This is a list of famous Chileans:
Economists
- Hernán Büchi - Columbia University trained economist. Minister of Economy during Pinochet government. The father of the country's economic miracle
- Alejandro Foxley - Chile's first finance minister after the return of democracy in 1990 and an engineer of the country's economic miracle
- Sebastián Edwards - UCLA professor, former World Bank officer (1993-1996), prolific author and media personality
Filmmakers
- Alejandro Amenábar - Chilean/Spanish director (Snuff, Open Your Eyes, The Others)
- Silvio Caiozzi - (Julio Begins in July, The Moon in the Mirror, Coronation)
- Patricio Guzmán - Documentarian (The Battle of Chile)
- Ricardo Larraín - (The Frontier, Enthusiasm)
- Miguel Littin - (Jackal of Nahueltoro, Sandino, Tierra del Fuego)
- Alejandro Jodorowsky - Director (The Holy Mountain, El Topo, Santa Sangre), actor, and writer
- Raúl (Raoul) Ruiz - (White Dove, Genealogies of a Crime, Time Regained) Resides in France
Heads of State
- Eduardo Frei Montalva - President from 1964 to 1970
- Salvador Allende - President from 1970 until his death September 11, 1973
- Augusto Pinochet - De-facto, from March 11, 1980 to March 11, 1990
- Patricio Aylwin - President from March 11, 1990 to March 11, 1994
- Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle - President from March 11, 1994 to March 11, 2000 (son of Eduardo Frei Montalva)
- Ricardo Lagos - President since March 11, 2000
- See also: List of Presidents of Chile.
Military
- Caupolicán - Leader of the Araucanian who fiercely resisted the Spanish conquest of Chile
- Lautaro - Araucanian military leader during the Spanish conquest of Chile
- Bernardo O'Higgins - Founder of modern Chile
- José Miguel Carrera - Independentist leader of the Patria Vieja.
- Manuel Rodríguez - Independentist leader and guerrilla leader during the Reconquista.
- Augusto Pinochet - Military dictator from 1973 to 1990
- Arturo Prat - Captain of the Esmeralda ship at the Iquique Naval Combat
- Ignacio Carrera Pinto - Captain in charge of the chilean patrol died in La Concepción Battle.
Musicians
- Tom Araya - Singer/Bassist for rock group Slayer
- Claudio Arrau - Classical piano player
- Roberto Bravo - Classical piano player
- Beto Cuevas - Lead singer from rock group La Ley
- Tito Fernández - Folklorist; known as El Temucano
- Luis 'Lucho' Gatica - Bolero singer
- Eduardo Gatti - One of the leading composers of modern Chilean music
- Myriam Hernández - Popular music singer
- Víctor Jara - Singer-songwriter, killed by the Pinochet regime in 1973
- DJ Méndez - Rap singer (resides in Sweden)
- Javiera Parra - Lead singer from group Javiera y Los Imposibles
- Violeta Parra - Chilean Folk singer
- Palmenia Pizarro - Bolero singer (resides in Mexico)
- Buddy Richards - Bolero singer
Performers
- Tamara Acosta - Actress
- Leonor Varela - Actress (Blade II, The Man in the Iron Mask)
- Gloria Münchmeyer - Actress (The Moon in the Mirror)
Plastic Artists
- Roberto Matta - Painter, sculptor
- Claudio Bravo - Hyper-realism painter
Poets
- Vicente Huidobro
- Enrique Lihn
- Gabriela Mistral - Winner of the nobel prize for literature
- Pablo Neruda - Winner of the nobel prize for literature
- Nicanor Parra - So-called anti-poet
- Gonzalo Rojas - 2004 Cervantes Prize winner
- Pablo de Rokha
Politicians
- Joaquín Lavín - University of Chicago-trained economist, Planning official in the military government, mayor of Santiago and likely 2005 presidential candidate
- Orlando Letelier - Foreign minister during Salvador Allende's government
Religious figures
Sports
- Luis Ayala - Tennis player; twice French Open finalist
- Carlos Caszely - Association football player
- Patricio Cornejo - Tennis player, 1976 Davis Cup Finalist
- Carlo de Gavardo - KTM rally motocycler.
- Elías Figueroa - Association football player
- Jaime Fillol - Tennis player, 1976 Davis Cup finalist
- Arturo Godoy - Boxer, fought Joe Louis twice for the World Heavyweight title
- Fernando González - Tennis player
- Anita Lizana - Tennis player; 1937 US Open champion
- Nicolás Massú - Tennis player
- Ivan Morovic - Chess Internationatial Grandmaster
- Erica Olivera - Athlete
- Marcelo Ríos - Former world number-one tennis player
- Marcelo Salas - Association football player
- José Santos - jockey, winner of US Triple Crown
- Martín Vargas - Boxer, arguably the most famous boxer in Chile's history
- Iván Zamorano - Association football player
Scientists
- Humberto Maturana - Biologist, co-author of the theory of Autopoiesis
- Francisco Varela - Biologist, co-author of the theory of Autopoiesis.
- Eric Goles - Mathematician
- Claudio Teitelboim - Physicist
- María Teresa Ruiz - Astronomer
Television Personalities
- Cecilia Bolocco - Ex-Miss Universe, wife of ex-president of Argentina Carlos Menem
- Gonzalo Cáceres - Anchor man for Spanish Deutsche Welle
- Amaro Gómez-Pablos - CNN en Español correspondent
- Mario Kreutzberger (Don Francisco) - Host of television show Sábado Gigante
- Antonio Vodanovic - Viña del Mar International Festival host
Writers
- Isabel Allende - Novelist (The House of Spirits)
- Roberto Bolaño - Novelist (The Wild Detectives)
- Francisco Coloane - (Tierra del fuego)
- José Donoso - (Coronation)
- Ariel Dorfman - Novelist, playwright (Death and the Maiden), essayist, journalist and human rights activist
- Jorge Edwards - 1999 Cervantes Prize winner
- Antonio Skármeta - Author of Ardiente Paciencia which inspired the movie Il Postino (The Postman) about poet Pablo Neruda
Other
- Borja Huidobro - Architect
- José Miguel Vivanco - Executive director, Human Rights Watch Americas Division (Latin America and the Caribbean)