List of Chileans

Economists

Ricardo J. Caballero – MIT professor, Department of Economics

Sebastián Edwards – UCLA professor, former World Bank officer (1993–1996), prolific author and media personality

Nicolás Eyzaguirre – former Finance Minister

Alejandro Foxley – Chile's first Finance Minister after the return of democracy in 1990 and an engineer of the country's economic miracle during democracy; former Foreign Affairs minister, and former Chilean Senator for East Santiago

Manfred Max Neef – Right Livelihood Award winner, presidential candidate, member of the Club of Rome, former president of the Universidad Austral

José Piñera – implemented the privatization of the Chilean pension system under Pinochet

Andrés Velasco – Sumitomo Professor of International Finance and Development in the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Finance Minister during Bachelet's administration

Military

Manuel Baquedano – General of the Chilean Forces during the War of the Pacific

Philip Bazaar – recipient of the Navy Medal of Honour

José Miguel Carrera – first Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army and Independence leader of the Patria Vieja

Luis Carrera – Chilean Military Officer in the War of Independence

Caupolicán – leader of the Mapuche who fiercely resisted the Spanish conquest of Chile

Carlos Condell – captain of the Covadonga ship at the Iquique Naval Combat

Manuel Contreras – head of Augusto Pinochet's National Intelligence Directorate (DINA)

Pedro de Valdivia – Royal Governor of Chile and Lieutenant under Francisco Pizarro

Manuel Rodríguez – Independence leader and guerrilla leader during the Reconquista

Lautaro – Mapuche indigenous military leader during the Spanish conquest of Chile

Patricio Lynch – Governor of Lima during the Chilean occupation of Lima, Perú, during the War of the Pacific

Juan MacKenna – Irish-born organizer of O'Higgins's Army

Bernardo O'Higgins – founder of modern Chile

Luis Pardo - also known as Piloto Pardo, Chilean Navy Captain who rescued the survivors of the Shackleton expedition

Ignacio Carrera Pinto – Captain in charge of the Chilean patrol who died in Battle of La Concepción

Arturo Prat – captain of the Esmeralda ship at the Iquique Naval Combat; regarded as a national hero

Eleuterio Ramírez – officer, hero of the War of the Pacific

José Ignacio Zenteno – Lieutenant Colonel of the Army of the Andes, Minister of War and Marine in the O'Higgins government

Musicians

Los Abandoned – alternative rock band

Américo – cumbia chilena singer

Tom Araya – singer/bassist for thrash metal band Slayer

Claudio Arrau – classical piano player

Germán Casas – 1960s singer

Beto Cuevas – lead singer from rock group La Ley

Luis 'Lucho' Gatica – bolero singer

Eduardo Gatti – a leading composer of modern Chilean music

Jorge González – controversial lead singer and songwriter of historic Chilean rock band Los Prisioneros

Rodrigo González – bassist and singer of the German band die Ärzte

Alberto Guerrero – Chilean–Canadian composer, pianist, and teacher

Myriam Hernández – popular music singer

Alicia Ika - native Rapa Nui actress, musician, songwriter, surf instructor and tourist agent. Star in 180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless (2010).

Pascuala Ilabaca - singer and songwriter

Inti-Illimani – pioneers of the nueva canción chilena movement; known communists and "pro-democracy" activists in exile during Pinochet dictatorship

Víctor Jara – Chilean folk singer and theatrical director; political activist; communist

DJ Méndez – urban music producer

Dave McGraw - drummer for death metal band Cattle Decapitation

La Noche – cumbia chilena band

Chañaral Ortega-Miranda – contemporary composer

Ángel Parra – folk musician (nueva canción); son of Violeta Parra

Isabel Parra – folk musician; daughter of Violeta Parra

Javiera Parra – lead singer from group Javiera y los Imposibles

Violeta Parra – Chilean folk singer

Antonio Prieto - singer and actor known in English for "The Bride" or "The Wedding" song

Quilapayún – nueva canción ensemble, supporters of Popular Unity (UP) coalition during presidency of Salvador Allende

