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Famous people · Brest, Finistère

Of the 389 famous people born in Brest, an unusual share are soldiers and sailors

Gonzalo Higuaín, the Argentine association football player, is the most widely known, written about in 75 languages. No other town in Finistère lists as many. The oldest name on the list belongs to Scipion Jérome Bégon, born in 1681, the newest to Fathia Youssouf, born in 2006. Between 1914 and 1969, 135 were born, the most of any period.

#1 best knownGonzalo HiguaínSports · born 1987
+385more
Born here
389
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Gonzalo Higuaín
75 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1681
Scipion Jérome Bégon
Youngest
2006
Fathia Youssouf
Most common field
Writing & Arts
91 people

What stands out about Brest’s famous people

★ What stands out · The best known

Born in Brest

First, Gonzalo Higuaín (75 languages), then Alain Robbe-Grillet (56) and Yann Tiersen (49).

Gonzalo Higuaín#1
Sports

Gonzalo Higuaín

born 1987

Argentine association football player

75 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Alain Robbe-Grillet#2
Writing & Arts

Alain Robbe-Grillet

1922–2008

French author and film director (1922–2008)

56 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Yann Tiersen#3
Music

Yann Tiersen

born 1970

French composer (born 1970)

49 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Known for

What Brest is known for

Set against the usual town, soldiers and sailors come out 2.6 times as common.

The usual town: the share across everyone listed in French towns. Tap a field to see its people.

Through the years

When Brest’s famous people were born

The 1970s saw the most births of any decade: 35.

Ancien RégimeRevolution to EmpireBelle ÉpoqueThe 20th centuryToday1700175018001850190019502000Alain Robbe-GrilletYann Tiersen
Writing & ArtsPolitics & LawSportsMilitaryFilm, TV & StageScience & MedicineNotableMusicFaithBusiness

Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.

Everyone

Everyone else born in Brest

386 more; the 197 best known are listed here.

PB

Pierre Brice

1929–2015

French actor (1929–2015)

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
BD

Béatrice Dalle

born 1964

French actress

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
Louis Hémon

Louis Hémon

1880–1913

French writer (1880–1913)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Victor Segalen

Victor Segalen

1878–1919

French poet (1878–1919)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Corentin Martins

Corentin Martins

born 1969

French footballer and manager (born 1969)

Alexis Thépot

Alexis Thépot

1906–1989

French footballer (1906-1989)

Charlène Guignard

Charlène Guignard

born 1989

French-Italian ice dancer

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
Fabien Causeur

Fabien Causeur

born 1987

French basketball player (born 1987)

Louis Bréhier

Louis Bréhier

1868–1951

French historian (1868–1951)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Claire de Duras

Claire de Duras

1777–1828

French writer

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu

Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu

1889–1964

French admiral and Discalced Carmelite friar (1889–1964)

Laury Thilleman

Laury Thilleman

born 1991

Miss France 2011, contestant in Miss Universe 2011 and Miss World 2011

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
MP

Martin Provost

born 1957

Film director

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
Roparz Hemon

Roparz Hemon

1900–1978

Breton writer (1900–1978)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Jocelyn Gourvennec

Jocelyn Gourvennec

born 1972

French football manager (born 1972)

PG

Prosper Garnot

1794–1838

French scientist (1794–1838)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Jacques Pellen

Jacques Pellen

1957–2020

French jazz guitarist (1957–2020)

Jean Cras

Jean Cras

1879–1932

French composer, Commander of French Navy (1879–1932)

Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

Saint-Renan has the longest list next door: 10.

Questions about famous people from Brest

Who is the most famous person from Brest?

Gonzalo Higuaín (Argentine association football player) is the best known by our measure: 75 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Alain Robbe-Grillet and Yann Tiersen.

How many famous people were born in Brest?

389 people born in Brest have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 589 people here; the rest aren’t listed because an article names somewhere else or no town, or a check couldn’t be completed.

What is Brest known for?

Among its famous people, writers and artists: 91 of the 389. That is 23% of the town’s list, against 25% across French towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Brest?

Scipion Jérome Bégon, born in 1681. The youngest on the list was born in 2006.

Who counts as from Brest?

People whose Wikidata birthplace is Brest itself, matched by its INSEE code (a commune merged into it counts when the dates allow), whose French Wikipedia article agrees, and their English article too when they have one. A hospital or neighbourhood recorded without its commune isn’t matched. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.

Why is someone missing?

Their Wikidata birthplace may be a hospital, a neighbourhood or a wider area, another commune, or missing, or their articles may not name a birthplace. We only list people the sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.

From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations, how many Wikipedia and sister-site articles cover each person) and French and English Wikipedia (each person’s articles confirm the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are matched to the commune by INSEE code and its history of mergers (INSEE COG 2026). Ranked by the number of articles. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across French towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the license below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (109)

Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.