Эта личность известна.

In Russian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So where English says:

• This person is well-known

Russian normally just says:

• Эта личность известна

The idea of is is understood automatically. If you want past or future, Russian does use forms of быть:

• Эта личность была известна = This person was well-known
• Эта личность будет известна = This person will be well-known

Because личность is a feminine singular noun, and эта is the feminine singular nominative form of this.

The forms are:

• этот = masculine
• эта = feminine
• это = neuter
• эти = plural

Since личность is feminine, the demonstrative must agree with it:

• эта личность

In Russian, grammatical gender and real-life sex/gender are not always the same thing.

Личность is grammatically feminine because it belongs to a feminine noun pattern, but it can refer to:

• a man
• a woman
• a person in general

So even if the real person is male, adjectives and pronouns agreeing with личность are still feminine:

• Эта личность известна

This is normal in Russian. The grammar follows the noun, not necessarily the biological sex of the person.

Because some feminine nouns in Russian belong to the third declension, and many of them end in ь.

So личность is a feminine noun even though it does not end in -а or -я.

Other common feminine nouns of this type are:

• ночь = night
• дверь = door
• тетрадь = notebook

A useful rule: many nouns ending in ь are feminine, though not all of them. You usually need to learn each noun’s gender.

Because известна is the short form of the adjective известный, and here it is being used as the predicate of the sentence.

Compare:

• известная личность = a famous / well-known person
  
  • long form adjective before the noun
• личность известна = the person is famous / well-known
  
  • short form adjective after the noun

Since личность is feminine singular, the short form must also be feminine singular:

• masculine: известен
• feminine: известна
• neuter: известно
• plural: известны

This is a very common question.

• известная is the long form
• известна is the short form

They are used differently:

1. Long form: usually describes a noun directly

   • известная личность = a well-known person

2. Short form: usually says what something is like

   • Эта личность известна = This person is well-known

So in this sentence, известна is correct because it is the predicate, not a word directly attached before the noun.

Личность can be a tricky word because it has several related meanings, such as:

• person
• individual
• personality
• sometimes figure in a more formal style

In this sentence, it sounds more formal or abstract than человек.

So:

• Эта личность известна sounds something like This individual is well-known or This person is well-known
• Этот человек известен is often more natural in everyday speech for This person is well-known

So yes, личность is correct, but it has a slightly more formal or evaluative feel.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Известный / известна often means:

• known
• well-known
• famous

In a sentence like this, English might translate it as either:

• This person is known
• This person is well-known
• This person is famous

The exact choice depends on the context. Very often, the sense is closer to well-known than just known.

Yes. Russian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral order here is:

• Эта личность известна

But you might also see:

• Известна эта личность

That changed order would sound more marked and would usually add emphasis or depend on context.

In most cases, learners should stick with:

• Эта личность известна

because it is the most straightforward and neutral version.

The stress is:

• Э́та ли́чность изве́стна

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Эта = EH-ta
• личность = LEECH-nastʹ
• известна = eez-VYES-na

A few notes:

• чн in личность is pronounced like chn
• the final ь in личность is not a vowel; it just softens the preceding consonant
• the stress in известна is on -вест-

So the full sentence sounds roughly like:

• EH-ta LEECH-nastʹ eez-VYES-na