Famous people from Cyprus
Here is a list of famous people from Cyprus. Curious if anybody from Cyprus made it our most famous people in the world list? Read the aformentioned article in order to find out.
Marcos Baghdatis
Tennis Player
Marcos Baghdatis is a Greek-Cypriot professional tennis player. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships and reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 8 in August 2006.
Anna Vissi
Pop Artist
Anna Vissi, also known as Anna Vishy, is a Cypriot recording artist and actress. Born in Cyprus, she studied music at conservatories and performed locally before moving to the professional scene in Athens, Greece in 1973, where she signed with Minos and simultaneously collaborated with other musical artists and released promotional singles of her own while studying at the University of Athens. Vissi established herself in the recording industry by winning the Thessaloniki Song Festival in 1978 with the song "As Kanoume Apopse Mian Arhi" and releasing her debut album of the same name. Since the 1980s, Vissi began a nearly exclusive collaboration with songwriter Nikos Karvelas, to whom she was married to from 1983–1992 and had one child with, resulting in one of the most successful music partnerships in the nation's history. Together they created the label CarVi, which resulted in legal issues with EMI Greece, and they then moved to CBS Records Greece, which later became Sony Music Greece. Over the course of her career she has released over two dozen albums, most of which have been certified at least gold in the two countries and has also starred in three theatrical productions and briefly ventured into television and radio. Vissi experimented with different styles of music; after becoming one of the first Greek artists to introduce Western pop and dance elements into Greek laïko and entehno, she became one of the most prominent portrayers of the laïko-pop hybrid genre and culture that was thriving from the mid-1990s into the mid-2000s. She landed her biggest commercial success with Fotia, followed by the double Kravgi, which became the best-selling album of the 2000s decade and eighth best-selling of all time in terms of units, while five others – Kitrino Galazio, I Epomeni Kinisi, Klima Tropiko, Travma, and Antidoto – have also achieved six figure sales. She has also had several radio hits, including her signature song "Dodeka". However, since her image change and turn to more commercial laïko-pop and pop that defined most of her collaboration with Karvelas, her musical works have received mixed critical reception and as the 21st century progressed her popularity fell into decline. However, she kept a strong fan base, sold out tours and shows.
Barnabas
Religious Leader
Barnabas, born Joseph, was an early Christian, one of the earliest Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36 Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Named an apostle in Acts 14:14, he and Paul the Apostle undertook missionary journeys together and defended Gentile converts against the Judaizers. They traveled together making more converts, and participated in the Council of Jerusalem. Barnabas and Paul successfully evangelized among the "God-fearing" Gentiles who attended synagogues in various Hellenized cities of Anatolia. Barnabas' story appears in the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul mentions him in some of his epistles. Tertullian named him as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, but this and other attributions are conjecture. Clement of Alexandria ascribed the Epistle of Barnabas to him, but that is highly improbable. Although the date, place, and circumstances of his death are historically unverifiable, Christian tradition holds that Barnabas was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus, in 61 AD. He is traditionally identified as the founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church. The feast day of Barnabas is celebrated on June 11.
Simon Fuller
TV Program Creator
Simon Fuller is a British entrepreneur, artist manager and television producer. He is best known for being the creator of the Idol franchise, which was first seen in the UK under the name Pop Idol and created number one rated shows in other markets as well, including American Idol in the US. The franchise has been sold to more than 100 countries around the world. Fuller is also the co-creator and executive producer of the Fox TV reality shows So You Think You Can Dance, Q'Viva, and other U.S. and European TV shows. Fuller first came to significance through managing the female pop group the Spice Girls. He is currently the manager of performers and entertainers including David and Victoria Beckham, Annie Lennox, Steven Tyler, Lewis Hamilton, Andy Murray, Carrie Underwood, David Cook, Will Young, Emma Bunton, Lisa Marie Presley, Scotty McCreery, Cathy Dennis and Aloe Blacc. He is in partnership with the duo Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony. In 2007, Time magazine named Fuller one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2008, Fuller was certified as the most successful British music manager of all time by Billboard magazine. Fuller received the 2,441st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 23 May 2011. The 2012 Sunday Times Rich List values Fuller at £375m; the sixth richest music millionaire in Britain. In the Daily Mail in 2012, music promoter Harvey Goldsmith ranked Fuller at No.1 in a list of the greatest British Entrepreneurs, commenting; "he is a man of real vision".
Michael Bisping
Martial Artist
Michael Bisping is an English mixed martial artist currently fighting in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Bisping is a former Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Champion, and The Ultimate Fighter 3 Light Heavyweight Tournament winner. As of July 2013, Bisping is ranked the #5 middleweight in the world by Sherdog and #4 middleweight in the world on the official UFC rankings.
Theodora
Noble person
Theodora I, was empress of the Roman Empire and the wife of Emperor Justinian I. Theodora is perhaps the most influential and powerful woman in the Roman Empire's history. Some sources even mention her as empress regnant with Justinian I as her co-regent.
Zeno of Citium
Philosopher
Zeno of Citium was a Greek thinker from Citium, Cyprus. He was probably of Phoenician descent. Zeno was the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy, which he taught in Athens from about 300 BC. Based on the moral ideas of the Cynics, Stoicism laid great emphasis on goodness and peace of mind gained from living a life of Virtue in accordance with Nature. It proved very successful, and flourished as the dominant philosophy from the Hellenistic period through to the Roman era.
