This list is rather inclusive -- many people on this list can also claim other nationalities; some were born in Austria, but spent the most important part of their lives outside Austria (e.g. Hitler, Schwarzenegger), others were born outside Austria or even outside of Austria-Hungary, but spent the most important part of their lives in Austria (e.g. Beethoven, Elisabeth of Austria). Many Austrians in this list could be included in more than one category. For example, Niki Lauda could be listed under entrepreneurs as well as sportsmen.

Famous Austrians include:

Actors/Actresses

• Leon Askin, actor
• Klaus Maria Brandauer, actor
• Käthe Gold (1907-1997)
• Liane Haid, first Austrian movie star
• Hedy Lamarr (1913-2000), actress; also co-inventor of spread spectrum radio technology; became U.S. citizen
• Hans Moser
• Fritz Muliar
• Romy Schneider, actress (Sissi )
• Arnold Schwarzenegger, (born 1947), bodybuilder, actor, Governor of California; became U.S. citizen
• Walter Slezak, actor
• Oskar Werner, actor

Artists/Architects

• Raimund Abraham , architect
• Herbert Bayer, artist, typographer, art director, graphic designer
• Karl Ehn , architect
• Josef Frank , architect
• Ernst Fuchs, painter and sculptor, born in Vienna, 1930
• Bruno Gironcoli , sculptor, born in Villach, 1936
• Rudolf Hausner , painter and graphic artist, 1914-1995
• Gottfried Helnwein, artist, born in Vienna, 1948
• Hans Hollein , architect
• Alfred Hrdlicka , sculptor and graphic artist, born in Vienna, 1928
• Friedensreich Hundertwasser, artist, 1928-2000, born in Vienna
• Gustav Klimt, artist, helped found Vienna Secession
• Oskar Kokoschka, painter, 1886-1980, born in Pöchlarn (Lower Austria)
• Adolf Loos, architect
• Inge Morath, photographer
• Hermann Nitsch, artist, painter, born in Vienna, 1938
• Gustav Peichl, architect
• Alf Poier, artist and stand-up comedian
• Wolf Prix , architect
• Arnulf Rainer, painter, born 1929
• Egon Schiele, painter, 1890-1918
• Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, architect and political activist
• Helmut Swiczinsky , architect
• Heinz Tesar , architect
• Otto Wagner, Jugendstil architect behind much of turn-of-the-century Viennese architecture
• Fritz Wotruba , sculptor, 1907-1975, born in Vienna

Composers/Musicians

• Ludwig van Beethoven composer, born in Bonn, Germany but spent most of his life in Vienna
• Alban Berg, composer, 1885-1935, born in Vienna
• Walter Berry, bass-baritone, 1929-2000
• Karl Böhm, conductor, 1894-1981
• Alfred Brendel, pianist, born 1931
• Anton Bruckner, composer, 1824-1896
• Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf, composer, 1739-1799
• Falco, (1957-1998), pop musician
• Friedrich Gulda, pianist and composer, born in 1930 in Vienna
• Joseph Haydn, composer with Croatian connections. Author of "Imperial Hymn" now German Hymn
• Udo Jürgens, singer-songwriter
• Walter Jurmann, composer
• Herbert von Karajan, conductor, 1908-1989
• Erich Kleiber, conductor, 1890-1956
• Gustav Mahler, composer, 1860-1911
• Leopold Mozart, composer & musician, 1719-1787
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer & musician, 1756-1791
• Arnold Schoenberg, composer, 1874-1951
• Franz Schubert, composer & musician, 1797-1828
• Johann Strauss, Sr., 1809-1849, Johann Strauss, Jr., 1825-1899, and Josef Strauss, 1827-1870, the "Waltz Kings" of the latter 19th century
• Stefan Weber, Drahdiwaberl
• Anton von Webern, composer, 1883-1945
• Joe Zawinul, jazz musician, composer, born in Vienna, 1932

Entrepreneurs

• Richard Lugner, entrepreneur and society figure
• Dietrich Mateschitz, businessman behind the Red Bull brand
• Robert Schlumberger, entrepreneur
• Daniel Swarovski , founder of Swarovski AG

Filmmakers

• Fritz Lang, film director, December 05, 1890 - August 02, 1976
• Josef von Sternberg, film director, 1894-1969
• Billy Wilder, film director, 1906-2002, born in Austria-Hungary
• Otto Preminger, film director
• Fred Zinnemann, film director
• Franz Antel, filmmaker
• Michael Haneke, film director

Inventors/Engineers

• Gaston Glock, inventor, founder of GLOCK
• Eduard Haas, inventor of PEZ
• Viktor Kaplan , inventor of turbines for river power plants
• Johann Korbuly , inventor of matador (special wooden toy)
• Josef Madersberger , invented the sewing-machine in 1818
• Sigfried Marcus , inventor of automobile in 1864 in Vienna, lived most of his life in Austria
• Ferdinand Porsche, automotive engineer, designed the Volkswagen (the "people's car"), born in Austria-Hungary
• Paul Schwarzkopf , inventor of powder metallurgy
• Auer von Welsbach, inventor of gaslight

Philosophers

• Martin Buber, philosopher, 1878-1965, born in Vienna
• Heinrich Gomperz , philosopher, 1873-1942, born in Vienna
• Karl Popper, philosopher (born in Austria, became British)
• Othmar Spann, philosopher and economist
• Rudolf Steiner, mystic & philosopher
• Otto Weininger, philosopher
• Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher, born 1889 in Vienna

