Discover the notable alumni of University Of Illinois. The list includes people like Hugh Hefner, Larry Ellison, Roger Ebert, Jesse Jackson & Shel Silverstein. This list of notable alumni is loosely sorted by popularity and has people from different domains of life, such as scientists, media personalities, writers, intellectuals & academics and business people etc.
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1
Gene Hackman(Best Known for His Role as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in the Film 'The French Connection’)
Birthdate: January 30, 1930
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: San Bernardino, California, United States
For someone who was voted by his acting school peers as 'The Least Likely To Succeed', Gene Hackman went on to have a remarkable acting career spanning around half a century with multiple prestigious awards. His notable films include Bonnie and Clyde, The French Connection, Unforgiven, Mississippi Burning and The Royal Tenenbaums. Apart from acting, Gene Hackman is also a novelist and has written six books.
Birthdate: September 25, 1930
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: May 10, 1999
Shel Silverstein was an American writer, playwright, songwriter, and cartoonist. Renowned for his children's books, songs, and cartoons, Silverstein's works have been translated into over 30 languages. The recipient of many prestigious awards, such as Grammy Awards, Shel Silverstein was posthumously inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.
3
Dick Butkus(American Former Professional Football Player Who Played as Middle Linebacker)
Birthdate: December 9, 1942
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'3" (190 cm)
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: January 26, 1912
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: September 30, 1987
Herbert Sobel was an American military man who commanded Easy Company during World War II. Although he played a key role during the war, Sobel was despised by his soldiers due to his arrogance. In the 2001 war drama miniseries Band of Brothers, Herbert Sobel was portrayed by David Schwimmer.
Recommended Lists:5
Dorothy Day(American Social Activist, Journalist, and Anarchist)
Birthdate: November 8, 1897
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died: November 29, 1980
Dorothy Day was an American social activist, journalist, and anarchist. She is best remembered for co-founding the Catholic Worker Movement along with French activist Peter Maurin. She also co-founded a newspaper called Catholic Worker and served as its editor between 1933 and 1980. In 2001, Dorothy Day was made an inductee of the National Women's Hall of Fame.
6
Dan Fogelberg(Musician)
Birthdate: August 13, 1951
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Peoria, Illinois, USA
Died: December 16, 2007
Recommended Lists:7
Deron Williams(Basketball player)
Birthdate: June 26, 1984
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Parkersburg, West Virginia, United States
Height: 6'3" (190 cm)
8
Jack Welch(Former Chairman & CEO of General Electric)
Birthdate: November 19, 1935
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Peabody, Massachusetts, U.S
Died: March 1, 2020
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
Recommended Lists:9
Ben Falcone(Actor)
Birthdate: August 25, 1973
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Carbondale, Illinois, USA
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
10
Dave Eggers(American Writer Known for His Best Selling Memoir 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius')
Birthdate: March 12, 1970
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Dave Eggers is an American writer, publisher, and editor. He is credited with founding a non-profit publishing house named McSweeney's Publishing and a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization called ScholarMatch. Eggers is also credited with co-founding other non-profit organizations like 826 Valencia and Voice of Witness. His novels A Hologram for the King and The Circle have been adapted into movies.
Recommended Lists:11
George Halas(American football player)
Birthdate: February 2, 1895
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Died: October 31, 1983
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
12
David Otunga(Former Professional Wrestler Best Known for His Time with WWE)
Birthdate: April 7, 1980
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Elgin, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: November 8, 1923
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Jefferson City
Died: June 20, 2005
Nobel Prize-winning engineer Jack Kilby is best remembered for his contribution to the development of the integrated circuit. Born to an electrical engineer, he had his first brush with gadgets as an amateur radio operator. Initially a Texas Instruments employee, he later also taught at the Texas A&M University.
14
Suze Orman(Author, Television Personality, Motivational Speaker)
Birthdate: June 5, 1951
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Height: 5'4" (163 cm)
Recommended Lists:15
Curtis Granderson(Baseball Player)
Birthdate: March 16, 1981
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Blue Island, Illinois, US
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
16
Belal Muhammad(Mixed martial art welterweight division)
Birthdate: July 9, 1988
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
Recommended Lists:17
Steve Goodman(Singer-songwriter)
Birthdate: July 25, 1948
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: September 20, 1984
18
Ed Boon(Programmer, Engineer, Screenwriter, Computer scientist)
Birthdate: February 22, 1964
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Chicago
Recommended Lists:19
Iris Chang(Journalist)
Birthdate: March 28, 1968
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Princeton, New Jersey, United States
Died: November 9, 2004
Birthdate: November 30, 1924
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Chicago
Died: November 20, 1973
Recommended Lists:21
César Pelli(Architect, Entrepreneur)
Birthdate: October 12, 1926
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: San Miguel de Tucumán
22
Sheila Johnson(American businesswoman)
Birthdate: January 25, 1949
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: McKeesport
Recommended Lists:23
John Chancellor(Journalist)
Birthdate: July 14, 1927
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: July 12, 1996
24
Tony Eason(American football player)
Birthdate: October 8, 1959
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Blythe, California, United States
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
Recommended Lists:25
Carol Moseley Braun(politician, diplomat, prosecutor, lawyer)
Birthdate: August 16, 1947
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
26
Ted Karras(American football player)
Birthdate: March 15, 1993
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
Recommended Lists:27
Whitney Mercilus(American Football Player)
Birthdate: July 21, 1990
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Akron, Ohio, United States
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
28
Paul Hunt(Gymnastics clown)
Birthplace: Illinois, United States
Once a US national champion, gymnast Paul Hunt also made use of his sense of humor, often performing comic-relief routines, dressed in skirts, using pseudonyms such as Paulina and Pauletta. A talented coach, he was forced to shut down his gymnastics academy in Salt Lake City due to COVID-19.
