Famous people from Croatia
Here is a list of famous people from Croatia. Curious if anybody from Croatia made it our most famous people in the world list? Read the aformentioned article in order to find out.
Nikola Tesla
Physicist
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current electricity supply system. Tesla gained experience in telephony and electrical engineering before emigrating to the United States in 1884 to work for Thomas Edison. He soon struck out on his own with financial backers, setting up laboratories and companies to develop a range of electrical devices. His patented AC induction motor and transformer were licensed by George Westinghouse, who also hired Tesla as a consultant to help develop a power system using alternating current. Tesla is also known for his high-voltage, high-frequency power experiments in New York and Colorado Springs which included patented devices and theoretical work used in the invention of radio communication, for his X-ray experiments, and for his ill-fated attempt at intercontinental wireless transmission in his unfinished Wardenclyffe Tower project. Tesla's achievements and his abilities as a showman demonstrating his seemingly miraculous inventions made him world-famous. Although he made a great deal of money from his patents, he spent a lot on numerous experiments. He lived for most of his life in a series of New York hotels although the end of his patent income and eventual bankruptcy led him to live in diminished circumstances. Tesla still continued to invite the press to parties he held on his birthday to announce new inventions he was working and make statements. Because of his pronouncements and the nature of his work over the years, Tesla gained a reputation in popular culture as the archetypal "mad scientist". He died on 7 January 1943.
Josip Broz Tito
Military Commander
Marshal Josip Broz Tito was the leader of the Yugoslav Partisans, Europe's most effective anti-Nazi resistance movement and a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman, serving in various roles from 1945 until his death in 1980. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was "seen by most as a benevolent dictator" due to his successful economic and diplomatic policies and was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad. Viewed as a unifying symbol, his internal policies successfully maintained the peaceful coexistence of the nations of the Yugoslav federation. He gained international attention as the chief leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, working with Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt and Sukarno of Indonesia. He was General Secretary of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, and went on to lead the World War II Yugoslav guerrilla movement, the Partisans. After the war, he was the Prime Minister, President of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. From 1943 to his death in 1980, he held the rank of Marshal of Yugoslavia, serving as the supreme commander of the Yugoslav military, the Yugoslav People's Army. With a highly favourable reputation abroad in both Cold War blocs, Josip Broz Tito received some 98 foreign decorations, including the Legion of Honour and the Order of the Bath.
Goran Ivanišević
Businessperson
Goran Ivanišević is a retired Croatian professional tennis player. He is the only person to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon as a wildcard. He achieved this in 2001, having previously been runner-up at the championships in 1992, 1994 and 1998. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 2 in 1994.
Rudolf Steiner
Philosopher
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. Steiner gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he founded a spiritual movement, anthroposophy, as an esoteric philosophy with roots in German idealist philosophy and theosophy. In the first, more philosophically oriented phase of this movement, Steiner attempted to find a synthesis between science and mysticism; his philosophical work of these years, which he termed spiritual science, sought to provide a connection between the cognitive path of Western philosophy and the inner and spiritual needs of the human being. In a second phase, beginning around 1907, he began working collaboratively in a variety of artistic media, including drama, the movement arts and architecture, culminating in the building of the Goetheanum, a cultural centre to house all the arts. In the third phase of his work, beginning after World War I, Steiner worked to establish various practical endeavors, including Waldorf education, biodynamic agriculture, and anthroposophical medicine.
Luka Modrić
Soccer
Luka Modrić is a Croatian footballer who plays for Real Madrid and the Croatia national football team. Modrić plays mainly as a central midfielder, but can also play as an attacking midfielder and winger. After showing promise in hometown club Zadar's youth team, he was signed by Dinamo Zagreb as a teenager in 2002. His professional career began with loan spells at Zrinjski Mostar and Inter Zaprešić. While he was playing for GNK Dinamo Zagreb, they won three consecutive league titles and several domestic cups, with Modrić named Prva HNL "Player of the Year" in 2007. In 2008, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur in England's Premier League, before moving to Real Madrid in the summer of 2012. Modrić is a Croatian international and made his debut against Argentina in March 2006. He has since participated in three major tournaments; 2006 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2008 and 2012. He scored his first international goal in the friendly match against Italy, and at the Euro 2008 was included in the UEFA "Team of the Tournament", becoming only the second Croatian to ever achieve this honour.
Jerome
Religious Leader
Saint Jerome was a Latin Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, who also became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia. He is best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin, and his commentaries on the Gospel of the Hebrews. His list of writings is extensive. He is recognised as a saint by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Church of England. Jerome is commemorated on 30 September with a memorial.
Mario Mandžukić
Soccer
Mario Mandžukić is a Croatian footballer who plays as a striker for Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga and for the Croatian national team. Besides being a prolific striker, Mandžukić is known for his great defensive work and off-the-ball play. He started his career in his hometown club Marsonia from where he moved to two Croatian capital city football clubs, first joining NK Zagreb and then signing with Dinamo Zagreb in 2007, where he was Prva HNL top goalscorer in 2008–09 season. His prolific scoring earned him a transfer to VfL Wolfsburg in 2010. After some impressive performances at UEFA Euro 2012, where he was joint top scorer with three goals, he was signed by German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. On the international level, Mandžukić was given his debut for Croatia in November 2007 under manager Slaven Bilić. He was named Croatian Footballer of the Year for 2012.
Mirko Filipović
Professional Boxer
Mirko Filipović is a Croatian heavyweight kickboxer, mixed martial artist, retired boxer, politician, and law enforcement officer. Filipović was a member of the Croatian Parliament from 2003 through 2007 on a list of Social Democratic Party of Croatia. His nickname, Cro Cop, short for "Croatian Cop", comes from his membership in the Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit, Croatia's elite Police Special Forces tactical unit. He is the current K-1 World Champion. As of April 2013, Mirko Filipović is ranked the #7 heavyweight in the world by LiverKick.com. Filipović has been successful in both K-1 and Pride Fighting Championships. On September 10, 2006, he became the 2006 Pride World Grand Prix Open-Weight Champion, and in 2007 entered the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). On March 16, 2013 he won the K-1 World Grand Prix becoming the K-1 World Champion. Filipović owed his mixed martial arts success to a combination of elite-level kickboxing and near-impregnable takedown defense, making him one of the most dangerous strikers in history and a prototype for the modern sprawl and brawler. Filipović's signature move was his lightning quick left head-kick, once famously described as "right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery." His legacy remains as a true legend in mixed martial arts, as well as one of the greatest heavyweights in the history of the sport. Mirko was also a successful amateur boxer. Mirko medalled numerous times in international competition, and was also a member of Croatia's world team when he competed at the 1997 Amateur Boxing World Championships.