Leon Redbone
Blues Artist
Leon Redbone is a singer and guitarist specializing in interpretations of early 20th-century music, including jazz and blues standards and Tin Pan Alley classics. Recognized for his trademark Panama hat, dark sunglasses, and bow tie, Redbone first appeared on stage in Toronto, Canada in the mid-1970s. Redbone has released approximately fifteen albums and earned a sizable cult following. His concerts blend performance, comedy, and skilled instrumentals. Recurrent gags involve the influence of alcohol and claiming to have written works originating well before his time. He sang the theme to the television series Mr. Belvedere.
Mike Brant
Singer
Mike Brant was an Israeli pop star who achieved fame after moving to France. His most successful hit was "Laisse-moi t'aimer". Brant committed suicide at the height of his career by jumping from the window of a Paris apartment.
Mihalis Hatzigiannis
Pop Artist
Michalis Hatzigiannis is a popular Greek Cypriot recording artist. From 2000 to 2009, Hatzigiannis has received over 30 certifications in Greece alone, making him one of most successful artists of the decade. Hatzigiannis is also known for representing Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998. In 2010, Hatzigiannis released his first English language album in Europe. In 2010, Forbes listed Hatzigiannis as the 22nd most powerful and influential celebrity in Greece and fifth highest ranked singer.
Makarios III
Politician
Makarios III, born Michail Christodolou Mouskos, was the archbishop and primate of the autocephalous Cypriot Orthodox Church and the first President of the Republic of Cyprus. In his three terms as President of Cyprus, he survived four assassination attempts and a 1974 coup.
Guy of Lusignan
Military Commander
Guy of Lusignan was a Poitevin knight, son of Hugh VIII of the Lusignan dynasty. He was king of the crusader state of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 by right of marriage to Sibylla of Jerusalem, and of Cyprus from 1192 to 1194. Having arrived in the Holy Land at an unknown date, Guy was hastily married to Sibylla in 1180 to prevent a political incident within the kingdom. As Baldwin's health deteriorated, Guy was appointed regent of Jerusalem; at Sibylla's succession to the throne in 1186 she gave the crown to Guy as her king-consort. Guy's reign was marked by increased hostilities with the Ayyubids ruled by Saladin, culminating in the disastrous Battle of Hattin in July 1187—during which Guy was captured—and the fall of Jerusalem itself three months later. Following a year of imprisonment in Damascus, Guy was released by Saladin. After being denied entry to Tyre, one of the last crusader strongholds, by Conrad of Montferrat, Guy besieged Acre in 1189. The siege developed into a rallying point for the Third Crusade, led by Philip Augustus of France and Sibylla's first cousin once-removed, Richard the Lionheart. Guy entered a bitter row with Conrad over the kingship of Jerusalem; despite Richard's support for Guy, Conrad was elected king by the nobility of the kingdom. Conrad was assassinated by the Hashshashin days after the election; Richard's and Guy's involvement in the incident is suspected, but unproven. Nevertheless, Guy was compensated for the dispossession of his crown by being given lordship of Cyprus in 1192, which Richard had annexed from the Byzantine Empire en route to the Levant. Guy ruled the Kingdom of Cyprus until his death in 1194, when he was succeeded by his brother Amalric.
Ivi Adamou
Pop Artist
Ivi Adamou is a Greek Cypriot singer who rose to recognition in Greece and Cyprus following her participation in the second season of the Greek version of The X Factor, where she was under the mentorship of Giorgos Theofanous. Adamou secured a recording contract with Sony Music Greece and released her debut extended play Kalokairi Stin Kardia, which was certified gold. In the same year she collaborated with the Spiros Lambrou Choir and released the holiday EP Christougenna Me Tin Ivi Adamou, released as Christmas with Ivi Adamou abroad. Ivi Adamou represented Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song La La Love. She placed 16th in the grand final. Her new album, Eho Ourano, that will be released in summer of 2013, will include her latest singles "Time to Love" and "Ponane Oi Agapes". Since 2010, Ivi had several nominations in both the MAD Video Music Awards and the Madame Figaro Awards. However she has currently won four awards. She was awarded as the best Cypriot woman singer in 2010 and 2012. She was also awarded as the best singer in Cyprus in 2012 which was the first time that the award was given. In 2011, she received the award for the best video clip urban for her work with Stavento in "San Erthi I Mera".
Saint Spyridon
Deceased Person
Saint Spyridon, Bishop of Trimythous also sometimes written Saint Spiridon is a saint honoured in both the Eastern and Western Christian traditions.
Ziynet Sali
Pop Artist
Ziynet Sali is a British-Turkish Cypriot singer famous in Cyprus and Turkey.
Angela Bowie
Musician
Angela Bowie is an American cover girl, model, actress and musician. She was married to English musician David Bowie until their divorce in 1980; the couple had one child, film director Duncan Jones.
Theo Paphitis
Entrepreneur
Theo Paphitis is a retail magnate and British entrepreneur of Greek Cypriot origin. He is best known to the general public for his appearances on the BBC business programme Dragons' Den and as former chairman of Millwall Football Club. Paphitis has made the majority of his fortune in the retail sector. In 2006, he sold his equity stake in the lingerie brand La Senza for a reported £100 million. He is owner of the stationery chain Ryman and the hardware retailer Robert Dyas. In 2012, Paphitis was reported to have an estimated net worth of £210 million.
Hussein Chalayan
Film Director
Hussein Chalayan MBE is a British/Turkish Cypriot fashion designer. He has won the British Designer of the Year twice and was awarded the MBE in 2006.
