Notable UK university alumni
13,528 people who studied at a UK university and have Wikipedia coverage. Ranked by international notability (number of language Wikipedias they appear in). Sourced from Wikidata.
Asma al-Assad
financial analyst · b. 1975
First Lady of Syrian Arab Republic (2000-2024)
King's College London, University of London
Brian Greene
theoretical physicist · b. 1963
American physicist
University of Oxford
David Bohm
nuclear physicist · 1917–1992
American theoretical physicist
University of Bristol
David Irving
essayist · b. 1938
British author and Holocaust denier (born 1938)
Imperial College London
Dominic Raab
minister · b. 1974
British politician (born 1974)
University of Cambridge
Freddie Highmore
film actor · b. 1992
English actor
University of Cambridge
Haider Al-Abadi
electrical engineer · b. 1952
Prime Minister of Iraq from 2014 to 2018
University of Manchester
Humza Yousaf
politician · b. 1985
6th First Minister of Scotland
University of Glasgow
James A. Michener
autobiographer · 1907–1997
American author (1907-1997)
University of St Andrews
John Boyd Dunlop
inventor · 1840–1921
Scottish inventor
The University of Edinburgh
Kemi Badenoch
author · b. 1980
British politician and Leader of the Opposition to the British Government (2024–present) and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2024 (born 1980)
Birkbeck, University of London · University of Sussex
Leslie Cheung
recording artist · 1956–2003
Hong Kong singer and actor (1956–2003)
University of Leeds
Lucian Freud
portraitist · 1922–2011
British painter and agravar (1922-2011)
Goldsmiths, University of London
Michael Houghton
virologist · b. 1949
virologist
King's College London, University of London · University of East Anglia UEA
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah
minister · b. 1952
Namibian politician
Harper and Keele Veterinary School
Oliver Hart
university teacher · b. 1948
British-born American economist
University of Warwick
Ralph Vaughan Williams
classical composer · 1872–1958
English composer (1872-1958)
Royal College of Music
Rhys Ifans
television actor · b. 1967
Welsh actor
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
anti-vaccine activist · b. 1954
American politician, environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist, and conspiracy theorist (born 1954)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Sal Khan
YouTuber · b. 1976
American educator (born 1976)
The University of Edinburgh
Stella McCartney
fashion designer · b. 1971
British fashion designer (born 1971)
Ravensbourne University London
Tobias Smollett
novelist · 1721–1771
18th-century poet and author from Scotland
University of Glasgow
Christopher Isherwood
language teacher · 1904–1986
British-American novelist (1904-1986)
King's College London, University of London
Christophoros A. Pissarides
university teacher · b. 1948
British-Cypriot economist
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Emma Corrin
actor · b. 1995
British actor (born 1995)
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)
Havelock Ellis
psychologist · 1859–1939
British physician, writer, and social reformer (1859-1939)
King's College London, University of London
James Boswell
diarist · 1740–1795
Scottish lawyer, diarist and author (1740–1795)
The University of Edinburgh · University of Glasgow
Joan Sutherland
opera singer · 1926–2010
Australian soprano (1926-2010)
Royal College of Music
Joseph Muscat
head of government · b. 1974
former Prime Minister of Malta
University of Bristol
Lynn Redgrave
film actor · 1943–2010
British actress (1943–2010)
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London
Pete Postlethwaite
film actor · 1946–2011
English character actor (1946–2011)
St Mary's University, Twickenham
Peter Capaldi
television actor · b. 1958
Scottish actor and filmmaker (born 1958)
Glasgow School of Art
Peter J. Ratcliffe
nephrologist · b. 1954
British biologist & Nobel laureate in medicine
ARU London
Peter Weiss
librettist · 1916–1982
Swedish-German playwright and author (1916–1982)
University of Westminster, London
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
novelist · 1927–2013
German-born British-American author (1927-2013)
Queen Mary University of London
Steve McQueen
video artist · b. 1969
British film director and video artist (born 1969)
Goldsmiths, University of London
Tharman Shanmugaratnam
politician · b. 1957
President of Singapore since 2023
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London · University of Cambridge
Tony Adams
association football player · b. 1966
English footballer
Brunel University of London
Varun Dhawan
film actor · b. 1987
Indian actor (born 1987)
Nottingham Trent University
A. J. P. Taylor
historian of Modern Age · 1906–1990
English historian (1906-1990)
University of Oxford
Alexander V
theologian · 1339–1410
Catholic cardinal and antipope (1339-1410)
University of Oxford
Amy Irving
television actor · b. 1953
American actress
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)
Bernard Hill
film actor · 1944–2024
British actor (1944-2024)
Manchester Metropolitan University
Bernard Lewis
Islamicist · 1916–2018
British-American historian (1916–2018)
SOAS University of London
Brian Cox
television actor · b. 1946
Scottish actor
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)
Cynthia Erivo
film actor · b. 1987
British actress and singer-songwriter (born 1987)
University of East London
Derek Jacobi
television actor · b. 1938
English actor (born 1938)
University of Cambridge
Haluk Bilginer
film actor · b. 1954
Turkish actor (born 1954)
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)
James Macpherson
translator · 1736–1796
British writer, poet, translator and politician (1736-1796)
The University of Edinburgh · University of Aberdeen
John Buchan
science fiction writer · 1875–1940
Scottish author and politician (1875–1940)
University of Glasgow
John Horton Conway
university teacher · 1937–2020
English mathematician (1937–2020)
University of Cambridge
Joseph Fiennes
television actor · b. 1970
English film and stage actor (born 1970)
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Michael Spence
university teacher · b. 1943
American economist (born 1943)
University of Oxford
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
minister · b. 1949
South African politician
University of Bristol · University of Liverpool
Parineeti Chopra
film actor · b. 1988
Indian actress and singer
University of Manchester
Princess Beatrice of York
philanthropist · b. 1988
elder daughter of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson
Goldsmiths, University of London
Robert Penn Warren
children's writer · 1905–1989
American poet, novelist, and literary critic (1905-1989)
University of Oxford
Sher Bahadur Deuba
politician · b. 1946
Prime Minister of Nepal
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson
journalist · b. 1975
prime minister of Iceland 2013 - 2016
University of Oxford
Anne Applebaum
non-fiction writer · b. 1964
American journalist and historian (born 1964)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London