Notable Alumni of Sarah Lawrence College

Rahm Emanuel 1959–

Politician, diplomat and former US representative

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1981

Also attended: Northwestern University, Northwest University

Sibling: Ari Emanuel (Macalester College)

Sibling: Ezekiel Emanuel (Amherst College, Harvard University)

Sue W. Kelly 1936–

Former Republican U.S. Representative from New York

Master of Arts · Class of 1985

Also attended: Denison University

Vera Wang 1949–

Fashion designer and former figure skater

Judith Roitman 1945–

Mathematician, retired University of Kansas professor

Licentiate

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Oberlin College

Spouse: Stanley Lombardo (Loyola University New Orleans, Tulane University of Louisiana)

Louise H. Emmons 1943–

Zoologist studying tropical rainforest mammals

Bachelor of Arts

Also attended: Cornell University

Lisa Anderson 1950–

Political scientist, former president of the American University in Cairo

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

Sigourney Weaver 1949–

Actress known for action heroine roles

Also attended: Yale University, Stanford University

Father: Sylvester Weaver (Dartmouth College)

Carrie Fisher 1956–2016

Actress and writer who played Princess Leia

Spouse: Paul Simon (Brooklyn Law School, CUNY Queens College)

Child: Billie Lourd (New York University)

Louise Glück 1943–2023

Poet, 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature winner

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Alice Walker 1944–

Novelist, first Black woman to win Pulitzer for Fiction

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1965

Also attended: Spelman College, Russell Sage College

Spouse: Melvyn R. Leventhal (New York University)

Child: Rebecca Walker (Yale University)

Emma Roberts 1991–

Actress known for horror and thriller films

Father: Eric Roberts (American Academy of Dramatic Arts-New York)

Joanne Woodward 1930–

Actress and producer

Also attended: Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College, Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater

Spouse: Paul Newman (Yale University, Kenyon College)

Child: Nell Newman (College of the Atlantic)

Brian De Palma 1940–

Film director and screenwriter

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Spouse: Gale Anne Hurd (Stanford University)

Father: Anthony F. DePalma (University of Maryland-College Park)

J. J. Abrams 1966–

American filmmaker

Father: Gerald W. Abrams (The Pennsylvania State University)

Mother: Carol Ann Abrams (Whittier College, The Pennsylvania State University)

Barbara Walters 1929–2022

Broadcast journalist and host of The View

Bachelor of Arts

Téa Leoni 1966–

Actress and film producer

Spouse: Tim Daly (Bennington College)

Spouse: David Duchovny (Yale University, Princeton University)

Jordan Peele 1979–

Actor, comedian and filmmaker, Academy Award winner

Spouse: Chelsea Peretti (Barnard College)

Lauren Holly 1963–

Actress known for NCIS and Picket Fences

Jill Clayburgh 1944–2010

Actress, Oscar-nominated for An Unmarried Woman

Spouse: David Rabe (Villanova University)

Child: Lily Rabe (Northwestern University)

Jane Alexander 1939–

Actress, Emmy and Tony Award winner

Child: Jace Alexander (American Film Institute Conservatory, Circle in the Square Theatre School)

Julianna Margulies 1966–

Actress, starred in ER

Carly Simon 1943–

Singer-songwriter

Father: Richard L. Simon (Columbia University in the City of New York)

Child: Sally Taylor (Brown University)

Kyra Sedgwick 1965–

Actress, star of The Closer

Also attended: University of Southern California

Spouse: Kevin Bacon (Circle in the Square Theatre School, Albright College)

Child: Sosie Bacon (Brown University)

Cary Elwes 1962–

English actor who starred in The Princess Bride

Sibling: Damian Elwes (Harvard University)

Lesley Gore 1946–2015

Singer known for the 1963 hit It's My Party

Pamela Adlon 1966–

Actress, writer and director, Primetime Emmy winner

Eric Mabius 1971–

Film, television and stage actor

Adam Goldberg 1970–

Actor in Saving Private Ryan and Zodiac

Christian Kracht 1966–

Swiss author, journalist and screenwriter

Melora Hardin 1967–

Actress known for The Office and Monk

Father: Jerry Hardin (Southwestern University)

Alice Bradley Sheldon 1915–1987

Science fiction author, pen name James Tiptree Jr

Also attended: American University, George Washington University

Mother: Mary Hastings Bradley (Smith College)

Merritt Wever 1980–

Actress and three-time Emmy winner

Nancy Huston 1953–

Canadian-born novelist writing primarily in French

Robin Givens 1964–

Actress known for Head of the Class

Larisa Oleynik 1981–

Actress who began as a child actor

Ann Patchett 1963–

Novelist, PEN/Faulkner Award winner

Also attended: University of Iowa

Gabrielle Carteris 1961–

Actress and trade union leader

Bachelor's degree

Elisabeth Röhm 1973–

Actress known for Angel and Law & Order

Maggie Wheeler 1961–

Actress, Janice on Friends

Noah Hawley 1967–

Screenwriter and producer, creator of TV series Fargo

Sam Robards 1961–

Actor known for American Beauty

Father: Jason Robards (American Academy of Dramatic Arts-New York)

Mother: Lauren Bacall (American Academy of Dramatic Arts-New York)

Guinevere Turner 1968–

Actress, screenwriter of American Psycho

Jon Avnet 1949–

Film director, writer and producer

Also attended: American Film Institute Conservatory

Deborah Feldman 1986–

Writer, author of the autobiography Unorthodox

Peter Gould 1962–

Television writer and producer on Breaking Bad

Bachelor of Arts

Also attended: University of Southern California

Sawako Ariyoshi 1931–1984

Japanese novelist and writer

Hope Cooke 1940–

Author, historian and last Queen of Sikkim

Spouse: Mike Wallace (Columbia University in the City of New York)

Jennifer Salt 1944–

Producer, screenwriter and former actress

Father: Waldo Salt (Stanford University)

Carolyn Kizer 1925–2014

Poet and 1985 Pulitzer Prize winner

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1945

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, University of Washington-Seattle Campus

Maggie Haberman 1973–

White House correspondent for The New York Times

Susan Meiselas 1948–

Documentary photographer with Magnum Photos

Also attended: Harvard University

Patricia Bosworth 1933–2020

Journalist, biographer and actress

Attended until 1955

Alec Soth 1969–

Photographer based in Minneapolis

Elisabeth Young-Bruehl 1946–2011

Psychoanalyst and biographer of Hannah Arendt

Also attended: The New School

Lucinda Childs 1940–

Postmodern dancer and choreographer

Cathleen Schine 1953–

Novelist

Spouse: David Denby (Columbia University in the City of New York, Stanford University)

Randa Jarrar 1978–

Writer and translator, author of A Map of Home

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, The University of Texas at Austin

Lee Radziwill 1933–2019

Socialite; sister of Jacqueline Kennedy

Father: John Vernou Bouvier III (Yale University)

Mother: Janet Lee Bouvier (Barnard College, Vassar College)

Cornelia Fort 1919–1943

Aviator who witnessed the Pearl Harbor attack

Eva Golinger 1973–

Lawyer, writer and journalist

Also attended: CUNY School of Law