READ Famous People From Bulgaria

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List of famous people from Bulgaria, including photos when available. The people below are listed by their popularity, so the most recognizable names are at the top of the list. Some of the people below are celebrities born in Bulgaria, while others are simply notable locals. If you're from Bulgaria you might already know that these prominent figures are also from your hometown, but some of the names below may really surprise you. This list includes people who were born and raised in Bulgaria, as well as those who were born there but moved away at a young age.

The list you're viewing has a variety of people in it, like Stanka Zlateva and Stefan Karadzha.

If you want to answer the questions, "Which famous people are from Bulgaria?" or "Which celebrities were born in Bulgaria?" then this list is a great resource for you.

Nina Dobrev is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 29 Nina Dobrev is a Bulgarian Canadian actress and model. She played the role of Mia Jones, the single teenage mother, on Degrassi: The Next Generation, from the show's sixth to ninth season. Since ...more

Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandro... is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 66 Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov is a retired Bulgarian cosmonaut. He is the second Bulgarian to have flown to space behind Georgi Ivanov.

Christian Rakovsky is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 68 (1873-1941) Christian Rakovsky was a Bulgarian socialist revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and Soviet diplomat; he was also noted as a journalist, physician, and essayist. Rakovsky's political career ...more

Ilia Pavlov is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 43 (1960-2003) Iliya Pavlov Naydenov was a Bulgarian businessman. He was the leader and founder of the Multigroup organization, as well as of G-13. Pavlov was ranked the eighth richest man in Central and ...more

Stefan Stambolov is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 41 (1854-1895) Stefan Nikolov Stambolov was a Bulgarian politician, who served as Prime Minister and regent. He is considered one of the most important and popular "Founders of Modern Bulgaria", and ...more

Borislav Georgiev is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 43 Borislav Georgiev is a former Bulgarian footballer. In his career he played as a defender and defensive midfielder. Georgiev played for Sachsen Leipzig in Germany and for Kallithea F.C. and ...more

Michael Arlen is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 61 (1895-1956) Michael Arlen, born Dikran Kouyoumdjian, was an Armenian essayist, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter, who had his greatest successes in the 1920s while living and ...more

Ivan Tsvetkov is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Ivan Tsvetkov age 38 Ivan Tsvetkov is a Bulgarian footballer who plays for and captains Botev Plovdiv as a forward.

Ivo Ivanov is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Ivo Ivanov age 33 Ivo Ivanov Ivanov is a Bulgarian football defender who plays for and is the current club captain of Beroe Stara Zagora.

Yordan Todorov is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Yordan Todorov age 36 Yordan Todorov is a Bulgarian footballer, currently playing for Montana as a midfielder.

Bozhidar Iskrenov is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 55 Bozhidar Iskrenov is an actor.

Todor Zhivkov is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 87 (1911-1998) Todor Hristov Zhivkov, was the communist head of state of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from March 4, 1954 until November 10, 1989. He became First Secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party ...more

Stanislav Ianevski is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 32 Stanislav Ianevski is a Bulgarian actor who is perhaps best known for playing Viktor Krum in the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Ianevski was born in Sofia, Bulgaria and lived in ...more

Desi Slava is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Desi Slava age 39 Desislava Ivanova Doneva /DESS/ is a Bulgarian singer, songwriter and producer. Under the name Desi Slava, she has managed to establish herself as one of the icons of Balkan music, famous with ...more

Theodore Ushev is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 50 Theodore Ushev is a film director.

Mario Grigorov is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Mario Grigorov is a musician, pianist, and film score composer.

Fritz Zwicky is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 76 (1898-1974) Fritz Zwicky was a Swiss astronomer. He worked most of his life at the California Institute of Technology in the United States of America, where he made many important contributions in ...more

Michael Bar-Zohar is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 80 Michael Bar-Zohar is an Israeli historian, novelist and politician. He was a member of the Knesset on behalf of the Alignment and Labor Party in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Manuela Maleeva is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 51 Manuela Georgieva Maleeva-Fragniere is a Bulgarian former professional tennis player. She played on the Women's Tennis Association tour between 1982 and 1994. Through her marriage Maleeva began ...more

Ina Demireva is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 29 Ina Demireva, married name Lutai, is a Bulgarian former competitive ice dancer. With Juri Kurakin, she is the 2006 Bulgarian national silver medalist. Demireva also competed with Nikolai Bakolov ...more

Steven Derounian is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 89 (1918-2007) Steven Boghos Derounian was a Republican Congressman of Armenian-American descent.

Hristo Botev is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 28 (1848-1876) Hristo Botev, born Hristo Botyov Petkov, was a Bulgarian poet and national revolutionary. Botev is widely considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and national hero.

