University Of Exeter Notable Alumni
Discover the notable alumni of University Of Exeter. The list includes people like J. K. Rowling, Mark Labbett, Thom Yorke, Katie Hopkins & Al-Waleed bin Talal. This list of notable alumni is loosely sorted by popularity and has people from different domains of life, such as film & theater personalities, writers, singers, musicians and media personalities etc.
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1
J. K. Rowling(Author of Children's Fantasy Series, 'Harry Potter')
Birthdate: July 31, 1965
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Yate, England
JK Rowling’s story is that of rags-to-riches. She is the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series, which have sold more than 500 million copies and is the best-selling book series in history. She also writes crime fiction albeit under a pen name. Rowling supports many charities and has founded Lumos, an international NGO, working for children.
Birthdate: October 7, 1968
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Wellingborough
English musician, Thom Yorke, is the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. He is a multi-instrumentalist as well. Active in the music industry for over 35 years, he performs both as part of his band and as a solo artist. He is a human rights activist and also supports animal rights, environmental and anti-war causes.
3
Vanessa Kirby(British Actress Known for Her Role as ‘Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon’ in the TV Series ‘The Crown')
Birthdate: April 18, 1988
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Wimbledon, London, England
English actress, Vanessa Kirby, catapulted to fame as Princess Margaret in the Netflix historical drama series The Crown. The success brought her big films like Mission: Impossible –Fallout. However, Venessa has been a known stage and screen actress for quite some time. Her profile include A Streetcar Named Desire (play), The Frankenstein Chronicles (television series) and Great Expectations (BBC miniseries).
Birthdate: August 5, 1965
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Tiverton, England, United Kingdom
Mark Labbett gained fame as the “chaser” on the game show The Chase and its subsequent versions. He is known by his nickname “The Beast” on these shows. He has also appeared on several other shows, such as Mastermind, Countdown, SUDO-Q, Celebrity Juice, and The Radio 1 Breakfast Show.
5
Steve Backshall(British Naturalist, Explorer and Presenter Known for His Wildlife Documentary Program ‘Deadly 60’)
Birthdate: April 21, 1973
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Bagshot, Surrey, England, United Kingdom
Two-time BAFTA-winning naturalist and explorer Steve Backshall soared to fame with the BBC program Deadly 60. He has also worked with the Discovery Channel and the National Geographic Channel. He has written The Falcon Chronicles, a series of children’s novels, among other books, and loves mountaineering and martial arts.
6
Zara Tindall
(British Equestrian and the Eldest Granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II)
Birthdate: May 15, 1981
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Paddington, London, England
Zara Tindall is a British equestrian who won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She is the daughter of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips. She excelled at many sporting activities as a young girl and represented her schools in hockey, athletics, and gymnastics. She eventually chose to pursue an equestrian career.
7
Stephen Dillane
(British Actor)
Birthdate: March 27, 1957
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Kensington, London, United Kingdom
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
Birthdate: March 7, 1955
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Riyadh
Saudi Arabian businessman and philanthropist Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud is part of the Saudi royal family. Son of The Red Prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz, he founded the conglomerate Kingdom Holding Company. Named by Time as the Arabian Warren Buffett, he was also arrested for corruption once.
Birthdate: February 13, 1975
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Barnstaple
Reality star Katie Hopkins is known for her far-right and controversial opinions, which have led her into quite a few legal hassles. She soared to fame with her appearance on The Apprentice (UK). She later hosted Katie Hopkins Ruled the World and finished as the runner-up on Celebrity Big Brother.
10
Ben Collins
(Racing Driver and Winner of the 2003 ASCAR Championship)
Birthdate: February 13, 1975
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Bristol, England
British racing-driver Ben Collins has competed in several categories including Formula Three and has won the 2003 ASCAR Championship. He has worked as precision-driver in many films including driving James Bond's car in Casino Royale and appeared in shows like Top Gear. He was revealed to be Stig from the Top Gear show during a court-battle over his impending autobiography.
11
Rhod Gilbert
(Welsh Comedian and Television & Radio Presenter)
Birthdate: October 18, 1968
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Carmarthen, Wales
Perrier Best Newcomer Award-nominated comedian Rhod Gilbert is also a writer and producer, known for his shows such as Rhod Gilbert vs. Kilimanjaro and Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience. Named to the list of the Top 50 Comedians by The Times, he is also an avid badminton player.
