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Top 25 Most Famous Hungarian People

Originally published by Lilian in October 2021, Updated by Charity K in May 2023, and Updated by Nellian in May 2024. 

Hungary has produced Hollywood stars, crafty inventors, sportsmen, intellectuals, and valiant adventurers. Being worldwide champions, you may never have known they are Hungarian.

Known as innovative people, Hungarians have always found a way to solve complex and simple problems. 

Now you know that this European nation is not only famous for vodka and mustaches. This country was home to the Houdini, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and several other famous people.

These resourceful men and women have made Hungary the most sought-after country in Europe.

Here’s our list of the 25 most famous Hungarians.

1. Joseph Pulitzer – Journalist

Joseph’s life is one of the Hungarian success stories. Born in Makó, Hungary, Pulitzer immigrated to the United States when he was 17 to fight in the Civil War.

He started his journalism career in St. Louis and later moved to New York before joining the House of Representatives.

The Pulitzer Prize was established in 1911 after his death. The Award is given to exceptional people in journalism, drama, and education.

Read more about other famous people here.

2. Harry Houdini – Escape Artist/ Magician

Photo by McManus-Young Collection – Wikimedia

Houdini is a famous name all over the world. His given name was Erik Weisz. He is famously known for his magic, escape tactics, stunts, and humor while at it.

His parents were of Jewish descent and lived in Budapest. Houdini was born in 1874 before his family moved to the United States of America.

Harry Houdini started performing as a magician and had several shows in America and beyond. He died in 1926 after a failed escape act.

There is a museum in Budapest, the House of Houdini, that was opened by David Merlini a fellow Hungarian magician. Here you will get to see artifacts used by Harry Houdini in his work.

3. Robert Capa – Photographer

Robert Capa is one of the world’s most celebrated war photographers. His birth name was Endre Ernő Friedmann in Budapest in 1913.

After a few years in his home country, he left for Berlin and then Paris where he took a new identity and changed his name.

Capa became popular for his photographs of the Spanish Civil War. He became friends with Ernest Hemingway.  

His most famous work was photos of D-Day that were shot while he was waist-deep in water. The coverage of the conflict is one of the most iconic collections from World War II.

He died when covering the First Indochina War in 1954. The Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Centre was opened in Budapest and hosts challenging temporary exhibitions.

4. Zsa Zsa Gabor – Actress

Photo by Cowan talent agents – Wikimedia

Zsa Zsa Gabor was a stage actor and was also crowned Miss Hungary in the 1930s. She moved from Hungary to the United States in 1941 where she continued her acting career.

Gabor is regarded as one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood. Her lifestyle was described as flamboyant full of grace and always impressionable.

Interestingly, Gabor is not known for her film roles but more for her love life. She was married 9 times. Her first marriage was when she was 15 to a Turkish diplomat. 

5. Tommy Ramone – Drummer

This is another celebrity born in Budapest to a Jewish family. His given name was Tamas Erdelyi and he spent most of his childhood years going to Toldi Cinema in Budapest.

His family fled to America in the 1950s. Ramone is famously known as a drummer for the band Ramones. He was involved in the management and production of his band.    

Tommy Ramone died of bile duct cancer in 2014. He is the only Hungarian inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Read more about other famous people here.

6. Monica Seles – Athlete

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

Monica is one of the greatest players in the history of women’s tennis. She is a ten-time Grand Slam champion. Seles was born and raised in Novi Sad just south of the border in Serbia.

Monica moved to America in her teens and was coached by a tennis expert. As a teenager, she became one of the most-watched tennis players and beat some of the world’s best in the 1980s.

Seles was the youngest woman to win the French Open in 1990 after defeating Steffi Graff in the finals. Her career came to a halt after she got stabbed in the shoulder by a disgruntled spectator.

7. Tony Curtis – Actor

Photo by United Artists – Wikimedia

Like most Hungarians who immigrated, Tony changed his name. He was born Bernard Schwartz in Manhattan, United States. As a young child, he spoke only Hungarian and later learned English.

As one of the famous actors in the 60s and 70s, Tony never forgot his Hungarian roots. He contributed to the reconstruction of the Great Synagogue in Budapest.

Curtis has been featured in more than 100 films. In one of his films, he acted as Harry Houdini.   

8. Ernő Rubik – Rubik’s Cube inventor/Architect

The Rubik’s Cube, a puzzle, is a famous invention by Ernő Rubik. He grew up in Budapest and is a renowned architect as well as the president of the Hungarian Engineering Academy.

