When you think of famous people from Luxembourg, you probably think of Jean-Claude Juncker or Shakira’s asset manager’s lawyer’s former mistress. But do you know about these other famous Luxembourgers?
Marie Antoinette (1755 – 1793)
Don’t get fooled just because she was the wife of Louis XVI of France or that her nickname was “the Austrian.” This famous queen was born Marie Ansembourg alongside seven brothers and sisters in Luxembourg’s Valley of the Seven Castles. (The name makes sense now, doesn’t it?). It was said that her favorite food growing up was quetschentaart and that her favorite word was tipptopp.
Elvis Presley (1935 – 1977)
Yes, Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, was a bona fide Luxembourger. His manager concocted a story about Elvis growing up in rural Mississippi in the U.S. because that would make more sense to an American audience, but the truth is that the singer was born Elvid Preizerdaul in the west of Luxembourg. He only learned English at age 18.
Gandhi (1869 – 1948)
“Really?” Yes, Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most revered social activists from the 20th century. Understandably, the majority of people believe he was Indian, while others erroneously believe he was British because he lived in London for a period. These people are all wrong. He was Luxembourgish. He was from the east of the country. His name was Mohandas Grevenmacher. He spent most of his life next to the Moselle making wine. Now you know.
Scooby–Doo (1969 – 1987)
We know what you’re thinking. “Um, Scooby-Doo was not a person; he is an animated fictional dog.” Oh, sweet naive person, how little you understand the world. Maybe to you he’s not real, but to us and the proud people of the Minett, Scooby-Doo was both a real dog and a real person, born right here in the south of Luxembourg with the name Scooby-Dudelange. His neighbors used to ask: Scooby-Dudel-Dudelange, wo bass du?
The M&M’s Spokescandies (1997 – )
We hear what you’re saying, and we do not appreciate your condescending tone. “Now you’ve lost the plot. Anthropomorphic candy-coated spheroid chocolates are not born, nor can they possess or even apply for nationality. Therefore, they cannot ‘be’ Luxembourgish in any meaningful sense. Moreover, we see through your little ruse. All you are doing is taking celebrities and well-known figures from other countries and giving them fake bios and pseudo-Luxembourgish surnames derived from villages and towns in Luxembourg. Haven’t you got anything better to do?” Our response? Stop being so closed-minded. These little guys are from Strassen. Except the green one. She’s from Gonderange.
