Notable alumni of Open University

Julie Christie

film actor · b. 1940

British actress

Meles Zenawi

politician · 1955–2012

Ethiopian politician; Prime Minister of Ethiopia (1955-2012)

Talulah Riley

film actor · b. 1985

British actress

Daniel Tammet

pedagogue · b. 1979

British writer, mathematician, essayist and autistic savant

Graham Potter

association football player · b. 1975

English association football player and manager

Jerry Hall

television actor · b. 1956

American model

Japanese actress

Steve Harper

association football player · b. 1975

English association football player (born 1975)

Romola Garai

film actor · b. 1982

British actress

Holliday Grainger

film actor · b. 1988

English actress

Joan Armatrading

recording artist · b. 1950

British singer and musician

Lenny Henry

audiobook narrator · b. 1958

British-Jamaican actor and comedian

English playwright, screenwriter and novelist

Micky Dolenz

singer · b. 1945

American actor and musician

Connie Booth

television actor · b. 1940

American writer and actress (born 1940)

Scottish footballer and manager (1940–2023)

Sheila Hancock

film actor · b. 1933

British actress

John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan

trade unionist · b. 1947

British politician (born 1947)

Jamaican-English author

English football manager (1930–2012)

Sophie Ward

film actor · b. 1964

British actress

Marat Khusnullin

economist · b. 1966

Russian politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia

Nadiya Hussain

columnist · b. 1984

British-Bangladeshi baker, columnist and author

Natalya Kaspersky

entrepreneur · b. 1966

Russian business woman

Wendy Morton

politician · b. 1967

British politician (born 1967)

Martina Anderson

politician · b. 1962

Irish republican politician (born 1962)

Myleene Klass

film actor · b. 1978

English musician

Holly Willoughby

model · b. 1981

English television presenter, model and author

British murderer (1942–2002)

John McFall, Baron McFall of Alcluith

trade unionist · b. 1944

Scottish politician

British computer scientist (1924-2000)

Abeba Birhane

artificial intelligence researcher

Ethiopian-born cognitive scientist

Catherine Stihler

researcher · b. 1973

Scottish politician, member of the European Parliament 1999-2019

Kenyan immunologist, paediatrician and educator

British writer (1928–2011)

British archaeologist and academic

Ingrid Robeyns

women's rights activist · b. 1972

Belgian and Dutch philosopher

Charmaine Pereira

writer · b. 1958

Nigerian writer and feminist scholar

Robin Wilson

historian of mathematics · b. 1943

English mathematician

Royal Air Force officer

Marina Yannakoudakis

politician · b. 1956

British Conservative Member of the European Parliament (born 1956)

Lewis Oliva

sport cyclist · b. 1992

racing cyclist

Pauline Green

non-fiction writer · b. 1948

British Labour politician, MEP, DBE, President of the International Co-operative Alliance (born 1948)

Ash Regan

politician · b. 1974

Scottish politician

Martyn Roper

diplomat · b. 1965

British diplomat

English actress

N. Lee Wood

novelist · b. 1955

American writer

Helen Lewis

editing staff · b. 1983

British journalist

Andrea Jenkyns

music teacher · b. 1974

British politician (born 1974)

Barbara Follett

politician · b. 1942

British politician (born 1942)

Jean Corston, Baroness Corston

politician · b. 1942

British politician (born 1942)

Vera Baird

barrister · b. 1950

British politician (born 1950)

British psychologist (1928–1996)

Northern Irish politician (1953-2007)

Tamsin Omond

climate activist · b. 1984

British author, environmental activist and journalist

June Barrow-Green

professor of mathematics · b. 1953

British mathematician and historian of mathematics

Lorely Burt

politician · b. 1954

British politician (born 1954)

Mike German, Baron German

politician · b. 1945

British politician (born 1945)

Labour politician (born 1947)

Carál Ní Chuilín

politician · b. 1964

Irish politician (born 1964)

British musicologist

Simon Kirby

politician · b. 1964

British politician (born 1964)

Illustrator and comic strip creator (1918-1985)

British volcanologist

Sara Russell

meteorologist · b. 1966

earth scientist; leader of the Planetary Materials Group at the Natural History Museum, London

Elin Williams

activist · b. 2000

Welsh disability blogger (blurred vision)

British peer (1900–1990)