Ivo Karlović
Tennis Player
Ivo Karlović is a Croatian tennis player. He has won five ATP singles titles: three in 2007 one in 2008 and one in 2013. Karlović is the tallest player ever on the ATP Tour at 208 cm. He is a serve-and-volleyer, officially held the record for the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h, before being surpassed by Samuel Groth in 2012. He is considered one of the best servers on tour. His height enables him to serve with high speed using unique trajectory and accuracy.
Dražen Petrović
Basketball Shooting guard
Dražen Petrović was a Croatian professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he initially achieved success playing professional basketball in Europe in the 1980s before joining the American NBA in 1989. Petrović died in a car accident at the age of 28. A star on multiple stages, Petrović earned two silver medals and one bronze in Olympic basketball, a gold and a bronze in the FIBA World Championship, and a gold and a bronze in the FIBA European Championship. He represented Yugoslavia and, later, Croatia. He earned four Euroscar Awards, and was named Mr. Europa twice. In 1985 he received the Golden Badge award for best athlete of Yugoslavia. Seeking a bigger arena after his career start in Europe, Petrović joined the National Basketball Association in 1989 as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. After playing mostly off the bench that year, Petrović experienced a break-out following a trade to the New Jersey Nets. While starting for the Nets, he became one of the league's best shooting guards. Petrović is considered the crucial part of the vanguard to the present-day mass influx of European players into the NBA. Petrović's #3 was retired by the Nets in 1993, and in 2002 he was posthumously enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2013, he was voted the Best European Basketballer in History by players at the European Basketball Championship.
Jelena Dokić
Tennis Player
Jelena Dokic is an Australian female professional tennis player. During the height of her career, she played for Federal Republic of Yugoslavia reached a career-high ranking of World No. 4 on 19 August 2002. After several family-related difficulties, she slowly slipped down the rankings in 2006. She made a serious return to tennis in 2008, and after winning three ITF tournaments that year, rose to World No. 187 going into the 2009 Australian Open. She finished 2009 in the top 100, but declined later in 2010. Her 2011 season has seen a resurgence in Dokic's form and abilities. The highlights of Dokic's career include reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon and the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and reaching the quarterfinals at the French Open in 2002 and the Australian Open in 2009. Other highlights include beating several former World No. 1 players: Martina Hingis in the first round of Wimbledon in 1999, Venus Williams at the 2000 Italian Open and Kim Clijsters at the 2003 Zürich Open. Other high-calibre players whom Dokic has defeated include Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Janković, Monica Seles, Justine Henin, Amélie Mauresmo, Mary Pierce, Elena Dementieva, Francesca Schiavone, Anna Chakvetadze and Jennifer Capriati.
Marina Erakovic
Tennis Player
Marina Erakovic is a Croatian-born professional tennis player from New Zealand. Her career high Women's Tennis Association rankings are World No. 39 for singles, achieved on 7 May 2012, and World No. 25 in doubles, achieved on 24 June 2013. Erakovic is the only New Zealand player in the top 100 of either the WTA or the Association of Tennis Professionals. She has won one WTA singles title.
Severina Vučković
Pop Artist
Severina Vučković is a Croatian pop singer popular across the entire former Yugoslavia.
Blanka Vlašić
Olympic athlete
Blanka Vlašić is a Croatian athlete who specialises in the high jump. She is the Croatian record holder in the event, and the former indoor World Champion. The daughter of Croatian decathlon record holder Joško Vlašić, she was a talented junior athlete and attended her first Olympic Games in 2000 Sydney at the age of sixteen. She won the World Junior Championships in Athletics in both 2000 and 2002. Vlašić broke her national record in 2004 and also won her first world senior medal at the World Indoor Championships that year. A hyperthyroid condition hindered her second Olympic appearance in Athens and she spent the 2005 season recuperating from surgery. She returned in 2006, taking the silver at the World Indoor Championships. The 2007 season signalled a strong run of form: she won at the 2007 World Championships, became the indoor world champion in 2008 and her winning streak came to an end with a narrow loss at the Beijing Olympics, where she took silver. She became World Champion for a second time in 2009. She ranks second in the all-time high jump rankings, behind Stefka Kostadinova. Her awards also including the IAAF World Athlete of the Year 2010 and European Athlete of the Year Trophy.
Davor Šuker
Soccer
Davor Šuker IPA, is a retired Croatian footballer and current president of Croatian Football Federation. He played as a striker for a number of European clubs as well as the Croatian national team, where he is the all-time top goal scorer with 45 goals. Šuker was born in Osijek. His parents came there from village of Lištani in Livno municipality. Šuker began his footballing career in his hometown, playing for the local first division team Osijek as a 16-year-old. During his final season there, he became the league's top goal scorer. He signed for a bigger club, Dinamo Zagreb in 1989. The war in Croatia halted a promising season for the 21-year-old, eventually resulting in Šuker's move to Sevilla in 1991. In La Liga Šuker was highly regarded, showing consistent form with Seville and being amongst the top goal scorers for consecutive seasons. He signed with Real Madrid 5 years later, and was again amongst the league's top scorers, which helped Madrid claim the La Liga title, the Supercup trophy and win the Champions League during his tenure there. His move to Arsenal turned out to be a disappointment, as he managed to only rarely find his goal scoring form, but distinguished himself in the Gunners' UEFA Cup final berth in 2000. He concluded his career with shorter spells at West Ham United and in Germany where he played for 1860 Munich.
