Famous Chilean People

Chilean poet-diplomat and politician, Pablo Neruda, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. He was a versatile writer and his works include surrealist poems, historical epics, political manifestos, and love poems. He is considered the national poet of Chile. As a politician, he served a term as a senator for the Chilean Communist Party and held several diplomatic positions.

Chilean professional footballer Alexis Sanchez currently plays for Serie A club Inter Milan and the Chile national team. He plays as a forward. He is Chile’s all-time leading goalscorer and helped Chile win the the 2015 Copa América tournament, marking one of the greatest achievements of his career.

Cote de Pablo is a Chilean-American singer and actress. She is best known for playing Ziva David in the popular action police procedural TV series NCIS. After co-hosting episodes of a Latin-American talk show titled Control, at the age of 15, Cote de Pablo went on to establish herself as a successful actress and musician.

Chilean-French filmmaker and artist, Alejandro Jodorowsky, is best known for his avant-garde films. A multifaceted personality, he is also a novelist, poet, musician, composer, and spiritual guru. His films are filled with surreal images and mysticism. A much-revered figure in international cinema, he is the recipient of the Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF).

José de San Martín was an Argentine general who played an important role in the Spanish American wars of independence. San Martín is considered a national hero of Peru and Argentina. The Order of the Liberator General San Martín, the highest honor conferred by the government of Argentina, was created in his honor.

Chilean president Sebastian Pinera not only boasts of a Harvard doctoral degree but is also a successful businessman, having introduced credit cards to the Chilean public through his company Bancard. His Fundación Futuro works for causes such as energy and water conservation. He is married to his neighbor Cecilia Morel.

Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet and educator Lucila Godoy Alcayaga was better known by her pseudonym, Gabriela Mistral. The suicide of her first love inspired her poem Dolor. Her diplomatic assignments later took her to places such as Madrid and Lisbon. She is remembered for her emotional verses and her feminism.

A vagabond who roamed around countries such as Chile, Mexico, and France, author Roberto Bolaño eventually settled in Spain, where he spent his days working odd jobs, such as garbage collection and dishwashing, and wrote at night. He is remembered for his Rómulo Gallegos Prize-winning novel The Savage Detectives.

Orlando Letelier was a Chilean politician, economist, and diplomat. After his arrest due to his participation in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, Letelier was exiled from Chile. In 1975, Letelier left for Washington D.C., where he achieved popularity as an economist and teacher. Orlando Letelier was murdered in 1976 by agents of the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional.

Mark González is a Chilean retired football player who was chosen to play three Copa América tournaments during his career. He also represented his national team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Renowned for his speed, Mark González helped his national team win their second Copa América Centenario in 2016.

Lautaro was a Mapuche war leader best remembered for spearheading the indigenous resistance against the conquest of Chile by the Spanish. He led the warriors of Mapuche to a series of triumphs against the Spanish. He was killed at the Battle of Mataquito in his early 20s. Lautaro is credited with developing tactics that were used even after his death.

Chilean-American singer Paloma Mami first gained fame with the reality show Rojo, el color del talento. She then became the first Chilean singer to seal a contract with Sony Music Latin. She has universal following, as she sings in both Spanish and English, and mingles Latin R&B with pop and trap.

Legendary Chilean painter Roberto Matta is remembered as a significant figure of the abstract expressionist and surrealist art of the 20th century. The Praemium Imperiale-winning artist had initially studied architecture in Santiago and had then worked for Le Corbusier in Paris. His inscape works were influenced by Freud’s psychoanalysis.

Isabel Allende Bussi is a Chilean politician best known for her service as the President of the Chilean Senate from 2014 to 2015. She was the first woman to serve as the president of the Senate in Chilean history. An important and influential member of the Socialist Party, Isabel Allende is currently serving as Senator for Valparaíso.

Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle served as the President of Chile from 1994 to 2000. Under his presidency, poverty in Chile decreased and improvements were made in education and health sectors. An important politician, Frei also served as the President of the Senate of Chile from 2006 to 2008.

Argentine-born Chilean-American author Ariel Dorfman has not just served President Salvador Allende as his cultural advisor but has also taught at the University of Chile. During Augusto Pinochet’s rule, he was exiled to the US. His best-known written work is his play Death and the Maiden. He now teaches at Duke University.

Regarded as the intellectual father of South America, Venezuelan-Chilean poet Andrés Bello one taught revolutionary leader Simón Bolívar and also inspired the struggle for Venezuelan independence. He established the University of Chile and also penned masterpieces such as Las Silvas Americanas. As a legislator, he inspired the Chilean Civil Code.

Felicia Montealegre was a Chilean actress whose professional achievements were overshadowed by her personal life, thanks to her marriage with popular American conductor, composer, and pianist Leonard Bernstein. She was married to Bernstein from 1951 until her death in 1978.

Adan Jodorowsky is a French-Mexican actor, musician, and director. Apart from his work as a musician, Jodorowsky has earned fame as a director, winning critical appreciation and prestigious awards for his 2012 film The Voice Thief. In 2014, the movie was selected by Diane Pernet to compete at the world's first festival about fashion films, ASVOFF.

Chilean politician Michelle Bachelet serves as 7th United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She became the first female politician in Chilean history who was elected as the country’s President and the first elected female leader in South America. She served as the 33rd and 35th President of Chile and held several other prominent positions during her expansive political career.

Chilean statesman Diego Portales was one of the most important political figures of the 19th century and is remembered for creating the Constitution of 1833. As a minister of foreign affairs and war, he started a war with the Peru-Bolivia alliance to counter trade competition but was eventually assassinated by rebellious forces.

A 16th-century war leader of the Mapuche tribe of Chile, Caupolicán led the resistance against Spanish invaders. Equipped with a disorganized army of tribesmen, he was defeated, imprisoned by Capt. Alonso de Reinoso, and eventually executed. His heroics have been immortalized in the epic poem La Araucana.