Notable Alumni of Brandeis University

Angela Davis 1944–

Political activist, philosopher and author

Attended until 1965

Also attended: University of California-San Diego

Geir Haarde 1951–

Former Prime Minister of Iceland

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Abbie Hoffman 1936–1989

Activist and co-founder of the Yippies

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Jack Abramoff 1958–

Republican lobbyist convicted in federal corruption case

Also attended: Georgetown University

Dimitrij Rupel 1946–

Slovenian politician and diplomat

George Saitoti 1945–2012

Kenyan politician, economist and mathematician

Bernard Coard 1944–

Former Deputy Prime Minister of Grenada

Gloria La Riva 1954–

Socialist activist and perennial presidential candidate

Stephen J. Solarz 1940–2010

Former U.S. Representative from New York

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Daniel B. Shapiro 1969–

US Ambassador to Israel from 2011 to 2017

Also attended: Harvard University, Washington University in St Louis

Cristiano Corazzari 1975–

Venetist politician from Veneto, Italy

Simon Sinek 1973–

Author and speaker on business leadership

Christie Hefner 1952–

Former chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises

Father: Hugh Hefner (School of the Art Institute of Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Sibling: Cooper Hefner (Chapman University)

Jeffrey Lurie 1951–

Owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, film producer

Also attended: Boston University, Clark University

Karen Uhlenbeck 1942–

Mathematician and founder of modern geometric analysis

Master's degree, Doctorate · Class of 1968

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, New York University

Edward Witten 1951–

Theoretical physicist known for string theory

Also attended: Princeton University, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Father: Louis Witten (Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Child: Daniela Witten (Stanford University)

Roderick MacKinnon 1956–

Biophysicist; 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner

Also attended: Tufts University

Fatema Mernissi 1940–2015

Moroccan feminist writer and sociologist

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1973

Drew Weissman 1959–

Nobel Prize-winning immunologist and RNA researcher

Bachelor of Science, Master of Science · Class of 1981

Also attended: Boston University

Leslie Lamport 1941–

Distributed systems pioneer and initial developer of LaTeX

Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Science · Mathematics

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Michael Walzer 1935–

Political theorist and Institute for Advanced Study professor emeritus

Also attended: Harvard University

Michael Sandel 1953–

Harvard political philosopher, teacher of Justice course

Deborah Lipstadt 1947–

Holocaust historian and diplomat

Master of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1976

Also attended: CUNY--City College

Evelyn Fox Keller 1936–2023

Physicist and MIT professor emerita

Bachelor of Arts

Also attended: Harvard University

Spouse: Joseph Keller (New York University)

Christina Hoff Sommers 1950–

Philosopher and author, scholar at American Enterprise Institute

Also attended: New York University

Spouse: Frederic Tamler Sommers (Columbia University in the City of New York, Yeshiva University)

Patricia Hill Collins 1948–

Sociologist, professor emerita at University of Maryland

Bachelor of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy · Sociology · Class of 1969

Also attended: Harvard University

Nancy Chodorow 1944–2025

Feminist sociologist and psychoanalyst

Doctor of Philosophy · Sociology · Class of 1975

Also attended: Harvard University

Joan Wallach Scott 1941–

Historian of France and gender history

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1962

Also attended: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Child: A. O. Scott (Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University)

Charles H. Bennett 1943–

Physicist and IBM Fellow in information theory

Also attended: Harvard University

Arjun Appadurai 1949–

Indian-American anthropologist and globalization theorist

Also attended: University of Chicago

Seyla Benhabib 1950–

Turkish-born philosopher and Columbia Law scholar

Also attended: Yale University

Janet Akyüz Mattei 1943–2004

Astronomer and director of the AAVSO

Also attended: University of Virginia-Main Campus

Allan Lichtman 1947–

Historian who created the Keys to the White House

Also attended: Harvard University

Judith Rich Harris 1938–2018

Psychology researcher, author of The Nurture Assumption

Psychology · Attended until 1959

Also attended: University of Arizona, Harvard University

Chuu-Lian Terng 1949–

Taiwanese-American mathematician in differential geometry

Spouse: Richard Palais (Harvard University)

Liqun Luo 1966–

Stanford neuroscientist and HHMI investigator

Doctor of Philosophy · Biology · Class of 1992

Li Jiayang 1956–

Chinese geneticist, president of CAAS

Hongkui Zeng

Director of the Allen Institute for Brain Science

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1996

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mien-Chie Hung 1950–

Molecular biologist and cancer researcher

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1983

Robert Zimmer 1947–2023

Mathematician; 13th president of University of Chicago

Bachelor of Arts

Also attended: Harvard University

Spouse: Shadi Bartsch (University of California-Berkeley, Harvard University)

