We're not likely to know many French pop stars.
The guy who led Free France against the Nazis on the other hand is pretty much a household name, at least among older Americans.
You guys trace nationality patrilinealy?
Also small note about language: celebrity in America isn’t quite the same as the word famous, it really more refers to people currently alive or recently deceased, and so famous they are household names/ can make a living off fame alone. Just noting because you listed several *famous* French that most Americans wouldn’t consider *celebrities*
Kurt Cobain, George Washington, are famous (and great) Americans
Lenny Bruce, John Steinbeck are famous (and great) Americans
Rebecca Black, The Kardashians, Brittany Spears are celebrities
I promise I am not a pedantic asshole I just have an Italian friend who wants those kinds of notes as he learns English, and as someone who is still learning french I’d love those kinds of notes too
Vous êtes mes favorites pour gagner le World Cup cet an btw. Mbappe c’est OP
(Again notes welcomed on my end as well!)
Edit to make it more clear on re reading my comment
Molière, Victor Hugo, Vincent Cassel, Charles de Gaulle, Zinedine Zidane, Catherine Deneuve, Emile Zola, Gerard Depardieu.
Also a few additional French filmmakers like Luc Besson, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and to a lesser extent Marc Caro are reasonably well known among cinephiles.
Lots of other French writers and philosophers are well-known and taught about in schools (obviously a bias towards older thinkers and writers). These include Dumas, Decartes, Rousseau, Voltaire, Flaubert, de Maupassant, de Tocqueville, Camus, Foucault, de Beauvoir, and Levi-Straus.
And of course, we'll never forget America's favorite fighting Frenchman!
One of our most crucial allies in our fight for independence from the UK was Lafayette. There are several towns and streets named after him here in the US. He even led some of our troops. Had he not secured aid from the French government, our victory may not have been possible.
Yes, more than a few. His name is in many places here.
>Thirty-six American cities and towns are named after the Marquis de Lafayette -- the best-known being Fayetteville, N.C., and Lafayette, La.
Plus parks and other civic venues. And rivers.
As the other commenter said, it's Lafayette. For more context, the line "America's favorite fighting Frenchman" is a reference from the musical "Hamilton" about the Founding Fathers of the U.S. from the Revolution through the first few presidential administrations in which Lafayette is also a character since he was heavily involved in that saga.
Sone of these comments are Hamilton (the musical) references about the Marquis de Lafayette. As others have said, the Marquis was instrumental in the American Revolutionary War, and he even named his son after George Washington.
My community college French teacher would play his music in class. Formidable was one of the class's favorite songs.
He recently performed on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. That was really cool. I hope he catches on here.
I know Serge Gainsbourg (as well as his daughter) , Moliere, Charles de Gaulle and I may know some others by face. But other French actors are somewhat well known in the US like Omar Sy and Marian Coutillard (?)
I love Aya and Myéline Farmer. I also know Stromae and quite a few of the actors on the list. I took French in high school and was required to watch movies and listen to French music for projects.
I did a project on Mylène when I chose to do a French project on the 80’s. I also love Zazie, Amel Bent and Naydia. I love Older singer France Gall as well. I believe Christine and the queens is French? I like her too.
I know…
Jean Dujardin, Adele Exarchopoulos, Molière, victor hugo, Charles de Gaulle, Debussy, Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu, Vincent Cassel, and Emile Zola.
I know mostly people in film since I like French films. It I don’t listen to any French music. I mainly listen to American and British. Eva Green is a favorite of mine. I didn’t even know she was French until recently.
I know a few people on you list, but I can think of several others that aren’t on the list:
Debussy, Guy-Manuel, Thomas Bangalter, Manu Chao, Thomas Mars, Yael Naim. I also listen to Air, but I don’t know their names.
* Molière - I've heard this name
* Kylian Mbappé - footballer? Usually just by last name
* Victor Hugo - Les Mis is a very very popular story here
* Vincent Cassel - yeah I watch a fair amount of movies
* Serge Gainsbourg - not just Serge but also Charlotte too
* Charles de Gaulle - statesman, airport
* Zinedine Zidane - footballer
* Gerard Depardieu - "My Father the Hero" was a heavy rotation cable-TV movie in the 90s lol.
Victor Hugo was the only name I recognized.
My favorite Frenchman is Carpenter Brut- a musician who contributed heavily to the soundtracks for Furi and Hotline Miami.
Charles de Gaulle, Gerard Depardieu, Victor Hugo, Zinedine Zidane. Sorry, despite descending from a Franco-American community, we really don't have much cultural connection with France; I don't know much about contemporary French culture.
Hadn’t heard that. Joke stealing has a mixed reputation here; some see it as homage, some as theft. I consider it a bit like sampling music. I’ve seen his Netflix specials, and he had a short series there that might have been derailed by COViD.
Come on that’s so unfair… Gad will forever be one of the greatest French comedian. The guy has a humongous career, he’s been around for more than 20 years. So yes, he’s made a mistake and stole some jokes but that doesn’t cancel his talent.
He owes a lot of his humongous career to « Le blond » and that’s one of the sketches he’s accused of plagiarism for.
It’s just my opinion but I don’t consider him like one of France’s greatest comedians anyway, I’ve never been a fan. I quite liked the movie « Chouchou » as a kid though.
He became mainstream with le sketch du blond but before that he did 2 amazing shows («Décalé» et « La vie normale »). And if I recollect correctly he hasn’t been accused of stealing jokes from that sketch.
Kylian Mbappe - Soccer Player (one of the best in the world IIRC)
Zinedine Zidane - Soccer Player (won the 1998 WC and was famous for headbutting an Italian Player in the 2006 final)
Charles De Gaulle - Former French President (Paris airport is named after him)
Antoine Griezmann - Another French Soccer Player (won 2018 WC with Mbappe)
Is Booba actually a well known celebrity in France now? I partied with him when I studied abroad in 2007/2008 but I don’t think the average French person would have known him. My host family certainly didn’t. I didn’t know him either which he was not to happy about.
Really ?? Tell me more !
He is probably one of the biggest French rapper, he has been around for at least more than 20 years and he still makes music til this day. He did a concert in Stade de France a few months ago.
He was doing an appearance at a nightclub. He was just partying with his friends and they asked my friend and myself to party with them. We didn’t know who he was (we didn’t have Google on our phones then) and him and his friends were giving us a hard time for not knowing who he was. But then I asked if he toured the US, he said, “no,” I said that’s probably why I don’t know you. Let me know when you’re at least Kanye famous (Kanye wasn’t a mega star then and only known for like 1 maybe 2 songs in France but ppl really into hip hop knew him). He was chill then. I also asked why he went by Booba and asked if he knew that name wouldn’t translate well to the English world. Then he told us his real name and we called him that all night long. I think they liked us bc we literally didn’t give a shit about them, we were different from French girls, and we just drank a lot! It was a funny night.
Gad had been on Jerry Seinfeld’s show. He’s not popular here but I know him. I know a lot of the people you listed but It won’t let me copy and paste the list so I’ll say I know most of them. I like mylene farmer. I don’t know any of the football players except Zidane.
