King's College London

Discover the notable alumni of King's College London. The list includes people like John Deacon, Sheila Atim, Juno Temple, Adnan Sami & Ilfenesh Hadera. This list of notable alumni is loosely sorted by popularity and has people from different domains of life, such as writers, film & theater personalities, media personalities, miscellaneous and intellectuals & academics etc.
Vote for Your Favourite King's College London

Right IconThis ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.

 1 
Virginia Woolf
(One of the Most Important Modernist 20th-Century Authors)
Virginia Woolf
80
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: January 25, 1882
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Kensington, London, England
Died: March 28, 1941

Virginia Woolf was an English writer who pioneered a narrative mode called stream of consciousness to describe the thoughts and feelings of the narrator. Regarded as one of the most prominent modernist 20th-century writers, Woolf's works have gained much attention for inspiring feminism. Her life and work have inspired several films, novels, and plays.

 2 
John Deacon
(Musician)
John Deacon
26
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: August 19, 1951
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Oadby, United Kingdom
Former Queen bass guitarist and songwriter John Deacon contributed to some of the most popular hits of the band, such as I Want to Break Free and Another One Bites the Dust. He was the last member to enter the band, and the “quietest.” He retired in 1997.
 3 
Desmond Tutu
(First Black African Archbishop of Cape Town & Nobel Peace Prize Winner)
Desmond Tutu
69
Birthdate: October 7, 1931
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Klerksdorp, South Africa
Died: December 26, 2021
Desmond Tutu is known for his anti-Apartheid activism in South Africa. The first black Archbishop of Cape Town, he has also been the Bishop of Johannesburg. His efforts to eradicate AIDS, poverty, anti-LGBT sentiments, and human rights violations earned him the Nobel Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
 4 
John Keats
(English Romantic Lyric Poet)
John Keats
22
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: October 31, 1795
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Moorgate, London, England
Died: February 23, 1821
John Keats was one of the leading 19th-century Romantic poets, along with Byron and Shelley, known for his natural imagery and emotions in his poems. Some of his best-known works are Ode on a Grecian Urn, To Autumn, and Ode to a Nightingale. He died of tuberculosis at age 25.
 5 
Thomas Hardy
(Novelist & Poet)
Thomas Hardy
7
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: June 2, 1840
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Stinsford, Dorset, England
Died: January 11, 1928
Victorian novelist and poet Thomas Hardy exhibited strong influences of Romanticism in his works. He wrote classic novels such as Far from the Madding Crowd, The Mayor of Casterbridge, and Tess of the d'Urbervilles. He mostly showed his characters struggling against social conditions and ending up in tragic situations.
 6 
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke
(Science-Fiction Writer Known for His Novels: ‘Childhood's End’, ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ and ‘Rendezvous with Rama’)
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke
8
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: December 16, 1917
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Minehead, Somerset, England
Died: March 19, 2008
Sir Arthur C. Clarke is best known for his short story The Sentinel, which became the basis of the screenplay of Stanley Kubrick’s science-fiction movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Clarke spent the final years of his life in Sri Lanka and hosted shows such as Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World.
 7 
Sarojini Naidu
(Indian Political Activist, Poet and 1st Governor of United Provinces)
Sarojini Naidu
78
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: February 13, 1879
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Hyderabad, India
Died: March 2, 1949

Sarojini Naidu was an Indian poet and political activist. An important figure in the Indian Independence Movement, she was a proponent of anti-imperialistic ideas, women's rights, and civil rights. Her illustrious career as a poet earned her the nickname Nightingale of India. After India became independent, she became the first woman to hold the office of Governor in the Dominion of India.

 8 
Louis Slotin
(Canadian Physicist and Chemist Who Took Part in the Manhattan Project)
Louis Slotin
4
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: December 1, 1910
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Winnipeg, Canada
Died: May 30, 1946
While showing his colleagues how to work on a plutonium bomb, Canadian scientist Louis Slotin was exposed to a lethal radioactive dose that first caused him to vomit and then die 9 days later. He had, however, reportedly shielded his colleagues from maximum exposure, thus saving their lives.
 9 
Bree Turner
(Actress)
Bree Turner
5
Birthdate: March 10, 1977
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Palo Alto, California, United States
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
 10 
Sheila Atim
(Ugandan-British Actress, Singer and Composer)
Sheila Atim
4
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: 1992 AD
Birthplace: Uganda
 11 
Peter Higgs
(British Theoretical Physicist and Nobel Prize Laureate for His Work on the Mass of Subatomic Particles)
Peter Higgs
3
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: May 29, 1929
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Peter Higgs is a British theoretical physicist. He studied at King's College London and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954. He went on to have a brilliant academic career and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1983. In 2013, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Belgian physicist François Englert.  

