List of Famous people born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Vítor Vieira Belfort is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, currently signed to ONE Championship, competing as Heavyweight. Belfort previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in the Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight and Middleweight divisions. He is the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Champion, as well as the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and Cage Rage World Light Heavyweight Champion. Known for his explosive knockout power, Belfort is tied for third for the most finishes in UFC history with 14. Belfort has also competed for MMA promotions Pride FC, Strikeforce, Affliction, and Cage Rage.

Leonardo Silva dos Santos is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, he has formerly competed for World Victory Road, BAMMA, and was the winner of the The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2 welterweight tournament.

Marcelo Vieira da Silva Júnior, known as Marcelo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a left back for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Brazil national team. He is widely considered as one of the best left backs of all time.

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, Machado, or Bruxo do Cosme Velho, was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short story writer, widely regarded as the greatest writer of Brazilian literature. Nevertheless, Assis did not achieve widespread popularity outside Brazil during his lifetime. In 1897 he founded and became the first President of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. He was multilingual, having taught himself French, English, German and Greek in later life.

Felipe Melo de Carvalho is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for and captains Palmeiras.

Lucas Tolentino Coelho de Lima, or simply Lucas Paquetá, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for French Ligue 1 club Lyon and the Brazil national team.

Deyverson Brum Silva Acosta, simply known as Deyverson, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Palmeiras.

Rafael Souza dos Anjos is a Brazilian-American professional mixed martial artist. He currently fights in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former UFC Lightweight Champion. Frequently considered one of the greatest lightweights in UFC history, he holds notable victories over three former UFC champions: Robbie Lawler, Anthony Pettis, and Benson Henderson. Other notable victories include Neil Magny, Tarec Saffiedine, Donald Cerrone (x2), Paul Felder, and Nate Diaz. As of December 14, 2020, he is #7 in the UFC lightweight rankings.

Romário de Souza Faria, known simply as Romário, is a Brazilian politician who previously achieved worldwide fame as a professional footballer. A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Romário starred for Brazil in their 1994 FIFA World Cup triumph, receiving the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. He was named FIFA World Player of the Year the same year. He came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll in 1999, was elected to the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, and was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004.

Larissa de Macedo Machado, known professionally by her stage name Anitta, is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, television host, actress, and businesswoman. In 2010, after posting a video on YouTube, Renato Azevedo, then producer of the independent record company Furacão 2000, called her to sign a contract with the label. Due to the success of the song "Meiga e Abusada" in 2012, she signed a contract with Warner Music Brasil the following year.