University Of Illinois Notable Alumni
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
Height: 6'2" (188 cm)
Birthdate: September 25, 1930
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: May 10, 1999
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)
Birthdate: January 26, 1912
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: September 30, 1987
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
Birthdate: August 13, 1951
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Peoria, Illinois, USA
Died: December 16, 2007
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)
Birthdate: August 25, 1973
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Carbondale, Illinois, USA
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
10
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)
Birthdate: November 8, 1923
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Jefferson City
Died: June 20, 2005
12
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)
13
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
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
14
Suze Orman(Author, Television Personality, Motivational Speaker)
Birthdate: June 5, 1951
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Height: 5'4" (163 cm)
15
Curtis Granderson
(Baseball Player)
Birthdate: March 16, 1981
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Blue Island, Illinois, US
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
16
Steve Goodman
(Singer-songwriter)
Birthdate: July 25, 1948
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: September 20, 1984
17
Belal Muhammad
(Mixed martial art welterweight division)
Birthdate: July 9, 1988
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
18
Ed Boon
(Programmer, Engineer, Screenwriter, Computer scientist)
Birthdate: February 22, 1964
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Chicago
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
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
23
Carol Moseley Braun
(politician, diplomat, prosecutor, lawyer)
Birthdate: August 16, 1947
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
24
Tony Eason
(American football player)
Birthdate: October 8, 1959
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Blythe, California, United States
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
25
John Chancellor
(Journalist)
Birthdate: July 14, 1927
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: July 12, 1996
26
Ted Karras
(American football player)
Birthdate: March 15, 1993
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
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
29
Pierre Thomas
(American football player)
Birthdate: December 18, 1984
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
30
Simeon Rice
(American football player)
Birthdate: February 24, 1974
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'5" (196 cm)
31
Jeff Monson
(Russian Mixed Martial Artist)
Birthdate: January 18, 1971
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
32
David Diehl
(American football player)
Birthdate: September 15, 1980
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'6" (198 cm)
33
Brandon Lloyd
(American football player)
Birthdate: July 5, 1981
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
34
Nick Anderson
(Basketball player)
Birthdate: January 20, 1968
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Birthdate: April 27, 1896
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Burlington, Iowa, United States
Died: April 29, 1937
36
Tatyana McFadden
(American Paralympic Athlete)
Birthdate: April 21, 1989
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Height: 5'3" (160 cm)
37
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
38
Nick Allegretti
(American football player)
Birthdate: April 21, 1996
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Frankfort, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
39
William F. Baker
(Structural engineer)
Birthdate: October 9, 1953
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Fulton, Missouri, United States
40
Donald Johanson
(Anthropologist, Archaeologist, Prehistorian, Paleoanthropologist, University teacher)
Birthdate: June 28, 1943
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Chicago
41
A. J. Jenkins
(American football player)
Birthdate: September 30, 1989
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
42
Hans Massaquoi
(Journalist, Writer)
Birthdate: January 19, 1926
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
Died: January 19, 2013
43
Jihad Ward
(American football player)
Birthdate: May 11, 1994
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Height: 6'5" (196 cm)
Birthdate: May 8, 1936
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died: August 14, 2020
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
45
Dorris Alexander Brown
(Novelist)
Birthdate: February 29, 1908
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Louisiana, United States
Died: December 12, 2002
46
Ken Holtzman
(Baseball player)
Birthdate: November 3, 1945
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Height: 6'2" (188 cm)
47
Scott D. Altman
(Astronaut, Fighter pilot)
Birthdate: August 15, 1959
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Lincoln
Birthdate: October 24, 1929
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Charleston, West Virginia, United States
Birthdate: May 31, 1931
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Oak Park, Illinois, USA
Died: July 27, 2019
50
Andrew Yao
(Chinese Computational Theorist and Computer Scientist Who Used the Minimax Theorem to Prove Yao's Principle)
Birthdate: December 24, 1946
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Shanghai, China
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.