Notable UK university alumni

Samuel Daniel

playwright · 1563–1619

Poet and historian

University of Oxford

Sandrine Holt

film actor · b. 1972

British-born Canadian actress

ARU London

Sati Kazanova

singer · b. 1982

Russian pop music singer in the girl group Fabrika (b.1982)

Royal Academy of Music, University of London

Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah

diplomat · 1915–2000

Pakistani diplomat (1915–2000)

SOAS University of London

Sir William Jardine, 7th Baronet

ornithologist · 1800–1874

Scottish ornithologist and naturalist (1800–1874)

The University of Edinburgh

Steve Heighway

association football coach · b. 1947

Irish association football player

University of Warwick

Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qasimi

autobiographer · b. 1939

Member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates

Durham University · University of Exeter

Suniti Kumar Chatterji

linguist · 1890–1977

Bengali linguist (1890–1977)

ARU London

Susanna Mälkki

woman conductor · b. 1969

Finnish conductor and cellist

Royal Academy of Music, University of London

Tamsin Greig

film actor · b. 1966

British actress (born 1966)

University of Birmingham

Thomas Brisbane

politician · 1773–1860

British Army general

The University of Edinburgh

Tom Glynn-Carney

film actor · b. 1995

British actor

Guildhall School of Music & Drama

British physicist (1932–2016)

The University of Edinburgh

Tom Riley

film actor · b. 1981

English actor

LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art) · University of Birmingham

Valentine Strasser

politician · b. 1967

Sierra Leonean politician

University of Warwick

William Burges

designer · 1827–1881

English architect (1827–1881)

King's College London, University of London

William Muir

philologist · 1819–1905

Scottish Orientalist and colonial administrator (1819–1905)

The University of Edinburgh

Adam Osborne

non-fiction writer · 1939–2003

American writer and software publisher (1939-2003)

University of Birmingham

Adrian Goldsworthy

military historian · b. 1969

Welsh historian and author

University of Oxford

British journalist

Cardiff University

British actor

University of Warwick

Alfred Ewing

civil engineer · 1855–1935

British physicist and engineer (1855-1935)

The University of Edinburgh

Ama K. Abebrese

film actor · b. 1980

Ghanaian Actress, television presenter, producer.

St Mary's University, Twickenham

British composer and former actress

Goldsmiths, University of London

Amha Selassie

sovereign · 1916–1997

Emperor-in-exile of Ethiopia (1916–1997)

University of Liverpool

British biologist

University of Manchester

Annita Demetriou

politician · b. 1985

Cypriot politician (born 1985)

University of Kent

British actor

Guildhall School of Music & Drama

Audley Harrison

boxer · b. 1971

British boxer

Brunel University of London

Carrie Johnson

press secretary · b. 1988

British press officer, wife of Boris Johnson

University of Warwick

Caryl Churchill

translator · b. 1938

British dramatist

University of Oxford

Charlotte Hope

film actor · b. 1988

British actress (born 1988)

University of Oxford

British chemist (1893-1970)

ARU London · Imperial College London

Clare Higgins

film actor · b. 1955

British actress

LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)

Clifford Edmund Bosworth

university teacher · 1928–2015

British historian and orientalist (1928–2015)

The University of Edinburgh

D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson

classical scholar · 1860–1948

Scottish biologist, mathematician, and classics scholar (*1860 – †1948)

The University of Edinburgh

Dai Greene

athletics competitor · b. 1986

Welsh 400 hurdler

University of Bath

Edward Luttwak

geopolitical analyst · b. 1942

American writer and military strategist

London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London

Edward Rutledge

governor · 1749–1800

American politician, youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence (1749-1800)

University of Oxford

Eluned Morgan

politician · b. 1967

First Minister of Wales, 2024–2026

University of Hull

Eoin MacNeill

university teacher · 1867–1945

Irish politician and scholar (1867-1945)

Queen's University Belfast

Scottish fiction, history and travel writer (1899–1974)

University of Aberdeen

British children's writer (1925–2010)

Durham University

British actress

LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)

Freddie Fox

film actor · b. 1989

British actor (born 1989)

Guildhall School of Music & Drama

British actress

Guildhall School of Music & Drama

Granville Bantock

choreographer · 1868–1946

British composer and conductor (1868-1946)

Royal Academy of Music, University of London · University of Birmingham

Greg Wise

film actor · b. 1966

English actor

Heriot-Watt University · The University of Edinburgh

Hannah New

film actor · b. 1984

British actress

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London

Hector Boece

philosopher · 1465–1536

Scottish philosopher and historian (1465–1536)

University of St Andrews

Helen Glover

rower · b. 1986

British rower

Cardiff Metropolitan University

Henry Nicholas Ridley

scientific collector · 1855–1956

English botanist and geologist (1855–1956)

University of Oxford

Jake Wightman

athletics competitor · b. 1994

Scottish male middle-distance runner

Loughborough University

James Gibbs

architect · 1683–1754

Scottish architect (1683–1754)

University of Aberdeen

Jeremy Wade

biologist · b. 1956

British television presenter and author

University of Bristol

Jim Al-Khalili

theoretical physicist · b. 1962

British theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster

University of Surrey

Jimmy Finlayson

film actor · 1887–1953

Scottish actor (1887–1953)

The University of Edinburgh

Joe Jackson

recording artist · b. 1954

English musician

Royal Academy of Music, University of London

John Addington Symonds

literary critic · 1840–1893

British poet, literary critic and cultural historian (1840–1893)

University of Oxford

John Anderson

explorer · 1833–1900

Scottish anatomist and zoologist who worked in India as the curator of the Indian Museum (1833–1900)

The University of Edinburgh