List of Famous people born in Pays de la Loire, France

Géraldine Martineau is a French actress, originally from Nantes, France. She started acting when she was 8 years old. At the age of 17, she was accepted into the Cours Florent and started a course in the Classe Libre, before she entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique two years later. She has acted on stage, on television and in movies.

Francis Smerecki was a French football player and manager. He was of Polish descent.

Jean Graton was a French comic book author and cartoonist. Graton created the famous character Michel Vaillant and the eponymous series in 1957.

Jacqueline Auriol was a French aviator who set several world speed records.

India Hair is a French actress. She was born in Saumur to an American father and an English mother. Her film credits include Camille Rewinds, Jacky in Women's Kingdom, Brèves de comptoir and High Society. She has also appeared in the television series Boulevard du Palais.

Charles Godefroy was a French aviator who became famous for flying through the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in 1919.

Danièle Sallenave is a French novelist and journalist. In April 2011, she became a member of the Académie française. In 1980 Sallenave received the Prix Renaudot for her novel Les Portes de Gubbio.

Pierre de Saintignon was a French politician. He was a member of the French Socialist Party since 1967. He was elected councilor to the Lille municipality in 1989, 1995, 2001, 2008 and 2014, the first two terms under Pierre Mauroy and the other three under Martine Aubry. From 2001, he was the First Deputy-Mayor, in charge of finance, economic development and military matters. In 1998, 2004 and 2010 he was elected councilor the Regional Council of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, where he sat as first vice-president, in charge of economic development. Most of his political career was as an unofficial chief of staff, rather than as a foreground person. He was chosen to lead the PS list for the 2015 regional elections that were held on 6 and 13 December 2015.

Valerie Garnier is a French basketball coach for French national team, which participated at the 2014 FIBA World Championship.

François Viète, Seigneur de la Bigotière was a French mathematician whose work on new algebra was an important step towards modern algebra, due to its innovative use of letters as parameters in equations. He was a lawyer by trade, and served as a privy councillor to both Henry III and Henry IV of France.