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

Alexander Nübel is a German footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for FC Bayern Munich.

Martin Kaymer is a German professional golfer. A winner of two major championships, he was also the No. 1 ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking for eight weeks in 2011.

Sven Michel is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for 2. Bundesliga club SC Paderborn.

Hanns-Josef Ortheil is a German author, scholar of German literature, and pianist. He has written many autobiographical and historical novels, some of which have been translated into 11 languages, according to WorldCat: French, Dutch, Modern Greek, Spanish, Chinese, Lithuanian, Japanese, Slovenian, and Russian.

Ron-Robert Zieler is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for 1. FC Köln, on loan from Hannover 96. Between 2011 and 2015 he made six appearances for the Germany national team.

Hans Heyer is a German racing driver who mainly raced touring cars, being popular with the fans for his rather funny style. He is better known for actions and antics during his single attempt at Formula One, the 1977 German Grand Prix.

Michael Rummenigge is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Claudelle Deckert is a German actress and model.

Cornelia Maria Funke is a German author of children's fiction. Born in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia, she began her career as a social worker before becoming a book illustrator. She began writing novels in the late 1980s and focused primarily on fantasy-oriented stories that depict the lives of children faced with adversity. Funke has since become Germany's "best-selling author for children." Her work has been translated into several languages and, as of 2012, Funke has sold over 20 million copies of her books worldwide.

Kimberly Birrell is an Australian tennis player. Birrell has won two ITF Women's Circuit singles and one doubles titles. Birrell reached her best singles ranking of world number 157 on 28 January 2019.