List of Famous people born in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Wolfgang Clement was a German politician and a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). He was the 7th Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 27 May 1998 to 22 October 2002 and Federal Minister of Economics and Labour from 2002 to 2005. He was an Honorary Member of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.

Bettina Tietjen is a German television presenter and talkshow host.

Paul Drux is a German handball player for Füchse Berlin and the German national team.

Dieter-Klaus Hecking is a German football manager, who last managed Hamburger SV and former professional player. He played for Hannover 96 and Eintracht Braunschweig. He returned to manage Hannover despite the long-standing and bitter rivalry between the two clubs.

Marco Bülow is a German journalist and politician who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2002. Since 2020, he is a member of Die PARTEI. Formerly, he was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) between 1992 and 2018.

Rolf Kanies is a German actor who played many high-profile roles on the stage before switching to a career in film and television in 1997. Since then Rolf has specialized in German and international film and television. Movies he has played in have been nominated for a variety of international awards, including an Oscar.

Hamit Altıntop is a Turkish former professional footballer who last played for SV Darmstadt 98. He was a versatile midfielder who can play either in a defending or attacking role and on both flanks, known for his creative flair and long-range shooting ability. He is the identical twin brother of footballer Halil Altıntop, who was born 10 minutes after Hamit.

Jörg Schmadtke is a German football manager. The former coach and goalkeeper works as managing director sport for VFL Wolfsburg, after being vorstand sport at 1. FC Köln. He played for Fortuna Düsseldorf, SC Freiburg (1993–1997) and Bayer 04 Leverkusen (1997–98), all together 266 games in the German Bundesliga. Schmadtke was involved three times in improving the financial and sports situation of a club considerably.

Antje Nikola Mönning is a German actress.

Henning Wehn is a German stand-up comedian based in London.