Sam Cutler

music executive · 1943–2023

American music executive

Paul Marsden

politician · b. 1968

British politician (born 1968)

British diplomat (born 1962)

British broadcaster and actor (1914-2004)

Meg Munn

politician · b. 1959

British Labour Co-op politician

Dennis Rogan, Baron Rogan

politician · b. 1942

British politician

Irish writer

Alexander Stewart

politician · b. 1962

politician (born 1962)

Mark Kent

diplomat · b. 1966

British diplomat

Aimee Knight

politician · b. 1997

British politician and activist

British anarchist cartoonist and writer (1928–2019)

Nick Forbes

politician · b. 1973

British politician (born 1973)

Scottish politician (born 1945)

Joan Freeman

psychologist · b. 1958

Irish psychologist and politician

Oľga Algayerová

diplomat · b. 1959

Slovak diplomat

Tim Elliott

geochemist

English geochemist and professor of earth sciences

Prem Sikka

statutory auditor · b. 1951

British accounting academic

researcher

Charles Hay

diplomat · b. 1965

British diplomat. Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission, Spain 2006-2009, Director, Consular Services, Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2009-2014, Ambassador to South Korea 2015-2018

Brian Wilson

politician · b. 1943

independent politician in Northern Ireland (born 1943)

Joe Pasquale

voice actor · b. 1961

English comedian

British mathematician and historian of mathematics

Irish investigative journalist

Irish writer

British writer

Peter Hudson

naval officer · b. 1961

British Navy admiral

Robin Swann

politician · b. 1971

Northern Irish politician (born 1971)

Andrea Byrne

journalist · b. 1978

British journalist

Laura María Agustín

social scientist · b. 1945

sociologist

Derek Wyatt

rugby union player · b. 1949

England rugby union player – MP (born 1949)

American astronomer

Claire Hanna

council member · b. 1980

politician from Northern Ireland (born 1980)

Rhoda Grant

trade unionist · b. 1963

British politician (born 1963)

British viscountess (born 1933)

British politician (1942–2023)

Ekaterina Jurevna Semjonova

politician · b. 1972

Russian politician

British journalist and broadcasting campaigner (1927-2014)

British aviation pioneer

Dylan Wiliam

pedagogue · b. 2000

Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of London

Laura Sandys

politician · b. 1964

British politician (born 1964)

David Heyes

politician · b. 1946

British politician (born 1946)

Bristow Muldoon

politician · b. 1964

Scottish Labour politician (born 1964)

Drew Smith

politician · b. 1950

British politician

Margaret Mitchell

politician · b. 1952

British politician (born 1952)

European civil servant from Italy

English nurse

Laurie Brokenshire

magician · 1952–2017

Royal Naval officer (1952–2017)

researcher

Carmen Sandi

behavior geneticist · b. 1961

Spanish behavioral neuroscientist

British academic and policy campaigner

Scottish rugby union player born 2000

Ethiopian businessman, electrical and communications engineer

Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with Albinism

Allison Gardner

politician

British politician, from 2024, Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent South

Eileen Scanlon

researcher · b. 1951

British academic

John Domingue

researcher · b. 2000

Semantic Web services researcher

British actor and model (1942-2008)

diplomat

Jonathan Clark

Anglican priest · b. 1961

Bishop of Croydon

British politician (born 1944)

Lionel Fanthorpe

ufologist · b. 1935

British writer, entertainer and priest

British television presenter

British writer

Missionary in China

British geologist (1909-2001)

Special Educational Needs educator, psychologist, researcher and author

Footballer (born 1983)

British musician

Jenny Preece

information scientist · b. 1949

American computer scientist

Northern Irish politician (1957-1998)

singer, songwriter, actor, TV presenter

Claire Clancy

civil servant · b. 1958

Chief Executive and Clerk to the National Assembly for Wales

British actor

English Labour Co-operative politician (1946-2009)

British trade unionist

Steuart Campbell

non-fiction writer · b. 1937

British writer

English footballer (born 1952)

British writer

John Barnard Jenkins

soldier · 1933–2020

Welsh nationalist and soldier (1933–2020)

Martin Harris

diplomat · b. 1969

British diplomat (born 1969)

Linguist, Associate Professor of Law, Nihon University

British officer, memoirist (1921–2016)

George Edgar

diplomat · b. 1960

British diplomat