Famous People From Bristol

Ever wondered which famous faces come from Bristol? There have been many notable individuals from the world or sport, acting, and music. Read below for our list of famous Bristolians!

Do you want to become famous one day? We believe every hard work in Bristol is rewarded. 

Russell Howard

Comedian, Russell Howard, was born in Bristol. Eventually he even studied economics at UWE.

Banksy

Still unconfirmed on who Banksy actually is, but a recent Daily Mail report has him supposively as a former pupil at the public Bristol Cathedral School.

Stephen Merchant

Merchant’s career actually began performing stand up comedy at Bristol’s own Comedy Box.

James May

The former Top Gear presenter was born back in 1963 in Bristol.

Maisie Williams

Star of Game of Thrones, Maisie was born in Bristol before moving to Bath. She’s now regularly seen out and about at various Bristol nights out.

Ben Collins (AKA The Stig from Top Gear)

‘The White Stig’ was born in Bristol.

Josie Gibson

Josie Gibson’s fantastic Bristolian voice was a fantastic addition to Big Brother 2010 and now a presenter on the hit morning show, This Moning.

Judd Trump

Born in 1989, Bristol’s most famous snooker player has hit more than 450 century breaks during his career.

Lee Evans

Hailing from Avonmouth, he and his family left Bristol when he was 12 to move to Essex.

John Challis

John Challis is best known for playing Aubrey “Boycie” Boyce in the BBC series Only Fools and Horses, and the lesser known spin-off The Green Green Grass. 

Cary Grant

Might be one most famous Bristolians of all time. Cary was a definitive leading man in Hollywood during its classical era. Born in Horfield he eventually became an American citizen in 1942.

David Prowse

Bodybuilder, weightlifter and probably best known for playing Darth Vader in the original Star Wars movies. 

J.K. Rowling

.K. Rowling was born in Yate, just outside of Bristol, a few miles south of a town called Dursley.

Damien Hirst

Bristol born Hirst, is reportedly the UK’s richest living artist.

Ian Holloway

Known for having one of the most spectacular Bristolian accents that you’ll hear on TV.

Cathy Barry

One of the UK’s most famous pornstars and she hails from little old Bristol. If you’ve ever seen one of her movies, that becomes apparent immediately.

Stephen Lansdown

Co-Founder of Hargreaves and Lansdown, and also one of the major shareholders of Bristol City Football Club, Bristol Rugby, and Bristol Flyers. 

Massive Attack

One of the most famous artists from Bristol, Massive Attack have been going strong since 1988 and made their return to the Bristol music scene during their amazing Clifton Down gig in 2016.

Hannah Murray

Best known for playing Cassie in Bristol based Skins and now Gilly in Game of Thrones. Hannah’s parents actually work at Bristol University.

Collin Trevor Pillinger

Born in Kingswood, Colin was a famous English planetary scientist. He was actually the principal investigator for the infamous Beagle 2 Mars lander.

Gary Mabbutt

Ex-Spurs and Bristol Rovers. He was capped more times for England than any other Bristolian footballer.

Sir Bernard Lovell

Born at Oldland Common, Bristol back in 1913. Sir Bernard Lovell was an English physicist and radion astronomer. He was the leader of the team that built the larest radiotelescope int eh world – the Jodrell Bank telescope.