This is a list of some notable Spanish-speaking people. In alphabetical order within categories.
Actors[edit]
Victoria Abril (born 1959)
Norma Aleandro (born 1936)- Héctor Alterio (born 1929)
- Elena Anaya (born 1975)
- Imperio Argentina (1906–2003)
Moises Arias (born 1994)
Pedro Armendáriz (1912–1963)- Pedro Armendáriz Jr. (1940–2011)
- Antonio Banderas (born 1960)
- Javier Bardem (born 1969)
- Juan Diego Botto (born 1975)
- Cantinflas (1911–1993)
- Nestor Carbonell (born 1968)
- Verónica Castro (born 1952)
- Penélope Cruz (born 1974)
Carla Diaz (born 1990)- Chico Díaz (born 1959)
- Fernando Fernán Gómez (1921–2007)
Andy García (born 1956)- Gael García Bernal (born 1978)
- Sancho Gracia (born 1936)
- Salma Hayek (born 1966)
- Pedro Infante (1917–1957)
Raúl Juliá (1940–1994)- Katy Jurado (1924–2002)
- Libertad Lamarque (1908–2000)
John Leguizamo (born 1964)- George Lopez (born 1961)
- Eva Longoria (born 1975)
- Diego Luna (born 1979)
- Federico Luppi (1936–2017)
- Cheech Marin (born 1946)
- Eva Mendes (born 1974)
- Jordi Mollá (born 1968)
- Ricardo Montalbán (1921–2009)
- Sara Montiel (1928–2013)
- Paul Naschy (1934–2009)
- Jorge Negrete (1911–1953)
- Elizabeth Peña (1961–2014)
- Francisco Rabal (1926–2001)
- Fernando Rey (1917–1994)
Jean Reno (born 1948)- Dolores del Río (1904–1983)
- Michelle Rodríguez (born 1978)
- Benicio del Toro (born 1967)
Leonor Varela (born 1972)- Paz Vega (born 1976)
- Natalia Verbeke (born 1975)
- Zoe Saldana (born 1978)
Authors[edit]
- See also List of Spanish language authors (by country).
A-D[edit]
- Juan Ruiz de Alarcón (c. 1581–1639), dramatist.
- Rafael Alberti (1902–1999), poet, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1983).
- Vicente Aleixandre (1888–1984), poet, Nobel Prize Laureate (1977).
- Isabel Allende (born 1942), best selling novelist.
- Dámaso Alonso (1898–1990), poet, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1978).
José María Arguedas (1911–1969), novelist.- Roberto Arlt (1900–1942), short-story writer, novelist, and playwright.
Miguel Ángel Asturias (1899–1974), Nobel Prize Laureate (1967).
Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel (born 1966), writer and dissident.- Francisco Ayala (1906–2009), novelist, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1991).
- Azorín (José Martínez Ruiz) (1863–1967), journalist, poet, novelist and essayist.
Jesús Balmori (1887–1948), journalist, poet, novelist.- Pío Baroja (1872–1956), novelist.
- Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836–1870), romantic poet and tale writer.
Andrés Bello (1781–1865), humanist, poet, lawmaker, philosopher and educator.- Jacinto Benavente (1866–1954), dramatist, Nobel Prize Laureate (1922).
Mario Benedetti (1920–2009), novelist and poet.- Adolfo Bioy Casares (1914–1999), novelist, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1990).
- Vicente Blasco Ibáñez (1867–1928), best-selling novelist, wrote The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1916).
- Roberto Bolaño (1953–2003), novelist, Rómulo Gallegos Prize Laureate (1999).
- Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986), Cervantes Prize Laureate (1979).
- Alfredo Bryce Echenique (born 1939), novelist and short stories writer.
- Antonio Buero Vallejo (1916–2000), playwright.
- Mario Bunge (1919–2020), philosopher, author of the Treatise on Basic Philosophy (8 volumes, 1974–1989).
- Guillermo Cabrera Infante (1929–2005), novelist, essayist, translator, and critic, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1997).
- Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600–1681), playwright and poet.
- Miguel Antonio Caro (1843–1909), humanist.
- Alejo Carpentier (1904–1980), novelist and essay writer, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1977).
- Camilo José Cela (1916–2002), novelist, Nobel Prize (1989) and Cervantes Prize Laureate (1995).
- Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), novelist, playwright and poet, author of Don Quixote (1605 and 1615).
- Julio Cortázar (1914–1984), novelist and short stories writer.
- Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648/1651–1695), poet and dramatist.
Rubén Darío (1867–1916), modernist poet.- Virgilio Dávila (1869–1943), poet.
- Miguel Delibes (1920–2010), novelist, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1993).
- Nelson Denis (born 1954), screenwriter, novelist.
- Gerardo Diego (1896–1987), poet, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1979).
