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The daughter of a police officer and a social worker and the middle of three siblings, Déborah François was cast by the Dardenne brothers in L'enfant in 2005 while she was in high school. Between the ages of 10 to 16 François had taken acting classes but she did not expect to make acting her career. L'enfant won the Palme d'Or in Cannes 2005 and François was praised for her sensitive portrayal of Sonia, the young mother of the film.

Déborah François returned to Cannes in 2006 for the presentation of The Page Turner in Un Certain Regard category. The film's director, Denis Dercourt, who is also a musician, commented "I used to teach music to child prodigies, and Déborah reminds me of those; she's a child prodigy." In 2008 she received a César for Most Promising Actress for The First Day of the Rest of Your Life in which she played the teenage daughter of a family.

François's early promise has see her make many films since that display her talent and versatility. Presently she lives in Paris and is engaged to Victor, a director of photography.

Marie Gillain was born on 18 June 1975 in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. She is an actress and director, known for Coco avant Chanel (2009), Le affinità elettive (1996) and Mon père, ce héros. (1991).

Mehdi Dehbi was born on 5 December 1985 in Liège, Belgium. He is an actor, known for A Most Wanted Man (2014), Le fils de l'autre (2012) and Messiah (2020).

Georges Simenon was a Belgian novelist, writing in the French language. He published nearly 500 different novels, and a large number of short stories. He became internationally famous for creating the French police detective Jules Maigret, as the protagonist in a celebrated series of mystery novels. Between 1931 and 1972, Simenon published 75 novels and 28 short stories about Maigret and his supporting cast. The Maigret stories have often been adapted into films, television series, and radio shows.

In 1903, Simenon was born in Liège, Belgium. His parents were the accountant Désiré Simenon and his wife Henriette Brüll. His father worked as an accountant for an insurance company. They were members of the wider Simenon family, a line of peasants from Limburg whose history had been recorded since the 1580s. Simenon's maternal ancestry was primarily German and Dutch. His mother was reputedly a distant descendant of the famed robber Gabriel Brühl (died in 1743). Simenon would later use the family name "Brühl" as one of his pen names.

In 1905, the Simenon family moved to the Outremeuse neighborhood of Liège, where Simenon would spend most of his childhood. In 1911, they moved to a larger house in the same neighborhood. The family started taking in lodgers to supplement their income. The young Simenon regularly interacted with these lodgers, who were apprentices and students of various nationalities. These interactions gave him his first taste of cosmopolitanism.

In September 1914, Simenon started attending the Collège Saint-Louis, a Jesuit high school. He dropped out of high school in June 1918, deciding against taking his year-end exams. He supported himself through a series of odd-jobs. In January 1919, the adolescent Simenon was hired as a journalist by the newspaper "Gazette de Liège". His assignments consistent of "human interest" stories, which were thought to be of trivial importance. Simenon grew interested in the seamier side of life in Liège, and started to frequent bars and cheap hotels in search of information. He also grew interested in police investigations, and attended lectures on police technique by the famed criminologist Edmond Locard (1877-1966).

Simenon wrote his first novel in June 1919, but it was not published in book form until 1921. During the early 1920s, Simenon started hanging out with members of "La Caque", a group of Bohemian artists. He was introduced by them to Régine "Tigy" Renchon, who became his girlfriend. In 1922, Simenon's father died. Simenon took the decision to move with Tigy to Paris, where he got acquainted with ordinary working-class Parisians. The city's bistros, cheap hotels, bars and restaurants would later become settings for his novels.

In 1928, Simenon took an extended sea voyage for a journalistic assignment. He discovered that he liked water travel. In 1929, he had a boat house constructed for himself and his wife, called the "Ostrogoth". They used it to travel through the French canal system. Joining them in their travels was their housekeeper Henriette "Boule" Liberge, who became Simenon's mistress. Their romantic relationship lasted for decades, unlike Simenon's previous short-lived affairs.

In 1930, Simenon wrote the first Maigret story during a boat trip in the Netherlands. It was published the following year. In 1932, Simenon's journalistic assignments caused him to travel across Africa, eastern Europe, Turkey, and the Soviet Union. In 1933, Simenon interviewed the exiled politician Leon Trotsky in Istanbul. Simenon took a trip around the world from 1934 to 1935. For much of the 1930s, Simenon was a permanent foreign resident in France.

