Notable Alumni of Occidental College

Barack Obama 1961–

44th President of the United States

Attended until 1981

Also attended: Harvard University, Columbia University in the City of New York, Western Seminary

Spouse: Michelle Obama (Harvard University, Princeton University)

Father: Barack Obama Sr. (Harvard University)

Jack Kemp 1935–2009

Former HUD secretary and football player

Denise Bauer 1963–

Former US Ambassador to France and Monaco

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1986

Robert Finch 1925–1995

38th Lieutenant Governor of California

Also attended: University of Southern California

Pete McCloskey 1927–2024

Former US Representative from California

Also attended: California Institute of Technology, Stanford University

Robert Badham 1929–2005

Republican US Representative from California

Also attended: Stanford University

Homer Lea 1876–1912

Geopolitics author and military adviser to Sun Yat-sen

Also attended: Stanford University

Thomas M. Rees 1925–2003

Former U.S. representative from California

Alphonzo E. Bell, Jr. 1914–2004

Oilman and Republican U.S. Representative from California

Spouse: Marian McCargo (West Hills Community College District)

Father: Alphonzo Bell (Occidental College)

Grant Woods 1954–2021

Former Attorney General of Arizona

Bachelor of Arts

Also attended: Arizona State University-Tempe, Arizona Board of Regents

Kristina Kvien 1965–

Diplomat, former US Ambassador to Armenia

Ural Alexis Johnson 1908–1997

American diplomat

Also attended: Georgetown University

Carmen Chu 1978–

City Administrator of San Francisco

Jacqueline Nguyen 1965–

US judge on the Ninth Circuit

Alphonzo Bell 1875–1947

Oil multimillionaire, developer and tennis champion

Child: Alphonzo E. Bell, Jr. (Occidental College)

John Branca 1950–

Entertainment lawyer, executor of Michael Jackson's estate

Eleanor F. Helin 1932–2009

Astronomer, principal investigator of NASA's NEAT program

Fred Lawrence Whipple 1906–2004

Astronomer who proposed the dirty snowball comet model

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, University of California-Los Angeles

James Patrick Mallory 1945–

Archaeologist and Indo-Europeanist

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Eqbal Ahmad 1933–1999

Pakistani political scientist and anti-war activist

Also attended: Princeton University

George M. McCune 1908–1948

Korea scholar and co-creator of McCune–Reischauer romanization

Bachelor's degree, Master of Arts

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Adriaan Joseph van Rossem 1892–1949

American ornithologist of Dutch ancestry

Adah Almutairi 1976–

Nanomedicine scientist and former UC San Diego professor

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, University of California-Riverside

Jingmai Kathleen O'Connor 1983–

Paleontologist and curator at the Field Museum

Also attended: University of Southern California

Ben Affleck 1972–

Actor, director and screenwriter, two-time Oscar winner

Also attended: University of Vermont

Spouse: Jennifer Garner (Denison University)

Sibling: Casey Affleck (George Washington University, Columbia University in the City of New York)

Terry Gilliam 1940–

Filmmaker, animator and Monty Python member

Emily Osment 1992–

Actress, singer and songwriter

Sibling: Haley Joel Osment (New York University)

Robinson Jeffers 1887–1962

Poet known for work on the central California coast

Also attended: University of Southern California

Nicholas Braun 1988–

Actor known for Succession

Marcel Ophuls 1927–2025

Documentary filmmaker, director of The Sorrow and the Pity

Scott O'Dell 1898–1989

Writer of novels for young people

Also attended: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Stanford University

George Nader 1921–2002

American actor and writer

Will Friedle 1976–

Actor known as Eric Matthews in Boy Meets World

Jake Shears 1978–

Co-lead vocalist of Scissor Sisters

Also attended: The New School

John Ingle 1928–2012

Actor known for General Hospital's Edward Quartermaine

Joanna Gleason 1950–

Canadian actress, Tony winner for Into the Woods

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Spouse: Chris Sarandon (Catholic University of America, West Virginia University)

Mother: Marilyn Hall (University of California-Los Angeles)

Maurissa Tancharoen 1975–

Co-creator of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Glenn Corbett 1933–1993

Film and television actor in Route 66

Also attended: Glendale Community College

Ron Underwood 1953–

Film director of Tremors and City Slickers

Also attended: University of Southern California

Curtis Harrington 1926–2007

Film and television director and screenwriter

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, University of Southern California

Sadie Calvano 1997–

Actress known for the CBS sitcom Mom

M. F. K. Fisher 1908–1992

Food writer, co-founder of Napa Valley Wine Library

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, Illinois College

Spouse: Dillwyn Parrish (Harvard University)

Nik Dodani 1994–

Actor and comedian in Atypical

Attended until 2015

Angela Kang 1976–

Showrunner of The Walking Dead's final three seasons

Also attended: University of Southern California

Ann Carter 1936–2014

Child actress in The Curse of the Cat People

Amy Keating Rogers 1969–

Television writer for The Powerpuff Girls and My Little Pony

Spouse: Chip Rogers (Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus, Georgia State University)

Anna Slotky 1981–

Attorney and former actress in The Torkelsons

Also attended: University of California-Davis

Loren Lester 1960–

Actor who voiced Robin in the DC Animated Universe

Roger Guenveur Smith 1955–

Actor, director and writer who collaborates with Spike Lee

Also attended: Yale University

August Coppola 1934–2009

Academic, author and film executive

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, Hofstra University

Father: Carmine Coppola (The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music)

Child: Christopher Coppola (University of Redlands)

Kenturah Davis 1984–

Contemporary multidisciplinary artist and designer

Bachelor of Fine Arts · Class of 2002

Also attended: Yale University

Carrie Vaughn 1973–

Urban fantasy author

Bessie Beatty 1886–1947

Journalist, editor, playwright and radio host

Jesse Johnson 1982–

Actor, screenwriter and film producer

Father: Don Johnson (University of Kansas)

Steve Coll 1958–

Journalist, author, former Columbia Journalism School dean

Ann Dusenberry 1952–

Film, television and stage actress

Also attended: University of Arizona

Mark Dery 1959–

Author and cultural critic who popularized culture jamming

Ming Cho Lee 1930–2020

Set designer and Yale School of Drama professor

Bachelor of Arts · Theatre · Class of 1953

Sammy Lee 1920–2016

Diver and physician, back-to-back Olympic platform champion

Also attended: University of Southern California

Bob McMillen 1928–2007

Middle-distance runner

Bob Gutowski 1935–1960

1956 Olympic pole vault silver medalist

Richard Deaver 1931–

Competitive sailor and Olympic medalist