University Of California, Santa Barbara Notable Alumni

One of the most decorated American actors, Michael Douglas is popular for playing a variety of roles. Apart from acting, Michael Douglas has received attention for his political activism and humanitarianism. A cancer survivor, Douglas serves as an inspiration to those suffering from the disease; he recovered from stage IV tongue cancer.

Gwyneth Paltrow is an American actress who has worked in several notable films, such as Emma, Seven and The Talented Mr Ripley. She won the Oscars for her role in the film Shakespeare in Love. She’s also worked on several television shows. She has been criticised for promoting unproven treatments based on pseudoscience via her lifestyle company Goop and has had to face lawsuits over it.

Actress, director, and producer, Alison Eastwood, is the daughter of actor Clint Eastwood. Growing up in close proximity to Hollywood, she began getting acting offers at an early age. She took up a few projects as a child and decided to pursue acting professionally as a young woman. She also runs her own business and a non-profit animal welfare organization. 

Sean Hannity is a conservative political commentator and talk show host. As one of the most-watched and most-listened-to hosts, he has played a key role in shaping American politics in the last decade or so. Due to his closeness to President Donald Trump, he is characterized as the shadow Chief of Staff.

Reza Aslan is an Iranian-American writer, TV host, and scholar of sociology of religion. A multi-talented personality, Aslan also serves as a professor at the University of California, Riverside. Over the course of his career, Reza Aslan has been honored with several prestigious awards including the East-West Media Award in 2012 and the Media Bridge-Builder Award in 2013.

Richard Serra is an American artist renowned for his large-scale sculptures that are designed for site-specific landscape, architectural, and urban settings. Many of his works are displayed in several museums, including The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris. Serra is the recipient of several prestigious awards like The National Arts Award.

A retired US Navy officer, Robert Ballard is now an oceanography professor, a marine explorer, and an underwater archaeologist, who has discovered countless shipwrecks, including the RMS Titanic and Bismark. He has also discovered hydrothermal vents. His exploration has earned him many honors, such as the Hubbard Medal.

Apart from winning 8 Olympic medals, of which 4 were gold medals, Jason Lezak also showed a keen interest in other sports such as basketball, water polo, and soccer, in his initial days. Post-retirement, he and his wife, fellow Olympian Danielle DeAlva began coaching children. He is also a motivational speaker.

Peter Popoff is a German-born American faith healer, debunked clairvoyant, and televangelist. Popoff used a concealed earpiece to receive information about people suffering from ailments during his religious services and claimed that God divulged the information to him. The scam was exposed in 1986 and led to the creation of several works of art, including the film Leap of Faith.

Carol W. Greider is a molecular biologist who discovered the enzyme telomerase in 1984. Her discovery was honored several years later when she received the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak for their work on telomeres.  The trio also shared the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research for the same work.  

Renowned astrophysicist Alexei Filippenko, who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, is primarily focused on supernovae and galaxies. Apart from writing 900 research papers, he has also penned a bestselling book and appeared on programs such as The Universe. He loves tennis and often travels to view solar eclipses.

Yau-Man Chan is a Malaysian technology executive, table tennis player, and reality television participant. He is best known for appearing on the popular reality television series Survivor: Fiji. He also went on to participate in Survivor: Micronesia, where he became the third contestant to be eleminated.