- Rem Koolhaas
Remment Koolhaas (born November 17 1944 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and "Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design" at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, USA. Koolhaas first studied scriptwriting at the Dutch Film Academy, and was then a journalist for the "Haagse Post" before starting studies, in 1968, in architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, followed, …
- Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was an abstract expressionist painter, born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
- Paul de Leeuw
Paul Henri de Leeuw (born March 26, 1962) is a Dutch television comedian, singer and actor. Paul de Leeuw is born in IJsselmonde on March 26, 1962. De Leeuw gained national fame in the late eighties and early nineties with television shows for broadcasting company VARA. Though satire was only a part of these shows and much of its humour was essentially harmless he came into publicity with satire about Dutch show business personalities who were often ridiculed.
- Ferry Corsten
Ferry Corsten (born December 4 1973 in Rotterdam, Netherlands) is an early pioneer and producer of trance, in addition to being a world-renowed DJ and remixer.
- Neelie Kroes
Neelie Kroes (born July 19, 1941 in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland) is a Dutch politician and businessperson. Neelie Kroes was a Member of Parliament in the Netherlands for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Later she was the Dutch State Secretary and Minister of Transport and Water Management. Neelie Kroes was member of the board of commissioners of several multinationals. She currently is the Dutch European Commissioner for Competition.
- Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Giovanni Christiaan van Bronckhorst, nicknamed "Gio" (born February 5, 1975 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch football defender and midfielder, who currently plays for Feyenoord in de Dutch Eredivisie. His heritage is Dutch-Moluccan. Van Bronckhorst signed a three-year contract with Feyenoord in June 2007, leaving Barcelona as a free agent. Prior to joining Barcelona, Van Bronckhorst played for RKC Waalwijk (1993-94), Feyenoord (1994-98), Rangers (1998-2001), and Arsenal (2001-03).
- Robin van Persie
Robin van Persie (born August 6, 1983 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch footballer currently playing at English Premier League team Arsenal as a striker. He can play as a striker (as he normally does for Arsenal) or on either wing, as he primarily does for the Netherlands. He is also a free kick specialist. Van Persie was brought up in the Kralingen area of east Rotterdam.
- Marvin Emnes
Marvin Emnes (born 27 May 1988 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch football player, currently playing for Sparta Rotterdam.
- Peter van Heemst
Erik Peter (Peter) van Heemst (born in Rotterdam, 10 July 1952) is a Dutch politician. From 1991 to 2006 he was a member of the lower house of parliament (called 'Tweede Kamer') for the Partij van de Arbeid (the Dutch Labour Party, often abbreviated as PvdA). Since the municipal elections of 2006 he has been the leader of the PvdA in Rotterdam. Van Heemst studied law in Rotterdam, after which he became personal assistant to Hans Kombrink, …
- Orlando Engelaar
Orlando Engelaar (born August 24, 1979 in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland) is a football attacking midfielder from the Netherlands, who is playing for FC Twente in the Dutch highest league (Eredivisie) since the summer of 2006. He previously played for NAC Breda and K.R.C. Genk. He made his international debut for the Netherlands national football team in a friendly against South Korea on 2 June 2007. <br
- Luigi Bruins
Luigi Bruins (born 1987-03-09 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Feyenoord Rotterdam. He started his career at Excelsior Rotterdam. He's of Italian descent and thus still eligible for both Dutch and Italian National teams. While at Excelsior Bruins had been linked with the top four Dutch teams (Ajax Amsterdam, AZ Alkmaar, Feyenoord Rotterdam and PSV Eindhoven) as well as with Tottenham Hotspur FC.
- Bonaventure Kalou
Bonaventure Kalou is an Ivorian footballer, who currently plays as a striker for Paris Saint-Germain. He started playing for ASEC Mimosas in his home country before moving to Dutch based Feyenoord. He played in Rotterdam for six seasons as a first team regular, becoming a fans' favourite. He mainly played as a winger, but was also able to participate as a striker when necessary.
- Wim Jansen
Wilhelmus ("Wim") Marinus Anthonius Jansen (born October 28, 1946 in Rotterdam) is a former Dutch football player and manager. He spent most of his playing career with his hometown team, Feyenoord, between 1965 and 1980. At Feyenoord, Jansen won four League Championships, one Dutch Cup, and one UEFA Cup. He also won the European Cup in 1970 when Feyenoord defeated Celtic 2-1 in Milan. Jansen would later manage Celtic.
- Richard Krajicek
Richard Peter Stanislav Krajicek (born December 6, 1971) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. In 1996 he won the men's singles title at Wimbledon. Since 2004 he has been the tournament director of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. He is also the author of various sportsbooks.
