Northwestern University Notable Alumni

Northwestern Institution is a private research university located in Evanston, Illinois. It was founded in 1851by John Evans and other prominent lawyers, businessmen, and politicians. Northwestern University is one of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions. The university’s satellite campuses are located in Doha and Chicago. The Evanston site is spread out across 240 acres, but the Chicago campus is only 25 acres. Northwestern University is committed to providing students with world-class education, cutting-edge research, and intellectual empowerment. The internationally recognized institution offers a variety of undergraduate, graduate, professional, and pre-collegiate programs through its 12 famous schools and colleges.

Top 5 Northwestern University Notable Alumni 

Clinton Kelly

Clinton Kelly is a TV personality, author, and lifestyle adviser from the United States. For his position as moderator on ABC’s famous daytime show The Chew, he earned an Emmy. The Chew received many Emmy nominations and aired for seven seasons. For almost ten seasons, he was a co-host on TLC’s long-running reality show What Not to Wear, which featured fashion makeovers. Kelly is currently a contributor to Woman’s Day magazine, where she gives style advice. He’s written numerous best-selling books, the most recent of which being I Hate Everyone, Except You, a funny and frank collection of essays. Kelly began his career as a freelance writer for many fashion magazines before joining Marie Claire and Mademoiselle as an editor.

David Schwimmer

David Lawrence Schwimmer is an actor, director, and producer from the United States. In 1995, Schwimmer was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for his role as Ross Geller on the sitcom Friends, for which he won a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. His first starring feature role was in The Pallbearer (1996), which he followed with Kissing a Fool, Six Days, Seven Nights, Apt Pupil (all 1998), and Picking Up the Pieces (all 1999). (2000). He was then cast as Herbert Sobel in the miniseries Band of Brothers (2001).

John Heilemann

John Arthur Heilemann is an American journalist who works for NBC News and MSNBC as a national-affairs expert. He co-wrote the presidential campaign books Game Change (2010) and Double Down (2013) with Mark Halperin. Heilemann has previously worked as a professional writer for publications such as New York, Wired, and The Economist.

Pramila Jayapal

Pramila Jayapal is an American politician and activist who has represented Washington’s 7th congressional district since 2017. She is a Democrat who represents the majority of Seattle as well as King County’s outlying districts. Jayapal previously served in the Washington State Senate, representing the 37th legislative district from 2015 to 2017. She is the first Indian-American woman elected to the House of Representatives in the United States. She is the first Asian American to represent Washington at the federal level and the first female member of Congress from her district.

Hugh Hefner

Hugh Marston Hefner was a magazine publisher in the United States. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of Playboy magazine, which featured provocative images and writing that sparked obscenity accusations. The first issue of Playboy, which featured Marilyn Monroe in a nude calendar shot and sold over 50,000 copies, was released in 1953.

Manage your finances safely and securely with Leverage Live!

Notable Alumni 

The University provides a comprehensive directory that includes profiles of alumni, teachers, students, and staff. Michael Barratt, Saul Bellow, Christine Brennan, and Charles Mayo are among Northwestern’s notable alumni. Let’s know more about notable alumni of Northwestern University spread across the world remarking their presence. 

Academia

• Madeleine Wing Adler was the first female president of West Chester University. 
• Amy Allen is a liberal arts research professor of philosophy and women’s, gender and sexuality studies. 
• Alida Anderson is a professor at the School of Education at American University, Washington. 
• Margery C. Carlson was an American botanist and a professor at Northwestern University. 
• Michele Dauber is a law professor at the Stanford Law School. 
• Lee Edelman is an American literary critic and academic. 
• John B. Hogenesch is a chronobiologist and Professor of Pediatrics. 
• Jonathan D. Katz is an activist, art historian, educator and writer. 
• Nirmalya Kumar is a professor of marketing and also director of Aditya Birla India Centre at London Business School

Arts and Entertainment (Film, Television, Theatre) 

• Mara Brock Akil is the creator and executive producer of Girlfriends and The Game, former supervising producer of The Jamie Foxx Show
• Lee Phillip Bell is an Emmy Award-winning co-creator of The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful
• Cary Brothers is a Grammy-nominated musician 
• Bruno Campos is a known actor 
• Katie Chang is a well known actress 
• Emmy Award-winning comedian, Stephen Colbert 
• Emmy Award-winning actress, Penny Fuller who was also a nominee for Tony Awards 
• Frank Galati is a Tony Award-winning director and also a nominated screenwriter for Academy Awards for his movie “The Accidental Tourist”
• Samantha Harris is a co-host of Dancing with the Stars movie and also a  Emmy Award nominee 
• Bill Hayes is a Daytime Emmy Award-nominated actor for his movie “Days of Our Lives”

Business

• James L. Allen is the founder of Booz Allen Hamilton
• Arthur E. Andersen is the founder of Arthur Andersen LLP
• Jeff Blackard is a real estate developer and also the founder of Blackard Global, Inc.
• Sue Castorino is the founder and the  president of The Speaking Specialists
• Nicholas Chabraja is the chairman as well as the CEO of General Dynamics
• Christine Poon is the vice chairman and Worldwide Chairman of Medicines & Nutritionals of Johnson & Johnson
• William Shu is the CEO and the co-founder of Deliveroo
• Alfred Steele is the former CEO of Pepsi-Cola
• Lee Styslinger III is the chairman as well as the CEO of Altec, Inc.
• Mary T. Washington is the first African-American woman certified public accountant in the U.S.