Slaven Bilić
Soccer
Slaven Bilić is a former Croatian footballer, currently managing Beşiktaş in Turkish Süper Lig. He started playing in 1988 for his hometown club Hajduk Split and later had successful foreign spells with Karlsruher SC in Germany, and West Ham United and Everton in England before retiring from active football in 2001. At national level, Bilić served as one of Croatia's most consistent defenders during the tenure of coach Miroslav Blažević, earning 44 caps between 1992 and 1999 and playing in UEFA Euro 1996 and the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Following his playing retirement in 2001 at Hajduk Split, Bilić immediately turned to coaching, his first job being a five-month stint at Hajduk's helm in the latter stage of the 2001–02 season. Between 2004 and 2006 he managed Croatia under-21 football team, before taking over the senior national side from Zlatko Kranjčar in August 2006. Credited with successfully overseeing the introduction of a series of young players from the under-21 squad to the senior side, Bilić led the team to the 2008 European championship where they reached the quarter-finals. In spite the fact that under Bilić's tenure Croatia failed to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, his contract with the Croatian Football Federation was extended in 2009. He then went on to qualify for the 2012 European championship, his second managerial success and major tournament appearance with Croatia. Upon his formal departure, Bilić was praised for his long-standing service to the national side. Domestic media outlet labelled him as Croatia's only manager to depart on such positive terms and credited him for his strong revival of the national side during his six-year tenure.
Mario Ančić
Tennis Player
Mario Ančić is a retired Croatian professional tennis player. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking came during the 2006 ATP Tour, when he reached World No. 7. Apart from his success on the ATP Tour, Mario helped Croatia to win the 2005 Davis Cup and at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, he and Ivan Ljubičić won a bronze medal in doubles for Croatia. As a teenager making his Grand Slam debut at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships, he defeated seventh-seeded Roger Federer. This win also made him the last player to defeat Federer at Wimbledon and on grass courts. His best performance at Grand Slams came at the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, when he reached the semifinals. Due to his success at Wimbledon and grass courts, many saw in Mario a successor of Goran Ivanišević, the 2001 Wimbledon Champion and a former No. 2 in singles, earning a nickname New Goran and Baby Goran. During 2007 and 2008, mononucleosis and minor injuries forced him to miss many major events, and his ranking dropped from No. 9 in January 2007 to No. 135 in January 2008. He was coached by Fredrik Rosengren from August 2005 – October 2008.
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Military Commander
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was a Roman statesman and general. He was a close friend, son-in-law, lieutenant and defence minister to Octavian, the future Emperor Caesar Augustus and father-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius, maternal grandfather of the Emperor Caligula, and maternal great-grandfather of the Emperor Nero. He was responsible for most of Octavian’s military victories, most notably winning the naval Battle of Actium against the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII of Egypt.
Toni Kukoč
Basketball Player
Toni Kukoč is a retired Croatian professional basketball player. Kukoč was renowned for his versatility and passing ability; although his natural position was small forward, he played all five positions on the court with prowess and demonstrated court vision and an outside shooting touch that were seldom found in players of his height. After a highly successful period in European basketball, Kukoč was one of the first established European stars to play in the National Basketball Association.
Siniša Mihajlović
Soccer Midfielder
Siniša Mihajlović is a Serbian football manager and former player. He was in charge of Serie A club Fiorentina from June 2010 to November 2011. As of May 2012, he is the manager of the Serbian national football team. Mihajlović has 63 caps and scored 9 goals for Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2003, of which his first caps in 1991 represented SFR Yugoslavia. His He played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000 tournaments. He is considered by many to be among the best free kick takers of all time, and holds the all-time Serie A free-kick record with 27 goals scored from free-kicks during his fourteen seasons in the top Italian league.
Darijo Srna
Soccer Midfielder
Darijo Srna is a Croatian footballer who plays for Shakhtar Donetsk as a captain and is also the captain of the Croatian national team. He can play as a right back and at right midfield and is known for his crossing and freekick ability. He began his career at Hajduk Split, before moving to Shakhtar in 2003. He has won numerous trophies during his time at Shakhtar, including a UEFA Cup title in 2009, 7 Ukrainian Premier League titles, 5 Ukrainian Cup titles and 5 Ukrainian Super Cup titles. Srna made his international debut for Croatia in November 2002. In 2009, manager Slaven Bilić made him the captain of the national team. He is the most capped player in the history of Croatian national team, and has represented the country on 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2004, UEFA Euro 2008 and UEFA Euro 2012. He is considered to be one of the most legendary players in the history of Shakhtar Donetsk.
Ivica Olić
Soccer
Ivica Olić is a Croatian professional footballer who plays for VfL Wolfsburg in Germany and Croatian national team. He was named Croatian Footballer of the Year in 2009 and 2010. Olić represented his country in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and 2006 FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Euro 2004, and the UEFA Euro 2008. With Bayern Munich he appeared in two UEFA Champions League finals in 2010 and 2012. He has been described as a relentless pursuer of the ball and possessing "power and a decent bit of pace with him." Former Croatia manager Slaven Bilić described him as a typical "match-winner" and "king of important matches", due to his ability to score in important matches against big opponents.
Franjo Tuđman
Military Commander
Franjo Tuđman was a Croatian politician. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia he became the first President of Croatia. In his youth he fought during World War II as a member of the Yugoslav partisans, becoming later the youngest general in the Yugoslav army. After his military career, he worked as a historian until coming into conflict with the regime. He lived relatively anonymously in the following years until the end of communism, whereupon he began his political career by founding the Croatian Democratic Union in 1989. He became President in 1990, as the HDZ won the first post-communist multi-party elections, and a year later he proclaimed Croatian independence. He was re-elected twice and remained in power until his death in 1999. In May 2013, the ICTY, in a first-instance verdict against Jadranko Prlić, found that Tuđman took part in the joint criminal enterprise against the non-Croat population of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Peja Stojaković
Basketball Player
Predrag Stojaković, also known by his nickname Peja, is a former Serbian professional basketball player who also holds Greek passport. He last played for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. Standing at 6 ft 10, Stojaković played the small forward position and was known for his great shooting ability. He was the winner of the NBA All-Star Weekend Three-Point Shootout twice, and the first European-born player to win one of the All-Star Weekend competitions. Stojaković is sixth all-time in regular season three-point field goals made in the NBA. After a career start in Crvena zvezda and while playing for PAOK, Stojaković was drafted fourteenth overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 1996 NBA Draft. In the NBA, he had a breakthrough season in 2000-01 following two seasons on the bench, averaging 20.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting .400 from three-point range in his first season as a starter. He finished second in voting for the 2001 Most Improved Player Award. A three-time All-star and a member of the 2004 All-NBA Second Team, Stojaković enjoyed success with the Kings reaching the 2002 Western Conference Finals. He also played for the Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets and Toronto Raptors. Stojaković won an NBA Championship in 2011 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks.
