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Famous French People

Can you name these famous French people, past and present?
Quiz by
Quizmaster
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Last updated: March 30, 2026
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First submittedSeptember 6, 2012
Times taken27,967
Average score77.3%
Rating4.12
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Clue
Answer
The longest reigning monarch in world history, he was known as the "Sun King"
Louis XIV
King of the Franks from 768–814 AD
Charlemagne
Leader of the Free French forces during WWII
Charles de Gaulle
Captured Moscow (briefly) in 1812
Napoleon
Developed a process for making milk safer
Louis Pasteur
Born François-Marie Arouet, this witty Enlightenment era writer is more
commonly known by his pen name
Voltaire
The first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person of any gender to win two
Marie Curie
"Giant" of professional wrestling
Andre the Giant
President of France since 2017
Emmanuel Macron
Author of "Les Misérables" and "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame"
Victor Hugo
Usually considered the first French king
Clovis
"Cogito ergo sum", he postulated
René Descartes
Author of "Madame Bovary"
Gustave Flaubert
Not satisfied with the title of Duke of Normandy, he conquered England too
William the Conqueror
Bloodthirsty, incorruptible revolutionary who founded the
"Cult of the Supreme Being" in 1794
Maximilien de
Robespierre
Led France to a FIFA World Cup title in 1998, but was sent off for
headbutting in the 2006 final
Zinedine Zidane
Female warrior who was burned at the stake by the English
Joan of Arc
He made about 250 paintings of water lilies
Claude Monet
She launched her No. 5 perfume in 1921
Coco Chanel
In 2022, this DJ released "I'm Good (Blue)"
David Guetta
Author of "The Second Sex"
Simone de Beauvoir
Co-inventor of the SCUBA set, he explored the seas aboard the Calypso
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
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83 Comments
hesasmartone
+10
Level 45
Oct 20, 2012
Pardon my French, but where the hell is Jules Verne? He is without a doubt one of the most famous and relevant Frenchmen in history.
What
+14
Level 26
Oct 20, 2012
Still less important than Molière and Balzac, which aren't on the list either. It's just a selection, and not a bad one.
Ozchris
+1
Level 32
Mar 29, 2013
Where does it say it's a list of every single famous French person? IF you don't like the list... write your own quiz. (Then watch everyone else come in and criticise it.)
Jerry928
+1
Level 76
Jul 6, 2014
All right, I have: Famous French People #2. I wonder who I missed out...
RondoNo2
+1
Level 51
Apr 4, 2026
Sacha Distel, for one.
brandybuck96
+1
Level 82
Nov 17, 2023
He's definitely one of the most famous (most published author in the world I believe??) but even as a fan of his I'm not sure I'd describe him as 'relevant'
Yoshimano
+1
Level 66
Mar 31, 2026
"Relevant" may be a bit of an overstatement.

A important author, one of my favourites as a kid, too but his legacy doesn't compare to that of other authors or philosophers, some of which were mentioned in this very quiz (Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Victor Hugo, Proust, etc.)

FentonsDad
+10
Level 89
Oct 20, 2012
I was in Poland this summer, and it was obvious that they are very proud of Marie Curie (along with Copernicus and Chopin). I can imagine some hurt feelings there when you make her French.
Ozchris
+1
Level 32
Dec 25, 2012
I was just about to say the same. My Polish ex gf would turn in her grave if she heard someone was calling Curie Polish. (Not that my ex is dead on anything.) :)
hwes
+1
Level 89
Aug 19, 2013
Yeah my ex would kill me if I said Curie was French ... not too mention Chopin, who my half Polish daughter reveres
Cedo
+4
Level 38
Dec 5, 2015
Chopin's father was french himself. Poland can totally be proud of Marie Curie, but at the time coming in France was her only way to work as a physicist.
PoetsCorner
+3
Level 87
Jan 8, 2022
It's amazing how many people on JetPunk don't believe in dual citizenship.
TheWombat
+4
Level 72
Oct 10, 2013
As they should be. She was still French, though. She certainly kept hold of her Polish heritage (the first element she discovered was Polonium, named after Poland), but she was also a naturalised French citizen and she was buried in France as a French hero (in a lead casket, I hope). I expect when I'm famous and appearing on JetPunk quizzes there will arguments about whether I'm British or Australian. For the record, I'm Australian, but I have no problem with the British worshiping me as well.
smartcookie17
+1
Level 44
Jul 3, 2014
dunkinggandalf, you are SO lucky...
kalbahamut
+1
Level 79
Jul 28, 2019
Why was drunken gandalf purged? I know that he did not author any quizzes. And he might have been inactive for a year. But I thought the rule was that you had to fit both of those criteria and also be below a certain level like level 5 or 15 or something.

