Consulate of Jamaica | Famous Jamaicans

Famous Jamaicans

Nesta Robert "Bob" Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was the most famous Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & the Wailers (1963–1981). Marley remains the most widely known and revered performer of reggae music, and is credited with helping spread both Jamaican music and the Rastafari movement to a worldwide audience.

Marley’s music was heavily influenced by the social issues of his homeland, and he is considered to have given voice to the specific political and cultural nexus of Jamaica. His best-known hits include “I Shot the Sheriff”, “No Woman, No Cry”, “Could You Be Loved”, “Stir It Up”, “Jamming”, “Redemption Song”, “One Love” and, together with The Wailers, “Three Little Birds”, as well as the posthumous releases “Buffalo Soldier” and “Iron Lion Zion”. The compilation album Legend (1984), released three years after his death, is reggae’s best-selling album, going ten times Platinum (Diamond) in the U.S., and selling 25 million copies worldwide.

Usain Bolt or more affectionately called nicknamed Lightning Bolt by his fans; was born 21. August 1986. is a Jamaican sprinter and a three-time World and Olympic gold medallist. He is the world record and Olympic record holder in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and (along with his teammates) the 4 x 100 metres relay. He is the reigning World and Olympic champion in these three events.

His 2009 record breaking margin over 100 m is the highest since the start of digital time measurements. His achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname “Lightning Bolt”, and awards including the IAAF World Athlete of the Year, Track & Field Athlete of the Year, and Laureus Sportsman of the Year.

Marlene Ottey

Before Marlene Ottey‘s bronze medal in the 200 meter track event in the 1980. Olympics, there were no trackers in the English speaking Caribbean.

Throughout her illustrious career she has won 14 World Championship medals (between 1983. and 1997.) and holds the title for having acquired the most medals, male or female.

She has inspired a whole generation of world class track and field athletes.

Louise Bennett was born on September 7, 1919. She was a Jamaican poet and activist. From Kingston Louise Bennett remains a household name in Jamaica, a “Living Legend” and a cultural icon.

Although she lived in Toronto, Canada for the last decade she still receives the homage of the expatriate West Indian community in the north as well as a large Canadian following.

She was described as Jamaica’s leading comedienne, as the “only poet who has really hit the truth about her society through its own language”, and as an important contributor to her country of “valid social documents reflecting the way Jamaicans think and feel and live”. Through her poems in Jamaican patois, she raised the dialect of the Jamaican folk to an art level which is acceptable to and appreciated by all in Jamaica.

In her poems she was able to capture all the spontaneity of the expression of Jamaicans’ joys and sorrows, their ready, poignant and even wicked wit, their religion and their philosophy of life. Her first dialect poem was written when she was fourteen years old. A British Council Scholarship took her to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where she studied in the late 1940’s.

In 1998 she received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from York University, Toronto, Canada. The Jamaica Government also appointed her Cultural Ambassador at Large for Jamaica. On Jamaica’s Independence Day 2001, Bennett-Coverley was appointed as a Member of the Order of Merit for her distinguished contribution to the development of the Arts and Culture.