List of Famous people born in Kocaeli

Cengiz Topel was a fighter pilot of the Turkish Air Force, who was killed after his plane was shot down while supporting the Turkish army during the 1964 inter-communal conflict "Erenköy Resistance", known as the Battle of Tylliria in Greek Cypriot parlance.

Meral Akşener is a Turkish politician, teacher, historian and academic. She served as Minister of the Interior and was a vice-speaker of the Parliament. In 2016, she led a group of opposition within the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) against its leader Devlet Bahçeli. On 25 October 2017, she founded the İYİ Party, of which she is the leader.

Merih Demiral is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Juventus and the Turkey national team.

Muhammed Kerem Aktürkoğlu is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a winger for the Turkish club Galatasaray in the Süper Lig.

Gürkan Uygun is a Turkish actor of Georgian descent.

Demet Özdemir is a Turkish actress, model and dancer. She is best known for her role as the character "Aylin" in the fantastic drama series Sana Bir Sır Vereceğim.

Demet Akalın is a Turkish singer and former model. Thanks to the popular songs she has released since the middle of the 2000s, she has become one of the most recognizable names of Turkish pop music.

Ulaş Tuna Astepe is a Turkish actor.

Nergis Öztürk is a Turkish actress. She has appeared in more than twelve films since 2006.

İbrahim Çelikkol is a Turkish TV series and film actor, former player of The Turkey national under-20 basketball team and fashion model. His maternal family is of Pomak origin who immigrated from Thessaloniki, Greece. His paternal family is of Arab descent.