Notable Alumni of Brown University

Janet Yellen 1946–

78th US Treasury Secretary and former Fed chair

Economics

Also attended: Yale University

Spouse: George Akerlof (Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Richard Holbrooke 1941–2010

Diplomat who helped broker the Dayton Accords

Also attended: Princeton University

Spouse: Kati Marton (George Washington University, Wells College)

Charles Evans Hughes 1862–1948

11th Chief Justice of the United States

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

Child: Charles Evans Hughes Jr. (Harvard University, Brown University)

Child: Elizabeth Hughes Gossett (Barnard College)

Horace Mann 1796–1859

Educational reformer, Father of American Education

Child: Horace Mann Junior (Harvard University)

Maggie Hassan 1958–

US senator and former governor of New Hampshire

Bachelor of Arts · Study of history · Class of 1980

Also attended: Northeastern University

Spouse: Thomas Hassan (Harvard University, Brown University)

Father: Robert Coldwell Wood (Harvard University, Princeton University)

Bobby Jindal 1971–

55th Governor of Louisiana

Bachelor of Science · Class of 1991

Also attended: Georgia State University

Victoria Nuland 1961–

Former Under Secretary of State, ex-NATO ambassador

Spouse: Robert Kagan (Yale University, American University)

Father: Sherwin B. Nuland (Yale University, New York University)

Andrew Yang 1975–

Entrepreneur and Forward Party co-chair

Bachelor of Arts · Economics

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

George Lincoln Rockwell 1918–1967

Founder of the American Nazi Party

Also attended: Pratt Institute-Main

John Hay 1838–1905

Statesman and diplomat, Lincoln's private secretary

Also attended: Carthage College

Lincoln Chafee 1953–

Former Rhode Island governor and US senator

Attended until 1975

Also attended: Montana State University

Father: John Chafee (Yale University, Harvard University)

Ken Starr 1946–2022

Independent counsel who authored the Starr Report

Master of Arts

Also attended: Harding University, George Washington University, Duke University

William L. Marcy 1786–1857

U.S. Secretary of State and Secretary of War

Jack Markell 1960–

Former Delaware governor and ambassador to Italy

Also attended: University of Chicago

Charles Colson 1931–2012

Nixon's Special Counsel, involved in Watergate

Also attended: George Washington University

Dean Phillips 1969–

Former US Representative for Minnesota

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1991

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Richard Olney 1835–1917

US Attorney General and Secretary of State

Also attended: Harvard University

Child: Richard Olney (Brown University)

John J. Sullivan 1959–

Former US ambassador to Russia and deputy secretary of state

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Thomas Perez 1961–

Former US Secretary of Labor

Bachelor of Arts · International relations, Political science · Class of 1983

Also attended: Harvard University

Maryam al-Khawaja 1987–

Bahraini human rights activist

Sibling: Zainab al-Khawaja (Beloit College)

David Cicilline 1961–

Former U.S. Representative from Rhode Island

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1983

Also attended: Georgetown University

Kerry Kennedy 1959–

Human rights activist, lawyer and author

Also attended: Boston College, Boston University

Spouse: Andrew Cuomo (Albany Law School, Fordham University)

Father: Robert F. Kennedy (Bates College, Harvard University)

Donald Carcieri 1942–

73rd Governor of Rhode Island

Matt Meyer 1971–

76th governor of Delaware

Bachelor of Arts · Computer science, Political science · Class of 1994

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Prince Feisal bin Al-Hussein of Jordan 1963–

Jordanian prince, brother of King Abdullah II

Sibling: Hamzah bin Al-Hussein (Harvard University)

Sibling: Prince Hashem bin Al-Hussein of Jordan (Georgetown University, Duke University)

William Tong 1975–

Attorney General of Connecticut

Also attended: University of Chicago

Lin Yi-jing 1965–

Taiwanese entrepreneur and Minister of Digital Affairs

Doctorate · Computer science

Cecile Richards 1957–2025

Former president of Planned Parenthood

Bachelor of Arts

Mother: Ann Richards (Baylor University, The University of Texas at Austin)

Martín Guzmán 1982–

Argentine economist and former Minister of Economy

Ted Turner 1938–2026

Founder of CNN and media mogul

Spouse: Jane Fonda (Vassar College)