Eleftheria Eleftheriou
Pop Artist
Eleftheria "Elle" Eleftheriou is a Greek-Cypriot singer and actress who came to prominence in Greece and Cyprus through her participation in the second season of Greece's version of the singing competition The X Factor. Her early elimination from the show was considered a shock to many. Shortly after her elimination, Sony Music Greece signed Eleftheria and submitted her as a candidate to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. She was later disqualified from the national final, following the leak of her song onto the web by an unknown party. Eleftheria had previously participated in the Cypriot national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Play That Melody To Me" featuring Maria Zorli, finishing seventh in the final. She is currently signed to Universal Music Greece, and is scheduled to release her debut album in October 2012. Eleftheria represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, with the song "Aphrodisiac", where she placed 17th.
Ada Nicodemou
Actor
Ada Nicodemou is a Greek Cypriot-born Australian actress, best known for her role as Leah Patterson-Baker in the soap opera Home and Away and as host of the reality series Please Marry My Boy
Nazim Al-Haqqani
Author
Mehmet Nâzım Adil, formally referred to as Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Qubrusi al-Haqqani, often called Shaykh Nazim, is a Turkish Cypriot Sufi Sheikh and leader of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Order. Born in Larnaca, Cyprus, Haqqani is claimed by followers to descent from a lineage including the 11th-century Sufi Saint Abdul Qadir Jilani and 13th-century mystical poet Jalaluddin Rumi.
Melinda McGraw
Actor
Melinda Leigh McGraw is an Cypriot-born American actress. She has starred in movies such as Albino Alligator, Wrongfully Accused, and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, and is also known for her television performances on The Commish, The X-Files, and Mad Men.
Tassos Papadopoulos
Politician
Tassos Nikolaou Papadopoulos was a Cypriot politician who served as the fifth President of the Republic of Cyprus from February 28, 2003 to February 28, 2008. His parents were Nicolas and Aggeliki from Assia. He was the first of three children. Papadopoulos attended the Ayios Kassianos and Elenio primary schools in Nicosia and then the Pancyprian Gymnasium. His father's circle which included lawyers and judges, were influential on his future career and he went on to study law at King's College London before becoming a barrister-at-law through Gray's Inn. His life in London would prove to be pivotal in his future political life. In the second year of his studies he lived with future politician Spyros Kyprianou and Lellos Demetriades both of whom had started their political life by founding EFEKA.
Evridiki
Pop Artist
Evridiki Theokleous, known professionally as simply Evridiki, is a Cypriot rock, pop, and electro pop singer. She is best known in Europe for representing her home country, Cyprus, in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1992, 1994 and 2007 with the songs Teriazoume, Eimai Anthropos Ki Ego and Comme Ci, Comme Ça, respectively.
Alkinoos Ioannidis
Lute Player
Alkinoos Ioannidis is a Greek-Cypriot composer, lyricist, singer, and orchestrator. He was born in Nicosia on 19 September 1969. His artistic family, with a painter father and poet brother was a source of inspiration for him. He first wanted to study drums, but couldn't due to the lack of a drum teacher in Nicosia. Instead, he studied guitar. For the first 20 years of his life, he lived in a Nicosia suburb. After his military service, he went off to Greece to study theatre. He also entered the School of Philosophy, University of Athens, which he later gave up. He was more successful in his theatre studies where he played some major roles in well known Greek tragedies such as Alcestis. At the age of 23 he recorded his first album called Stin Agora Tou Kosmou with lyrics and music written by Nikos Zoudiaris. This demo tape eventually reached the hands of a well known singer, Dimitra Galani. She instantly became fond of their music and Alkinoos' voice and helped them get a record deal. Alkinoos and Zoudiaris followed with another album called Opos Mistika Kai Isicha. Both albums turned gold.
Costa Philippou
Man
Constantinos "Costa" Philippou is a Cypriot mixed martial artist. He is currently fighting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the Middleweight division.
Alparslan Türkeş
Politician
Alparslan Türkeş was a Turkish nationalist politician who was the founder and former president of the Nationalist Movement Party party. He represented the far right of the Turkish political spectrum, and was court-martialed on the charges of "fascist and racist activities" in 1945, with the charges being dismissed in 1947. He was called "Başbuğ" by his devotees.
Christopher A. Pissarides
Economist
Sir Christopher Antoniou Pissarides FBA is a Cypriot/British economist. He is the School Professor of Economics & Political Science and Regius Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics. His research interests focus on several topics of macroeconomics, notably labour, economic growth, and economic policy. In 2010, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics, jointly with Peter A. Diamond and Dale Mortensen, for his contributions to the theory of search frictions and macroeconomics.
Michalis Konstantinou
Soccer
Michalis Konstantinou is a Cypriot football striker who last played for AEL Limassol. He played for the Cyprus national football team, and he is the all-time leading scorer with 32 goals in 85 appearances. He played also for Panathinaikos and Olympiacos.
Rauf Denktaş
Politician
Rauf Raif Denktaş, or Denktash was a Turkish Cypriot politician, barrister and jurist elected in 1973 as the Vice-President of the Republic of Cyprus. He later became recognised by Turkey as the founding President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, holding that position until 2005.
Nicos Anastasiades
Politician
Nicos Anastasiades is a Cypriot politician who has been President of Cyprus since 2013. Previously, he was leader of the center-right political party Democratic Rally.
Demetris Christofias
Politician
Demetris Christofias, also spelled Dimitris Christofias, is a left-wing Cypriot politician who was the sixth President of Cyprus from 2008 to 2013. Christofias was the General Secretary of AKEL, the communist party of Cyprus, and was the European Union's and Cyprus' first, and so far only, communist head of state. He won the 2008 Cypriot presidential elections in the second round of voting. Throughout the election campaign, he pledged to restart talks with Turkish Cypriots in order to find a solution to the Cyprus dispute and reunify the island. He has also supported the closure of the British military bases on Cyprus.
