List of notable UCLA alumni

Notable alumni

Nobel Laureates

• Ralph Bunche – Peace, 1950
• Bruce Merrifield – Chemistry, 1984
• Glenn T. Seaborg – Chemistry, 1951
• William Sharpe – Economics, 1990

Academia, Science and Technology

• Paul Baran – Internet pioneer
• Vinton Cerf – Internet pioneer and Turing Award laureate; frequently called the "Father of the Internet"
• Walter Cunningham – astronaut
• Mike Davis – writer, urban theorist and history professor at University of California, Irvine
• Thomas Everhart – physicist and former president of CalTech
• Anna Lee Fisher – astronaut
• James Gimzewski – physicist and nanotechnology pioneer
• Kay Redfield Jamison – writer and psychiatry professor at Johns Hopkins University
• Maulana Karenga – black studies professor at California State University, Long Beach and founder of Kwanzaa
• Geoffrey Marcy – astronomer; professor of physics and astronomy at University of California, Berkeley
• Steven Muller – former president of John Hopkins University
• Story Musgrave – astronaut
• John L. Phillips – astronaut
• Jon Postel – Internet pioneer
• Hilary Putnam – philosopher of mind, language and mathematics; philosophy professor at Harvard University
• Taylor Wang – astronaut
• Fred Whipple – astronomer

Arts, Film and Literature

• Catherine Asaro – Nebula Award winning science fiction novelist
• Sean Astin – actor
• Lloyd Bridges – actor
• Carol Burnett – Emmy Award winning comedian
• Charles Burnett – film director
• Doug Chiang – Academy Award winning film production designer
• Judy Chicago – artist and educator
• Francis Ford Coppola – Academy Award winning film director; wrote and directed the Godfather Trilogy and Apocalypse Now
• Alex Cox – film director and screenwriter; wrote and directed Repo Man and Sid and Nancy
• Agnes de Mille – dancer and choreographer
• James Dean – actor and Hollywood icon
• Brad Delson – guitarist of Linkin Park
• Ryan Dusick – drummer of Maroon 5
• Dave Farrell – bass player of Linkin Park
• Greg Ginn – guitarist of Black Flag
• Greg Graffin – lead singer of Bad Religion
• Mariska Hargitay – Golden Globe Award winning actress
• Mark Harmon – actor
• David Koepp – screenwriter
• Mickey Madden – bass player of Maroon 5
• Jayne Mansfield – actress
• Ray Manzarek – keyboard player of The Doors
• Frank Marshall – film producer
• Danica McKellar – actress
• Jim Morrison – lead singer of The Doors
• Niels Mueller – film director and screenwriter
• Randy Newman – musician; Academy, Emmy, and Grammy Award winning film score composer
• Victor Nuñez – film director and screenwriter
• Alexander Payne – Academy Award winning filmmaker; director and screenwriter of Election, About Schmidt and Sideways
• Kal Penn – actor
• Gina Prince-Blythewood – film director and screenwriter; wrote and directed Love and Basketball
• Rob Reiner – film director
• Tim Robbins – Academy Award winning actor, film director and social activist; wrote and directed Bob Roberts and Dead Man Walking
• Kira Roessler – bass player of Black Flag
• Eric Roth – Academy Award winning screenwriter
• Paul Schrader – screenwriter and film director; wrote Taxi Driver and Raging Bull
• Harry Shearer – actor and comedian
• Brad Silberling – film director and screenwriter
• Harry Turtledove – science fiction novelist
• Gabrielle Union – actress
• John Williams – Academy Award winning film score composer; composed the score to the Star Wars films
• Hoyt Yeatman – Academy Award winning visual effects supervisor