E-H[edit]
- José Echegaray (1832–1916), dramatist, Nobel Prize Laureate (1904).
- Jorge Edwards (1931–2023), Cervantes Prize Laureate (1999).
- Laura Esquivel (born 1950), novelist.
- Leandro Fernández de Moratín (1760–1828), dramatist and neoclassical poet.
- Rosario Ferré (1938–2016), poet and essayist.
- Carlos Fuentes (1928-2012), novelist and essayist, Rómulo Gallegos (1977), Cervantes (1987) and Prince of Asturias (1994) awards Laureate.
- Benito Pérez Galdós (1843–1920), novelist.
- Rómulo Gallegos (1884–1969), novelist.
- Federico García Lorca (1898–1936), poet and dramatist.
- Gabriel García Márquez (1928–2014), novelist and journalist, Nobel Prize Laureate (1982).
- Luis de Góngora (1561–1627), lyric poet.
- Baltasar Gracián (1601–1658), author of El Criticón, influenced European philosophers such as Schopenhauer.
- Jorge Guillén (1893–1984), poet, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1976).
- Nicolás Guillén (1902–1989), poet.
- José Hernández (1834–1886), poet and journalist, author of the epic poem Martín Fierro.
- Vicente Huidobro (1893–1948), poet, initiator of the Creacionismo movement.
I-L[edit]
- Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881–1958), poet, Nobel Prize Laureate (1956).
- John of the Cross (1542–1591), mystic poet.
Demetrio Korsi (1899–1957), poet, diplomatic, journalist.- Enrique Krauze (born 1947), historian, political and social essayist and publisher.
- Mariano José de Larra (1809–1837), literary journalist.
- José Lezama Lima (1910–1976), novelist.
- Luis Lloréns Torres (1878–1944), poet.
- Luis López Nieves (born 1950), best-selling novelist and tale writer.
- Dulce María Loynaz (1902–1997), poet, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1992).
- Leopoldo Lugones (1874–1938), poet.
- Fray Luis de León (1527–1591), poet of the Spanish Golden Age.
M-P[edit]
- Antonio Machado (1875–1939), poet.
- Julián Marías (1914–2005), philosopher and essayist.
- Javier Marías (1951–2022), novelist and translator, Rómulo Gallegos Prize Laureate (1995).
- José Martí (1853–1895), poet and essayist.
- Gabriela Mistral (1889–1957), poet, Nobel Prize Laureate (1945).
- Augusto Monterroso (1921–2003), short stories writer, Prince of Asturias Award Laureate (2000).
- Agustín Moreto y Cavana (1618–1661), dramatist and playwright.
- Manuel Mujica Láinez (1910–1984), novelist, essayist, journalist and short stories writer; author of Bomarzo (1962).
- Álvaro Mutis (1923–2013), Cervantes Prize (2001) and Prince of Asturias Awards Laureate (1997).
- Pablo Neruda (1904–1973), poet, Nobel Prize Laureate (1971).
- Amado Nervo (1870–1919), modernist poet.
- Juan Carlos Onetti (1909–1994), novelist and short-story writer, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1980).
- José Ortega y Gasset (1883–1955), philosopher and essayist.
- Fernando del Paso (1935–2018), novelist, essayist and poet, Rómulo Gallegos Prize Laureate (1982).
- Octavio Paz (1914–1998), Cervantes Prize (1981) and Nobel Prize (1990) Laureate.
- Arturo Pérez-Reverte (born 1952), best-selling novelist and journalist.
- Sergio Pitol (1933–2018), novelist, short stories writer and translator, Cervantes Prize Laureate (2005).
- Elena Poniatowska (born 1932), novelist.
- Manuel Puig (1932–1990), novelist, author of The Kiss of the Spider Woman (1976).
Q-T[edit]
- Francisco de Quevedo (1580–1645), novelist, essayist and poet, master of Conceptism.
- Horacio Quiroga (1878–1937), short story writer.
- José Eustasio Rivera (1888–1928), poet and novelist.
- José Rizal (1861–1896), poet, novelist and essayist.
Augusto Roa Bastos (1917–2005), novelist, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1989).- Fernando de Rojas (1465–1541), novelist, author of La Celestina (1499).
- Gonzalo Rojas (1917–2011), poet, Cervantes Prize Laureate (2003).
- Juan Ruiz (c. 1283 – c. 1350), author of the epic poem Book of Good Love.
- Juan Rulfo (1917–1986), novelist, Prince of Asturias Award Laureate (1983).
- Ernesto Sabato (1911–2011), novelist and essay writer, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1984).
- Jaime Sabines (1926–1999), poet.
- Pedro Salinas (1891–1951), poet.
- Alfonsina Storni (1892–1938), postmodernist poet.
- Saint Teresa of Avila (1515–1582), mystic poet.
- Tirso de Molina (1571–1648), playwright.