Politicians

• Engelbert Dolfuss, politician, 1892-1934, born in Texing
• Franz Joseph, emperor of Austria
• Eva Glawischnig
• Jörg Haider
• Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany from 1933-1945; born on April 20, 1889 in Braunau am Inn
• Bruno Kreisky, Chancellor of Austria (1970-1983)
• Hans-Peter Martin (born 1957), Member of the European Parliament
• Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, diplomat
• Karl Renner, (1870-1950), Chancellor and President of Austria
• Kurt Waldheim, diplomat and politician; former Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1982, former President of Austria from 1986 to 1992 born 1918

Psychologists

• Alfred Adler, father of Individual Psychology
• Hans Asperger, pediatrician, namesake of Asperger's syndrome
• Bruno Bettelheim, psychologist
• Sigmund Freud, father of psychoanalysis
• Otto Rank, pioneer psychologist
• Wilhelm Reich, psychologist, (1897-1957)
• Erwin Ringel (1921-1994), Austrian psychiatrist (presuicidal syndrome )
• Paul Watzlawick

Scientists/Mathematicians

• Ludwig Boltzmann, physicist, 1844-1906, born in Vienna
• Fritjof Capra, physicist
• Christian Andreas Doppler, physicist, 1803-1853, born in Salzburg (See Doppler effect)
• Paul Ehrenfest, physicist & mathematician
• Viktor Frankl, father of logotherapy
• Kurt Gödel, mathematician (born in Austria-Hungary, became naturalized U.S. citizen)
• Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall, orientalist
• Hans Hass, biologist
• Friedrich Hayek, Nobel Prize winner (economics)
• Karl Landsteiner, physician, serologist, Nobel Prize winner, 1886-1943
• Konrad Lorenz zoologist, Nobel prize 1973 (physiology/medicine)
• Lise Meitner, physicist
• Ernst Mach, physicist and philosopher (Mach number)
• Gregor Mendel, pioneer of genetics
• Ludwig von Mises, free-market economist
• Wolfgang Pauli, Nobel prize winner (Physics, 1945)
• Erwin Schrödinger, physicist and Nobel Prize winner
• Berta von Suttner, Nobel Prize winner
• Anton Zeilinger, physicist

Sportsmen/Sportswomen

• Hansi Hinterseer (born 1954), skier, singer, actor, entertainer
• Franz Klammer, Olympic alpine ski champion, born in Mooswald (Carinthia), 1953
• Niki Lauda, (born 1949), Formula One race car driver and aviation entrepreneur
• Hermann Maier, Olympic alpine ski champion, born 1972
• Thomas Muster, tennis champion, born 1967
• Annemarie Proell , Olympic alpine ski champion, born 1953 in Kleinarl
• Gernot Reinstadler , skier (1970-1991)
• Jochen Rindt, race car driver, Formula One World Champion of 1970 (he died during that season!)
• Toni Sailer, 1956 Olympic Games - Won all three gold medals earning himself the Triple Crown of Alpine Skiing ; born 1935
• Christoph Sieber , Olympic surfing champion
• Hubert Strolz , Olympic alpine ski champion, born in Warth, 1962
• Anita Wachter, Olympic alpine ski champion, born in Schruns, 1967

Writers

• Ingeborg Bachmann, poet, 1926-1973
• Otto Maria Carpeaux, literary critic and foremost historian of Literature, 1900-1978
• Thomas Bernhard, dramatist, novelist, poet, 1931-1989, born in Cloister Heerlen, Netherlands
• Heimito von Doderer, writer, 1896-1966, born in Hadersdorf-Weidlingau near Vienna
• Franz Grillparzer, poet, 1791-1872, Vienna
• Peter Handke, author, born in 1942 in Griffen (Carinthia)
• Ödön von Horváth, writer, born in Rijeka (today Fiume), Austria-Hungary, 1901-1938
• Elfriede Jelinek (born 1946), 2004 Nobel prize for literature
• Franz Kafka, writer, born in Prague, Austria-Hungary (wrote in German)
• Ludwig von Köchel, writer, composer, botanist, music historian
• Karl Kraus, essayist, poet, dramatist, 1874-1936
• Alexander Lernet-Holenia , novelist, poet, playwright
• Robert Menasse, writer and publicist
• Frederic Morton, journalist and novelist, born 1924
• Robert Musil, writer
• Günther Nenning, journalist, born 1921
• Arthur Schnitzler, writer
• Jura Soyfer, cabaret writer and political journalist, lived in Vienna
• Fritz Spiegl, journalist
• Friedrich Torberg, narrative writer, essayist, script author 1908-1979, born in Vienna
• Georg Trakl, poet
• Stefan Zweig, writer, 1881-1942, born in Vienna

Other Notables

• Marie Antoinette, born in Vienna, became Queen of France
• Elisabeth of Austria ("Sissi"), born in Munich (Bavaria)
• Rudolph Bing, opera manager
• Elfi von Dassanowsky, film producer, singer, pianist
• Otto Habsburg-Lothringen Politician, writer, heir to the thrones of Austria-Hungary
• Tunc Hamarat, correspondence chess world champion (2004)
• Theodor Herzl, "founder" of Israel, lived most of his life in Austria
• Franz Cardinal König, 1905-2004, Archbishop of Vienna (1956-1985)
• Alma Mahler, wife and muse to Mahler, Gropius, Werfel
• Wolfgang Puck, celebrity chef and restaurateur
• Max Reinhardt, renowned theatre director
• Günther Schifter, radio personality
• Georg Ritter von Trapp, head of The Sound of Music family
• Simon Wiesenthal, b.1908, Nazi hunter

See also

• List of Austrian Jews
• List of Slovenians; List of Hungarians; List of Croatians; List of Serbs; List of Czechs; List of Slovaks; List of Poles
• List of people by nationality