Stelarc
Visual Artist
Stelarc is a Cypriot-Australian performance artist whose works focuses heavily on extending the capabilities of the human body. As such, most of his pieces are centered on his concept that the human body is obsolete. Until 2007 he held the position of Principal Research Fellow in the Performance Arts Digital Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University in Nottingham, England. He is currently a visiting Professor in the School of Arts at Brunel University, West London.
Georgios Grivas
Military officer
Georgios Grivas, also known by his nom de guerre Digenis, which he adopted while in EOKA, was a Cyprus-born general in the Greek Army, leader of the EOKA guerrilla organization and EOKA B paramilitary organisation.
Michael Cacoyannis
Film Director
Michael Cacoyannis was a Cypriot filmmaker from Cyprus, best known for his 1964 film Zorba the Greek. He directed the 1983 Broadway revival of the musical based on the film. Much of his work was rooted in classical texts, especially those of the Greek tragedian Euripides. He was nominated for an Academy Award five times, a record for any Cypriot film artist. He received Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film nominations for Zorba the Greek, and two nominations in the Foreign Language Film category for Electra and Iphigenia.
Feri Cansel
Actor
Feriha "Feri" Cansel was a Turkish Cypriot actress. She was born Lefkoşa, Cyprus and spent her early youth in the United Kingdom, acquiring British citizenship and she became a hairdresser in London. Once settled in Turkey, she also obtained Turkish citizenship, marrying for convenience the janitor of the block of apartments in İstanbul where she lived concluding for that purpose. She started in show business as a stage stripper, and she appeared in her first film in 1964.
Sotiris Moustakas
Actor
Sotiris Moustakas was a Greek/Cypriot comedy actor.
Tio Ellinas
Athlete
Eftihios “Tio” Ellinas is a Cypriot race car driver. Tio began racing go-karts at the age of seven, and from 2003 - 2009 won 10 karting championships in Cyprus, in 2005 winning the ROK Cup International Final. He was the winner of Grand Prix Shootout in the UK in 2009 competing against 50 other top young drivers from all over the world. In 2010 he competed in the MSA Dunlop Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain racing with the JTR Team. He won three races and finished fourth in the championship, the highest placing for a novice driver since Jenson Button in 1998, earning him "Rookie Of The Year" honors. In 2011, Tio raced in the UK Formula Renault 2.0 championship for the Atech Reid GP Team, finishing third overall. He joined Marussia Manor Racing for the 2012 GP3 Series season. For 2013, he will test more than once for the Marussia F1 Team..
Nikos Sampson
Rebel
Nikos Sampson was the de facto president of Cyprus who succeeded Archbishop Makarios, after a coup d'état, as President of Cyprus, in 1974. Sampson was a journalist and a member of EOKA, which rose against the British colonial administration, seeking Enosis of the island of Cyprus with Greece. Suspected of the killing of three people he was imprisoned in Britain after a death sentence was commuted, returning after Cyprus's eventual independence. Upon his return upon the formation of the Republic of Cyprus, he entered politics, becoming a member of Parliament. Following the coup of 1974 by the Greek Junta, he was appointed President, and remained in the position for eight days. Following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on July 20 he resigned. He was later sentenced to twenty years in prison for abuse of power, the only person convicted vis-à-vis the coup, maintaining there had been a setup and cover up. He served most of his sentence in France due to poor health, where he had gone for medical treatment. He returned to Cyprus in 1990, and was pardoned the remainder of his sentence in 1993. He died of cancer in 2001.
Asil Nadir
Businessperson
Asil Nadir is a Turkish Cypriot former businessman, who was chief executive of Polly Peck, which he took over as a small textile company, growing it during the 1980s to become one of the United Kingdom's top 100 FTSE-listed companies, with interests in consumer electronics, fruit distribution and packaging. In 1990, the business collapsed following an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office and charges were brought against Asil Nadir on 70 counts of false accounting and theft, which he denied. From 1993 until 2010 Nadir lived in Northern Cyprus, having fled there to escape a trial in the UK. He remained a fugitive from British justice until 26 August 2010, when he returned to London to face trial. His trial commenced at the Old Bailey on 3 September 2010, on 13 specimen charges of false accounting and theft totalling £34m. He was found guilty of 10 counts of theft totalling £29m and on 23 August 2012 was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Demetris Christofi
Soccer Midfielder
Demetris Christofi is a Cypriot footballer who plays for FC Sion . Christofi is a winger who tends to play as a centre-forward or second striker. He is highly regarded for his strong shoot. He was considered one of the most promising young players in Cyprus. His transfer from Enosis Neon Paralimni to Omonia was the most expensive transfer in the history of Cypriot football, reaching a reported cost of €800,000. With Omonoia he signed a 4-year contract earning about €150,000 annually. In his contract there is a clause that enables Onisilos Sotira and Enosis Neon Paralimniou to each gain 15% of the fee paid for any future transfer of the player. In June 2013, he was transferred to FC Sion for a fee of about 900 thousand euros.
Meliz Redif
Olympic Track and field Athlete
Meliz Redif is a Turkish Cypriot female middle distance runner. She is a native of Northern Cyprus. Meliz Redif is a member of Enkaspor athletics team. She won a gold medal in the 4x400 m relay event at the First League of 2011 European Team Championships held in Izmir, Turkey and a silver medal in the same event at the 2011 Summer Universiade held in Shenzhen, China.
