Notable Alumni of The Juilliard School

Eugenie Anderson 1909–1997

Diplomat, first woman US chief of mission at ambassador level

Also attended: Carleton College

Alan Greenspan 1926–2026

Economist, 13th chair of the Federal Reserve

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

Spouse: Andrea Mitchell (University of Pennsylvania)

Raymond Vahan Damadian 1936–2022

Inventor of the first NMR scanning machine

Also attended: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Stanley Cavell 1926–2018

Philosopher and Harvard professor

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

Philip Gossett 1941–2017

University of Chicago musicologist of Italian opera

Also attended: Amherst College, Princeton University

J. H. Kwabena Nketia 1921–2019

Ghanaian ethnomusicologist and composer

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

Robin Williams 1951–2014

Actor and comedian known for improvisation

Attended until 1976

Also attended: Claremont McKenna College, College of Marin

Miles Davis 1926–1991

Jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer

Spouse: Cicely Tyson (The New School)

Kevin Spacey 1959–

Actor and two-time Academy Award winner

Also attended: Los Angeles Valley College

John de Lancie 1948–

Actor and voice actor

Also attended: Kent State University at Kent

Child: Keegan de Lancie (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Nina Simone 1933–2003

Singer, pianist and civil rights activist

Val Kilmer 1959–2025

Film and stage actor

Bachelor of Fine Arts

Elia Kazan 1909–2003

Greek-American film and theatre director

Also attended: Yale University, Williams College

Viola Davis 1965–

Actress, Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT winner

Also attended: Circle in the Square Theatre School, Rhode Island College

Jessica Chastain 1977–

Actress, producer and Academy Award winner

Also attended: Sacramento City College, American Academy of Dramatic Arts-New York

Christopher Reeve 1952–2004

Actor who played Superman in the film series

Also attended: Cornell University

Spouse: Dana Reeve (California Institute of the Arts, Middlebury College)

Father: F. D. Reeve (New England College, Princeton University)

John Williams 1932–

Film composer and conductor

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Wilford Brimley 1934–2020

Actor and singer

William Hurt 1950–2022

American actor and Academy Award winner

Graduate diploma

Also attended: Tufts University, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Kevin Kline 1947–

American actor

Also attended: Indiana University-Bloomington

Spouse: Phoebe Cates (The Juilliard School)

Child: Owen Kline (Pratt Institute-Main)

Philip Glass 1937–

Composer and pianist

Attended until 1959

Also attended: University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University

Spouse: JoAnne Akalaitis (University of Chicago, Stanford University)

David Ogden Stiers 1942–2018

Actor and conductor

Also attended: University of Oregon

Kelsey Grammer 1955–

Actor known for playing Dr. Frasier Crane

Spouse: Camille Grammer (University of California-Los Angeles, Montclair State University)

Child: Spencer Grammer (Columbia University in the City of New York, Marymount Manhattan College)

Marcia Cross 1962–

Actress and Juilliard graduate

Also attended: Antioch University-Los Angeles, Antioch College

Adam Driver 1983–

Actor, known for HBO series Girls

Also attended: University of Indianapolis

Yo-Yo Ma 1955–

Cellist

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

Oscar Isaac 1979–

Actor

Attended until 2005

Also attended: Miami Dade College

Sibling: Nicole Hernandez Hammer (Florida Atlantic University, Palm Beach Atlantic University)

Mandy Patinkin 1952–

Actor and musical theatre singer

Also attended: University of Kansas

Laura Linney 1964–

Actress, four-time Primetime Emmy winner

Also attended: Northwestern University, Brown University, Northwest University

Father: Romulus Linney (Yale University, Oberlin College)

Henry Mancini 1924–1994

Film composer, four-time Academy Award winner

Chick Corea 1941–2021

Jazz pianist and composer

Spouse: Gayle Moran (Spring Arbor University, Seattle Pacific University)

Morena Baccarin 1979–

Brazilian-American actress

Spouse: Ben McKenzie (University of Virginia-Main Campus)

Anthony Mackie 1978–

Actor and Emmy nominee

Also attended: University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Christine Baranski 1952–