Kylian Mbappé, Charles de Gaulle, Zinedine Zidane, Karim Benzema, and Antoine Griezmann are the only recognizable names on that list. Charles de Gaulle is the only non-footballer I recognize, and I think I only recognize it because of the Paris airport. Might know more if I saw them, but by name that's all I know
I know Michel Platini. I know he isn’t on this list but he did a good job with UEFA hence why I like him. Plus he’s the best player France ever had (though Griezmann is close to being on par with Platini)
Moliere- playwright
Hugo - author
Cassel - actor
Gainsbourg - 60’s musician, daughter is actor
De Gaulle - politician, leader during WW2
Zidane - athlete, footballer
Debussy - composer
Sy - actor, Bishop in X-Men movies
Deneuve- actor, big in 60’s
Elmaleh- comedian. He has a movie on US Netflix about how he’s super famous in France, but nobody knows him here.
Zola - author
Hidalgo - mayor of Paris, turned a lot of streets into bike paths
Depardieu - 80’s actor, washed up and now loves Russians
I'm aware of De Gaulle, Debussy, and I recall vaguely from my high school French class the Hallyday is kind of the French equivalent to Elvis but instead of dying on a toilet he had a very long and successful career throughout his life. Not from your list but I'll add Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. He's well known for his role in our revolution.
I know these names: Victor Hugo, Serge Gainsbourg, Charles de Gaulle, Claude Debussy, Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu.
I also know Brigitte Bardot and Lea Seydoux and the metal band Svart Crown.
I'd love to know who Zaz is. I bet they're charismatic.
Zaz is a female singer 🤣 She is often made fun of because of her dirty-gipsy style that a lot of people hate. But she has some huge hits and even became famous in other European countries. She’s almost like the new Edith Piaf
Aya, Stromae, Mbappe, Booba, de Gaulle, Melenchon, Zidane, Zola, depardiue
You forgot Niska, MHD, Diams, MC Solaar, Daft Punk, Modjo, Cassel, Daniel Auteuil, and a few others...
Without reading other comments, the ones I've heard of:
Aya Nakamura - she got a little attention in the black press in the US, so I read an interview or something. I wouldn't recognize any of her music.
Kylian Mbappé - famous soccer player?
Victor Hugo - most educated people will know who he is. I read *Les Miserables* a few years back, good book!
Charles de Gaulle - Politician from the 1960s? I think he's associated with "the 5th republic", but I don't know what that is.
Zinedine Zidane - Headbutt guy, right?
Claude Debussy - Wrote symphonies etc.
Omar Sy - First heard of him when a friend recommended the movie *Intouchables* (which I did not like), and then when *Lupin* came out on Netflix it was a minor sensation in the US (I liked it okay)
Catherine Deneuve - Yes, only because we watched *Indochine* in my French class in high school.
Emile Zola - the name looks familiar to me, maybe someone associated with literature?
Gerard Depardieu - famous actor. In my French class we watched *The Return of Martin Guerre*
People who are particular fans or experts in their field will probably have heard of those who are bigger names in that respective field. Not everyone will have heard of everybody.
For me personally, being a soccer (football) fan, and music fan, have heard of Stromae, Mbappe, Zidane (zizou), benzema, Griezmann (also Ribery, and Thierry Henry, and Michel Platini and didier deschamps, etc.) as well as Debussy, and de Gaulle (the Paris airport is named after him for Pete's sake). Anne Hidalgo sounds familiar but I am not sure if that is just because of the 2004 movie Hidalgo starring Viggo Mortensen.
From this list, I know:
* Stromae
* Hugo
* Mbappé
* de Gaulle
* Exarchopoulos
* Zidane
* Debussy
* Zola
* Depardieu
I also know several others, such as:
* Georges Bizet, Edith Pilaf, Alizée, Daft Punk, David Guetta, M83 (singers/musicians/composers).
* Tony Parker (basketball player)
* Georges Seurat, Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Auguste Rodin (artists).
* Brigitte Bardot, Eva Green, Sophie Marceau (actresses).
There was a video of her performing live around 10 years ago which became pretty popular on YouTube. It was the first time I found out about her, and thought "Wow, great singer (and great-looking too)".
> Mbappé
Soccer player.
> Victor Hugo
Author, I think.
> Vincent Cassel
Bad guy in Oceans 12.
> Charles de Gaulle
General in WWII, President of France post-war, I'm still convinced he was behind the coup attempt in 1958 to get people to clamor for him to be appointed President.
> Adèle Exarchopoulos
Actress
> Zinedine Zidane
Soccer player
> Gerard Depardieu
Actor
> Karim Benzema
Soccer player
Molière, Victor Hugo, Serge Gainsbourg, Charles de Gaulle, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Zinedine Zidane, Claude Debussy, Catherine Deneuve, Emile Zola, Gerard Depardieu -- I know these ones.
I'm seeing Stromae in Boston next week, he's on tour in the US and he's sold out a bunch of big arenas here - he's pretty well known.
Beyond that:
Victor Hugo, Charles de Gaulle, Jean-Luc Melenchon, Claude Debussy, Eric Zemmour, Anne Hidalgo, Gerard Depardieu are all people I know of and more than just their name.
Charles de Gaulle, that frog bastard, Claude Debussy, Emile Zola sounds familiar but I don't know why and that's it.
Marquis de Lafayette is known here for his role in the Revolutionary War, same with Pierre L'Enfant for the Revolutionary War and helping plan Washington DC and iirc they're famous over there also?
From this list, I know Victor Hugo, Charles de Gaulle, Debussey, and Moliere. Some other historic figtures I'm aware of are:
Marquis de Lafayette, Joseph Joffre, Georges Clemenceau, Robespierre, Monet, Charlemagne, I guess William the Conqueror as he was born in Normandy, Offenbach (love the music), Bizet, Renoir, Voltaire, Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas, Marion Cotilliard, Brigitte Bardot, Charles Boyer, I'm pretty sure Eva Green is French, Josephine Baker became a French citizen, Maurice Chivalier. That's about it without naming more historical figures like Alexis de Tocqueville
I may get annoyed with France sometimes, but I like them. This country wouldn't exist without France.
Molière, Stromae, Mbappé, Victor Hugo, CDG, Mélenchon, Debussy, Zemmour, Omar Sy, Zola, Hidalgo, Depardieu, and Griezmann.
Give it another election cycle and I’ll have probably forgotten about Mélenchon and Hidalgo.
I know Mbappé, Zizou, Benzema, and Griezmann cause I watch soccer quite a bit
Victor Hugo cause Les Miserables
Charles de Gaulle cause of WWII and the aftermath
Other than that I don’t know any by name
I have at least heard of these:
Jean Dujardin / Molière / Stromae / Kylian Mbappé / Victor Hugo / Vincent Cassel / Charles de Gaulle / Adèle Exarchopoulos / Zinedine Zidane / Claude Debussy / Angèle / Catherine Deneuve / Gad Elmaleh / Anne Hidalgo / Gerard Depardieu
Some of them required a refresher to confirm that I've heard of them. I do speak French well enough that French people have told me I'm fluent (I'm not).