During World War II, Simenon lived in Vendée, France. He maintained decent relationships with the German occupation authorities, and negotiated film rights of his books with German studios. Following the end of the war, Simenon was accused of being a German collaborator, but with little apparent evidence. In 1950, the French authorities temporarily forbid him to publish new works as punishment for his supposed collaboration, but the sentence was not enforced.

In 1945, Simenon left France with his wife for an extended stay in Quebec, Canada. He wrote three novels in the local city of Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson. For the following decade, Simenon and his family moved constantly across Canada and the United States. He learned to speak English with relative ease, and so did his mistress Boule. In 1949, Simenon divorced Tigy, but continued living in close proximity with her, in accordance with the divorce agreement. In 1950, Simenon married his second wife Denyse Ouimet (a French-Canadian) in Reno, Nevada. She was 17 years younger than Simenon himself. Denyse was his former secretary, and they had been romantically involved since 1945.

In 1952, Simenon briefly returned to Belgium, as he was made a member of the "Académie Royale de Belgique" (Royal Academy of Belgium). He had not actually lived in Belgium since 1922, but he remained a Belgian citizen and had become the country's most famous writer. Simenon permanently left the United States in 1955. He initially settled back in France, but then decided to move to Switzerland. In 1963, he had a new house constructed for himself in Épalinges, Vaud.

In 1964, Simenon and his wife Denyse separated permanently. His housekeeper Teresa had become his new long-term mistress. In 1978, Simenon was shocked when his daughter Marie-Jo committed suicide at the age of 25. In 1984, Simenon underwent surgery for a brain tumor. He recovered well, but his health further deteriorated during the last years of his life. In September 1989, he died in his sleep while staying in Lausanne,. He was 86-years-old at the time of his death, and had not published any major work for several years.

Simenon's works have remained popular into the 21st century. According to the 2019 version of the Index Translationum by UNESCO, Simenon was the 17th most translated writer on a global scale. In the Index, Simenon outranked the likes of of Astrid Lindgren (18th) and Pope John Paul II (19th). He ranked just below Fyodor Dostoevsky (16th) and Mark Twain (15th).

Damien Chapelle was born on 8 December 1988 in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. He is an actor, known for Le secret des banquises (2016), Planetarium (2016) and Don Juan (2022).

Ben Stassen was born in 1959 in Aubel, Liège, Belgium. He is a producer and director, known for The House of Magic (2013), Bigfoot Family (2020) and Encounter in the Third Dimension (1999).

Roger Darton was born on 25 June 1927 in Liège, Belgium. He was an actor and director, known for Les petites sauvages (1982), The Panther Squad (1984) and Les filles du Golden Saloon (1975). He died on 24 November 2012 in Liège, Belgium.

Thierry Hancisse was born on 20 November 1962 in Liege, Belgium. He is an actor, known for Midnight in Paris (2011), Broken English (2007) and La régate (2009).

Philippe Jeusette was born on 23 March 1966 in Rocourt, Liege, Belgium. He was an actor, known for Deux jours, une nuit (2014), La fille inconnue (2016) and L'enfant (2005). He died on 25 August 2022 in Heyd, Belgium.

Harry Cleven was born on 19 August 1956 in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. He is an actor and director, known for Trouble (2005), Mr. Nobody (2009) and Angel (2016).

Richard Ciupka was born in 1950 in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. He is a cinematographer and director, known for Atlantic City (1980), Nouvelle Adresse (2014) and La mystérieuse mademoiselle C. (2002).

Linda Massoz was born on 3 August 1985 in Liège, Belgium. She is an actress, known for Les Lyonnais (2011), Amour sur place ou à emporter (2014) and Les secrets (2018).

Willy Kurant was born on 15 February 1934 in Liege, Belgium. He was a cinematographer, known for Pootie Tang (2001), Sous le soleil de Satan (1987) and Cannabis (1970). He died on 1 May 2021 in Paris, France.

Benoît Dervaux was born on 15 January 1966 in Liège, Belgium. He is a cinematographer and director, known for Rwanda, la vie après (2014), La devinière (2000) and Gigi, Monica... et Bianca (1996).

Stanislas-André Steeman was born on 23 January 1908 in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. He was a writer and actor, known for L'assassin habite... au 21 (1942), La muerte camina en la lluvia (1948) and L'ennemi sans visage (1946). He was married to Charlotte Duchesne. He died on 15 December 1970 in Menton, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Marcel Cabay was born on 10 December 1921 in Liège, Belgium. He was an actor and writer, known for Les berger (1970), Le clan Beaulieu (1978) and Comme tout l'monde (1972). He died on 7 June 1990 in Greenfield Park, Québec, Canada.

