List of people from Sydney
{{short description|None}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2014}}
This is a list of notable inhabitants of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
{{dynamic list|date=February 2012}}
Arts and entertainment
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%" |
| scope="col" style="width:16%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="width:26%;" | Occupation ! scope="col" style="width:58%;" | Notes |
|---|
| scope="row" | Ly de Angeles
| Author | Written books on witchcraft and tarot to magical realism; grew up in Sydney{{cite web|url=http://www.lydeangeles.com/about.html|title=About|website=lydeangeles.com|accessdate=30 January 2018}} |
| Alex Apollonov
|YouTuber |Engineer and comedian{{Cite news |last=Adams |first=David |date=May 3, 2017 |title=Sydney Blokes Trek To North Korea To Test Their Insane Haircut Regulations |url=https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/sydney-blokes-trek-to-north-korea-to-test-their-insane-haircut-regulations/ |access-date=January 14, 2025 |work=Pedestrian}} |
| scope="row" | Iggy Azalea
| Rapper | Single "Fancy" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2014 and held for seven consecutive weeks; born in Sydney in 1990 |
| Christopher Bang (Korean name: Bang Chan)
|K-pop idol |Leader, singer, rapper and producer of the Korean boy group Stray Kids. Raised in Sydney |
| scope="row" | Courtney Barnett
| Singer-songwriter and musician | Breakthrough Artist and Best Female Artist, 2015 ARIA Music Awards; Songwriter of the Year, 2016 APRA Music Awards; born in Sydney in 1987 |
| scope="row" | Roxy Barton
| Actress | Appeared on the London stage with the Companies of F. R. Benson and Otho Stuart and Oscar Asche; born in Sydney in 1879 |
| Natasha Bassett
|Actress |Known for House by the Lake, The Pale Door, Desolate, and Spy Intervention; born in Sydney |
| scope="row" | Claudia Black
| Actress and voice actress | Known for Farscape, Stargate SG-1, Pitch Black, and Uncharted; born in Sydney |
| scope="row" | Bryan Brown
| Actor | Known for Breaker Morant, The Thorn Birds, Along Came Polly; born in Sydney in 1947 |
| scope="row" | Rose Byrne
| Actress | Known for Damages, Bridesmaids, Insidious; born in Balmain in 1979 |
| scope="row" | Charles Coleman
| Actor | Known for playing butlers/servants; born in Sydney in 1885 |
| scope="row" | Toni Collette
| Actress | Known for Muriel's Wedding, The Sixth Sense, United States of Tara; born in Blacktown in 1972 |
| scope="row" | Jai Courtney
| Actor | Known for Jack Reacher, A Good Day to Die Hard, Terminator Genisys; born in Sydney in 1986 |
| scope="row" | Russell Crowe
| Actor | Known for L.A. Confidential, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind; raised in Sydney |
| scope="row" | Lillian Dean
| Photographer | Known for photography and local government politician in Darwin; lived in Sydney |
| scope="row" | Joel Edgerton
| Actor | Known for Animal Kingdom, Warrior, The Gift; born in Blacktown in 1974 |
| scope="row" | Indiana Evans
| Actress, singer-songwriter | Known for Home and Away, H2O: Just Add Water, Blue Lagoon: The Awakening; born in Sydney in 1990 |
| scope="row" | Ania Freer
| Documentary filmmaker | Known for Strictly Two Wheel, born in Sydney |
| scope="row" | Mel Gibson
| Actor/director | Known for Mad Max, Lethal Weapon, Braveheart; moved to Sydney at age 12 |
| scope="row" | Delta Goodrem
| Singer | Single "Sitting on Top of the World" reached No.2 ARIA Singles Chart, other notable single "Dear Life"; born in Sydney in 1984 |
| scope="row" | Ann Howe
| Newspaper proprietor | Ran a newspaper in the 1830s; born in Sydney c.1802, died 1842 |
| scope="row" | Michael Hutchence
| Musician and actor | Known as the lead singer and songwriter for Sydney rock band INXS from 1977 until 1997, born in Sydney in 1960, died in the Sydney suburb of Double Bay in 1997 of alleged suicide by hanging |
| scope="row" | Hugh Jackman
| Actor | Known for X-Men, The Prestige, Les Misérables, The Greatest Showman; born in Sydney in 1968 |
| scope="row" | Claudia Karvan
| Actress | Known for The Secret Life of Us, Love My Way, Daybreakers; born in Sydney in 1972 |
| scope="row" | Miranda Kerr
| Model | Known for Victoria's Secret angel; born in Sydney in 1983 |
