100 Notable alumni of
Brown University
Updated:
Brown University is 41st in the world, 20th in North America, and 19th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from Brown University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. 3 individuals affiliated with Brown University won Nobel Prizes in Physics and Economics.
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Emma Watson
- Enrolled in Brown University
- 2009-2014 graduated with bachelor's degree in English-language literature
- Occupations
- voice actorstage actormodelactorchild actor
- Biography
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Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson is an English actress. In the 2010s, she was ranked among the world's highest-paid actresses by Forbes and Vanity Fair, and was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2015. Watson was also listed by Forbes as an honouree on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2015 and 2016.
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John Krasinski
- Enrolled in Brown University
- In 2001 graduated with Bachelor of Arts in English studies
- Occupations
- voice actorstage actoractortelevision actorfilm actor
- Biography
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John Burke Krasinski is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office (2005–2013), where he was also a producer and occasional director. He directed, co-wrote and co-starred in the 2018 horror film A Quiet Place, for which Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He has since written and directed the sequel A Quiet Place Part II (2020).
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John F. Kennedy Jr
- Occupations
- lawyerpublisher
- Biography
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John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr., also known as JFK Jr., was an American attorney, magazine publisher, and journalist. He was a son of 35th U.S. president John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
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Laura Linney
- Occupations
- television directorfilm actorstage actortelevision actoractor
- Biography
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Laura Leggett Linney is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of several awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, five Tony Awards, and a BAFTA.
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Julie Bowen
- Occupations
- film directortelevision actorvoice actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Julie Bowen is an American actress. She is best known as Claire Dunphy in ABC sitcom Modern Family (2009–2020), for which she received widespread critical acclaim, winning two Primetime Emmy Awards.
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Tracee Ellis Ross
- Occupations
- television actortelevision directortelevision presenteractormodel
- Biography
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Tracee Joy Silberstein, known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series Girlfriends (2000–2008) and Black-ish (2014–2022) receiving nominations for five Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the latter.
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Ted Turner
- Occupations
- sailorphilanthropistentrepreneurenvironmentalistmedia proprietor
- Biography
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Robert Edward Turner III is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television, as well as television networks TBS and TNT.
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Daveed Diggs
- Occupations
- actortelevision actorscreenwriterrapperathletics competitor
- Biography
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Daveed Daniele Diggs is an American actor, rapper, and singer-songwriter. He is the vocalist of the experimental hip hop group Clipping. In 2015, he originated the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the musical Hamilton, for which he won a 2016 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical. Along with the main cast of Hamilton, he was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in the same year.
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Andrew Yang
- Enrolled in Brown University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts in economics
- Occupations
- entrepreneur
- Biography
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Andrew Yang is an American businessman, attorney, lobbyist, political commentator, and author. He founded the political party and action committee Forward Party in 2021, for which he serves as co-chair alongside former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman and Michael S. Willner.
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Janet Yellen
- Enrolled in Brown University
- Studied economics
- Occupations
- economistbankerprofessorpolitician
- Biography
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Janet Louise Yellen is an American economist who served as the 78th United States secretary of the treasury from 2021 to 2025. She also served as chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. She was the first woman to hold either position, and has also led the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Yellen is the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business Administration and Economics at the University of California, Berkeley.
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Leelee Sobieski
- Occupations
- actortelevision actorfilm actorsculptorfilm producer
- Biography
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Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta "Leelee" Sobieski is an American artist and retired actress. She achieved fame in her teens with roles in films such as Deep Impact (1998), Never Been Kissed, Eyes Wide Shut (both 1999), Here on Earth (2000), Joy Ride and The Glass House (both 2001).
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Tim Blake Nelson
- Occupations
- film directormanufacturertelevision actorvoice actorfilm editor
- Biography
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Timothy Blake Nelson is an American actor, director, and writer. Described as a "modern character actor", his roles include Delmar O'Donnell in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Gideon in Minority Report (2002), Doctor Steve Pendanski in Holes (2003), Doctor Jonathan Jacobo in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), Danny Dalton Jr. in Syriana (2005), Samuel Sterns / The Leader in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Richard Schell in Lincoln (2012), the eponymous character of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), and Henry McCarty in Old Henry (2021). He portrayed Wade Tillman / Looking Glass in the HBO limited series Watchmen (2019), for which he received a Critics' Choice Television Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2020.
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Eva Amurri
- Occupations
- film actortelevision actorblogger
- Biography
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Eva Amurri is an American actress.
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Kerry Kennedy
- Occupations
- writerhuman rights defender
- Biography
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Mary Kerry Kennedy is an American lawyer, author, and human rights activist. Kennedy is a daughter of former United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, and a niece of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy and former U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy. She is the president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, a non-profit human rights advocacy organization.
