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French Polynesia

Overseas Lands of French Polynesia Australia-Oceania Papeete 280,026 inhabitants 4,167 sq km 67.20 inhabitants/sq km Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) overseas lands of France population evolution

Famous people from French Polynesia

Here is a list of famous people from French Polynesia. Curious if anybody from French Polynesia made it our most famous people in the world list? Read the aformentioned article in order to find out.

Fabrice Santoro

Tennis Player

Fabrice Vetea Santoro is a retired French professional male tennis player from Tahiti. Though not counted among the top-ranked players, he had an unusually long professional career, with many of his accomplishments coming toward the end of his career, and he is popular among spectators and other players alike for his winning demeanor and shot-making abilities. Owing to his longevity on the tour and consistent ranking, Santoro holds several ATP records: the most losses in singles play, and the most appearances in singles competition at Grand Slam events. He is also the only male player to have appeared in Grand Slam singles competition in four different decades, from the 1989 French Open to the 2010 Australian Open. In singles play, Santoro earned six titles, but reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam only once; however, he was more successful in doubles competition, with two Grand Slam doubles titles, one Grand Slam mixed-doubles title, and 24 doubles championships overall.

Marama Vahirua

Soccer Midfielder

Marama Vahirua is a Tahitian footballer who plays as a forward for AS Pirae in the Tahiti First Division. He is also technical director of the Tahitian Football Federation.

Karina Lombard

Actor

Karina Lombard is a French-American actress and singer.

Conrad L. Hall

Cinematographer

Conrad L. Hall was the husband of Katharine Ross.

Mareva Galanter

Singer

Mareva Galanter is a French actress and former beauty queen. Galanter won the 1998 "Miss World of Islands" and then the 1998 "Miss Tahiti" beauty contest that allowed her to compete for the Miss France 1999 crown, which she won. Galanter expanded her work into music and singing, releasing Ukuyéyé, under Warner Music, in 2006. Stylistically the music pays homage to a genre known as "Yé-yé" popularized by pop musicians of the early 1960s such as Johnny Hallyday and France Gall. Other elements of the music, namely the techno dance beats and Eurodance are purely modern. The album was well received by critics and released in Canada and Japan. She has released videos for seven of her songs. The videos, like the music, feature strong elements of 1960s fashion with modern twists. Many of the videos mimic the style of the Scopitone video jukeboxes from that era. She hosted Do you Do you scopitone a French TV programme on the Paris Première channel, dedicated to scopitones from the 1960s and 70s. The scopitone is the precursor to the contemporary music video. To date, she has performed in several feature films, including 3 Zéros, Les Gaous, The Pink Panther and Tu Devais Faire du Cinéma.

Ella Koon

Actor

Ella Koon Yun-na is an ethnic Chinese Cantopop singer, actress and model based in Hong Kong.

Steevy Chong Hue

Footballer

Steevy Chong Hue is a Tahitian professional footballer of Chinese background who plays as a striker for AS Dragon in the Tahitian First Division.

Jonathan Tehau

Soccer Midfielder

Jonathan Tehau is a Tahitian footballer currently playing for AS Tamarii Faa'a. He is the brother of twins Lorenzo Tehau and Alvin Tehau and cousin of Teaonui Tehau, all playing for Tahiti national football team. He is a full-time member of the Tahiti national football team.

Mickaël Roche

Footballer

Mickaël Roche is a footballer from Papeete, Tahiti, who plays as a goalkeeper for AS Dragon. He is a member of the Tahiti national football team.

Nicolas Vallar

Footballer

Nicolas Vallar is a footballer from Papeete, Tahiti currently playing for AS Dragon. He is a member of Tahiti national football team.

Cheyenne Brando

Model

Tarita Cheyenne Brando was a Tahitian model and the daughter of Marlon Brando by his third wife Tarita Teriipia, a former Tahitian actress whom he met while filming Mutiny on the Bounty in 1962.

Tarita Teriipaia

Actor

Tarita Teri'ipaia is a former actress of French Polynesian and Chinese descent most famous for having been the third wife of actor Marlon Brando, from whom she later divorced. For media and entertainment appearances and engagements she has usually been billed as Tarita.

Lorenzo Tehau

Soccer Midfielder

Lorenzo Tehau is a footballer from Tahiti currently playing for AS Tefana. He is the twin brother of Alvin Tehau, brother of Jonathan Tehau and cousin of Teaonui Tehau, all of them playing for Tahiti national football team. He represented his country in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup and now is a full-time member of the Tahiti national football team. He was the top goalscorer for Tahiti in the 2012 OFC Nations Cup, where his national side won the tournament for the first time.