| scope="row" | Marlo Kelly
|Actress | Known for Home and Away, Joe vs. Carole, Dare Me, 3 Body Problem |
| scope="row" | Nicole Kidman
| Actress | Known for Eyes Wide Shut, Moulin Rouge!, The Hours; raised in Sydney |
| Felix Lee
|K-pop idol |Part of the Korean boy group Stray Kids; born in Sydney in 2000 |
| scope="row" | Keiynan Lonsdale
| Actor, dancer, singer-songwriter | Known for The Flash, Dance Academy, Love, Simon; born in Sydney in 1991 |
| scope="row" | Amy Lyons
| Internet personality in China{{cite web|author=Mullin, Kyle|url=https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2017/12/03/qa-australian-wang-hong-internet-celebrity-amy-lyons-aka-li-hui-lin|title=Mandarin Monday: Q&A With Australian Internet Celebrity Amy Lyons, AKA Li Huilin|work=The Beijinger|date=2017-12-04|accessdate=2019-12-10}} | Known for the "Chopstick Legs" video{{cite web|url=https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/careers/sydneys-amy-lyons-is-raking-it-in-as-a-chinese-social-influencer/news-story/eb423c755c0db48be56cb94d848976ff|title=Sydney's Amy Lyons is raking it in as a Chinese social influencer|work=news.com.au|date=2017-09-11|accessdate=2019-12-10}} |
| scope="row" | James McGrath
| Artist | Known for art exhibitions in New York City, London, Hong Kong, Sydney and Paris. |
| scope="row" | Alex Proyas
| Director |
| scope="row" | Cybele Rowe
| Known for monumental ceramic sculptures; born in Sydney |
| scope="row" | Sanu Sharma
| Nepali-language author, novelist | Known for Ekadeshmaa, Utsarga, Pharak |
| scope="row" | Ann Shoebridge
| milliner | Known for millinery; now lives in Sydney |
| scope="row" | Emma Swift
| Singer-songwriter |
| scope="row" | Rod Taylor
| Actor | Known for The Time Machine, The Birds, One Hundred and One Dalmatians; born in Lidcombe in 1930 |
| scope="row" | Jack Thompson
| Actor | Known for The Club, Breaker Morant, The Man from Snowy River; born in Manly in 1940 |
| scope="row" | Bud Tingwell
| Actor | Known for King of the Coral Sea, Homicide, The Castle; born in Coogee in 1923 |
| scope="row" | Terry Underwood
| Author | Known for In The Middle of Nowhere and Riveren: My home, Our country; raised in Sydney |
| scope="row" | Naomi Watts
| Actress | Known for Mulholland Drive, The Ring, King Kong; moved to Sydney at age 14 |
| scope="row" | Jacki Weaver
| Actress | Known for Alvin Purple, Animal Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook; born in Sydney in 1947 |
| scope="row" | Peter Weir
| Director | Known for Picnic At Hanging Rock, The Last Wave, Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show; born in Sydney in 1944 |
| scope="row" | David Wenham
| Actor | Known for SeaChange, The Lord of the Rings, 300; born in Marrickville in 1965 |
| scope="row" | Anthea Williams
| Director | Known for Hir, Since Ali Died, Mother's Ruin: A Cabaret about Gin, Kill the Messenger, Safety Net |
| scope="row" | Angela White
| Pornographic actress | Now lives in Los Angeles; born in Sydney in 1985 |
| scope="row" | Rebel Wilson
| Actress | Known for Pizza, Bogan Pride, Pitch Perfect; born in Sydney in 1980 |
| Aleksa Vulović
|YouTuber |
| Angourie Rice
|Actress |Known for 2024 Mean Girls remake |
| Morgan Davies
|Actor |Known for the series One Piece and the horror film Evil Dead Rise |
| Milly Alcock
|Actress |Known for the series House of the Dragon |
| Claudia Doumit
|Actress |Known for the series The Boys |
| Eliza Scanlen
|Actress |Known for the miniseries Sharp Objects and the 2019 movie Little Women |
| Odessa Young
|Actress |Known for the miniseries The Stand and the horror film The Damned |
= Musical groups =
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%" |
| scope="col" style="width:16%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="width:26%;" | Style ! scope="col" style="width:58%;" | Notes |
|---|
| scope="row" | AC/DC
| Most successful Australian band having sold more than 200 million records worldwide, inducted in the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1988, inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003; formed in Sydney in 1973 |
| scope="row" | Gypsys Gift
| Formed in Sydney in 2011 |
| scope="row" | The Easybeats
| Rock | formed in Sydney in 1964 |