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John D. Rockefeller Jr
- Occupations
- art collectorbankerfinancierphilanthropist
- Biography
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John Davison Rockefeller Jr. was an American financier and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the fifth child and only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in Midtown Manhattan known as Rockefeller Center, making him one of the largest real estate holders in the city at that time. Towards the end of his life, he was famous for his philanthropy, donating over $500 million to a wide variety of different causes, including educational establishments. Among his projects was the reconstruction of Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. He was widely blamed for having orchestrated the Ludlow Massacre and other offenses during the Colorado Coalfield War. Rockefeller was the father of six children: Abby, John III, Nelson, Laurance, Winthrop, and David.
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Marin Hinkle
- Occupations
- television actorstage actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Marin Hinkle is an American actress. Among many television and movie roles, she is best known for playing Judy Brooks in the ABC television drama Once and Again (1999–2002), Judith Harper-Melnick in the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men (2003–2015), and Rose Weissman in the Amazon Prime Video comedy-drama series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2023). For her role in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Hinkle was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2019 and 2020.
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Lucy DeVito
- Occupations
- stage actorfilm directortelevision actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Lucy Chet DeVito is an American actress. She was a recurring character on ABC Family's Melissa & Joey (2010–2012), starred in the Hulu sitcom Deadbeat (2014–2015), and was a main voice actor and executive producer of the FXX animated comedy Little Demon (2022). DeVito has appeared in a number of theater productions, including her Broadway debut I Need That (2023). Since 2007, she has been a member of the New York developmental theater company Ensemble Studio Theater.
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Amy Carter
- Occupations
- activist
- Biography
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Amy Lynn Carter is the only daughter and fourth child of the 39th U.S. president Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. Carter first entered the public spotlight as a child when she lived in the White House during her father's presidency.
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Dhani Harrison
- Occupations
- singerpianistmodelcomposerguitarist
- Biography
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Dhani Harrison is an English and American musician, composer and singer-songwriter. He is the son of George Harrison, lead guitarist of the Beatles, and Olivia Harrison. Dhani debuted as a professional musician assisting in recording his father's final album, Brainwashed, and completing it with the assistance of Jeff Lynne after his father's death in November 2001.
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Joe Paterno
- Enrolled in Brown University
- 1946-1950 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- American football coach
- Biography
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Joseph Vincent Paterno, sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2011. With 409 victories, Paterno is the most victorious coach in NCAA FBS history. He recorded his 409th victory on October 29, 2011; his career ended with his dismissal from the team on November 9, 2011, as a result of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. He died 74 days later, of complications from lung cancer.
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Yaya DaCosta
- Occupations
- modelactor
- Biography
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Yaya DaCosta is an American actress and model. She was the runner-up in Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model. DaCosta eventually went on to star in ABC's daytime drama series All My Children (2008), ABC's comedy-drama Ugly Betty (2009), and NBC's medical drama Chicago Med (2015–2022).
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Masi Oka
- Occupations
- television actordigital artistactorfilm actor
- Biography
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Masayori "Masi" Oka is a Japanese actor, producer, and digital effects artist based in the United States who became widely known for starring in NBC's Heroes as Hiro Nakamura, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and in CBS's Hawaii Five-0 as Doctor Max Bergman.
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Leila Pahlavi
- Occupations
- translatormodel
- Biography
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Leila Pahlavi was a princess of Iran and the youngest daughter of Mohammad Reza Shah and his third wife, Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi.
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Hill Harper
- Occupations
- television actoractorfilm actorpolitician
- Biography
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Frank Eugene "Hill" Harper is an American actor and political candidate, who is known for his roles as Dr. Sheldon Hawkes in CSI: NY, Agent Spelman Boyle in Limitless, and Dr. Marcus Andrews in The Good Doctor.
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Curtis Yarvin
- Occupations
- computer scientistbloggerpolitical theorist
- Biography
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Curtis Guy Yarvin, also known by the pen name Mencius Moldbug, is an American far-right political blogger and software developer. He is known, along with accelerationist philosopher Nick Land, for founding the anti-egalitarian and anti-democratic philosophical movement known as the Dark Enlightenment or neo-reactionary movement (NRx), which originated in the late 2000s. By the early 2020s, Yarvin and his ideas were noted as having growing ideological influence in the American Right, including among prominent figures such as Vice President JD Vance, and venture capitalist and Republican megadonor Peter Thiel.
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Rhonda Ross Kendrick
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Rhonda Ross Kendrick is an American singer and actress. Kendrick is the daughter of singer and actress Diana Ross and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. She was raised by her mother and Robert Ellis Silberstein, who had married Ross before she was born.
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Rory Kennedy
- Occupations
- writerfilm directorfilm produceractor
- Biography
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Rory Elizabeth Katherine Kennedy is an American documentary filmmaker. Kennedy has made documentary films that center on social issues such as addiction, her opposition to nuclear power, the treatment of prisoners-of-war, and the politics of the Mexican border fence.
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Kate Burton
- Occupations
- stage actortelevision actorvoice actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Katherine Burton is a Welsh and American actress, the daughter of actors Richard Burton and Sybil Christopher. On television, Burton received critical acclaim as Dr. Ellis Grey in the drama series Grey's Anatomy, and as Vice President Sally Langston on Scandal. She has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards and three Tony Awards.
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Lisa Loeb
- Occupations
- composeractorwomen's rights activistguitaristsinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Lisa Anne Loeb is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. She started her career with "Stay (I Missed You)" (1994) from the film Reality Bites, the first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 for an artist without a recording contract. She achieved additional top-20 singles with "Do You Sleep?" in 1996 and "I Do" in 1998. Her albums Tails (1995) and Firecracker (1997) were certified gold.
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Davis Guggenheim
- Occupations
- television directorfilm producerfilm directorcinematographertelevision producer
- Biography
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Philip Davis Guggenheim is an American screenwriter, director, and producer.
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Victoria Nuland
- Occupations
- diplomatpolitician
- Biography
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Victoria Jane Nuland is an American diplomat who served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2021 to 2024. A former member of the US Foreign Service, she served as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from 2013 to 2017 and the 18th U.S. ambassador to NATO from 2005 to 2008. Between July 2023 and February 2024, Nuland served as acting deputy secretary of state following the retirement of Wendy Sherman.
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Wendy Carlos
- Occupations
- record producerfilm score composercomposer
- Biography
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Wendy Carlos is an American musician and composer known for electronic music and film scores.
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John Sculley
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
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John Sculley III is an American businessman, entrepreneur, and investor in high-tech startups. Sculley was vice-president (1970–1977) and president of PepsiCo (1977–1983), until he became chief executive officer (CEO) of Apple Inc. on April 8, 1983, a position he held until leaving on October 15, 1993. In 1987, Sculley was named Silicon Valley's top-paid executive, with an annual salary of US$10.2 million.
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Takehiro Hira
- Occupations
- actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Takehiro Hira is a Japanese theatre, film, and television actor.
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JoBeth Williams
- Occupations
- actorfilm director
- Biography
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Margaret JoBeth Williams is an American actress. She rose to prominence appearing in such films as Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Stir Crazy (1980), Poltergeist (1982), The Big Chill (1983), The Day After (1983), Teachers (1984), and Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986). A three-time Emmy Award nominee, she was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her work in the TV movie Adam (1983) and the TV miniseries Baby M (1988). Her third nomination was for her guest role in the sitcom Frasier (1994). She also starred in the TV series The Client (1995–96) and had recurring roles in the TV series Dexter (2007) and Private Practice (2009–11).
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Silas Weir Mitchell
- Occupations
- film actoractortelevision actor
- Biography
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Silas Weir Mitchell is an American character actor. He is known for starring as Charles "Haywire" Patoshik in the Fox television series Prison Break (2005–2007), for the recurring role of Donny Jones in My Name Is Earl (2005–2009), and as Monroe in the NBC television series Grimm (2011–2017).
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Alex Wagner
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Alexandra Swe Wagner is an American journalist and television host. She is a senior political analyst and was the host of Alex Wagner Tonight on MSNBC. She is the author of FutureFace: A Family Mystery, an Epic Quest, and the Secret to Belonging (One World/Random House). She was a contributor for CBS News and is a contributing editor at The Atlantic. In 2022, she hosted the first season of Netflix's The Mole reboot. Previously, she was the anchor of the daytime program Now with Alex Wagner (2011–2015), the evening program Alex Wagner Tonight (2022-2025), on MSNBC, and the co-host of The Circus on Showtime. From November 2016 until March 2018, she was a TV co-anchor on CBS This Morning Saturday. She has also been a senior editor at The Atlantic magazine since April 2016.
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Larry Elder
- Occupations
- non-fiction writerradio personalitytalk show hostfilm directorjournalist
- Biography
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Laurence Allen Elder is an American conservative political commentator and talk radio host. He hosts The Larry Elder Show, based in California. The show began as a local program on Los Angeles radio station KABC in 1994 and ran until 2008, followed by a second run on KABC from 2010 to 2014. The show was nationally syndicated, first through ABC Radio Networks from 2002 to 2007 and then Salem Media Group from 2015 to 2022. He maintains ties to The Epoch Times, a newspaper published by the new religious movement Falun Gong. While Elder is primarily known as a conservative, he also self-identifies as a "small l libertarian", summarizing his political ideology as "I believe that a government that governs less governs best."
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Doug Liman
- Occupations
- film directordirectorcinematographerfilm producerexecutive producer
- Biography
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Douglas Eric Liman is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films Swingers (1996), Go (1999), The Bourne Identity (2002), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Jumper (2008), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), American Made (2017), and Road House (2024).
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Sasha Spielberg
- Occupations
- singeractorfilm actormusician
- Biography
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Sasha Rebecca Spielberg, also known by her stage name Buzzy Lee, is an American actress and musician.
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Francesca Gregorini
- Occupations
- singerscreenwritercomposersinger-songwriterfilm director
- Biography
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Francesca McKnight Donatella Romana Gregorini di Savignano di Romagna is an Italian-American screenwriter and film director.
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Bobby Jindal
- Enrolled in Brown University
- In 1991 graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- writerpolitician
- Biography
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Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is an American politician who served as the 55th governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Republican Party, Jindal previously served as a U.S. representative from Louisiana from 2005 to 2008, and served as chair of the Republican Governors Association from 2012 to 2013.
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Julie Nixon Eisenhower
- Occupations
- visual artistwriter
- Biography
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Julie Nixon Eisenhower is an American author who is the younger daughter of former U.S. president Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat Nixon. Her husband, David, is the grandson of former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie Eisenhower.
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Peter Jacobson
- Occupations
- film actoractortelevision actor
- Biography
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Peter Jacobson is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Dr. Chris Taub on the Fox medical drama series House. He also starred on the USA Network science fiction drama Colony as former Proxy Snyder.
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Bill O'Brien
- Occupations
- head coachAmerican football playerAmerican football coach
- Biography
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William James O'Brien, is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at Boston College. Previously, he was the head coach of the Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020, and at Penn State from 2012 to 2013. Prior to Boston College, O'Brien was the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama and for the New England Patriots. After the Patriots parted ways with longtime head coach Bill Belichick at the end of the 2023 season, O'Brien was not retained by the team.
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Ted Chiang
- Enrolled in Brown University
- Studied computer science
- Occupations
- novelistscience fiction writerwriter
- Biography
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Ted Chiang is an American science fiction writer. His work has won four Nebula awards, four Hugo awards, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and six Locus awards. He has published the short story collections Stories of Your Life and Others (2002) and Exhalation: Stories (2019). His short story "Story of Your Life" was the basis of the film Arrival (2016). He was an artist in residence at the University of Notre Dame from 2020 to 2021. Chiang is also a frequent non-fiction contributor to the New Yorker, where he writes on topics related to computing such as artificial intelligence.
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E. Howard Hunt
- Occupations
- spynovelistwriter
- Biography
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Everette Howard Hunt Jr. was an American intelligence officer and author. From 1949 to 1970, Hunt served as an officer in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where he was a central figure in U.S. regime change in Latin America including the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état and the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion in Cuba. Along with G. Gordon Liddy, Frank Sturgis, and others, Hunt was one of the Nixon administration's so-called White House Plumbers, a team of operatives charged with identifying government leaks to outside parties.
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Ken Starr
- Enrolled in Brown University
- Graduated with Master of Arts
- Occupations
- prosecutoruniversity teacherlawyerjudgepolitician
- Biography
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Kenneth Winston Starr was an American lawyer and judge who as independent counsel authored the Starr Report, which served as the basis of the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an investigation of members of the Clinton administration, known as the Whitewater controversy, from 1994 to 1998. Starr previously served as a federal appellate judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1983 to 1989 and as the U.S. solicitor general from 1989 to 1993 during the presidency of George H. W. Bush.
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Simon Kinberg
- Occupations
- screenwriterexecutive producerfilm directorfilm producer
- Biography
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Simon David Kinberg is an American filmmaker. He has written and produced a number of films for 20th Century Fox, including several films in the X-Men film franchise and The Martian, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. He made his directorial debut with the X-Men film Dark Phoenix (2019), which he also wrote.
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Todd Haynes
- Occupations
- actorscreenwriterdirectortelevision directorfilm director
- Biography
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Todd Haynes is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer whose work is known for its engagement with melodrama, historical pastiche, and queer cinema. Across four decades, his films frequently explore the emotional and psychological consequences of social repression, particularly as they relate to sexuality, identity, illness, and conformity. Haynes is often associated with the New Queer Cinema movement of the early 1990s and is noted for reworking classical Hollywood forms - such as the woman’s picture and the biopic - to examine marginalized experiences and unspoken desire.
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Dara Khosrowshahi
- Occupations
- entrepreneurbusinessperson
- Biography
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Dara Khosrowshahi is an Iranian and American business executive who is the chief executive officer of Uber. He was previously CEO of Expedia Group, a company that owns several travel fare aggregators. He is on the board of directors of BET.com and Hotels.com, and was on the board of The New York Times Company.
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Nadiem Makarim
- Occupations
- businesspersonchief executive officer
- Biography
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Nadiem Anwar Makarim is an Indonesian politician and businessman who is the only minister of education, culture, research, and technology of Indonesia, serving from 2021 until 2024.
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Max Joseph
- Occupations
- film directorwriterfilm producercinematographerfilm actor
- Biography
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H. Maxwell Joseph is an American filmmaker and a television and gameshow host.
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David Hedison
- Occupations
- television actorstage actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Albert David Hedison Jr. was an American film, television, and stage actor. He was known for his roles as the title character in The Fly (1958), Captain Lee Crane in the television science fiction drama Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964–1968), and CIA agent Felix Leiter in two James Bond films, Live and Let Die (1973) and Licence to Kill (1989).
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Dean Phillips
- Enrolled in Brown University
- In 1991 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- politicianbusiness executive
- Biography
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Dean Benson Phillips is an American politician, businessman, and former presidential candidate who served from 2019 to 2025 as the U.S. representative for Minnesota's 3rd congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, Phillips was an executive in the food and beverage industry before entering politics. Formerly the president and CEO of his family's distilled spirits business, Phillips Distilling Company, he also was the co-owner of Talenti Gelato, Belvedere Vodka, and the Twin Cities-based coffeehouse chain Penny's.
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Sam Trammell
- Occupations
- television actorstage actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Sam Trammell is an American actor, best known for his role as Sam Merlotte on the HBO fantasy drama series True Blood. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Miller in Ah, Wilderness!
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Chris Berman
- Occupations
- sports commentator
- Biography
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Christopher James Berman, nicknamed "Boomer", is an American sportscaster. He has been an anchor for SportsCenter on ESPN since 1979, joining a month after its initial launch, and hosted the network's Sunday NFL Countdown program from 1985 to 2016 and NFL Primetime from 1987 to 2005 and since 2019. He has also anchored Monday Night Countdown, U.S. Open golf, the Stanley Cup Finals, and other programming on ESPN and ABC Sports. Berman calls play-by-play of select Major League Baseball games for ESPN, which included the Home Run Derby until 2016.
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Thomas Perez
- Enrolled in Brown University
- In 1983 graduated with Bachelor of Arts in international relations and political science
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Thomas Edward Perez is an American politician and attorney who served as the senior advisor to U.S. president Joe Biden and the director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs from 2023 to 2025. Perez previously served as the United States Secretary of Labor from 2013 to 2017, the chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2017 to 2021, and U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights from 2009 to 2013.
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Julie Warner
- Occupations
- television actortelevision directoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Juliet Mia Warner is an American actress. She is best known as Danni Lipton on Family Law (1999–2001) and Megan O'Hara on Nip/Tuck (2003–2006), Lou in Doc Hollywood (1991), Elaine in Mr. Saturday Night (1992), Michelle in Tommy Boy (1995), Micki in Wedding Bell Blues (1996), and Dean York in Chalk It Up (2016). She also appeared in the 1989 HBO special The Diceman Cometh with comedian Andrew Dice Clay.
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Mary Chapin Carpenter
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterrecording artistsingerstreet artist
- Biography
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Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American country and folk music singer-songwriter. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C.-area clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records. Carpenter's first album, 1987's Hometown Girl, did not produce any charting singles. She broke through with 1989's State of the Heart and 1990's Shooting Straight in the Dark.
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André Leon Talley
- Enrolled in Brown University
- Graduated with Master of Arts in French
- Occupations
- journalistautobiographer
- Biography
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André Leon Talley was an American fashion journalist, stylist, creative director, author, and editor-at-large of Vogue magazine. He was the magazine's fashion news director from 1983 to 1987, its first African-American male creative director from 1988 to 1995, and then its editor-at-large from 1998 to 2013. Often regarded as a fashion icon, he was known for supporting emerging designers and advocating for diversity in the fashion industry; while the capes, kaftans, and robes he wore became his trademark look. Talley also served on the judging panel for America's Next Top Model (from Cycle 14 to Cycle 17).
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Lois Lowry
- Occupations
- novelistwriterjournalistchildren's writerphotographer
- Biography
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Lois Ann Lowry is an American writer. She is the author of many books for children and young adults, including The Giver Quartet, Number the Stars, the Anastasia series, and Rabble Starkey. She is known for writing about difficult subject matters, dystopias, and complex themes in works for young audiences.
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Jim Yong Kim
- Occupations
- anthropologistphysicianuniversity teacherpolitician
- Biography
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Jim Yong Kim, also known as Kim Yong (Korean: 김용; Hanja: 金墉), is an American physician and anthropologist who served as the 12th president of the World Bank from 2012 to 2019.
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Horace Mann
- Occupations
- writerlawyeruniversity teacherpolitician
- Biography
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Horace Mann was an American educational reformer, slavery abolitionist and Whig politician known for his commitment to promoting public education; he is thus also known as The Father of American Education. In 1848, after public service as Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education, Mann was elected to the United States House of Representatives (1848–1853). From September 1852 to his death in 1859, he served as President of Antioch College.
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Maggie Hassan
- Enrolled in Brown University
- In 1980 graduated with Bachelor of Arts in study of history
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Margaret Wood Hassan is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator for New Hampshire since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Hassan was the 81st governor of New Hampshire, from 2013 to 2017.
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Chris Hayes
- Occupations
- news presenterpolitical punditwriterjournalisttelevision presenter
- Biography
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Christopher Loffredo Hayes is an American political commentator, television news anchor, and author. Hayes hosts All In with Chris Hayes, a weekday news and opinion television show on MS NOW. Hayes also hosts a weekly MS NOW podcast, Why Is This Happening? Hayes formerly hosted a weekend MSNBC show, Up with Chris Hayes. He is an editor-at-large of The Nation magazine.
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Bess Armstrong
- Enrolled in Brown University
- Studied in 1975
- Occupations
- film actortelevision actorstage actor
- Biography
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Elizabeth Key "Bess" Armstrong is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films The Four Seasons (1981), High Road to China (1983), Jaws 3-D (1983), and Nothing in Common (1986). Armstrong also starred in the ABC drama series My So-Called Life and had lead roles in a number of made-for-television films.
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David Walton
- Occupations
- film actoractortelevision actor
- Biography
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David B. Walton is an American actor. He is known for his role in the television sitcom Cracking Up (2004), as Liam Connor. He has starred in several television programs, including the drama series Heist (2006), comedy series New Girl (2012–2018), and on the NBC comedies Perfect Couples (2010–2011), Bent (2012), and About a Boy (2014–2015). He played Dr. Rick in the comedy film Fired Up! (2009).
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Elvis Perkins
- Occupations
- singer-songwritermusician
- Biography
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Elvis Brooke Perkins is an American folk-rock musician. He released his debut studio album, Ash Wednesday, in 2007. He subsequently toured in support of the album with his band Elvis Perkins in Dearland, composed of Perkins alongside multi-instrumentalists Brigham Brough, Wyndham Boylan-Garnett and Nick Kinsey. The band released its self-titled debut, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, in 2009.
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Ira Glass
- Occupations
- screenwriterradio producerfilm produceractorradio personality
- Biography
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Ira Jeffrey Glass is an American public radio personality. He is the host and producer of the radio and television series This American Life and has participated in NPR programs, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Talk of the Nation. His work in radio and television has won him awards, such as the Edward R. Murrow Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Radio and the George Polk Award in Radio Reporting.
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Prince Feisal bin Al-Hussein of Jordan
- Occupations
- sports executive
- Biography
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Prince Faisal bin Al Hussein is a Jordanian prince who is a son of King Hussein and Princess Muna, and the younger brother of King Abdullah II. Periodically he has served as regent during his brother's absences abroad.
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Randy Pausch
- Occupations
- university teacherwritercomputer scientistmotivational speakerpedagogue
- Biography
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Randolph Frederick Pausch was an American educator, a professor of computer science, human–computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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Nicanor Parra
- Occupations
- academicphysicistwritermathematicianpoet
- Biography
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Nicanor Segundo Parra Sandoval was a Chilean physicist and poet. He has been considered one of the most influential Spanish-language Chilean poets of the 20th century.
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Charles Evans Hughes
- Occupations
- judgepoliticianlawyerdiplomatjurist
- Biography
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Charles Evans Hughes was an American politician, academic, and jurist who served as the 11th chief justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the 36th governor of New York (1907–1910), an associate justice of the Supreme Court (1910–1916), and 44th U.S. secretary of state (1921–1925). He was the Republican nominee in the 1916 presidential election, narrowly losing to incumbent president Woodrow Wilson.
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Timothy Snyder
- Enrolled in Brown University
- Studied in 1987-1991
- Occupations
- political scientistliterary criticwriteruniversity teacheracademic
- Biography
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Timothy David Snyder is an American historian specializing in the history of Central and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Holocaust. He holds the inaugural Chair in Modern European History, supported by the Temerty Endowment for Ukrainian Studies, at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. From 2017 to 2025 he was the Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University.
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Marco Beltrami
- Occupations
- composerfilm score composer
- Biography
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Marco Beltrami is an American composer of film and television scores. He has worked in a number of genres, including horror (Scream, Mimic, The Faculty, Resident Evil, The Woman in Black, Carrie, A Quiet Place, and The Nun II), action (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Live Free or Die Hard, World War Z), science fiction (I, Robot, Snowpiercer), Western (3:10 to Yuma, Jonah Hex, The Homesman), and superhero (Blade II, Hellboy, Jonah Hex, The Wolverine, Fantasatic Four, Logan, Venom: Let There Be Carnage).
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Raymond J. Barry
- Occupations
- television actorstage actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Raymond John Barry is an American film, television, and stage actor. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the film Steel City.
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Nicolas Jaar
- Occupations
- musicianrecord producer
- Biography
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Nicolas Jaar is an American composer and musician. Among his notable works are the albums Space Is Only Noise (2011), Sirens (2016), and Cenizas (2020). He has also released three albums as one half of his band Darkside (Psychic, 2013, Spiral, 2021 and Nothing, 2025) and two further albums under the alias Against All Logic.
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Joseph Bologna
- Occupations
- actortelevision actorscreenwriterwriterstage actor
- Biography
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Joseph Bologna was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter notable for his roles in the comedy films My Favorite Year, Blame It on Rio, and Transylvania 6-5000.
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Ottessa Moshfegh
- Occupations
- novelistscreenwriterwriter
- Biography
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Ottessa Charlotte Moshfegh is an American author and novelist. Her debut novel, Eileen (2015), won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and was a fiction finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Moshfegh's subsequent novels include My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Death in Her Hands, and Lapvona.
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Michael Showalter
- Occupations
- film producerfilm actorfilm directortelevision actortelevision producer
- Biography
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Michael Showalter is an American director, writer, and producer. He first achieved recognition as a cast member on MTV's The State, which aired from 1993 to 1995. Along with David Wain, Showalter created the Wet Hot American Summer franchise, with Showalter co-writing and starring in Wet Hot American Summer (2001) and the Netflix series. Showalter wrote and directed The Baxter (2005), in which he starred with Michelle Williams, Justin Theroux, and Elizabeth Banks. Both films featured many of his co-stars from The State, and so do several of his other projects. Showalter is also a co-creator, co-producer, actor, and writer for the TV series Search Party. He directed the 2017 film The Big Sick and the 2021 film The Eyes of Tammy Faye, both of which were critically acclaimed.
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Madeline Miller
- Enrolled in Brown University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts in classics
- Occupations
- novelistteacherwriter
- Biography
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Madeline Miller is an American novelist, author of The Song of Achilles (2011) and Circe (2018). Miller spent ten years writing The Song of Achilles while she worked as a teacher of Latin and Greek. The novel tells the story of the love between the mythological figures Achilles and Patroclus; it won the Orange Prize for Fiction, making Miller the fourth debut novelist to win the prize. She is a 2019 recipient of the Alex Awards.
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Alicia Sacramone
- Occupations
- artistic gymnast
- Biography
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Alicia Marie Sacramone Quinn is a retired American artistic gymnast. She won a silver medal with the United States team at the 2008 Summer Olympics and is the 2005 World Champion on floor exercise and the 2010 World Champion on the vault. With a total of eleven World Championship and Olympic medals, Sacramone is the fourth most decorated U.S. female gymnast, behind Simone Biles (41), Shannon Miller (16), and Nastia Liukin (14).
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Andy Hertzfeld
- Occupations
- computer engineer
- Biography
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Andrew Jay Hertzfeld is an American software engineer who was a member of Apple Computer's original Macintosh development team during the 1980s. After buying an Apple II in January 1978, he went to work for Apple Computer from August 1979 until March 1984, where he was a designer for the Macintosh system software.
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Richard Holbrooke
- Occupations
- writerbankerdiplomatpolitician
- Biography
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Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke was an American diplomat and author. He was the only person to have held the position of Assistant Secretary of State for two different regions of the world, (Asia from 1977 to 1981 and Europe from 1994 to 1996) assisting in brokering a peace agreement among the warring factions in Bosnia leading to the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords. Holbrooke was a prime contender to succeed Warren Christopher as Secretary of State but was passed over in 1996 as President Bill Clinton chose Madeleine Albright instead.
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Richard Fleischer
- Occupations
- screenwriterdirectorfilm director
- Biography
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Richard Owen Fleischer was an American film director. His career spanned more than four decades, beginning at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and lasting through the American New Wave. He was the son of animation pioneer Max Fleischer, and served as chairman of Fleischer Studios.
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Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark
- Occupations
- business consultantphotographeraristocrat
- Biography
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Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark is the third child of Constantine II and Anne-Marie, who were the last King and Queen of Greece, from 1964 to 1973.
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Will Oldham
- Occupations
- singertelevision actorguitaristsinger-songwritersongwriter
- Biography
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Joseph Will Oldham is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music). After briefly publishing music under his own name, in 1998 he adopted Bonnie "Prince" Billy as the name for most of his work.
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Jessica Meir
- Occupations
- exploreruniversity teacheraircraft pilotmarine biologistastronaut
- Biography
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Jessica Ulrika Meir is a Swedish American marine biologist, physiologist, and NASA astronaut. She was previously an assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, following postdoctoral research in comparative physiology at the University of British Columbia. She has studied the diving physiology and behavior of emperor penguins in Antarctica, and the physiology of bar-headed geese, which are able to migrate over the Himalayas. In September 2002, Meir served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 4 (NEEMO 4) crew. In 2013, she was selected by NASA to Astronaut Group 21. In 2016, Meir participated in ESA CAVES, a training course in which international astronauts train in a space-analogue cave environment. Meir launched on September 25, 2019, to the ISS onboard Soyuz MS-15, where she served as a flight engineer during Expedition 61 and 62. On October 18, 2019, Meir and Christina Koch were the first women to participate in an all-female spacewalk.
