#129 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).
What stands out about Denain’s famous people
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.
When Denain’s famous people were born
The busiest decade was the 1960s, with 6 births.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Born in Denain
The three best known are all athletes.
#1
#2Jacqueline Mazéas
1920–2012French athlete (1920–2012)
Everyone else born in Denain
Another 26, the earliest born in 1854.






No one matches both filters.
Famous people from the towns next door
The best known from each town within 12 mi of Denain, with how many people each has.
Lourches · 2 miArthur Lamendin & 5 more
Wallers · 3 miÉdouard Wojciak & 5 moreÉSEscaudain · 2 miÉdouard Stako & 3 more
Douchy-les-Mines · 2 miRobert Mintkiewicz & 1 moreJDHaveluy · 2 miJean-Baptiste Delille & 1 moreRDThiant · 3 miRoger Devemy & 1 moreLGHérin · 3 miLéon Guéry & 1 more
Abscon · 4 miJoseph Bouliez & 1 moreQuestions 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)
- Fabien Gilot: Jnestorius, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jacqueline Mazéas: Unknown (for CIO), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jules Mousseron: Agence Rol, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Dylan Kowalski: Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jean-Baptiste Dupilet: Dinaut, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Onayssa S'Bahi: Pelikaan62, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Raoul Évrard: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jean-Michel Stievenard: Said666, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Arthur Lamendin: Agence de presse Meurisse, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Édouard Wojciak: André Cros, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Mintkiewicz: Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Bouliez: Johan SMT, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
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.