Recommended Lists:29
Pierre Thomas(American football player)
Birthdate: December 18, 1984
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
30
Nick Anderson(Basketball player)
Birthdate: January 20, 1968
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Recommended Lists:31
Simeon Rice(American football player)
Birthdate: February 24, 1974
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'5" (196 cm)
32
Jeff Monson(Russian Mixed Martial Artist)
Birthdate: January 18, 1971
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
Recommended Lists:33
David Diehl(American football player)
Birthdate: September 15, 1980
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'6" (198 cm)
34
Brandon Lloyd(American football player)
Birthdate: July 5, 1981
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: April 27, 1896
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Burlington, Iowa, United States
Died: April 29, 1937
Wallace Carothers was an American inventor and chemist. He worked for DuPont where he was the leader of organic chemistry. Carothers, who played a major role at the DuPont Experimental Station, is credited with inventing nylon. Despite his success, Carothers was unhappy with his life and committed suicide at the age of 41; he was troubled by bouts of depression.
36
Tatyana McFadden(American Paralympic Athlete)
Birthdate: April 21, 1989
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Height: 5'3" (160 cm)
Recommended Lists:37
Kendrick Green(American Football Player)
Birthdate: December 22, 1998
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Peoria, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
38
George Crumb(Composer)
Birthdate: October 24, 1929
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Charleston, West Virginia, United States
Recommended Lists:39
Mark Van Doren(Poet, Autobiographer, Literary critic, University teacher, Professor, Writer, Journalist)
Birthdate: June 13, 1894
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Vermilion County
Died: December 10, 1972
40
Nick Allegretti(American football player)
Birthdate: April 21, 1996
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Frankfort, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
Recommended Lists:41
William F. Baker(Structural engineer)
Birthdate: October 9, 1953
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Fulton, Missouri, United States
William F. Baker is an American structural engineer best known for working as an engineer in several important projects, including the famous Burj Khalifa in Dubai. In 2011, he was invited by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) to lead a project aimed at developing innovative structures for high-rise buildings. Baker has received several honors and awards throughout his career.
42
Donald Johanson(Anthropologist, Archaeologist, Prehistorian, Paleoanthropologist, University teacher)
Birthdate: June 28, 1943
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Chicago
Donald Johanson is a paleoanthropologist. He collaborated with Yves Coppens and Maurice Taieb to discover the fossil of a female hominin australopithecine in the Afar Triangle region of Hadar, Ethiopia. This fossil was named “Lucy". As an academician, he established the Institute of Human Origins in Berkeley. He is the recipient of several awards and honors.
Recommended Lists:43
Hans Massaquoi(Journalist, Writer)
Birthdate: January 19, 1926
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
Died: January 19, 2013
44
Jihad Ward(American football player)
Birthdate: May 11, 1994
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Height: 6'5" (196 cm)
Recommended Lists:45
Ken Holtzman(Baseball player)
Birthdate: November 3, 1945
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Height: 6'2" (188 cm)
46
Scott D. Altman(Astronaut, Fighter pilot)
Birthdate: August 15, 1959
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Lincoln
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: May 8, 1936
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died: August 14, 2020
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
48
Dorris Alexander Brown(Novelist)
Birthdate: February 29, 1908
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Louisiana, United States
Died: December 12, 2002
Recommended Lists:49
A. J. Jenkins(American football player)
Birthdate: September 30, 1989
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
Birthdate: May 31, 1931
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Oak Park, Illinois, USA
Died: July 27, 2019
Recommended Lists:The University of Illinois is one of the top-ranked educational institutions in the world where students from different parts of the world come to pursue their higher education. Media sources like ‘Times Higher Education’, ‘U.S News & World Report’ and ‘Academic Ranking Of World Ranking’ have often published lists of top universities around the world and this institution has often appeared on these lists. The campus of this university is unbelievably huge and sprawls over more than 4500 acres. More than 600 buildings are situated on University of Illinois’ vast campus. The University has also been praised by media and masses alike for producing several noteworthy students, who are making waves all over the world for their incredible accomplishments. The notable alumni association of the University of Illinois includes names like film critic Roger Ebert, entrepreneur Marc Andreessen, businessman Steve Chan as well as author and motivational speaker Suze Orman. Roger Ebert has been extremely popular within Hollywood circles and cinema lovers not just for his impressive reviews, but also his books. One of his works ‘A Memoir, Scorcese By Ebert’ has been a favorite among several aspiring filmmakers. Scroll below to find a list of well-known personalities who studied at the University of Illinois. The names on the list speak volumes about the kind of students this renowned university has been producing over the years. Probably this is why this university receives applications from all parts of the world.
