Notable Alumni of CUNY Hunter College

Bella Abzug 1920–1998

Lawyer, politician and women's movement leader

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Queen Alia of Jordan 1948–1977

Queen Consort of Jordan, third wife of King Hussein

Child: Princess Abir Muhaisen (American University, Virginia Commonwealth University)

Child: Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein of Jordan (Princeton University)

Eliot Engel 1947–2026

Democratic U.S. representative from New York

Bachelor of Arts · History · Class of 1969

Also attended: CUNY Lehman College, New York Law School

Pauli Murray 1910–1985

Civil rights activist, lawyer and Episcopal priest

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Yale University, Howard University

Ora Namir 1930–2019

Israeli politician and former ambassador to China

Jared Bernstein 1955–

Economist, chair of Council of Economic Advisers under Biden

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, Manhattan School of Music

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow 1921–2011

Medical physicist, 1977 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine

Also attended: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, New York University

Gertrude B. Elion 1918–1999

Biochemist, 1988 Nobel Prize in Medicine winner

Undergraduate degree · Class of 1937

Also attended: New York University

Mildred Dresselhaus 1930–2017

MIT physicist known as Queen of Carbon Science

Also attended: University of Chicago, Harvard University, Cornell University

Patricia Bath 1942–2019

Ophthalmologist and inventor

Attended until 1964

Also attended: Howard University

Ruth Teitelbaum 1924–1986

One of the original ENIAC programmers

Esther Lederberg 1922–2006

Microbiologist and pioneer of bacterial genetics

Attended until 1942

Also attended: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Stanford University

Spouse: Joshua Lederberg (Yale University, Columbia University in the City of New York)

Elizabeth Gertrude Britton 1858–1934

Botanist who helped create the New York Botanical Garden

Spouse: Nathaniel Lord Britton (Columbia University in the City of New York)

Evelyn Berezin 1925–2018

Computer designer of the original word processor

Also attended: New York University

Henriette Avram 1919–2006

Developer of the MARC library cataloging format

Also attended: George Washington University

Alice Kober 1906–1950

Classicist known for work on Linear B decipherment

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Eugenie Clark 1922–2015

Ichthyologist known as The Shark Lady

Also attended: New York University

Mildred Cohn 1913–2009

Biochemist and pioneer of NMR enzyme studies

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Spouse: Henry Primakoff (Columbia University in the City of New York)

Beatrice Mintz 1921–2022

Embryologist and pioneer of transgenic mammals

Also attended: University of Iowa, New York University

Mina Rees 1902–1997

Mathematician who assisted the US government in WWII

Attended until 1923

Also attended: University of Chicago, Columbia University in the City of New York

Diana Baumrind 1927–2018

Developmental psychologist known for parenting styles research

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Vin Diesel 1967–

Actor known for the Fast & Furious franchise

Creative writing

Audre Lorde 1934–1992

Writer, poet, feminist and civil rights activist

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1959

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Ellen Barkin 1954–

Actress who rose to fame in Diner

Spouse: Ronald Perelman (University of Pennsylvania)

Rosario Dawson 1979–

Actress and activist

Bobby Darin 1936–1973

Singer, songwriter and actor

Rhea Perlman 1948–

Actress known for Cheers

Spouse: Danny DeVito (American Academy of Dramatic Arts-New York)

Child: Lucy DeVito (Brown University)

Ruby Dee 1922–2014

Actress

Spouse: Ossie Davis (Howard University, Columbia University in the City of New York)

Evan Hunter 1926–2005

Crime author of the 87th Precinct novels

Also attended: The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

Harry Connick Jr. 1967–

Singer, pianist and actor

Also attended: Manhattan School of Music

Father: Harry Connick Sr. (Loyola University New Orleans)

Edward Burns 1968–

Actor and filmmaker, known for The Brothers McMullen

Also attended: SUNY at Albany, SUNY Oneonta

Spouse: Christy Turlington (Columbia University in the City of New York, New York University)

Valerie Harper 1939–2019

Actress, began as a Broadway dancer

Also attended: The New School

Julianne Nicholson 1971–

Actress, two-time Emmy winner

Deepti Naval 1952–

Indian-American actress, director and writer

Grace Paley 1922–2007

Short story writer, poet and activist

Also attended: The New School, New York University

Peter Hyams 1943–

Film director and screenwriter, directed Timecop

Also attended: Syracuse University

Child: John Hyams (Syracuse University)

Esther Rolle 1920–1998

Actress known for Maude and Good Times

Also attended: Yale University, Spelman College, The New School

Dascha Polanco 1982–

Actress known for Orange Is the New Black

Michael Massee 1952–2016

Actor who frequently played villains

Pamela Tiffin 1942–2020

Actress and model, two-time Golden Globe nominee

Spouse: Clay Felker (Duke University)

Judy Reyes 1967–

Actress known for Scrubs and Devious Maids

Robert Morris 1931–2018

Minimalist sculptor and conceptual artist

Also attended: San Francisco Art Institute, University of Kansas, Kansas City Art Institute

Spouse: Simone Forti (Reed College)

Bel Kaufman 1911–2014

Teacher and author of Up the Down Staircase

Attended until 1934

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Nick Valensi 1981–

Guitarist of the rock band The Strokes

Richard Jeni 1957–2007

Stand-up comedian and actor

Gary Shteyngart 1972–

Soviet-born novelist, author of Absurdistan

Also attended: Oberlin College

Roya Hakakian 1966–

Iranian American writer and journalist

Also attended: CUNY Brooklyn College

Ned Vizzini 1981–2013

Young adult author of It's Kind of a Funny Story

Regina Resnik 1922–2013

Opera singer

Lawrence Weiner 1942–2021

Central figure of Conceptual Art

Jeanne Cagney 1919–1984

Film, stage and television actress

Doris Wishman 1912–2002

Filmmaker of at least 30 sexploitation features

Nikolai Fraiture 1978–

Bassist of the Strokes

Sonia Sanchez 1934–

Poet and leading figure of the Black Arts Movement

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1955

Also attended: Howard University, New York University

Spouse: Etheridge Knight (Martin University)

Evelyn Lear 1926–2012

Operatic soprano and Grammy winner

Also attended: The Juilliard School, New York University

Spouse: Thomas Stewart (The Juilliard School, Baylor University)

Bess Myerson 1924–2014

First Jewish Miss America, 1945; model and politician

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, The Juilliard School

Joy Davidman 1915–1960

Poet and writer

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Natasha Leggero 1974–

Stand-up comedian and actress

Also attended: Illinois State University

Spouse: Moshe Kasher (University of California-Santa Barbara)

Al Santos 1976–

Actor and former model

Janice Y. K. Lee 1972–

Hong Kong-born author of The Piano Teacher

Also attended: Harvard University

Fay Chiang 1952–2017

Asian American poet, writer, visual artist and activist

Also attended: School of Visual Arts

Ayisha Siddiqa 1999–

Climate advocate, former UN Youth Climate Advisor