Actress and Emmy winner

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1974

Tyler Perry 1969–

Actor, filmmaker and playwright

Ving Rhames 1959–

Actor born and raised in Harlem, New York

Also attended: SUNY at Purchase College

Cam Clarke 1957–

Voice actor, Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Father: Robert Clarke (University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus, University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Itzhak Perlman 1945–

Israeli-American violinist and conductor

Pina Bausch 1940–2009

German choreographer and Tanztheater pioneer

Bobby McFerrin 1950–

Jazz vocalist, composer and conductor

Also attended: California State University-Sacramento, Cerritos College, University of Illinois Springfield

Father: Robert McFerrin (Roosevelt University, Fisk University)

Leontyne Price 1927–

Soprano and Metropolitan Opera star

Also attended: Central State University

Spouse: William Warfield (University of Rochester)

Jennifer Carpenter 1979–

Actress known for The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Wynton Marsalis 1961–

Trumpeter, composer, artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center

Father: Ellis Marsalis Jr. (Dillard University, Loyola University New Orleans)

Sibling: Delfeayo Marsalis (University of Louisville, Berklee College of Music)

Lee Pace 1979–

Actor who played Thranduil in The Hobbit

Steve Reich 1936–

Composer, pioneer of minimal music

Attended until 1961

Also attended: Northeastern University Oakland, Cornell University

John Barth 1930–2024

Postmodern and metafiction writer

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University

Paul F. Tompkins 1968–

Comedian and actor

Also attended: Temple University

Lynn Collins 1977–

Actress known for John Carter

Frances Conroy 1953–

Actress known for Six Feet Under

Also attended: Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater, Dickinson College

Phoebe Cates 1963–

Actress known for Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Gremlins

Spouse: Kevin Kline (Indiana University-Bloomington, The Juilliard School)

Child: Owen Kline (Pratt Institute-Main)

Peter Jacobson 1965–

Film and television actor

Also attended: Brown University

Father: Walter Jacobson (Grinnell College, Columbia University in the City of New York)

Michael Giacchino 1967–

Film, television and video game composer

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, School of Visual Arts

Sibling: Anthony Giacchino (Villanova University)

Michael Kamen 1948–2003

Composer, arranger and conductor

Barry Manilow 1943–

Singer, songwriter and record producer

Also attended: CUNY--City College

Jeanne Tripplehorn 1963–

Film, television and stage actress

Also attended: University of Tulsa

Spouse: Leland Orser (Connecticut College)

Steve Guttenberg 1958–

Actor known for Police Academy and Three Men and a Baby

Elmer Bernstein 1922–2004

Composer and conductor of over 150 film scores

Also attended: New York University

Keith David 1956–

Actor known for his deep bass voice

Bachelor of Fine Arts

Alan Tudyk 1971–

Actor in A Knight's Tale and Trumbo

Neil Sedaka 1939–2026

American singer, songwriter and pianist

Elizabeth Reaser 1975–

Actress in The Twilight Saga and The Haunting of Hill House

Also attended: Oakland University

Kyle Gass 1960–

Lead guitarist of Tenacious D

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, Diablo Valley College

Kelly McGillis 1957–

Actress known for Witness and Top Gun

Also attended: Allan Hancock College

John McTiernan 1951–

Film director known for action films

Also attended: American Film Institute Conservatory, SUNY Old Westbury

Wes Bentley 1978–

Actor in American Beauty and Yellowstone

Michael Stuhlbarg 1968–

Actor of stage and screen

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Elizabeth McGovern 1961–

Actress with an Academy Award nomination

Attended until 1981

Tim Blake Nelson 1964–

Actor, director and writer, O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Also attended: Brown University

Bradley Whitford 1959–

Actor who starred in The West Wing

Also attended: Wesleyan University

Spouse: Amy Landecker (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Tito Puente 1923–2000

Musician, bandleader, timbalero and vibraphonist

Renée Fleming 1959–

Opera soprano and National Medal of Arts recipient

Also attended: University of Rochester

Sara Ramirez 1975–

Mexican-American actor and singer

James Marsters 1962–

Actor best known as Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Bebe Neuwirth 1958–