- Bong-Ra
Bong-Ra is the performing name of Dutch breakcore musician Jason Kohnen from Utrecht. Formed in 1996, initially producing and DJ-ing jungle music. Previous to Bong-Ra Jason Kohnen performed as bassist and drummer for stoner/doom metal band Celestial Season amongst others. His style contains a variety of crossovers and fusions of different genres, including Metal, Gabba, Jazz, Rave and Jungle, becoming one of the front runners of the Breakcore genre, …
- Nourdin Boukhari
Nourdin Boukhari (born 30 June 1980 in Kralingen, Rotterdam) is a Dutch-Moroccan footballer. He currently plays for Sparta. He previously played for Sparta where he stood out for his technical skill and Ajax where he made his debut against FC Groningen on 1 September, 2002. In 2006, he joined Nantes. In January 2007, AZ loaned him. Although not unsuccesful, AZ didn't want to buy him.
- Raemon Sluiter
Raemon Sluiter (RAY-mon SLIGH-ter; born on April 13 1978 in Rotterdam) is a professional male tennis player from the Netherlands. His career-high Association of Tennis Professionals Entry ranking is #46 (achieved on February 24 2003), and his current ranking is #87 (as of September 18 2006). His career highlights were mostly on home soil: ATP finals in Amsterdam (2000), Rotterdam (2003) and Amersfoort (2003), …
- Mario Been
Mario Been (born December 11, 1963 in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland) is a football manager from the Netherlands, who is the head coach of NEC Nijmegen since the summer of 2006. He brought Excelsior Rotterdam back to the Eredivisie in the spring of the same year. He is nicknamed "Mariodona", after Diego Maradona and his first name. As a football midfielder himself, Been played for Feyenoord Rotterdam, Pisa Calcio, Roda JC, SC Heerenveen, FC Tirol Innsbruck, …
- Gianni Zuiverloon
Gianni Zuiverloon (born December 30, 1986 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch football defender, who signed a 3-year contract in June 2006 to his current club SC Heerenveen.
- Marco Pastors
Marco Pastors (Beneden-Leeuwen, 10 September 1965) is a Dutch politician. He is currently political leader of the local party Leefbaar Rotterdam, a member of the city council for Rotterdam and the political leader of Een NL, a Dutch political party at the national level. Between 2002 and 2005 he was also an alderman (comparable to a deputy mayor) of Rotterdam.
- Kew Jaliens
Kew Jaliens (born September 15 1978 in Rotterdam) is a professional Dutch footballer. He currently plays for AZ as a defender. Jaliens can operate at either rightback or centreback. His role depends on who else is selected, if van Gaal prefers Steinsson then Jaliens plays centreback and if Donk plays, Jaliens switches to the centre. He recently signed a contract extension to 2012, with AZ director of football Marcel Brands describing him as a cornerstone of the team.
- Rick van Velthuysen
Rick van Velthuysen (Rotterdam, 15 september 1961) is a Dutch radio dj. Rick started his career at the age of 18 with "Radio Bollenstreek". In 1985 he became a dj with KRO and had a gameshow with Peter van Dam. With AVRO Rick started dj-ing for the big public in 1986. When Kas van Iersel left Radio 3 Rick was allowed to make the later popular radio- and televisionshow Top Pop. On 11 December 1992 Rick van Velthuysen was asked to help start Radio 538 by Erik de Zwart.
- Robin Nelisse
Robin Nelisse (born January 25, 1978 in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland) is a football (soccer) striker from the Netherlands, who started his professional career in the 1997-1998 season playing for Feyenoord Rotterdam. He later served Cambuur Leeuwarden and AZ Alkmaar. Nelisse is currently playing for FC Utrecht.
- Ben van Berkel
Ben van Berkel studied architecture at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and at the Architectural Association in London, receiving the AA Diploma with Honours in 1987. His first projects were built almost immediately after founding Van Berkel & Bos Architectuur Bureau. Among the buildings of this first period are Karbouw, the Remu electricity station, and Villa Wilbrink .
- Han Hoogerbrugge
Han Hoogerbrugge (born Oct 11 1963, Rotterdam) is a Dutch digital artist living in Rotterdam. Hoogerbrugge started out as a painter and cartoonist until he found the internet in 1996. He is the creator of the extremely popular Modern Living Neurotica series as well as his current interactive series Hotel, created for the online SubmarineChannel. He is sometimes credited incorrectly as "Hans Hoogerbrugge".
- Janwillem van de Wetering
Janwillem van de Wetering (middle name: Lincoln), born 12 February 1931, is the author of a number of works in English and Dutch. He is particularly noted for his detective fiction., his most popular creations being Grijpstra and de Gier, a pair of Amsterdam police officers who figure in a lengthy series of novels and short stories. The mysteries are rich with images from Amsterdam, where they take place; some also feature a cat named Oliver.
