#1Film, TV & Stage
Billie Piper
born 1982British actress and singer (born 1982)
38 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Swindon, Wiltshire
Swindon leads Wiltshire with 182 famous people
Billie Piper, the British actress and singer, is the most widely known, written about in 38 languages. Second and third on the list are Diana Dors and Dean Ashton. The largest group, 97, was born since 1970. For every 10,000 residents there are 9.9 on the list, well above the typical Wiltshire town’s 4.4.
Born here
182
notable people
Best known
Billie Piper
in 38 Wikipedia languages
First
1813
Samuel Lowder
Youngest
2002
Harry Parsons
Most common field
Sports
112 people
What stands out about Swindon’s famous people
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Swindon’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1980s come out on top, with 39 births.
SportsWriting & ArtsFilm, TV & StageMusicPolitics & LawScience & MedicineBusinessFaithNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Swindon
Billie Piper leads with articles in 38 languages, ahead of Diana Dors (36) and Dean Ashton (30).
#1
#2
#3Sports
Dean Ashton
born 1983English association football player (born 1983)
30 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Known for
What Swindon is known for
Athletes are the most numerous, 112 of them.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Swindon
A further 179 follow, born between 1813 and 2002.
Laura Lopes
born 1978British art curator (born 1978); daughter of Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Melinda Messenger
born 1971English Psychotherapist, television presenter, and model
Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
Frederick Hawksworth
1884–1976British mechanical engineer and locomotive designer (1884-1976)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Nick Hewer
born 1944English television presenter and former public relations consultant
Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
Richard Beard
born 1967English author of fiction and non-fiction books and short literature
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns nearby, Wroughton lists the most people: 9.
Wroughton · 3 miGeoffrey Cox & 8 moreWAHighworth · 6 miWilliam Joscelyn Arkell & 8 moreJBRoyal Wootton Bassett · 5 miJack Barrett & 2 more
Stratton St Margaret · 2 miWilliam Carpenter & 1 more
Wanborough · 4 miLouise Hunt & 1 moreWECricklade · 6 miWill Evans & 1 more
Shrivenham and Watchfield · 7 miShute Barrington & 1 more
Purton · 4 miDesmond MorrisQuestions about famous people from Swindon
Who is the most famous person from Swindon?
Billie Piper (British actress and singer (born 1982)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 38 languages. Next come Diana Dors and Dean Ashton.
How many famous people were born in Swindon?
182 people born in Swindon have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 202 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Swindon known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 112 of the 182. That is 62% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Swindon?
Samuel Lowder, born in 1813. The youngest on the list was born in 2002.
Who counts as from Swindon?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Swindon’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 (62)
- Billie Piper: Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Diana Dors: Silver Screen Collections, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Dean Ashton: Keven Law, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rick Davies: Ueli Frey, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mehdi Hasan: SWinxy, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Richard Jefferies: Unknown, irrelevant due to age, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Nic Bishop: jen, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Justin Hayward: Carl Lender, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jazmin Carlin: Rebecca_Adlington,_Joanne_Jackson,_Jazmin_Carlin_and_Caitlin_McClatchey_(3817779304).jpg: Michiel Jelijs from Groningen, The Netherlands derivative work: Philipmj24, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Shelley Rudman: Wiltshire Council, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hannah Miley: Smiley8889, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Heidi Alexander: ©House of Commons / Laurie Noble, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mark Harper: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Laura Lopes: Reginald Gray, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Liam Highfield: BennyOnTheLoose, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Matt Mills: Nottingham Forest F.C., CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Edith New: Peter McNairn of Hawick died 1923, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- David Howell: David_Howell,_Open_2004.jpg: Steven Newton derivative work: Austin512, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- George Moncur: Egghead06, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lauren Bell: Mpk662, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dave Gregory: Big Big Train, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jim Hamilton: Subclassic, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Melinda Messenger: Martinra1966, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rhys Evans: Robeves, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Billy Bodin: Mattythewhite, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Paul Trollope: Will Viles / Will bcfc at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ralph Bates: Carl Van Vechten, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Zoe Jones: Gbfskating, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Colin Moulding: Jean-Luc Ourlin, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Scott Twine: Timmy96, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Terry Chambers: Jean-Luc Ourlin, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tim Payne: Blackcat, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Adi Viveash: Dynamomania.com, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Luke Graham: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Simon Hooper: Timmy96, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Steve Mildenhall: Colinb24, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Hempleman-Adams: Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nick Hewer: Damo 1977, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Simon Belcher: Robk23oxf, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nick Wood: Léna, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rhys James: Spurred On, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tommy Hatto: Allaroundhollywood, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Adrian Healey: Hayden Schiff from Cincinnati, USA, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Antony Micallef: James.bernhard, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bob Kilby: Lawson Speedway, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Zebroski: Apolozanromulus, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael Farrell: MF Farrell, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Oliver Wilde: Stephenupshot, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Richard Beard: Teachamantoghoti, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Wayne Hatswell: https://www.flickr.com/photos/symonmreynolds/, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Alun Rossiter: Loco Steve, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Anna Mazzotta: Anna Mazzotta, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ewan Kirk: Oz Koca, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lee Smart: Pyeongchang, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lionel Everett: Lafayette Ltd, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Matt Ford: Matt Ford, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, Wikimedia Commons
- Simeon Courtie: Sam251818, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Geoffrey Cox: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- William Carpenter: uncertain (attributed to Townsend Duryea but timeline does not match Carpenter's career), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Louise Hunt: N1CKchooseanothername, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Shute Barrington: Contemporary portrait, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Desmond Morris: Eric Koch for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
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.