Mehmet Ali Talat
Politician
Mehmet Ali Talat is the former President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. He was the leader of the left wing Republican Turkish Party. He became prime minister in 2004, and subsequently won the Presidential election held on 17 April 2005. Talat was inaugurated on 25 April 2005, succeeding retiring President Rauf Denktaş.
Dome Karukoski
Film Director
Thomas "Dome" Karukoski is a Finnish film director. He is considered to be one of the most successful Finnish film directors with over 30 festival awards and having directed four feature films that have sold more than 100,000 tickets – the rule-of-thumb measure for a blockbuster in the territory.
Androulla Vassiliou
Politician
Androulla Vassiliou is a Cypriot and European politician who was the European Commissioner for Health, confirmed by the European Council on 3 March 2008. Since February 2010, she has been the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth. Vassiliou is very active in social and cultural fields particularly within the UN and EU. In Cyprus she has held many important posts and is on the Board of many public and private companies.
Ioannis Okkas
Soccer
Giannakis 'Ioannis' Okkas is a Cypriot football striker, who currently plays for Anorthosis Famagusta FC. He was also the captain of the Cyprus national football team for many years and he is the 2nd leading scorer of all time just behind Michalis Konstantinou, scoring in total 27 goals for Cyprus. With 106 national caps since 1997, Okkas has made more appearances for Cyprus than any other player in history.
Georgios Efrem
Soccer Midfielder
Georgios Efrem is a Cypriot footballer who currently plays for AC Omonia.
Sibel Siber
Politician
Sibel Siber is a Turkish Cypriot politician. She was the first woman Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, having been in office from 13 June 2013, after the government of İrsen Küçük fell because several parliamentarians switched party, to 2 September 2013. At present she is the Speaker of Parliament, the Republican Assembly of Northern Cyprus. She has been the second woman to occupy this post, after Fatma Ekenoğlu. Siber studied medicine at Istanbul University, where she graduated in 1983.
Constantinos Christoforou
Pop Artist
Constantinos Christoforou is a Cypriot singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Limassol, Cyprus, Christoforou's debut EP Tora Pou Milas and album O,ti M'afora were commercial successes in his native country, the latter becoming the first domestic release by a Cypriot artist to be certified triple platinum. He represented Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 with the song "Mono Yia Mas", taking ninth place and began crossing over into the Greek market first as a backing vocalist for other artists. He gained wider fame as the lead singer of Giorgos Theofanous' pop musical project One, the first boy band ever in the Hellenics. The group became popular with young audiences, releasing several successful records and taking sixth place in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with "Gimme", Cyprus' second best result ever in the contest. Christoforou left One in 2003 to reprise his solo career, returning to his laïko musical roots. He has released five studio albums, I Agapi Sou Paei, Idiotiki Parastasi, O Gyros Tou Kosmou, I Alitheia Einai Mia, and Allios, most of which had some commercial impact in Cyprus but performed moderately in Greece. He represented Cyprus for a third time in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with "Ela Ela", taking 18th place and attempted to represent again in 2010. His single "Thes Na Kanoume Schesi?" was a commercial success in both countries. Apart from his own music, Christoforou has written songs for other artists, his biggest hit being Anna Vissi's "Erimi Poli" and also participated on the Greek Dancing on Ice in 2011, finishing seventh.
K. C. Nicolaou
Chemist
Kyriacos Costa Nicolaou is a Cypriot-American chemist known for his research in the area of natural products total synthesis. He is currently Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor of Chemistry at Rice University, having previously held academic positions at the The Scripps Research Institute/UCSD and the University of Pennsylvania.
Eleni Artymata
Olympic Track and field Athlete
Eleni Artymata is a track and field sprint athlete, who competes internationally for Cyprus.
Garo Yepremian
American Football Placekicker
Garabed Sarkis "Garo" Yepremian is an Armenian-American former football placekicker in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers during a career that spanned from 1966 to 1981.
Graham Bell
Presenter
Graham Bell is a former Olympic skier who is also a TV presenter, adventurer and journalist. He has presented several BBC TV shows with Ed Leigh including High Altitude in 2009 and Ski Sunday more recently. Highlights included Graham tackling the Arctic Circle Race; a 160 mi cross-country skiing race in Greenland; and surviving a night in a snow-hole without food, water or a sleeping bag. He set a personal best top speed on skis of 121 mph.
Efstathios Aloneftis
Soccer Midfielder
Efstathios "Stathis" Aloneftis is a Cypriot footballer who plays for APOEL in the Cypriot First Division. He is a winger who tends to play on the left wing, highly regarded for his speed and technique.
Marianta Pieridi
Pop Artist
Mariada Pieridi, is a Greek pop singer.
Sarah-Jane Redmond
Actor
Sarah-Jane Redmond is a British-Canadian actress and acting instructor.
Constantinos Charalambidis
Soccer Midfielder
Costas Charalambides is a Cypriot football midfielder currently playing for APOEL in the Cypriot First Division.
John the Merciful
Deceased Person
John the Merciful was the Patriarch of Alexandria in the early 7th century and a Christian saint.
Spiros Zodhiates
Author
Dr. Spiros Zodhiates was a Greek-American Bible scholar, author, and ministry innovator. He was best known for his work in developing AMG International, a Christian missions and relief agency with operations in over 40 countries, and for publishing The Hebrew-Greek KeyWord Study Bible which indexes key terms in the English Bible with the words they were translated from in the original languages.
George Vasiliou
Politician
Georgios Vasos Vassiliou was the third President of the Republic of Cyprus from 1988 to 1993. He was also the founder and leader of the Cypriot United Democrats party and a highly successful businessman.