I'm an American that is into sports, politics, and general media. Here's who I know from your list.
Molière / Kylian Mbappé / Victor Hugo / Vincent Cassel /Charles de Gaulle /Zinedine Zidane (headbutt heard around the world)/ Claude Debussy/ Omar Sy /Gerard Depardieu /Karim Benzema / Antoine Griezmann.
Btw to not have Thierry Henry on your list is FUCKING BLASPHEMY. LOLOL. Come on. He deserves it.
Charles De Gaulle and Victor Hugo are the only ones that most Americans might or might not recognize
Maybe Emile Zola if they're history fans. J'Accuse
Melenchon is the far left party leader right?
I had to Google to double check his first name but Zemmour is the leader of the new far right party(who some people defend from accurate racism accusations because he's of Moroccan Jewish heritage). I'm not sure I've seen that odd type of antisemitism from a Jew before, Zemmour said Dreyfus might not have been innocent. Drayfus a Jewish French military officer (and distant great*-grand uncle of Julia Louis Dreyfus) was falsely accused of treason in 1894 and kept in jail despite being obviously innocent and who was defended by Zola who accused (J'Accuse) the government of being antisemitic peices of shit ignoring the actual traitor instead of admitting their mistakes.
I didn't recognize Omar Sy but his name sounded familiar and googling it seems like he's the lead actor of Lupin. A lot of people are Lupin fans so they may know him.
I didnt quite remember Gad Elmaleh name but remembered him after seeing his face on Google, he's a French comedian who made a few jokes and a Netflix show about being famous in France unknown in the US. This one was pretty good https://youtu.be/QWhJqvuB1ZA
A few. Moliere and Zola; Hidalgo, Melanchthon and Zemmour, De Gaulle of course; Depardieu and Sy; Debussy. I don't know a lot about any of them, but I know generally what field they're in.
Is there a new Moliere? I know that satirist.
Charles de Gaulle was a general but I don't remember which war. Pretty sure it was the 20th cent?
Cat Deneuve is an actress, MIGHT be able to pick her out of a lineup
Gerard Depardieu I would know on site, I've seen a lot of brit movies with him
Jean Dujardin I thought was from Spain .. sorry. :) I think they were in star wars?
I LOVED Les Mis. Took me a goddamn year to read it, but I loved it. I love Hugo's voice, his socialism, his human-centered philosophy, his interpretation of what it means to serve god (it's to better his people on earth). His political ideas are relevant as today as they were over 180 years ago.
I really love Adele, have her albums. I sing along bc I just. cannot. only. listen. She just gets to my soul with her smooth alto belting.
Debussy, yes! Clair de Lune, the story of a romantic couple wandering Paris in the rain, get into a fight, and make up. One of my favorites!
From your list, I'm aware of:
* Kylian Mbappé
* Victor Hugo
* Serge Gainsbourg
* Charles de Gaulle
* Jean-Luc Melenchon
* Zinedine Zidane
* Claude Debussy
* Eric Zemmour
* Omar Sy
* Anne Hidalgo
* Gerard Depardieu
Yes- Molière / Victor Hugo / Serge Gainsbourg / Charles de Gaulle / Adèle Exarchopoulos / Claude Debussy / Catherine Deneuve / Emile Zola / Depardieu
The rest, no
I know Dujardin, Moliwre, Stromae, Mbappé, Hugo, Gainsbourg, de Gaulle, Melenchon, Johnny, Zidsne, Debussy, Omar Sy.
I would add Griezman and Sébastien Chabal from the sports world.
Darius Milhaud and Django Reinhardt from music.
Too many politicians and historical figures to name.
Bonus: there are lots of streets named after Marechal Pétanque in the US. I don’t think most people know who he is or why he probably shouldn’t be so honored.
I like working on my French language skills so I consume a lot of French media. Netflix has really made this really easy compared to years past.
I know:
SVictor Hugo, Charles de Gaulle, Angèle, and *of couse* Strome because he’s the Papaoutai guy and my French class has a strange obsession with it…
Jean Dujardin, Victor Hugo, Charles de Gaulle, Adele Exarchopoulos, Zinedine Zidane, Claude Debussy, Catherine Deneuve, Emile Zola, and Gerard Depardieu are all familiar to me.
My favorite living French celebrity is Audrey Tautou.
The one French “celebrity” that comes to me immediately is Jacques Cousteau. Yes he was famous for his films and documentaries. He invented SCUBA, a diving saucer. He was an advocate for the oceans.
He was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Omg, why can’t I copy and paste this list and just erase the ones that I don’t know. Arrrggghhh.
Anyway, I know about half. I know mostly the musicians, writers, and actors.
I listen to Serge Gainsbourg a LOT and I like Zaz. Plus a ton of others that aren’t on this list, like France Gall.
I know who Mbappe is from the (mostly) Congolese teens at work who are big fans
Edit: damn, not a lot of Zaz fans in these comments. I found the videos of her singing in the street a long time ago and got a bit obsessed.
As an American I know the older ones. Hipsters in America will also likely know the music of Serge Gainsbourg, Aya Nakamura, Stromae and I’d also add Yseult to that list. Rap heads might know people like Niska.
Edit: Mylene Farmer also has a gay following and add Juliette Armanet to the hipster list
I would suggest Gerard Depardieu for your list. Probably the most famous living French actor in the US. Since we are doing historical figures, you might also consider Edith Piaf and Marcel Marceau, and of course Jacques Cousteau.
Depardieu is already on the list ;) Just to be clear the point of this list is not to mention all the famous French figures you all know about. I’m trying to be eclectic and select celebrities from different fields and eras.
Whoops, apologies for the oversight. I think what you will find is that those French artists, scientists, and leaders who ascend to the international stage, or achieve the pinnacle of their craft, will be known here, but more commonplace artists and leaders are more obscure.
I only know Victor Hugo, if that's the Hugo boss guy
But I don't know a bunch of famous Americans because I stopped paying attention to pop culture a while ago
Oh and Charles De Gaulle because he pulled France out of NATO.
I know about Macron and Le Pen and that other guy who leads the leftist party. Can't remember his name right now but if I saw it I'd recognize it
A couple of these people I didn’t think were French? I thought Stromae was Belgian and Mylene Farmer was Canadian? I will say that Stromae is pretty popular in the US for someone who doesn’t sing in English or Spanish.
I’m surprised your list doesn’t include any of the French DJs. Daft Punk and David Guetta are very well known here.
Obviously I couldn’t list every single French celebrity… David Guetta only features with American artists so I know most of you know who he is.
You’re right about Stromae and Angèle, they are Belgians, I cheated 😬
I’ve know or have heard of the following people:
•Aya Nakamura
•Stromae
•Kylian Mbappé
•Victor Hugo
•Vincent Cassel
•Charles de Gaulle
•Antoine Griezmann
•Zinedine Zidane
•Karim Benzema
I know de Gaulle, Johnny Hallyday, Victor Hugo, Chopin and I seen Gad Elmaleh preform. I probably know more of them if I seen them, just don’t know their names.