Actress, singer and dancer, two-time Emmy winner

Ryan Potter 1995–

Actor and martial artist

Perry King 1948–

Television and film actor

Also attended: Yale University

David Garrett 1980–

German classical and crossover violinist

Finn Wittrock 1984–

Actor known for work with Ryan Murphy

Thomas Gibson 1962–

Actor known for Criminal Minds

Also attended: College of Charleston

Andre Braugher 1962–2023

Actor, Captain Holt in Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Graduate diploma

Also attended: Stanford University

David Bryan 1962–

Keyboardist and founding member of Bon Jovi

Teyonah Parris 1987–

American actress

Jordan Rudess 1956–

Keyboardist of Dream Theater

James Levine 1943–2021

Conductor, longtime music director of the Metropolitan Opera

Einojuhani Rautavaara 1928–2016

Finnish classical composer

Linda Kozlowski 1958–

Actress known for the Crocodile Dundee films

Adam Shankman 1964–

Film director, producer and choreographer

Linn Ullmann 1966–

Norwegian novelist and journalist

Also attended: New York University

Carrie Preston 1967–

Actress in True Blood and The Good Wife

Also attended: University of Evansville

Spouse: Michael Emerson (Drake University)

Edie Adams 1927–2008

Actress, singer, comedian and Tony Award winner

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Nelsan Ellis 1977–2017

Actor known for True Blood

Sarah Chang 1980–

Korean American violinist and child prodigy

Stephen Schwartz 1948–

Musical theatre composer; wrote Godspell, Wicked

Also attended: Carnegie Mellon University

Wendell Pierce 1963–

Actor and businessman

Bachelor of Fine Arts · Class of 1985

Eriq La Salle 1962–

Actor, director, writer and producer

Also attended: New York University

Doug Hutchison 1960–

Actor, Satellite Award nominee for The Green Mile

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

John Payne 1912–1989

Film actor, starred in Miracle on 34th Street

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

Lorraine Toussaint 1960–

Trinidadian actress

Robert Duncan McNeill 1964–

Actor and director, Star Trek: Voyager's Tom Paris

Lori Singer 1957–

Actress and cellist

Jon Batiste 1986–

Musician, songwriter and bandleader

Spouse: Suleika Jaouad (Princeton University)

Glenn Howerton 1976–

Actor, Dennis in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

LisaGay Hamilton 1964–

Actress known for The Practice

Also attended: New York University, Carnegie Mellon University

Spouse: Robin Kelley (California State University--Long Beach, University of California-Los Angeles)

Phil Ramone 1934–2013

Recording engineer and record producer

Matt Ross 1970–

Actor in Silicon Valley and Big Love

Also attended: New York University

Michael Beach 1963–

Actor in Aquaman and If Beale Street Could Talk

Raymond Scott 1908–1994

Composer, bandleader and electronic music pioneer

Eric Whitacre 1970–

Composer and conductor known for choral music

Also attended: University of Nevada--Las Vegas

Spouse: Hila Plitmann (The Juilliard School)

Leo Ornstein 1892–2002

Experimental composer and pianist

Child: Severo Ornstein (Washington University in St Louis)

Rosalyn Tureck 1914–2003

Pianist and harpsichordist, Bach specialist

America Olivo 1978–

Actress and singer, member of the band Soluna

Also attended: California Institute of the Arts

Justine Lupe 1989–

Actress known for Willa Ferreyra in Succession

Beau Willimon 1977–

Playwright and showrunner of House of Cards

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Peter Schickele 1935–2024

Composer who created the fictional P. D. Q. Bach

Also attended: Swarthmore College

Sibling: David George Schickele (Swarthmore College)

Ned Rorem 1923–2022

Composer best known for art songs

Master's degree · Class of 1948

Also attended: University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Curtis Institute of Music