Did he delete his account himself?

divantilya
+1
Level 36
Oct 21, 2016
Ok, let's compromise. If she were in America we could refer to her

as Polish - American. Since she was in France instead, how about referring to her as Francolish or Polarance. Does that satisfy you ?

Stayn
+2
Level 56
Jun 4, 2024
i think people should realise you can be multiples nationalities at the same time
Philippelebel
+1
Level 79
Dec 28, 2025
Curie, like Chopin, had two national identities.

Fun fact: Curie was actually born in Russia as Poland had been partitioned into nonexistence.

alberici
+1
Level 74
Oct 21, 2012
Great quiz. It would be amazing to have more of these but with other nationalities.
wolfiee
+1
Level 74
May 29, 2013
Chopin, like Curie, is also Polish. Agree with Ozchris that the list had no pretensions to being exhaustive, thus complaints about left out figures should be a moot point. But still...no Proust? Arguably, he wrote the greatest work of literature in any language...
RondoNo2
+1
Level 51
Apr 4, 2026
I hope you choke on your pretensions.
vazilega
+2
Level 29
Apr 22, 2014
Very simple: As soon as she married Pierre Curie she became french, before her wedding she was polish and her name was Maria Skłodowska. If you call her Marie Curie she is french.
Cedo
+6
Level 38
Dec 5, 2015
No, she stayed polish as well, and she used both names.
travelfan
+1
Level 67
May 4, 2014
THANK YOU SO MUCH for asking the proper spelling for "De Gaulle" and not leaving me (again) with the last "LE" in the box that I need to erase! It annoys me every time. It's not like it's a difficult name to spell, and not like there are any alternate spellings, either. I completely blanked out on Robespierre. For some reason I can never remember his name. And I think I tried every Merovingian king name I cold remember (Childebert,Childeric, Dagobert...) but somehow never remembered Clovis. Lol!
Philippelebel
+1
Level 79
Dec 28, 2025
Technically, Louis should work for Clovis. It's the same name spelled differently (Clovis = Louis I).
RondoNo2
+1
Level 51
Apr 4, 2026
Untechnicaly, Philippelebel is not an alternative spelling of 'Man with something worth saying'.
Islandcarver
+1
Level 83
Nov 12, 2014
Andre the Giant was Canadian.
Cedo
+4
Level 38
Dec 5, 2015
fail.
RobNobody
+4
Level 80
Mar 30, 2026
He was born and raised in rural France. At 18 he moved to Paris and started wrestling, only moving to Canada when he was 25. You can make an argument that he was Canadian (though I can't find any evidence that he ever became a naturalized Canadian citizen), but you definitely can't argue that he isn't French.
Pemphredo
+5
Level 21
Dec 18, 2014
Thanks for this quiz. As a french woman, I'll be very proud if Marie Curie was french... but she wasn't. You can replace her with her husband Pierre maybe (they both work hard!)
Cedo
+5
Level 38
Dec 5, 2015
And you'd be insulting all the people naturalized french...
wielblad
+2
Level 66
May 17, 2020
Many of whom don't consider themselves French. There is a difference between citizenship and nationality.
McCoy
+1
Level 60
Apr 17, 2015
Please try out my quizz about famous germans:

http://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/51892/famous-people-from-germany