Stefan Marinov is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 66 (1931-1997) Stefan Marinov is the father of Veselin Marinov.

Mara Mattuschka is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 59 Mara Mattuschka is a film director, film editor, screenwriter, actor, cinematographer and film score composer.

Albert Aftalion is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 82 (1874-1956) Albert Abram Aftalion was a French Jewish economist. He taught at the Paris University. He co-founded the academic journal Revue économique in 1950 and presided over its board of

Iglika Triffonova is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 61 Iglika Triffonova is a film director, screenwriter and an actress.

Dimitré Dinev is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 50 Dimitré Dinev is a Bulgarian born Austrian writer. He is best known for his play Kozha i nebe, which controversially won the Askeer prize in 2007.

Peter Savov is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 28 Peter Savov is a luger.

Georgi Ivanov is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 77 Major general Georgi Ivanov Kakalov is a retired Bulgarian military officer and the first Bulgarian cosmonaut. He was a member of the National Assembly of Bulgaria in 1990.

Valeri Petrov is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 94 (1920-2014) Valeri Petrov, was a popular Bulgarian poet, screenplay writer, playwright and translator of paternal Jewish origin.

Hristo Stoichkov is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 52 Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov is a retired Bulgarian footballer who is currently a football pundit for Univision Deportes. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and is widely ...more

Milcho Leviev is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 80 Milcho Leviev is a Bulgarian composer, arranger, jazz performer and pianist. Milcho Leviev graduated from the State Academy of Music in 1960 majoring in Composition under Professor Pancho ...more

Peter Deunov is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Peter Deunov Died at 80 (1864-1944) Peter Deunov, also known by his spiritual name Beinsa Douno, and often called the Master by his followers, was a Bulgarian philosopher and spiritual teacher who developed a form of Esoteric ...more

Yordan Radichkov is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 75 (1929-2004) Yordan Radichkov was a Bulgarian writer and playwright. Literary critics Adelina Angusheva and Galin Tihanov called him "arguably the most significant voice of Bulgarian literature in the ...more

Vasil Levski is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 36 (1837-1873) Vasil Levski, born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev, was a Bulgarian revolutionary and is a national hero of Bulgaria. Dubbed the Apostle of Freedom, Levski ideologised and strategised a revolutionary ...more

Georgi Iliev is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Georgi Iliev Died at 39 (1966-2005) Georgi Andreev Iliev was a Bulgarian businessman, best known for his ownership of a top Bulgarian football team, Lokomotiv Plovdiv. In his early years he won several wrestling competitions and a ...more

Emil Milev is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Emil Milev age 53 Emil Milev is a former Bulgarian sport shooter who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics, in the 1996 Summer Olympics, in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and in the 2004 Summer Olympics. At the 2012 ...more

Andrey Paounov is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Andrey Paounov age 44 Andrey Paounov is a writer-director best known for his documentary feature films. His debut Georgi and the Butterflies won the "Silver Wolf" at the International Documentary Film ...more

Pencho Slaveykov is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 46 (1866-1912) Pencho Petkov Slaveykov was a noted Bulgarian poet and one of the participants in the Misal circle. He was the youngest son of the writer Petko Slaveykov. Born in Tryavna during the Bulgarian ...more

Sylvie Vartan is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 73 Sylvie Vartan is a French singer and actress. She is known as one of the most productive and tough-sounding yé-yé artists. Her performances often featured elaborate show-dance ...more

Pavel Tsvetkov is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 47 Pavel Chavdarov Tsvetkov is a Bulgarian poet and writer, best known for his "Desperate Love" Book of Poems and the essay "Exules Suo Voluntate: Roots and Fruits of Bulgarian

Yusuf İsmail is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Yusuf İsmail Died at 41 (1857-1898) Yusuf Ismail, also widely known as Youssouf Ishmaelo, was a Turkish professional wrestler who competed in Europe and the United States as Yusuf Ismail the Terrible Turk during the 1890s. During ...more

Assen Pandov is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 33 Assen Pandov is a short track speed skater.

Stanislav Benyov is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 26 Stanislav Benyov is a luger.

Aleksandar Tsankov is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
Died at 80 (1879-1959) Aleksander Tsolov Tsankov was a leading Bulgarian Fascist politician between the two world wars.

Stefan Raikov is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 25 Stefan Raikov is a luger.

Rosen Bogomilov is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 27 Rosen Bogomilov is a luger.

Elena Todorova is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 23

Todor Aleksiev is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 34 Todor Aleksiev is a Bulgarian volleyball player who wears the No. 15 shirt in the national team which he has driven to major success in a number of competitions. Aleksiev won bronze medals with ...more

Katrin Velkova is listed (or ranked) 50 on the list Famous People From Bulgaria
age 26