Rade Serbedzija
Actor
Rade Šerbedžija, occasionally credited as Rade Sherbedgia in some English-language productions, is a Croatian actor, director, and musician, of Serb ancestry. He is known for his portrayals of imposing figures on both sides of the law. He was one of the most popular Yugoslav actors in the 1970s and 1980s. He is now internationally known mainly for his supporting roles in Hollywood films startingin the early 1990s to the present. Šerbedžija also received attention for his recurring role as former Soviet Army General Dmitri Gredenko in the sixth season of TV action series 24.
Niko Kranjčar
Soccer
Niko Kranjčar is a Croatian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Queens Park Rangers on loan from Dynamo Kyiv and the Croatia national team. He represented two of the biggest clubs in his homeland, playing for Dinamo Zagreb before sparking controversy by making a move to their fierce rivals Hajduk Split in January 2005. A transfer to England with Portsmouth soon followed in August 2006, and after several years of attempting to hold on to their key players, Portsmouth decided to sell him at the start of the 2009–10 season, opening the way for a move to Tottenham in September 2009, where he was reunited with his former manager at Portsmouth, Harry Redknapp. Hailed as the next Robert Prosinečki, Kranjčar was given his international debut by his father Zlatko in August 2004. Since then, Kranjčar has represented his country on 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008 and UEFA Euro 2012. So far he has won 81 caps for the Croatia national team, scoring 16 goals in the process. Kranjčar spent his childhood years in Austria, when his father Zlatko played for Rapid Vienna, thus holding an Austrian passport, counting as an EU player before Croatia joined the EU in 2013.
Petra Martić
Tennis Player
Petra Martić is a professional tennis player from Croatia. Her highest career ranking is World No. 42, achieved on 11 June 2012.
Donna Vekić
Tennis Player
Donna Vekić is a Croatian tennis player. She has won four singles and one doubles title on the ITF tour in her career and on 15 July 2013 reached a singles ranking high of world number 62. Vekić won the Croatian national junior championships in 2011. Vekić is a member of the Croatia Fed Cup team and in February 2012 played three rubbers at the tournament, including helping her country to a 2–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Goran Višnjić
Actor
Goran Višnjić is an actor.
Iva Majoli
Tennis Player
Iva Majoli Marić is a former professional tennis player from Croatia. She upset Martina Hingis to win the women's singles title at the French Open in 1997. Majoli also won eight singles titles and one women's doubles title during her career.
Laura Antonelli
Actor
Laura Antonelli is a retired Italian film actress, who appeared in 45 movies between 1965 and 1991.
Alida Valli
Actor
Alida Valli, sometimes simply credited as Valli, stage name of Baroness Alida Maria Laura Altenburger von Marckenstein u. Frauenberg, was an Austro-Italian actress who appeared in more than 100 films, including Mario Soldati's Piccolo mondo antico, Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case, Carol Reed's The Third Man, Michelangelo Antonioni's Il Grido, Luchino Visconti's Senso, Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900 and Dario Argento's Suspiria.
Valens
Monarch
he was awesome Valens was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 364 to 378. He was given the eastern half of the empire by his brother Valentinian I after the latter's accession to the throne. Valens, sometimes known as the Last True Roman, was defeated and killed in the Battle of Adrianople, which marked the beginning of the collapse of the decaying Western Roman Empire.
Danijel Ljuboja
Soccer
Danijel Ljuboja is a Serbian footballer forward currently playing for French Ligue 2 side RC Lens. He is a talented player known for his passing and ability with set pieces. He represented Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Oliver Dragojević
Singer
Oliver Dragojević is one of the most popular Croatian pop singers.
Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp
Military Person
Korvettenkapitän Georg Johannes, Ritter von Trapp, known as Baron von Trapp, was an Austro-Hungarian Navy officer. His exploits at sea during World War I earned him numerous decorations, including the prestigious Military Order of Maria Theresa. The story of his family served as the inspiration for the musical The Sound of Music.
Zvonimir Boban
Soccer Midfielder
Zvonimir Boban is a former Croatian football midfielder who played most of his professional career for Serie A club Milan with whom he won four Serie A and one UEFA Champions League titles. He also captained the Croatia national team which won third place at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Before 1990 and the international recognition of Croatia's national team, Boban had played for the Yugoslavia under-20 team which won the 1987 World Youth Championship. Boban scored three times in this tournament, as well as scoring his penalty in the decisive shootout in the final. Having made his debut for the full Yugoslavia team in 1988, Boban, a fierce patriot, switched to playing for Croatia after the national team's inception, debuting against Romania in December 1990. Having appeared seven times for Yugoslavia, scoring once, Boban was capped 51 times for Croatia, scoring 12 goals, between 1990 and 1999. Since retiring from playing in 2002, Boban gained a history degree from the University of Zagreb. He has also become a football pundit on Croatian and Italian television, working most notably for SKY Italia and RTL Televizija. He has a reputation as an outspoken analyst.
Alen Halilović
Soccer Midfielder
Alen Halilović is a Croatian footballer, who plays as a attacking midfielder for Dinamo Zagreb in the Prva HNL. He is the first division's youngest ever goalscorer and also the youngest ever debutant for the Croatian national team. He is considered to be one of the greatest young talents of European football.
Emir Spahić
Soccer
Emir Spahić is a Bosnian footballer playing for Bayer 04 Leverkusen and captains the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
Franz von Suppé
Composer
Franz von Suppé or Francesco Suppé Demelli was an Austrian composer of light operas from the Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austro-Hungarian Empire. A composer and conductor of the Romantic period, he is notable for his four dozen operettas.