WelshWizard
+3
Level 89
May 11, 2015
Marie Curie is Polish. I bet no-one except maybe a small few French people consider her French.
Cedo
+4
Level 38
Dec 5, 2015
when you get the french nationality, you are french. Other consideration would be insulting. She was both polish and french and apparently it was much easier for her to deal with than it is for you.
Stayn
+2
Level 56
Jun 4, 2024
actually a lot of people forget she was polish at all. But she was both french and polish, you can be multiple nationalities at the same time
Duzza
+1
Level 33
May 11, 2015
Marie Curie was Polish not French, living in Paris does not make you French
Quizmaster
+11
Level ∞
May 11, 2015
Well maybe they should dig her out of the Pantheon. Broaden your mind! You're not forever tied to the piece of soil where you were born. Marie Curie is Polish AND French.
Thorvald
+1
Level 73
May 26, 2015
She was Polish and proud of that. She donated radium for Polish institutes, she helped polish politicians fighting for our independence. She underlined her Polish heritage. Simply marrying someone of a different nationality, obtaining citizenship and working there does not make someone a different person.
Cedo
+4
Level 38
Dec 5, 2015
being polish and pround of that doesn't make it impossible to be french. Are you arguing with Marie Curie's dead body?
Arp2600
+3
Level 89
May 11, 2015
Cousteau's first name was Jacques-Yves, not just Jacques.
Lucasaar
+3
Level 66
May 11, 2015
André The Giant? I'm French and I can assure you he's absolutely unknown here! (but apparently he's famous in the US...)
Dechnord
+1
Level 76
Oct 28, 2015
I agree : I'm french and I heard about him for the first time on this website !
Cedo
+2
Level 38
Dec 5, 2015
Still, he is famous.
PoetsCorner
+2
Level 87
Jan 8, 2022
I'm not much of a sports fan - and definitely not a wrestling fan - but I've always loved the story that, when Andre the Giant was a kid, Samuel Beckett used to drive him to school in a jeep because he was too big to fit inside the schoolbus.

Since Beckett was a protegee of James Joyce, we now have a direct line of mentorship from Joyce to Andre. I find that delightful.

mwierenga
+2
Level 90
May 11, 2015
Too franco-centric.
Sulps
+1
Level 55
May 12, 2015
Karl the Great (Charlemagne) and Chlodovech (Clovis) weren't French, they were Frankish. The Franks were actually a tribe of Germans, unrelated to the French.
Cedo
+6
Level 38
Dec 5, 2015
... You should check your facts, or at least your conclusions. Historically, France is partly a germanic country. Charlemagne being a monarch in the history of several modern countries, France and Germany included. Why do you think France is called France?
kalbahamut
+3
Level 79
May 7, 2016
I thought it was because they like french fries there.
RondoNo2
+1
Level 51
Apr 4, 2026
Kalbo: that is a truly hilarious line. I have literally laughed so hard that I have ruptured all of my internal organs. It is the greatest privilege known to humanity to experience your stunning wit.
Thorvald
+2
Level 73
May 26, 2015
Nice quiz, but I second all the comments complaining about regarding Maria Skłodowska-Curie as French. There have been many French scientists or other famous persons to choose from.

Nevertheless, check put my "Famous Polish people" quiz: http://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/97363/famous-poles

joez
+1
Level 77
Dec 18, 2015
Never heard of Zinedine Zidane, yet more people know him than Voltaire or William the Conqueror. Strange world we live in.
DonTheLamplighter
+7
Level 87
Aug 19, 2017
Marco Materazzi has heard of him, I can assure you.
Usara
+3
Level 16
Oct 19, 2016
I'm French and was really surprised to see Andre the Giant in this list. I know him (Princess Bride !) but he is not that famous in France.

I didn't get Pasteur. He is mostly known for the discovery of the first vaccine against rabies. But then, I guess I didn't used my brain to wonder where does "pasteurization" comes from...

So funny to see people arguing about Marie Curie :D In France, we consider her Polish AND French.