U-Z[edit]
- Francisco Umbral (1935–2007), novelist, biographer and essayist, Cervantes Prize Laureate (2000).
- Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1931), existentialist author and essayist.
- Arturo Uslar-Pietri (1906–2001), novelist, Prince of Asturias Award Laureate (1990).
- Ramón María del Valle-Inclán (1866–1936), dramatist, novelist and member of the Generation of 98.
- César Vallejo (1892–1938), poet.
- Fernando Vallejo (born 1942), novelist, Rómulo Gallegos Prize Laureate (2003).
- Mario Vargas Llosa (born 1936), novelist and essayist, Cervantes Prize Laureate (1994).
- José Vasconcelos (1882–1959), thinker, educator and essayist.
- Garcilaso de la Vega (1501–1536), poet.
- "El Inca" Garcilaso de la Vega (1539–1616), first mestizo author in Spanish language.
- Félix Lope de Vega (1562–1635), poet and playwright.
- Xavier Villaurrutia (1903–1950), poet.
- Gabriel Zaid (born 1934), poet and essayist.
- María de Zayas y Sotomayor (1590–1660), novelist.
- José Zorrilla y Moral (1817–1893), poet and dramatist, author of Don Juan Tenorio (1844).
Film directors[edit]
Pedro Almodóvar (born 1949)
Alejandro Amenábar (born 1972)
Alfonso Arau (born 1932)
Adolfo Aristarain (born 1943)- Icíar Bollaín (born 1967)
- Luis Buñuel (1900–1983)
- Alfonso Cuarón (born 1961)
- José Luis Cuerda (1947–2020)
Nelson Denis (born 1954)- Juan Downey (1940–1993)
- Víctor Erice (born 1940)
- José Luis Garci (born 1944)
- Luis García Berlanga (1921–2010)
- Alejandro González Iñárritu (born 1963)
- Alexandro Jodorowsky (born 1929)
- León Klimovsky (1906–1996)
- Bigas Luna (1946–2013)
- Julio Médem (born 1958)
- Paul Naschy (1934–2009)
Franco de Peña (born 1966)- Arturo Ripstein (born 1943)
- Carlos Saura (1932–2023)
- Guillermo del Toro (born 1964)
Journalists[edit]
- Enrique Gratas, television journalist.
- Jorge L. Ramos (born 1950), television journalist; three-time Emmy Award winner.
- Jacobo Zabludovsky (1928–2015), television journalist.
Linguists[edit]
- Andrés Bello (1781–1865), philologist.
Miguel Antonio Caro (1843–1909), linguist.- Rufino José Cuervo (1844–1911), philologist and linguist.
- María Moliner (1900–1981), lexicographer.
- Antonio de Nebrija (1441–1522), scholar, published the first grammar of the Spanish language (Gramática Castellana, 1492), which was the first grammar produced of any Romance language.
Singers and songwriters[edit]
- See also Spanish language rock and roll (by country).
- Lucecita Benitez (born 1940), singer-songwriter.
- Nydia Caro (born 1955), singer.
- Pilita Corrales (born 1939), singer.
- Celia Cruz (1926–2003), salsa singer.
- Gloria Estefan (born 1957), singer-songwriter.
- José Feliciano (born 1945), singer-songwriter.
- Luis Fonsi (born 1978), singer.
- Juan Gabriel (1950–2016), ranchera and ballad singer-songwriter.
- Manolo García (born 1955), singer-songwriter.
Carlos Gardel (1890–1935), tango singer born in France, raised in Argentina.
Juan Luis Guerra (born 1957), merengue and bachata singer.- Julio Iglesias (born 1943), pop singer.
- Pedro Infante (1917–1957)
- Víctor Jara (1932–1973), singer-songwriter.
- José Alfredo Jiménez (1926–1973), singer-songwriter.
- Juanes (born 1972), singer-songwriter.
- Agustín Lara (1900–1970), singer and songwriter.
Laura Pausini (born 1974), singer and songwriter.- Ernesto Lecuona (1896–1963), songwriter.
- Marc Anthony (born 1969), singer-songwriter.
- Ednita Nazario (born 1955)
- Jorge Negrete (1911–1953)
- Pitbull (born 1981), pop singer.
- Jose Alfredo Jimenez (1926–1973)
- Nino Bravo (1944–1973)
- Raphael (born 1943), pop singer.
- Joaquín Sabina (born 1949), singer-songwriter.
- Alejandro Sanz (born 1968), pop/ballad singer.
- Selena (1971–1995), pop singer.
- Joan Manuel Serrat (born 1943), singer-songwriter.
- Shakira (born 1977), Latin Pop singer and songwriter.
- Enrique Urquijo (1960–1999), New wave music singer.
- Atahualpa Yupanqui (1908–1992), folk musician.