Birthdate: December 5, 1969
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Rochdale, England
13
Will Young
(Singer, Actor)
Birthdate: January 20, 1979
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Wokingham
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
14
Frank Gardner
(British Journalist, Author and Retired Army Reserve Officer)
Birthdate: July 31, 1961
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Hampstead, London, England
Birthdate: December 3, 1955
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: La Jolla, California, USA
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
Birthdate: June 2, 1935
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Oak Park, Illinois, United States
Died: July 16, 2003
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Canadian novelist Carol Shields was known for capturing and highlighting domesticity in her writings. Most of her writings centred around the lives of women, the genesis of art, notions of gender, etc. Her seventh novel, The Stone Diaries, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction (1995), and was shortlisted for a Booker Prize.
17
Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi
(Member of the Federal Supreme Council)
Birthdate: July 2, 1939
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Birthdate: September 8, 1956
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Oxford, England
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
19
Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo
(First Child, Elder Daughter of King Juan Carlos I of Spain)
Birthdate: December 20, 1963
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Madrid, Spain
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
Birthdate: February 2, 1970
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Winchester, Hampshire, England
21
Robert Bolt
(Playwright and a two-time Oscar-winning screenwriter)
Birthdate: August 15, 1924
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Sale, Cheshire, England
Died: February 20, 1995
22
Caroline Lucas
(Political Leader)
Birthdate: December 9, 1960
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Malvern, Worcestershire, England, UK
23
James Brokenshire
(Politician)
Birthdate: January 8, 1968
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom
Died: October 7, 2021
24
Samantha Smith
(English Former Professional Tennis Player)
Birthdate: November 27, 1971
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Loughton, Essex, England
Samantha Smith is a British retired professional tennis player. She has eight ITF career titles, including three singles titles, under her belt. A former British No. 1, Smith also represented Britain in the European Cup and Fed Cup on several occasions. After retiring as a player, Samantha Smith started working as a commentator for various sports networks.
25
Sigrid Kaag
(Politician, Diplomat)
Birthdate: November 2, 1961
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Rijswijk, Netherlands
Though a pianist’s daughter, Sigrid Kaag grew up studying Middle East studies and international relations. Initially a Dutch diplomat to places such as Beirut and Vienna, she later worked for the UN and then joined Democrats 66. She now leads her country as its First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
Birthdate: January 5, 1939
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Warwick
27
Christ Tshiunza
(Rugby union player)
Birthdate: January 9, 2002
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Height: 6'6" (198 cm)
28
Stanley Donwood
(Artist, Writer)
Birthdate: October 29, 1968
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Essex
Birthdate: November 15, 1977
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Devonshire or London,England
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
30
Fiona Shackleton
(Solicitor)
Birthdate: May 26, 1956
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: London, England
31
Jabra Ibrahim Jabra
(Author)
Birthdate: August 28, 1920
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Bethlehem
Died: December 12, 1994
32
Thurston Dart
(Musicologist)
Birthdate: September 3, 1921
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Kingston upon Thames, England
Died: March 6, 1971
33
Iwona Blazwick
(Art critic known for Director of the Whitechapel Art Gallery since 2001)
Birthdate: October 14, 1955
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: United Kingdom
34
Shahd Alshammari
(Kuwaiti Writer)
35
Linah Mohohlo
(Banker and university chancellor)
Birthdate: February 13, 1952
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Ramotswa, Botswana
Died: June 2, 2021
Birthdate: March 10, 1947
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Miraflores de la Sierra, Madrid, Spain
Died: September 20, 2020
Birthdate: April 23, 1950
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Chipata, Zambia
Tracing its roots back to the mid nineteenth century, the University of Exeter is a public research university located in Exeter, South West England. With four campuses across Exeter and Cornwall, the University of Exeter is considered the as one of the 12 most elite universities in England, as per The Daily Telegraph. The university comprises of over 70 research centers and institutes and admissions into the university are regarded as highly competitive. The University of Exeter offers programs in areas such as Business, Humanities, Environmental Science, Medicine, Engineering and so on. Over time, the University of Exeter has gained immense global acclamation and has gone on to climb the ladder of national and international university rankings. Having been ranked 9th place among the British Universities by The Guardian and 7th place by The Times in 2016, the university is living up to the name of being one of Britain’s finest research institutions. The University of Exeter has also been rated among Britain’s top 10 universities in higher education as per the QS and Times Higher Education rankings. Bounded by values and innovation in a challenging environment, the university comprises of almost 22,000 students who are given the opportunity to grow personally and professionally. Representing over 130 countries, the student body is as diverse as it comes by merging the best of various cultures. The university has produced various celebrated individuals in the past such as J.K. Rowling, Frank Gardner, Caroline Lucas and Thom Yorke. Here is the complete list.