Oscar Temaru

Politician

Oscar Manutahi Temaru is a French Polynesian politician. He has been President of French Polynesia, a French dependency with broad powers of self-rule, on five occasions: in 2004, from 2005 to 2006, from 2007 to 2008, in 2009, and from 2011 to 2013.

Teaonui Tehau

Soccer Midfielder

Teaonui Tehau is a Tahitian footballer who plays as a striker or as a midfielder for AS Vénus in the Tahiti First Division. He is the cousin of the brothers Alvin Tehau, Lorenzo Tehau and Jonathan Tehau, all of them playing for Tahiti.

Alvin Tehau

Soccer Midfielder

Alvin Tehau is a Tahitian soccer player.

Pascal Vahirua

Soccer Midfielder

Pascal Vahirua is a French retired footballer who played mostly as a left winger. His career was intimately connected with Auxerre. Vahirua appeared for the French national team at Euro 1992.

Anne Caroline Graffe

Olympic Taekwondo Athlete

Anne Caroline Graffe is a Taekwondo athlete.

Vaitiare Bandera

TV Actor

Vaitiare Hirshon-Asars is an actress based in the United States.

Tuki Brando

Model

Tuki Brando is a French Polynesian fashion model from Tahiti and currently the face of Versace menswear. The son of Cheyenne Brando and Dag Drollet, he is the grandson of Academy Award-winning American actor Marlon Brando and Golden Globe-nominated Tahitian actress Tarita Teriipia.

Pouvanaa a Oopa

Politician

Pouvanaa a Oopa was a French Polynesia politician and Tahitian nationalist, who led a Tahitian separatist movement against French rule, before being exiled to France in the late 1950s. Tahitians and other French Polynesians refer to Pouvanaa as metua, which means "spiritual father." He remains an important symbol for the French Polynesian independence or autonomy movements.

Gaston Tong Sang

Politician

Gaston Tong Sang is the former President of French Polynesia. He served terms as President of French Polynesia from November 2009 until April 2011, from April 2008 until February 2009 and from December 2006 until September 2007.; he is currently the Mayor of Bora-Bora. He is of Chinese descent, and is a founding member of French Polynesia's pro-French Tahoera'a Huiraatira political party.

Teheivarii Ludivion

Soccer Defender

Teheivarii Ludivion is a Tahitian footballer who plays as a defender for AS Tefana in the Tahiti First Division. He represented his country in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup and now is a full-time member of the Tahiti national football team.

Tamatoa Wagemann

Footballer

Tamatoa Wagemann is a Tahitian soccer player.

Roihau Degage

Soccer Forward

Roihau Degage is a footballer from Tahiti currently playing for AS Tefana. He is a member of the Tahiti national football team.

Taïna Barioz

Alpine skier

Taina Barioz is an alpine skier.

Jean Gabilou

Musical Artist

Jean Gabilou is a Tahitian singer. He also represented France in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest.

Frank Grouard

Military Person

Frank Grouard was a Scout and interpreter for General George Crook during the American Indian War of 1876.

Georges Rivière

Film Actor

Georges Rivière is a French actor who worked in Argentine cinema in the 1950s. He appeared in nearly 50 films between 1948 and 1970.

Vincent Simon

Footballer

Vincent Simon is a Tahitian soccer player.

Heimano Bourebare

Soccer Midfielder

Heimano Bourebare is a Tahitian soccer player.

Henri Caroine

Soccer Midfielder

Henri Caroine is a Tahitian footballer currently playing for AS Dragon. He is a member of Tahiti national football team.

Jocelyne LaGarde

Film Actor

Jocelyne LaGarde was a Tahitian who became famous for her one acting role in the 1966 motion picture, Hawaii.

Edson Lemaire

Soccer Defender

Edson Lemaire is a Tahitian footballer who plays for AS Dragon and Tahiti national football team.

Michel Bourez

Surfer

Michel Bourez is a professional surfer.

Naea Bennett

Soccer Forward

Naea Bennett in Tahiti is a footballer who plays as a striker for AS Pirae. He is the son of Erroll Bennett, a former Tahitian footballer who was runner-up at 1973 and 1980 OFC Nations Cup.

Samuel Garcia

Soccer Midfielder

Samuel Garcia in Tahiti is a footballer who plays as a Defender. He currently plays for AS Vénus in the Tahiti Division Fédérale and the Tahiti national football team.

Pōmare I

Deceased Person

Pōmare I, was the unifier and first king of Tahiti and founder of the Pōmare dynasty and the Kingdom of Tahiti between 1788? and 1791.