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Ben Shenkman
- Occupations
- television actorstage actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Ben Shenkman is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the comedy-drama series Royal Pains and the acclaimed HBO miniseries Angels in America, which earned him both Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations.
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Robert Capron
- Occupations
- stage actorfilm directoractorvoice actorstand-up comedian
- Biography
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Robert Banfield Capron Jr. is an American actor. After making his film debut with a minor role in Bride Wars (2009), he received mainstream recognition for his starring role as Rowley Jefferson in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series (2010–2012).
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Charles Colson
- Occupations
- lawyerwriterpolitician
- Biography
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Charles Wendell Colson, generally referred to as Chuck Colson, was an American attorney and political advisor who served as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1970. Once known as President Nixon's "hatchet man", Colson gained notoriety at the height of the Watergate scandal, for being named as one of the Watergate Seven and also for pleading guilty to obstruction of justice for attempting to defame Pentagon Papers defendant Daniel Ellsberg. In 1974, Colson served seven months in the federal Maxwell Prison in Alabama, as the first member of the Nixon administration to be incarcerated for Watergate-related charges.
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Aaron Beck
- Enrolled in Brown University
- In 1942 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- professor of medicinepsychiatristuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Aaron Temkin Beck was an American psychiatrist who was a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. He is regarded as the father of cognitive therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). His pioneering methods are widely used in the treatment of clinical depression and various anxiety disorders. Beck also developed self-report measures for depression and anxiety, notably the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), which became one of the most widely used instruments for measuring the severity of depression. In 1994 he and his daughter, psychologist Judith S. Beck, founded the nonprofit Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, which provides CBT treatment and training, as well as research. Beck served as President Emeritus of the organization up until his death.
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Jeffrey Eugenides
- Occupations
- writeracademicnovelistuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Jeffrey Kent Eugenides is an American author. He has written numerous short stories and essays, as well as three novels: The Virgin Suicides (1993), Middlesex (2002), and The Marriage Plot (2011). The Virgin Suicides served as the basis of the 1999 film of the same name, while Middlesex received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in addition to being a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the International Dublin Literary Award, and France's Prix Médicis.
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Hiroko Kuniya
- Occupations
- journalistnews presenter
- Biography
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Hiroko Kuniya is a Japanese news presenter and journalist. Kuniya was born in Osaka Prefecture and graduated from International School of the Sacred Heart in 1975 and then Brown University with majors in international relations and international economics. In 1981, she began to work as a news caster and writer for the English-language broadcasts of NHK television's Seven O'clock News. Starting in 1986, she served as a researcher in the United States for NHK Special. Later assignments included satellite and ground network news shows, including Asia Now (1990), which was picked up in the U.S. by Public Broadcasting Service.
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Cecile Richards
- Enrolled in Brown University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Cecile Richards was an American activist who served as the president of both the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its affiliated Planned Parenthood Action Fund from 2006 to 2018. In 2010, Richards was elected to the Ford Foundation board of trustees. In spring 2019, Richards co-founded Supermajority, a women's political action group.
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Louis Ozawa Changchien
- Occupations
- television actorstage actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Louis Ozawa Changchien is an American actor best known for his role in the films The Bourne Legacy (2012) and Jack Ryan (2023), and for his role as members of the Kawakami family in the Predator and Alien vs. Predator franchises, including Hanzo Kawakami in Predators (2010), Eiji Kawakami in Aliens vs. Predators: Ultimate Prey (2022), and Kenji and Kiyoshi Kawakami in Predator: Killer of Killers (2025).
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Naomi Novik
- Occupations
- novelistwriterscience fiction writerfantasy authorprogrammer
- Biography
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Naomi Novik is an American author of speculative fiction. She is known for the Temeraire series, an alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars involving dragons, and her Scholomance fantasy series (2020–2022). Her standalone fantasy novels Uprooted (2015) and Spinning Silver (2018) were inspired by Polish folklore and the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale respectively. Novik has won many awards for her work, including the Alex, Audie, British Fantasy, Locus, Mythopoeic and Nebula Awards.
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Marilynne Robinson
- Enrolled in Brown University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- writerscience fiction writernovelistessayist
- Biography
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Marilynne Summers Robinson is an American novelist and essayist. Across her writing career, Robinson has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005, National Humanities Medal in 2012, and the 2016 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. In 2016, Robinson was named in Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people. Robinson began teaching at the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1991 and retired in the spring of 2016.
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Michael Parenti
- Enrolled in Brown University
- In 1957 graduated with Master of Arts in historiography
- Occupations
- opinion journalistuniversity teacherhistorianjournalistpolitical scientist
- Biography
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Michael John Parenti was an American political scientist, academic historian and cultural critic who wrote on scholarly and popular subjects. He taught at universities and also ran for political office. Parenti was well known for his Marxist writings and lectures, and was an intellectual of the American Left.