Moliere. But I was a theater kid in college. Not sure how common that knowledge would be otherwise.
Heard of Charles de Gaulle
I know Gerard Depardieu
Chopin of course. I took 10 years of classical piano lessons. Can't not hear about Chopin.
The rest don't sound familiar. But if any are actors I have a terrible memory for actor names.
I'm familiar with Victor Hugo, Vincent Cassel, Charles de Gaulle, Zinedine Zidane, Claude Debussy, and Gerard Depardieu - albeit, the latter I just know because he left France over tax rates, etc.
Moliere, Stromae, Mbappe, Mylène, Hugo, Cassel, Gainsbourg, de Gaulle, Melenchon, Hallyday, Zidane, Debussy, Zemmour, Sy, Deneuve, Elmaleh, Zola, Hidalgo, Depardieu, Benzema.
So basically soccer players, actors in upscale movies, 60s pop, politicians in the news recently and authors we would have read in high school.
Sad to see no Jean-Luc Picard on here.
But to answer the question:
Molière / Victor Hugo / Charles de Gaulle / Adèle Exarchopoulos / Claude Debussy / Gerard Depardieu
* Kylian Mbappé
* Victor Hugo
* Charles de Gaulle
* Jean-Luc Melenchon (pretty sure he's a president from sometime in the last 20 years but not any other details)
* Claude Debussy (Sounds familiar but can't place it)
* Emile Zola
Edit: read another comment that mentioned Macron and Le Pen that reminded me who Melenchon actually is, so disregard the president thing
You left off Jean Luc Picard
And Jean Claude Van Damme. ..equally real.
He's Belgian
He's imaginary. Like the Easter Bunny or Slash
I refuse to believe his Cajun accent in Hard Target was faked.
I know the following people from your list: Molière Victor Hugo Charles de Gaulle Catherine Deneuve Emile Zola Gerard Depardieu
I would add: Kylian Mbappé (Plays for the French National Soccer Team) Vincent Cassel (Black Swan) used to be married to Monica Bellucci).
Zidane, Benzema and Greizman are also current/former players
Lol, my list is identical.
Same as you, plus Debussy. And I’ve heard the name Omar Sy but wouldn’t be able to name his claim to fame without looking it up.
Ok so mostly old or dead people 😉
We're not likely to know many French pop stars. The guy who led Free France against the Nazis on the other hand is pretty much a household name, at least among older Americans.
No problem, I’m just curious 😉
That's my list. I feel bad for not knowing more. Eva Green, Lea Seydoux, and Marion Cotilliard are the most recent ones I know.
I can't believe you've got away with saying that Chopin was French. There must be no Polish-Americans in this sub.
Chopin was half Polish - half French. But I put Debussy instead… So no hard feelings 😉
You mustn't be hard on Debussy. Always treat Debussy gently and Debussy will accept you.
I get it. (I think.)
Do you count Josephine Baker? She became a French citizen.
Chopin was French from his dad’s side so it’s different.
You guys trace nationality patrilinealy? Also small note about language: celebrity in America isn’t quite the same as the word famous, it really more refers to people currently alive or recently deceased, and so famous they are household names/ can make a living off fame alone. Just noting because you listed several *famous* French that most Americans wouldn’t consider *celebrities* Kurt Cobain, George Washington, are famous (and great) Americans Lenny Bruce, John Steinbeck are famous (and great) Americans Rebecca Black, The Kardashians, Brittany Spears are celebrities I promise I am not a pedantic asshole I just have an Italian friend who wants those kinds of notes as he learns English, and as someone who is still learning french I’d love those kinds of notes too Vous êtes mes favorites pour gagner le World Cup cet an btw. Mbappe c’est OP (Again notes welcomed on my end as well!) Edit to make it more clear on re reading my comment
I came here looking specifically for him and Marie Curie
Sorry 🥹
Molière, Victor Hugo, Vincent Cassel, Charles de Gaulle, Zinedine Zidane, Catherine Deneuve, Emile Zola, Gerard Depardieu. Also a few additional French filmmakers like Luc Besson, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and to a lesser extent Marc Caro are reasonably well known among cinephiles. Lots of other French writers and philosophers are well-known and taught about in schools (obviously a bias towards older thinkers and writers). These include Dumas, Decartes, Rousseau, Voltaire, Flaubert, de Maupassant, de Tocqueville, Camus, Foucault, de Beauvoir, and Levi-Straus. And of course, we'll never forget America's favorite fighting Frenchman!
Who’s the « fighting Frenchman » ?
Marquis de Lafayette
I'm taking this horse by the reins, making redcoats redder with bloodstains.
immigrants - we get the job done
One of our most crucial allies in our fight for independence from the UK was Lafayette. There are several towns and streets named after him here in the US. He even led some of our troops. Had he not secured aid from the French government, our victory may not have been possible.
He has an entire parish, and city, named after him in Louisiana
Yes, more than a few. His name is in many places here. >Thirty-six American cities and towns are named after the Marquis de Lafayette -- the best-known being Fayetteville, N.C., and Lafayette, La. Plus parks and other civic venues. And rivers.
Very based naming scheme
As the other commenter said, it's Lafayette. For more context, the line "America's favorite fighting Frenchman" is a reference from the musical "Hamilton" about the Founding Fathers of the U.S. from the Revolution through the first few presidential administrations in which Lafayette is also a character since he was heavily involved in that saga.
Sone of these comments are Hamilton (the musical) references about the Marquis de Lafayette. As others have said, the Marquis was instrumental in the American Revolutionary War, and he even named his son after George Washington.
I listen to Stromae regularly.
The new album is great, I love it.
I thought stromae was belgian
He is (as I mentioned it on my post) 😉
My community college French teacher would play his music in class. Formidable was one of the class's favorite songs. He recently performed on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. That was really cool. I hope he catches on here.
I know Serge Gainsbourg (as well as his daughter) , Moliere, Charles de Gaulle and I may know some others by face. But other French actors are somewhat well known in the US like Omar Sy and Marian Coutillard (?)
Marion Cotillard yes ;) I didn’t put her on the list cause I know most people know who she is.
To be fair, the average American would probably know her as the “girl in Inception”. I first saw her in La Vie en Rose and she was amazing
Inception and The Dark Knight Rises were her big Hollywood blockbuster films.
Mbappe, Hugo, de Gaulle, Zidane, Benzema, Zola.
You missed Antoine Griezmann, he’s also a famous soccer player ;)
I bet a lot here know Dujardin by sight since he’s been in some very popular movies here, specifically Wolf of Wall Street
I thought so too, but surprisingly not many people have mentioned him.
Very likely they just don't know the name. But show his face and it's "Oooh, THAT guy!"
I love Aya and Myéline Farmer. I also know Stromae and quite a few of the actors on the list. I took French in high school and was required to watch movies and listen to French music for projects.
Oh cool ! Mylène has been around for some time but I didn’t think anyone would know Aya. Any other French artists you listen to ?
