by Annette Chan
Ever wondered which celebrities are secret polyglots? Here’s our list of public figures who speak multiple languages.
There are myriad reasons to learn a new language, whether it is for cultural exchange, better job prospects, to deepen your empathy, or to improve brain function. But whatever your motivation, it’s never been easier to access language learning resources than today, whether from foreign media, language apps, or tutors. With the internet essentially democratising language education, major language learning platforms such as Duolingo and Babbel have seen sustained growth in their active users over the years.
Having access to global language learning data also offers a fascinating window into the world at our current moment in time. For example, Duolingo reported a 216% increase in Mandarin learners in January this year when TikTok briefly withdrew from the US market. Meanwhile, the popularity of Japanese and Korean culture and media with young people around the world is reflected in the fact that they are the third and fourth most popular languages to learn among Gen Z and millennials, according to a report from Word Tips.
And multilingualism isn’t just a personal flex — it’s essential to making the world go round. According to UNESCO, at least half of the global population is bilingual or multilingual, and linguistic diversity is key to peace and sustainable development. To demonstrate just how much language learning can offer, we look at celebrities and notable figures who have benefited from speaking multiple languages.
Chua Lam (蔡瀾)
Teochew, Hokkien, Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Malay
As one of Hong Kong’s “Four Great Talents,” beloved food critic and film producer Chua Lam was known to be something of a Renaissance man. Beyond his pursuits in food, film and the art of living well, Chua was also a skilled calligrapher, painter, and linguist. A native of Singapore, his fluency in Teochew, Hokkien, Cantonese, and Mandarin, as well as English and Malay, helped Chua connect with millions of people across the Sinosphere. But it was his ability to speak Japanese that helped him land his first job in film. While studying at Nihon University, Chua worked part-time as a translator for Shaw Studios’ Tokyo office and helped the studio source films before eventually relocating to the Hong Kong office. In June 2025, he passed away at the age of 83 in Hong Kong.
Lisa (Lalisa Manobal)
Korean, Thai, English, Japanese, Mandarin and French
It should come as no surprise that any K-pop idol can perform in fluent Korean, but the fact that Lalisa Manobal — or Lisa, as she’s widely known — is a native Thai speaker makes her rap flows in Blackpink’s songs all the more impressive. Lisa, who moved to South Korea at the age of 14 to join YG Entertainment as the label’s first non-Korean trainee, mastered Korean through interacting with local people and watching K-dramas. In 2025, she made her acting debut in The White Lotus in a role that required fluent Thai and English, and she is also conversant in Japanese, Mandarin, and French.
Maya Angelou
English, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and the West African dialect of Fante
As one of the most influential voices of 20th-century America, it’s no secret that celebrated poet and memoirist Maya Angelou had a way with words. But English wasn’t the only language she wielded with expertise. Angelou, whose richly varied career included stints as a civil rights activist, singer, filmmaker, teacher, public speaker, and much, much more, began learning other languages in earnest while touring Europe and Africa as a professional dancer with an opera company in the 1950s. She continued doing so while working as a journalist in Egypt and Ghana in the 1960s, and, in addition to English, was reported to be fluent in French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, and the West African dialect of Fante.
Viggo Mortensen
English, Danish, Catalan, Russian, French, Italian and Spanish.
Best known for his role as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, actor Viggo Mortensen may well be the closest thing we have to a real-life King of Gondor. Not just a polyglot but also a polymath, Mortensen is an accomplished musician, photographer, painter, and writer. As a native speaker of English, Danish, and Argentine Spanish, Mortensen has acted and published poetry in all three languages, and even edited Spanish-language books about South American ethnography. As part of his frankly staggering repertoire, Mortensen also boasts fluent French and Italian and conversational Catalan, and has acted in Russian, as well as various regional variants of French, Italian, and Spanish.
Daniel Brühl
Spanish, Portuguese, French, German and English
Born to a Brazilian-German father and a Spanish mother, actor Daniel Brühl grew up speaking German, Spanish, Portuguese, and French — and it’s safe to say he’s put those linguistic chops to good use. Though he made his debut in German-language films such as Good Bye, Lenin!, Brühl credits his role in Inglourious Basterds as Nazi sniper Frederick Zoller — who switches effortlessly between German, French, and English — with helping him find international success and escape the “nice guy” typecasting he had experienced in Germany. Brühl told the Wall Street Journal that he “loves (acting in different languages) because you can express certain things, better or worse, in one or the other language.”
