#1Writing & Arts
Diana Krall
born 1964Canadian recording artist; jazz singer and pianist
48 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Nanaimo, British Columbia
81 famous people come from Nanaimo, Diana Krall the best known
Diana Krall is the best known, with articles in 48 languages. The Canadian actress Jodelle Ferland ranks second, ahead of Ethan Katzberg. Since 1970, 33 were born, the most of any period. More are athletes than anything else, 36 in all.
Born here
81
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Diana Krall
48 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1884
May Tully
Youngest
2005
Matthew Wood
Most common field
Sports
36 people
What stands out about Nanaimo’s famous people
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Nanaimo’s famous people were born
The 1980s saw the most births of any decade: 18.
SportsPolitics & LawFilm, TV & StageWriting & ArtsMusicNotableMilitaryScience & Medicine
One dot per person, piled up by decade of birth.
The best known
Born in Nanaimo
#1
#2Film, TV & Stage
Jodelle Ferland
born 1994Canadian actress
35 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
#3Notable
Ethan Katzberg
born 2002Canadian hammer thrower
30 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Known for
What Nanaimo is known for
The field furthest above the usual share is soldiers and sailors, at 2.4 times.
For comparison, the usual town: how the people listed across Canadian towns split by field. Tap a field to list its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Nanaimo
Of the other 78, 36 are athletes.
Lauren van Oosten
born 1978Canadian swimmer, Olympic athlete, Pan American Games gold medallist
SportsWikipedia ↗
May Tully
1884–1924Canadian actress, writer, director and producer in theatre and film
Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
Brenda Bailey
Canadian politician, from 2020 member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Daina Ashbee
born 1990Film, TV & StageWikipedia (French) ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns nearby, only Electoral Area A, Nanaimo has a name on its list.
Questions about famous people from Nanaimo
Who is the most famous person from Nanaimo?
The top name is Diana Krall (Canadian recording artist; jazz singer and pianist), going by Wikipedia coverage. Next come Jodelle Ferland and Ethan Katzberg.
How many famous people were born in Nanaimo?
Wikidata counts 102 born here, but only those an article confirms are listed.
What is Nanaimo known for?
Across Canadian towns the figure is 38%; here, 44%.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Nanaimo?
May Tully (1884). At the other end, the youngest was born in 2005.
Who counts as from Nanaimo?
A birth counts when Wikidata puts it inside Nanaimo’s municipal boundary (Statistics Canada’s 2021 census subdivision), a hospital or district there included, and the person’s English or French Wikipedia article agrees. Those who only moved here are not on the list, and neither are adult performers or people famous mainly for crimes.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata record may stop at the province, point to a rural area we have no page for, or name a different town, and their article may disagree or say nothing. Only a birthplace both sources share is listed; edits to either are picked up at the next refresh.
Birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations and the count of Wikipedia and sister-site articles come from Wikidata (CC0). Each birthplace is checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article, or the French one where English says nothing or has no article; the articles are linked, never quoted. Wikidata’s Statistics Canada code, the place’s name or its point inside the 2021 census outline puts a birth in a town, and a birth given only as a split city stays on that city’s page. Fields are read from the description and occupations, and the list runs by number of articles. “The usual town” is everyone listed across Canadian towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (33)
- Diana Krall: Chris Govias, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jodelle Ferland: zuko1312, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ethan Katzberg: Sebleouf, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mary Frizzell: Province Newspaper, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Allison Crowe: Adrian22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Raymond Collishaw: Arthur Treloar Whealy; copies held by Canadian War Museum, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Brett Palin: Ailura, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Christopher Hart: Mother Love, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ilona Verley: DVSROSS, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lauren van Oosten: Jpoffenroth~commonswiki, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Matthew Wood: SecretName101, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Glen Clark: Joshua Berson Photo for bcndp, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kirsten Sweetland: MartinPutz, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- May Tully: No photographer credited., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Stef Lang: Grey Coutts, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Brenda Bailey: David Fitzgerald / Collision Conf, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Gogo: Sheri Jackson Photography, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Fiona O'Donnell: Scottish Labour, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Phil Lam: Tombus20032000, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Seth Lochhead: Vancouver Film School, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Allie Hann-McCurdy: Caroline Paré, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Constance Isherwood: Neale Adams, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Daniel Gawthrop: Bern99, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Stupich: BC NDP History Group, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Merriman: Robin Glover, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jimmy Claxton: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Leonard Krog: BC NDP, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Marc Bélanger: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Peter Meiszner: Wgbral, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Radford: BC NDP History Group, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Susan Morgan: Oregon Department of Transportation, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tamas Dobozy: Elboeuf, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Steve Smith: Douglas Cook from Edinburgh, Scotland, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).