Famous Armenian People

A social media celebrity and a professional high-stakes poker player, Dan Bilzerian is known for his extravagant lifestyle and penchant for extreme sports. The King of Instagram, who has also acted in quite a few movies, has a huge fan base, but his lifestyle has landed him in multiple controversies and has also caused two heart attacks.

Armenian professional footballer, Henrikh Mkhitaryan ,currently plays for Serie A club Roma and the Armenian national team. He previously played for Pyunik, winning four Armenian Premier League titles with them. Armenia's all-time top goalscorer, he has been named Armenian Footballer of the Year ten times. He is a polyglot and speaks eight languages.

Levon Aronian is an Armenian chess player who achieved the grandmaster title in 2000. Aronian, who currently plays for the US Chess Federation, earned the grandmaster title at age 17. Counted among the most decorated players of his generation, Levon Aronian is credited with leading the Armenian national team in several Chess Olympiads, winning gold in 2006, 2008, and 2012.  

Tigran Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian chess player who achieved the grandmaster title in 1952. Nicknamed Iron Tigran, Petrosian was the World Chess Champion between 1963 and 1969. Regarded as one of the best chess players in Armenia during his generation, Tigran Petrosian is credited with popularizing the game in Armenia. He also won the USSR Chess Championship on four occasions.

Shavarsh Karapetyan is an Armenian former finswimmer. A ten-time world record-breaker, Karapetyan became famous after the 1976 trolleybus incident in Yerevan, where he saved the lives of 20 people. The incident was published in an article titled The Underwater Battle of the Champion in 1982, making Shavarsh Karapetyan a household name in the USSR.

Arthur Abraham is an Armenian-German retired boxer who was active from 2003 to 2018. Between 2005 and 2009, Abraham held multiple world championships, including the IBF middleweight title. Between 2012 and 2016, he held the WBO super-middleweight title on two separate occasions. In 2009, Arthur Abraham was named Berlin Sportsman of the Year. 

Known as the world’s strongest vegan, Iranian-born German-Armenian strongman Patrik Baboumian has won many bodybuilding titles, such as that of the Strongest Man of Germany. He is also known for his appearance in the Netflix documentary The Game Changers, which promotes plant-based diets, and has campaigned for PETA.

Arman Tsarukyan is an Armenian-Russian mixed martial artist. He is best known for his association with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he currently competes in the Lightweight division. Arman Tsarukyan has won a couple of Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night awards at the Ultimate Fighting Championship so far.

Sergey Yosifovich Paradzhanov was a Soviet film director, artist, and screenwriter. He is best remembered for making important contributions to world cinema with films like The Color of Pomegranates and Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. Sergei Parajanov is widely regarded as one of the most influential and greatest filmmakers in cinema history.

Armenian-origin American film and TV actor Akim Tamiroff is best remembered for his Academy Award-nominated performances in The General Died at Dawn and For Whom the Bell Tolls. Considered the first big Armenian-American star, he also appeared in several series, such as Naked City and Tales of the Vikings.

Gregory the Illuminator is the patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church. An important religious leader, Gregory is credited with converting Armenia from paganism to Christianity. Today, Gregory the Illuminator is venerated in the Armenian Apostolic Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Anglican Communion.

Nikol Pashinyan is an Armenian politician and the current prime minister of Armenia. A multi-talented personality, Pashinyan is also an accomplished journalist and editor; he founded his own newspaper in 1998 and edited Haykakan Zhamanak from 1999 to 2012. In 2018, Time magazine included him amongst the four crusaders trying hard to keep the dream of democracy alive.

Anastas Mikoyan was an Armenian Communist revolutionary. He was an Old Bolshevik. He held several high governmental posts during Joseph Stalin’s rule but began to lose favor towards the end of his regime. He once again regained his power during Nikita Khrushchev’s rule and served as the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. He also wrote several memoirs.  

American footballer Taven Bryan is best known as a defensive tackle for the NFL team Cleveland Browns. Starting his youth career as a top-ranked player from Wyoming, he played for the University of Florida and later also represented the NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars. He was part of the 2017 Second-Team All-SEC.

Marat Grigorian is an Armenian-born Belgian professional fighter who specializes in kickboxing. A former Glory lightweight champion, Grigorian currently competes in the featherweight division in ONE Championship. Renowned for his knockout power and technical aggressive fighting style, Marat Grigorian is currently ranked amongst the best kickboxers in the world.

Karo Parisyan is an Armenian-American MMA fighter. A former welterweight champion at World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), Parisyan is an expert in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. Karo Parisyan has also represented Armenia at International Judo Championships, winning gold medals on four occasions.

Artur Aleksanyan is an Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler best known for winning a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics Games. He has also represented Armenia at the 2012 and 2020 Olympics, winning a bronze medal and silver medal respectively. Artur Aleksanyan has also won four gold medals at the World Championships and five gold medals at the European Championships so far.

Vanes Martirosyan is an Armenian-born American former professional boxer who was active from 2005 to 2019. An eight-time national champion, Martirosyan represented the US at the 2004 Olympic Games at the age of 18. Vanes Martirosyan ended his amateur career with only 10 losses and 120 wins. 

Gokor Chivichyan is an Armenian-born American mixed martial arts, submission grappling, and judo instructor. He currently trains amateur and professional fighters at the Hayastan MMA Academy in California, USA. Thanks to his extensive knowledge in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, freestyle wrestling, catch wrestling, judo, and sambo, Gokor Chivichyan is counted among the most complete grapplers in the history of combat sport.

Manvel Gamburyan is an Armenian MMA fighter who has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight divisions. A professional competitor since 1999, Manny Gamburyan has also competed in other popular promotions, such as King of the Cage and World Extreme Cagefighting.

Vazgen Sargsyan was an Armenian politician and military commander. He is best remembered for his service as the Prime Minister of Armenia from 11 June 1999 until his murder on 27 October 1999. He also served as the Defence Minister of Armenia on two occasions between 1991 and 1999. Vazgen Sargsyan is often counted among Armenia's greatest national heroes.

Turkish-born Armenian footballer Aras Özbiliz is best known as a midfielder for Pyunik. Starting his youth career with the Dutch club Hollandia, he later had successful stints with Ajax and Beşiktaş. He has also played for clubs from Turkey, Moldova, Spain, and Russia.

Georgi Karakhanyan is a professional mixed martial artist who has competed in popular promotions like Bellator MMA. Karakhanyan, who has been competing since 2006, has also competed for the World Series of Fighting (WSOF), Absolute Championship Berkut, Tachi Palace Fights, DREAM, and King of the Cage. Georgi Karakhanyan is a former WSOF featherweight champion.

Andranik was an Armenian statesman and military commander. He played an important role in the Armenian national liberation movement and took part in the military campaigns as part of Armenia's fight for independence. He also took part in the First Balkan War and World War I. Today, Andranik is considered a national hero in Armenia.

Tigran L. Petrosian is an Armenian chess player who achieved the prestigious grandmaster title in 2004. In addition to being a two-time national champion, Tigran L. Petrosian has also helped his national team win gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Chess Olympiads.

Harut Grigorian is an Armenian-born Belgian fighter who specializes in kickboxing. A former Glory Welterweight champion, Grigorian has also competed in other promotions like K-1 and It's Showtime. As of 2022, Harut Grigorian runs a kickboxing school in Deurne.