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Famous people · Avignon, Vaucluse

Avignon leads Vaucluse with 276 famous people

Most widely known is Mireille Mathieu, the French singer, with articles in 66 languages. With 20 musicians, the list holds 1.7 times the share found across French towns. 82 of them were born between 1914 and 1969, more than in any other period. Births span 1405 to 2004, from Jean-Fassi to Luther.

#1 best knownMireille MathieuMusic · born 1946
+272more
Born here
276
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Mireille Mathieu
66 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1405
Jean-Fassi
Youngest
2004
Luther
Most common field
Writing & Arts
89 people

What stands out about Avignon’s famous people

★ What stands out · The best known

Born in Avignon

Two of the three are musicians.

Mireille Mathieu#1
Music

Mireille Mathieu

born 1946

French singer (born 1946)

66 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
OM#2
Music

Olivier Messiaen

1908–1992

French composer, organist and ornithologist (1908–1992)

65 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Pierre Boulle#3
Writing & Arts

Pierre Boulle

1912–1994

French novelist (1912–1994)

54 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Known for

What Avignon is known for

Avignon has 1.7× the usual share of musicians.

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

Through the years

When Avignon’s famous people were born

The 1960s alone account for 27 of the births charted here.

Ancien RégimeRevolution to Empire1400150016001700180019002000
Writing & ArtsSportsPolitics & LawFilm, TV & StageMusicScience & MedicineMilitaryFaithNotableBusiness

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

Everyone

Everyone else born in Avignon

273 more; the 197 best known are listed here.

Bernard Kouchner

Bernard Kouchner

born 1939

French doctor and politician

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
René Girard

René Girard

1923–2015

French historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Younès Belhanda

Younès Belhanda

born 1990

Moroccan and French footballer

Cédric Carrasso

Cédric Carrasso

born 1981

French footballer (born 1981)

Joseph Vernet

Joseph Vernet

1714–1789

French painter and engraver from Avignon (1714-1789)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Benoît Paire

Benoît Paire

born 1989

French tennis player (born 1989)

TA

Théodore Aubanel

1829–1886

French felibre (1829–1886)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
ÉM

Éric Di Meco

born 1963

French footballer (born 1963)

Camille Ayglon-Saurina

Camille Ayglon-Saurina

born 1985

French handball player

GB

Guy Bonnet

1942–2024

French singer and composer (1942–2024)

Giuliano Alesi

Giuliano Alesi

born 1999

French racing driver (1999-)

Mazarine Pingeot

Mazarine Pingeot

born 1974

French writer

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Muriel Casals

Muriel Casals

1945–2016

Catalan economist and politician (1945-2016)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Yoann Touzghar

Yoann Touzghar

born 1986

Tunisian and French association football player (born 1986)

YD

Yves Delage

1854–1920

French zoologist (1854-1920)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Teddy Richert

Teddy Richert

born 1974

French footballer (born 1974)

Christophe Rousset

Christophe Rousset

born 1961

French harpsichordist and conductor

CB

Coralie Bertrand

born 1994

French rugby union player

Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

The fullest list close by belongs to Châteaurenard, with 9.

Questions about famous people from Avignon

Who is the most famous person from Avignon?

Mireille Mathieu (French singer (born 1946)) is the best known by our measure: 66 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Olivier Messiaen and Pierre Boulle.

How many famous people were born in Avignon?

276 people born in Avignon have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 470 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 Avignon known for?

Among its famous people, writers and artists: 89 of the 276. That is 32% of the town’s list, against 25% across French towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Avignon?

Jean-Fassi, born in 1405. The youngest on the list was born in 2004.

Who counts as from Avignon?

People whose Wikidata birthplace is Avignon 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 (100)

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.