List of Famous people born in Poland

Catherine II, most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was Empress of All Russia from 1762 until 1796—the country's longest-ruling female leader. She came to power following a coup d'état that overthrew her husband and second cousin, Peter III. Under her reign, Russia grew larger, its culture was revitalised, and it was recognized as one of the great powers worldwide.

Robert Lewandowski is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and is the captain of the Poland national team. He is renowned for his positioning, technique and finishing, and is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, and one of the best strikers in Bundesliga history. He has scored over 500 senior career goals for club and country.

Marie Skłodowska Curie, born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. As the first of the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes, she was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and the only woman to win the Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to win the Nobel Prize in two scientific fields. She was the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris in 1906.

Helena Modrzejewska, known professionally as Helena Modjeska, was a renowned Polish actress who specialized in Shakespearean and tragic roles.

Jan Maciej Błachowicz is a Polish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. A professional since 2007, he also competed for KSW and is the former KSW Light Heavyweight Champion. He is the second Polish champion in UFC history, after Joanna Jędrzejczyk and the first male Polish champion. As of January 25, 2021, he is #14 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.

Klaus Kinski was a German actor. He appeared in more than 130 films, and was a leading role actor in the films of Werner Herzog, including Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), Woyzeck (1979), Fitzcarraldo (1982), and Cobra Verde (1987). He also appeared in many Spaghetti Westerns, such as For a Few Dollars More (1965), A Bullet for the General (1966), The Great Silence (1968), And God Said to Cain (1970), Shoot the Living and Pray for the Dead (1971) and A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe (1975).

Pope John Paul II was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his death in 2005. He was elected pope by the second papal conclave of 1978, which was called after Pope John Paul I, who had been elected in August to succeed Pope Paul VI, died after 33 days. Cardinal Wojtyła was elected on the third day of the conclave and adopted the name of his predecessor in tribute to him. John Paul II is recognised as helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and the rest of Europe.

Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance-era mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than Earth at the center of the universe. In all likelihood, Copernicus developed his model independently of Aristarchus of Samos, an ancient Greek astronomer who had formulated such a model some eighteen centuries earlier.

Lukas Josef Podolski is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Turkish team Antalyaspor. Famed for his powerful and accurate left foot, he is known for his explosive shot, technique and probing attacks from the left side.

Yoram Jerzy Gross was a Polish-born Australian producer of children's and family entertainment. Internationally acclaimed for his films and television series, Gross established a worldwide reputation for the adaptation of children's characters from books and films to animation that won the hearts of children and adults worldwide. His company is best known for producing the films Blinky Bill: The Mischievous Koala and Dot and the Kangaroo.