Famous Bulgarian Women

Tsvetana Pironkova became the first Bulgarian tennis player to reach semi-final of a Grand Slam in singles after defeating five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams at 2010 Wimbledon Championships. Following this Pironkova attained her highest singles ranking of No. 31 in September that year. She bagged a title in Sydney and in 2020 won the Bulgarian Sportsperson of the Year Award.

Sylvie Vartan is an Armenian-Bulgarian-French actress and singer. Best known for her work as a yé-yé artist, Vartan achieved popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, when her shows attracted full houses at the Palais des congrès de Paris and the Olympia. Sylvie Vartan's shows often featured enthralling show-dance choreography. She has also appeared in films like Malpertuis and The Missionaries.

Stefka Kostadinova is a Bulgarian former athlete whose world record of 2.09 metres in high jump has stood since 1987. One of the most respected athletes from Bulgaria, Kostadinova has won an Olympic gold medal, two gold medals in World Championships, five gold medals in World Indoor Championships, and four gold medals in European Indoor Championships.

Maria Popova is a Bulgarian-born writer who focuses on philosophy and culture. Considered an important writer, Popova also contributes to popular publications like Wired UK, The Atlantic, and The New York Times. Over the course of her career, Maria Popova has been featured in various lists including Forbes' 30 under 30. 

Bulgarian-born French author and literary critic Julia Kristeva is also a professor at the University Paris Diderot. Her writings, such as the Female Genius trilogy, are centered around feminism, semiotics, and psychoanalysis. She has also pioneered semanalysis and has been recognized with honors such as Commander of the Legion of Honor.

Irina Bokova is a Bulgarian politician best known for her service as the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs from 13 November 1996 to 13 February 1997. An important member of UNESCO, Bokova has also served as a Director-General of UNESCO from 15 October 2009 to 10 November 2017. Bokova is the recipient of many prestigious awards like the Hilal-i-Pakistan Award.

Five-time Olympian Bulgarian athlete Ivet Lalova-Collio is a master of the 100m and 200m sprint. She has been a European Champion and has won gold medals at the European Junior and Indoor Championships. He career almost ended after colliding with a fellow athlete during a warm-up session and breaking her right femur.

Bulgarian environmental economist Kristalina Georgieva, the MD of IMF, believes developed nations should help low-income countries to prevent the Great Divergence. Her career boasts of a stint at the World Bank Group. She made it to the 2020 Time 100 and was named the European of the Year in 2010.

Professional Bulgarian tennis player Viktoriya Tomova has so far earned 16 ITF titles in singles and12 ITF titles in doubles. Her current WTA singles-ranking of No. 101 attained on July 11, 2022 is her best WTA singles-ranking, while she attained her career-high WTA doubles-ranking of No. 254 in August 2014. Tomova plays for the Bulgaria Fed Cup team as well.

Retired Bulgarian tennis player Magdalena Maleeva has had a career-high ranking of 4 in singles and 13 in doubles. She is also a 2-time Olympian and has won 10 singles titles throughout her illustrious career. She is one of the three Maleeva sisters, the daughters of former tennis player Yuliya Berberyan.

While she initially represented Bulgaria, former world number 3 tennis star Manuela Maleeva began playing for Switzerland after her marriage to Swiss tennis coach François Fragnière. Politically vocal, the Olympic bronze medalist co-established the party Yes, Bulgaria! She also owns a foundation that helps disabled children.

Bulgarian chess grandmaster Antoaneta Stefanova was Women's World Champion from 2004 to 2006. She has represented Bulgaria in Women's Chess Olympiad since 1992 and in Chess Olympiad in 2000. Her achievements include winning Bulgarian women's championship in 1995 and 3rd European Individual Women's Championship in June 2002. She became an MP for There Is Such A People party in 2021.

Bulgarian television-host and journalist Victoria Marinova served as administrative director of Ruse’s TVN Television. She presented the current-affairs talk-show Detector for the channel. Marinova’s brutal rape and murder, which occurred at a time when violence against investigative reporters were on the rise, sparked international outrage. She was the third journalist who was killed in the European Union within a year.

Lyudmila Zhivkova was a Bulgarian political figure and important member of the Bulgarian Communist Party. She is best remembered for her work in preserving and nurturing Bulgarian arts and culture. Lyudmila Zhivkova's interest in Eastern culture and religious mysticism during the last 10 years of her life made her infamous within the former Soviet Bloc.

Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma was the first wife of prince-regnant Ferdinand of Bulgaria, who later became Tsar Ferdinand I. Well-read and fluent in 5 languages, she was a woman of culture. She died at age 29, shortly after giving birth to her fourth child.

Yordanka Donkova was 5 when she lost 3 fingers on her right hand in an accident, but that didn’t stop her from becoming one of the best Bulgarian hurdling athletes. She not just won a World Indoor Championship silver but is also an Olympic gold and bronze medalist.

Korneliya Ninova is a Bulgarian politician and the current leader of the Socialist Party. She is best known for her service as the Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 13 December 2021 to 2 August 2022. An important political figure, Korneliya Ninova also served as the Minister of Economy and Industry from 13 December 2021 to 2 August 2022.

Iliana Iotova is a Bulgarian politician and the current Vice President of Bulgaria. From 2007 to 2017, Iotova was one of the Members of the European Parliament. Prior to her political career, Iliana Iotova worked as a reporter, editor, and news presenter at Bulgarian National Television.

Mariya Gabriel is a Bulgarian politician and the current European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. An important member of the GERB political party, Mariya Gabriel is also known for her service as a Member of the European Parliament between 2009 and 2017.

Once world number 35 in singles, Bulgarian tennis sensation Sesil Karatantcheva is best known for beating tennis legend Venus Williams and reaching the 2005 French Open quarterfinals. From 2009 to 2014, she represented Kazakhstan internationally. She is the daughter of former MP and rower Radoslav Karatantchev.

Desislava Radeva is the wife of Bulgarian President Rumen Georgiev Radev. Since 22 January 2017, Radeva has been serving as the First Lady of Bulgaria. Desislava Radeva is also credited with establishing a non-profit organization called Living Water of Bulgaria, which was founded in 2017.

Bulgarian badminton player Gabriela Stoeva, who specializes in doubles, won 2013 European Junior Badminton Championships with her younger sister, Stefani Stoeva. The pair has thereafter achieved several feats in doubles including becoming European Badminton Champion thrice (2018, 2021, 2022) and winning European Games in 2015. The two sisters also teamed-up and competed at the Summer Olympics in 2016 and 2020.