Loukas Giorkas
Musical Artist
Loucas Yiorkas, is a Greek Cypriot singer and the winner of the first season of the Greek version of the television talent series The X Factor. In September 2009 he released his first EP album, Mazi, which attained gold status. He studies Biology at the University of Patras. Giorkas represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Germany along with Stereo Mike with the song "Watch My Dance", placing seventh with 120 points.
Dakis Joannou
Man
Dakis Joannou is a Greek Cypriot industrialist and art collector based in Athens. Joannou entered into the construction and civil engineering business in the late 1960s and over the last four decades has diversified his holdings through numerous areas of international industrial commerce. His extensive collection of contemporary art and furniture is considered one of the most important in the world.
Nil Burak
Pop Artist
Pembe Nihal Munsif, better known as Nil Burak, is a Turkish Cypriot pop singer and actress who is famous in Turkey and Cyprus.
Chris Achilleos
Illustrator
Chris Achilleos is a painter and illustrator who specialises in fantasy artwork and glamour illustration. Born in Famagusta, Cyprus, his family emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1959, where he currently resides. His work has appeared in Heavy Metal and Radio Times magazines, on book covers, and in collections of his own work. He has also worked on various film projects as a conceptual artist. Achilleos created the controversial cover for Whitesnake's 1979 album, Lovehunter, which featured a naked woman straddling a giant serpent. In an interview with MelodicRock, Gary Hughes stated that Achilleos thereafter "had a policy of not working with bands". The original artwork, along with several other pieces, were stolen from him in the 1980s and sold to a private collector. In 2003, Achilleos created the covers and artwork for the rock opera by Gary Hughes, The Once And Future King.
Kyriakos Ioannou
Olympic Track and field Athlete
Kyriakos Ioannou is a Cypriot high jumper.
Constantinos Makrides
Soccer Midfielder
Constantinos Makrides is a Cypriot football player who currently plays with FC Metalurh Donetsk.
Spyros Kyprianou
Politician
Spyros Achilleos Kyprianou was one of the most prominent politicians of modern Cyprus. He served as the second President of the Republic of Cyprus from 1977 to 1988. Spyrou Kyprianou Avenue in Nicosia was named after him post-mortem.
George Theophanous
Composer
Giorgos Theofanous is a Greek-Cypriot composer and producer. He has sold more than two million records and written more than 500 songs in the 1990s and 2000s. Recording artists for whom he has written and produced for include Nana Mouskouri, George Dalaras. His work has received a total of nine Arion Awards, which was an award show by IFPI Greece. He served as a judge on the first two seasons of the Greek edition of The X Factor. He studied guitar, piano, and music theory at the national conservatory of Greece. He continued his studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, majoring in arrangement. He has received several awards as a songwriter/producer both in Greece and Cyprus. In 1990 he settled in Athens, Greece where he began his career in the Greek music industry. In April 1993, he married Greek singer Evridiki with whom he has collaborated extensively. Together they have one son, Aggelos, who was born in 1996. The couple divorced in 2000. In 1999, Theofanous put together boy band ONE who became very popular in Greece and Cyprus, reaching platinum sales.
Vamik Volkan
Author
Vamık D. Volkan is a Turkish Cypriot Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, the Senior Erik Erikson Scholar at the Erikson Institute of Education and Research of the Austen Riggs Center, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and an Emeritus Training and Supervising Analyst at the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, Washington, D.C.
Derviş Zaim
Film Director
Derviş Zaim is a Turkish Cypriot filmmaker and novelist, who has twice won the Golden Orange for Best Director for Elephants and Grass and Dot; Golden Oranges for Best Film and Best Screenplay for Somersault in a Coffin; and the Yunus Nadi literary prize for his debut novel Ares in Wonderland.
Nicolas Economou
Composer
Nicolas Economou was a Cypriot composer and pianist born in Nicosia, Cyprus. A precociously gifted pianist, Economou came to international attention at the 1969 Tchaikovsky Competition when he was 16. After studying at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow he eventually moved via Düsseldorf to Munich. From his base there he established himself throughout Europe as a concert pianist, composer, arranger, conductor and organiser of music festivals. In December, 1993 Economou was killed in an automobile accident in Cyprus while driving at night in thick fog.
Costas Georgiou
Man
Costas Georgiou was an ethnic Greek Cypriot, British mercenary executed following the Luanda Trial for activities during the civil war phase of the Angolan War of Independence.
Sotiris Kaiafas
Soccer
Sotiris Kaiafas is a retired Cypriot footballer, who played for Omonia and Cyprus. During his career at Omonia, he won the European Golden Boot. He is considered the best footballer that Cyprus has ever produced and also one of the two best Cypriot sportpeople in the 20th century.
Markos Kyprianou
Politician
Márkos Kyprianoú is a Cypriot politician who served as a Minister of Foreign Affairs until his official resignation in 19 July 2011, following the events of the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion. A member of the Democratic Party, he was formerly Cyprus's Finance Minister and the European Commissioner for Health. He tendered his resignation as Commissioner on 29 February 2008 to become Foreign Minister in the government of newly elected President Dimitris Christofias; the resignation took effect on 3 March 2008, when his successor, Androulla Vassiliou, was confirmed as Commissioner. He studied Law at the Law School of the University of Athens and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he specialised in International Law and Tax Law and was awarded a Master’s degree in Law. He earned a second Master’s degree in Law, specialising in Company Law and Taxation, at Harvard Law School. He continued his academic career as a trainee at the Human Rights Commission of the Council of Europe and by carrying out research in International Law at the University of Cambridge. He is the younger son of Spyros Kyprianou, who was President of Cyprus from 1977 to 1988.