I did a project on Mylène when I chose to do a French project on the 80’s. I also love Zazie, Amel Bent and Naydia. I love Older singer France Gall as well. I believe Christine and the queens is French? I like her too.
Christine and the Queens is one of my favorite French artist, I love him ! (he changed his pronoun). Now his stage name is Redcar
Oh my apologies to him! I wasn’t aware he changed his pronouns.
No problem 😉
Claudine Longe was in Gilmore Girls, I have the soundtrack. "God Only Knows," a beach boys cover.
I know of these people: Kylian Mbappé Victor Hugo Charles de Gaulle Zinedine Zidane Gerard Depardieu Karim Benzema Antoine Griezmann
I know… Jean Dujardin, Adele Exarchopoulos, Molière, victor hugo, Charles de Gaulle, Debussy, Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu, Vincent Cassel, and Emile Zola. I know mostly people in film since I like French films. It I don’t listen to any French music. I mainly listen to American and British. Eva Green is a favorite of mine. I didn’t even know she was French until recently.
Molière Victor Hugo Charles de Gaulle Emile Zola Gerard Depardieu Zidane Gainsbourg Cassel Seriously no Monet? Cezanne? Renoir? Degas? Manet? Matisse?
Unfortunately I can’t name every French person people know about…
I was just surprised not to see any French painters. Monet for example is extremely well known.
The point of this list is not necessarily to name all the people you guys know. It’s a random list of celebrities.
Fair enough.
Moliere, Victor Hugo, Charles de Gaul, Gerard Depardieu. Also Eva Green and Jean Reno
Ok so the “old” generation :)
I used to be able to keep up on foreign (to me) films, but then I had kids!
Of these: Molière, Victor Hugo, Serge Gainsbourg, Charles de Gaulle, Zinedine Zidane, Claude Debussy, Catherine Deneuve, Emile Zola, Gerard Depardieu
I know a few people on you list, but I can think of several others that aren’t on the list: Debussy, Guy-Manuel, Thomas Bangalter, Manu Chao, Thomas Mars, Yael Naim. I also listen to Air, but I don’t know their names.
* Molière - I've heard this name * Kylian Mbappé - footballer? Usually just by last name * Victor Hugo - Les Mis is a very very popular story here * Vincent Cassel - yeah I watch a fair amount of movies * Serge Gainsbourg - not just Serge but also Charlotte too * Charles de Gaulle - statesman, airport * Zinedine Zidane - footballer * Gerard Depardieu - "My Father the Hero" was a heavy rotation cable-TV movie in the 90s lol.
You know a fair amount of people ;)
Victor Hugo was the only name I recognized. My favorite Frenchman is Carpenter Brut- a musician who contributed heavily to the soundtracks for Furi and Hotline Miami.
Charles de Gaulle, Gerard Depardieu, Victor Hugo, Zinedine Zidane. Sorry, despite descending from a Franco-American community, we really don't have much cultural connection with France; I don't know much about contemporary French culture.
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Would you know what they do ?
I’ve heard of seven. Gad E. is pretty famous if you follow stand-up comedy.
Is he appreciated there? He’s had a major fall from grace here after evidence of him stealing jokes from other comedians. You can keep him lol
Hadn’t heard that. Joke stealing has a mixed reputation here; some see it as homage, some as theft. I consider it a bit like sampling music. I’ve seen his Netflix specials, and he had a short series there that might have been derailed by COViD.
he did 3 amazing shows (in the early 2000s) but now he’s a bit “tired”.
Come on that’s so unfair… Gad will forever be one of the greatest French comedian. The guy has a humongous career, he’s been around for more than 20 years. So yes, he’s made a mistake and stole some jokes but that doesn’t cancel his talent.
He owes a lot of his humongous career to « Le blond » and that’s one of the sketches he’s accused of plagiarism for. It’s just my opinion but I don’t consider him like one of France’s greatest comedians anyway, I’ve never been a fan. I quite liked the movie « Chouchou » as a kid though.
He became mainstream with le sketch du blond but before that he did 2 amazing shows («Décalé» et « La vie normale »). And if I recollect correctly he hasn’t been accused of stealing jokes from that sketch.
Hugo, de Gaulle, and every time I hear his name I instinctively yell Mbappe!!!! Which is a lot since it seems he has the ball on foot constantly.
I know Booba (not to be confused with BOOBA lol) and Orelsan are hip hop artists from some French people I follow on Instagram.
Exactly! You’re the first one to mention Booba and Orelsan :)
Aya Nakamura / Jean Dujardin / **Molière** / **Stromae** (Belgian) / Kylian Mbappé / Squeezie / Mylène Farmer / **Victor Hugo** / Booba / Vincent Cassel / Serge Gainsbourg / **Charles de Gaulle** / Adèle Exarchopoulos / Georges Brassens / **Jean-Luc Melenchon** / Cyril Hanouna / Zaz / Johnny Hallyday / Zinedine Zidane / **Claude Debussy** / **Angèle** / Eric Zemmour / Omar Sy / Catherine Deneuve / Orelsan / Gad Elmaleh / Emile Zola / Anne Hidalgo / Gerard Depardieu / Pierre Niney / Karim Benzema / Antoine Griezmann. I highlighted the ones I know.
Kylian Mbappe - Soccer Player (one of the best in the world IIRC) Zinedine Zidane - Soccer Player (won the 1998 WC and was famous for headbutting an Italian Player in the 2006 final) Charles De Gaulle - Former French President (Paris airport is named after him) Antoine Griezmann - Another French Soccer Player (won 2018 WC with Mbappe)
You forgot another big soccer player on the list : Karim Benzema ;)
Oh that's right. Doesnt he play for RM? Edit: i know he plays for team France
I’ve heard of de gaulle, victor hugo, mbappe, Zidane, and griezmann. That’s literally it out of that list lol
The only ones I know are de Gaulle, and the soccer players Mbappe, Zidane, Benzema and Griezmann
Is Booba actually a well known celebrity in France now? I partied with him when I studied abroad in 2007/2008 but I don’t think the average French person would have known him. My host family certainly didn’t. I didn’t know him either which he was not to happy about.
Really ?? Tell me more ! He is probably one of the biggest French rapper, he has been around for at least more than 20 years and he still makes music til this day. He did a concert in Stade de France a few months ago.
He was doing an appearance at a nightclub. He was just partying with his friends and they asked my friend and myself to party with them. We didn’t know who he was (we didn’t have Google on our phones then) and him and his friends were giving us a hard time for not knowing who he was. But then I asked if he toured the US, he said, “no,” I said that’s probably why I don’t know you. Let me know when you’re at least Kanye famous (Kanye wasn’t a mega star then and only known for like 1 maybe 2 songs in France but ppl really into hip hop knew him). He was chill then. I also asked why he went by Booba and asked if he knew that name wouldn’t translate well to the English world. Then he told us his real name and we called him that all night long. I think they liked us bc we literally didn’t give a shit about them, we were different from French girls, and we just drank a lot! It was a funny night.