Rubik continues to make new games and also opened a design studio for games and furniture. Other famous games by him are Rubik’s Magic, Rubik’s Magic: Master Edition, and Rubik’s Snake.

When he invented the cube in 1974, Rubik was not certain the puzzle could be solved. The first person to solve the puzzle took a month to match the colors of the cubes.

9. Calvin Klein – Fashion Designer

Born in the United States, Klein’s parents were of Hungarian descent. His mother encouraged him to pursue fashion.

Although he never graduated, Klein attended Manhattan’s High School of Art and Design. In 2003, he was given an honorary doctorate from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology.

He started his career at Dan Millstein, later, Klein spent a few years designing in New York. His first company was launched in 1968.

Klein’s first success in the fashion industry was after he launched his jeans line. He was acknowledged in his first major show at the New York Fashion Week.  

Read more about other famous people here.

10. László Bíró – Inventor

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

Bíró László József was the inventor of the ballpoint pen. He was born in Budapest, Hungary. His first job was as an editor in the Hungarian newspaper Hongrie-Magyarország-Hungary.

Frustrated by fountain pens running and staining the page, he teamed up with his brother who was a chemist. The two made a pen whose tip revolved and did not leak ink.

He patented this invention in 1938. After fleeing Hungary, Biro settled in Brazil where the biros were produced.

This invention was used by the armed forces. The Royal Air Force aircrew used them because they don’t leak at high altitudes, unlike fountain pens.

11. Louis C.K. – Comedian

He is a Hungarian who has a successful career in the United States as a comedian, writer, producer, editor, director, and actor was born Louis A. Székely. His paternal grandfather origin is a Jew. He was a Hungarian-Jewish immigrant.

Despite being in America for a long time, he purposed to visit his home country Hungary, and perform. In addition, he promised the Hungarians that he would be visiting for more performances soon.

12. Drew Blyth Barrymore – Actress

She was born in Hungary. Her mother was known as Ildikó Makó who was born in Germany but later settled in Hungary. Barrymore is known as an American Actress who won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 2010. She is famous for miniseries and Television films in particular in 2010.

13. Goldie Hawn – Actress

She is the daughter of a Jew who escaped to Hungary amid World War II. The family moved to Washington D.C. where she was born in 1945. The most interesting part of her life is that she traveled to Hungary to find out about her heritage together with her sister.

14. Gene Simmons – Musician

, , via Wikimedia Commons

He was born in Israel. At some point, he changed his name to Eugene Klein which included his Hungarian mother’s maiden name. In addition, he sang a Hungarian folk song on television with his mum but he is now an American Rock-and-roll icon.

Read more about other famous people here.

15. Ferenc Puskás – Footballer (soccer)

This acclaimed Hungarian footballer (soccer) and manager, took after his father, a celebrated footballer. Ferenc Puskás is one of the greatest all-time players and the first international superstar in football.

He was a forward and an attacking midfielder, remembered for scoring 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary. He also played several international matches for Spain.

In 1954, he led his country to the World Cup finals. He received European Cup wins in 1959, 1960, and 1966. He was nicknamed the “Galloping Major” because of his scoring prowess. The IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics) named him the greatest top-division scorer of the 20th century in 1995.

According to Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) Puskás is the all-time seventh top goal scorer. He scored 806 goals in 793 official games throughout his career.

16. Béla Bartók – Composer

, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Bartók was a Hungarian composer cum pianist. He is celebrated as one of the most significant composers of the 20th century. Besides, in Hungary, he and Franz Liszt are respected as the country’s greatest composers.

Through his collection of folk music and study of the same, he helped establish comparative musicology. This is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. In the modern day, it is known as ethnomusicology.

17. Imre Kertész – Author

The Hungarian author, Imre Kertész was a survivor of the Holocaust in German concentration camps. His writings center on his experiences with the German Holocaust, dictatorship, and personal freedom.

He received the 2002 Nobel Prize in Literature following his contributions to the industry. Thus becoming the first Hungarian to win the Nobel in Literature.

18. László Moholy-Nagy – Painter

, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

This Hungarian artist doubled as a painter, photographer, professor, and author. One of his greatest accomplishments is the School of Design in Chicago. The school survives today as part of the Illinois Institute of Technology.

He was a champion for the fusion of technology into the arts. His time as a professor was spent at Bauhaus School, a German art school.