Natalie Portman
English, Hebrew, French, Spanish and German
Considered one of Hollywood’s brightest stars in both celebrity and intellect, Natalie Portman famously attended Harvard University while filming her breakout role as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequels. Though the vast majority of her roles have been in English, the Israeli-American actress is a native speaker of Hebrew and even wrote, directed, and starred in a Hebrew-language film called A Tale of Love and Darkness in 2015. A longtime resident of Paris, Portman also has a strong command of French (even demonstrating her awareness of French Verlan slang in a previous interview) and is conversant in Spanish and German.
Trevor Noah
English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, Tsonga and German
For many people, learning multiple languages is a form of self-betterment — a way to improve academic and professional prospects or keep one’s brain active. But for comedian and political commentator Trevor Noah, who was born in apartheid-era South Africa to a Xhosa mother and Swiss-German father, being multilingual was an act of self-preservation. Noah, who speaks English natively, learned to switch between Afrikaans (a derivative of Dutch commonly spoken by mixed-race and white Afrikaners) and Southern African languages such as Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, and Tsonga in his early years to avoid conflict and discrimination. In an NPR interview, Noah stated he is also conversational in German and would like to learn Spanish.
Salma Hayek
English, Mexican Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese
While Salma Hayek found early success in Spanish-language soap operas in her native Mexico, she has recounted her struggle to find work as a Latin actress upon moving to Los Angeles. Despite her dyslexia, Hayek was able to improve her English by taking language classes and eventually landed her breakout role in the 1995 film Desperado. Today, Hayek can speak English, French, and Italian to varying degrees and fully understands Portuguese. She has also expressed her desire to speak Arabic due to her half-Lebanese heritage, and produced and starred in the animated movie The Prophet, based on Lebanese author Kahlil Gibran’s book of the same name.
Novak Djokovic
German, Serbian, English, Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese
While tennis is indisputably Novak Djokovic’s most famous talent, the Serbian athlete is also known for being something of a polyglot and can communicate comfortably in seven languages. During a press conference at Wimbledon 2024, Djokovic said he realised from a young age that being multilingual would benefit his tennis career, given the amount of international travel required from the sport — a savvy observation that would come true when he picked up German while training at the Pilić tennis academy in Münich as a teen. Besides fluent Serbian, English, and German, Djokovic has a strong command of Italian, Spanish, French, and Portuguese, and has said that he wishes to keep learning new languages. ■
Sources:
- Film Archive HK one sheet
https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/6.-Research-and-Publication/06-02-Filmmakers-Search/English/Chua-Lam_e.pdf - Production notes for A Tale of Love and Darkness at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival (archived via Wayback Machine) https://web.archive.org/web/20161020192857/http://www.festival-cannes.fr/assets/Image/Direct/0560737f83edd8662086e060c21d8ddc.pdf
- Canal+ interview where Natalie Portman reads Verlan
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAeSuJ5ied8/?hl=en - Spanish language book about South American ethnography, edited by Viggo Mortensen and published by his company Perceval Press
https://percevalpress.com/catalogue/hijos-de-la-selva-sons-of-the-forest/ – - WSJ interview where Daniel Brühl talks about language (paywall-free link)
https://archive.is/TQmBO - Interview with The Independent where Daniel Brühl discusses his role in Inglourious Basterds
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/daniel-bruhl-interview-inglourious-basterds-b2212086.html - Vanity Fair interview
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lisa-2025-hollywood-portfolio-interview?srsltid=AfmBOorHm4ihdS8lf0YQfNzAsMmanU3r14XWPIZrgNipXr9oQ0tHLh-W - Excerpt of his autobiography Born a Crime where he talks about how he learned to become a chameleon through language
https://www.npr.org/transcripts/503009220#:~:text=Living%20with%20my,my%20mother%20did - GQ interview where Salma Hayek says which languages she speaks
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/video/watch/actually-me-magic-mikes-salma-hayek-pinault-answers-your-questions - Oprah interview where Salma Hayek details her struggle to find work in LA
https://www.oprah.com/omagazine/oprah-interviews-actress-and-producer-salma-hayek_1/all#:~:text=overcome%20dyslexia%20to%20learn%20English - Tennis blog recounting his Wimbledon interview and discussion of language learning
https://www.puntodebreak.com/en/2024/07/14/djokovic-explains-why-he-can-speak-many-languages - BBC article recounting facts of Maya Angelou’s life from her autobiographies
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2gPfzVVyfTM7lVqW3g736Fs/10-surprising-things-you-might-not-know-about-maya-angelou#:~:text=She%20spoke%20at%20least%20six,the%20West%20African%20language%20Fanti