This is a list of notable people from the city of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Arts and entertainment

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

- composer *

Dick Bruna Dick Bruna (born Hendrik Magdalenus Bruna, 23 August 1927 – 16 February 2017) was a Dutch author, artist, illustrator and graphic designer. Bruna was best known for his children's books which he authored and illustrated, numbering over 200. His ...

- writer, illustrator (

Miffy Miffy ( nl, Nijntje, pronounced ) is a Character (arts), fictional rabbit appearing in a series of picture books drawn and written by Dutch artist Dick Bruna. The original Dutch name, "Nijntje", is a shortening of the diminutive ''konijntje'', "l ...

children's books) *

Gerald Clayton Gerald William Clayton (born May 11, 1984) is a Dutch-born American jazz pianist, composer and bandleader. Biography Clayton attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts; USC's Thornton School of Music, where he studied piano with ...

- jazz pianist * Gerti Daub - beauty pageant winner * Hubert de Blanck - pianist, composer, founder of the Cuban National Conservatory of Music *

Hendrick de Keyser Hendrick de Keyser (15 May 1565 – 15 May 1621) was a Dutch sculptor, merchant in Belgium bluestone, and architect who was instrumental in establishing a late Renaissance form of Mannerism changing into Baroque. Most of his works appeared in Amst ...

- architect and sculptor *

Melchior d'Hondecoeter Melchior d'Hondecoeter (; 1636 – 3 April 1695), Dutch animalier painter, was born in Utrecht and died in Amsterdam. After the start of his career, he painted virtually exclusively bird subjects, usually exotic or game, in park-like landscap ...

- painter *

Sharon Doorson Sharon Doorson (born 24 April 1987, Netherlands) is a Dutch singer-songwriter, of Surinamese descent. She released her debut album in 2013, which reached the top 20 with 4 Top 40 singles released so far in Netherlands. She competed in ''The Voic ...

- musician * EliZe - singer * Ronald Giphart - author *

Arthur Japin Arthur Valentijn Japin (born 26 July 1956 in Haarlem) is a Dutch novelist. Biography His parents were Bert Japin, a teacher and writer of detective novels, and Annie Japin-van Arnhem. After a difficult childhood—his father killed himself when ...

- novelist * Fred Kaps - magician, illusionist *

Sylvia Kristel Sylvia Maria Kristel (28 September 1952 17 October 2012) was a Dutch actress and model who appeared in over 50 films. She is best remembered as the eponymous character in five of the seven Emmanuelle films, including originating the role with ''E ...

- actress and model * Fedde le Grand - musician (

Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit" (formatted as "Put Your Hands Up for Detroit" outside Benelux) is a song written and produced by Dutch electronic producer and DJ Fedde le Grand. It samples Matthew Dear and Disco D's "Hands Up for Detroit". Histor ...

) * Robert Long - singer *

Erhard Reuwich Erhard Reuwich ( nl, Reeuwijk) was a Dutch artist, as a designer of woodcuts, and a printer, who came from Utrecht but then worked in Mainz. His dates and places of birth and death are unknown, but he was active in the 1480s. He came from a famil ...

- fifteenth-century artist and illustrator *

Gerrit Rietveld Gerrit Rietveld (24 June 1888 – 25 June 1964) was a Dutch furniture designer and architect. Early life Rietveld was born in Utrecht on 24 June 1888 as the son of a joiner. He left school at 11 to be apprenticed to his father and enrolled at n ...

- designer, architect (

De Stijl ''De Stijl'' (; ), Dutch for "The Style", also known as Neoplasticism, was a Dutch art movement founded in 1917 in Leiden. De Stijl consisted of artists and architects. In a more narrow sense, the term ''De Stijl'' is used to refer to a body ...

movement) *

Wim Sonneveld Willem "Wim" Sonneveld (; 28 June 1917 – 8 March 1974) was a Dutch cabaret artist and singer. Together with Toon Hermans and Wim Kan, he is considered to be one of the 'Great Three' of Dutch cabaret. Sonneveld is generally viewed as a Dutch cu ...

- comedian, singer * Dirk van der Burg - painter, watercolourist *

Theo van Doesburg Theo van Doesburg (, 30 August 1883 – 7 March 1931) was a Dutch artist, who practiced painting, writing, poetry and architecture. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl. He was married to artist, pianist and choreographer Nell ...

