List of Wellesley College people

The following is a list of individuals associated with Wellesley College through attending as a student, or serving as a member of the faculty or staff. Dates indicate the year of graduation.

Notable alumnae

Academia

Virginia Abernethy, 1955 - anthropologist
Michele Moody-Adams, 1978 - dean, Columbia College
Patricia Bizzell, 1970 - professor of English
Claudia Lauper Bushman, 1956 - historian
Margaret Clapp, 1930 - former president, Wellesley College
Frances Daly Fergusson, 1965 - former president, Vassar College
Margaret Henderson Floyd - art historian
Wendy Lee Gramm, 1966 - economist
Marjorie Grene, 1931 - philosopher, one of the first philosophers to raise questions about the synthetic theory of evolution
Carolyn Gold Heilbrun , 1947 - professor of English literature at Columbia University, and mystery novelist under the name "Amanda Cross"
Ayesha Jalal, 1978 - historian
Amalie Kass, 1949 - historian
Nannerl O. Keohane , 1961 - political theorist, university president
Rosalind E. Krauss, 1962 - art critic, professor, theorist
Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz , 1963 - historian
Phyllis Williams Lehmann, 1934 - archaeologist
Jean Kilbourne , 1964 - author, expert on the image of women in advertising
Mary Lefkowitz , 1957 - classical scholar
Helen Abbot Merrill, 1886 - mathematician
Winifred Edgerton Merrill, 1883 - mathematician, first woman to receive a PhD in mathematics
Ellen Fitz Pendleton, 1886 - mathematician, former president of Wellesley College
Mary Lyndon Shanley, 1966 - legal scholar, professor of political science at Vassar College
Ellen Umansky, 1972 - professor of Judaic studies
Diana Chapman Walsh, 1966 - former president, Wellesley College
Ernestine Wiedenbach, 1922 - nursing theorist
Patricia J. Williams , 1972 - law professor at Columbia University, recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (also known as the "genius award")

Art

Molly Bang , 1965 -, illustrator
Anita Berrizbeitia, 1987 - landscape architect
Emilie Benes Brzezinski , 1953 - sculptor
Katherine K. Davis , 1914 -, composer, pianist, and author of the famous Christmas tune "The Little Drummer Boy".
Mary Rockwell Hook, 1900 - architect
Jennifer Maestre, 1981 - sculptor
Eleanor Raymond, 1909 - architect, designed and built the first occupied solar-powered house in the US
Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, 1957 - urban planner, landscape architect

Business

Joan Wallace-Benjamin, 1975 - CEO of The Home for Little Wanderers
Robin Chase, 1980 - co-founder of Zipcar
Mary Cunningham Agee, 1973 - President, The Nurturing Network, one of the first women to break the glass ceiling at Fortune 100 companies
Ellen Rubin Gordon, 1952 - President and COO, Tootsie Roll Industries
Heather Higgins, 1981 - nonprofit executive, political commentator
Rosemary Jordano, 1984 - Founder of ChildrenFirst, provider of backup childcare for corporations
Lois Juliber , 1971 - Vice Chairman of Colgate-Palmolive
Ellen Marram, 1968 - former President of Seagrams, Nabisco, and Tropicana
Elizabeth Parr-Johnston, 1961 - economist
Marion Sandler, 1952 - CEO and founder of Golden West Financial
Robin Smith, 1961 - Chairman and former CEO, Publishers Clearing House and President and GM of Dell Publishing at Doubleday
Lulu Chow Wang, 1966 - founder and CEO, Tupelo Capital Management

Government and public service

Bertha Adkins, 1928 - former Undersecretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
Madeleine Albright, 1959 - former United States Secretary of State
Carolina Barco, 1973 - Colombian Ambassador to the U.S.
Jane Bolin, 1928 - First African-American woman to become a judge
Sophonisba Breckinridge, 1888 - activist
Janath R. Cannon, 1939 - counselor to the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Wilma Chan, 1971 - California Democrat
Madame Chiang Kai-shek née Soong May-ling, 1917 - former First Lady of the Republic of China
Marguerite S. Church, 1915 - U.S. Representative from Illinois
Hillary Rodham Clinton, 1969 - United States Secretary of State, former U.S. Senator (D-New York), former First Lady of the United States
Ophelia Dahl, 1994 - executive director of Partners In Health, daughter of children's author Roald Dahl and actress Patricia Neal
Molly Dewson, 1897 - feminist, political activist
Carolyn Dykema, 1989 - Massachusetts state representative
Christine Durham, 1967 - chief justice, Utah Supreme Court
Susan Estrich, 1974 - lawyer, professor, author, feminist advocate and commentator for Fox News
Colette Flesch, 1960 - Luxembourg politician and Olympic fencer
Cynthia Glassman, 1967 - commissioner of the SEC
Susan P. Graber, 1969 - circuit judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Aurelia Harwood - philanthropist, president of Sierra Club (1927 - 1928)
Farahnaz Ispahani, 1985 - member of Pakistan's parliament, spokesperson for the president of Pakistan, journalist
Katie Johnson, 2003 - personal secretary to President Barack Obama
Amalya Lyle Kearse, 1959 - judge, United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit, five time U.S. Champion bridge player
Nancy K. Kopp, 1965 - Treasurer of Maryland
Sandra L. Lynch, 1968 - chief judge, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Lindsey Miller-Lerman, 1968 - justice, Nebraska Supreme Court
Mary V. Mochary, 1963 - attorney and Republican politician, formerly mayor of Montclair, New Jersey
Helen Barrett Montgomery, 1884 - women's rights activist, church leader, Bible translator
Alicia Haydock Munnell, 1964 - economist
Helen O'Bannon, 1961 - economist
Anne W. Patterson, 1971 - former Acting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Ruth Baker Pratt, 1898 - congresswoman from 1929 to 1933, first woman elected to Congress from New York
Reena Raggi, 1973 - U.S. federal judge
Diane Ravitch, 1960 - historian, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education
Jennifer Eplett Reilly, 1985 - Co-founder of City Year
Desiree Rogers, 1981 - public relations executive, White House Social Secretary
Vanessa Ruiz, 1972 - Associate Judge, District of Columbia Court of Appeals
Michele J. Sison, 1981 - American diplomat, US Ambassador to Lebanon since 2008

Journalism

Marian Burros, 1954 - New York Times food columnist and cookbook author
Michelle Caruso-Cabrera , 1991 - reporter for CNBC, winner of an Emmy Award
Jennifer Chang , 1991 - journalist, reporter for CBS Radio News
Kimberly Dozier , 1987 - correspondent for CBS News, winner of the Peabody Award (2008)
Elizabeth Drew, 1957 - political journalist
Nikki Finke, 1975 - entertainment/media journalist, deadline.com
Geneva Overholser, 1970 - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, director of the School of Journalism at the USC Annenberg School for Communication
Page Hopkins - journalist, co-anchor on Fox News and anchor on NBC/MSNBC
Robin Reisig, 1966 - print journalist, lecturer at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism
Cokie Roberts , 1964 - senior news correspondent at National Public Radio, winner of the Emmy Award (1991) and Edward R. Murrow Award (1990), former host at ABC This Week with Sam Donaldson & Cokie Roberts
Carla Robbins, 1974, journalist, member of the NY Times Editorial Board
Marion K. Sanders, 1925 - journalist, editor of Harper's Magazine
Diane Sawyer , 1967 - journalist, host of ABC Good Morning America, winner of a 2004 George Polk award for excellence in journalism
Susan Sheehan , 1958 - journalist, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction (1983)
Lynn Sherr , 1963 - correspondent for ABC 20/20, co-winner of the Peabody Award (1994)
Marilyn Silverstone, 1950 - photo-journalist and Buddhist nun
Jennifer Vanasco, 1994 - syndicated columnist and theater critic
Linda Wertheimer , 1965 - journalist, National Public Radio, winner of the DuPont-Columbia Award (1978) for excellence in journalism

Literature

Harriet Stratemeyer Adams , 1914 - author of Nancy Drew series, pen name Carolyn Keene -
Lisa Alther, 1966 - author, novelist
Katharine Lee Bates , 1880 - author of the words to the anthem America the Beautiful
Carol Bly , 1951 - short story author, essayist
Florence Converse, 1893 - author
Diane Mott Davidson (attended but later transferred to another college), mystery writer
Marjory Stoneman Douglas , 1912 - conservationist and writer
Norma Farber, 1931 - children's book writer and poet
Rosario Ferré, 1960 - poet
Alex Finlayson, 1973 - playwright
Abigail Garner , 1997 - author of Families Like Mine
Shirlee Taylor Haizlip, 1959 - nonfiction writer
Lisa Kleypas , 1986 - romance novelist, former Miss Massachusetts
Judith Krantz , 1948 - novelist
Helen Hooven Santmyer , 1918 - writer
Jane Langton, 1944 - mystery writer, author of children's literature
Judith Martin , 1959 - newspaper columnist (Miss Manners)
Jean Merrill, 1945 - author and editor of children's books
Santha Rama Rau, 1945 - travel writer
Mildred Savage , 1941 - novelist
Nayantara Pandit Sahgal , 1947, novelist, niece of Jawaharlal Nehru and cousin of Indira Gandhi
Cathy Song, 1977 - poet
Reetika Vazirani 1984 - poet
Bing Xin, 1926 - Chinese poet, essayist, short-story writer
Ann Zwinger, 1946 - natural history writer

Media and entertainment

Laura Allen, 1996 - actress, All My Children, Mona Lisa Smile
Barbara Babcock , 1960 - actress
Blanche Baker , 1978 - Emmy-winning actress and sculptress - aka Blanche Garfein, aka Blanche Van Dusen
Kay B. Barrett, 1924 - highly influential Hollywood talent scout and agent, brought Gone With The Wind to the screen
Lizzie Borden (filmmaker) - filmmaker
Adele Buck , 1912 - silent film actress aka Vedah Bertram
Debra Chasnoff, 1978 - filmmaker
Phyllis Curtin, 1943 - opera singer
Suzanne Davis (pianist), 1976 - jazz pianist
Jo Duffy - editor and writer of comic books
Nora Ephron , 1962 - movie screenplay writer (When Harry Met Sally...), writer and director (Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail)
Nancy Friday, 1955 - author
Daisy Gardner , 1997 - television writer
Barbara Lea, 1951 - actress and singer
Ellen Levine, 1964 - editor, first woman editor of Good Housekeeping, editor Redbook, Woman's Day, Cosmopolitan
Wendy Liebman, 1983 - stand-up comedian
Ali MacGraw , 1960 - actress
Anne Revere, 1926 - film, stage, television actress, whose career was cut short by the 1950's Communist blacklist
Elisabeth Shue (transferred to Harvard), actress
Natalie Sleeth , 1952 - composer
Alice Stewart Trillin, 1960 - author, educator, film producer
Michelle Yip , 1998 - Chinese actress, left before graduation to pursue an acting career in Hong Kong after winning Miss Chinese International Pageant
Patricia Zipprodt 1946 , Tony Award-winning costume designer -

Science and Medicine

Leah Allen, M.A. 1912 - astronomer
JudyAnn Bigby, 1973 - internist, Secretary of Health and Human Services (Massachusetts)
Annie Jump Cannon , 1884 - astronomer, developed the well-known Harvard Classification of stars based upon temperature
Harriet Creighton, 1929 - botanist, geneticist, educator, with Barbara McClintock proved that genetic recombination occurred through chromosomal crossover
Jane Fay Desforges, 1942 - hematologist, associate editor, New England Journal of Medicine
Louise Dolan, 1971 - mathematical physicist, cosmological and superstring theorist
Persis Drell , 1977 - physicist, director of the Stanford Linear Accelerator
Muriel Gardiner, 1922 - psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, likely the basis for the character "Julia" in Lillian Hellman's "Pentimento"
Winifred Goldring, 1909 - pioneering female paleontologist
Terri Grodzicker, 1963 - molecular geneticist, virologist, Dean of Academic Affairs, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Judith Goslin Hall, 1961 - pediatrician and clinical geneticist
Harriet Louise Hardy, 1928 - pioneer in occupational health, first woman to become a full professor at Harvard Medical School
Erna Schneider Hoover, 1932 - computer scientist, invented computer switching of telephone traffic at Bell Labs
Frances L. Ilg, 1925 - pediatrician, authority on child rearing and behavior, author of classic popular books on child development
Rebecca Lancefield, 1916 - microbiologist, developed serologic classification of beta-hemolytic streptococci
Story Landis, 1967 - neuroscientist, Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Martha McClintock , 1970 - biopsychologist, discoverer of human pheremones
Pamela Melroy , 1983 - astronaut, space shuttle commander
Vivan Pinn, 1963 - pathologist, Director of the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health
Jennifer Thaler, 1993 - professor of entomology at Cornell University
Isabel Bassett Wasson, 1918 - petroleum geologist and National Park Service ranger
Naomi Weisstein, 1961 - professor of psychology, neuroscientist, author
Mary Allen Wilkes, 1959 - computer scientist, developed the concept of the operating system, first person to use a home computer