Leo Rey – cumbia chilena singer

Alejandro Silva – heavy metal guitar player

Clara Solovera (1909-1992) – songwriter, born in Santiago

Esther Soré (1915-1996) – 1940s singer, born in Santiago

Fernando Ubiergo - folk singer and songwriter (Chilean folk), born in Valparaíso

Francisca Valenzuela - singer and songwriter

Ricardo Villalobos – minimal techno artist

Verónica Villarroel – soprano

Ramón Vinay – tenor

Javiera Mena - Indie electropop musician

Mon Laferte - Singer and songwriter

Artists

Claudio Bravo (1936–2011) – hyper-realist painter

Carlos Catasse – painter

Marta Colvin – sculptor

Alfredo Jaar – installation artist, filmmaker and architect

Olga Lehmann – painter

Roberto Matta – painter, sculptor

Camilo Mori – painter

Carlos Sotomayor – cubist painter

Miguel Venegas – painter, called "El Maestro" (the Master)

Politicians

Juana Rosa Aguirre – former first lady, wife of Pedro Aguirre Cerda

Arturo Alessandri – served twice as president of Chile

Jorge Alessandri – 27th President of Chile; President of Council of State under Pinochet Regime

Salvador Allende – former senator and president of Chile; ousted in a military coup

Clodomiro Almeyda – socialist politician

Soledad Alvear – former Justice minister and Foreign minister; current PDC senator

Michelle Bachelet – first woman president of Chile

Carlos Dávila – former Secretary General of the Organization of American States

Florencio Durán – former president of the senate

Fernando Flores – businessman and former senator

Gabriel González Videla - 25th President of Chile (1946-1952)

Jaime Guzmán – right wing politician during the Pinochet regime; murdered by Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front on April 1, 1991; former UDI Senator

Tomás Hirsch – former president of the Humanist Party of Chile; 2005 candidate for president

José Miguel Insulza – former Interior minister; current Secretary General of the Organization of American States

Carlos Keller - former Leader of the National Socialist Movement of Chile, responsible for the organization of the Seguro Obrero Massacre

Joaquín Lavín – Independent Democratic Union candidate for presidency in 2005 election; former mayor of Las Condes and Santiago

Orlando Letelier – Foreign Minister during Salvador Allende's government murdered during the Pinochet regime in Washington, D.C.

Gladys Marín – communist leader, feminist activist, lived in exile, opposed conservatism and liberal economy, admirer of Lenin and Marx

Sebastián Piñera – Chilean billionaire, businessman and politician; former President of Chile

Anibal Pinto - 9th President of Chile (1876-1881)

Augusto Pinochet – Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Chile, President of the Government Junta of Chile, and dictator from 1973 until 1990

Diego Portales – Minister, major designer of the Chilean State during the first half of the 19th century

Laura Rodríguez – first Humanist Party deputy in the world

Camila Vallejo - Member of Parliament, led 2011 student protests in Chile

Chris Watson – third Prime Minister of Australia

Adolfo Zaldívar – PRI senator, former leader of the PDC

Andrés Zaldívar – former PDC senator

Religious figures

Saint Teresa de los Andes – first Chilean saint

Carlos Camus – Chilean bishop

Francisco Javier Errázuriz – fourth Chilean cardinal

Juan Francisco Fresno – third Chilean cardinal

Raúl Silva Henríquez – second Chilean cardinal born in Talca; human rights advocate

Alberto Hurtado - saint

Jorge Medina – fifth Chilean cardinal; conservative figure

Fr. Juan Ignacio Molina – Chilean priest, naturalist, historian, botanist, ornithologist, geographer

José María Caro Rodríguez – first Chilean cardinal

Juan Subercaseaux Errázuriz – Chilean Roman Catholic Archbishop

José María Vélaz – Chilean priest

Blessed Laura Vicuña

Sports

Omar Aguilar – long-distance runner

Marlene Ahrens – javelin thrower; Olympic silver medalist

Fernando Alvarez – jockey

David Arellano – football player; namesake of Colo-Colo's stadium

Luis Ayala – tennis player; twice French Open finalist

Claudio Bravo - football player, FC Barcelona

Nick Carle – football player, Sydney FC

Carlos Caszely – football player

Patricio Cornejo – tennis player, 1976 Davis Cup finalist

Carlo de Gavardo – KTM rally motorcyclist

Elías Figueroa – football player; three times elected as Best Football Player of America

