Wikipedia:
List of Northwestern alumni
The following is a list of notable alumni who attended Northwestern University
Academia
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Selected Northwestern Alumni
 
 
 
 
 
 
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- Madeleine Wing Adler (B.A. 1962), President, West Chester University
- Robert J. Alpern (B.A. 1972), Dean, Yale School of Medicine
- Elijah Anderson (Ph.D. 1976), William K. Lanman, Jr. Professor of Sociology, Yale University
- Sally Blount-Lyon (Ph.D. 1992), Dean, NYU Stern School of Business Undergraduate College
- Clinton Bristow, Jr. (B.A. 1971), former President, Alcorn State University
- Lawrence Bryan (Ph.D. 1973), President, MacMurray College
- Johnnetta B. Cole (M.A. 1959, Ph.D. 1967), President Emerita, Spelman College; President, Bennett College
- Juan Cole (B.A. 1975), Professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian History, University of Michigan
- James Hal Cone (M.A. 1963, Ph.D. 1965), Charles A. Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
- Mitchell Duneier, Professor of Sociology, Princeton University
- Troy Duster (B.A. 1957, Ph.D. 1962), Professor of Sociology, New York University and University of California, Berkeley
- Lee Edelman (B.A.), Fletcher Professor of English Literature, Tufts University
- Fred D. Fagg, Jr., former President, University of Southern California
- Jonathan Freedman (B.A. 1977), Professor of English and American Studies, University of Michigan
- Susan Fuhrman (B.A. 1965, M.A. 1966), President, Teachers College, Columbia University
- Simon Gikandi (Ph.D., 1986), Professor of English, Princeton University
- Barry Glassner (B.S. 1974), Executive Vice Provost & Professor of Sociology, University of Southern California
- Cynthia Herrup (B.S.J. 1972, Ph.D. 1982), Professor of History and Law, University of Southern California
- Rosanna Hertz (M.A. 1977, Ph.D. 1983), Luella LaMer Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies, Wellesley College
- Michael J. Hopkins (B.A. 1979, Ph.D. 1984), Professor of Mathematics, Harvard University
- Louis Kaplow (B.A. 1977), Finn M.W. Caspersen and Household International Professor of Law and Economics, Harvard University
- Jonathan D. Katz (Ph.D. 1996), former head of Larry Kramer Initiative for Lesbian and Gay Studies, Yale University
- Dale Knobel (Ph.D. 1976), President, Denison University
- Nirmalya Kumar (Ph.D. 1991), Co-Director, Aditya Birla India Centre; Director, Centre for Marketing; Faculty Director, Executive Education, London Business School
- Glenn Loury (B.A. 1972), Merton P. Stoltz Professor of the Social Sciences, Brown University
- John Malmstad (B.A. 1963), Samuel Hazzard Cross Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University
- Susan E. Mayer (Ph.D. 1986), Dean, Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago
- Mark Crispin Miller (B.A. 1971), Professor, New York University
- George Nemhauser (Ph.D. 1961), A. Russell Chandler lll Chair and Institute Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology
- J. Dennis O'Connor (Ph.D. 1968), former Chancellor, University of Pittsburgh
- Charles Payne (Ph.D. 1976), Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor in the School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago
- Andrew Postlewaite (Ph.D. 1974), Harry P. Kamen Professor of Economics and Professor of Finance, University of Pennsylvania
- V. Kasturi Rangan (Ph.D. 1983), Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing & Director of Research, Harvard Business School
- Thomas S. Robertson (M.A., Ph.D. 1966), Dean, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
- Rebecca Sherrick (Ph.D. 1980), President, Aurora University
- James Schmotter (Ph.D. 1973), President, Western Connecticut State University
- John B. Simpson (Ph.D. 1973), President, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
- David J. Skorton (B.A. 1970, M.D. 1974), President, Cornell University
- Graham Spanier (Ph.D. 1973), President, Pennsylvania State University
- Barbara Maria Stafford (B.A. 1964, M.A. 1966), William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor of Art History, University of Chicago
- Roger Taylor (J.D. 1971), President, Knox College
- Stephan Thernstrom (B.A. 1956), Winthrop Professor of History, Harvard University
- Glen L. Urban (Ph.D. 1966), Dean Emeritus of MIT Sloan School of Management
Arts/Entertainment (Theatre, TV and Film)
- Mara Brock Akil (B.A. 1992), creator and executive producer of Girlfriends and The Game, former supervising producer of The Jamie Foxx Show
- Claude Akins (B.S. 1949), actor (Inherit the Wind, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo)
- Ann-Margret (Olsson) (Class of 1963, never graduated), Academy Award-winning actress (Tommy, Carnal Knowledge)
- Sharif Atkins (B.S. 1999), actor (ER)
- Jayne Atkinson (B.S. 1981), Tony Award-nominated actress (Enchanted April, The Rainmaker); currently portrays Karen Hayes on 24
- Jane Badler (B.S. 1976), actress (V)
- Bonnie Bartlett (B.S. 1950), Emmy Award-winning actress (St. Elsewhere, Twins, Ghosts of Mississippi)
- Warren Beatty (Class of 1959, never graduated), Academy Award-winning actor/writer/director (Bonnie and Clyde, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Shampoo, Reds)
- Lee Phillip Bell (B.A. 1950) Emmy Award-winning co-creator of The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful
- Rob Benedict (B.S. 1993), actor (Threshold, Felicity)
- Richard Benjamin (B.S. 1960), actor (Catch-22, Deconstructing Harry); director (Mermaids, Racing with the Moon)
- Edgar Bergen (attended, did not graduate), Academy Award-winning actor and ventriloquist (Charlie McCarthy)
- Greg Berlanti (B.S. 1994), screenwriter and producer (Dawson's Creek); creator of Everwood and
Jack & Bobby ; writer/director of Broken Hearts Club - Eric Bernt (B.S. 1986), screenwriter (Surviving the Game, Virtuosity, Romeo Must Die)
- Craig Bierko (B.S. 1986), actor (Cinderella Man, The Thirteenth Floor); Tony Award-nominee (The Music Man)
- Karen Black (attended, never graduated), Academy Award-nominated actress (Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces)
- Jeff Blumenkrantz (B.S. 1986), Tony Award-nominated musical theatre composer/lyricist (Urban Cowboy)
- Robert Borden (B.S. 1989), executive producer/writer (George Lopez)
- Zach Braff (B.S. 1997), Emmy Award-nominated actor (Scrubs); writer/director (Garden State)
- Clancy Brown (B.S. 1981), actor (Highlander, The Shawshank Redemption)
- Charles Busch (B.S. 1976), Tony Award-nominated playwright (The Tale of the Allergist's Wife)
- Frank Buxton (B.S. 1951), actor/writer/director
- Bruno Campos (B.S. 1995), actor (Nip/Tuck)
- Adam Chase (B.S. 1990), Emmy Award-nominated writer/executive producer (Friends)
- Janet Choi, cast member of The Real World: Seattle
- Cindy Chupack (B.S. 1987), Emmy Award-winning executive producer and writer (Sex and the City, Everybody Loves Raymond)
- Stephen Colbert (B.S. 1987), Emmy Award-winning comedian (The Colbert Report, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart)
- Jack Clay, acting teacher/director/actor
- Kate Collins, actress (All My Children)
- Robert Conrad (B.S. 1955), actor (The Wild Wild West, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Hawaiian Eye)
- Steven Conrad (B.A. 1991), screenwriter (The Pursuit of Happyness, The Weather Man)
- Cindy Crawford (attended, never graduated), model
- Jane Curtin (attended, never graduated), original cast member of Saturday Night Live; Emmy Award-nominated actress (Kate & Allie, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
- Stephanie D'Abruzzo (B.S. 1993), Tony Award-nominated actress and puppeteer (Avenue Q)