Adam Cheyer 2000–

Computer scientist and AI researcher

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Jack Sarfatti 1939–

Theoretical physicist studying quantum physics and consciousness

Also attended: University of California-Riverside, University of California-San Diego, Cornell University

Debra Messing 1968–

Actress and comedian

Bachelor of Arts · Theater arts · Class of 1990

Also attended: New York University

Spouse: Daniel Zelman (New York University)

Paul L. Smith 1936–2012

Actor known for playing villains

Thomas Friedman 1953–

New York Times columnist, three-time Pulitzer winner

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Tony Goldwyn 1960–

Actor and director, known for Ghost

Also attended: Hamilton College

Father: Samuel Goldwyn Jr. (University of Virginia-Main Campus)

Sibling: John Goldwyn (Stanford University)

Kathy Acker 1947–1997

Experimental novelist, poet and playwright

Also attended: University of California-San Diego

Tyne Daly 1946–

Actress, six-time Emmy winner

Also attended: American Musical and Dramatic Academy

Spouse: Georg Stanford Brown (Los Angeles City College)

Father: James Daly (Cornell College, Iowa State University)

Gates McFadden 1949–

Actress and choreographer

Mitch Albom 1958–

Author, sports journalist and talk show host

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Alexander Gould 1994–

Actor who voiced Nemo in Finding Nemo

Also attended: Clark University

Loretta Devine 1949–

Actress of stage and screen

Also attended: University of Houston

David Crane 1957–

Writer and producer, co-creator of Friends

Bachelor's degree

Steven Culp 1955–

Actor known for Thirteen Days

Also attended: College of William and Mary

Louise Lasser 1939–2026

Actress known for Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

Political science

Spouse: Woody Allen (New York University)

Marta Kauffman 1956–

Television writer and co-creator of Friends

Bachelor's degree · Class of 1978

Also attended: Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater

Ha Jin 1956–

Chinese American poet and novelist

Ian McElhinney 1948–

Northern Irish actor and director

Barry Newman 1930–2023

Actor known for Vanishing Point and Petrocelli

Robin Weigert 1969–

Actress known for Deadwood and Sons of Anarchy

Also attended: New York University

Debra Granik 1963–

Film director of Winter's Bone

Also attended: New York University

Jon Landau 1947–

Music critic and manager, known for Bruce Springsteen

Spouse: Janet Maslin (University of Rochester)

Veronica Taylor 1965–

Voice actress, English voice of Ash in Pokémon

Also attended: Catholic University of America

Karen Lynn Gorney 1945–

Actress in Saturday Night Fever

Also attended: Carnegie Mellon University

Father: Jay Gorney (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor)

Josh Mostel 1946–

Actor in film and Broadway

Father: Zero Mostel (CUNY--City College, New York University)

Nicole Amarteifio 1982–

Ghanaian film director, producer and screenwriter

Also attended: Georgetown University

Letty Cottin Pogrebin 1939–

Author, journalist and founding editor of Ms

Arunoday Singh 1983–

Indian actor who debuted in Sikandar

Also attended: New York Film Academy

Sunny Singh 1969–

Indian-born writer and professor of creative writing

Bob Simon 1941–2015

CBS News television correspondent

Hao Wu 1972–

Chinese American film director and producer

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Marshall Herskovitz 1952–

Film director and producer, Producers Guild president emeritus

Also attended: American Film Institute Conservatory

Margo Jefferson 1947–

Writer, won 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson 1962–

Icelandic writer and businessman, formerly at Sony

Theresa Rebeck 1958–

Playwright, television writer and novelist

Also attended: University of Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame -

Walt Mossberg 1947–

Technology journalist and Wall Street Journal columnist

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Anand Patwardhan 1950–

Indian documentary filmmaker

Sidney Blumenthal 1948–

Political writer and former aide to Bill Clinton

Child: Max Blumenthal (University of Pennsylvania)

Michael Kaiser 1953–

Former president of the Kennedy Center

Also attended: Georgetown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Myq Kaplan 1978–

Stand-up comedian

Also attended: Boston University

Tim Morehouse 1978–

Fencer, 2008 Olympic sabre silver medallist

Also attended: Pace University-New York

Nelson Figueroa 1974–

Former MLB pitcher

Sam Shankland 1991–

Chess grandmaster and 2018 US Chess Champion

Aafia Siddiqui 1972–

Pakistani neuroscientist convicted in the US

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology