Spanish footballer, Sergio Ramos, is known for his defensive skills and also for his ability to play offensively and score goals. He plays for the Premier League Club, Real Madrid. Ramos was a member of the Spanish national side which won the European Championship in 2008 and 2012 and the World Cup in 2010.
Fernando Torres is a former football player whose ability to score goals earned him a reputation as one of the best goal-scorers in the world. He helped his Spanish football team win their first FIFA World Cup in 2010. Such is his popularity in Spain that a stadium was built in his honor in Fuenlabrada, Spain, in 2011.
Spanish actor, Javier Bardem, is an acclaimed artist and has worked in notable films like Skyfall, Love in the Time of Cholera, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Mother and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. He has also acted in numerous Spanish movies. He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the 2007 film No Country for Old Men.
Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador best remembered for his expeditions that eventually paved the way for the Spanish conquest of Peru. Along with Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Pizarro became the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean after crossing the Isthmus of Panama. After two failed expeditions to Peru, Pizarro led a third and successful campaign to conquer Peru.
Arón Piper is a German-Spanish actor best known for his portrayal of Ander Muñoz in the Spanish thriller teen drama series, Elite. Apart from being an actor, Piper is also a musician. He joined hands with several other musicians to release a single titled Sigo. In 2020, he released another song titled Rosé.
Ferdinand II of Aragon reigned as the King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. He sponsored Christopher Columbus' first voyage and therefore is credited with playing a key role in the discovery of the New World. He has been depicted in several films, including Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, and Assassin's Creed.
Known as the younger sister of Spanish actor Penélope Cruz, Mónica Cruz is not just an actor but also a trained dancer, specializing in flamenco and ballet. Known for her roles in projects such as The Inquiry and Last Hour, she is now also a mother of a daughter, through artificial insemination.
Juan Gris was a Spanish painter whose paintings are counted among the Cubism movement's most distinctive works. Gris's works and style influenced the Purist style of Charles Edouard Jeanneret and Amédée Ozenfant. Some of his paintings, such as Still Life with Checked Tablecloth and The musician's Table, have sold for millions of dollars at the auction.
María Valverde is a Spanish actress who has played important roles in Spanish as well as British films. Valverde didn’t take long to hog the limelight as she won the Goya Award for her debut performance in The Weakness of the Bolshevik , at the age of 16! She is best known for playing Zipporah in the epic film Exodus: Gods and Kings.
Spanish model, actor, and TV presenter Pilar Rubio had initially decided to study economics but later quit it without a degree, to join the entertainment industry. Best known for presenting the show Sé lo que hicisteis..., she also appeared naked on Interviú. She is married to Spanish footballer Sergio Ramos.
Jaume Collet-Serra is a Spanish-American filmmaker best known for directing horror films like House of Wax, The Shallows, and Orphan. He is also known for his association with Liam Neeson, who has played important roles in many of Collet-Serra's films like Unknown, Run All Night, and The Commuter.
Best known for her roles in series such as Los Serrano and The Sea Inside, Spanish actor Belén Rueda is also a Goya Award winner. Quitting her architecture course, she became a salesgirl and then a model, eventually turning toward presenting shows on TV and then acting.
Teresa of Ávila, also known as Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Spanish noblewoman who later turned into a Carmelite nun. She was posthumously named a Doctor of the Church. She co-established the Discalced Carmelite Order. Her written works include The Interior Castle and her own autobiography.
The daughter of actor and soprano Joaquina Sitches and tenor Manuel García, Spanish mezzo-soprano Maria Malibran was 8 when she debuted on stage with her father. She gained immense fame as Rosina in The Barber of Seville. She died after falling from a horse soon after marriage to violinist Charles de Bériot.
Spanish baritone singer and voice educator Manuel García was the son of legendary opera singer Manuel del Popolo Vicente García. He started his career with his father’s production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. He invented the laryngoscope and penned the classic Complete Treatise on the Art of Singing.
Former Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy is a qualified lawyer and had stepped into politics at the tender age of 26. Under his leadership, the People’s Party shifted from being staunchly right to center-right. He was eventually ousted by a vote of no-confidence after the Catalan independence crisis.
Spanish opera singer Teresa Berganza was known for playing iconic roles such as Rosina in Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. She also appeared in several films such as the 1979 movie adaptation of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. She was the first female member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.
Agustina de Aragon was a Spanish warrior best remembered for her valiant effort while defending Spain during the Peninsular War. Nicknamed the Spanish Joan of Arc, Agustina served in the Spanish Army. Regarded as a heroine in Spain, Agustina de Aragón has been the subject of several stories, folklore, and artwork. Her life inspired the 1929 film Agustina of Aragon.