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

Marietta Slomka is a German journalist who has been the anchor of TV news show [Heute Journal|heute-journal]] since 2001.

Andrea Ferber, known professionally as Andrea Berg, is a German schlager singer. Born in Krefeld, she performed at carnivals as a child and began her career in 1992 after being discovered by record producer Eugen Römer. While she released her first studio album Du bist frei that same year, her commercial breakthrough took place with its follow-up Gefühle, released in 1995. The collaboration between Berg and Römer spawned a string of commercially successful albums, with her albums Machtlos (2003), Du (2004), Splitternackt (2006), and Zwischen Himmel & Erde (2009) topping the German charts. Her compilation album Best Of, released in 2001, is the album that spent the most weeks on the charts in Germany and Austria. Between 2010 and 2018, Berg worked with Dieter Bohlen, who produced her albums Schwerelos (2010), Abenteuer (2011), Atlantis (2013), and Seelenbeben (2016), all of which topped the German and Austrian album charts.

Julian Draxler is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Germany national team. He is known for his ability to use both feet, his speed, and the power of his shot.

Franz Müntefering is a German politician. He was Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 2004 to 2005 and again from 18 October 2008 to 13 November 2009. He served as Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, as well as Vice-Chancellor, from 2005 to 2007.

İlkay Gündoğan is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the Germany national team.

Sarah Lombardi is a German singer. She is best known for participating in season 8 of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, where she was eliminated from the Top 10, only to return two shows later and eventually become the runner-up.

Max Raabe is a German folk singer. He is best known as the founder and leader of the Palast Orchester.

Leon Christoph Goretzka is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team.

Neil Jones is a British dancer and choreographer, best known for his role as a professional dancer in the BBC One dance series Strictly Come Dancing.

Thomas Ludwig Albert Oppermann was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). From October 2017 until his death he served as Vice President of the Bundestag. In his earlier career, he served as First Secretary (2007–2013) and later as chairman (2013–2017) of the SPD Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag.