Wellesley College

Discover the notable alumni of Wellesley College. The list includes people like Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Nora Ephron, Diane Sawyer & Annie Jump Cannon. This list of notable alumni is loosely sorted by popularity and has people from different domains of life, such as media personalities, activists, miscellaneous, writers and intellectuals & academics etc.
Vote for Your Favourite Wellesley College

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 
Madeleine Albright
(64th United States Secretary of State (1997 - 2001))
Madeleine Albright
37
Birthdate: May 15, 1937
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Smíchov, Prague, Czechia
Died: March 23, 2022
Madeleine Albright served as the U.S. Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001, under Bill Clinton, and was the first woman to hold the post. The Presidential Medal of Freedom awardee also chaired the Albright Stonebridge Group and taught at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.
 2 
Ali MacGraw
(Actress)
Ali MacGraw
18
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: April 1, 1939
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Pound Ridge, New York, United States

A veteran actress with a career spanning over half a century, Ali MacGraw first came to prominence in the 1970s after acting in many popular action and romantic films. She was also active on the stage and in TV shows. Besides acting, she has been an animal rights advocate throughout her life.

 3 
Cokie Roberts
(Journalist)
Cokie Roberts
14
Birthdate: December 27, 1943
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Died: September 17, 2019
 4 
Diane Sawyer
(Broadcast Journalist Known for Anchoring News Shows 'ABC World News Tonight' and 'Good Morning America')
Diane Sawyer
16
Birthdate: December 22, 1945
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Glasgow, Kentucky, United States
The first female corrrespondant on 60 Minutes, a trailblazer for female journalists, a former co-host of Good Morning America and an aid to President Richard Nixon where she assisted in post-presidency memoirs, Diane Sawyer has many feathers in her cap. She bagged in a Daytime Emmy Award and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
 5 
Nora Ephron
(Screenwriter, Producer, Director)
Nora Ephron
6
Birthdate: May 19, 1941
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
Died: June 26, 2012

Nora Ephron was an American writer, filmmaker, and journalist. She is known for writing films like Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally... The Nora Ephron Prize was created by the Tribeca Film Festival in her memory. Her life and work inspired the 2016 documentary film Everything Is Copy, which was directed by her son Jacob Bernstein.

 6 
Annie Jump Cannon
(Astronomer)
Annie Jump Cannon
5
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: December 11, 1863
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Dover
Died: April 13, 1941

After studying physics and astronomy at Wellesley College, Annie Jump Cannon traveled across Europe and focused on photography for a decade, before venturing to study astronomy again. At the Harvard Observatory, she made a considerable contribution to the classification of stellar bodies. She was almost deaf due to scarlet fever.

 7 
Soong May-ling
(First Lady of the Republic of China (1950 - 1975))
Soong May-ling
1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: March 5, 1898
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Shanghai, China
Died: October 23, 2003
Soong May-ling was a Chinese political figure best remembered as the wife of President Chiang Kai-shek. She played an important role in the politics of China and held several honorary and active positions. She also played a prominent role during the Second Sino-Japanese War, rallying several Chinese people against the invasion of the Japanese.  
 8 
Hillary Clinton
(Former First Lady, 67th United States Secretary of State)
Hillary Clinton
92
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: October 26, 1947
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Married to former US president, Bill Clinton, Hilary Clinton served as the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Thereafter, she became the first First Lady to hold US senator office. The former Secretary of State in the administration of Barrack Obama also fought and lost, as a Democratic nominee, the 2016 presidential election against Donald Trump.

 9 
Martha Nussbaum
(American Philosopher)
Martha Nussbaum
3
Birthdate: May 6, 1947
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: New York, United States
 10 
Nancy Friday
(Author)
Nancy Friday
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: August 27, 1933
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: November 5, 2017
 11 
Emilie Benes Brzezinski
(artist, sculptor)
Emilie Benes Brzezinski
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 1932 AD
Birthplace: Geneva

Emilie Benes Brzezinski is a Swiss American sculptor best known for her sculptures made out of wood. Her monumental work Lintel, which was made from cut cherry trees, is currently preserved in a sculpture park named Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey. Over the years, Emilie Benes has displayed her work at several art exhibitions, including the Florence Biennale.

 12 
Ophelia Dahl
(Social justice and health care advocate)
Ophelia Dahl
1
Listed In: Lawyers & Judges
Birthdate: May 12, 1964
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Oxford, England
 13 
Michelle Ye
(Best known for her roles in, Eternal Happiness, Triumph in the Skies, and Lost in the Chamber of Love)
Michelle Ye
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: February 14, 1980
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Hangzhou, China
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
 14 
Judith Martin
(Economist, Journalist)
Judith Martin
0
Listed In:
Birthdate: September 13, 1938
Sun Sign: Virgo
 15 
Jane Bolin
(American Attorney and Judge)
Jane Bolin
2
Listed In: Lawyers & Judges
Birthdate: April 11, 1908
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Poughkeepsie, New York, United States
Died: January 8, 2007
 16 
Mary Rodgers
(Composer)
Mary Rodgers
0
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: January 11, 1931
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: June 25, 2014
 17 
Marcia Davenport
(Author)
Marcia Davenport
0
Birthdate: June 9, 1903
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: January 16, 1996
 18 
Ayesha Jalal
(Pakistani-American Historian Who Serves as the Mary Richardson Professor of History at Tufts University)
Ayesha Jalal
0
Birthdate: 1956 AD
Birthplace: Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

Ayesha Jalal is a Pakistani-American historian. She currently serves as the Mary Richardson Professor of History at Tufts University. Born in Pakistan, she moved abroad as a young girl and received her doctorate in history from Trinity College at the University of Cambridge before beginning her career as an academic. She received the 1998 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.  

 19 
Nannerl O. Keohane
(Professor)
Nannerl O. Keohane
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: September 18, 1940
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Blytheville, Arkansas, United States
 20 
Rosalind E. Krauss
(Art Critic)
Rosalind E. Krauss
1
Birthdate: November 30, 1941
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Washington, D.C., United States
 21 
Angelina Weld Grimké
(Journalist)
Angelina Weld Grimké
1
Birthdate: February 27, 1880
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Died: June 10, 1958
 22 
Barbara Goldsmith
(Author)
Barbara Goldsmith
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: May 18, 1931
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: June 26, 2016
 23 
Sophonisba Breckinridge
(American Educator, Activist and Social Reformer Who Led the Social-Work Education Movement in the United States)
Sophonisba Breckinridge
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: April 1, 1866
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Died: July 30, 1948

Apart from being a prominent Progressive Era social reformer, Sophonisba Breckinridge also created history by becoming the first female to be named to the Kentucky bar and the first woman PhD holder in political science and economics at the University of Chicago. She also launched the journal Social Service Review.

 24 
Carolyn Gold Heilbrun
(Author)
Carolyn Gold Heilbrun
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: January 13, 1926
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: East Orange, New Jersey, United States
Died: October 9, 2003
 25 
Rebecca Lancefield
(American Microbiologist)
Rebecca Lancefield
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: January 5, 1895
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: March 3, 1981

Rebecca Lancefield was an American microbiologist best remembered for her association with the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. Over a period of 60 years, Lancefield published more than 50 publications. Rebecca Lancefield was the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the American Heart Association Achievement Award and the T. Duckett Jones Award. 

 26 
Marjorie Grene
(Philosopher)
Marjorie Grene
1
Birthdate: December 13, 1910
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Died: March 16, 2009
 27 
Charlotte Anita Whitney
(Legislator)
Charlotte Anita Whitney
0
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: July 7, 1867
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: San Francisco, California, United States
Died: February 4, 1955
 28 
Santha Rama Rau
(Writer)
Santha Rama Rau
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: January 24, 1923
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Chennai, India
Died: April 21, 2009
 29 
Helen Lynd
(Sociologist)
Helen Lynd
0
Birthdate: March 17, 1896
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: La Grange, Illinois, United States
Died: January 30, 1982
 30 
Colette Flesch
(Politician)
Colette Flesch
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: April 16, 1937
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Dudelange, Luxembourg
 31 
Mary Dewson
(Legislator)
Mary Dewson
0
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: February 18, 1874
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Quincy, Massachusetts, United States
Died: September 30, 1962
 32 
Sharmila Bhattacharya
(Chief Scientist for Astrobionics and head of the Biomodel Performance and Behavior laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center)
Sharmila Bhattacharya
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: March 24, 1964
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Lagos, Nigeria
 33 
Ellen Fitz Pendleton
(Educator)
Ellen Fitz Pendleton
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: August 7, 1864
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Westerly, Rhode Island, United States
Died: July 26, 1936
 34 
Rebecca Lee Dorsey
(Endocrinologist)
Rebecca Lee Dorsey
0
Listed In: Physicians
Birthdate: August 30, 1859
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Los Angeles, United States
Died: March 29, 1959