# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/gilles-villeneuve
# Generated: 2026-09-01T04:35:56.537Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/gilles-villeneuve"
name: "Gilles Villeneuve"
slug: "gilles-villeneuve"
description: "He raced like the track owed him something — raw speed with no apology. Villeneuve's wheel-to-wheel duels and Ferrari drives made him a cult figure in Formula One, but a qualifying crash at Zolder in 1982 cut it short at 32."
tagline: "Canadian racing driver (1950–1982)"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Gilles_Villeneuve_1979_Imola.jpg"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "Canada"
  isoCode: "CA"
category:
  name: "Athletes"
  slug: "athletes"
profileType:
  name: "Athlete"
  slug: "athlete"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2066131"
birthDate: "1950-01-18"
deathDate: "1982-05-08"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           62.15
  momentum:             3.764831990948205
  historical:           27.128452
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  70
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Athletes"
    slug: "athletes"
  - name: "Athlete"
    slug: "athlete"
  - name: "Motorsport"
    slug: "motorsport"
  - name: "Canada"
    slug: "canada"
  - name: "Americas"
    slug: "americas"
  - name: "20th Century"
    slug: "20th-century"
sources:
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172845"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Gilles%20Villeneuve"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D9%8A%D9%84_%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%86%D9%88%D9%81"
    title: "جيل فيلنوف"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be_x_old.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%96%D1%8B%D0%BB%D1%8C_%D0%92%D1%96%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%91%D1%9E"
    title: "Жыль Вільнёў"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%96%D1%8B%D0%BB%D1%8C_%D0%92%D1%96%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%91%D1%9E"
    title: "Жыль Вільнёў"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
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    title: "Жил Вилньов"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
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    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
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    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%96%CE%B9%CE%BB_%CE%92%CE%B9%CE%BB%CE%BD%CE%AD%CE%B2"
    title: "Ζιλ Βιλνέβ"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DA%98%DB%8C%D9%84_%D9%88%DB%8C%D9%84%D9%86%D9%88%D9%88"
    title: "ژیل ویلنوو"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
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    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%96'%D7%99%D7%9C_%D7%95%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%A0%D7%91"
    title: "ז'יל וילנב"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://io.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Gilles Villeneuve"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
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    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://sl.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gilles_Villeneuve"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://sr.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D0%96%D0%B8%D0%BB_%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B2"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Villeneuve started on snowmobiles in Quebec, worked through Formula Ford and Formula Atlantic — winning two Canadian and one American championship by 1977 — then caught Enzo Ferrari's eye with a single McLaren drive at the British Grand Prix. Ferrari signed him for 1978; his debut season ended in tragedy when a collision with Ronnie Peterson at the Japanese Grand Prix killed two bystanders. He won his home race in Canada in 1978, then took three wins in 1979 and finished runner-up in the championship to teammate Jody Scheckter by four points, earning acclaim for his duel with René Arnoux at the French Grand Prix. After a winless 1980, he took back-to-back victories at Monaco and Spain in 1981, the latter remembered for his defensive tactics. During qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, Villeneuve died following a collision with Jochen Mass. Montreal's circuit was renamed in his honor; his son Jacques won the World Championship in 1997.