentenced to five years in prison for two counts of corruption.
Arnoldo Alemán
José Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo is a Nicaraguan politician who served as the 81st President of Nicaragua from 10 January 1997 to 10 January 2002. In 2003, he was convicted of corruption and sentenced to a 20-year prison term, and Transparency International named him the ninth most corrupt leader in recent history. In 2009, those convictions were overturned, though these decisions remain controversial.