 12 
Dina Asher-Smith
(British Sprinter and Fastest British Woman on Record)
Dina Asher-Smith
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: December 4, 1995
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Orpington, Kent, England
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
 13 
Ilfenesh Hadera
(Actress)
Ilfenesh Hadera
9
Birthdate: December 1, 1985
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Harlem, New York, United States
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
 14 
Emily Berrington
(Actress)
Emily Berrington
1
Birthdate: December 7, 1988
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
 15 
Alain de Botton
(Philosopher and Author Known for His Books: ‘Essays in Love’ and ‘How Proust Can Change Your Life’)
Alain de Botton
4
Birthdate: December 20, 1969
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Zürich, Switzerland

Swiss-born British philosopher and author, Alain de Botto,n is best known for his work, Essays in Love, which has sold millions of copies worldwide. He is one of the founders of the educational company, The School of Life, launched in 2008. He is a recipient of  "The Fellowship of Schopenhauer", an annual writers' award from the Melbourne Writers Festival. 

 16 
Christopher Isherwood
(Novelist)
Christopher Isherwood
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: August 26, 1904
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Cheshire, England, UK
Died: January 4, 1986
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
 17 
Raymond Cattell
(Psychologist)
Raymond Cattell
1
Birthdate: March 20, 1905
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: West Bromwich, England
Died: February 2, 1998
 18 
Isabel dos Santos
(Businesswoman)
Isabel dos Santos
6
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: April 1, 1973
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Baku, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
 19 
Reita Faria
(Indian Physician and Former Model Who Was the Winner of the Miss World 1966 Pageant)
Reita Faria
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: August 23, 1945
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Reita Faria is an Indian physician and former beauty queen. She is best known for winning the Miss World pageant in 1966 and thereby becoming the first woman of Asian origin to win the contest. Reita Faria is also the first qualified physician to win the Miss World title. Reita Faria declined several acting offers to focus on her career as a physician.

 20 
Peter Asher
(Guitarist)
Peter Asher
0
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: June 22, 1944
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: London, England, UK
 21 
Ylenia Carrisi
(Former actress who disappeared under mysterious circumstances while visiting New Orleans, Louisiana, in January 1994)
Ylenia Carrisi
2
Birthdate: November 29, 1970
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Rome, Italy
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
 22 
C. S. Forester
(Novelist)
C. S. Forester
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: August 27, 1899
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Cairo, Egypt
Died: April 2, 1966
 23 
Daniel Massey
(Actor)
Daniel  Massey
2
Birthdate: October 10, 1933
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Westminster, London, England
Died: March 25, 1998
Height: 6'3" (190 cm)
 24 
Kele Okereke
(Musician)
Kele Okereke
3
Listed In: Singers
Birthdate: October 13, 1981
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Liverpool, England
 25 
Katherine Grainger
(Rower)
Katherine Grainger
4
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: November 12, 1975
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
 26 
W. S. Gilbert
(Dramatist)
W. S. Gilbert
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: November 18, 1836
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Southampton Street, London, England
Died: May 29, 1911
 27 
John Evan
(Musician)
John Evan
0
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: March 28, 1948
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Blackpool, Lancashire, England
 28 
Hanif Kureishi
(Playwright)
Hanif Kureishi
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: December 5, 1954
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Bromley, South London, England
 29 
Juno Temple
(Actress)
Juno Temple
20
Birthdate: July 21, 1989
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: London, England, UK
Height: 5'2" (157 cm)
 30 
Radclyffe Hall
(Poet)
Radclyffe Hall
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: August 12, 1880
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Died: October 7, 1943
 31 
Napoleon, Prince Imperial
(Prince)
Napoleon, Prince Imperial
1
Birthdate: March 16, 1856
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Paris, French Empire
Died: June 1, 1879
 32 
Nigel Green
(Actor)
Nigel Green
4
Birthdate: October 15, 1924
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Pretoria, South Africa
Died: May 15, 1972

Nigel Green was an English actor best remembered for playing supporting roles in movies like Jason and the Argonauts and The Ipcress File. Thanks to his commanding height of 6 ft 4 in, strapping build, and regimental demeanor, Green was often cast to play men of action and characters with imposing physique.

 33 
Raja Ramanna
(Former Physicist Best Known for His Role in India’s Nuclear Program During Its Early Stages)
Raja Ramanna
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: January 28, 1925
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Mysore, Karnataka, India
Died: September 24, 2004

Raja Ramanna was an Indian nuclear physicist, remembered for his role in the development of India’s nuclear weapons program. Beginning his career under Homi Bhabha, he eventually served as the director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, overseeing India’s first nuclear weapons test in 1974.  Meanwhile he also served as the secretary for defense research and later headed Atomic Energy Commission.

 34 
Beatrice Webb
(British Sociologist, Economist, Socialist, Labour Historian and Social Reformer)
Beatrice Webb
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: January 22, 1858
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Gloucestershire, England
Died: April 30, 1943

Sociologist Beatrice Webb is best remembered for coining the term collective bargaining. Along with her husband, Sidney Webb, whom she met at the Fabian Society, and others, Beatrice co-founded the London School of Economics. In spite of her lack of formal education, she was a prominent educator and an avid diarist.