Art critics like Peter Schjeldahl called him “relentlessly experimental”. This was because he pioneered painting, drawing, and photography works. As well as, collage, sculpture, film, theater, and writing. His books and articles advanced the utopian type of high modernism style.

19. József Antall – Former Prime Minister

Antall was a statesman, the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Hungary. He served in the position from May 1990 until December 1993, when he died in office.

Moreover, before his tenure as prime minister, he had served as a teacher, librarian, and historian. His other accomplishments include leading the Hungarian Democratic Forum from 1989 until his demise.

20. György Ligeti – Composer

, , via Wikimedia Commons

Ligeti was born in Romania, lived part of his life in Hungary, and moved to Austria in 1956. In 1968, he received Austrian citizenship.

As a contemporary classical music composer, his innovation made him an influence among progressive figures of his time. From 1973 until his retirement in 1989, he was a professor of composition. He taught at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg in Germany.

He experimented with various genres including electronic music. Yet his breakthrough was his orchestral works like ´¡³Ù³¾´Ç²õ±è³óè°ù±ð²õ(1961). His other win was the stage work, Le Grand Macabre(1965).

His compositions have seen adaptations into film soundtracks. Such as the 2001: A Space Odyssey sci-fi adventure by Stanley Kubrick.

21. Albert Szent-Györgyi – Biochemist

The Hungarian biochemist received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937. One of his most notable contributions was discovering vitamin C.

Furthermore, Györgyi is credited with discovering many of the components and reactions of the citric acid cycle. Further, he contributed to explanations of the molecular basis of muscle contraction.

Beyond the biochemistry space, he advocated the Hungarian Resistance during World War II. After the war, Albert joined Hungarian politics.

22. Ferenc Liszt – Composer

, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Liszt was a Hungarian composer, exceptional pianist, conductor, and teacher during the 19th-century Romantic period. His career spanned over six decades. His piano works are still performed and recorded today.

His rise to prominence came in the 1830s with his skill as a pianist. As one of the greatest pianists of the time, he enjoyed successful European tours. For instance, in the 1830s and 1840s, tours across Europe, Liszt received more limelight. Often, he played for charity.

23. Sándor Márai – Writer

, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Márai was a Hungarian writer, poet, and journalist. He was also a strong promoter of the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Thus, he formed the “Activist and Anti-National Group of Communist Writers”. Following the fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, he fled to Germany. He also spent some time in Paris. He later returned to Hungary in 1928.

He wrote most of his works in the Hungarian language. For example, Egy polgár vallomásai (Confessions of a citizen). Another masterpiece is the 1942 book Embers with the Hungarian title: A gyertyák csonkig égnek. This title means “The Candles Burn Down to the Stump”. The novel was adapted into a stage piece in 2006 by British playwright Christopher Hampton, and performed in London.

On top of that, Márai wrote over 46 books. His works have been republished in more than 17 languages over the years. His prominence stems from a precise and clear realist writing style. He was also the first to write reviews of the works of acclaimed author Franz Kafka.

24. János Bolyai – Mathematician

Bolyai was a Hungarian mathematician. He is famed for developing the absolute geometry technique. This type of geometry includes Euclidean geometry thoughts by the Greek mathematician of the same name. It also borrows from hyperbolic geometry – a parallel of Euclidean ideas.

His discovery offered a consistent alternative geometry corresponding to the universe’s structure. This freed mathematicians from abstract concepts with no connection with the physical world.

25. George Soros – Philanthropist

, , via Wikimedia Commons

The Hungarian-American philanthropist is also a billionaire hedge fund manager. Born in Hungary, he moved to the United Kingdom in 1947 to pursue higher education.

He received his Bachelor of Science degree in philosophy in 1951. He then pursued a Master of Science degree in philosophy, graduating in 1954.

He started his career in British merchant banks and later moved to American banks. In 1969, Soros established Double Eagle, a hedge fund. It was later renamed Quantum Fund. In 1970, Soros started his second hedge fund, Soros Fund Management.

He is a strong supporter of progressive and liberal political causes. He gives donations to such causes through the Open Society Foundations. As of 2023, his donation to the organization is about $32 billion.

With a net worth of US$6.7 billion as per late 2023 reports, Forbes called the billionaire the “most generous giver” (considering the percentage of net worth). He currently lives in New York.

These most famous Hungarian people are a testament to the influence of Hungarians in their nation and beyond.