Jaime Fillol – tennis player, 1976 Davis Cup finalist

Arturo Godoy – boxer, fought Joe Louis twice for the World Heavyweight title

Fernando González – tennis player; only Chilean to win gold, silver and bronze medals at the Summer Olympics

Alberto Larraguibel – horse rider, record for puissance (high jump) on horseback

Sergio Sapo Livingstone – Chilean football goalkeeper

Anita Lizana – tennis player; 1937 US Open champion; first Latin American, and first Hispanic person, to be ranked World Number 1 in tennis

Nicolás Massú – tennis player; highest world ranking #9, Olympic 2-time champion (singles and doubles)

Carlos Moreno – track and field sprinter

Iván Morovic – chess International Grandmaster

Érika Olivera – marathon runner; gold medal winner in women's marathon at the 1999 Pan American Games

Manuel Pellegrini - former footballer for Universidad de Chile, former manager of Real Madrid

Alejandra Ramos – middle-distance runner

Monica Regonesi – long-distance runner

Fernando Riera - Chile's most successful soccer coach; led the national team to a third-place finish in the 1962 World Cup

Marcelo Ríos – first Latin American man to become world number-one tennis player

Eduardo Robledo – football player, Newcastle United F.C.

Jorge Robledo – player, Newcastle United F.C.

Jose Romero – AFL player, Western Bulldogs

Sebastián Rozental – football player

Marcelo Salas – football player; holds the record for most goals playing for the national team; won titles with every team he played with

Eliseo Salazar – race car driver, ompeted in Formula One intermittently from 1980–1982, moved to Champ Car and the Indy Racing League

Alexis Sánchez – football player, Arsenal F.C.

Leonel Sánchez – football player, 1962 World Cup top scorer

José Santos – jockey, winner of US Triple Crown

Alejandro Silva – long-distance runner

Pablo Squella – middle-distance runner

José Sulantay - Chile's second most successful soccer coach, led the under 20 national team to a third-place finish at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada

Emilio Ulloa – long-distance runner

Dion Valle – football player, Marconi Stallions FC

Rodrigo Vargas – football player, Melbourne Victory FC

Arturo Vidal - football player, Bayern Munich

Gert Weil – shot putter

Iván Zamorano – football player

Scientists and engineers

Ricardo Baeza Rodríguez - mathematician

Ricardo Baeza-Yates – computer scientist

Erik Bongcam-Rudloff – bioinformatician

Claudio Bunster – physicist

Marcela Contreras – immunologist

F. J. Duarte – laser physicist

Matias Duarte – software inventor

Julio M. Fernandez – biologist, academic

Eric Goles – mathematician

Mario Hamuy – cosmologist and astronomer

Adriana Hoffmann – botanist, Environment Minister (2000–2001)

Humberto Maturana – biologist, co-author of the theory of autopoiesis

Juan Ignacio Molina – 18th and 19th-century natural scientist

Ernestina Pérez Barahona, physician

María Teresa Ruiz – astronomer

Pablo DT Valenzuela – biotechnologist, co-founder of Chiron Corporation and Fundacion Ciencias Para la Vida

Francisco Varela – biologist, co-author of the theory of autopoiesis

Film and television personalities

Jason Acuña - actor

Cecilia Amenábar - actress

Cecilia Bolocco – former Miss Universe, TV host

Santiago Cabrera - actor

Felipe Camiroaga - TV presenter

Martín Cárcamo - TV presenter

Charissa Chamorro - actress

Cristián de la Fuente - actor

Cote de Pablo – actress (plays Ziva David in the TV series NCIS)