Tony Cetinski
Pop Artist
Anthony Cetinski is a Croatian pop singer. Today, he is one of the most popular male singers in Croatia and he is also popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro.
Alen Bokšić
Soccer
Alen Bokšić is a former football attacker from Croatia. He was a renowned forward known for his technique and is regarded as one of the best Croatian footballers of all time. Bokšić was voted fourth for the 1993 European Footballer of the Year. Same year he was voted Croatian Footballer of the Year. He won UEFA Champions League with Olympique Marseille and Serie A with both Lazio and Juventus. He is voted as one of the best foreigners in the history of Serie A. He is currently assistant manager in Croatia national football team.
Dado Pršo
Soccer
Miladin "Dado" Pršo is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Pršo played for seven different teams and made over 300 league appearances as a professional. He was part of the Monaco team that reached the Uefa Champions League final in 2004, and part of the Rangers team that won the League and cup double in 2005. Pršo received 32 caps for Croatia and was part of the squad at Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006. He retired in June 2009 from the Scottish Premier League club Rangers.
Lidia Bastianich
Chef
Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, is an American chef, Emmy Award winning television host, author, and restaurateur. Specializing in Italian and Italian-American cuisine, Lidia has been a regular contributor to public television cooking show lineups since 1998. In 2011, she launched her fourth TV series, Lidia's Italy in America. She owns several Italian restaurants in the U.S. in partnership with her daughter Tanya Bastianich Manuali and her son, Joe Bastianich, including Felidia, Del Posto, Esca, and Becco in Manhattan; Lidia's Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Lidia's Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri.
Aloysius Stepinac
Cardinal
Aloysius Viktor Stepinac was a Croatian Catholic cardinal and Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 to 1960. In 1998 he was declared a martyr and beatified by Pope John Paul II. Stepinac was ordained on October 26, 1930 by archbishop Giuseppe Palica, and in 1931 he became a parish curate in Zagreb. He established the archdiocesan branch of Caritas in 1931, and was appointed coadjutor to the see of Zagreb in 1934. When Archbishop Anton Bauer died on December 7, 1937, Stepinac succeeded him as the Archbishop of Zagreb. During World War II, on 6 April 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by Nazi Germany, who established the Ustaše-led Independent State of Croatia. As archbishop of the puppet state's capital, Stepinac had close associations with the Ustaše leaders during the Nazi occupation, had issued proclamations celebrating the NDH, and welcomed the Ustaše leaders. Despite initially welcoming the Independent State of Croatia, Stepinac subsequently condemned the Nazi-aligned state's atrocities against Jews and Serbs. He objected to the persecution of Jews and Nazi laws, helped Jews and others to escape and criticized Ustaše atrocities in front of Zagreb Cathedral in 1943.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Psychologist
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is a Hungarian psychology professor, who emigrated to the United States at the age of 22. Now at Claremont Graduate University, he is the former head of the department of psychology at the University of Chicago and of the department of sociology and anthropology at Lake Forest College. He is noted for his work in the study of happiness and creativity, but is best known as the architect of the notion of flow and for his years of research and writing on the topic. He is the author of many books and over 120 articles or book chapters. Martin Seligman, former president of the American Psychological Association, described Csikszentmihalyi as the world's leading researcher on positive psychology. Csikszentmihalyi once said "Repression is not the way to virtue. When people restrain themselves out of fear, their lives are by necessity diminished. Only through freely chosen discipline can life be enjoyed and still kept within the bounds of reason." His works are influential and are widely cited.
Igor Tudor
Soccer Midfielder
Igor Tudor is a Croatian former football defender and current manager of Croatian club Hajduk Split. He was considered one of Croatia's best defenders in the period between the late 1990s and mid-2000s. Tudor announced his retirement on 22 July 2008, at the mere age of 30, after the problems with his right ankle reappeared. He spent his last season playing for his youth club, Hajduk Split.
Vladimir Šeks
Politician
Vladimir Šeks is an influential Croatian politician, a member of the Croatian Democratic Union. He has been a representative in the Croatian Parliament since the nation's independence, and has held the posts of the Speaker of the Parliament as well as Deputy Prime Minister of the Government. Šeks graduated from the Law Faculty in Zagreb in 1966. From 1972 to 1981 he worked as an attorney. In 1981 he was arrested for "anti-state actions" against communist Yugoslavia. He served 13 months in the Stara Gradiška prison. Afterwards he was an attorney for dissidents, like in case of Belgrade six in 1984—1985. In 1990, Vladimir Šeks was one of the founders of the Osijek branch of the Croatian Democratic Union. In 1991, he was a notable figure in the Croatian War of Independence, and he was also one of the main drafters of the Constitution of Croatia. In 1992, he was named the State Prosecutor of the Republic of Croatia. Vladimir Šeks has been among the deputies of the President of the Government of Croatia under Hrvoje Šarinić and Nikica Valentić from 1992 to 1995. Šeks served as the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament from 22 December 2003 to 11 January 2008.
Danijel Pranjić
Soccer Midfielder
Danijel Pranjić is a Croatian footballer who plays for Greek club Panathinaikos as a Left winger.
Sylva Koscina
Actor
Sylva Koscina was an Italian actress.
Dino Rađa
Basketball Player
Dino Rađa, transcribed in English as Dino Radja, is a retired Croatian basketball player. He was a member of the Jugoplastika team of the late 1980s and early 1990s, which he helped in winning two European Championship titles. In the United States he is best known for the three and a half seasons spent with the Boston Celtics of the NBA.
Maksim
Crossover Artist
Maksim Mrvica is a Croatian pianist. He plays classical crossover music.
Ivan Perišić
Soccer Midfielder
Ivan Perišić is a Croatian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg. He usually plays as a winger, but can also be deployed as an attacking midfielder or second striker. He is well known for his shot technique and ambidextrous quality. Product of Hajduk Split youth academy, Perišić made name for himself while playing for Club Brugge, where he was the Belgian Pro League top goalscorer and was named Belgian Footballer of the Year for 2011. This earned him a transfer to Borussia Dortmund, with whom he won the 2011–12 Bundesliga before signing with VfL Wolfsburg for €8 million in January 2013. He made his debut for the Croatia national team in 2011.
