Cardiff (; cy, ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. Many notable people were born in Cardiff or share a strong association with the city, ranging from historical figures such as Henry Morgan to more recent figures such as

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

, Ken Follett and Griff Rhys Jones. In particular, the city has been the birthplace of international sportsmen and women, including Olympic athletes such as Paulo Radmilovic, Tanni Grey-Thompson and Colin Jackson. Many professional and international footballers, such as Craig Bellamy,

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation ...

Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; 29 November 1973) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Giggs played his List of one-club men in association football, entir ...

and

Joe Ledley Joseph Christopher Ledley (born 23 January 1987) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He started his career with then Championship side Cardiff City where he spent six years. He helped the club to the F ...

, and former managers of the Wales national football team

Terry Yorath Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), A ...

and John Toshack were born in Cardiff, as were a number of international rugby union and rugby league players including Frank Whitcombe,

Billy Boston William John Boston, MBE (born 6 August 1934) is a Welsh former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or . Born in Cardiff, Wales, Boston started his career as a rugby union player before joining Wigan in 1953. He spent the next ...

Gareth Llewellyn Gareth Owen Llewellyn (born 27 February 1969), is a Welsh former rugby union player who gained a record 92 caps for Wales as a lock. His record for Wales caps was surpassed by Gareth Thomas in May 2007. His brother, Glyn Llewellyn, also played i ...

and

Colin Dixon Colin J. Dixon (3 December 1943 – 21 June 1993) was a Welsh rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1970s. He played club level rugby union (RU) foCardiff International Athletic Club and representa ...

. Cardiff is also well known for its musicians such as

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

, after whom the Ivor Novello Awards are named.

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

is familiar to many as the singer of three James Bond movie theme tunes, while

Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff. Church rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching i ...

is famous as a crossover classical/pop singer, and Shakin' Stevens was one of the top selling male artists in the UK during the 1980s. A number of Cardiff-based bands, such as Catatonia and the Super Furry Animals, were popular during the 1990s.