Famous People Born In Antwerp

Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian football player, is known for his goal-scoring abilities. He plays in the forward position and can also play as a winger. He has scored more than 50 international goals while playing for the men’s national team of Belgium. Inter Milan, Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion, Everton and Manchester United are some of the clubs he has played for.

A Belgian actor, film producer and graffiti artist, Matthias Schoenaerts debuted at the age of 13 and attained star status with his 2008 film Loft. Later, his films Bullhead and Rust and Bone further increased his fame and brought him multiple awards. In 2015, the French Ministry of Culture named him the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. 

Belgian footballer Toby Alderweireld is best known as a defender for Royal Antwerp. Starting his senior career with Ajax, he later also had successful stints with clubs such as Atlético Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur. He was also part of the Belgian squads that played at the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup games.

Flemish cartographer of the 16th century, Abraham Ortelius is remembered as the person who created Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the world’s first modern atlas. Starting his career as an engraver, he later switched to map-making. He also served as Spanish king Philip II’s official geographer and proposed the idea of continental drift.

Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who started painting at an early age before going on to become the leading court painter in England. Although he is best remembered for painting the aristocracy, van Dyck also painted biblical and mythological subjects. In 1632, Anthony van Dyck received a knighthood from Charles I.

Belgian footballer Radja Nainggolan, who plays as a midfielder for Antwerp, has also played for teams such as Cagliari and Piacenza. He began his football career with Tubantia Borgerhout at age 5. A diverse player, he won the Serie A in 2020-2021 with Inter Milan.

Jamal Ben Saddik is a Moroccan-Belgian kickboxer best known for his association with his current promotion Glory, where he competes in the heavyweight division. He achieved popularity in 2018, when he won the Glory Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament. In August 2022, Jamal Ben Saddik was ranked second in the official heavyweight rankings of the promotion.  

One of the most prominent painters of the Dutch Golden Age of painting, Frans Hals is renowned for his individual and group portraits as well as for his genre work paintings. He is known for loose painterly brushwork, colourful palette and lively style of painting. His work played a key role in the development of 17th century group portraiture.

Kevin Janssens is a Belgian actor best known for playing the title role in the 2019 comedy-drama film Patrick, which earned him a Best Actor nomination at the 10th Magritte Awards. Over the years, Kevin Janssens has also played important roles in other popular Belgian films like The Room and The Bouncer. 

Laura Tesoro is a Belgian actress and singer known for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 where she represented Belgium with the song What's the Pressure. She is also known for playing Charlotte in the soap opera Familie. Laura Tesoro has also appeared in popular TV shows like The Voice Kids, where she is one of the coaches.

Belgian-born American literary critic Paul de Man was considered one of the 2 pioneering figures of deconstruction, the other being French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Known for his criticism of authorial intentionalism, he also had a controversial personal life and once lived with a woman and her husband in a consensual relationship.

Johan Heldenbergh is a Belgian actor, screenwriter, film director, theatre director, and playwright. Over the years, Heldenbergh has achieved international fame by starring in popular films like The Misfortunates, The Broken Circle Breakdown, and The Zookeeper's Wife.

David Teniers the Younger was a Flemish Baroque painter, draughtsman, printmaker, staffage painter, miniaturist painter, copyist, and art curator. A prolific and versatile artist, Teniers was considered an innovator in a variety of genres such as genre painting, history painting, portrait, landscape painting, and still life. Today, he is remembered as the most important Flemish genre painter of his generation.

One of the most well-known white-collar criminals ever, Marc Rich, an NYU dropout, was a self-made business magnate and commodities trader who established Glencore but was later charged with fraud and tax evasion, among other crimes. He also donated generously for leukemia research and Jewish causes.

Milow is a Belgian singer-songwriter who has achieved immense popularity in mainland Europe and Canada where one of his albums sold more than 500,000 copies in the late 2000s. Over the course of his illustrious career, Milow has won many prestigious awards such as Music Industry Awards, MTV Europe Music Award, and European Border Breakers Award.

Belgian footballer Richie de Laet, who is a well-known defender, started his senior career with Royal Antwerp. He later had successful stints with clubs such as Leicester City and Middlesbrough, winning a Premier League with the former. He was also named the 2009-10 Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year.

Pieter Claesz was a Dutch painter of still lifes who flourished during the Dutch Golden Age. He is best remembered for his work alongside other important Dutch Golden Age artist Willem Claesz Heda. Pieter Claesz and Heda worked in Haarlem and are credited with founding a well-known tradition of still life painting in the city. 

Belgian-born Francis Alÿs first moved to Mexico as part of a team that helped the country rebuild itself after its destruction in the 1985 earthquakes. He later settled there and created artwork using a variety of media, from painting to video. The Collector is one of his best-known works.

Flemish painter Jacob Jordaens was a major part of the Flemish Baroque movement. He is best remembered for his works such as Allegory of Fertility and known for his signature use of warm colors and scenes inspired by proverbs, mythology, allegories. He also designed many tapestries.

Flemish painter Frans Snyders is best remembered for his paintings of animals and hunting scenes. He also created still-lifes of flowers and fruits. He is also considered a pioneer in depicting animals as protagonists in everyday situations. His works also featured many collaborations with Antwerp painters.

Clara Peeters was a Flemish painter from Antwerp known for her still-life works. Active in both the Spanish Netherlands and the Dutch Republic, she is the most famous female Flemish artist of her era. She was one of the few women artists working professionally in 17th-century Europe. She is believed to have been a wealthy and successful artist.  

Cindy Dandois is a Belgian mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight, Bantamweight, and Lightweight divisions. She has fought for various promotions like the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA. The mother of six, Cindy Dandois is currently working as a high school teacher. 

Belgian Catholic theologian Edward Schillebeeckx was part of the Dominican Order and taught at the Catholic University of Nijmegen. Through his writings, he challenged the age-old religious beliefs such as virgin birth and resurrection, and thus angered the Vatican. The Erasmus Prize winner was a professor of dogmatic theology, too.

The Belgian-American stage and film director Ulu Grosbard, in his five decades of career, became known for working on selected projects and his complex portrayal of characters. His successful Broadway career included Tony Award nominations for The Subject Was Roses and American Buffalo. His Hollywood credits include True Confessions and Georgia and the film version of The Subject Was Roses.

Belgian actor Camille Clifford is best known as the model behind the Gibson Girl illustrations by American illustrator Charles Dana Gibson. She was also an actor known for her role in the musical The Catch of the Season. She was popular for her signature corseted style and her 18-inch waist.

Arnold Geulincx was a Flemish philosopher, logician, and metaphysician. Over the years, Geulincx's works like De virtute and Methodus inveniendi argumenta have influenced other prominent personalities like Irish novelist and playwright Samuel Beckett, who cites Arnold Geulincx as a key influence.

Belgian romantic novelist Hendrik Conscience was one of the pioneers of the Flemish novel. Best remembered for his historical fiction The Lion of Flanders, he had also penned tales on urban and rural life. He had also been a local politician, a museum curator, and a district commissioner.

Considered a Flemish cultural icon, Gert Verhulst is especially known for his contributions to children’s entertainment. Equally well-known as a presenter and entertainer, his childhood goal was to become famous and he quickly achieved that with his first show, Samson en Gert. Also a successful entrepreneur, he is a co-founder of Studio 100 and holds substantial stake in the company.   

Frans Floris was a Flemish painter, print artist, draughtsman, and tapestry designer. He is best remembered for his allegorical scenes, history paintings, and portraits. A well-known Romanist, Frans Floris played a significant role in bringing the nuances of the Italian High Renaissance artworks into the Northern painting tradition.