- painter, artist (

movement) * Herman van Veen - comedian, singer *

Henk Westbroek Hendrik Otto "Henk" Westbroek (born 27 February 1952) is a Dutch radiohost, singer, songwriter and former owner of a café named 'Stairway to Heaven' in the city of Utrecht. He was also a political activist for Leefbaar Utrecht and Leefbaar Nede ...

- singer, DJ, local politician, bar owner *

Antonius Wyngaerde Antonius Wyngaerde (died 1499) was a composer associated with the city of Antwerp. He was born in Utrecht. He gained some reputation for his contrapuntal In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices ...

- composer

Clergy

Pope Adrian VI Pope Adrian VI ( la, Hadrianus VI; it, Adriano VI; nl, Adrianus/Adriaan VI), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his d ...

- head of the Catholic Church

Industry

Jeroen van der Veer Jeroen van der Veer (born 27 October 1947) is a Dutch businessman. He is the chairman of Philips, and a former chief executive officer (CEO) of Royal Dutch Shell. Education Van der Veer graduated in 1971 from the Delft University of Technology ...

- former CEO of

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

Paul Fentener van Vlissingen Paul Fentener van Vlissingen (21 March 1941 in Utrecht – 21 August 2006 in Langbroek) was a Dutch businessman and philanthropist. Ranked as the richest man in Scotland in 2005, he contributed to the development of game reserves in Africa and b ...

- former CEO of

SHV Holdings SHV Holdings is a privately owned Dutch trading company, regarded as one of the world's largest private trading groups. SHV is a highly diversified company, with interests in transport, retail, oil, food and financial services. It currently emplo ...

Military

Karel Doorman Karel Willem Frederik Marie Doorman (23 April 1889 – 28 February 1942) was a Dutch naval officer who during World War II commanded remnants of the short-lived American-British-Dutch-Australian Command naval strike forces in the Battle ...

- Rear Admiral; Commander of

ABDA The American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, or ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II. The command consists of the forces of Austra ...

fleet during

Battle of the Java Sea The Battle of the Java Sea ( id, Pertempuran Laut Jawa, ja, スラバヤ沖海戦, Surabaya oki kaisen, Surabaya open-sea battle, Javanese : ꦥꦼꦫꦁꦱꦼꦒꦫꦗꦮ, romanized: ''Perang Segara Jawa'') was a decisive naval battle o ...

* Trijn van Leemput - local heroine of the Eighty Years' War *

Olivier van Noort Olivier van Noort (1558 – 22 February 1627) was a Dutch merchant captain and pirate and the first Dutchman to circumnavigate the world.Quanchi, ''Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands'', page 246 Olivier ...

- mariner and explorer

Politics

* Joba van den Berg -

Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolution ...

MP * Arjan El Fassed -

GreenLeft GroenLinks (, ) is a Green politics, green List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four Left-wing politics, left-wing parties: the Communist Party of th ...

MP *

Anton Reinhard Falck Anton Reinhard Falck (19 March 1777 in Utrecht16 March 1843 in Brussels) was a Dutch statesman. He studied at the University of Leiden, and entered the Dutch diplomat service, being appointed to the legation at Madrid, Spain. Under King Louis ...

- politician and lawyer * Tom van den Nieuwenhuijzen - GreenLeft MP

Royalty

Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the oldest child of Princess B ...

, the current King of the Netherlands

Science

C.H.D. Buys Ballot Christophorus Henricus Diedericus Buys Ballot (; October 10, 1817 – February 3, 1890) was a Dutch chemist and meteorologist after whom Buys Ballot's law and the Buys Ballot table are named. He was first chairman of the International Meteor ...

- meteorologist, Buys Ballot law *

Gerard 't Hooft Gerardus (Gerard) 't Hooft (; born July 5, 1946) is a Dutch theoretical physicist and professor at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He shared the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics with his thesis advisor Martinus J. G. Veltman "for elucidating th ...

- Nobel prize in Physics 1999

Sports

* Johan Aantjes - water polo player and coach * John Achterberg - former footballer and goalkeeping coach *

Ibrahim Afellay Ibrahim Afellay (born 2 April 1986) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger. He played youth football at Elinkwijk before joining the PSV Eindhoven youth academy at age 10. After debuting in 20 ...

- football player *

Ismail Aissati Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...