Angelo Tchen

Soccer Defender

Angelo Tchen in Tahiti is a footballer who plays as a Defender. He currently plays for AS Tefana in the Tahiti Division Fédérale and the Tahiti national football team.

Yannick Vero

Soccer Defender

Yannick Vero is a Tahitian football player.

Célestine Hitiura Vaite

Novelist

Célestine Hitiura Vaite is a Tahitian writer. The daughter of a Tahitian mother and French father, Vaite grew up in the commune of Faaa on the island of Tahiti, French Polynesia. In her youth, Vaite grew up immersed in traditional storytelling. Having won a scholarship to a leading girls' school in Papeete, she became interested in works by French authors like Balzac, Flaubert, Zola and Maupassant. Though a native French speaker, Vaite notably writes in English. She began to write out of homesickness while pregnant with her third child in Australia. Vaite has stated that writing in English gives her a wider audience as well as a greater creative freedom. Her first three novels—Breadfruit, Frangipani, and Tiare—follow Materena Mahi, a "professional cleaner" who lives in Faaa. The novels describe life in contemporary Tahiti from an inside perspective, through anecdotes and often with great humor. Vaite thus brings attention on a region of the world that Western literature has relegated to travel guides or often described in exotic terms. Her first two novels have been translated into French. L'arbre à pain, the French translation of Breadfruit, was warmly greeted in French Polynesia, where it was awarded the Prix littéraire des étudiants by the students of the University of French Polynesia in 2004. L'arbre à pain is also reputed to be the most widely read book in French Polynesia. Frangipani, which has been published in 14 countries to date, was shortlisted for the 2005 NSW Premier's Literary Awards and longlisted for the 2006 Orange Prize.

Pōmare II

Noble person

Pōmare II, was the second king of Tahiti between 1782 and 1821. He was installed by his father Pōmare I at Tarahoi, February 13, 1791. He ruled under regency from 1782 to 1803.

Pierre Kohumoetini

Soccer Midfielder

Pierre Kohumoetini is a Tahitian footballer currently playing for AS Saint-Étienne. He is a member of Tahiti national football team.

Michel-Gaspard Coppenrath

Man

Monsignor Michel-Gaspard Coppenrath was the Tahitian Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Papeete in French Polynesia for 26 years from 1973 until 1999. Coppenrath continued to serve as the Archbishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Papeete from his 1999 until his death in 2008. Coppenrath was the first Tahitian-born Catholic bishop of French Polynesia.

Stéphane Faatiarau

Soccer Defender

Stephane Faatiarau is a soccer player from Tahiti currently playing for A.S. Tefana and for Tahiti national football team. He was part of the Tahiti squad at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.

Erroll Bennett

Footballer

Erroll Bennett was a Tahitian footballer, who spent most of his career with AS Central Sport. Bennett placed fifteenth in a 1999 poll by International Federation of Football History & Statistics to find the Player of the Century for Oceania. Bennett was part of the Tahitian national squad for the 1973 Oceania Cup, the first ever Oceania-wide international soccer tournament. Bennett scored three goals in the tournament, and played in the final, which Tahiti lost 2–0 to New Zealand. He joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1977 after which he refused to play football on Sundays. Following Bennett's baptism, Napoléon Spitz, the head of Bennett's team, held a meeting in which he said his team would stop Sunday play and all football teams in that division agreed to move games to weeknights. Bennett was also a police officer in Tahiti. He is the father of Naea Bennett, who also played for Tahiti national team.

Gérald Forschelet

Football player

Gérald Forschelet is a Tahitian-French professional football player who plays as defensive midfielder.

Tomasi Kulimoetoke II

Politician

Tomasi Kulimoetoke II was the 50th Lavelua of Wallis Island, which is known as Uvea in the Wallisian language, one of the three traditional kingdoms in the French overseas territory of Wallis and Futuna. He was born in Ha'afuasia in the Hahake District on Wallis island. He was elected king on 12 March 1959, after a 6 month-rule by a Council of Ministers. In early years, he supported closer links with France, recognising that Wallis was economically dependent on subsidies. After a national referendum, he signed treaty to make Wallis a French overseas territory in 1961. He had six children. In 2002, the king riled many of his countrymen, as well as France, by shutting down the island's only newspaper because it had carried an editorial criticising him for giving refuge to a family friend, after she was sentenced to jail for embezzling public funds. Reformists also mocked the king's insistence that Wallisians dismount from their bicycles when passing his palace. In 2005, the King nearly lost his throne after his grandson, Tomasi Tuugahala, was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison for the involuntary manslaughter of a pedestrian who was killed in a drunk-driving accident on New Year's Eve. The King invited his grandson to take refuge in the royal palace, where he hid for four months before surrendering to the French gendarmes. The King's Prime Mnister, holder of the title "Kalae Kivalu" urged the high administrator of the French government Xavier de Fürst to "quit the territory". The King also claimed that the incident was dealt with according to customary tribal law and that the French penal law should be abolished in Uvea.

