Most Famous Polish People - ultimate guide to everything

There is plenty Polish people, that’s are famous outside the Motherland, thanks to their multiple talents, their genius or achievements for the humanity. I am sure you even didn’t realize they are all Polish. A lot of people still believe that Frederick Chopin is French, but this is wrong. Maybe his body is in France, but his heart is in Warsaw for a reason. Well, let me introduce them to you .

Maria Skłodowska-Curie (1867-1934)

was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist and the first woman to win the Nobel Prize. She was also the first person and the only woman to win the nobel Prize twice in 1903 (Nobel Prize in Physics) and in 1911 (Nobel Prize in Chemistry).

Lech Wałęsa (born 1943)

is a Polish statesman who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. He became the first democratically elected President of Poland since 1926 and the first ever Polish President elected in popular vote. He was given the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983.

Olga Tokarczuk (born 1962)

is a Polish writer and novelist who was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Józef Piłsudski( 1867 – 1935)

Józef Piłsudski was a Polish statesman and one of the most influential personalities in Polish politics post World War I. From 1918 to 1922, he served as the Chief of State. From 1926 to 1935, he was regarded as the de facto leader of the Second Polish Republic and was largely viewed as the father of Interwar Poland.

Mikołaj Kopernik (1473-1543)

Known by the name Nicolaus Copernicus, he was a Renaissance mathematician, astronomer, scientist and a doctor. He was born in the Polish city of Toruń. He formulated the model of the universe that placed the Sun, not the Earth, in its center (heliocentric system). We say that: ”He stopped the Sun and moved the Earth.”

Casimir III the Great (1310-1370)

Also referred to as Kazimierz the Great was King of Poland from 1333 until his death. He reformed the army, founded Poland’s oldest university and doubled the size of country so that Poland then reached far south east and into today’s Ukraine and gained access to the Black Sea.

Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)

The former head of Vatican City was born named Karol Józef Wojtyła in Wadowice. He was the first pope since the 16th century that did not come from Italy. This pope led the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death. In 1985 he initiated the World Youth Days an international event for young people.

Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof (1859-1917)

The doctor and ophthalmologist (eye specialist) created an artificial language called ‘Esperanto’ in 1887. Esperanto is a special second language for international communication.The word „esperanto” translates into English as „one who hopes”. The language is a mix of several languages including English, French, Spanish, German and Slavic languages.

Stanisław Lem (1921-2006)

was a Polish writer who specialized in the science fiction genre. He was also a noted essayist who wrote on varied subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. His books, which have been translated into over 50 languages, have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide. He was the recipient of numerous awards and honors.

Władysław Szpilman (Born: 1911 – 2000)

was a Polish pianist of Jewish descent. He was a popular performer on Polish radio and in concert in the 1930s. He was also a prolific composer. He survived the Holocaust and was the central figure in the 2002 Roman Polanski film The Pianist. His son, Andrzej Szpilman, is also a composer and music producer.

Adam Mickiewicz (1798 – 1855)

was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, and political activist. He was a major figure in Polish Romanticism and considered one of Poland’s “Three Bards.” He has long been regarded as Poland’s national poet and is often compared to Byron and Goethe. The vast majority of his work is available only in Polish and has been reprinted numerous times.

Wisława Szymborska ( 1923 – 2012)

Maria Wisława Anna Szymborska was a Polish poet, essayist, translator, and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Prowent, she resided in Kraków her whole life.

Izabella Scorupco (born 1970)

Polish actress, singer and model. She performed as Russian Natalya Simonova in the James Bond movie ”GoldenEye” (1995) at Pierce Brosnan’s side.

Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)

Also referred to as Frédéric Chopin, he was a musical genius, pianist and composer of the Romantic period. He grew up in Warsaw, the capital of Poland but left the country at the age of 20 and spent most of his life in Paris. He composed his first piece of music at the age of 7.

Zbigniew Preisner (born 1955)

He is a Polish film score composer. He is best known for for his cooperation with one of Polish best film directors Krzysztof Kieślowski. Preisner composed music to films such as: “Three Colors: Blue”, “Three Colors: Red”, “Three Colors: White” and “The Double Life of Veronique”.

Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846 – 1916)

was a Polish journalist and novelist best remembered for his historical novels. He was the author of the internationally known best-seller Quo Vadis. Beginning his career as a journalist, he soon became one of the most popular Polish authors of his era. He was awarded the 1905 Nobel Prize in Literature for his contribution to literature.

Roman Polański (born 1933)

Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. He was born in a Polish Jewish family. Some of his best known films are: “Tess”, “The Pianist” and “Oliver Twist”.

Krzysztof Kieślowski (1994-1996)

He was a great Polish director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for “The Decalogue”, “The Double Life of Veronique” and the “Three Colors” trilogy.

Andrzej Wajda (1926-2016)

He was a Polish film and theatre director, recipient of an Honorary Oscar. He is best known for his film “The Promised Land”.

Robert Lewandowski (born 1988)

Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker. He is the captain of Poland’s national team. In 2020 he won the Best FIFA Men’s player award.

Robert Kubica (Born 1984)

Kubica is a Krakow-born Polish Formula 1 driver and the only Pole who won an official Formula 1 race.

Jerzy Kukuczka (1948-1989)

He was a Polish high-altitude climber, one of so called “Ice Warriors”, Polish climbers who ascended the world’s highest Himalayan mountains in winter. As the second man in the world to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders on the Earth, he is considered as one of the world’s best high-altitude climbers in history. He died attempting to climb Lhotse in 1989.

Krzysztof Wielicki (born 1950)

is another “Ice Warrior” and the fifth Himalayan mountaineer in the world who climed all the fourteen eight-thousanders. He is also the first man who climbed Mount Everest in winter.

Jan Matejko (1838-1893)

He was a famous history painter and portrait painter. His murals adorn Krakow’s St. Mary’s basilica which is an UNESCO world heritage site.

Zdzisław Beksiński (1929-2005)

He was a Surrealist painter, sculptor and photographer. One of the formost painters of contemporary art he was known for his gloomy paintings of fantastic realism.

Bernard Lichtenstein (1894-1985)

was the original designer of the first popular ‘Wrangler’ jeans, a rodeo jeans. Born in Łódź he emigrated to the USA in the 1930s where he settled and helped establish the clothing brand.

Helena Rubinstein (Chaja) (1872 – 1965)

Helena is one of the most famous Polish-American businesswomen, art collector and Philanthropist. She is the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein Incorporated cosmetics company. This made her one of the world’s richest women.

Tadeusz Kościuszko ( 1746 – 1817)

was a Polish-Lithuanian statesman, military leader, and military engineer. Thanks to his participation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’s fight against Prussia and Russia and his role in the American Revolutionary War, Tadeusz Kościuszko is widely regarded as a national hero in the United States, Poland, Belarus, and Lithuania.

Joseph Conrad (1857 – 1924)

was a Polish-British writer. Considered one of the greatest English-language novelists of all time, Conrad is credited with bringing a non-English sensibility into English-language literature. Many of his works have inspired several films, TV series, and video games. Known for Short Stories and Novels Like Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness and the Secret Agent

Zbigniew Brzezinski (1928 – 2017)

Polish-American diplomat Zbigniew Brzezinski had been a counselor to President Lyndon B. Johnson and the National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter. He believed in the realist school of international relations. He also taught foreign policy and was seen in programs such as The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

Krzysztof Penderecki (1933 – 2020)

was a Polish composer and conductor who achieved international recognition for his works, which include compositions like Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima and Anaklasis. Krzysztof Penderecki was honored with several prestigious awards such as four Grammy Awards, the Wihuri Sibelius Prize, and the Wolf Prize in Arts.

Irena Sendler (1910 – 2008)

Polish social worker and nurse Irena Sendler was part of the Polish Underground Resistance in German-occupied Poland, during World War II. She was arrested for smuggling Jewish children out of Poland but never revealed much about her work. She had received many awards, such as Israel’s Righteous Among the Nations.