Athletes

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – six time National Basketball Association champion; member of the Basketball Hall of Fame
• Troy Aikman – National Football League player; three time Super Bowl champion
• Arthur Ashe – tennis player and social activist; Wimbledon champion
• Evelyn Ashford – Olympic track and field athlete and multiple gold medalist
• Donald Barksdale – The first African-American named to an Olympic basketball team and gold medalist
• Drew Bennett – National Football League player
• Mohini Bhardwaj – Olympic silver medalist in gymnastics
• Carlos Bocanegra – Major League Soccer player
• Jeff Conine – Major League Baseball player; World Series champion
• Jimmy Connors – tennis player; two time Wimbledon champion
• Baron Davis – National Basketball Association player
• Gail Devers – track and field runner; multiple Olympic gold medalist
• Don Drysdale – Major League Baseball Hall of Fame player with the Los Angeles Dodgers
• Lisa Fernandez – Olympic softball gold medalist
• Mike Flanagan – National Football League player; Green Bay Packers center
• DeShaun Foster – National Football League player; Carolina Panthers running back
• Dan Gadzuric – National Basketball Association player
• Troy Glaus – Major League Baseball player; 2002 World Series MVP
• Gail Goodrich – National Basketball Association Hall of Fame player; won an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers
• Joanna Hayes – Olympic gold medalist track and field 100m hurdles record holder
• Monique Henderson – track and field runner; Olympic gold medalist in 4x400m relay
• Rafer Johnson – Olympic decathlon champion
• Cobi Jones – Major League Soccer player; MLS Cup champion
• Florence Griffith Joyner – Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in 100 meters race.
• Jackie Joyner-Kersee – track and field athlete, multiple Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the heptathlon.
• Jason Kapono – National Basketball Association player
• Karch Kiraly – volleyball player; only person to win Olympic gold medals in both indoor and beach volleyball.
• Michelle Kwan – world champion figure skater; record nine time U.S. National Champion (currently attending)
• Tommy Maddox – National Football League player; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback
• Ricky Manning – National Football League player
• Holly McPeak – volleyball player and Olympic bronze medalist
• Reggie Miller – National Basketball Association player and Olympic gold medalist
• Freddie Mitchell – National Football League player
• Ken Norton Jr. – former National Football League player; three time Super Bowl champion
• Jonathan Ogden – National Football League player; Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle
• Jim Vo Parque – Major League Baseball player
• Roman Phifer – National Football League player; three time Super Bowl champion
• Jackie Robinson – Major League Baseball player and civil rights pioneer, Baseball Hall of Famer
• Woody Strode – football player; one of the first African American players to integrate the National Football League and film actor
• Scot Thompson – Major League Soccer player; MLS Cup champion
• Peter Vidmar – gymnast; three time Olympic gold medalist
• Bill Walton – National Basketball Association player, member of the Basketball Hall of Fame; now a broadcaster
• Kenny Washington – football player; one of the first African American players to integrate the National Football League
• Earl Watson – National Basketball Association player
• Jamaal Wilkes – National Basketball Association player; four time NBA champion

Business and Law

• Johnnie Cochran – attorney
• Alex Kozinski – judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
• Mitch Kupchak – general manager for the Los Angeles Lakers
• Dorothy W. Nelson – senior judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
• Michael Ovitz – Hollywood power broker and former president of the Walt Disney Company
• Nobutada Saji – CEO of Suntory
• Robert Shapiro – attorney
• Stacey Snider – chairperson of Universal Pictures
• Kim McLane Wardlaw – judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Politics

• Tom Bradley – mayor of Los Angeles, 1973-1993
• Yvonne Braithwaite Burke – Los Angeles County Supervisor
• Benjamin Cayetano – governor of Hawaii, 1994-2002
• Sheila Kuehl – California state senator
• David McReynolds – activist and socialist political candidate
• Linda Sanchez – member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Antonio Villaraigosa – Los Angeles city councilperson and former California Speaker of the Assembly
• Diane Watson – member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Henry Waxman – member of the U.S. House of Representatives

Miscellaneous

• Rudi Bakhtiar – national news anchor
• Jack Bauer – fictional character from the television program 24
• Sydney Bristow – fictional character from the television program Alias
• Brooke Burke – model and television personality
• Carlos Castaneda – anthropologist and writer
• Iva Toguri D'Aquino – World War II radio propagandist, "Tokyo Rose"
• Chris "Jesus" Ferguson – World Series of Poker main event winner and poker professional
• Carol Lin – national news anchor
• Kelly Perdew – winner of The Apprentice
• Princess Ubol Ratana – of Thailand
• Prince Chatri Chalerm Yukol – of Thailand