 35 
Tom Rosenthal
(Comedian)
Tom Rosenthal
0
Birthdate: January 14, 1988
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: London, England, UK
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
 36 
Anne Dudley
(First BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001)
Anne Dudley
1
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: May 7, 1956
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Beckenham, Kent, England
 37 
David Tang
(Founding the Shanghai Tang fashion chain)
David Tang
0
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: August 2, 1954
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Hong Kong
Died: August 29, 2017
 38 
Adnan Sami
(First Musician to Have Played the Santoor and Indian Classical Music on the Piano)
Adnan Sami
9
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: August 15, 1971
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: London, England

Adnan Sami is an Indian musician, singer, pianist, and music composer. Best known for his skills as a piano player, Sami was named the world's fastest keyboard player by Keyboard magazine. He is also widely regarded as the first person to have played Indian classical music on the piano. In 2020, he was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri. 

 39 
Nick Bostrom
(Swedish Philosopher and Founding Director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University)
Nick Bostrom
1
Birthdate: March 10, 1973
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Helsingborg, Sweden

Nick Bostrom is a Swedish philosopher best known for his work concerning issues like existential risk, human enhancement, the anthropic principle, and risks with super-intelligence. A prolific writer, Bostrom has authored more than 200 books. Nick Bostrom is also an advocate of transhumanism. In 2009, he received the Eugene R. Gannon Award.

 40 
Mark Francois
(Politician)
Mark Francois
1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: August 14, 1965
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Islington, London, England
 41 
Sidney Webb, 1st Baron Passfield
(British Socialist, Economist, Reformer and Co-Founder of 'The London School of Economics')
Sidney Webb, 1st Baron Passfield
0
Birthdate: July 13, 1859
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: London, England
Died: October 13, 1947

Born to a lower-middle-class family, economist Sidney Webb, 1st Baron Passfield had quit school before 16 but later attended evening classes to clear both the civil service and bar exams. He and his wife, Beatrice Webb, were both part of the Fabian Society and co-founded the London School of Economics.

 42 
Alex van der Zwaan
(Attorney who pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to investigators while answering questions about Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections)
Alex van der Zwaan
0
Listed In: Lawyers & Judges
Birthdate: 1984
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Brussels, Belgium
 43 
E.F. Benson
(British Writer and Archaeologist Best Known for His Collection of Novels 'Mapp and Lucia')
E.F. Benson
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: July 24, 1867
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Wellington College, Berkshire, England
Died: February 29, 1940

Chiefly known as a novelist, biographer, and memoirist, Edward Frederic Benson began his career with the British School of Archaeology in Athens, publishing his first successful novel, Dodo: A Detail of the Day, during this period. Its popularity encouraged him to continue publishing, the most significant works among them being Mapp and Lucia series, and the biography of Queen Victoria.

 44 
Lynden Pindling
(Prime minister of The Bahamas)
Lynden Pindling
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: March 22, 1930
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Nassau, The Bahamas
Died: August 26, 2000
 45 
Hassan Al-Turabi
(Sudanese Political Leader Who Organized the 1989 Coup that Brought Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir to Power.)
Hassan Al-Turabi
1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: February 1, 1931
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Kassala, Sudan
Died: March 5, 2016
Hassan Al-Turabi was a Sudanese politician who served as the Attorney General of Sudan from 1978 to 1982. He then served as the Foreign Minister in 1989. Hassan Al-Turabi also served as the Speaker of the National Assembly from 1996 to 1999. He is credited with organizing the 1989 Sudanese coup d'état that brought Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir to power.
 46 
France-Albert René
(2nd President of Seychelles)
France-Albert René
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: November 16, 1934
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Victoria, Seychelles
Died: February 27, 2019
 47 
S. Rajaratnam
(One of the Founding Fathers of Singapore and the 1st Senior Minister of Singapore)
S. Rajaratnam
1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: February 25, 1915
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Died: February 22, 2006

S. Rajaratnam was a Singaporean politician best remembered for his service as the first Senior Minister of Singapore from 2 January 1985 to 3 September 1988. Rajaratnam is credited with authoring the Singapore National Pledge and is counted among the founding fathers of Singapore. He is also credited with co-founding the famous People's Action Party.

 48 
Daniel Roche
(Actor)
Daniel Roche
3
Birthdate: October 14, 1999
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: London, England, UK
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
 49 
Leslie Stephen
(British Author, Critic, Historian, Biographer, and Mountaineer)
Leslie Stephen
2
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: November 28, 1832
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Kensington Gore, London, England
Died: February 22, 1904

Sir Leslie Stephen was an English historian, biographer, author, critic, and mountaineer. Leslie Stephen also took an active part in the organized humanist movement, serving as the president of the West London Ethical Society on multiple occasions. He was the father of famous author, Virginia Woolf, and painter, Vanessa Bell.

 50 
William Kingdon Clifford
(Mathematician)
William Kingdon Clifford
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: May 4, 1845
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Exeter, England
Died: March 3, 1879