Andrzej Sapkowski (Born: 1948)

Polish fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski is best known for his widely translated iconic book series The Witcher, which has also been made into a Netflix series. While he initially studied economics and worked as a sales representative, he soared to fame with the short story Wiedźmin, which later became The Witcher.

Arthur Rubinstein (1887 – 1982)

was a Polish-American pianist counted amongst the greatest pianists of all time. He had an extensive career spanning eight decades, during which he earned much international acclaim. He played music performed by several illustrious composers and is especially remembered for his interpretation of Chopin’s music. Renowned pianists François-René Duchâble and Avi Schönfeld were his students.

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686 – 1736)

was a scientific instrument maker, inventor, and physicist. One of the most prominent and influential personalities of the Dutch Golden Age of science and technology, Fahrenheit is credited with many important inventions, including the mercury-in-glass thermometer and Fahrenheit scale. His inventions helped shape the history of thermometry.

Janusz Korczak (1878 – 1942)

A reputed Polish doctor, Henryk Goldszmit was better known by his pseudonym, Janusz Korczak, which he used to write several children’s books. Apart from working as a pediatrician and a military doctor, he also owned a Jewish orphanage and stayed with the children while the Germans deported him and other staff to Treblinka.

Margo Dydek (1974 – 2011)

was a Polish basketball player best remembered for her towering height of 7 ft 2 in, which made her the world’s tallest professional female basketballer. She played for several teams in the WNBA and was honored with the Polish Gold Cross of Merit in 1999. In 2019, Dydek was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame.

Andrzej Żuławski (1940 – 2016)

Known as a rebellious director, Polish filmmaker Andrzej Zulawski compromised on mainstream success to create a niche audience in the European art-house circle. His second film, Diabel, which depicted rape, violence, and bloodshed, was banned in Poland. He later moved to France, making films such as L’Important C’est d’Aimer.

Janusz Kamiński (Born: 1959)

cinematographer and director of film and television. He has established a partnership with Steven Spielberg, working as a cinematographer on his films since 1993. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on Spielberg’s holocaust drama Schindler’s List and World War II epic Saving Private Ryan (1998). Four-time Academy Award-nominee and two-time winner

Hyman Rickover (1900 – 1986)

was an admiral who served in the U.S. Navy. Rickover is credited with overseeing the development of naval nuclear propulsion before controlling its operations for 30 years. He also supervised the development of the first commercial pressurized water reactor, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station. Hyman Rickover is one of only four people to receive two Congressional Gold Medals.

Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860 – 1941)

was a Polish musician who went on to become the third Prime Minister of Poland after being a spokesman for Polish independence for a long time. He also played a significant role as the nation’s foreign minister in 1919 when he signed the Treaty of Versailles, an important event that marked the end of World War I.

Władysław Sikorski (1881 – 1943)

Władysław Sikorski was a Polish political and military leader. He played important roles in both the First and Second World War. A supporter of Polish independence prior to the war, Sikorski fought in the Polish Legions during World War I. He was also an influential figure in the newly created Polish Army that took part in the Polish–Soviet War.

Czesław Miłosz (1911 – 2004)

Nobel Prize-winning Polish-American poet Czesław Miłosz, known for the iconic Poem of Frozen Time, had made a lucky escape during the German invasion of Poland but had gone back using fake documents to be with his wife, Janina. He later became a Polish diplomat and also taught in the US.

Bruno Schulz (1892 – 1942)

One of the best Polish authors of the 20th century, Bruno Schulz is remembered for his iconic works such as The Cinnamon Shops, a collection of short stories that had a Kafkaesque style. He was shot dead by a Nazi officer while returning home with a loaf of bread.

Izabella Miko ( Born: 1981)

Polish actress, dancer, film producer and environmental activist Izabella Miko is noted for starring in the films Coyote Ugly and The Forsaken and in the music videos Mr. Brightside and Miss Atomic Bomb by The Killers. She debuted as film producer with Desert Dancer.

Tomasz Adamek ( Born: 1976)