C. L. Max Nikias
Electrical engineer
Chrysostomos L. "Max" Nikias became the University of Southern California's eleventh president in August 2010. He holds the Robert C. Packard President's Chair and the Malcolm R. Currie Chair in Technology and the Humanities, and chairs the USC Hospitals Governing Board. He has been at USC since 1991, as a professor, director of national research centers, dean, provost, and now president. He holds faculty appointments in both electrical engineering and the classics, and leads special freshman seminars each fall on ancient Athenian democracy and drama.
Leo V of Armenia
Noble person
Leo V or Levon V, of the House of Lusignan, was the last Latin king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. He ruled from 1374 to 1375. Leo was described as "Leon V, King of Armenia" on his own personal seal, and as "Leon de Lusignan the Fifth" in the Middle French inscription on his cenotaph: Leon de Lizingnen quint.
Nektarios Alexandrou
Soccer Midfielder
Nektarios Alexandrou is a Cypriot footballer who currently plays for APOEL in Cypriot First Division. He is mainly a left winger, but in 2010 he started to play as left back also.
Dimitrios Droutsas
Politician
Dimitrios P. Droutsas is a Greek lawyer and politician, who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece in 2010–2011. He became MP of the European Parliament by replacing Stavros Lambrinidis, who went on to become Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece.
Ferdi Sabit Soyer
Politician
Ferdi Sabit Soyer is a former Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and former Leader of Republican Turkish Party. Soyer, a former union leader, has been a member of the TRNC parliament since 1985. He was named successor to Talat's former post of TRNC Prime Minister on April 25, 2005. Soyer was born in Nicosia in 1952, attending secondary school in Cyprus, then continued towards a degree in medicine from Turkey. However, due to political reasons he did not complete his university education. While there, Soyer co-founded the Youth Federation of Turkish Cypriot Students and he was also its leader for a time. Upon returning to Cyprus, Soyer continued to take an active part in various Turkish-Cypriot political movements. He worked as a member of Republican Turkish Party for a long time, recently holding the party office of secretary-general. TRNC Cabinet offices that Soyer held was Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy in the 1993 DP-CTP coalition government. Soyer was elected as the new Chairman of the Republican Turkish Party on 21 May 2005, replacing President Talat who vacated his position after taking over the presidency.
Charlotte, Queen of Cyprus
Noble person
Charlotte, was Queen of Cyprus and Princess of Antioch, as well as titular Queen of Jerusalem and Armenia. She was the eldest and only surviving daughter of King John II of Cyprus and Helena Palaiologina. At the age of 14, she succeeded to the Cypriot throne upon the death of her father in 1458. Her illegitimate half-brother, James challenged her right to the crown. With the support of the Egyptians, he forced her to flee the island in 1463, and he was later crowned king. She made a military attempt to regain her throne, but was unsuccessful, and died childless in Rome.
Jeremy Goss
Soccer Midfielder
Jeremy "Jerry" Goss is a former Welsh international footballer. He is most noted for playing for Norwich City from 1984 to 1996. He came to prominence during their successful period in the mid-1990s. Goss played in the midfield, and was known for scoring spectacularly but not often, and was noted for his superior volleying skills and high level of stamina.
Antigoni Papadopoulou
Politician
Antigoni Papadopoulou, born Antigoni Pericleous, July 8, 1954, is a Cypriot politician, and one of the first two Cypriot women to be elected as Members of the European Parliament among six Cypriot MEPs. She is a former Member of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus and the First Woman to serve as Chair of the House’s Committee of Economic Affairs and Budgeting. She was an Assembly Member of the Council of Europe from 2001 to 2009 and has also served as Vice Chairperson of the Committee of Economic Affairs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. She was the elected Mayor of Morphou-Cyprus from 1996 to 2001. She was the first female mayor in the city's history and the only elected female mayor of Morphou so far, as well as the first woman to serve as a national parliamentarian in the District of Nicosia for the Democratic Party for two consecutive terms. She has also served as Municipal Councilor in Strovolos Municipality from 1991 to 1996. She is the President of GODIK, the Women’s Organization of the Democratic Party since 1994.
Andreas Avraam
Soccer Midfielder
Andreas Avraam is a Cypriot football midfielder who plays for Anorthosis Famagusta.
Suat Günsel
Entrepreneur
Suat İrfan Günsel is a Turkish Cypriot entrepreneur, businessman and founder of the Near East University. In 2011, Forbes ranked him as the 2nd richest person in Cyprus and the 1,140th richest person in the world with a net worth of $1 billion.
Mehmet Dalman
Man
Mehmet Dalman is a British-Turkish Cypriot investment banker. He is currently Chairman of Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation and of Premier League football club Cardiff City.
Peter Costa
Man
Peter Costa to Greek Cypriot parents is a British professional poker player based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is most well known as the winner of the sixth series of the popular Late Night Poker television series during his time living in the United Kingdom, where he defeated Austria's Jin Cai Lin in the final heads-up encounter to take the £60,000 first prize. He was formerly nicknamed "The Silver Fox", a nickname shared by fellow poker player Mel Judah. Costa has made four final tables at the World Series of Poker: ⁕2002 $2,000 limit Texas hold 'em - 9th place ⁕2003 $2,500 seven-card stud - 9th place ⁕2005 $1,500 limit Texas hold 'em - 7th place ⁕2006 $3,000 Omaha hi/lo - 7th place Costa was nominated for both the 2002 and 2003 European Poker Player of the Year awards. In addition, Costa won the Aussie Millions tournament in 2003, and at one time held the record for winning the limit hold-em tournament with the most entrants. As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,700,000. Outside the poker world, Costa's favourite movie is Groundhog Day, and he is a big fan of James Stewart. His niece, Maria Demetriou, also has numerous poker results to her credit.