Sergio Endrigo
Singer
Sergio Endrigo was an Italian singer-songwriter. Born in Pola, Istria, he has been often compared—for style and nature—to authors of the so-called "Genoa school" like Gino Paoli, Fabrizio De André, Luigi Tenco, and Bruno Lauzi. He won the Sanremo Music Festival in 1968 with the song "Canzone per te", sung with Roberto Carlos. The same year he represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song "Marianne."
Stjepan Mesić
Politician
Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić is a Croatian politician who served as the second President of Croatia, 2000 to 2010. Before his ten-year presidential term between 2000 and 2010 he held the posts of Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Prime Minister of Croatia, the last President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia, Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement, a judge in Našice and mayor of his home town of Orahovica. Mesić was a deputy in the Croatian Parliament in the 1960s, and was then absent from politics until 1990 when he joined the Croatian Democratic Union, and was named Prime Minister after HDZ won the elections. He was appointed to serve as SR Croatia's member of the Yugoslav Federal Presidency where he served first as Vice President and then in 1991 as the last President of Yugoslavia before Yugoslavia dissolved. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, Mesić served as Speaker of the Croatian Parliament from 1992 to 1994, when he left HDZ. With several other members of parliament, he formed a new party called Croatian Independent Democrats. In 1997 the majority of HND members, including Mesić, merged into the Croatian People's Party.
Rüstem Pasha
Politician
Rüstem Pasha Opuković was an Ottoman statesman. He served as the grand vizier of sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Rüstem Pasha is also known as Damat Rüstem Pasha because of his marriage to one of the sultan's daughters.
Miroslav Krleža
Novelist
Miroslav Krleža was a leading Croatian writer and a prominent figure in cultural life of both Yugoslav states, the Kingdom and the Socialist Republic. He has often been proclaimed the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century.
Ivano Balić
Professional Team Handball Player
Ivano Balić is a Croatian handballer, world and Olympic champion. He plays for the German team HSG Wetzlar. In 2010, he was chosen the best male handball player ever in a fans' poll organized by the International Handball Federation. He was voted 6 times in a row as the most valuable player in major international competitions.
Jadranka Kosor
Politician
Jadranka Kosor is a Croatian politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2009 to 2011, having taken office following the sudden resignation of her predecessor Ivo Sanader. Kosor was the first woman to become Prime Minister of Croatia since independence. Kosor started working as a journalist, following her graduation on the Zagreb Law School. During the Croatian War of Independence, she hosted a radio show dealing with refugee problems and disabled war veterans. She joined the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union in 1989 and quickly climbed up the party hierarchy. In 1995 she was elected party vice-president and was elected to serve in Parliament for the first time. After the death of President and longtime HDZ leader Franjo Tuđman, Kosor supported Ivo Sanader's successful party leadership bid in 2000. Three years later, her party won the parliamentary election and Kosor became the Minister of Family, Veterans' Affairs and Inter-generational Solidarity in the Sanader I and, later, Sanader II cabinet, during which time she served as Deputy Prime Minister as well. In the 2005 presidential election she ran as a representative of HDZ, but lost to incumbent President Stipe Mesić in the second round. After the abrupt resignation of Sanader, Kosor managed to form a functioning parliamentary majority and was approved to her new post as Prime Minister in July 2009, also becoming leader of her party. Kosor was the party's candidate for Prime Minister in the 2011 general election, but HDZ lost in a landslide over the centre-left Kukuriku coalition, led by the Social Democratic Party. Kosor handed power to the new Prime Minister, Zoran Milanović, in December 2011.
Ivan Meštrović
Sculpture Artist
Ivan Meštrović was a Croatian sculptor and architect. He stands among the greatest sculptors of the 20th century. He was the first living person to have a one man show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Ivo Sanader
Politician
Ivo Sanader is a Croatian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009. Sanader obtained his education in comparative literature in Austria, where he also worked as a journalist, in marketing, publishing and also as a private entrepreneur. In the 1990s, he was briefly in charge of the theatre in Split before becoming the Minister of Science and Technology as a member of the Croatian Democratic Union. Soon thereafter, he moved to diplomacy, and served two terms as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was elected leader of the HDZ party in 2000 and 2002, and with them won the 2003 election, becoming the Prime Minister. He was also reelected in the 2007 parliamentary elections. In June 2009, Sanader abruptly resigned his post, leaving scarce explanation for his actions, and rumours of involvement in various criminal cases circulated. In January 2010, he tried to stage a political comeback inside HDZ, but was ejected from party membership. In December 2010, the Croatian authorities charged him in two high-profile corruption indictments, however he fled the country and was arrested in Austria, being extradited to Croatia in July 2011. In November 2012 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison in a first instance verdict.
Stipe Pletikosa
Soccer
Stipe Pletikosa is a Croatian football goalkeeper who plays for the Russian Premier League club FC Rostov and the Croatian national team. Pletikosa started his professional career with Hajduk Split, from where he was transferred to Shakhtar Donetsk, before joining Spartak Moscow in 2007. In 2011, after spending one season with Tottenham Hotspur, he signed with FC Rostov. He made his international debut for Croatia in 1999, and has since then represented the country in four major tournaments. After Darijo Srna, he is the second most capped player in the history of Croatia national team, for which he has made 107 appearances.
Karolina Šprem
Tennis Player
Karolina Šprem is a professional tennis player from Croatia. She has won eleven titles all at the ITF level. Her highest ranking is world no. 17, which she achieved in October 2004.
Valentinian I
Monarch
Valentinian I, also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west. During his reign, Valentinian fought successfully against the Alamanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians. Most notable was his victory over the Alamanni in 367 at the Battle of Solicinium. His brilliant general Count Theodosius defeated a revolt in Africa and the Great Conspiracy, a coordinated assault on Roman Britain by Picts, Scots, and Saxons. Valentinian was also the last emperor to conduct campaigns across both the Rhine and Danube rivers. Valentinian rebuilt and improved the fortifications along the frontiers, even building fortresses in enemy territory. Due to the successful nature of his reign and almost immediate decline of the empire after his death, he is often considered the "last great western emperor". He founded the Valentinian Dynasty, with his sons Gratian and Valentinian II succeeding him in the western half of the empire.
