List of Famous people born in South Africa

Serge Frank Kovaleski is a South African-born American investigative reporter at The New York Times. He contributed to reporting that won The New York Times a Pulitzer Prize for its investigation of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal.

Rodney (Morgan) Howard-Browne is a South African-born American Christian evangelist and conspiracy theorist. He has resided in Tampa, Florida since the mid-1990s and is pastor of The River Church in Tampa Bay. The River is considered both Pentecostal and Charismatic with revival meetings, led by Howard-Browne, known for those in the audience breaking into "holy laughter". Howard-Browne is the head of Revival Ministries International, a group he and his wife founded in 1997.

Petrus Willem van der Walt is a South African rugby union player who represents Japan at international level and is currently playing with NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes in the Japanese Top League. His regular position is lock or flanker.

Brad Binder is a South African Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He was also known for winning the 2016 Moto3 World Championship. In November 2019 he was confirmed as a factory KTM rider in MotoGP class for the 2020 season, replacing Johann Zarco who had abandoned his factory ride earlier in the year.

Zola Pieterse is South African a middle-distance and long-distance runner. She competed at the 1984 Olympic Games for Great Britain and the 1992 Olympic Games for South Africa, both times in the 3000 metres. In 1984 (unratified) and 1985, she broke the world record in the 5000 metres. She was also a two-time winner at the World Cross Country Championships (1985–1986). Budd's career was unusual in that she mainly trained and raced barefoot. She moved with her family to South Carolina in 2008, and competes at marathons and ultramarathons. She volunteers as assistant coach at Coastal Carolina University in Conway. Her mile best of 4:17.57 in 1985, still stands as the British record.

John Cecil Watkins was a South African cricketer who played in 15 Test matches for South Africa between 1949 and 1957. At the time of his death aged 98, Watkins was the oldest living Test cricketer and the last surviving member of the side that toured Australasia in 1952–53.

Lana J. Marks is a South African-born American handbag designer who founded the eponymous fashion brand. She is the former United States Ambassador to South Africa, having served from 2019 to 2021.

Shaleen Surtie-Richards was a South African television, stage, and film actress. She is perhaps best known for her starring roles in the 1988 film Fiela se Kind and the long-running series Egoli: Place of Gold. She has performed in both Afrikaans and English.

Denis Theodore Goldberg was a South African social campaigner, who was active in the struggle against apartheid. He was accused No. 3 in the Rivonia Trial, alongside the better-known Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu, where he was also the youngest of the defendants. He was imprisoned for 22 years, along with other key members of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. After his release in 1985 he continued to campaign against apartheid from his base in London with his family, until the apartheid system was fully abolished with the 1994 election. He returned to South Africa in 2002 and founded the non-profit Denis Goldberg Legacy Foundation Trust in 2015. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in July 2019, and died in Cape Town on 29 April 2020.

Mark Dennis González Hoffmann is a retired Chilean former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played top flight football in Chile, Russia, Spain, Brazil and England. He was described by José Mari Bakero, the sporting director of Real Sociedad, one of his former clubs, as "fast and explosive, the classic left winger but with technical discipline", while he claimed himself that his speed was his greatest asset.