Journalism

• J. A. Adande is the director of sports journalism at Northwestern University
• Kai Bird is a  Pulitzer Prize-winning author and columnist
• Mort Crim is a former correspondent for ABC News and is a great author
• Richard Cross is a freelance photojournalist and visual anthropologist
• Gregg Easterbrook is an author and journalist and also the senior editor of The New Republic
• Susan Goldberg is the editor-in-chief for the National Geographic Magazine
• John Heilemann is a journalist at New York magazine 
• Sherry Jones is the senior producer of a worldwide known game, Frontline
• Kathy Reichs is the best-selling novelist and forensic anthropologist

Law

• Rachel E. Barkow who is a professor at New York University Law School
• Dalveer Bhandari, currently a Judge at the International Court of Justice, Hague
• Federal Judge of District of South Dakota, Roberto Antonio Lange 
• Jonathan Turley, J.B. and Maurice Shapiro who are Professor of Public Interest Law at  The George Washington University Law School
• Dean of Berkeley School of Law, Erwin Chemerinsky
• Brian Blanchard is a Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals
• Duane Benton who is a Federal Judge at the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• G. Marcus Cole who is a professor of law, and associate dean for curriculum at Stanford Law School

Medicine, Science and Technology

• Irene D. Long is a chief medical officer at Kennedy Space Center
• Boris Lushniak is the Assistant Surgeon General of the United States
• Deborah Asnis is infectious disease specialist who  discovered and reported the first human cases of West Nile virus in the United States
• Cora Belle Brewster ks  physician, surgeon, medical writer and editor
• Andy Carvin is the founding editor and former coordinator of the Digital Divide Network
• George W. Crane is a psychologist, physician and newspaper columnist
• Larry Gladney is a physicist and professor at Yale University
• Amy Gooch is a computer scientist and the one to develop Gooch shading
• Kermit E. Krantz is professor who developed various surgical techniques and also invented expandable tampon
• Gary Kremen is the founder of Match.com and also first investor in Dolores Labs

Music, Literature and the arts

• Winner of 2007 National Book Critics Circle, Mary Jo Bang for his poetry collection Elegy who is also professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis
• Saul Bellow who is a Nobel Prize-winning novelist
• Andrew Bird (B.S. 1996), musician, songwriter, whistler
• Julia Davids, artistic director of the Canadian Chamber Choir
• William R. Ferris who was the  former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities
• Gillian Flynn who is an author of mystery novels and former television critic at Entertainment Weekly
• Aleksandar Hemon, An author 
• Richard Hillert, a composer and professor of music
• Marge Piercy, A novelist and poet

Politics, Government and Public Policy

1. United States Executive Branch

• Michael Bakalis 
• George Ball 
• William Jennings Bryan
• Wendy Chamberlin 
• James L. Connaughton
• D. Cameron Findlay 
• Wendy Lee Gramm
• Robert Hanssen 
• Loy W. Henderson 
• Edwin M. Martin
• Lowell B. Mason
• Allan I. Mendelowitz 
• Newton Minow
• Phyllis Oakley 
• Steven C. Preston 
• J. Leonard Reinsch
• Alec Ross 
• Mel Sembler 
• Richard E. Wiley 

2. United States Senate

• Dale Bumpers 
• Francis H. Case
• John Hoeven 
• George McGovern

3. United States House of Representatives

• Cindy Axne
• Judy Biggert
• Cardiss Collins
• Dick Gephardt
• Earl Dewitt Hutto
• Steve Kagen
• Scott L. Klug 
• Jim Kolbe 
• Dan Lipinski 
• Blake Moore 
• George M. O’Brien 
• John Edward Porter 
• Brad Schneider 
• Mike Synar 

4. Statewide officeholders

• Rod Blagojevich
• Dennis Daugaard 
• Frank Orren Lowden
• Dawn Clark Netsch 
• Pat Quinn
• Adlai Stevenson
• James R. Thompson
• Judy Baar Topinka
• Dan Walker
• Charlie Baker

5. State legislators 

• William M. Bray 
• John A. Cade
• Eric Fingerhut 
• Warren A. Grady
• Corwin C. Guell
• Liz Krueger 
• Steve Litzow 
• John L. McEwen
• Carroll Metzner
• John J. Nimrod
• Ora R. Rice
• Barbara Ulichny

6. Local officeholders

• Matthew Bogusz 
• Dan Cronin 
• Rahm Emanuel
• Stanley Kusper 
• Ruth U. Keeton
• Jim Reese 
• Harold Washington
• Lois Weisberg 