Jelena Rozga
Musical Artist
Jelena Rozga is a Croatian pop singer. She became the lead singer of the popular band Magazin in 1996, when she was 18 years old. In 2006 she left Magazin and released her first solo album, Oprosti mala, on Croatia Records. In 2007 she won the Grand Prix at the Split Festival.
Tatjana Simić
Singer
Tatjana Šimić, also known by the mononym Tatjana, is a Croatian-Dutch model, actress and singer.
Ivo Josipović
Politician
Ivo Josipović is the third President of Croatia since 2010. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communists of Croatia, and played a key role in the democratic transformation of this party as the author of the first statute of the SDP that replaced the SKH-SKJ. He left politics in 1994, but returned in 2003 as an independent Member of Parliament. In addition to politics, Josipović has also worked as a university professor, legal expert, musician and composer. Josipović entered the 2009–2010 presidential election as the official candidate of the SDP, which he had rejoined in 2008. In the first round he topped eleven rivals with 32.4% of the vote, and entered the second round with the independent candidate Milan Bandić who had secured 14.8%. He went from being almost unknown to the general public in Croatia to winning 60.26% in the final election. He campaigned for Nova Pravednost, calling for a new social and legal framework to address the deep social injustices, corruption and organised crime. This includes the protection of individual rights and the promotion of such fundamental values as equality, human rights, LGBT rights, justice, diligence, social empathy and creativity.
Dario Šimić
Soccer
Dario Šimić is a retired Croatian football player. Šimić was a versatile defender who played as full-back, sweeper or centre back. A product of Dinamo Zagreb Academy, he later played for Serie A sides Inter Milan and AC Milan and Ligue 1 side Monaco, before returning to Dinamo Zagreb in 2010, where he retired from the game during the same year. Šimić also played for Croatia national football team and is the team's most capped player, having won a total of 100 international caps between 1996 and 2008. He was member of Croatia's squad in all six major tournaments they qualified for during the 1990s and 2000s, which includes three FIFA World Cups and three UEFA European Championships.
Marko Livaja
Soccer
Marko Livaja is a Croatian footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Atalanta. Livaja began his professional career with Internazionale in 2011, having played in the youth academies of various teams in Croatia and Italy. Unable to fully break into the Inter team, he spent a short period of time on loan to Lugano, and the first six months of the 2011–12 season on loan to Cesena In January 2013, after making six league appearances for Internazionale, current club Atalanta bought out Cesena's stake in Livaja, and he joined their senior ranks. Livaja has played for Croatia at every level from the under-15s to the under-21s, but is yet to make his full international debut.
Dario Šarić
Basketball Player
Dario Šarić is a Croatian professional basketball player. He currently plays for Cibona.
Momčilo Bajagić
Hard rock Artist
Momčilo Bajagić "Bajaga" is a highly popular Serbian rock musician. He is best known as the leader of the Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Bajaga i Instruktori, as well as a former member of the rock band Riblja Čorba.
Sandra Perković
Olympic Track and field Athlete
Sandra Perković is a Croatian discus thrower, reigning European, World and Olympic champion. Perković's successful junior career culminated in winning gold at the 2009 European Junior Championships with a new national record. A month later, she made the final of the World Championships as the youngest discus thrower in the field. In her first year of senior competition she won gold at the 2010 European Championships, becoming the youngest ever European champion in women's discus throw. A six-month doping suspension after testing positive for a banned psychostimulant kept her out of competition for most of the 2011 season, including the World Championships, but she returned in strong form in 2012 and successfully defended her title in the European Championships. Perković is coached by Edis Elkasević. Her personal best and national record is 69.11 meters, set in August 2012 at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Antonija Mišura
Olympic Basketball Player
Antonija Mišura is a Croatian professional basketball player. She plays for Toulouse Métropole Basket in the Ligue Féminine de Basketball and for the Croatia women's national basketball team. Mišura has represented the national team in the 2009 Mediterranean Games, EuroBasket Women 2011, and the 2012 Olympics. She plays as a point guard and shooting guard, and is noted for her quick, at times explosive, style of play. Mišura has also been featured in several polls for the most beautiful sportswoman, and her looks have attracted significant media attention.
Roko Ukić
Basketball Shooting guard
Roko-Leni Ukić is a Croatian professional basketball player who plays for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League. Ukić mainly plays at the point guard position, but he can also play shooting guard. He is 6 ft 5 in tall and weighs 190 lb.
Tereza Kesovija
Chanson Artist
Tereza Ana Kesovija is an internationally acclaimed Croatian singer. She is one of the most recognizable figures on the Balkan music scene, and is renowned for her wide vocal range and operatic style. She also had a successful career in France. She has held many concerts around the world.
Nikola Kalinić
Soccer
Nikola Kalinić is a Croatian footballer who plays for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the Ukrainian Premier League.
Tin Jedvaj
Soccer Defender
Tin Jedvaj is a Croatian footballer who plays as a defender for A.S. Roma. Jedvaj was considered a "big" signing for A.S. Roma because he was purchased for a hefty sum of €5 million at only 17 years old.
Antonio Veić
Tennis Player
Antonio Veić is a professional Croatian tennis player. His highest singles ranking is 119, which was reached on May 14, 2012.
Nikola Pilić
Tennis Tournament Champion
Nikola "Niki" Pilić is a retired Croatian professional tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia. He was one of the Handsome Eight. Pilić was ranked World No. 6 in January 1968 and World No. 7 for 1967 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph.
Šime Vrsaljko
Soccer
Šime Vrsaljko is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a right back for Genoa CFC and the Croatian national team. His preferred position is right back, but can also play as a left back, making him a very versatile player. He made his national team debut in February 2011 and represented the country at UEFA Euro 2012. Vrsaljko has been hailed as one of the most talented Croatian footballers, drawing parallels with Luka Modrić who – like Vrsaljko – grew up in Zadar and later came through Dinamo Zagreb's youth ranks.