- William Daniels (B.S. 1950), Emmy Award-winning actor (St. Elsewhere, Boy Meets World); former president of the Screen Actors Guild
- Zooey Deschanel (attended, never graduated), actress (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Elf, Almost Famous, Winter Passing)
- Lydia R. Diamond (B.S. 1992), playwright
- Matt Doherty (B.S. 1999), actor (So I Married an Axe Murderer, The Mighty Ducks films)
- Teddy Dunn (B.S. 2003), actor (Veronica Mars)
- Nancy Dussault (B.A. 1957), actress (
Too Close for Comfort ); two-time Tony Award nominee (Do Re Mi, Bajour) - Gregg Edelman (B.S. 1980), Tony Award-nominated actor (City of Angels, Into the Woods)
- Jennie Eisenhower (B.S. 2000), actress; granddaughter of Richard Nixon and the great-granddaughter of Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Mary Frann (B.S. 1965), actress (Newhart, Days of our Lives)
- Temi Epstein (B.S. 1996), child actress (North and South)
- Joe Flynn, actor (McHale's Navy)
- Penny Fuller (B.S. 1959), Emmy Award-winning actress (The Elephant Man); Tony Award nominee (The Dinner Party)
- Gerald Freedman (B.S. 1949, M.A. 1950), theatre director (The Gay Life, The Robber Bridegroom, The Grand Tour)
- David T. Friendly (B.S. 1978), Academy Award-nominated producer (Little Miss Sunshine)
- George Furth B.S. 1955), Tony Award-winning playwright (Company); actor (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)
- Aimee Garcia (B.S. 2000), actress (George Lopez)
- Daniele Gaither (B.S. 1993), actress, comic (MADtv)
- Barbara Gaines (B.S. 1968), founder and artistic director of the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
- Frank Galati (B.A. 1965), Tony Award-winning director (The Grapes of Wrath) , Academy Award-nominated screenwriter (The Accidental Tourist)
- Ana Gasteyer (B.S. 1989), actress (Mean Girls, Wicked); former cast member of Saturday Night Live
- Ileen Getz (B.S. 1985), actress (3rd Rock from the Sun)
- Zach Gilford (B.S. 2004), actor (Friday Night Lights)
- Eric Gilliland (B.S. 1984), writer/producer (Rosanne, My Boys)
- Ira Glass (attended, never graduated), radio and TV personality
- Virginia Graham (M.S.J.), former daytime TV talk show host
- Michael Greif (B.S. 1981), Tony Award-nominated director of Rent and Grey Gardens
- Mamie Gummer, actress (Evening), daughter of Meryl Streep
- Anna Gunn (B.S. 1990), actress (Deadwood)
- Kathryn Hahn, (B.S. 1995), actress (Crossing Jordan)
- Brad Hall (B.S. 1990), former cast member of (Saturday Night Live); creator of (The Single Guy, Watching Ellie)
- Samantha Harris (B.S. 1996), Emmy Award-nominated co-host of Dancing with the Stars
- Bill Hayes (M.M. 1949), Daytime Emmy Award-nominated actor (Days of our Lives)
- Heather Headley (B.S. 1997), Tony Award-winning actress and singer (Aida, The Lion King); Grammy Award-nominated R&B vocalist
- Kyle T. Heffner, actor Flashdance
- Marg Helgenberger (B.S. 1982), Emmy Award-winning actress (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, China Beach, Erin Brockovich)
- Charlton Heston (B.S. 1945), Academy Award-winning actor (Ben-Hur), National Rifle Association President
- Michael Hitchcock (B.S. 1980), writer (MADTv); actor (Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show)
Ron Holgate (B.S. 1959), Tony Award-winning actor (1776, The Grand Tour)- David Hollander (B.S. 1990), creator, screenwriter, and executive producer of The Guardian
- David Horowitz (M.S. 1961), former host of Fight Back! With David Horowitz
- Jeffrey Hunter (B.A. 1949), actor (The Searchers, The Last Hurrah, King of Kings, The Longest Day)
- Lew Hunter (M.S. 1956), Emmy Award-nominated screenwriter (Fallen Angel); Chairman Emeritus and Professor of Screenwriting, UCLA School of Theater Film and Television
- Ron Husmann (B.S. 1959), Tony Award-nominated actor (Tenderloin)
- Martha Hyer (B.S. 1945), Academy Award-nominated actress (Some Came Running, Houseboat, The Sons of Katie Elder, Bikini Beach)