Willy Taofifénua

Man

Willy Taofifénua is a former French rugby player. He played as a flanker for FC Grenoble.

Maui Gayme

Alpine skier

Maui Gayme is an Olympic Alpine Skier from Chile.

Axel Williams

Soccer

Axel Williams is a Tahitian soccer player.

Cali Lili Hauser

Actor

Cali Lili Hauser is a film actress.

Norbert Hauata

Referee

Norbert Hauata is a football referee comes from French Polynesia. Hauata became a FIFA referee in 2008. His international career includes the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup and the 2012 OFC Nations Cup.

William Thomas Pritchard

Author

William Thomas Pritchard was a British consul and adventurer. Pritchard was born in Papeete, Tahiti, the son of George Pritchard. He was educated in Britain before returning to join his father, the British consul in Samoa. In Samoa, he acquired an exceptional knowledge of the Polynesian language and traditions. In 1858 he was appointed the first British consul at Fiji, and in the same year traveled to England with an offer from Seru Epenisa Cakobau to cede Fiji to the British crown. He was dismissed from his post in 1863. He is commemorated in the name of the Polynesian Megapode Megapodius pritchardii and the plant genus Pritchardia.

Richard Tuheiava

Politician

Richard Tuheiava is a member of the Senate of France, representing French Polynesia. He is a member of the Socialist Party.

Tehaapapa II

Noble person

Maerehia of Raiatea and Tahaa, was a princess of Raiatea and Tahaa from the Tamatoa dynasty family, a Polynesian royal family. She was wife of Ari'imate of Huahine, founder of the Teururai dynasty which reigned on the Tahitian island of Huahiné and Maia'o during the 19th century. She was Queen of Huahine and Maia'o and later Queen regnant in her own right. Comteporary sources seems to call her Tehaapapa I instead, disregarding the ruling queen by the same name at the time Captain Cook visited the island. Se was installed as Queen of Huahine in 1868 until her death in 1893.

Hubert Coppenrath

Man

Archbishop Hubert Coppenrath is the emeritus Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Papeete. Coppenrath was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest on 27 June 1957, in Tahiti. He was formally ordained as the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Papeete on 4 June 1999 after appointment by Pope John Paul II. He succeeded his own brother, Michel-Gaspard Coppenrath, as Archbishop. The appointment of Coppenrath, a brother of the previous Archbishop, is a rare occurrence within the Catholic Church. On 31 March 2011 Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Coppenrath from the pastoral care of the archdiocese having reached the age limit.

Manaraii Porlier

Soccer Forward

Manaraii Porlier is a Tahitian soccer player.

Teva Zaveroni

Footballer

Teva Zaveroni in Tahiti is a footballer who plays as a Midfielder. He previously played for AS Taravao and AS Pirae. He currently plays for AS Pirae in the Tahiti Division Fédérale and the Tahiti national football team.

Hiro Poroiae

Soccer Midfielder

Hiro Poroiae in Tahiti is a footballer who plays as a midfielder. He currently plays for AS Manu-Ura in the Tahiti Division Fédérale and the Tahiti national football team.He made his debut for the national team on 2007 against Tuvalu.

Anne Chevalier

Actor

Anne Chevalier is an actor.

Billy Mataitai

Soccer Midfielder

Billy Mataitai in Tahiti is a footballer who plays as a Midfielder. He currently plays for AS Manu-Ura in the Tahiti Division Fédérale and the Tahiti national football team.

Gérald Coppenrath

Politician

Gérald Coppenrath was a French senator and journalist. Coppenrath was the French senator for Tahiti between 1958 and 1962. Born in Papeete, Tahiti he moved to France and studied at the University of Poitiers. He later returned to Tahiti in 1948. On June 8, 1958 he was elected senator winning by 13 votes to 11. He was re-elected on April 26, 1959 when he won by 43 votes against 17. He stayed in office until 1962. He was voted the first president of his former university in 1972. He was the older brother of Hubert and Michel Coppenrath. Both became Archbishops. Michel died on August 18, 2008. Coppenrath died on November 4, 2008. Three months after his younger brother.