Mark Acheson 1957–

Canadian film, television and voice actor

Norman Dello Joio 1913–2008

Composer and Pulitzer Prize winner

Also attended: Yale University, CUNY--City College

Larry Rivers 1923–2002

Painter regarded as godfather of Pop art

Sanford Meisner 1905–1997

Actor and acting teacher, created the Meisner technique

William Schuman 1910–1992

Composer and arts administrator

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, New York University, Teachers College at Columbia University

Robert Craft 1923–2015

Conductor and writer, close to Igor Stravinsky

Lynn Harrell 1944–2020

American classical cellist

Also attended: Curtis Institute of Music, Rice University

Father: Mack Harrell (The Juilliard School, Oklahoma City University)

Matt Keeslar 1972–

Actor known for Scream 3 and Dune miniseries

Also attended: Portland Community College

Dakin Matthews 1940–

Actor, playwright and theatre director

Nobuko Imai 1943–

Japanese classical violist and professor

Also attended: Yale University

Teo Macero 1925–2008

Jazz record producer, saxophonist and composer

Bess Myerson 1924–2014

First Jewish Miss America, 1945; model and politician

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, CUNY Hunter College

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich 1939–

Composer, first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music

Also attended: Florida State University

Paul Taylor 1930–2018

Choreographer and dancer

Also attended: University of Nevada--Las Vegas, Syracuse University

Dorothy DeLay 1917–2002

Violin instructor at the Juilliard School

Also attended: Michigan State University

Leigh McCloskey 1955–

Actor, artist and author

Henry Brant 1913–2008

Canadian-born American composer

Laura Karpman 1959–

Composer, five-time Emmy winner

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Robert Ward 1917–2013

Composer, 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Music winner

Wallingford Riegger 1885–1961

Modernist composer and pianist

Shirley Graham Du Bois 1896–1977

Writer, playwright, composer and activist

Attended until 1929

Also attended: Yale University, Howard University, Oberlin College

Spouse: W. E. B. Du Bois (Harvard University, Fisk University)

Jörg Widmann 1973–

German composer, conductor and clarinetist

Attended until 1995

Paavo Heininen 1938–2022

Finnish composer and pianist

Vittorio Giannini 1903–1966

Composer of operas, songs and symphonies

Juan Gallastegui 1979–

Spanish-American conductor, composer and musician

Also attended: Bard College

Spouse: JoAnna Cochenet (Coe College, University of Nevada-Reno)

Håkon Austbø 1948–

Norwegian classical pianist

Stavros Xarchakos 1939–

Greek composer and conductor

Leonardo Balada 1933–

Catalan-American classical composer

Joshua Rifkin 1944–

Conductor, pianist and musicologist

Also attended: Princeton University, New York University

Bryan Cogman 1979–

Television writer of Game of Thrones episodes

Valter Dešpalj 1947–2023

Croatian cellist and Zagreb Academy professor

Robert Starer 1924–2001

Austrian-born composer, pianist and educator

Cho-liang Lin 1960–

Taiwanese-American violinist

Misha Dichter 1945–

Classical pianist

Malan Breton 1973–

Taiwanese-born fashion designer

Elizabeth Sung 1954–2018

Hong Kong-American actress, director and screenwriter

Also attended: American Film Institute Conservatory

Huang Ruo 1976–

Chinese-born composer and pianist

Susanne Hou 1977–

Canadian violinist born in Shanghai

Lü Siqing 1969–

Violinist; first Asian Paganini Competition winner

Tiffany Poon 1996–

Hong Kong-born classical pianist

Diana Pang 1972–

Former Hong Kong actress and CPPCC member

Jue Yao

Violinist, founder of Hong Kong Children's Chamber Orchestra

Margaret Leng Tan 1945–

Singaporean toy pianist

Doctorate · Class of 1971

Shenyang 1984–

Bass-baritone singer

Da-Hong Seetoo 1960–

Classical record producer and recording engineer

Wu Di 1984–

Chinese-American pianist

Also attended: Curtis Institute of Music

Robert James O'Neill 1976–

Former Navy SEAL and author

Phoebe Adele Gates 2002–

Youngest daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates, advocate

Father: Bill Gates (Harvard University)

Mother: Melinda Gates (Duke University)