| For King & Country
|formed in Nashville in 2007; made up of two brothers (Joel and Luke Smallbone) who are from Sydney. |
| scope="row" | Icehouse
| New Wave | Formed in Sydney in 1977 as "Flowers"; the group's name was changed to "Icehouse" (the title of their first album) in 1981. |
| scope="row" | INXS
| Rock | Sold more than 50 million records worldwide, inducted in the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001; formed in Sydney in 1977 |
| scope="row" | Midnight Oil
| Rock | Inducted in the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006; formed in Sydney in 1976 |
| scope="row" | The Vines
| formed in Sydney in 1994 |
| scope="row" | Sons of the East
| formed in Sydney in 2011 |
| scope="row" | The Wiggles
| Inducted in the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2011; formed in Sydney in 1991 |
| scope="row" | Wolfmother
| formed in Sydney in 2000 |
| scope="row" | Northlane
| Metal | formed in Sydney in 2009 |
| scope="row" | 5 Seconds of Summer
| Pop Punk | Formed in Sydney in 2011. made up of Luke Hemmings, Ashton Irwin, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood. Sold more than nine million album units, sold over two million concert tickets, while the band's songs streams surpass seven billion. |
Politics
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%" |
| scope="col" style="width:16%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="width:26%;" | Occupation ! scope="col" style="width:58%;" | Notes |
|---|
| scope="row" | Anthony Albanese
| Prime Minister of Australia (2022-current) | |
| scope="row" | Edmund Barton
| Prime Minister of Australia (1901–1903) | |
| scope="row" | Bob Carr
| Premier of New South Wales (1995–2005) | |
| scope="row" | Syd Einfeld
| Politician and Jewish community leader | |
| scope="row" | John Howard
| Prime Minister of Australia (1996–2007) | |
| scope="row" | Morris Iemma
| Premier of New South Wales (2005–2008) | |
| scope="row" | Paul Keating
| Prime Minister of Australia (1992–1996) | |
| scope="row" | Malcolm Turnbull
| Prime Minister of Australia (2015–2018) | |
| scope="row" | Gough Whitlam
| Prime Minister of Australia (1972–1975) | |
| scope="row" | Scott Morrison
| Prime Minister of Australia (2018-2022) | |
Science
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%" |
| scope="col" style="width:16%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="width:26%;" | Occupation ! scope="col" style="width:58%;" | Notes |
|---|
| scope="row" | Victor Chang
| Pioneer of modern heart transplantation, appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1986; moved to Sydney at age 14. |
| scope="row" | Marguerite Henry
| Zoologist | Described dozens of species and was one of the first women zoologists in Australia{{Cite journal |last=Damkaer |first=David M. |date=2014-07-07 |title=Marguerite Henry (1895-1982), brief candle to Australian entomostracans |url=https://academic.oup.com/jcb/article-lookup/doi/10.1163/1937240X-00002253 |journal=Journal of Crustacean Biology |language=en |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=534–538 |doi=10.1163/1937240X-00002253 |bibcode=2014JCBio..34..534D |issn=0278-0372}} |
| scope="row" | Sir Gustav Nossal
| Research biologist | Known for his contributions to the fields of antibody formation and immunological tolerance. |
| scope="row" | Ken Robinson
| Computer scientist | Responsible for the first Unix system outside the United States in 1975; he has been called "The Father of Formal Methods in Australia". |
Sports
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%" |
| scope="col" style="width:16%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="width:26%;" | Occupation ! scope="col" style="width:58%;" | Notes |
|---|
| Costa Andricopoulos
|Australian footballer |Born 1991 |
| scope="row" | Jack Brabham
| Formula One driver | |
| Alex Chidiac
|Soccer player for Australia |
| Kyrie Irving
|National Basketball Association | |
| scope="row" | Billel Dib
| Boxer | |
| scope="row" | Brad Fittler
| Rugby league player | Captained Penrith Panthers, Sydney Roosters, NSW Blues, and Australia 1989–2004; born in Auburn in 1972 |
| Yahya El Hindi
|Association football player |Represented Lebanon internationally |
| Chloe Logarzo
|Soccer player for Australia |
