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

Davin Herbrüggen is a German singer who won the sixteenth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar. His winning song "The River" was produced by Madizin.

Marc Rzatkowski is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for 2. Bundesliga club Schalke 04.

Florian Panzner is a German actor who has been active since 1999.

Marvin Ducksch is a German footballer who plays as a striker for Hannover 96.

Anja Harteros is a German soprano. She has a vast repertoire encompassing Mozart, 19th-century German and Italian operas, and Lieder. Her career took off after she won the 1999 Cardiff Singer of the World competition.

Fabian Thylmann is a businessman from Germany who was founder and managing partner of the Internet pornography conglomerate Manwin. In October 2013, he sold his stake in the company, which was at the time the largest pornography operator in the world. Since then he acts as an angel investor for young Startups in Brussels, Belgium where he also operates a co-working and incubation space, SN-Cube.

Hans-Werner Sinn is a German economist and was President of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research from 1999 to 2016. He serves on the German economy ministry’s advisory council. He is Professor Emeritus of Economics and Public Finance at the University of Munich.

Sara Doorsoun-Khajeh is a German footballer currently playing for VfL Wolfsburg and the Germany women's national football team as a midfielder and defender. She previously played for Wattenscheid 09, Bad Neuenahr, Turbine Potsdam and SGS Essen.

Pia Klemp is a German biologist and human rights activist, who, between 2011 and 2017, worked for the Sea Shepherd organization to participate in many international operations to protect sea animals.

Mandy Islacker is a German footballer who plays for Köln. She is the daughter of Frank Islacker and the granddaughter of Franz Islacker.