List of Famous people born in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Henrique Costa Mecking, also known as Mequinho, is a Brazilian chess grandmaster who reached his zenith in the 1970s and is still one of the strongest players in Brazil. He was a chess prodigy, drawing comparisons to Bobby Fischer, although he did not achieve the International Grandmaster title until 1972. He won the Interzonals of Petropolis 1973 and Manila 1976. His highest FIDE rating is 2635, achieved in 1977, when he was ranked number four in the world. He is the first Brazilian to become a grandmaster. Despite winning his first national championship at the age of 13, he played in very few tournaments. He won at Vršac in 1971 and finished third with Robert Byrne at Hastings in 1971–72. In 1975, he twice shared second place behind Ljubomir Ljubojević, firstly at Las Palmas with Ulf Andersson and Mikhail Tal and then at Manila with Lev Polugaevsky, Bent Larsen and Helmut Pfleger.

Andressa Cavalari Machry, commonly known as Andressa or Andressinha, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for SE Palmeiras and the Brazil women's national team. She participated in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Leandro Corona Ávila is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played at both club and international levels as a defensive midfielder.

Rodrigo Dourado Cunha is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Internacional.

Alexandre Grendene Bartelle is a Brazilian businessman and billionaire. In 1971, co-founded sandal manufacturer Grendene with his brother, Pedro Grendene Bartelle. According to Forbes, he was worth US$1.86 billion as of May 2016.

Rômulo Souza Orestes Caldeira, commonly known as Rômulo, is an Italian-Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder or right back.

Adílson Warken is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and is the current assistant manager of Coritiba.

Fernando Miguel Kaufmann is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Atlético Goianiense, on loan from Vasco da Gama.

Matheus Simonete Bressaneli, commonly known as Bressan, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for FC Dallas. Bressan is a dual citizen of Brazil and Italy, having gained Italian citizenship on June 19, 2013.

Cláudio Barcellos de Barcellos, known as Caco Barcellos, is a Brazilian journalist, television reporter and writer, specialized in investigative stories and documentaries about human rights, denouncing social injustice and violence. He presents the program Profissão:Repórter at TV Globo.