Teriimaevarua III

Noble person

Ari'i-'Otare Teari'i-maeva-rua III Pomare was the last Queen of the Tahitian island of Bora Bora from 1873 to 1895. The third daughter of Prince Tamatoa-a-tu, King of Ra'iatea and Taha'a and Princess Moe-a-Mai, Ari'i-'Otare became the Queen of Bora Bora on the death of her aunt Princess Teari'i-maeva-rua I Pomare, Queen of Bora Bora. She married Prince Teri'i Hinoi-a-tua Pomare, chief of Hitia'a in Bora Bora on 9 January 1884 and was divorced in 1887. Ari'i-'Otare produced no children of her own, so adopted her two younger step daughters; Princess Rehu-rehu Tuheiava and Princess Itia Tuheiava. Bora Bora was annexed by the French on 19 March 1888 without the consent of the native government, but royal power remain in effect until her abdication in 21 September 1895. She remained the head of the royal house of Bora Bora until her death.

Taufa Neuffer

Soccer Defender

Taufa Neuffer in Tahiti is a footballer who plays as a Center Back. He currently plays for AS Tefana in the Tahiti Division Fédérale and the Tahiti national football team.

Charles Mauu

Actor

Charles Mauu is an actor.

Stanley Atani

Soccer Forward

Stanley Atani is a Tahitian soccer player.

Leo C. Richmond

Actor

Leo C. Richmond was an actor and stunt performer.

Jean-Yves Li Waut

Soccer Defender

Jean-Yves Li Waut in Tahiti is a footballer who plays as a Defender. He currently plays for AS Manu-Ura in the Tahiti Division Fédérale and the Tahiti national football team.

Gilbert Meriel

Soccer

Gilbert Meriel is a soccer player from Tahiti currently playing for AS Central Sport and for the Tahiti national football team. He was part of the Tahitian squad at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. Meriel started playing soccer at the age of nine on Tahitian club AS Venus. Five years later, he went to France to join the youth academy at Angers SCO, where he stayed for three years. While in France, Meriel also played for US Jeanne d'Arc Carquefou competing in the lower leagues, before returning home at 18. Upon his return home Meriel, like many of his national team colleagues, was forced to get another job and become a semi-professional athlete. Metiel earned a bachelor in economy and administration, becoming an auditor for consulting group KPMG. On the Confederations Cup, Meriel had his first cap as the starting goalkeeper for Tahiti's in the squad's final game against Uruguay in Recife. While Tahiti lost 8-0, Meriel was applauded once he saved a penalty kick from the eventually sent-off Andres Scotti.

Charles Cecil Stevens

Politician

Sir Charles Cecil Stevens, KCSI was the lieutenant governor of the province of Bengal, representing the British Raj in India. He is credited for having supervised the foundation of the Sidrapong Hydel Power Station, the first of its kind in Asia.

Rainui Aroita

Soccer Midfielder

Rainui Aroita is a professional Tahitian football player.

Bill Bambridge

Actor

Bill Bambridge is an actor.

Ricky Aitamai

Soccer Midfielder

Ricky Aitamai is a Tahitian football player.

Pierre Kugogne

Footballer

Pierre Kugogne is a Tahiti soccer player.

Axel Temataua

Soccer Midfielder

Axel Temataua is a Tahitian soccer player.

Sébastien Labayen

Soccer Midfielder

Sébastien Labayen is a Tahitian soccer player.

Béatrice Vernaudon

Politician

Béatrice Vernaudon is a French politician born on 27 October 1953 in Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia. She was elected a deputy to the National Assembly of France on 16 June 2002, becoming one of the Deputies of the 12th French National Assembly, in the second district of French Polynesia. She was part of the French political party Union for a Popular Movement.

Farahia Teuiria

Soccer Midfielder

Farahia Teuiria in Tahiti is a footballer who plays as a Midfielder.He previously played for AS Vaiete. He currently plays for AS Tiaré in the Tahiti Division Fédérale and the Tahiti national football team.

Tauraa Marmouyet

Soccer Defender

Tauraa Marmouyet is a Tahitian soccer player.

Steve Fatupua-Lecaill

Soccer Defender

Steve Fatupua-Lecaill was a Tahitian footballer.

RA Arancio-Parrain

Art Director

RA Arancio-Parrain is a film art director.

Jean-Claude Chang Koei

Soccer Defender

Jean-Claude Chang Koei is a Tahitian soccer player.

Teraura

Woman

Tahitian-born wife of HMS Bounty mutineer Ned Young, and later wife of mutineer Fletcher Christian's son Thursday October Christian.