Notable Alumni of Smith College

Nancy Reagan 1921–2016

First Lady of the United States, 1981 to 1989

Also attended: Northwestern University

Spouse: Ronald Reagan (Eureka College)

Child: Ron Reagan (University of Southern California, Northwestern University)

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis 1929–1994

First Lady of the United States, 1961–1963

Also attended: George Washington University, Georgetown University, Vassar College

Spouse: John F. Kennedy (Harvard University, Princeton University)

Father: John Vernou Bouvier III (Yale University)

Barbara Bush 1925–2018

First Lady of the United States, 1989 to 1993

Also attended: Yale University

Spouse: George H. W. Bush (Yale University)

Father: Marvin Pierce (Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Tammy Baldwin 1962–

US senator from Wisconsin

Bachelor of Arts · Political science, Mathematics · Class of 1984

Also attended: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Tinatin Bokuchava 1983–

Georgian politician, chair of United National Movement

Also attended: Tufts University

Wendy Sherman 1949–

Former US Deputy Secretary of State

Also attended: University of Maryland, Baltimore, Boston University

Sherry Rehman 1960–

Pakistani senator and former ambassador to the US

Jane Harman 1945–

Former US Representative from California

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1966

Also attended: Harvard University

Spouse: Sidney Harman (CUNY Bernard M Baruch College, Union Institute and University)

Louka Katseli 1952–

Greek politician and economist

Bachelor's degree · Economics · Class of 1972

Also attended: Princeton University

Spouse: Gerasimos Arsenis (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Becca Balint 1968–

U.S. Representative from Vermont

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1990

Also attended: Harvard University, Barnard College

Chien-Shiung Wu 1912–1997

Chinese-American physicist, worked on Manhattan Project

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Spouse: Luke Chia-Liu Yuan (California Institute of Technology, University of California-Berkeley)

Catharine MacKinnon 1946–

Feminist legal scholar and University of Michigan law professor

Also attended: Yale University

Father: George MacKinnon (University of Colorado Boulder, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities)

Florence R. Sabin 1871–1953

Medical scientist, first woman elected to National Academy of Sciences

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University

Mary Whiton Calkins 1863–1930

American philosopher and psychologist

Also attended: Harvard University

Natalie Zemon Davis 1928–2023

Early modern historian, Princeton professor

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1949

Also attended: Harvard University, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Spouse: Chandler Davis (Harvard University)

Florence Merriam Bailey 1863–1948

Ornithologist, birdwatcher and nature writer

Attended until 1886

Also attended: Stanford University

Sibling: Clinton Hart Merriam (Yale University, Columbia University in the City of New York)

Susan George 1934–2026

Political scientist, activist, Transnational Institute president

Bachelor of Arts

Euphemia Haynes 1890–1980

Mathematician, first African American woman with a math PhD

Attended until 1914

Also attended: Catholic University of America, University of the District of Columbia, University of Chicago

Evelyn Boyd Granville 1924–2023

Mathematician with a Yale PhD

Bachelor of Science · Mathematics · Class of 1945

Also attended: Yale University

Ida Barney 1886–1982

Yale Observatory astronomer known for star measurements

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1908

Also attended: Yale University

Laura Tyson 1947–

Economist, former chair of Council of Economic Advisers

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University

Jane Cooke Wright 1919–2013

Cancer researcher and surgeon, chemotherapy pioneer

Attended until 1942

Also attended: New York Medical College

Father: Louis T. Wright (Clark Atlanta University, Harvard University)

Dorothy Reed Mendenhall 1874–1964

Pediatrician who identified the Reed–Sternberg cell

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Eleanor J. Gibson 1910–2002

Psychologist of perceptual learning and reading

Master of Science, Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1933

Also attended: Yale University

Spouse: James J. Gibson (Princeton University)

Mary van Kleeck 1883–1972

Social reformer and social scientist

Xie Xide 1921–2000

Physicist, former president of Fudan University

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Daisy Yen Wu 1902–1993

Biochemist, first Chinese woman academic researcher in biochemistry

Also attended: University of Chicago, Columbia University in the City of New York

