Notable Alumni of The University of the Arts

Boediono 1943–

11th Vice President of Indonesia and economist

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

Ernesto Pérez Balladares 1946–

Former President of Panama

Also attended: University of Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania

Rod J. Rosenstein 1965–

37th United States Deputy Attorney General

Also attended: Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania

Sibling: Nancy E. Messonnier (University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania)

Thomas Meehan III 1921–1944

US Army paratrooper officer

Ignazio Visco 1949–

Former Governor of the Bank of Italy

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

Rob Kapito 1957–

Co-founder and president of BlackRock

Also attended: Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania

Klaus Zumwinkel 1943–

Former CEO and chairman of Deutsche Post

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

Noreena Hertz 1967–

British economist and bestselling author

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

Jared Leto 1971–

Actor and musician, Academy Award winner

Also attended: George Washington University, School of Visual Arts

Joe Dante 1946–

Film director known for Gremlins

Irving Penn 1917–2009

Photographer known for fashion work at Vogue

Attended until 1938

Ana Ortiz 1971–

Actress

Stanley Clarke 1951–

Bassist, composer, founding member of Return to Forever

Rick Yune 1971–

Actor in The Fast and the Furious

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

Sibling: Karl Yune (Columbia University in the City of New York)

KaDee Strickland 1975–

Actress

Keith Andes 1920–2005

Actor known for Blackbeard the Pirate

Also attended: Temple University

Elle King 1989–

Singer, songwriter and actress

Father: Rob Schneider (San Francisco State University)

Irene Bedard 1967–

Actress, voice of Pocahontas in 1995 film

Charles Sheeler 1883–1965

Precisionist painter and photographer

Also attended: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 1985–

Drag queen and RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars winner

Also attended: University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus

Emory Cohen 1990–

Actor

Justin Guarini 1978–

Singer, runner-up on American Idol season one

Rei Hance 1974–

Former actress in The Blair Witch Project

Kate Flannery 1964–

Actress known for Meredith Palmer on The Office

Also attended: Shenandoah University

Howard Benson 1956–

Record producer, twice Grammy Producer of the Year nominee

Also attended: Drexel University

Vincent Persichetti 1915–1987

Composer, pianist and Juilliard teacher

Also attended: Curtis Institute of Music

Jay Livingston 1915–2001

Composer, partner of Ray Evans

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

Spouse: Shirley Mitchell (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Toledo)

Sibling: Alan W. Livingston (University of Pennsylvania)

Leslie Parrish 1935–2025

Actress, activist, environmentalist and producer

Spouse: Richard Bach (California State University--Long Beach)

James Rolfe 1980–

YouTuber and filmmaker, creator of Angry Video Game Nerd

James DePreist 1936–2013

Conductor, one of the first African-American conductors worldwide

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

André Watts 1946–2023

Classical pianist

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University

Marc Blitzstein 1905–1964

Composer and lyricist of The Cradle Will Rock

Also attended: Curtis Institute of Music, University of Pennsylvania

Judith Jamison 1943–2024

Dancer and choreographer, Alvin Ailey muse

Also attended: Fisk University

Barbara Chase-Riboud 1939–

Sculptor, novelist and poet

Also attended: Temple University

Joe Chambers 1942–

Jazz drummer, pianist and composer

Jon Hurwitz 1977–

Screenwriter, Cobra Kai co-creator

Also attended: University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania

Kim Hill 1972–

Soul singer known for Black Eyed Peas work

LaChanze 1961–

Actress and singer, Tony Award winner

Also attended: Morgan State University

Spouse: Derek Fordjour (Morehouse College, Harvard University)

Maxwell Atoms 1974–

Animator, creator of Grim & Evil

Stephen Albert 1941–1992

Composer and Pulitzer Prize winner

Also attended: University of Rochester, University of Pennsylvania

Robin Eubanks 1955–

Jazz trombonist and composer

Jerry Pinkney 1939–2021

Children's book illustrator and writer

Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller 1877–1968

Harlem Renaissance sculptor, painter and poet

Spouse: Solomon Carter Fuller (Boston University)

Cal Schenkel 1947–

Illustrator known for Frank Zappa album covers

Deborah Willis 1948–

Photographer, curator and MacArthur Fellow

Also attended: CUNY--City College, Pratt Institute-Main, George Mason University

Child: Hank Willis Thomas (California College of the Arts, New York University)

Philippa Hobbs 1955–

South African art historian and artist

Louise Fishman 1939–2021

Abstract painter

Also attended: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Temple University

Deborah Remington 1930–2010

Abstract painter

Also attended: San Francisco Art Institute

Jim French 1932–2017

Photographer and artist, co-founder of Colt Studio

Harold Knerr 1882–1949

American cartoonist of The Katzenjammer Kids

John Mercanti 1943–

Sculptor, twelfth Chief Engraver of the US Mint

Edna Andrade 1917–2008

Abstract artist and early Op Artist

Also attended: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania

Linda Lee Alter 1939–

Artist, art collector and philanthropist

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh 1985–

Artist and activist behind Stop Telling Women to Smile

Daniel Palladino 1960–

Television producer and writer of Gilmore Girls

Also attended: Canada College, San Francisco State University

Loza Maléombho 1985–

Ivorian American fashion designer

Claude Clark 1915–2001

African American painter and printmaker

Also attended: California State University-Sacramento, University of California-Berkeley

Arnold Roth 1929–

Cartoonist and illustrator

Terri Kwan 1976–

Taiwanese actress and singer

Also attended: New York University

Anthony Watson 1989–

Skeleton racer who represented Jamaica at 2018 Olympics

Also attended: Roberts Wesleyan University

Effie Kapsalis 1971–2022

Open access advocate, worked at the Smithsonian Institution

Master's degree · Industrial design · Class of 2003

Also attended: Indiana University-Bloomington