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Famous people · Chigwell, Essex

Most of the 19 famous people born in Chigwell came into the world in the 20th century

Articles in 28 languages make the British former track and field athlete Sally Gunnell the best known. Second place goes to the British actress Vicki Michelle, third to Mark Wallinger. Fewer than a quarter of the 86 towns in Essex with famous people list more. The list is still growing: 5 were born since 1970.

#1 best knownSally GunnellSports · born 1966
+15more
Born here
19
notable people
Best known
Sally Gunnell
in 28 Wikipedia languages
First
1758
Eliab Harvey
Youngest
1998
Rishi Patel
Most common field
Sports
8 people

What stands out about Chigwell’s famous people

★ What stands out · Through the years

When Chigwell’s famous people were born

Births peak in the 1950s, with 5 people born in that decade.

GeorgianVictorianThe 20th centuryToday175018001850190019502000Vicki MichelleAugustus Charles NewmanTommy Black
SportsFilm, TV & StageMilitaryScience & MedicineWriting & Arts

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

The best known

Born in Chigwell

Languages with an article: 28 for Sally Gunnell, 16 for Vicki Michelle, 9 for Mark Wallinger.

Sally Gunnell#1
Sports

Sally Gunnell

born 1966

British former track and field athlete

28 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Vicki Michelle#2
Film, TV & Stage

Vicki Michelle

born 1950

British actress

16 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Mark Wallinger#3
Writing & Arts

Mark Wallinger

born 1959

British sculptor (born 1959)

9 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Known for

What Chigwell is known for

The field furthest above the usual share is soldiers and sailors, at 4.3 times.

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

Everyone

Everyone else born in Chigwell

Of the other 16, 7 are athletes.

Augustus Charles Newman

Augustus Charles Newman

1904–1972

Recipient of the Victoria Cross

Michael Black

Michael Black

born 1976

English footballer (born 1976)

HS

Honor Smith

1908–1995

English neurologist (1908-1995)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
John Watson

John Watson

1829–1919

English recipient of the Victoria Cross (1829–1919)

AM

Ann Michelle

born 1952

British actress

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
BM

Bobby Moss

1952–2010

English professional footballer (1952-2010)

Eliab Harvey

Eliab Harvey

1758–1830

British Royal Navy admiral, politician, and art collector (1758-1830)

MB

Michael Bonallack

1934–2023

Amateur golfer, golf administrator

PH

Paul Haverson

born 1959

English professional footballer (born 1959)

RP

Rishi Patel

born 1998

English cricketer (born 1998)

SK

Scott Kashket

born 1996

English association football player (born 1996)

ET

Edward Beadon Turner

1854–1931

English physician and rugby union player

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
GT

George Robertson Turner

1855–1941

English surgeon and rugby union player (1855-1941)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

The neighbour with the most names is Newham, at 434.

Questions about famous people from Chigwell

Who is the most famous person from Chigwell?

Sally Gunnell (British former track and field athlete) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 28 languages. Next come Vicki Michelle and Mark Wallinger.

How many famous people were born in Chigwell?

19 people born in Chigwell have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 21 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.

What is Chigwell known for?

Among its famous people, athletes: 8 of the 19. That is 42% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Chigwell?

Eliab Harvey, born in 1758. The youngest on the list was born in 1998.

Who counts as from Chigwell?

People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Chigwell’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. 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 bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.

From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (14)

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.