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Famous people · Kourou, French Guiana

12 famous people were born in Kourou, more of them athletes than in most towns

At the top of the list is the French footballer Odsonne Édouard, covered in 33 languages. Arnold Abelinti and Gémima Joseph follow. Most were born since 1970: 10 of them. Among the 6 towns in French Guiana with famous people on record, the town ranks 2nd.

#1 best knownOdsonne ÉdouardSports · born 1998
+10more
Born here
12
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Odsonne Édouard
33 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1959
Juliana Rimane
Youngest
2003
Claire Pontlevoy
Most common field
Sports
8 people

What stands out about Kourou’s famous people

★ What stands out · Known for

What Kourou is known for

The field furthest above the usual share is athletes, at 3.5 times.

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

Through the years

When Kourou’s famous people were born

More of them were born in the 1990s than in any other ten years, 4 in all.

The 20th centuryToday195020002050Gémima JosephOdsonne ÉdouardLesly Malouda
SportsPolitics & LawNotableWriting & Arts

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

The best known

Born in Kourou

The three best known are all athletes.

Odsonne Édouard#1
Sports

Odsonne Édouard

born 1998

French footballer (born 1998)

33 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
AA#2
Sports

Arnold Abelinti

born 1991

French Guianese association football player

9 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
GJ#3
Sports

Gémima Joseph

born 2001

French athlete

8 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Everyone

Everyone else born in Kourou

9 more, best known first.

LM

Lesly Malouda

born 1983

French Guianese football player

Alexie Alaïs

Alexie Alaïs

born 1994

French athletics competitor

RE

Rhudy Evens

born 1988

French Guianan footballer

JP

Jean-Marc Pansa

born 1997

French basketball player (born 1997)

JR

Juliana Rimane

born 1959

Member of the French National Assembly

Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
CP

Claire Pontlevoy

born 2003

French artistic gymnast

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗

Questions about famous people from Kourou

Who is the most famous person from Kourou?

Odsonne Édouard (French footballer (born 1998)) is the best known by our measure: 33 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Arnold Abelinti and Gémima Joseph.

How many famous people were born in Kourou?

12 people born in Kourou have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 14 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 Kourou known for?

Among its famous people, athletes: 8 of the 12. That is 67% of the town’s list, against 19% across French towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Kourou?

Juliana Rimane, born in 1959. The youngest on the list was born in 2003.

Who counts as from Kourou?

People whose Wikidata birthplace is Kourou 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 (3)

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.