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Top 10 Most Famous people from Iceland

Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson by Ellen Finch from

For a country with a population of just over 300,000 people, the number of Icelanders who have become famous throughout the world is astounding. They have left their impact on the international stage in sectors as diverse as music, literature, sport, and politics.

Of course, there are numerous sports, singers, actresses, TV hosts, and politicians who are local superstars but are unknown to the rest of the world, just as there are in any country. These are folks you will no sure see on the streets of Iceland while on vacation and do not realize are well-known. This article, on the other hand, will focus on people who defied national stereotypes and are today regarded as international leaders in their fields.

1. Tómas Lemarquis

Tomas lemarquis by El floz from

Tómas is a Paris-based actor who is the son of an Icelandic mother and a French teacher. He was born in Iceland and now resides in France. He has starred in a lot of films that you may have watched. Remember that hairless man in X-Men: Apocalypse with the serpent eyes and pointy cheeks? Caliban! That’s right, that’s him. He is most known for his part in the film Noi Albinos, although he has also appeared in films such as Snow Piercer and Blade Runner 2049.

2. Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson

Björnsson Arnold Classic by Paula R. Lively from

Hafór is a skilled strongman who also works as an actress. He is the first guy to win three of these competitions in the same calendar year, which is incredible! He began his athletic career as a basketball player, which he did at the age of 6’9″. His grandpa, Reynir, is 6’9 1/2″, so it’s in the family.

He made his acting debut in Game of Thrones as Gregor Clegane “The Mountain.” His character, a real son of the Land of Fire and Ice, died in a great fight amid the flames of Drogon. In the 2017 film Kickboxer: Retaliation, he also played Mongkut.

3. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

Vigdis Finnbogadottir by Rob C. Croes from

Starting in January 1980, he was Iceland’s fourth president. Because she was the world’s first democratically elected female president, her rise to power was historic. Furthermore, she was so popular that she was re-elected three times until retiring in 1996.

The presidency of Vigdis Finnbogadóttir lasted an incredible 16 years. This makes her the world’s longest-serving elected female head of state. She is currently employed as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

4. Halldór Laxness

Halldór Kiljan Laxness by Nobel Foundation from

The Viking sagas, which date back over a thousand years, provide us with a look into life in those days. They are an important component of Iceland’s national identity and are deeply rooted in our traditional literature. Iceland is also a country where one out of every ten people will write a book in their lifetime.

As a result, it’s no surprise that a well-known Icelander was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. In 1955, Halldór Laxness received the coveted prize. He was an Icelandic novelist, essayist, newspaper columnist, poet, short story writer, playwright, and travelogue writer.

5. Bjarni Tryggvason

Bjarni is a former NRC/CSA astronaut, flight teacher, and Icelandic-Canadian engineer. After flying on a 12-day mission to explore changes in the earth’s atmosphere on the space shuttle mission STS-85 in 1997, he rose to notoriety.

He presently teaches at the International Test Pilots School and is a member of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute. I’m sure you didn’t realize he’s from Iceland.

6. Gunnar Milton Hansen

Gunnar was an actor and playwright who was born in Iceland and raised in the United States. He is most known for his performance as Leather Face, a mentally ill cannibal, in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but he is also a wanderer and explorer. Chain Saw Confidential: How We Made the World’s Most Notorious Horror Film and Islands at the Edge of Time: A Journey to America’s Barrier Islands are two of his publications.

7. Chester Hjortur Thordarson

Chester was an American scientist and engineer who was born in Iceland. Icelanders have found Bill Gates and Steve Jobs in him. His work on transformers was extremely beneficial and crucial to the advancement of modern energy transmission.

He also formed Thordarson Meissner Inc (formerly Thordarson Electric Manufacturing Company), a transformer manufacturer for both industrial and commercial applications.

He also earned a gold medal for the first million-volt transformer he constructed at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair. He was also inducted into the Design Engineer Hall of Fame in 2011.

8. Fiann Paul

Picture of Fiann Paul by Fiann Paul from

Fiann is an artist, adventurer, ocean rower, and athlete. He now owns the world’s second-highest number of Guinness World Records in one discipline, with 30.

In 2011, he was awarded the Ocean Rowing Blue Riband Trophy. He sets and breaks records like a true Viking. What’s the best part? Just a little longer…. He has 68 percent of all Icelandic Guinness World Records, and he is both superhuman and iconic. Fiann also refutes the notion that no one can be a jack of all crafts.

9. Edgar Holger Cahill

Edgar, born Sveinn Kristjan Bjarnarsson in 1887, was an Icelandic-born American arts administrator, writer and curator. He served as the National Director of the United States’ Federal Arts Project, an extensive and important visual arts program created during the Depression of the 1930s.

Some of his books include Profane Earth, The Shadow of My Hand, Look South to the Polar Star, and A Yankee Adventurer. He was quite imaginative and skilful. He thought about how best to nurture arts and then established community art centres in over 100 cities and towns – insightful.

10. Darri Ingolfsson

Darri is a well-known actor well known for his part in the film Last Resort. His finest role is as the conniving Dr Saxton in Dexter, which is both nasty and invigorating! Other films in which he appeared include The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Originals.

Do you know any of the popular people that actually belong from Iceland? Are you a fan of any Icelandic celebrities? let us know which one is your favourite.