- Rex Ingram, actor (Cabin in the Sky, The Thief of Baghdad, Sahara, Green Pastures)
- Laura Innes (B.S. 1979), Emmy Award-nominated actress (ER); Emmy Award-nominated director (The West Wing)
- David Ives (B.A. 1971), playwright, (All in the Timing)
- Brian d'Arcy James (B.S. 1990), Tony Award-nominated actor (Sweet Smell of Success: The Musical)
- Tim Johnson (B.A. 1983), director (Antz, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas)
- Jennifer Jones, Academy Award-winning actress (The Song of Bernadette, Since You Went Away, Love Letters, Duel in the Sun, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing)
- Spencer Kayden (B.S. 1990), former cast member of MADTv; Tony Award-nominee for Urinetown
- James Keach (B.S. 1970), actor (The Long Riders); producer (Walk the Line); director (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman)
- Stacy Keach, Sr. (B.S. 1935), actor (
Get Smart ); director (Tales of the Texas Rangers ) - Clinton Kelly (M.S. 1993), co-host of (What Not To Wear)
- Richard Kind (B.S. 1978), actor (Mad About You, Spin City)
- Richard Kline (M.A. 1967), actor (Three's Company)
- Robert Knepper (attended, never graduated), actor (Prison Break, Hostage, Carnivàle)
- Gary Kroeger (B.S. 1981), former cast member of (Saturday Night Live)
- Roger Kumble (B.S. 1988), writer/director (Cruel Intentions)
- Jeff Kurland (B.S. 1975), Academy Award-nominated costume designer (Bullets Over Broadway, Ocean's Eleven, Collateral)
- Clyde Kusatsu (B.S. 1970), actor (All American Girl, In the Line of Fire)
- Mark Lamos (B.S. 1969), Tony Award-winning former artistic director of the Hartford Stage
- Sherry Lansing (B.S. 1966), former CEO of Paramount Pictures; Academy Award-nominated producer (Fatal Attraction); 2007 recipient of the The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
- Martha Lavey (B.S. 1979, M.A. 1986, Ph.D. 1994), Tony Award-winning artistic director of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company
- Britt Leach, actor (Weird Science)
- Cloris Leachman (B.S. 1948), Academy Award-winning and Emmy Award-winning actress (The Last Picture Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Spanglish)
- Harry J. Lennix (B.S. 1986), actor (The
Matrix Reloaded,
The Matrix Revolutions , Commander in Chief, Ray) - Richard J. Lewis (B.A. 1982), Emmy Award-nominated director/producer (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
- Herschell Gordon Lewis, filmmaker
- John Logan (B.S. 1983), Academy Award-nominated screenwriter (The Aviator, Gladiator, The Last Samurai)
- Laura Linney (attended for a year then transferred), actress (The Truman Show)
- Shelley Long (Class of 1971, never graduated), Emmy Award-winning actress (Cheers, The Money Pit, Irreconcilable Differences)
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Class of 1982, never graduated), Emmy Award-winning actress (Seinfeld, The New Adventures of Old Christine); former cast member of Saturday Night Live
- Paul Lynde (B.S. 1948), actor (Hollywood Squares, Bewitched, Bye Bye Birdie)
- J.P. Manoux (B.S. 1991), actor (ER, Phil of the Future, The Emperor's New School)
- Stephanie March (B.S. 1996), actress (
Law & Order: SVU , Conviction) - Michael Markowitz B.S. 1983), Emmy Award-nominated writer and producer (Duckman, Becker)
- Garry Marshall (B.S. 1956), creator of Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, and Mork & Mindy; director (Pretty Woman, Beaches, The Princess Diaries)
- Marshall W. Mason (B.S. 1961), Tony Award-nominated director (Fifth of July, As Is)
- Daphne Maxwell Reid (B.A. 1970), actress (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
- Jacquelyn Mayer (B.S. 1964), former Miss America
- Laverne McKinnon (B.S. 1987), Senior Executive Vice President of Drama Series Development, CBS Broadcasting, Inc.