Zoran Milanović
Politician
Zoran Milanović is the Prime Minister of Croatia and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia, the largest centre-left political party in Croatia. After graduating from the Zagreb Law School, Milanović started working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served as counselor at the Croatian Mission to the European Union and NATO in Brussels from 1996 to 1999. That same year he joined the Social Democratic Party. In 1998 he earned his Master's degree in European Union law at the Flemish University in Brussels and was assistant Foreign Minister of the Republic of Croatia for political multilateral affairs in 2003. He was the coordinator of the Social Democrats in the 4th constituency in 2006 and was elected party leader in June 2007, following the death of longtime leader and former Prime Minister Ivica Račan, running on a reformist platform. After endorsing Ljubo Jurčić as the party's official candidate for Prime Minister, Milanović set out his goal of making SDP the largest political party in Parliament. In the 2007 general election the Social Democrats came in second and were unable to form a governing majority. Despite losing the election, he was reelected party leader in 2008 and served as Leader of the Opposition until the next election cycle. In 2011, Milanović initiated the formation of the Kukuriku coalition, uniting four major centre-left political parties in the country. The coalition won the 2011 parliamentary election in a landslide, with SDP becoming the strongest party in Parliament. Milanović became Prime Minister in December 2011, after Parliament approved his cabinet by a large majority.
Ante Tomić
Basketball Center
Ante Tomić is a Croatian professional basketball player for FC Barcelona of the Spanish League. He is a 7 ft 2 in tall center.
Ognjen Vukojević
Soccer Midfielder
Ognjen Vukojević is a Croatian footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Dynamo Kyiv.
Ajla Tomljanović
Tennis Player
Ajla Tomljanović is a Croatian professional tennis player. She is former junior World No. 4. Partnering with Christina McHale, she won the 2009 Australian Open in Girls' Doubles. Tomljanović won her first ITF singles event in January 2010.
Robert Jarni
Soccer Midfielder
Robert Jarni is a retired Croatian footballer who played as left winger or wingback. He is now a manager, but is currently without a club after resigning from his managerial post at Istra 1961 in September 2010. Jarni started his professional career with Hajduk Split in 1986, and went on to spend 10 years playing for various clubs in Italy and Spain before finishing his career as a player in Greece with Panathinaikos in 2002. He was a regular in the Croatian national football team between 1990 and 2002, winning a total of 81 international caps for Croatia and being the national team's record cap holder until June 2006, when his record was beaten by Dario Šimić. Prior to Croatia's independence, he also won 7 international caps for Yugoslavia. Jarni participated in three FIFA World Cup finals, in 1990 with Yugoslavia and in 1998 and 2002 with Croatia, making a total of 11 appearances in the competition. The crowning moment of his career was the 1998 World Cup in France, where he appeared in all of Croatia's 7 matches at the tournament and helped them win the bronze medals in their first World Cup appearance. He also scored his only international goal for Croatia during the tournament, netting the opening goal in their 3-0 win over Germany in the quarter-finals.
Danijel Subašić
Soccer
Danijel Subašić is a Croatian football goalkeeper playing for Monaco in Ligue 1.
Dino Dvornik
Pop Artist
Miljenko "Dino" Dvornik was a Croatian singer, songwriter, music producer, actor and reality television star.
Boris Vukčević
Soccer Midfielder
Boris Vukčević is a German professional footballer of Croatian descent who currently plays for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
Mate Parlov
Professional Boxer
Mate Parlov was a Yugoslav boxer, and an Olympic gold medalist who was European and World Champion as amateur and as professional. Parlov is universally regarded as the greatest Croatian and Yugoslavian boxer of all time, as well as one of the greatest Croatian sportspeople of the 20th century.
Doris Dragovic
Pop Artist
Doris Dragović, also known as Doris Johnson is a Croatian singer-songwriter. She represented Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 with the song "Željo moja", finishing the 11th with 49 points, and Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 with the song "Marija Magdalena", finishing fourth with 118 points.
Boško Balaban
Soccer
Boško Balaban is a Croatian footballer who is currently playing for Terengganu FA in the Malaysia Super League as a striker until 2013 when Balaban's contract was not extended after a mutual agreement. He is a former member of the Croatia national team.
Ödön von Horváth
Author
Edmund Josef von Horváth was a German-writing Austro-Hungarian-born playwright and novelist. He preferred the Hungarian version of his first name and published as Ödön von Horváth.
Ivan Turina
Soccer
Ivan Turina was a Croatian footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a goalkeeper.
Igor Bišćan
Soccer Midfielder
Igor Bišćan is a retired Croatian professional footballer. Bišćan played for Dinamo Zagreb, the English team Liverpool and Greek side Panathinaikos. Bišćan represented Croatia at the international level, debuting in UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying match against Macedonia in Skopje on 13 June 1999.
Arsen Dedić
Singer
Arsen Dedić is a Croatian singer-songwriter who has been prominent in the Croatian as well as former Yugoslav music scene. Dedić writes and performs chansons as well as film music. He is also an award-winning poet, and has been one of the best-selling poets of former Yugoslavia.
Mihovil Nakić-Vojnović
Athlete
Mihovil Nakić-Vojnović is a former Croatian basketball player. A 2.04 m tall forward, he spent most of his career in Cibona, which he helped to back to back Euroleague titles in 1985 and 1986 as well as the Saporta Cup in 1987, always backing the great Dražen Petrović. He also won the 1982 Saporta Cup with Cibona in the pre-Drazen era. He was nominated for the Euroleague's 50 Greatest Contributors list in 2008. Nakić works now as Cibona's sports director. Nakić collected the gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games and the bronze medal in the 1984 Olympics. He also was part of the Yugoslavian national team that won the bronze medal in the 1979 Eurobasket.
Magdalena Vranicic
Woman
Magdalena Vranicic is the mother of author Antonio Skármeta.
Antonio Skármeta Simunovic
Man
Antonio Skármeta Simunovic was the father of author Antonio Skármeta.