Aston Villa are one of the oldest and most respected clubs in the history of English football. This has garnered Aston Villa a host of famous fans who support the Villa.
Aston Villa can be considered the first football World Champions in football history. While they’re recent history has been less successful, including stints in the second division, they have managed to secure a loyal and dedicated fan base.
In recent years, Aston Villa have flirted with the upper echelons of the Premier League. Under Dean Smith, Jack Grealish helped Aston Villa challenge for European qualification. He was later sold for £100 million, a Premier League record transfer, to Manchester City.
They recently sacked their manager Dean Smith, who led them from the Championship and on the cusp of European competition. It harked back to the great Villa side of 1982 that won the European cup.
His replacement was Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard. Whilst he would be at home on the list of famous Liverpool fans, he will settle for being the local captain who lifted the European Cup for them. He joins Aston Villa from Rangers, after ending Celtic’s streak of nine title in a row by winning the SPL last season.
In this article, we will go through five of the most famous Aston Villa fans. Ranging from future Kings, to Hollywood royalty, to the dark prince of Rock and Roll, the celebrity support Villa have is remarkable. Their success in the 1980s surely has a large part to do with the number of celebrities supporting the Villains in the modern day.
Here are the top five most famous fans currently supporting Aston Villa.
Famous Aston Villa Fans
Tom Hanks
One of the biggest actors in the world, inexplicably, a fan of Birmingham-based club Aston Villa!
Tom Hanks is one of the most famous Aston Villa fans, although he has yet to travel to Villa Park to see them play in the flesh. However, he did travel to Portland to see Villa draw 2-2 with Portland Timbers in 2013. He went to see the match with friend and fellow actor Bob Stephenson.
It was 2008 when he first revealed his support of Aston Villa. Hanks has appeared on many red carpets supporting the Villains’ colours of claret and blue.
In an interview with Channel 5 in 2013, he was asked whether he was one of Aston Villa’s famous fans.
He replied, enthusiastically.
“I am. Well I’ve seen one Aston Villa match, it was a friendly in the United States. I try to keep up. I have a very good friend that lives and dies by Aston Villa, he’s in Los Angeles as well, so I’m always getting my updates from him.
“Because I can never figure out what channel the football match is on on my grid at home – 583, 643, 801? I can never quite find it. Every time I’m looking at the football matches on the soccer channels, as we call it, it’s always West Ham playing Man United, Tottenham v Queens Park Rangers. Bring me Villa! bring me Villa!”
He even got pictured with former Villa stars Gabby Agbonlahor and Fabian Delph during his trip to watch Villa.
Prince William
It’s not Arsenal who can have famous, royal fans. While the Queen supports Arsenal, The Duke of Cambridge is a self confessed Aston Villa fan.
Prince William has spoke candidly about his support for the Villains many times, and has attended multiple Aston Villa games over the years.
When asked about his support for Villa on the Peter Crouch podcast, he responded honestly and candidly.
“It was the first FA Cup I went to” said William, who is now the President of the Football Association.
“Villa-Bolton game, sitting in the stand with beanie on at age 11 or 12. I sat amongsth the Villa fans, and the atmosphere and camraderie was amazing”.
“I liked the idea that Villa had a real history. And I was born in 1982, and my friends were desperately trying to get me to support the club!” before adding “I felt a real connection to Villa that I didn’t get supporting any other clubs”.
David Cameron
Former Prime Minister David Cameron is a big fan of Aston Villa, and for good reason. Despite being from London, the former Tory leader is one of the Villains’ most famous fan, all down to his uncle.
His uncle was former Sir William Dugdale, the former chairman of the club. Dudgale was revered at Villa for the clubs transformation on and off the pitch.
Sir William Dugdale arrived at Aston Villa when they were freshly relegated to the Third Division, and looking in dire straights. This was in 1975. He left 7 years later in 1982, just as Aston Villa had lifted the European Cup and become champions of Europe.
Cameron is a self confessed Aston Villa fan, but his support has come under scrutiny in recent years. He infamously claimed to be a supporter of West Ham, not Aston Villa, during a speech in 2015.
“You can support Man Utd, the West Indies and Team GB all at the same time – of course I’d rather you supported West Ham.” The then-Prime Minister claimed. Despite this blunder, he still claims to be a supporter, and thanked his uncle for introducing him to the “Best club in the world”.
Ozzy Osbourne
One of Birmingham’s most famous sons is also one of the most famous Aston Villa fans.
Ozzy is the world famous leader of the rock band Black Sabbath, and also found fame on his family’s reality show “The Osbourne’s” alongside his wife Sharon and their two children. However, he grew up in a working class area of Birmingham, Aston, which helped him choose Aston Villa as he own football club.
He is not a huge football fan however, but does broadly follow the Villain’s as his local club. In an interview with Sky Sports, he revealed his top football memory was watching the 1966 World Cup final with his father
The only World Cup I remember was in 1966 when England played West Germany in the final and Bobby Moore was the captain,” he said. “When it got to the last goal in extra-time it was brilliant”.
Justin Rose
Olympic Gold Medalist and former US Open Championship winner Justin Rose is another famous fan of Aston Villa. The Englishmen was born in South Africa in 1980 to English parents, and moved to England at the age of five.
He soon started to play golf at a young age in England. However, despite becoming one of the best in the world, he still holds a special place in his heart for football.
Justin Rose is a big fan of Aston Villa. He is known to wear Aston Villa colours often, and is always found tweeting his support of the club or reacting to the clubs results.