- Ralph Meeker (B.S. 1943), actor (Kiss Me Deadly, Paths of Glory, Picnic, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, The Anderson Tapes)
- Susan Messing (B.S. 1986), performer, teacher, and director at The Second City, ImprovOlympic, and the Annoyance Theatre
- Josh Meyers (B.S. 1998), actor (MADtv, That '70s Show)
- Seth Meyers (B.S. 1996), cast member of Saturday Night Live; co-anchor of Weekend Update; winner of the third Celebrity Poker Showdown
- Terri Minsky (B.S. 1980), creator/writer/executive producer of Lizzie McGuire, Less Than Perfect, and The Geena Davis Show
- John Cameron Mitchell (B.S. 1985), writer/actor/director (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), executive producer (Tarnation)
- Andrew Moskos (B.A. 1990), co-founder of Boom Chicago in Amsterdam
- Karen Moncrieff (B.S. 1986), Miss Illinois 1985; writer and director of The Dead Girl and Blue Car
- Jason Moore (B.S. 1993), Tony Award-nominated director (Avenue Q)
- Robert E. Mulholland (B.S.J. 1955, M.S.J. 1956), former President and C.O.O., NBC
- Megan Mullally (Class of 1981, never graduated), Emmy Award-winning actress (Will and Grace)
- Dermot Mulroney (B.S. 1985), actor (About Schmidt, My Best Friend's Wedding, The Family Stone)
- John Musker (B.A. 1975), writer/producer/director (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules)
- Tony Musante, actor (Toma, As the World Turns)
- Patricia Neal (B.S. 1947), Academy Award-winning and Tony Award-winning actress (A Face In The Crowd, Hud, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Subject Was Roses)
- Tom Neal, actor (Detour, Jungle Girl)
- George Newbern (B.S. 1986), actor (Father of the Bride (1991), Father of the Bride Part II, Justice League Unlimited)
- Jamie Ray Newman (B.S. 2000), actress (Veronica Mars, Stargate Atlantis)
- Peter Newman (B.S. 1975), producer (The Squid and the Whale)
- Agnes Nixon (B.S. 1944), Emmy Award-winning writer/producer (All My Children, One Life to Live, Another World, As the World Turns, Loving)
- Bruce Norris (B.S. 1982), actor (A Civil Action); playwright, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
- Denis O'Hare (B.S. 1984), Tony Award-winning actor (Take Me Out, Sweet Charity, Assassins)
- Dana Olsen (B.S. 1980), screenwriter ( George of the Jungle, The 'Burbs)
- James Olson (B.S. 1952), actor (Rachel, Rachel, The Andromeda Strain, Ragtime, Commando)
- Jerry Orbach (Class of 1956, never graduated), Tony Award-winning and Emmy Award-nominated actor (Law & Order, Promises, Promises, Dirty Dancing)
- Mary Beth Peil (B.S. 1962), Tony Award-nominated actress (The King and I, Dawson's Creek)
- Michael Pellerin (B.S. 1987), DVD producer, The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
- Michael Prywes, writer and director of Returning Mickey Stern
- Paula Prentiss (B.S. 1959), Emmy Award-nominated actress (Where the Boys Are, The Parallax View, In Harm's Way, The World of Henry Orient)
- Jenny Powers (B.S. 2003), Miss Illinois 2000; Broadway actress (Little Women)
- John Quaintance (B.S. 1993), writer, (Joey, Aquamarine, Material Girls)
- John Qualen, actor (The Grapes of Wrath, The Searchers, Casablanca, The High and the Mighty)
- Maeve Quinlan (attended, never graduated), actress (South of Nowhere, Ken Park, The Bold and the Beautiful)
- Lily Rabe, actress (