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.
Marina Diamandis
recording artist · b. 1985
British singer
BIMM University · Middlesex University · University of East London
Milo Yiannopoulos
blogger · b. 1984
British political commentator
University of Manchester
Mohamed Muizzu
engineer · b. 1978
8th President of the Maldives since 2023
ARU London · University of Leeds
Natascha McElhone
autobiographer · b. 1971
British actress
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)
Nick Pope
association football player · b. 1992
English association football player (born 1992)
University of Roehampton
Princess Eugenie of York
patron of the arts · b. 1990
younger daughter of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Sarah Ferguson
Newcastle University
Robert Adam
independent publisher · 1728–1792
British neoclassical architect (1728–1792)
The University of Edinburgh
Robert Grosseteste
Catholic deacon · 1168–1253
English bishop and philosopher
University of Oxford
Sandie Shaw
recording artist · b. 1947
English pop singer (born 1947)
ARU London
Stéphane Hessel
French resistance fighter · 1917–2013
French diplomat, ambassador, writer, concentration camp survivor (1917–2013)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Abba Eban
historian · 1915–2002
Israeli diplomat and politician (1915-2002)
University of Cambridge
Abdalla Hamdok
official · b. 1956
Sudanese public administrator and former prime minister
University of Manchester
Alasdair MacIntyre
philosopher · 1929–2025
Scottish-American philosopher (1929–2025)
Queen Mary University of London · University of Manchester
Anne Enright
essayist · b. 1962
Irish writer (born 1962)
University of East Anglia UEA
Burna Boy
musician · b. 1991
Nigerian singer and songwriter (born 1991)
Oxford Brookes University · University of Sussex
Christopher Eccleston
explorer · b. 1964
English actor (born 1964)
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London · University of Salford
Ciarán Hinds
film actor · b. 1953
Northern Irish actor
Queen's University Belfast
Edward Abbey
activist · 1927–1989
American author and essayist (1927-1989)
The University of Edinburgh
Florence Welch
guitarist · b. 1986
English musician, singer and songwriter
University of the Arts London
Janet Napolitano
jurist · b. 1957
American politician, lawyer, and academic administrator (born 1957)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Jared Harris
film actor · b. 1961
British actor
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London
Jerome Bruner
pedagogue · 1915–2016
American psychologist and scholar
University of Cambridge
John Snow
epidemiologist · 1813–1858
English epidemiologist and physician (1813–1858)
ARU London
John Stewart Bell
translator · 1928–1990
Northern Irish physicist (1928–1990)
Queen's University Belfast · University of Birmingham
John Toland
philosopher · 1670–1722
Irish philosopher (1670-1722)
The University of Edinburgh · University of Glasgow
Julius Maada Bio
military officer · b. 1964
President of Sierra Leone since 2018
University of Bradford
Kazimierz Kuratowski
topologist · 1896–1980
Polish mathematician (1896–1980)
University of Glasgow
Leila Lopes
beauty pageant contestant · b. 1986
Angolan beauty pageant titleholder
University of Suffolk
Mary Quant
fashion designer · 1930–2023
British fashion designer (1930-2023)
Goldsmiths, University of London
Maurice Wilkes
university teacher · 1913–2010
British computer scientist (1913–2010)
University of Cambridge
Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway
aristocrat · b. 1973
wife of Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway
SOAS University of London
Motilal Nehru
barrister · 1861–1931
Indian lawyer and politician (1861–1931)
University of Cambridge
Paweł Pawlikowski
film screenwriter · b. 1957
Polish film director and screenwriter
University of Oxford
Richard Armitage
film actor · b. 1971
British actor
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)
Richard Robson
chemist · b. 1937
British-Australian chemist
University of Oxford
Riz Ahmed
activist · b. 1982
British actor and rapper
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London
Rufus Sewell
film actor · b. 1967
British actor (born 1967)
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London
Sam Claflin
film actor · b. 1986
British actor
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)
Siegfried Sassoon
military personnel · 1886–1967
English war poet and writer (1886-1967)
University of Cambridge
Stephen Dillane
film actor · b. 1957
British actor
University of Exeter
Thomas Graham
university teacher · 1805–1869
British chemist (1805–1869)
The University of Edinburgh
A. S. Neill
non-fiction writer · 1883–1973
Scottish educator and theorist (1883-1973)
The University of Edinburgh
Adam Ferguson
essayist · 1723–1816
Scottish philosopher and historian; (1723-1816)
The University of Edinburgh · University of St Andrews
Amina J. Mohammed
minister · b. 1961
Nigerian-British diplomat and Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
University of Reading
Antony Gormley
installation artist · b. 1950
British sculptor (born 1950)
Goldsmiths, University of London
Brian Cox
film actor · b. 1968
English physicist and musician
University of Manchester
Brian Molko
vocalist · b. 1972
Belgium-born British-American musician (born 1972)
Goldsmiths, University of London
Christabel Pankhurst
feminist · 1880–1958
suffragette, co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union, editor (1880-1958)
University of Manchester
Dominic West
film actor · b. 1969
British actor
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Edmund Gwenn
film actor · 1877–1959
British actor (1877–1959)
King's College London, University of London
Elizabeth Bowen
short story writer · 1899–1973
Anglo-Irish novelist and diarist (1899–1973)
University of Oxford
Hassan Diab
head of government · b. 1959
Lebanese engineer, academic and minister of higher education
Leeds Beckett University · University of Bath · University of Surrey
Helen Sharman
Research Cosmonaut · b. 1963
British chemist who became the first Briton in space
ARU London · Birkbeck, University of London · University of Sheffield
Ian McDiarmid
television actor · b. 1944
Scottish actor and stage director
University of St Andrews
Ian Rankin
crime fiction writer · b. 1960
Scottish writer
The University of Edinburgh
Joan Robinson
university teacher · 1903–1983
English economist (1903–1983)
University of Cambridge
John Michael Jumper
computational biologist · b. 1985
American chemist and AI expert
University of Cambridge
Kalki Koechlin
film actor · b. 1984
French actress and writer
Goldsmiths, University of London
Katie Leung
film actor · b. 1987
Scottish actress
University of the Arts London
Ken Russell
director · 1927–2011
British film director (1927–2011)
University of East London