Notable Alumni of School of Visual Arts

Jared Leto 1971–

Actor and musician, Academy Award winner

Also attended: George Washington University, University of the Arts

Keith Haring 1958–1990

Pop and street artist and activist

Also attended: The Art Institute of Pittsburgh

Bryan Singer 1965–

Film director and producer

Also attended: University of Southern California

Gerard Way 1977–

Lead vocalist of My Chemical Romance and comic writer

Attended until 1999

Spouse: Lindsey Way (Pratt Institute-Main)

Steve Ditko 1927–2018

Comic artist, co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange

Michael Giacchino 1967–

Film, television and video game composer

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, The Juilliard School

Sibling: Anthony Giacchino (Villanova University)

James Ransone 1979–2025

Actor known for The Wire

Morten Tyldum 1967–

Norwegian director of The Imitation Game

Fred Armisen 1966–

Comedian, actor and musician; co-created Portlandia

Rita Mae Brown 1944–

Feminist writer, author of Rubyfruit Jungle

Also attended: University of Florida, New York University, Union Institute and University

Rebecca Sugar 1987–

Animator, creator of Steven Universe

Ti West 1980–

Horror film director and screenwriter

Rama Duwaji 1997–

Artist and wife of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani

Master of Fine Arts

Also attended: Virginia Commonwealth University

Spouse: Zohran Mamdani (Bowdoin College, Bank Street College of Education)

Mariam Ghani 1978–

Visual artist and filmmaker

Also attended: New York University

Father: Ashraf Ghani (Harvard University, Columbia University in the City of New York)

Mother: Rula Ghani (Columbia University in the City of New York)

Craig Gillespie 1967–

Director of I, Tonya and Cruella

Carlos Saldanha 1965–

Brazilian animator who directed Ice Age and Rio films

Master's degree · Art

Federico Castelluccio 1964–

Actor and painter known for The Sopranos

Vivienne Medrano 1992–

Animator, creator of Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss

Trevor Moore 1980–2021

Comedian and founding member of The Whitest Kids U' Know

Joe Quesada 1962–

Comic book artist, writer and editor

Samuel Bayer 1962–

Music video director known for Nirvana videos

Bill Plympton 1946–

Animator and filmmaker, known for Your Face

Attended until 1960

Also attended: Portland State University

Wally Wood 1927–1981

Comic artist known for MAD Magazine work

John R. Dilworth 1963–

Animator, creator of Courage the Cowardly Dog

Michael Cuesta 1963–

Director of Dexter and Homeland episodes

Enrico Casarosa 1971–

Pixar director of La Luna and Luca

Also attended: Fashion Institute of Technology

Eric Stanton 1926–1999

Underground cartoonist and fetish art pioneer

Lorna Simpson 1960–

Photographer and multimedia artist

Also attended: University of California-San Diego

Spouse: James Casebere (Michigan State University)

Rahul Khanna 1972–

Indian Bollywood actor

Jane Wagner 1935–

American writer, director and producer

Spouse: Lily Tomlin (Wayne State University)

Slaine 1977–

Rapper and actor

Jonathan Roumie 1974–

Actor who plays Jesus in The Chosen

Adrian Piper 1948–

Conceptual artist and Kantian philosopher

Also attended: Harvard University, CUNY--City College

Jarin Blaschke 1978–

Cinematographer with two Oscar nominations

Tim Sale 1956–2022

Comics artist known for Batman works

Also attended: University of Washington-Seattle Campus

Derek Drymon 1968–

Animator, writer, storyboard artist and director

Manuel DeLanda 1952–

Mexican-American writer, artist and philosopher

Patrick McDonnell 1956–

Cartoonist, creator of the comic strip Mutts

Angelina Nikonova 1976–

Russian film director, screenwriter and producer

KAWS 1974–

Artist and designer born Brian Donnelly

Raina Telgemeier 1977–

Cartoonist, author of Smile

Andrea Fraser 1965–

Performance artist and UCLA professor

Attended until 1984

Also attended: New York University

Lorne Lanning 1964–

Game designer, co-founder of Oddworld Inhabitants

Also attended: California Institute of the Arts

Stanley Greene 1949–2017

Photojournalist

Elizabeth Peyton 1965–

Contemporary artist known for portraits

Peter Bagge 1957–

Cartoonist known for Neat Stuff and Hate

Miguel Chevalier 1959–

French digital and virtual artist

Also attended: Pratt Institute-Main

Ross Andru 1927–1993

Comics artist and co-creator of The Punisher

Kazimieras G. Prapuolenis 1959–

Cartoonist, animator and writer known as Kaz

Robin Byrd 1957–

Actress and television host

Also attended: CUNY Bernard M Baruch College

Herb Trimpe 1939–2015

Comics artist known for The Incredible Hulk

Also attended: State University of New York at New Paltz, Empire State University

James Jean 1979–

Taiwanese-American visual artist

Joe Sinnott 1926–2020

Comic artist known for Marvel's Fantastic Four

Lili Almog 1961–

Israeli photographer and mixed media artist

Phil Jimenez 1970–

Comics artist and writer of Wonder Woman

Tom Sito 1956–

Animator and USC professor

Jerry Beck 1955–

Animation historian and author

Alvin Baltrop 1948–2004

Photographer of Hudson River piers and gay men

John Paul Leon 1972–2021

American comic book artist

Fay Chiang 1952–2017

Asian American poet, writer, visual artist and activist

Illustration

Also attended: CUNY Hunter College

Roya Ramezani

Iranian designer and women's rights campaigner