John D. Rockefeller Jr. 1874–1960

Financier and philanthropist

Father: John D. Rockefeller (Bryant & Stratton College-Buffalo)

Child: Nelson Rockefeller (Dartmouth College)

Thomas Watson 1914–1993

Businessman, diplomat and philanthropist

Father: Thomas John Watson, Sr. (Columbia University in the City of New York)

Sibling: Arthur K. Watson (Yale University)

John Sculley 1939–

Former Apple CEO and PepsiCo president

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

Nadiem Makarim 1984–

Founder of Gojek, former Indonesian education minister

Also attended: Harvard University

Dara Khosrowshahi 1969–

CEO of Uber, formerly CEO of Expedia Group

Allegra Versace 1986–

Versace heiress and company director

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Brian Moynihan 1959–

Chairman and CEO of Bank of America

Also attended: University of Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame -

Anant Ambani 1995–

Youngest son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani

Father: Mukesh Ambani (Stanford University)

Sibling: Akash Ambani (Brown University)

Debra Lee 1955–

Former Chair and CEO of BET Networks

Also attended: Harvard University

Akash Ambani 1991–

Chairman of Reliance Jio

Father: Mukesh Ambani (Stanford University)

Sibling: Isha Ambani (Yale University, Stanford University)

Craig Mello 1960–

Biologist, 2006 Nobel Prize in Medicine laureate

Also attended: Harvard University

Timothy Snyder 1969–

Historian of Central and Eastern Europe and the Holocaust

Attended until 1991

Spouse: Marci Shore (Stanford University)

Jim Yong Kim 1959–

12th President of the World Bank

Also attended: University of Iowa, Harvard University

Randy Pausch 1960–2008

Carnegie Mellon computer science professor and author

Also attended: Carnegie Mellon University

Guido Imbens 1963–

Dutch-American econometrician and Stanford professor

Aaron Beck 1921–2021

Psychiatrist, father of cognitive behavioral therapy

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1942

Also attended: Yale University

Child: Judith S. Beck (University of Pennsylvania)

Douglas Diamond 1953–

Economist, professor of finance at Chicago Booth

Bachelor of Arts · Economics · Class of 1975

Also attended: Yale University

Lillian Moller Gilbreth 1878–1972

Psychologist and industrial engineer, early pioneer

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1915

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Child: Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor)

Child: Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (Smith College)

Jessica Meir 1977–

NASA astronaut and marine biologist

Also attended: University of California-San Diego

John Tukey 1915–2000

Mathematician and statistician, developed the FFT

Attended until 1937

Also attended: Princeton University

Michael Parenti 1933–2026

American political scientist, historian and cultural critic

Master of Arts · Historiography · Class of 1957

Also attended: Yale University, CUNY--City College

Child: Christian Parenti (The New School)

Donald Kagan 1932–2021

Yale historian and classicist of ancient Greece

Master of Arts · Class of 1955

Also attended: CUNY Brooklyn College, Ohio State University-Main Campus

Child: Frederick Kagan (Yale University)

Child: Robert Kagan (Yale University, American University)

Anne Fausto-Sterling 1944–

Sexologist and Brown University professor emerita

Spouse: Paula Vogel (Catholic University of America, Cornell University)

Peter Norvig 1956–

Co-author of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach

Bachelor of Science · Applied mathematics · Class of 1978

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Igor Ansoff 1918–2002

Applied mathematician, father of strategic management

Doctor of Philosophy

Also attended: Stevens Institute of Technology

Andy Hertzfeld 1953–

Software engineer on Apple's original Macintosh team

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Byron K. Lichtenberg 1948–

Astronaut and Space Shuttle payload specialist

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Geoffrey A. Landis 1955–

NASA aerospace engineer and science fiction author

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Spouse: Mary Turzillo (Case Western Reserve University, Oberlin College)

Kenneth Ribet 1948–

Mathematician, former president of the American Mathematical Society

Also attended: Harvard University

Samuel Gridley Howe 1801–1876

Physician, abolitionist and blind education advocate

Also attended: Harvard University

Child: Henry Marion Howe (Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Linda Martín Alcoff 1955–