- Marten Toonder
Marten Toonder (May 2 1912 - July 27 2005) was a Dutch comic writer, born in Rotterdam. He was probably the most successful comic artist in the Netherlands and has had a great influence by introducing new words and expressions into the Dutch language
- Fatima Moreira de Melo
Fatima Moreira de Melo (born on 4 July 1978 in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland) is a Dutch field hockey player. She has played 191 international matches for the Dutch national team, where she has scored 30 times. Her debut match was on 21 October 1997 against Germany which ended in a 2-1 victory for The Netherlands. She plays on the position of striker. In the Dutch national competition she has played for Tempo '34, HGC and HC Rotterdam.
- Rachid Bouaouzan
Rachid Bouaouzan (born 20 February 1984) is a Dutch footballer of Moroccan decent who currently plays for Sparta Rotterdam. Bouaouzan is a defender who was born in Rotterdam and made his debut in professional football, being part of the Sparta Rotterdam squad in the 2003-04 season. In his second season, while playing in the Eerste Divisie Bouaouzan reached the Dutch headlines due to a heavy foul on Niels Kokmeijer, his opponent playing for Go Ahead Eagles on December 17, …
- Shinji Ono
is a Japanese football player, who plays as a midfielder for the Japanese national team and Urawa Red Diamonds of J. League Known as "Tensai", Japanese for "Genius", from his youth days, Ono is one of the biggest stars in Asian football, known for his vision and versatility, as well as his big smile. Although his primary position is attacking midfielder, he can play anywhere in the midfield, including defensive midfield and either wing.
- Eric Vloeimans
Trumpet player Eric Vloeimans (b. 1963) initially studied classical music at the Rotterdam Academy of Music. He got interested in jazz after meeting musicians from that department and switched - graduating with distinction in 1988 and continuing his studies in New York, studying with Donald Byrd and gaining experience playing in the big bands of Frank Foster and Mercer Ellington.
- Ronald Graafland
Ronald Graafland (born 1979-04-30 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Excelsior Rotterdam. His former club is Feyenoord Rotterdam.
- Delano Hill
Delano Hill (born 29 April 1975) is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Willem II Tilburg. Hill is a defender who was born in Rotterdam and made his debut in professional football, being part of the FC Den Bosch squad in the 1995-96 season. He also played for RKC Waalwijk, FC Hansa Rostock and Austria Wien before joining Willem II for the second time in his career.
- Hans van Baalen
Johannes Cornelis "Hans" van Baalen (born June 17, 1960) is a Dutch Member of Parliament for the liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ("VVD"). Van Baalen was born in Rotterdam and went to high school in Krimpen aan den IJssel. He then studied law at Leiden University, where he was a member of the Minerva fraternity and the "Pro Patria" student guard. Van Baalen has been a member of the "VVD" since 1986.
- Ellery Cairo
Ellery Cairo (born August 3 1978 in Rotterdam, Netherlands) is a Dutch footballer, currently playing for Coventry City. He also played for Feyenoord Rotterdam, Excelsior Rotterdam, FC Twente and SC Freiburg. He is a speedy midfield player with pace to burn and has enjoyed a couple of international call ups in which he did not feature in any of the games. Cairo was signed by Coventry City on 30 June 2007 on a free transfer from Hertha Berlin.
- Kees Torn
Kees Torn, born 1967, is a Dutch text writer and comedy performer. Torn started his cabaret performance in 1991, when he was studying at the "Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten" in Rotterdam. As "Kees en Ik" ("Kees and I"), he performed quite a successful show with fellow student Gerrie Hondius. In 1994 he made his official solo-debut with the show "Laat maar laaien". Torn is known for his old fashioned style of comedy performance, …
- Cecilio Lopes
Cecilio Lopes (born 18 March 1979 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch football player currently playing for SC Heerenveen. He is Antillean in origin.
- Felix Limo
Felix Limo (born August 22, 1980) is a Kenyan distance runner who specializes in the marathon. Limo is one of the best marathon runners in the world today. He solidified that claim with victory at the 2006 London Marathon, which had boasted one of the strongest fields ever assembled for a marathon. His time of 2:06:39 at London is the third fastest of 2006. Previously, Limo has achieved victory at the 2005 Chicago Marathon, as well as at Berlin and Rotterdam in 2004.
- Mounir el Hamdaoui
Mounir El Hamdaoui (born July 14 1984 in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland) is a Dutch-Moroccan footballer who plays as a forward for Willem II in the Netherlands. He signed a three and a half year contract with Tottenham Hotspur and moved from Excelsior Rotterdam in January 2005. He never made his debut in the Premiership but featured in the Peace Cup in July 2005 in which Tottenham lifted the trophy following a 3-1 win against Olympique Lyonnais.
- Aaron Betsky
Aaron Betsky (b. 1958 in Missoula, Montana) is an American author, curator, architect, museum director and currently the Eliel Saarinen Visiting Professor at the University of Michigan's Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and a founding member of the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design Betsky received both a BA (1979) and MA (1983) from Yale. In 2001, he became director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.