Spouse: Hsien Wu (Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Child: Ray Wu (University of Pennsylvania)

Sylvia Plath 1932–1963

Poet and author of The Bell Jar

Bachelor of Arts · Literary studies · Class of 1955

Spouse: Ted Hughes (University of Massachusetts-Amherst)

Father: Otto Plath (Harvard University)

Margaret Mitchell 1900–1949

Author of Gone with the Wind

Gloria Steinem 1934–2026

Feminist leader and journalist

Bachelor of Arts

Betty Friedan 1921–2006

Feminist writer, author of The Feminine Mystique

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Child: Daniel Friedan (University of California-Berkeley, Princeton University)

Julia Child 1912–2004

Chef who brought French cuisine to Americans

Spouse: Paul Cushing Child (Columbia University in the City of New York)

Madeleine L'Engle 1918–2007

Writer, author of A Wrinkle in Time

Hanya Yanagihara 1974–

Novelist, editor and travel writer

Maya Deren 1917–1961

Avant-garde experimental filmmaker

Also attended: New York University, Syracuse University

Anne Morrow Lindbergh 1906–2001

Writer and aviator, wife of Charles Lindbergh

Spouse: Charles Lindbergh (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Father: Dwight Morrow (Amherst College, Columbia University in the City of New York)

Patricia Wettig 1951–

Actress known for Thirtysomething

Also attended: Ohio Wesleyan University, Temple University

Spouse: Ken Olin (Circle in the Square Theatre School, University of Pennsylvania)

Halina Poświatowska 1935–1967

Polish poet and writer

Jane Yolen 1939–2026

Fantasy and children's book author

Also attended: University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Elim Chan 1986–

Hong Kong conductor, San Francisco Symphony music director-designate

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Joan Mitchell 1925–1992

Painter and printmaker of the New York School

English

Also attended: School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York University

Bonnie Franklin 1944–2013

Actress, star of One Day at a Time

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Toks Olagundoye 1975–

Nigerian actress known for Castle

Ruth Ozeki 1956–

Author, filmmaker and Zen Buddhist priest

Shelley Hack 1947–

Actress and model, face of Revlon's Charlie perfume

Bachelor of Arts

Also attended: New York Institute of Technology

Helen DeWitt 1957–

Novelist, author of The Last Samurai

Bill Smitrovich 1947–

Film and television actor

Also attended: University of Bridgeport

Mimi Kennedy 1948–

Actress, author and activist

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy 1978–

Pakistani filmmaker and journalist, two-time Oscar winner

Attended until 2002

Also attended: Stanford University

Erin Morgenstern 1978–

Author of The Night Circus

Joanna Barnes 1934–2022

Actress and writer

Spouse: Lawrence Dobkin (Yale University)

Desiree Akhavan 1984–

Filmmaker and writer, directed Cameron Post

Also attended: New York University

Julie Nixon Eisenhower 1948–

Author and daughter of President Nixon

Also attended: Catholic University of America, New York University, Brown University

Spouse: David Eisenhower (George Washington University, Amherst College)

Father: Richard Nixon (Whittier College, Duke University)

Svava Jakobsdóttir 1930–2004

Icelandic author and feminist politician

Ann M. Martin 1955–

Children's author of The Baby-Sitters Club series

Cynthia Harris 1934–2021

Film, television and stage actress

Lucy R. Lippard 1937–

Art critic, curator and writer

Also attended: New York University

Piper Kerman 1969–

Author who served time for money laundering

Spouse: Larry Smith (University of Pennsylvania)

Nancy Hamilton 1908–1985

Actress, playwright, lyricist and producer

Alison Frantz 1903–1995

Archaeological photographer of the Athenian Agora excavations

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Jessica Bird 1969–

Romance novelist, pen name J. R. Ward

Also attended: Albany Law School

Yolanda King 1955–2007

Activist and eldest child of Martin Luther King Jr

Also attended: New York University

Father: Martin Luther King Jr. (Emory University, Morehouse College)

Mother: Coretta Scott King (The New England Conservatory of Music, Antioch University-Los Angeles)