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Famous people · Denain, Nord

29 famous people were born in Denain, more of them athletes than in most towns

Articles in 18 languages make the French swimmer Fabien Gilot the best known. Jacqueline Mazéas is second and Marc-Antoine Olivier third. Between 1914 and 1969, 13 were born, the most of any period. Over 142 years of births, the list goes from Auguste-Robert Selle (1854) to Marc-Antoine Olivier (1996).

#1 best knownFabien GilotSports · born 1984
+25more
Born here
29
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Fabien Gilot
18 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1854
Auguste-Robert Selle
Youngest
1996
Marc-Antoine Olivier
Most common field
Sports
14 people

What stands out about Denain’s famous people

★ What stands out · Known for

What Denain is known for

Compared with the usual town, athletes are the most over-represented field, at 2.6 times.

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

Through the years

When Denain’s famous people were born

The busiest decade was the 1960s, with 6 births.

Revolution to EmpireBelle ÉpoqueThe 20th centuryToday1850190019502000Marc-Antoine OlivierPatrick RoyJacqueline Mazéas
SportsPolitics & LawWriting & ArtsNotableMusic

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

The best known

Born in Denain

The three best known are all athletes.

Fabien Gilot#1
Sports

Fabien Gilot

born 1984

French swimmer

18 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Jacqueline Mazéas#2
Sports

Jacqueline Mazéas

1920–2012

French athlete (1920–2012)

17 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
MO#3
Sports

Marc-Antoine Olivier

born 1996

French swimmer

17 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Everyone

Everyone else born in Denain

Another 26, the earliest born in 1854.

TC

Teddy Chevalier

born 1987

French footballer (born 1987)

PR

Patrick Roy

1957–2011

French politician (1957–2011)

Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
JR

Jacques Rémy

born 1972

French football player

RB

Réginald Becque

born 1972

French association football player

JH

Joshua Hochart

born 1987

French politician

Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

The best known from each town within 12 mi of Denain, with how many people each has.

Questions about famous people from Denain

Who is the most famous person from Denain?

Fabien Gilot (French swimmer) is the best known by our measure: 18 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Jacqueline Mazéas and Marc-Antoine Olivier.

How many famous people were born in Denain?

29 people born in Denain have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 39 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 Denain known for?

Among its famous people, athletes: 14 of the 29. That is 48% of the town’s list, against 19% across French towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Denain?

Auguste-Robert Selle, born in 1854. The youngest on the list was born in 1996.

Who counts as from Denain?

People whose Wikidata birthplace is Denain 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 (12)

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.