Illinois identity graphic

Celebrity Alumni

  • Scott Altman ’81 ENG – NASA astronaut who commanded the mission to repair the Hubble Telescope
  • Steve Chen ’02 – one of the founders of YouTube, viral video Web site named 2006 Invention of the Year by Time magazine
  • Jean Driscoll ’91 LAS, MS ’93 AHS – world-renowned wheelchair athlete who is a two-time winner of the Olympic Silver Medal and eight-time winner of the Boston Marathon
  • Roger Ebert ’64 COM – Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic
  • Dave Eggers ’02 COM – author of the best-selling “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius”
  • Bill Geist ’68 COM, HON ’05 – CBS commentator, Emmy award winner, author, and humorist
  • Nancy Brinker Goodman ’68 LAS – former ambassador to Hungary and founder of the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research, named in honor of her sister
  • Mannie Jackson ’60 AHS – owner of the Harlem Globetrotters
  • Sheila Crump Johnson ’70 FAA – philanthropist, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television and America’s first black female billionaire
  • Jawed Karim ’04 ENG – one of the founders of YouTube, viral video Web site named 2006 Invention of the Year by Time magazine
  • Ang Lee ’80 FAA – Academy Award-winning film director
  • Rick Kaplan – President of CNN (1997-2000), President of MSNBC (2004-2006), Executive Producer of World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, creator of E!, winner of 34 Emmy's
  • Max Levchin ’97 ENG – founder of PayPal, the Internet money-mover service
  • Suze Orman ’77 LAS – financial expert of books and media fame
  • Dennis Swanson ’61 COM, MS ’66 COM – head of station operations for the Fox Television Station Group and former head of ABC Sports, NBC’s Olympic Committee, and COO of Viacom