Other

Anya Corke, 2013 - chess player, Woman Grandmaster
Betty Freeman, 1942 - philanthropist, patron of contemporary classical music including John Cage, Phillip Glass, and Pierre Boulez
Asma Gull Hasan, 1997 - Muslim feminist writer, lawyer
Heidi Howkins 1989 - professional mountain climber/expedition leader, only woman to lead expeditions to both Everest and K-2
Ruth Rowland Nichols, 1924 - aviation pioneer
Charlotte Anita Whitney, 1889 - women's rights and political activist, suffragist, Communist Party organizer

Fictional alumnae

Dr. Miranda Bailey, from Grey's Anatomy
Beth Davenport, from The Rockford Files
Gillian Holroyd and Merle Kittridge from the 1958 film Bell, Book and Candle
Sarah McNerney, from Just Married
Katharine Parker, from the 1988 film Working Girl
Shirley Schmidt, from Boston Legal
Allison Sugarbaker, from Designing Women
Mia Mason, from Cashmere Mafia

Notable faculty

Edith Abbott - a social worker, educator, and author
Emily Greene Balch - economist, peace activist, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
Katherine Lee Bates - Author of America the Beautiful; also Wellesley College alumna.
Frank Bidart - poet
Harriet Boyd-Hawes - archaeologist
Howard Mayer Brown, musicologist
Mary Bunting, microbiologist and academic administrator
Mary Whiton Calkins, philosopher
Annie Jump Cannon - astronomer
Karl "Chip" Case - economist
Dan Chiasson - poet
Katharine Coman - economist
Francis Judd Cooke - composer
Constance DeFotis - musician
Sirarpie Der-Nersessian - art historian
Carlos Dorrien - sculptor
Alicia Erian - novelist
David Ferry - poet and translator
Edmund Barry Gaither - art historian
Marshall Goldman - economist and author
June Goodfield - philosopher and historian of science
Jorge Guillén - poet
Kathleen Hirsch - writer
Walter Houghton - historian of Victorian literature
Nannerl O. Keohane - political theorist; president of the college 1981-1993; also Wellesley College alumna
Philip L. Kohl - anthropologist
Hedwig Kohn - physicist
Mathilde Laigle - historian, author
Mary Lefkowitz - classical scholar; also Wellesley College alumna
Tom Lehrer - American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, and mathematician
Jon D. Levenson - theologian
Peggy Levitt - sociology
Margaret Eliza Maltby - physicist
Julián Marías - philosopher
Tony Martin- historian
Mildred H. McAfee - former president of Wellesley College, first director of the WAVES
Helen Abbot Merrill - mathematician (and alumna)
Vladimir Nabokov - author
James F. O'Gorman - architectural historian
Alice Freeman Palmer - educator, first woman president of a nationally-known college (Wellesley College)
Josephine Preston Peabody - poet, dramatist
Ellen Fitz Pendleton - mathematician, former president of Wellesley College, alumna
Robert Pinsky - poet
Adrian Piper - philosopher
Judith Roitman - mathematician
Richard Rorty - philosopher
Paul J. Sachs - art historian
Allen Sapp (composer) - musician
Alice T. Schafer - mathematician
Alan Schechter - political scientist
Mary Scott - biochemist, pioneer in the identification of B complex vitamins
Vida Dutton Scudder - writer, educator, welfare activist
Mary Sears - oceanographer
Marilyn Sides - writer
Emily Vermeule - art historian
Claude Vigée - poet
Alice Walker - author
Sarah Frances Whiting - astronomer
Mary Emma Woolley - Bible scholar, academic administrator