Philosopher and professor at Hunter College

Robert MacArthur 1930–1972

Ecologist and a founder of modern ecology

Also attended: Yale University, Marlboro College

Herman Chernoff 1923–2026

Applied mathematician and statistician

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1948

Also attended: CUNY--City College

Derrick Henry Lehmer 1905–1991

Mathematician, Lucas–Lehmer test co-originator

Attended until 1930

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

Spouse: Emma Lehmer (University of California-Berkeley)

Father: Derrick Norman Lehmer (University of Chicago, University of Nebraska-Lincoln)

Wen-Hsiung Li 1942–

Taiwanese-American geneticist, University of Chicago professor

Yuan Fuli 1893–1987

Chinese geologist, archaeologist and professor

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Yang Wei 1954–

Mechanical engineer, former president of Zhejiang University

Yingda Cheng 1983–

Applied mathematician and professor at Virginia Tech

Dr. Manny Sethi 1978–

Orthopaedic trauma surgeon and founder of Healthy Tennessee

Also attended: Harvard University

Emma Watson 1990–

English actress and activist

Bachelor's degree · English-language literature · Class of 2014

John Krasinski 1979–

Actor and filmmaker, Jim Halpert in The Office

Bachelor of Arts · English studies · Class of 2001

Laura Linney 1964–

Actress, four-time Primetime Emmy winner

Also attended: Northwestern University, The Juilliard School, Northwest University

Father: Romulus Linney (Yale University, Oberlin College)

Nicanor Parra 1914–2018

Chilean poet and physicist

Julie Bowen 1970–

Actress known for Modern Family

Sibling: Anne F. Luetkemeyer (University of California-San Francisco, Harvard University)

Marilynne Robinson 1943–

Novelist, 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner

Bachelor of Arts

Also attended: University of Iowa, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of Washington-Seattle Campus

Sibling: David Summers (Yale University, Brown University)

John F. Kennedy Jr. 1960–1999

Attorney and magazine publisher

Also attended: New York University

Spouse: Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (Boston University)

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

David Lodge 1935–2025

English novelist and critic

Leelee Sobieski 1983–

Artist and retired actress

Peter Jacobson 1965–

Film and television actor

Also attended: The Juilliard School

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

Eva Amurri 1985–

American actress

Spouse: Kyle Martino (University of Virginia-Main Campus)

Mother: Susan Sarandon (Catholic University of America)

Masi Oka 1974–

Actor known for Heroes and Hawaii Five-0

Jeffrey Kent Eugenides 1960–

Novelist, author of Middlesex

Also attended: Stanford University

Todd Haynes 1961–

Film director and screenwriter

Also attended: Bard College

Tim Blake Nelson 1964–

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

Also attended: The Juilliard School

Jessica Capshaw 1976–

Actress known for Grey's Anatomy

Father: Steven Spielberg (California State University--Long Beach)

Mother: Kate Capshaw (University of Missouri-Columbia)

Lois Lowry 1937–

Children's author of The Giver

Also attended: University of Maine, University of Southern Maine

Wendy Carlos 1939–

Electronic musician and composer

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Nathanael West 1903–1940

Writer and screenwriter, author of Miss Lonelyhearts

Doug Liman 1965–

Film director of The Bourne Identity

Also attended: University of Southern California

Father: Arthur L. Liman (Yale University, Harvard University)

Sam Trammell 1969–

Actor known for HBO's True Blood

Naomi Novik 1973–

Fantasy author of the Temeraire series

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Spouse: Richard Aleas (Columbia University in the City of New York)

Madeline Miller 1978–

Novelist, author of The Song of Achilles and Circe

Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts · Classics

Also attended: Yale University, University of Chicago

Edwidge Danticat 1969–

Haitian American novelist and short story writer

Also attended: Barnard College

Richard Fleischer 1916–2006

Film director

Also attended: Yale University

Marin Hinkle 1966–

Actress known for Two and a Half Men

Also attended: New York University

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor 1969–

Actress and Academy Award nominee

Also attended: Tougaloo College, New York University

Marco Beltrami 1966–

Film and television score composer

Also attended: University of Southern California, Yale University

Ted Chiang 1967–

Science fiction writer

Computer science

Tracee Ellis Ross 1972–

Actress known for Girlfriends and Black-ish

Sibling: Rhonda Ross Kendrick (Brown University)

Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark 1983–

Princess of Greece and Denmark, and actress

Bachelor of Arts · Theater arts · Class of 2006

Also attended: Northeastern University

Sibling: Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark (Georgetown University)