Karen Doggenweiler - TV presenter

Pablo Francisco - comedian

Alberto Fuguet - film director

Jorge Garcia - actor

Luis Gatica - actor

Lisa Guerrero - media journalist, TV presenter, actress, model

Patricio Guzmán - film director

Alejandro Jodorowsky - filmmaker

Mario Kreutzberger (Don Francisco) – host of television show Sábado Gigante

Claudio Miranda - cinematographer

Cristina Montt - actress

Pedro Pascal - actor, Game of Thrones, The Mentalist, Graceland

Carlos Pinto - TV presenter

Nicole Polizzi – cast member of Jersey Shore

Antonio Prieto - actor and singer ("La Novia", known in Great Britain and the US as "The Wedding")

Francisco Puelles - actor and television personality

Julián Ríos - actor

Raúl Ruiz - film director

Horatio Sanz - actor and comedian

Fernando Solis - radio and TV host

Catalina Vallejos - actress and model

Leonor Varela - actress and model

Alexander Witt - filmmaker

Andrés Wood - film director

Writers

Fernando Alegría – writer

Isabel Allende – novelist (The House of Spirits)

Roberto Ampuero – novelist (Cayetano Brulé series)

Roberto Bolaño – novelist (The Savage Detectives)

Francisco Coloane – (Tierra del fuego)

Angel Cruchaga Santa Maria (1893–1964) – writer, won the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1948

Eugenio Cruz Vargas (1923–2014) – poet and painter, of Basque descent

Francisco Núñez de Pineda y Bascuñán – writer of Cautiverio feliz y razón individual de las guerras dilatadas del Reino de Chile in 1673

Pablo de Rokha – Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1965

José Donoso – writer (Coronation)

Ariel Dorfman – novelist, playwright (Death and the Maiden), academic, essayist, journalist and human rights activist

Jorge Edwards – 1999 Cervantes Prize winner

Alberto Fuguet – novelist; short story writer, Mala Onda, Las películas de mi vida; filmmaker, Se Arrienda

Alberto Blest Gana – novelist (Martín Rivas)

Juan Guzman Cruchaga (1895–1979) – poet and diplomat, won the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1962; of Basque descent

Óscar Hahn – writer and poet

Vicente Huidobro – father of the "Creationism" movement in Paris

Cristián Huneeus – writer

Enrique Lafourcade – novelist

Hernán Rivera Letelier – novelist (Santa María de las Flores Negras, La Reina Isabel Cantaba Rancheras), poet, writer of short stories

Enrique Lihn – poet, playwright, and novelist

Carmen Marai – novelist El Alba de la Mandrágora (The Dawn of the Mandrake), poet, writer of short stories

Gabriela Mistral – winner of the Nobel prize for literature

Pablo Neruda – winner of the Nobel prize for literature

Nicanor Parra – self-proclaimed "anti-poet"

Gonzalo Rojas – 2004 Cervantes Prize winner

Jorge Salgado-Reyes – publisher, novelist and author of Altered States, a cyberpunk sci-fi anthology; Spooky Halloween Drabbles 2014; British Process Servers Guide

Elvira Santa Cruz Ossa – dramatist and novelist

Luis Sepúlveda – novelist

Antonio Skármeta – author of Ardiente Paciencia (Burning Patience), which inspired the movie Il Postino (The Postman), about poet Pablo Neruda

Mercedes Valdivieso – writer

Sergio Vodanovic – playwright

Architects

Alejandro Aravena - 2015 Pritzker Prize winner

Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente

Mathias Klotz – 2001 Borromini Prize of Architecture winner for under-40 architects

Others

Vanessa Ceruti – Miss Universe Chile 2011

Nataly Chilet – Miss World Chile 2008

Claudio Grossman – chairman of the Human Rights Interamerican Court

Hil Hernández – Miss Earth 2006

Carlos Kaiser – former National Director of the National Fund for Disabilities

Themo Lobos – comic artist

Andrónico Luksic – chairman of Quiñenco Holdings, which owns Banco de Chile, Antofagasta Minerals, one of the largest Chilean financial groups

La Quintrala – Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer, aristocratic and sadistic landowner and witch during the Colonial Period

Rene Ríos Boettiger (Pepo) – comic artist (Condorito)

Juan Somavia – Director-General of the International Labour Organization

Joaquín Toesca – designer of the presidential house "La Moneda", in Santiago

Arturo Valenzuela – former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs

Bernardita Zúñiga – Miss World Chile 2007