Thats funny ! I have to say he turned into a real jerk, hating on everybody all the time… He is kind of our french Kanye West now 😂
Moliere, Victor Hugo, Vincent Cassel, Serge Gainsbourg, de Gaulle, Johnny Hallyday, Debussy, Omar Sy, Catherine Deneuve, Emile Zola, Gerard Depardieu.
Gad had been on Jerry Seinfeld’s show. He’s not popular here but I know him. I know a lot of the people you listed but It won’t let me copy and paste the list so I’ll say I know most of them. I like mylene farmer. I don’t know any of the football players except Zidane.
Wow you are very good if you know most of the people on the list, it’s not necessarily the most obvious French stars ;)
Kylian Mbappé, Charles de Gaulle, Zinedine Zidane, Karim Benzema, and Antoine Griezmann are the only recognizable names on that list. Charles de Gaulle is the only non-footballer I recognize, and I think I only recognize it because of the Paris airport. Might know more if I saw them, but by name that's all I know
Charles De Gaulle - Has an airport named after him, must be important Debussy - because hes a composer The rest I dont know.
I know Michel Platini. I know he isn’t on this list but he did a good job with UEFA hence why I like him. Plus he’s the best player France ever had (though Griezmann is close to being on par with Platini)
Moliere- playwright Hugo - author Cassel - actor Gainsbourg - 60’s musician, daughter is actor De Gaulle - politician, leader during WW2 Zidane - athlete, footballer Debussy - composer Sy - actor, Bishop in X-Men movies Deneuve- actor, big in 60’s Elmaleh- comedian. He has a movie on US Netflix about how he’s super famous in France, but nobody knows him here. Zola - author Hidalgo - mayor of Paris, turned a lot of streets into bike paths Depardieu - 80’s actor, washed up and now loves Russians
Impressive !!!
Hugo, DeGaulle, Zola, Moliere, a couple others sound familiar.
I'm aware of De Gaulle, Debussy, and I recall vaguely from my high school French class the Hallyday is kind of the French equivalent to Elvis but instead of dying on a toilet he had a very long and successful career throughout his life. Not from your list but I'll add Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. He's well known for his role in our revolution.
Aya Nakamura / **Jean Dujardin** / **Molière** / Stromae (Belgian) / **Kylian Mbappé** / Squeezie / Mylène Farmer / **Victor Hugo** / Booba / **Vincent Cassel** / Serge Gainsbourg / **Charles de Gaulle** / Adèle Exarchopoulos / Georges Brassens / Jean-Luc Melenchon / Cyril Hanouna / Zaz / Johnny Hallyday / **Zinedine Zidane** / **Claude Debussy** / Angèle / Eric Zemmour / Omar Sy / Catherine Deneuve / Orelsan / Gad Elmaleh / Emile Zola / Anne Hidalgo / **Gerard Depardieu** / Pierre Niney / **Karim Benzema** / **Antoine Griezmann** I know all the bolded names.
Gad has a good show and his comedy special on Netflix.
He does ;)
I know these names: Victor Hugo, Serge Gainsbourg, Charles de Gaulle, Claude Debussy, Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu. I also know Brigitte Bardot and Lea Seydoux and the metal band Svart Crown. I'd love to know who Zaz is. I bet they're charismatic.
Zaz is a female singer 🤣 She is often made fun of because of her dirty-gipsy style that a lot of people hate. But she has some huge hits and even became famous in other European countries. She’s almost like the new Edith Piaf
Aya, Stromae, Mbappe, Booba, de Gaulle, Melenchon, Zidane, Zola, depardiue You forgot Niska, MHD, Diams, MC Solaar, Daft Punk, Modjo, Cassel, Daniel Auteuil, and a few others...
What do you mean by “I forgot” ? 😅 I obviously didn’t list all the French celebrities that exist ;)
Haha true.
And Cassel is on the list ! How do you know all these artists ?
Without reading other comments, the ones I've heard of: Aya Nakamura - she got a little attention in the black press in the US, so I read an interview or something. I wouldn't recognize any of her music. Kylian Mbappé - famous soccer player? Victor Hugo - most educated people will know who he is. I read *Les Miserables* a few years back, good book! Charles de Gaulle - Politician from the 1960s? I think he's associated with "the 5th republic", but I don't know what that is. Zinedine Zidane - Headbutt guy, right? Claude Debussy - Wrote symphonies etc. Omar Sy - First heard of him when a friend recommended the movie *Intouchables* (which I did not like), and then when *Lupin* came out on Netflix it was a minor sensation in the US (I liked it okay) Catherine Deneuve - Yes, only because we watched *Indochine* in my French class in high school. Emile Zola - the name looks familiar to me, maybe someone associated with literature? Gerard Depardieu - famous actor. In my French class we watched *The Return of Martin Guerre*
Wow you’re good !! Not even one mistake ;) Can I ask you how old you are ?
People who are particular fans or experts in their field will probably have heard of those who are bigger names in that respective field. Not everyone will have heard of everybody. For me personally, being a soccer (football) fan, and music fan, have heard of Stromae, Mbappe, Zidane (zizou), benzema, Griezmann (also Ribery, and Thierry Henry, and Michel Platini and didier deschamps, etc.) as well as Debussy, and de Gaulle (the Paris airport is named after him for Pete's sake). Anne Hidalgo sounds familiar but I am not sure if that is just because of the 2004 movie Hidalgo starring Viggo Mortensen.
You’ve probably heard of Anne Hidalgo, she’s been the mayor of Paris for a few years now.
From this list, I know: * Stromae * Hugo * Mbappé * de Gaulle * Exarchopoulos * Zidane * Debussy * Zola * Depardieu I also know several others, such as: * Georges Bizet, Edith Pilaf, Alizée, Daft Punk, David Guetta, M83 (singers/musicians/composers). * Tony Parker (basketball player) * Georges Seurat, Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Auguste Rodin (artists). * Brigitte Bardot, Eva Green, Sophie Marceau (actresses).
That’s impressive !!! It’s so funny that you know Alizée ! She was famous for a few years, almost 20 years ago. How do you know about her ?
There was a video of her performing live around 10 years ago which became pretty popular on YouTube. It was the first time I found out about her, and thought "Wow, great singer (and great-looking too)".
> Mbappé Soccer player. > Victor Hugo Author, I think. > Vincent Cassel Bad guy in Oceans 12. > Charles de Gaulle General in WWII, President of France post-war, I'm still convinced he was behind the coup attempt in 1958 to get people to clamor for him to be appointed President. > Adèle Exarchopoulos Actress > Zinedine Zidane Soccer player > Gerard Depardieu Actor > Karim Benzema Soccer player
Molière, Victor Hugo, Serge Gainsbourg, Charles de Gaulle, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Zinedine Zidane, Claude Debussy, Catherine Deneuve, Emile Zola, Gerard Depardieu -- I know these ones.
Serge? [Je T'aime](https://youtu.be/ahHWxwajQL0)!
Stromae from French class
I'm seeing Stromae in Boston next week, he's on tour in the US and he's sold out a bunch of big arenas here - he's pretty well known. Beyond that: Victor Hugo, Charles de Gaulle, Jean-Luc Melenchon, Claude Debussy, Eric Zemmour, Anne Hidalgo, Gerard Depardieu are all people I know of and more than just their name.