Sibling: Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece (Georgetown University)

JoBeth Williams 1948–

Actress and television director

Spouse: John Pasquin (Carnegie Mellon University, Beloit College)

Daveed Diggs 1982–

Actor and rapper, vocalist of Clipping

Simon Kinberg 1973–

Screenwriter and producer of X-Men films

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Ruth Hussey 1911–2005

Actress nominated for an Oscar for The Philadelphia Story

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Child: John Longenecker (University of California-Los Angeles, University of Southern California)

Silas Weir Mitchell 1970–

Actor in Prison Break and Grimm

Also attended: University of California-San Diego

Hill Harper 1966–

Actor known for CSI: NY

Also attended: Harvard University

Bess Armstrong 1953–

Actress known for The Four Seasons and High Road to China

Attended until 1975

Also attended: Bryn Mawr College

Ottessa Moshfegh 1981–

Novelist, author of Eileen

Also attended: Barnard College

Yaya DaCosta 1982–

American actress and model

Mary Chapin Carpenter 1958–

Country and folk singer-songwriter

Joseph Bologna 1934–2017

Actor and screenwriter, starred in My Favorite Year

Spouse: Renée Taylor (American Academy of Dramatic Arts-New York)

David Conrad 1967–

Film and television actor

Also attended: The Juilliard School

David Hedison 1927–2019

Film, television and stage actor

Also attended: Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater

Child: Alexandra Hedison (University of California-Los Angeles, SUNY at Purchase College)

Ben Shenkman 1968–

Actor known for Royal Pains and Angels in America

Also attended: New York University

Lisa Loeb 1968–

Singer-songwriter known for Stay (I Missed You)

Also attended: Berklee College of Music

Sibling: Debbie Loeb (University of California-Berkeley, New York University)

Robert Capron 1998–

Actor and comedian

Kate Burton 1957–

Actress, daughter of Richard Burton

Also attended: Yale University

Christina Metaxa 1992–

Cypriot singer at Eurovision 2009

Rory Kennedy 1968–

Documentary filmmaker

Spouse: Mark Bailey (Georgetown University, University of Vermont)

Father: Robert F. Kennedy (Bates College, Harvard University)

Andrew Sean Greer 1970–

Novelist, 2018 Pulitzer Prize winner for Less

Also attended: The University of Montana

Nicolas Jaar 1990–

Composer, musician and record producer

Dhani Harrison 1978–

Musician, son of George Harrison

Raymond J. Barry 1939–

Film, television and stage actor

Also attended: Yale University

Nick Chinlund 1961–

Film, television and voice actor

Sanford Robinson Gifford 1823–1880

Hudson River School landscape painter

Kate Bornstein 1948–

Author, playwright and gender theorist

Will Oldham 1970–

American singer-songwriter and actor

Lady Gabriella Windsor 1981–

British writer, editor and royal family member

Bachelor of Arts · Hispanism, Comparative literature · Class of 2004

Percival Everett 1956–

Novelist and Distinguished Professor at USC

Master's degree · Fiction literature · Class of 1982

Also attended: University of Miami

Spouse: Danzy Senna (University of California-Irvine, Stanford University)

André Leon Talley 1948–2022

Fashion journalist and Vogue creative director

Master of Arts · French

Also attended: North Carolina Central University

Alice Drummond 1928–2016

Veteran Off-Broadway and screen actress

Joel de la Fuente 1969–

Actor in Space: Above and Beyond

Also attended: New York University

Jude Ciccolella 1947–

Actor best known as Mike Novick in 24

Davis Guggenheim 1963–

Documentary director of An Inconvenient Truth

Spouse: Elisabeth Shue (Harvard University, Wellesley College)

Father: Charles Guggenheim (University of Iowa)

Steven Millhauser 1943–

Novelist and 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Eve Gordon 1960–

Television and film actress

Also attended: Yale University

Duncan Sheik 1969–2026

Singer-songwriter and composer

David Walton 1978–

Actor known for sitcom Cracking Up

Peter Balakian 1951–

Poet and writer, 2016 Pulitzer Prize for poetry winner

Also attended: New York University, Bucknell University

Scott Snyder 1976–

Comics writer known for Batman and American Vampire

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Julie Warner 1965–

Actress known for Nip/Tuck and Family Law

Spouse: Jonathan Prince (Harvard University)