| scope="row" | Cassie MacIntosh
| Also known by her ring name Peyton Royce |
| scope="row" | Jessie McKay
| Professional wrestler | Also known by her ring name Billie Kay |
| scope="row" | Ellyse Perry
| Dual-international footballer and cricketer | Named ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade in 2020 |
| scope="row" | Tatafu Polota-Nau
| Rugby Union player | |
| scope="row"| Martin Nguyen
| Mixed Martial Artist player | |
| scope="row" | Steven Riches
| Soccer player | |
| scope="row" | Tony Roche
| Tennis player | |
| scope="row" | Anne Rollo
| Tennis player | |
| Amy Sayer
|Soccer player for Australia |
| scope="row" | Jordan Spence
| Ice hockey player | Drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 2019, scored first NHL goal in March 2022 |
| scope="row" | Mark Taylor
| Cricketer | |
| scope="row" | Ian Thorpe
| Swimmer | Gold Medal Winner at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and 2004 Summer Olympics; born in Sydney in 1982 |
| scope="row" | Mark Waugh
| Cricketer | Played for NSW Blues, and Australia 1985–2002; born in Campsie in 1965 |
| scope="row" | Steve Waugh
| Cricketer | Captained NSW Blues, and Australia 1984–2004, named Australian of the Year in 2004, inducted in the Cricket Hall of Fame in 2010; born in Campsie in 1965 |
| scope="row" | Lizzie Welborn
| Ironwoman | |
| scope="row" | Todd Woodbridge
| Tennis player | |
| Matthew Farrelly
|Professional wrestler |Also known under his ring name Grayson Waller. He is one half of the WWE Tag Team Championship along with Austin Theory. |
| scope="row" | Nathan Walker
|Professional Ice Hockey player for the St Louis Blues of the NHL | |
| scope="row" | Kevin White
| Darts player | |
- Mangok Mathiang (born 1992), Australian-Sudanese basketball player for Hapoel Eilat of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Other
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%" |
| scope="col" style="width:16%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="width:26%;" | Occupation ! scope="col" style="width:58%;" | Notes |
|---|
| scope="row" |Camille Agnes Becker Paul
| Feminist, moral theologian and activist | |
| scope="row" | Beatrice Bligh
| Gardener | |
| scope="row" |Jarrod Castaing
| Landscape photographer | Known for photographing the Aurora Australis from Sydney's Northern Beaches in 2015 |
| scope="row" | Marcus Einfeld
| Superior Court Judge was | |
| scope="row" |Moshe Gutnick
| Orthodox Chabad rabbi | |
| scope="row" | Milton Kent
| Industrial and aerial photographer | Known for pioneering aerial photography in Sydney |
| scope="row" | Matthew Leveson
| n/a | Sydney man killed in 2007 |
| scope="row" | Peter Dodds McCormick
| Composer/stonemason/teacher | Composer of "Advance Australia Fair", Australia's national anthem |
| Frank Hurley
|Photographer |Known as the official photographer on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914 |
| scope="row" | Clive James
| Critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist | The Clive James Show |
| Terry Kennedy
|Speaker | |
| scope="row" | Denis McFadden
| Businessperson | Founder/CEO of "Just Cuts" |
| scope="row" | Michael Mobbs
| Author and environmental consultant{{cite web|title=About Michael|url=http://sustainablehouse.com.au/contact/michael/|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427174235/http://sustainablehouse.com.au/contact/michael/|archivedate=2014-04-27}} | |
| scope="row" |Gerard Newcombe
| Businessperson | |
| scope="row" |Eliza Pottie
| Social reformer; active in suffrage, women's rights; co-founder of YWCA in Sydney | |
| scope="row" |Nicole Rogerson
| Founding Director and CEO of Autism Awareness Australia | |
| scope="row" |Anne-Marie Schwirtlich
| Former Director-General of the National Library of Australia | Member of the Order of Australia (AM) |
| scope="row" |Diana Shelstad
| Mathematician | |
| scope="row" | Thomas Spohr
| Solicitor and prosecutor | |
| scope="row" | Christopher Vincent Stanich
| master mariner, harbourmaster and waterfront controller | |
| scopw="row" | Christopher Wilder
| Serial/spree killer and rapist | Murdered at least eight women and girls |
| scopw="row" | John Yeomans
| Journalist and author | |
See also
{{portal|Australia|Biography|Lists}}