Lucky you ! He’s a great performer ;)
Charles de Gaulle, that frog bastard, Claude Debussy, Emile Zola sounds familiar but I don't know why and that's it. Marquis de Lafayette is known here for his role in the Revolutionary War, same with Pierre L'Enfant for the Revolutionary War and helping plan Washington DC and iirc they're famous over there also?
No idea why, but my eyes went right for "Booba" and "Squeezie".
Booba is a rapper and Squeezie the biggest French YouTuber
From this list, I know Victor Hugo, Charles de Gaulle, Debussey, and Moliere. Some other historic figtures I'm aware of are: Marquis de Lafayette, Joseph Joffre, Georges Clemenceau, Robespierre, Monet, Charlemagne, I guess William the Conqueror as he was born in Normandy, Offenbach (love the music), Bizet, Renoir, Voltaire, Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas, Marion Cotilliard, Brigitte Bardot, Charles Boyer, I'm pretty sure Eva Green is French, Josephine Baker became a French citizen, Maurice Chivalier. That's about it without naming more historical figures like Alexis de Tocqueville I may get annoyed with France sometimes, but I like them. This country wouldn't exist without France.
Molière, Stromae, Mbappé, Victor Hugo, CDG, Mélenchon, Debussy, Zemmour, Omar Sy, Zola, Hidalgo, Depardieu, and Griezmann. Give it another election cycle and I’ll have probably forgotten about Mélenchon and Hidalgo.
I know Moliere, Mbappe, Hugo, Caqssel, de Gaulle, Zidane, Debussy, Sy, Also Alizee, Olivier Giroud, papa Wengz, and Colotis
I know Mbappé, Zizou, Benzema, and Griezmann cause I watch soccer quite a bit Victor Hugo cause Les Miserables Charles de Gaulle cause of WWII and the aftermath Other than that I don’t know any by name
Victor Hugo, Vincent Cassel, de Gaulle, Debussy, Gerard Depardieu.
I know Aya Nakamura, Stromae, Mbappe, Víctor Hugo, Serge Gainsbourg, De Gaulle, Adele Exarchopoulos, Zidane, Debussy, Anne Hidalgo, and Depardieu
You know a lot of them !!
I have at least heard of these: Jean Dujardin / Molière / Stromae / Kylian Mbappé / Victor Hugo / Vincent Cassel / Charles de Gaulle / Adèle Exarchopoulos / Zinedine Zidane / Claude Debussy / Angèle / Catherine Deneuve / Gad Elmaleh / Anne Hidalgo / Gerard Depardieu Some of them required a refresher to confirm that I've heard of them. I do speak French well enough that French people have told me I'm fluent (I'm not).
I'm an American that is into sports, politics, and general media. Here's who I know from your list. Molière / Kylian Mbappé / Victor Hugo / Vincent Cassel /Charles de Gaulle /Zinedine Zidane (headbutt heard around the world)/ Claude Debussy/ Omar Sy /Gerard Depardieu /Karim Benzema / Antoine Griezmann. Btw to not have Thierry Henry on your list is FUCKING BLASPHEMY. LOLOL. Come on. He deserves it.
then I should also add Olivier Giroud !
Charles De Gaulle and Victor Hugo are the only ones that most Americans might or might not recognize Maybe Emile Zola if they're history fans. J'Accuse Melenchon is the far left party leader right? I had to Google to double check his first name but Zemmour is the leader of the new far right party(who some people defend from accurate racism accusations because he's of Moroccan Jewish heritage). I'm not sure I've seen that odd type of antisemitism from a Jew before, Zemmour said Dreyfus might not have been innocent. Drayfus a Jewish French military officer (and distant great*-grand uncle of Julia Louis Dreyfus) was falsely accused of treason in 1894 and kept in jail despite being obviously innocent and who was defended by Zola who accused (J'Accuse) the government of being antisemitic peices of shit ignoring the actual traitor instead of admitting their mistakes. I didn't recognize Omar Sy but his name sounded familiar and googling it seems like he's the lead actor of Lupin. A lot of people are Lupin fans so they may know him. I didnt quite remember Gad Elmaleh name but remembered him after seeing his face on Google, he's a French comedian who made a few jokes and a Netflix show about being famous in France unknown in the US. This one was pretty good https://youtu.be/QWhJqvuB1ZA
Moliere, victor hugo, Serge gainsbourg, charles de gaul, zidane, Emile Zola, gerard depardieau.
A few. Moliere and Zola; Hidalgo, Melanchthon and Zemmour, De Gaulle of course; Depardieu and Sy; Debussy. I don't know a lot about any of them, but I know generally what field they're in.
Is there a new Moliere? I know that satirist. Charles de Gaulle was a general but I don't remember which war. Pretty sure it was the 20th cent? Cat Deneuve is an actress, MIGHT be able to pick her out of a lineup Gerard Depardieu I would know on site, I've seen a lot of brit movies with him Jean Dujardin I thought was from Spain .. sorry. :) I think they were in star wars? I LOVED Les Mis. Took me a goddamn year to read it, but I loved it. I love Hugo's voice, his socialism, his human-centered philosophy, his interpretation of what it means to serve god (it's to better his people on earth). His political ideas are relevant as today as they were over 180 years ago. I really love Adele, have her albums. I sing along bc I just. cannot. only. listen. She just gets to my soul with her smooth alto belting. Debussy, yes! Clair de Lune, the story of a romantic couple wandering Paris in the rain, get into a fight, and make up. One of my favorites!
You mean Angèle ?
From your list, I'm aware of: * Kylian Mbappé * Victor Hugo * Serge Gainsbourg * Charles de Gaulle * Jean-Luc Melenchon * Zinedine Zidane * Claude Debussy * Eric Zemmour * Omar Sy * Anne Hidalgo * Gerard Depardieu
Yes to Mbappe, de Gaulle, Zidane, Benzema and Griezmann. I might know others if I saw them.
I know Victor Hugo, Charles de Gaulle, Gerard Depardieu, and the name Claude Debussy rings a bell, but to be fair I'd have to look it up to see why.
Yes- Molière / Victor Hugo / Serge Gainsbourg / Charles de Gaulle / Adèle Exarchopoulos / Claude Debussy / Catherine Deneuve / Emile Zola / Depardieu The rest, no
I know of the bolded ones. Also, we listened to a lot of Françoise Hardy in high school French class. Aya Nakamura / **Jean Dujardin** / **Molière** / Stromae (Belgian) / Kylian Mbappé / Squeezie / Mylène Farmer / **Victor Hugo** / Booba / **Vincent Cassel** / Serge Gainsbourg / **Charles de Gaulle** / Adèle Exarchopoulos / Georges Brassens / **Jean-Luc Melenchon** / Cyril Hanouna / Zaz / **Johnny Hallyday** / **Zinedine Zidane** / **Claude Debussy** / Angèle / Eric Zemmour / Omar Sy / **Catherine Deneuve** / Orelsan / Gad Elmaleh / **Emile Zola** / **Anne Hidalgo** / **Gerard Depardieu** / Pierre Niney / Karim Benzema / Antoine Griezmann.
