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’)
Gene Hackman
16
Birthdate: January 30, 1930
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: San Bernardino, California, United States
Height: 6'2" (188 cm)
 2 
Shel Silverstein
54
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)
Dick Butkus
9
Birthdate: December 9, 1942
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'3" (190 cm)
 4 
Herbert Sobel
(U.S. Army Officer)
Herbert Sobel
8
Listed In: Leaders
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)
Dorothy Day
3
Birthdate: November 8, 1897
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died: November 29, 1980
 6 
Dan Fogelberg
(Musician)
Dan Fogelberg
8
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: August 13, 1951
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Peoria, Illinois, USA
Died: December 16, 2007
 7 
Deron Williams
(Basketball player)
Deron Williams
6
Listed In: Sportspersons
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)
Jack Welch
6
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: November 19, 1935
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Peabody, Massachusetts, U.S
Died: March 1, 2020
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
 9 
Ben Falcone
(Actor)
Ben Falcone
11
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)
David Otunga
2
Birthdate: April 7, 1980
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Elgin, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
 11 
Jack Kilby
(Inventor of integrated circuit)
Jack Kilby
6
Birthdate: November 8, 1923
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Jefferson City
Died: June 20, 2005
 12 
George Halas
(American football player)
George Halas
4
Listed In: Sportspersons
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')
Dave Eggers
5
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)
Suze Orman
13
Birthdate: June 5, 1951
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Height: 5'4" (163 cm)
 15 
Curtis Granderson
(Baseball Player)
Curtis Granderson
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: March 16, 1981
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Blue Island, Illinois, US
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
 16 
Steve Goodman
(Singer-songwriter)
Steve Goodman
0
Listed In: Singers
Birthdate: July 25, 1948
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: September 20, 1984
 17 
Belal Muhammad
(Mixed martial art welterweight division)
Belal Muhammad
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
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)
Ed Boon
0
Listed In: Engineers
Birthdate: February 22, 1964
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Chicago
 19 
Iris Chang
(Journalist)
Iris Chang
3
Birthdate: March 28, 1968
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Princeton, New Jersey, United States
Died: November 9, 2004
 20 
Allan Sherman
2
Birthdate: November 30, 1924
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Chicago
Died: November 20, 1973
 21 
César Pelli
(Architect, Entrepreneur)
César Pelli
2
Listed In: Architects
Birthdate: October 12, 1926
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: San Miguel de Tucumán
 22 
Sheila Johnson
(American businesswoman)
Sheila Johnson
0
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: January 25, 1949
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: McKeesport
 23 
Carol Moseley Braun
(politician, diplomat, prosecutor, lawyer)
Carol Moseley Braun
4
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: August 16, 1947
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
 24 
Tony Eason
(American football player)
Tony Eason
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: October 8, 1959
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Blythe, California, United States
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
 25 
John Chancellor
(Journalist)
John Chancellor
2
Birthdate: July 14, 1927
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: July 12, 1996
 26 
Ted Karras
(American football player)
Ted Karras
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: March 15, 1993
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
 27 
Whitney Mercilus
(American Football Player)
Whitney Mercilus
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: July 21, 1990
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Akron, Ohio, United States
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
 28 
Paul Hunt
(Gymnastics clown)
Paul Hunt
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthplace: Illinois, United States
 29 
Pierre Thomas
(American football player)
Pierre Thomas
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: December 18, 1984
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
 30 
Simeon Rice
(American football player)
Simeon Rice
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: February 24, 1974
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'5" (196 cm)
 31 
Jeff Monson
(Russian Mixed Martial Artist)
Jeff Monson
3
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: January 18, 1971
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
 32 
David Diehl
(American football player)
David Diehl
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: September 15, 1980
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'6" (198 cm)
 33 
Brandon Lloyd
(American football player)
Brandon Lloyd
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: July 5, 1981
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
 34 
Nick Anderson
(Basketball player)
Nick Anderson
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: January 20, 1968
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
 35 
Wallace Carothers
(Chemist and Inventor of Nylon)
Wallace Carothers
0
Birthdate: April 27, 1896
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Burlington, Iowa, United States
Died: April 29, 1937
 36 
Tatyana McFadden
(American Paralympic Athlete)
Tatyana McFadden
2
Listed In: Sportspersons
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)
Mark Van Doren
1
Birthdate: June 13, 1894
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Vermilion County
Died: December 10, 1972
 38 
Nick Allegretti
(American football player)
Nick Allegretti
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: April 21, 1996
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Frankfort, Illinois, United States
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
 39 
William F. Baker
(Structural engineer)
William F. Baker
1
Listed In: Engineers
Birthdate: October 9, 1953
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Fulton, Missouri, United States
 40 
Donald Johanson
(Anthropologist, Archaeologist, Prehistorian, Paleoanthropologist, University teacher)
Donald Johanson
1
Birthdate: June 28, 1943
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Chicago
 41 
A. J. Jenkins
(American football player)
A. J. Jenkins
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: September 30, 1989
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
 42 
Hans Massaquoi
(Journalist, Writer)
Hans Massaquoi
0
Birthdate: January 19, 1926
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
Died: January 19, 2013
 43 
Jihad Ward
(American football player)
Jihad Ward
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: May 11, 1994
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Height: 6'5" (196 cm)
 44 
James R. Thompson
(Lawyer, Politician)
James R. Thompson
3
Listed In: Lawyers & Judges
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)
Dorris Alexander Brown
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: February 29, 1908
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Louisiana, United States
Died: December 12, 2002
 46 
Ken Holtzman
(Baseball player)
Ken Holtzman
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
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)
Scott D. Altman
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: August 15, 1959
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Lincoln
 48 
George Crumb
(Composer)
George Crumb
2
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: October 24, 1929
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Charleston, West Virginia, United States
 49 
John Robert Schrieffer
0
Listed In: Scientists
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)
Andrew Yao
0
Listed In: Scientists
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.