3. Willem-Alexander van Oranje and Máxima
Engagement photo of Prins of Orange and Maxima Zorreguieta, 2001.
Willem-Alexander is the eldest of 3 sons of Beatrix, who was Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 till 2013. When Queen Beatrix retired, Willem-Alexander became King of The Netherlands. Willem-Alexander (and the monarchy) was not very popular in The Netherlands until he married the beautiful and intelligent Argentine Máxima, thereby turning the entire country monarchy-friendly.
Prins Pils
He is also known as Prins Pils, which refers to his love of beer. But he is also famously sporty, skating the Elfstedentocht and (former) member of the International Olympic Committee.
Videla-regime
Maxima, Queen of The Netherlands is the daughter of Jorge Zorreguieta, who was part of the government during the military dictatorship of Jorge Videla in Argentina. Her father was not therefore not invited to the marriage ceremony.
4. Blade runner actor Rutger Hauer
Rutger Hauer is a Dutch actor born in 1944 who moved to Hollywood to pursue a successful international career. You might have seen him in Nighthawks, Blade Runner, Blind Fury, Flesh & Blood or Escape from Sobibor.
In Holland, Rutger Hauer has made a lasting impression with the film Turks Fruit (Turkish Delight), after the book by Dutch writer Jan Wolkers, where he plays a bohemian artist in 70s Amsterdam.
Paul Verhoeven, Dutch film director
In The Netherlands, Rutger Hauer became famous when he played Floris in 1969, a television series by Paul Verhoeven.Paul Verhoeven later became very big in Hollywood, directing films like RoboCop (1987),Total Recall(1990) enBasic Instinct(1992).
Carice van Houten and Thekla Reuten
Dutch actrice Carice van Houten starred in the HBO series Game of Thrones playing Melisandre. Thekla Reuten is also Dutch. She played in In Bruges, The American and Red Sparrow.
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5. DJ Tiësto and Armin van Buuren
How long the names of Tiësto and Armin van Buuren and, recently DJ Hardwell will stay famous, time can only tell. The fact is The Netherlands has produced some very famous DJs in the last 10 years.
Tiësto was the first name to spread around the world. Behind the worldwide brand is Tijs Verwest from Breda.
250.000 dollar per gig
In the nineties Tiesto quickly became a popular trance DJ, playing at parties all over the world and making record amounts of money (250.000 dollars per gig) behind the decks. Armin van Buuren, another trance DJ, started the road to fame and fortune in 2001 with the radio show A State of Trance. The latest rising star is the young (born 1988) DJ Hardwell, Robbert van de Corput. He makes mostly dance and house music and has his own radio show Hardwell On Air at Dutch Radio 538. DJ Mag named Hardwell the best DJ of the world in 2013 and 2014.
6. Famous Dutch people: Geert Wilders
Dutch politician Geert Wilders often travels abroad to criticize Islam and ends up in the international newspapers as the object of protests and controversy. Wilders started his own party Partij voor de Vrijheid (Freedom Party) in 2004 and running it practically on his own. The overly blonde man from the South of The Netherlands receives many treats.
Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn shot dead
The treats are not to be taken lightly. In 2002 Dutch populist politician Pim Fortuyn was shot dead. His party, the new LPF, was about to make a big winning in the forthcoming elections. Pim Fortuyn was killed by an extreme animal activist outside a radio station.
Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh
Only 2 years later, Theo van Gogh, a Dutch film director, and television persona was murdered in a gruesome manner in broad daylight after dropping off his kid at school. His killer was an Islamic extremist. Sometime before, Van Gogh had made a film with Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali in which they criticized Islam. (And yes, Theo van Gogh is related to the famous painter.)
7. Dutch Photographer Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn is a Dutch photographer most well known for his portraits of famous people, mostly in music.Among them are:Simple Minds,Bob Dylan,Tom Waits,David Bowie, Miles Davis,Joy Division,Björk,Captain Beefheart,Robert De Niro,New Order,Stephen Hawking,Luciano Pavarotti, and Clint Eastwood.
Record design
Corbijn also designed many record covers, for U2 (The Joshua TreeenAchtung Baby), Green Day, Depeche Mode,Nick Cave,Metallica,Therapy?,The Rolling Stones,REM and theBee Gees.
Music videos
He also directed music videos for U2,Metallica,Roxette,The Killers,Joy Division, Depeche Mode,Front 242,Coldplay,Johnny CashenArcade Fire.For his music video Heart-Shaped Box of Nirvana from 1994, he won an MTV Award. Lastly, he also directed films: The American (with George Clooney), A most wanted man, Life and Home.Corbijn has also made several successful movies.Another famous Dutch photographer is Erwin Olaf.
8. Big Brother producer John de Mol
John de Mol might not be a famous name, but his influence on the world of reality television is huge, as he was the creator of the first Big Brother television series. In 1999 the first Big Brother series was aired in The Netherlands.
In Big Brother, 12 people were locked up in a special building with cameras everywhere. Every now and then one of the people was nominated by the other participants to leave the house. It caused quite a stir and a big media hype.Since 2000 Big Brother is produced and aired in at least 58 different countries.
9. Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas
Rem Koolhaas is a famous Dutch architect. In 1975 he founded the Office for Metropolitan Art (OMA) in London. His creations stand out and Koolhaas plays a big role in the international debate about urban architecture.
Kunsthal in Rotterdam
Examples of his work are Parc de la Villette, Paris (1982), Kunsthal in Rotterdam (1992), Embassy of The Netherlands in Berlin, Seattle Central Library Seattle, Beverly Hills Prada, Second Stage Theatre in New York, and Central China Television Headquarters Building in Beijing, China. In 2008, Time named Rem Koolhaas in their top 100 of The World’s Most Influential People.
10. William of Orangeaka William the Silent
The reason Dutch people dress on national occasions in orange is this man: Willem van Oranje (William of Orange). Willem van Oranje is known as the founding father and hero of The Netherlands.Willem van Oranje, also known as William I, Prince of Orange or William the Silent (Willem de Zwijger) made his fame when he led the Dutch uprising against the rule of the Spanish Habsburg. The uprise led to the 80-year war (1568–1648) between the Dutch states and Spain.
Freedom of religion
William of Orange was a wealthy nobleman born in the House of Nassau (Germany) and a proponent of freedom of religion for all people.Declared anoutlawby the Spanish king in 1580, he was assassinated byBalthasar Gerardts inDelftin 1584.
In 1677, his son William II married his cousinMary Stuart. She was the daughter of the future KingJames II of England.
After their marriage, in 1688, William threw his Catholic father-in-law from the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. William and Mary were crowned King and Queen of England.
William III died childless after a riding accident on March 8, 1702. The main male line of the House of Orange was left to extinction. Scotland, England, and Ireland were left to his sister-in-law Queen Anne.
Willem-Alexander, present King of The Netherlands is a decedent of William of Orange through the female line. Though William III did not have any children, there are conspiracy theories that say otherwise.
Thenational anthemof The Netherlands, theWilhelmus, was originally a propaganda song for William of Orange. That makes William of Orange the most famous of all famous Dutch people.