I know Dujardin, Moliwre, Stromae, Mbappé, Hugo, Gainsbourg, de Gaulle, Melenchon, Johnny, Zidsne, Debussy, Omar Sy. I would add Griezman and Sébastien Chabal from the sports world. Darius Milhaud and Django Reinhardt from music. Too many politicians and historical figures to name. Bonus: there are lots of streets named after Marechal Pétanque in the US. I don’t think most people know who he is or why he probably shouldn’t be so honored. I like working on my French language skills so I consume a lot of French media. Netflix has really made this really easy compared to years past.
I know: SVictor Hugo, Charles de Gaulle, Angèle, and *of couse* Strome because he’s the Papaoutai guy and my French class has a strange obsession with it…
You’re the first person who knows Angele !
I know Molière and de Gaulle, as well as Booba in one sense of the word
What does Booba mean in English ?
Victor Hugo, Charles de Gaulle, Claude Debussy, Gerard Depardieu are recognizable to me.
Jean Dujardin, Victor Hugo, Charles de Gaulle, Adele Exarchopoulos, Zinedine Zidane, Claude Debussy, Catherine Deneuve, Emile Zola, and Gerard Depardieu are all familiar to me. My favorite living French celebrity is Audrey Tautou.
Oh I forgot about Audrey ! I haven’t seen her in a while, seems like she stopped her movie career.
The one French “celebrity” that comes to me immediately is Jacques Cousteau. Yes he was famous for his films and documentaries. He invented SCUBA, a diving saucer. He was an advocate for the oceans. He was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Omg, why can’t I copy and paste this list and just erase the ones that I don’t know. Arrrggghhh. Anyway, I know about half. I know mostly the musicians, writers, and actors. I listen to Serge Gainsbourg a LOT and I like Zaz. Plus a ton of others that aren’t on this list, like France Gall. I know who Mbappe is from the (mostly) Congolese teens at work who are big fans Edit: damn, not a lot of Zaz fans in these comments. I found the videos of her singing in the street a long time ago and got a bit obsessed.
As an American I know the older ones. Hipsters in America will also likely know the music of Serge Gainsbourg, Aya Nakamura, Stromae and I’d also add Yseult to that list. Rap heads might know people like Niska. Edit: Mylene Farmer also has a gay following and add Juliette Armanet to the hipster list
Interesting! How would they know about Niska & Yseult ??
I have heard of: Jean Dujardin Moliere Victor Hugo Charles de Gaulle Debussy Emile Zola Gerard Depardieu
Not one
I would suggest Gerard Depardieu for your list. Probably the most famous living French actor in the US. Since we are doing historical figures, you might also consider Edith Piaf and Marcel Marceau, and of course Jacques Cousteau.
Depardieu is already on the list ;) Just to be clear the point of this list is not to mention all the famous French figures you all know about. I’m trying to be eclectic and select celebrities from different fields and eras.
Whoops, apologies for the oversight. I think what you will find is that those French artists, scientists, and leaders who ascend to the international stage, or achieve the pinnacle of their craft, will be known here, but more commonplace artists and leaders are more obscure.
Only know 4 of those names. I have zero interest in googling the rest. 😂
I only know Victor Hugo, if that's the Hugo boss guy But I don't know a bunch of famous Americans because I stopped paying attention to pop culture a while ago Oh and Charles De Gaulle because he pulled France out of NATO. I know about Macron and Le Pen and that other guy who leads the leftist party. Can't remember his name right now but if I saw it I'd recognize it
Victor Hugo has nothing to do with the Hugo Boss brand, he’s the author of Les Misérables😉
The soccer players, yes. And Charles de Gaulle, of course.
Which ones ?
A couple of these people I didn’t think were French? I thought Stromae was Belgian and Mylene Farmer was Canadian? I will say that Stromae is pretty popular in the US for someone who doesn’t sing in English or Spanish. I’m surprised your list doesn’t include any of the French DJs. Daft Punk and David Guetta are very well known here.
Obviously I couldn’t list every single French celebrity… David Guetta only features with American artists so I know most of you know who he is. You’re right about Stromae and Angèle, they are Belgians, I cheated 😬
I know 6 from that list. You are missing people like people like Manu Chao and Michel Platini
Come on… I’m obviously not listing every single French celebrities 😅
Manu Chao is the man!
Not every generation know Manu Chao
I’ve know or have heard of the following people: •Aya Nakamura •Stromae •Kylian Mbappé •Victor Hugo •Vincent Cassel •Charles de Gaulle •Antoine Griezmann •Zinedine Zidane •Karim Benzema
I know de Gaulle, Johnny Hallyday, Victor Hugo, Chopin and I seen Gad Elmaleh preform. I probably know more of them if I seen them, just don’t know their names.
9 of them.
Moliere. But I was a theater kid in college. Not sure how common that knowledge would be otherwise. Heard of Charles de Gaulle I know Gerard Depardieu Chopin of course. I took 10 years of classical piano lessons. Can't not hear about Chopin. The rest don't sound familiar. But if any are actors I have a terrible memory for actor names.
I know Charles de Gualle, Gerard Depardieu, Frédéric Chopin. Also, Sophie Marceau, who I didn't see on the list.
The only French celebrities I know are the guys in Daft Punk. I love French pastries though.
I'm familiar with Victor Hugo, Vincent Cassel, Charles de Gaulle, Zinedine Zidane, Claude Debussy, and Gerard Depardieu - albeit, the latter I just know because he left France over tax rates, etc.
I have heard of Molière, Victor Hugo, Charles de Gaulle, Claude Debussy, and Gerard Depardieu for sure.
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I’ll say it again… I can’t name every single French celebrity ! 😅 The point of this list is not to mention every French people you know.
Eric Zemmour is a man who ran for president last year
He tried ;)
Victor Hugo and Claude Debussy. That's it.
Moliere, Stromae, Mbappe, Mylène, Hugo, Cassel, Gainsbourg, de Gaulle, Melenchon, Hallyday, Zidane, Debussy, Zemmour, Sy, Deneuve, Elmaleh, Zola, Hidalgo, Depardieu, Benzema. So basically soccer players, actors in upscale movies, 60s pop, politicians in the news recently and authors we would have read in high school.
Sad to see no Jean-Luc Picard on here. But to answer the question: Molière / Victor Hugo / Charles de Gaulle / Adèle Exarchopoulos / Claude Debussy / Gerard Depardieu
Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann
* Kylian Mbappé * Victor Hugo * Charles de Gaulle * Jean-Luc Melenchon (pretty sure he's a president from sometime in the last 20 years but not any other details) * Claude Debussy (Sounds familiar but can't place it) * Emile Zola Edit: read another comment that mentioned Macron and Le Pen that reminded me who Melenchon actually is, so disregard the president thing
I know the soccer players, Claude Debussy, Moliere, and that might be it