Renaud Rutten was born on 4 August 1963 in Liège, Belgium. He is an actor and writer, known for Une chanson pour ma mère (2013), Les grands seigneurs (2022) and Louis la brocante (1998).

Elodie Barthels was born on 18 July 1989 in Liege, Belgium. She is an actress, known for Les reines du drame (2024), Elixer and Grave Pleasures: High on Annihilation (2023).

Berthe Bovy was born on 6 January 1887 in Liege, Belgium. She was an actress, known for Le joueur (1938), La reine Margot (1910) and On ne badine pas avec l'amour (1910). She was married to Pierre Fresnay. She died on 26 February 1977 in Montgeron, Essonne, Île-de-France, France.

Nicolas Herman was born on 14 July 1975 in Liège, Belgium. He is an actor and director, known for Fourberie (2013), Les lettres portugaises (2014) and Un jour sans (2011).

Justine Henin is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She is considered one of the greatest female tennis players of all time. She spent a total of 117 weeks as the world No. 1 and was the year-end No. 1 in 2003, 2006 and 2007. Henin helped establish Belgium as a leading force in women's tennis with Kim Clijsters, and led the country to its first Fed Cup crown in 2001.

Henin won seven Grand Slam singles titles: winning the French Open in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007, the US Open in 2003 and 2007 and the Australian Open in 2004. At Wimbledon, she was the runner-up in 2001 and 2006. She also won a gold medal in the women's singles at the 2004 Olympic Games and won the year-ending WTA Tour Championships in 2006 and 2007. In total, she won 43 WTA singles titles.

She retired from professional tennis on 26 January 2011, due to a chronic elbow injury.

In 2016, she became the first Belgian tennis player inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

César Franck, a French composer best known for his massive Symphony and enchanting three chorales for organ, which he wrote during the last month of his life after being hit by a horse-omnibus.

He was born César-Auguste Franck on December 10, 1822 in Liege, Belgium. He studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Liege before going to the Paris Conservatoire in 1835. There he studied piano with Zimmerman and organ with Benoist. His ability for sight-reading was legendary since his school days; Franck received the "Grand prix d'honneur" for transposing a fugue a third lower on sight.

Franck contributed twelve major works for organ, that made him the most important organ composer in France, and arguably second to Johann Sebastian Bach. He also wrote a massive "Symphony in D minor" (1886-88) and the "Symphonic Variations" for piano and orchestra. He admitted his interest in the music of Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner. In 1858 he became organist at the basilica Sainte-Clotilde and remained at that post until his death. He was a professor of organ and composition at the Paris Conservatoire, having such apprentices as Claude Debussy, Louis Vierne, and Paul Dukas.

César Franck suffered from pleurisy after he was hit by a horse-omnibus in 1890. After that accident he composed what is considered his masterpiece, the "Three Chorales" for organ. He died on November 8, 1890 in Paris, and was laid to rest in the Cimetriere du Montparnasse.

Patrick Quinet was born on 23 May 1967 in Liège, Belgium. He is a producer and actor, known for Rundskop (2011), Certified Copy (2010) and Jeux d'enfants (2003).

Davide Durbano is know for Transit17 and Crime Confidential. He was born in Belgium from an Italian father and a Belgian mother. Davide capitalizes on presence and intensity. His work is grounded in Meisner and Stanislavsky. He always combines techniques to get the best result possible. He is a multilingual actor fluent in English, French and Italian and intermediary Dutch. He takes pride in performing as many stunts himself as possible.

Noël Godin is a Belgian writer, critic, actor and notorious pie thrower or entarteur. Godin, who uses the pseudonym "Georges Le Gloupier" has also inspired an unknown number of followers around the world, who now regularly provide him with details about the whereabouts of various important potential targets. Godin has appeared in many films directed by his friend Jan Bucquoy and producer Francis de Smet including the acclaimed La vie sexuelle des Belges 1950-1978 (1994), Camping Cosmos (1996) playing the Belgian writer Pierre Mertens. Godin was featured in the Banksy-produced documentary The Antics Roadshow (2011) which included footage of a number of his entarteur attacks.