Niyazi Berkes
Author
Niyazi Berkes was a Turkish Cypriot sociologist.
Costas Montis
Playwright
Costas Montis was and influential and prolific Cypriot poet, novelist, and playwright.
Kâmil Pasha
Politician
Kâmil Pasha, also spelled as Kiamil Pasha was an Ottoman statesman of Turkish Cypriot origin in the late 19th century and early 20th century, who became, as aside regional or international posts within the Ottoman state structure, grand vizier of the Empire during four different periods. He was born in Nicosia in 1833, son of Captain Salih Ağa from the village of Gaziler, in Cyprus. His first post was in the household of the Khedive of Egypt who at that time was only nominally dependent to the central Ottoman power in Constantinople. In the course of this appointment he visited London for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in charge of one of the Khedive's sons. Kiamil's sojourn in England left in him a lifelong admiration for Britain and during his career within the Ottoman state, he was always known to be an Anglophile. Having full command of English, thenceforth to the close of his career he zealously sought the friendship of England for Turkey. After remaining in Egypt for ten years, Mehmed Kamil exchanged the service of Abbas I for that of the Ottoman Government as of 1860 and for the ensuing nineteen years -that is to say until he first entered the Cabinet-, he filled very numerous administrative appointments in every part of the Empire. He governed, or helped to govern provinces such as Eastern Rumelia, Hercegovina, Kosovo, and his native Cyprus.
Rob Ryan
Man
Rob Ryan is a British visual artist who specialises in papercutting and screen-printing. He is now most famous for his detailed paper cut outs. His artwork has featured in Vogue, Elle, and Stylist. He has also collaborated with fashion designer Paul Smith. Ryan has illustrated book and album covers, including John Connolly's novel The Book of Lost Things, Erasure's album Nightbird, Chambers Lost Crafts by Una McGovern and Dara Horn's novel The World to Come. His first book, This Is for You, was published on October 4, 2007 by Hodder & Stoughton; it consists of a fairy tale told through his paper cut-out art and explores themes of love and loneliness. Ryan also creates the Global Gift greeting cards for the charity Trocaire.
Fazıl Küçük
Politician
Fazıl Küçük was the first Vice President of the Republic of Cyprus. Fazıl Küçük, the son of a farmer, was born in Nicosia in 1906. After graduating from the Turkish High School in Nicosia, Küçük went on to study medicine at the Universities of Istanbul, Lausanne and Paris. Having returned to Cyprus in 1937, he started a practice, but his interest in politics soon led to him to become a voice for Turkish Cypriot rights. In 1941 Küçük founded the newspaper Halkın Sesi and became the managing editor. Due to his campaign against the British colonial administration, his paper was not given a permit for publication until 1942, the paper is still being published to this day. In 1943, he became one of the founders of the Kıbrıs Adası; Türk Azınlık Kurumu. The aim of the party was to promote the social, economic and political well being of the Turkish Cypriot people. Due to disagreements with some of its members, Küçük parted with KATAK and established the Kıbrıs Türk Milli Birlik Partisi. Following a 15 year struggle, Küçük helped for the transfer of the Evkaf from British to Turkish Cypriot control.
Okan Ersan
Jazz fusion Artist
Okan Ersan is a Turkish Cypriot jazz fusion guitarist, composer and record artist.
George Pastell
Actor
George Pastell was a Cypriot character actor in British films and television programmes. Sources vary as to whether his real name was Nino or George Pastellides. He made his film debut in Give Us This Day, credited as Nino Pastellides, and played villains in film and television. Although Greek, he was often cast by Hammer Film Productions as Eastern characters such as Mehemet Bey in The Mummy; the High Priest of Kali in The Stranglers of Bombay; and Hashmi Bey in The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb. His exotic looks often saw him cast in spy movies of the sixties such as From Russia with Love; Licensed to Kill; A Man Could Get Killed; That Riviera Touch; and Deadlier Than the Male. As well as these film roles he could also be seen as the villain in numerous television series of the sixties including Danger Man; The Avengers; Doctor Who; The Champions; The Saint; and Department S.
Marios Elia
Soccer Defender
Marios Elia is a Cypriot defender who currently plays for APOEL.
Kypros Nicolaides
Surgeon
Kypros Nicolaides is a Cypriot maternal fetal medicine specialist, and a world expert in fetal surgery and interventions. Nicolaides was born in 1953 in Paphos, Cyprus. He studied medicine at King’s College School of Medicine and Dentistry in London and soon after graduation joined the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1980, doing research with Professor Stuart Campbell and Professor Charles Rodeck as his first assistant, working mainly on fetoscopic techniques and procedures. He was well known for his manual dexterity at procedures and the Rodeck-Nicolaides team soon produced some very important papers on the use of fetoscopy in the management of a wide range of conditions such Rhesus iso-immunization, fetal hydrops and intrauterine growth restriction, and procedures such as blood and tissue sampling in the diagnosis of single gene defects. After the departure of Professor Rodeck, Nicolaides became director of the Harris Birthright Research Centre for Fetal Medicine, the first fetal medicine unit in the United Kingdom. His programme of research and teaching made King's College Hospital an important centre of fetal medicine. He has contributed to over one thousand journal articles and more than thirty books and monographs.
Lia Vissi
Singer-songwriter
Olympia Vissi is a Greek Cypriot singer, songwriter, composer and politician who most notable for her two participations in the Eurovision Song Contest and being older sister of Greek Cypriot singer Anna Vissi.