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Manchester was home to a lot of famous people.
Whether they were born Mancunians or chose to make Manchester their home, these personalities have changed the city in many ways. Manchester gave the world many rock bands and actors.
And most people don’t know about that but famous Mancunians are all around!
Are you ready? Let’s discover all the famous people from Manchester!
Famous people who were born in Manchester
Let’s start with all the celebrities who were born in Manchester.
Noel Gallagher
Lead guitarist and co-lead singer of the rock band Oasis, Noel Gallagher is one of the most famous rock stars in England.
He was born in Burnage in South Manchester.
Oasis’ most famous hits include Wonderwall, Don’t look back in Anger and Champagne Supernova.
Bernard Hill
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Bernard Hill is a Mancunian actor who is mainly known for his roles in Lord of the Rings and Titanic.
He was born in Manchester in 1944 and went to school at the Xaverian College, in Rusholme before going to Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama.
He also took part in From there to Here, a BBC drama series about Manchester.
Danny Boyle
Famous for his role in Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting, Yesterday and Steve Jobs, Danny Boyle was born in Radcliffe, near Bury, in Greater Manchester.
He also went to school in Bolton.
He is known for his television, cinema and theatre work.
So much so that he won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for Best Director.
Liam Gallagher
Lead singer of Oasis and brother of Noel Gallagher, Liam was also born in Burnage in South Manchester.
His real name is William John Paul Gallagher and he was born in 1972.
Liam became very famous through Oasis but is also an artist in his own rights.
Oasis was disbanded in 2014 and Liam released several solo albums since, inclusing As you were and Why me? Why Not.
Ian McKellen
Did you know that Gandalf was from Manchester?
Yes, that’s right!
Manchester hasn’t given us just one but two Lords of Rings actors!
How cool is that?
Ian McKellen needs no introduction. He is one of the most famous English actors of all time.
He won more awards that we can count including BAFTAs, a Tony and a Golden Globe!
He is a true British cultural icon and as it turns out, was born in Burnley in Lancashire.
He also lived in Wigan and Bolton as a child.
Interesting fact: Ian McKellen is an activist, particularly known for his role in LGBTQ rights. He has been seen many times at Manchester pride.
Emmeline Pankhurst
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Probably the most favourite Mancunian women of all time, Emmeline was a political activist.
She founded the British Suffragette movement enabling women to get the right to vote.
She was born in the Moss Side and was a true Mancunian.
Her role in founding the Suffragette movement was remarkable.
She fought for both married and unmarried women so they would all get the right to vote.
Of course, nowadays this sounds obvious but it really wasn’t 100 years ago.
In 1999, she was named one of the 100 most importatn people of the 20th century and this is not surprising.
Not only did her movement manage to get women the right to vote in the UK much before most countries in the world but it also had an impact on many other movements internationally.
Interesting fact: You can find a statue of Emmeline Pankhurst on St Peter’s Square.
It was inaugurated in 2018 and became the first statue of a non-royal woman in Manchester.
Ian Brown
Lead vocalist of the alternative rock band the Stone Roses, Ian Brown was born in Warrington, near Manchester.
He became famous when the band was created in the 80s, making him one of the most iconic Madchester musicians.
What is Madchester? This is the name given to the musical scene in Manchester in the 80s. It was a very important area in the history of music and a lot of famous bands were created during that time including the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays.
WANT TO LEARN MORE? Join the music tour of Manchester!
Famous people who lived in Manchester
Now that we covered the celebrities who were born in Manchester, it’s important to talk about people who were not born here but made Manchester their home.
These people contributed tremendously in making Manchester what it is today!
Alan Turing
Mainly known for having decrypted the German machine Enigma during the war, Alan Turing was born in Southern England but spent a great deal of time in Manchester and Wilmslow.
He is considered to be the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence, hence Manchester being such a good choice.
After the war, he became a teacher at the University of Manchester.
Turing met his partner at the Cinema on Oxford Road. Unfortunately this will eventually lead him to being convicted for indecency and found dead in his flat 2 years later.
Sadly, Alan Turing had a very hard life and was not treated the way he should have been.
His work is believed to have shorten the war of two years. This was kept a scret until the 2010s.
Queen Elizabeth II signed a pardon for his conviction in 2013.
Since then, Alan became one of the most important symbol of Manchester. That’s why you can find his statue in Sackville garden in the Gay Village.
Fun fact: The statue shows him with the Newton apple and he is facing the Manchester LGBTQ bee.
Want to know more? Make sure to watch the movie The Imitation Game. You can see Benedict Cumberbatch protraying Alan Turing during WWII. It’s excellent!
Benedict Cumberbatch
Speaking of Alan Turing, let’s mention the actor that was playing his role in The Imitation Game.
Benedict Cumberbatch is a famous English actor that graduated from the Victoria University of Manchester.
Funnily enough, that’s the exact same university where Alan Turing used to teach.
That said, Benedict Cumberbach studied drama there. Nothing to do with computers!
J.K Rowling
Yes, the author of Harry Potter has not only lived in Portugal and Scotland, she also worked for the chamber of commerce and Manchester University in 1990.
Fact fact: Manchester is not known as a Harry Potter location. Edinburgh and London are.
This makes a lot of sense. After all J.K. Rowling was living in Edinburgh when she wrote the books and the movies were mainly filmed in London.
However, Manchester is also an important Harry Potter location and most people ignore it!
Firstly, the idea of Harry Potter came to her in a train from Manchester to London. Check out this tweet for confirmation.
Secondly, J.K. Rowling aknowledged publicly on Twitter that the Bourneville Hotel in Manchester is where she invented Quidditch in 1991.
Ernest Rutherford
Mainly known for having first split the atom,
Ernest Rutherford was a scientist from New Zealand. He took a position at Manchester University in 1907.
That’s where he worked on all his major researches and had all his breakthroughs.
He is known for his work on the atom and is the first person who split the atom.
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