Notable Alumni of California Institute of the Arts

Arts and media

• Tim Burton 1958–

  Filmmaker and animator known for Gothic fantasy style

  Attended until 1981

• Stephen Hillenburg 1961–2018

  Creator of SpongeBob SquarePants

  Master of Fine Arts · Experimental film · Class of 1992

  Also attended: California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt

• Ed Harris 1950–

  Actor and director, three-time Oscar nominee

  Bachelor of Fine Arts · Class of 1973

  Also attended: School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia University in the City of New York, University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus

  Spouse: Amy Madigan (Roosevelt University, Marquette University)

• Sofia Coppola 1971–

  Filmmaker and Academy Award winner

  Also attended: Northeastern University Oakland

  Father: Francis Ford Coppola (University of California-Los Angeles, Hofstra University)

  Mother: Eleanor Coppola (University of California-Los Angeles)

• Don Cheadle 1964–

  Actor, director and screenwriter

• David Hasselhoff 1952–

  Actor, singer, producer and television personality

  Also attended: Bates College, Oakland University

  Spouse: Pamela Bach (Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College)

  Spouse: Catherine Hickland (Florida Atlantic University)

• Michael Richards 1949–

  Actor best known as Kramer on Seinfeld

  Also attended: Los Angeles Valley College, The Evergreen State College

• Paul Reubens 1952–2023

  Actor and comedian, creator of Pee-wee Herman

  Bachelor of Fine Arts

  Also attended: Boston University, Plymouth State University

  Father: Milton Rubenfeld (University of New Mexico-Main Campus, New York University)

  Sibling: Abby Rubenfeld (Boston University, Princeton University)

• Bill Irwin 1950–

  Actor, clown and comedian

  Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, Oberlin College

• James Mangold 1963–

  Film director and screenwriter, directed Logan

  Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

  Father: Robert Mangold (Yale University)

• Alison Brie 1982–

  Actress, writer and producer

  Bachelor's degree · Theatre · Class of 2005

  Spouse: Dave Franco (University of Southern California)

• Maddie Taylor 1966–

  Voice actress and storyboard artist

• John Lasseter 1957–

  Animator, director, former Pixar chief creative officer

  Bachelor of Fine Arts · Class of 1979

  Also attended: Pepperdine University

• Oliver Tree 1993–2026

  Singer, rapper and comedian

  Bachelor of Arts

• Katey Sagal 1954–

  Actress and singer

  Spouse: Kurt Sutter (Northern Illinois University)

  Father: Boris Sagal (Yale University)

• Brad Bird 1957–

  Filmmaker and animator, two-time Academy Award winner

• Andrew Stanton 1965–

  Pixar director of Finding Nemo and WALL-E

  Bachelor of Fine Arts

• Pete Docter 1968–

  Animator, director and Pixar chief creative officer

  Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

• Kathy Baker 1950–

  Actress, screen debut in The Right Stuff

  Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Boston University

  Spouse: Steven Robman (University of California-Berkeley, Yale University)

• Alexandra Breckenridge 1982–

  Actress known for Big Fat Liar

• Conrad Vernon 1968–

  Animation director and writer on Shrek series

• Ed Ruscha 1937–

  Pop art painter and photographer

• Alex Hirsch 1985–

  Creator of animated series Gravity Falls

• Tom McGrath 1964–

  Director and voice actor of Madagascar

  Also attended: University of Washington-Seattle Campus

• Chris Miller 1968–

  Animator and director of Shrek the Third

• Henry Selick 1952–

  Filmmaker and animator

  Also attended: Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Syracuse University

• Laura Rizzotto 1994–

  Latvian-Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist

  Also attended: Berklee College of Music, Columbia University in the City of New York

• Walt Dohrn 1970–

  Emmy-winning animator, director and voice actor

  Also attended: San Francisco State University

• Chris Sanders 1962–

  Animator and director of Lilo & Stitch

• Mark Dindal 1960–

  Disney animation director and voice actor

• Mary Costa 1930–

  Soprano and actress

• Joe Ranft 1960–2005

  Animator, screenwriter, storyboard artist and voice actor

  Sibling: Jerome Ranft (California College of the Arts, Fullerton College)

• Chris Buck 1960–

  Animator and director, co-director of Frozen

• Laraine Newman 1952–

  Actress and comedian; original Saturday Night Live cast member

  Child: Hannah Einbinder (Chapman University)

  Sibling: Tracy Newman (University of Arizona)

• Cecily Strong 1984–

  Actress and comedian, Saturday Night Live cast member

• Mageina Tovah 1979–

  Actress in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3

  Also attended: University of Southern California

• Eliza Coupe 1981–

  Actress known for Happy Endings and Scrubs

• Michel Ocelot 1943–

  French animated film director and screenwriter

• Tony Anselmo 1960–

  Animator and voice of Donald Duck since 1985

• Don Lake 1956–

  Canadian actor, writer and television producer

• Mike Mitchell 1970–

  Film director of Kung Fu Panda 4 and Trolls

• David Salle 1952–

  Postmodern painter and printmaker

• Lorne Lanning 1964–

  Game designer, co-founder of Oddworld Inhabitants

  Attended until 1989

  Also attended: School of Visual Arts

• Don Bachardy 1934–

  Portrait artist

• Catherine Opie 1961–

  Fine-art photographer known for portraits and landscapes

  Master of Fine Arts · Class of 1988

  Also attended: San Francisco Art Institute

• Joanne Brackeen 1938–

  Jazz pianist and music educator

• Isabel Herguera 1961–

  Spanish film director and artist

• Ralph Alessi 1963–

  Jazz trumpeter and composer

  Master of Arts, Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1990

• Michael Joyce 1945–

  Vassar professor, electronic literature pioneer

  Also attended: Vassar College

• Yurie Nagashima 1973–

  Japanese photographer and contemporary artist

• Michael Mandiberg 1977–

  Artist, programmer, designer and educator

  Also attended: Brown University

• Jack Goldstein 1945–2003

  Canadian-born performance and conceptual artist

• Cody Cameron 1970–

  Animation director and voice actor

  Also attended: Orange Coast College

• Michael Cudlitz 1964–

  Actor in Band of Brothers and The Walking Dead

• Julie Taymor 1952–

  Director of The Lion King stage musical

  Also attended: Oberlin College

  Spouse: Elliot Goldenthal (Manhattan School of Music)

• Eric Fischl 1948–

  Painter and sculptor

• John Musker 1953–

  Disney animation director of The Little Mermaid and Moana

  Attended until 1970

  Also attended: Northwestern University

• Rich Moore 1963–

  Animation director of Wreck-It Ralph and Zootopia

• Lauren Faust 1974–

  Animator who developed My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

  Spouse: Craig McCracken (California Institute of the Arts)

• Butch Hartman 1965–

  Animator, creator of The Fairly OddParents

• Tom Lin Shu-yu 1976–

  Taiwanese director and screenwriter

• Christina Mok 1987–

  Actor