- football player * Tessa Appeldoorn - rower *

Jacques Brinkman Jacques Brinkman (born 26 August 1966 in Utrecht) is a former Dutch field hockey player, who twice won the golden medal with the national squad: at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and four years later, at the 2000 Summer Olympi ...

- field hockey player *

Det de Beus Anna Maria Bernadette "Det" de Beus (18 February 1958 – 21 July 2013) in the Netherlands. Born in Utrecht, she was the first goalkeeper in women's field hockey to wear a mask. A player from Eindhovense Mixed Hockey Club in Eindhoven, De ...

- field hockey player *

Germaine de Randamie Germaine Martha de Randamie (born April 24, 1984) is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. Undefeated in sanctioned kickboxing bouts, she competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and was the first UFC Women's Featherwe ...

– kickboxer and mixed martial artist * Fedor den Hertog - cyclist * Rob Druppers - middle distance runner * Anton Geesink - judo champion *

Zakaria Labyad Zakaria Labyad ( Riffian-Berber: ⵣⴰⵎⴰⵔⵉⵢⴰ ⵍⴱⵢⴰⴷ; born 9 March 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. Born in the Netherlands, he represented that nation at under-17 level before switc ...

- football player *

Martha Laurijsen Martha "Marty" Johanna Petronella Laurijsen (born 15 April 1954 in Utrecht) is a former rowing cox from the Netherlands. She won the bronze medal coxing the Women's Eights at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, alongside Mariek ...

- rower * Hans Parrel - water polo player *

Wesley Sneijder Wesley Sneijder (; born 9 June 1984) is a Dutch retired professional footballer. Due to his elite playmaking ability, Sneijder was considered one of the best midfielders in the world during his prime. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, he st ...

- football player * Patricia Stokkers - swimmer * Carole Thate - field hockey player *

Jurriën Timber Jurriën David Norman Timber (; born 17 June 2001) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Arsenal and the Netherlands national team. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play as a right-back. Timber joined Ajax's you ...

(born 2001), football player *

Jochem Uytdehaage Jochem Simon Uytdehaage (born 9 July 1976) is a Dutch former long track speed skater who won two Olympic gold medals in Salt Lake City and was the 2002 World Allround champion. He retired in 2007 at the age of 30, following two consecutive seas ...

- ice speed skater * Marco van Basten - coach and former football player *

Hans van Breukelen Johannes Franciscus "Hans" van Breukelen (; born 4 October 1956) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was the technical director of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) from 2017 until 2018. Van Breuke ...

- former football player * Diana van der Plaats - swimmer * Marieke van Drogenbroek - rower *

Willem van Hanegem Willem "Wim" van Hanegem (; born 20 February 1944) is a Dutch former football player and coach who played as a midfielder. In a playing career spanning over 20 years, he won several domestic honours in the Netherlands, as well as a European Cu ...

- football player *

John van Loen Johannes ("John") Maria van Loen (born 4 February 1965 in Utrecht) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. he earned seven caps for the Netherlands national football team, with which he scored one goal. He played in ...

- football player * Dafne Schippers - track and field * Wim van Spingelen - water polo player * Gerald Vanenburg - football player *

Jason Wilnis Jason Wilnis (born 10 December 1990) is a Dutch professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer of Surinamese descent competing in the Middleweight division. He is the last It's Showtime 85MAX champion and former Glory Middleweight Ch ...

- kickboxer and mixed martial artist *

Jahfarr Wilnis Jahfarr Wilnis (born February 26, 1986) is a Dutch Surinamese kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is the 2015 Kunlun Fight Super Heavyweight Tournament winner and the former Enfusion Heavyweight World Champi ...

- kickboxer, brother of Jason Wilnis * Gerrit Wormgoor - water polo player * Jan Wouters - football player

Other

* Maria van Pallaes (1587–1664), philanthropist

Fictional

*Dr. Strabismus (whom God preserve) of Utrecht - immortal uber eccentric scientist and inventor, created by J. B. Morton in his ''

Beachcomber A beachcomber is a person who practices beachcombing. Beachcomber or Beachcombers may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''The Beachcomber'' (1915 film), an American drama * ''The Beachcomber'' (1938 film), starring Charles Laughton and a ...

'' series. His inventions included a leather grape, a revolving wheelbarrow, and a hollow glass walking stick for keeping very small flannel shirts in. {{commons category, People of Utrecht (city)