Some of the most famous African personalities include Nelson Mandela who is famous as the South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and the country’s first black president, and Nigerian and Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote. Other famous people from Africa include Kenyan 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge, and sports legends Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
The continent has also produced famous actors and actresses who include Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, Lesley-Ann Brandt, and The Mummy star, Arnold Vosloo. Other African legends include musicians Yemi Alade and Yvonne Chaka Chaka, award-winning authors Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, and religious leaders and activists.
Most famous and influential African personalities
Nollywood actress, producer who was talented & plus-sized, and appeared in many Nollywood movies. She died at the age of 43 in 2025.
South African model, professional fashion model with albinism whose career started when she was 13 years old
First President of Kenya from 1964 to his death in 1978, and Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964
First president of Zambia from 1964 to 1991
Leader of Libya from 1969 to 2011
Nigerian author whose books include Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), and We Should All Be Feminists (2012)
Prime Minister of Mauritius from 2017 to 2024
Famous Legends from all the 5 Regions of the continent
There are other countless influential personalities from Africa. The most famous people from Africa have excelled in politics, sports, business, entertainment and history. Moreover, these celebrities from Africa span all the main regions of the continent.
These are North Africa, South Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and the six African Island nations of Madagascar, Mauritius, Cape Verde, Seychelles, Comoros, and Sao Tome and Principe.
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