7. Activists

• Mary A. Ahrens
• Nathan Daschle
• Karen DeCrow 
• Al From
• Chrissy Gephardt
• Barbara Gittings
• Catherine Waugh McCulloch
• Terry O’Neill 
• Gary Rader
• Atour Sargon 
• Lee Weiner 

8. International figures

• Armida Alisjahbana 
• Kwaku Baah
• Ali Babacan 
• Salem Chalabi
• Cheddi Jagan
• Eduardo Mondlane
• Amos Sawyer
• Claudia López Hernández
• Tung Hsiang-lung
• Flávio Arns
• Alexander De Croo 

Sports

1. Baseball

• Jerry Doggett
• Eddie Einhorn 
• Luke Farrell 
• Joe Girard
• J. A. Happ
• Mike Huff
• Eric Jokisch
• George Kontos
• Mike Koplove 
• Kenesaw Mountain Landis 
• Mark Loretta
• Jerry Reinsdorf
• Mark Walter

2. Basketball

• Don Adams 
• Pat Baldwin 
• Jim Burns 
• Nia Coffey 
• Drew Crawford 
• Frank Ehmann
• Evan Eschmeyer
• Jake Fendley
• Glen Grunwald 
• Willie Jones
• Vic Law
• Billy McKinney
• Daryl Morey 
• Max Morris
• Dererk Pardon (born 1996)
• Dan Peterson
• Kevin Rankin 
• Joe Reiff
• Jerry Reinsdorf 
• Joe Ruklick
• Anucha Browne Sanders 
• John Shurna 
• Rick Sund

3. Figure Skating

• Ronald Joseph
• Debi Thomas 

4. Football

• Mike Adamle 
• Dick Alban 
• Frank Aschenbrenner 
• Darryl Ashmore
• Darnell Autry
• Frank Baker
• Cas Banaszek
• Brett Basanez
• D’Wayne Bates
• Sid Bennett
• George Benson
• Kevin Bentley
• Earnest Brown IV 
• Hank Bruder
• Corbin Bryant 
• Ron Burton
• Woody Campbell
• Ibraheim Campbell
• Austin Carr
• Luis Castillo
• Bob Christian
• Barry Cofield
• Joe Collier 
• Irv Cross
• Andy Cvercko
• Bill DeCorrevont
• Garrett Dickerson
• John L. “Paddy” Driscoll
• Curtis Duncan
• Tiny Engebretsen
• Trai Essex
• Paddy Fisher
• Pat Fitzgerald
• Barry Gardner
• Joe Gaziano
• Otto Graham
• Nate Hall
• Blake Hance 
• Napoleon Harris
• Montre Hartage 
• Noah Herron
• Chris Hinton 
• Godwin Igwebuike
• Justin Jackson
• Paul Janus
• Luke Johnsos
• Joe Jones
• Mike Kafka
• Jim Keane
• Doc Kelley
• John Kidd
• Elbert Kimbrough
• Bob Koehler
• Tyler Lancaster
• Dean Lowry
• Sherrick McManis
• Alex Moyer
• Greg Newsome II
• Hunter Niswander
• Brian Peters
• Matt O’Dwyer
• Ifeadi Odenigbo
• Ted Phillips 
• Kyle Prater
• Nick Roach
• Jack Rudnay
• Pete Shaw
• Trevor Siemian
• Ben Skowronek
• Rashawn Slater
• Zach Strief
• Tyrell Sutton
• Clayton Thorson
• Steve Tasker
• Rob Taylor
• Danny Vitale
• Anthony Walker Jr. 
• Ray Wietecha
• George Wilson
• Fred Williamson
• Eric Wilson
• Corey Wootton
• Jason Wright 

5. Golf

• Jim Benepe
• Luke Donald
• Matt Fitzpatrick
• David Lipsky
• David Merkow

6. Hockey 

• Rocky Wirtz 

7. Horse Racing

• David Israel

8. Race Car Driving

• Paul Dana

9. Soccer

• Tyle Miller

10. Swimming

• Federico Burdisso
• Matt Grevers
• Bob Skelton
• Jordan Wilimovsky 

11. Tennis 

• Katrina Adams
• Audra Cohen
• Grant Golden
• Clark Graebner
• Seymour Greenberg 
• Judy Ade Levering
• Todd Martin
• Marty Riessen

12. Track and field

• Jim Golliday
• Annette Rogers

13. Professional softball

• Tammy Williams

14. Wrestling

• Jake Herbert

15. Curling  

• Andrew Stopera

Other

• Wife of Warren Buffett , Susan Thompson Buffett who is a philanthropist 
• Mass shooter, Laurie Dann who attacked elementary school children in Winnetka.
• Vernard Eller who is a great author and Christian pacifist
• John L. Jerstad (B.A., 1940) who received the Medal of Honor for the  Operation Tidal Wave
• Vergel L. Lattimore who is an Air National Guard Brigadier General
• U.S. Air Force Major General, Davis C. Rohr, Robert W. Parker and David N. Senty
• Claudius B. Spencer who is an editor

Well, there are many more notable alumni of Northwestern University and if you dream to be one of them and start studying there or any other university abroad then contact our Leverage Edu experts today and get your career started!