Famous People Born In Marseille

Amongst the greatest footballers of all time, Zinedine Zidane led France to victories in the FIFA World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000. Later, the three-time FIFA World Player of the Year took up the position of Real Madrid manager and carved yet another success story by winning major titles like Champions League and UEFA Super Cups.

Eric Cantona is a French actor, filmmaker, and former football player. During his playing career, Cantona was a key player for the popular football club Manchester United and is often credited with reviving the club's reputation as a footballing force. Nicknamed King Eric by Manchester United fans, Eric Cantona continues to enjoy an iconic status within the club.

Antonin Artaud was a French writer, poet, dramatist, and theater director. Known for his raw, surreal, and transgressive themes, he was a major figure in 20th-century theater. He outlined his theories in the Theatre of Cruelty movement, expressed in the form of essays and plays. He died of cancer at the age of 51.  

Darius Milhaud was a French composer, teacher, and conductor. One of the 20th century's most prolific composers, Milhaud was part of a famous group known as The Group of Six. He also contributed greatly to the French film industry, composing music for films like Madame Bovary and The Beloved Vagabond. Milhaud is often counted among the most important modernist composers. 

Marius Petipa was a French pedagogue, ballet dancer, and choreographer. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and important ballet choreographers and masters in ballet history. From 1871 to 1903, he served as the principal choreographer and Ballet Master of the popular Imperial Russian Ballet. In the 1983 biopic Anna Pavlova, Petipa was played by Pyotr Gusev.

Pytheas was a Greek geographer, astronomer, and explorer. Best known for his legendary voyage to northwestern Europe, Pytheas was the first scientific visitor to witness and describe polar ice, the Arctic, and the Germanic and Celtic tribes. He is also the first explorer to see and describe the midnight sun.   

Maurice Béjart was a French-born Swiss dancer, opera director, and choreographer. He is credited with founding the popular Swiss ballet company Béjart Ballet Lausanne. During his lifetime, Maurice Béjart was honored with several awards, including the Belgian Ordre de la Couronne, Erasmus Prize, Deutscher Tanzpreis, and the Prix Benois de la Danse for his contributions to the arts. 

Gaius Petronius Arbiter, better known as Petronius, was a Roman author who lived during Nero’s reign. He was known for his satirical novel Satyricon, which reflected the Roman society of his time. Petronius’s noble birth aroused the jealousy of many. He apparently committed suicide after being accused of treason.

Honoré Daumier is best remembered for his satirical cartoons on the French society and politics. Born to a glazier father in Marseille, he later began studying art under Alexandre Lenoir and developed a love for sculptures, too. He later made a fortune, working on commissions of lithographs.

Clara Morgane is a French singer, TV host, media personality, and former pornographic actress. Morgane, who first achieved popularity as a porn star, won the Hot d'Or Award in 2001. She was also ranked eighth in the world's sexiest women list by the French edition of FHM magazine. As a singer, Morgane is popular for releasing songs like Sexy Girl.

Luca Zidane is a French professional footballer. He plays as a goalkeeper for Rayo Vallecano. The son of former footballer Zinedine Zidane, Luca was introduced to the sport early on. He joined the Real Madrid youth academy as a child and made his professional debut for Real Madrid in 2016. His father manages his career. 

Mathieu Flamini is a French former football player who played for popular teams like Arsenal and AC Milan. Flamini was known as a tenacious and intelligent midfielder. Flamini is also an environmental entrepreneur. He is credited with co-founding a biochemical company named GF Biochemicals, which is the world's first company to mass-produce levulinic acid.

French DJ, record producer and actor Cedric Gervais is known for his studio albums Experiment and Miamication, and for his remixes of songs of noted artists such as Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry. His remix of Lana Del Rey's Summertime Sadness that was released to American contemporary hit radio won him a 2014 Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.