PoetsCorner
+4
Level 87
Jan 8, 2022
Because she WAS Polish and French. The number of people who are trying to insist that dual citizenship doesn't exist is quite shocking to me. I wonder at their motives.
leontodon
+1
Level 75
Jul 8, 2024
I don't think their motives are sinister: commenters here are hugely into trivia quizzes, so we very much want everything to fit neatly into exactly one category, and we get upset when reality spoils the elegance of our quiz themes.
RondoNo2
+1
Level 51
Apr 4, 2026
Usara: 'He is mostly known for the discovery of the first vaccine against rabies.' That ìs not true.
HectorVortac
+3
Level 47
Oct 21, 2016
It's been at least a year since someone said Marie Curie is Polish.
PoetsCorner
+2
Level 87
Mar 14, 2017
Too U.S.-centric!
OfficerDibble
+6
Level 86
Feb 20, 2019
Funnily enough I suspect there's some truth in that. It's a very odd list, from a European perspective - no Moliere, no Racine, no film stars, no singers. But it may well be a fair reflection of which French people are most famous in the States.
PoetsCorner
+2
Level 87
Jan 8, 2022
We're coming up on Moliere's 400th birthday in a couple of days. And sure, a few film stars would be nice (Belmondo and Bardot for instance) but I have no problem with a list of people who are more famous internationally than domestically.
BlackJohn
+1
Level 79
Mar 30, 2026
Indeed as this is a US site and Quizmaster is American, it is very US centric indeed in terms of POV. I am not even French but nobody cares about Andre the Giant outside the US, and not including people like Alain Delon, Edith Piaf or Blaise Pascal instead of odd ones like Clovis, Guetta and Flaubert does seem off. I am surpised he included Zizou though, I bet he is totally unkown in the US
kenpo17
+8
Level 65
Nov 18, 2017
Needs less David Guetta and more Daft Punk.
ubsaral
+1
Level 84
Feb 17, 2018
Hollande is no longer French President. It is Macron now.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Feb 18, 2018
Updated
eibi
+2
Level 80
Sep 5, 2018
If you want a truly French (and truly famous) giant, there's Depardieu...
rosco359
+4
Level 66
Feb 24, 2019
Please accept Guillaume for William!
Aloha19
+1
Level 51
Jun 25, 2019
Same here!
Aaron197
+4
Level 76
Sep 29, 2019
I was hoping to see Edith Piaf in the least.
Itacheeesh
+1
Level 53
Feb 27, 2025
I'm French, and i think this quiz is wonderful, but i think for zidane "zizou" should be accepted as an answer, and as I am from Normandy and lived my entire life with a view over the church where william the conqueror is burried, I am pretty confident when I say "Guillaume le conquérant" should be accepted as an answer
EcceHomo
+1
Level 85
Mar 30, 2026
Sinon Guillaume le Bâtard.
RondoNo2
+1
Level 51
Apr 4, 2026
Itacheeesh: you are French. Fair enough. But the quiz is in English.
Evenultrapawn
+1
Level 65
Mar 30, 2026
Wow, first person to take the quiz since the update - I beat 100% of test takers and all the answers I didn't get are clearly impossible because 0% of takers got them!
baptistegorce
+2
Level 57
Mar 30, 2026
I tried the animal name for the penultimate answer, because that's the kind of fun fact we learn in English classes in France (instead of learning how to speak English properly, but that's another story). I didn't expect it to be valid. I have never known if it was really something or just an anecdote.

More generally, thank you for the type-ins allowing the French spellings when they differ from the English ones.

vermiciousknid
+1
Level 91
Mar 30, 2026
Animal name?
Fergi
+2
Level 69
Mar 30, 2026
She is not Marie Curie - she is Marie Skłodowska, alternatively Marie Skłodowska - Curie
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Mar 30, 2026
Just. Stop.

This has been posted a million times. Everyone knows that Curie was born in Poland.

No one is disrespecting your country. Poland is great.

Nirven
+2
Level 79
Mar 30, 2026
As a Polish person I have no problem saying that Marie Skłodowska-Curie was French, as she did have the citizenship and spent most of her life in France. But then again not mentioning her Polish heritage and (despite it being the international standard) only referring to her by "Curie", when she specifically kept her maiden name as a part of her new surname (a somehow common practice in Poland) doesn't sit right with me. We've had enough taken from us, let us enjoy the greatest scientific mind to come out of the country.

Furthermore I'd like to nitpick that Charlemagne and by extension Clovis were just as, or even more, German than they were French. But I guess both nations can somehow claim them.

An even bigger nitpick is that William the Conqueror was probably frenchified enough to call him that, though it also kind of simplifies his background.

Chernobog
+2
Level 65
Mar 30, 2026
It would be nice if the quiz accepted Skłodowska for Maria Skłodowska-Curie

She used both surnames after all

lubi
+1
Level 79
Mar 30, 2026
Listing Clovis or Charlemagne as French is ridiculous. The notion of France or being French didn't even exist during their lifetime. The French are not the Franks, even if their name share the same origin. Yes, the Frankish kingdom(s)/empire covered large parts of modern France. But so did the Roman Empire with Italy, and being Roman is not the same as being Italian.

It's almost like saying William the Conqueror was a famous Englishman.

lubi
+1
Level 79
Mar 30, 2026
Quoting Wikipedia from the article "List of French Monarchs":

"Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Franks (r. 507–511), as the first king of France. However, most historians today consider that such a kingdom did not begin until the establishment of West Francia, after the fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century."

Yoshimano
+1
Level 66
Mar 31, 2026
Accept "Gabrielle Chanel", maybe?

Nice quiz!

Thanks

RondoNo2
+2
Level 51
Apr 4, 2026
Can we all shut up about Marie Curie? She is here as the answer to a single question in a quiz on a trivia website. Nothing about that gets close to an international incident, yet people keep banging on as if they, their country, their national honour have been brutally assaulted... by a question in a quiz on a trivia website. Good grief.
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