Erich Kunzel 1935–2009

Conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra

Also attended: Harvard University, Dartmouth College

Michael Showalter 1970–

Actor, comedian and filmmaker

Also attended: New York University

Mother: Elaine Showalter (University of California-Davis, Brandeis University)

Ben Lerner 1979–

Poet, novelist and critic

Mother: Harriet Lerner (Columbia University in the City of New York, CUNY Graduate School and University Center)

Lucy DeVito 1983–

Actress and voice actor of Little Demon

Spouse: Keahu Kahuanui (Boston University)

Father: Danny DeVito (American Academy of Dramatic Arts-New York)

Jane Rosenthal 1956–

Film producer and co-founder of Tribeca Enterprises

Also attended: New York University

Lynn Nottage 1964–

Playwright and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner

Also attended: Yale University

Zheng Min 1920–2022

Chinese poet and scholar

Also attended: Illinois State University

Kitty Chen 1944–

Playwright and actress

Attended until 1966

Larry Elder 1952–

Conservative commentator and talk radio host

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Ira Glass 1959–

Host and producer of This American Life

Also attended: Northwestern University, Northwest University

Max Joseph 1982–

Filmmaker and former Catfish: The TV Show host

Chris Berman 1955–

Longtime ESPN SportsCenter anchor

Sosie Bacon 1992–

Actress, daughter of Kevin Bacon

Father: Kevin Bacon (Circle in the Square Theatre School, Albright College)

Mother: Kyra Sedgwick (University of Southern California, Sarah Lawrence College)

Zoë Chao 1985–

Actress and screenwriter, known for The Afterparty

Also attended: University of California-San Diego

Florencio Campomanes 1927–2010

Filipino chess organizer and player

Also attended: Georgetown University

Albina Osipowich 1911–1964

Swimmer, 1928 Olympic champion

Alicia Sacramone 1987–

Gymnast, 2008 Olympic team silver medalist

Spouse: Brady Quinn (University of Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame -)

Helen Johns 1914–2014

Olympic champion swimmer and former world record-holder

Mark Donohue 1937–1975

Race car driver and engineer

Joe Paterno 1926–2012

Penn State Nittany Lions head football coach

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1950

Xeno Müller 1972–

Swiss rower and Olympic gold medallist

Norman Taber 1891–1952

Middle-distance runner who broke mile record

James Cerretani 1981–

Doubles tennis player with four ATP Tour titles

Adil Shamasdin 1982–

Canadian former professional doubles tennis player

John Spellman 1899–1966

Wrestler, 1924 Olympic freestyle gold medallist

Cory Gibbs 1980–

Former soccer defender who played in Europe

Leila Pahlavi 1970–2001

Youngest daughter of Iran's last Shah

Sibling: Ali Reza Pahlavi (Harvard University, Princeton University)

Sibling: Reza Pahlavi (University of Southern California, Williams College)

Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark 1969–

Son of Greece's last king Constantine II

Spouse: Princess Tatiana Blatnik (Georgetown University)

Sibling: Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark (Georgetown University)

Curtis Yarvin 1973–

Political blogger and software developer

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University

Rahim Aga Khan 1971–

50th Imam of the Nizari Isma'ilis

Spouse: Kendra Spears (Portland State University, University of Washington-Seattle Campus)

Father: Aga Khan IV (Harvard University)

Adoniram Judson 1788–1850

Baptist missionary in Burma for almost 40 years

Child: Edward Judson (Brown University)

E. Howard Hunt 1918–2007

Intelligence officer and author

Amy Carter 1967–

Daughter of President Jimmy Carter

Also attended: Tulane University of Louisiana, Memphis College of Art

Father: Jimmy Carter (Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus, Georgia Southwestern State University)

Mother: Rosalynn Carter (Georgia Southwestern State University)

Michaela Kennedy-Cuomo 1997–

Entrepreneur and activist, daughter of Andrew Cuomo

Father: Andrew Cuomo (Albany Law School, Fordham University)

Mother: Kerry Kennedy (Boston College, Boston University)

Scout Willis 1991–

Daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore

Father: Bruce Willis (Montclair State University)

Sibling: Rumer Willis (University of Southern California)