Notable alumni of University of East Anglia UEA

Kazuo Ishiguro

science fiction writer · b. 1954

British novelist (born 1954)

Ian McEwan

film screenwriter · b. 1948

British author (born 1948)

Matt Smith

film actor · b. 1982

English actor (born 1982)

Tupou VI of Tonga

naval officer · b. 1959

King of Tonga

Paul Nurse

neurobiologist · b. 1949

Nobel prize winning British biochemist

John Rhys-Davies

film actor · b. 1944

Welsh actor

Michael Houghton

virologist · b. 1949

virologist

Anne Enright

essayist · b. 1962

Irish writer (born 1962)

John Boyne

short story writer · b. 1971

Irish novelist (born 1971)

Jack Davenport

film actor · b. 1973

British actor

Tracy Chevalier

novelist · b. 1962

American writer

Sarah Gilbert

immunologist · b. 1962

British vaccinologist

James Frain

film actor · b. 1968

English stage and screen actor (born 1968)

Binyavanga Wainaina

journalist · 1971–2019

Kenyan writer (1971–2019)

Gurinder Chadha

director · b. 1960

British film director

Ayobami Adebayo

novelist · b. 1988

Nigerian author

Carlyle Glean

politician · 1932–2021

Grenadian politician (1932–2021)

Paul Whitehouse

television actor · b. 1958

Welsh comedian, presenter, actor (born 1958)

David Almond

young adult author · b. 1951

British children's writer (born 1951)

Tatiana de Rosnay

novelist · b. 1961

French journalist and writer

English author, chancellor of the University of East Anglia

English author, novelist, game writer and television producer (born 1974)

South African-based novelist

Mathias Cormann

minister · b. 1970

Australian politician

Össur Skarphéðinsson

university teacher · b. 1953

Icelandic politician

Helon Habila

university teacher · b. 1967

Nigerian novelist and poet

Martin Tyler

sports journalist · b. 1945

British football commentator (born 1945)

James Vowles

team manager · b. 1979

British motorsport engineer

Douglas Carswell

researcher · b. 1971

British politician (born 1971)

Teima Onorio

politician · b. 1963

Kiribati politician

Jeff Minter

programmer · b. 1962

British video game designer (born 1962)

Andrew Miller

novelist · b. 1960

English novelist

Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos

sociologist · b. 1954

British diplomat (born 1954)

Olufunke Baruwa

activist · b. 1976

Nigeria gender activist

Caroline Flint

politician · b. 1961

British politician (born 1961)

Tito Mboweni

economist · 1959–2024

South African politician

Louise Doughty

theatre critic · b. 1963

English novelist, playwright and journalist

Charlie Higson

pop musician · b. 1958

British actor, comedian and author

English actor

Simon Scarrow

university teacher · b. 1962

British fiction writer

Wayne Barnes

rugby union match official · b. 1979

English retired rugby union referee

David Anthony King

university teacher · b. 1939

British academic and scientific adviser

Diana Evans

novelist · b. 1971

British novelist (born 1971)

Nigerian doctor and influencer

Paul Stewart

novelist · b. 1955

British writer of children's books

Mohammed Hanif

aircraft pilot · b. 1964

Pakistani journalist

Sandra Newman

novelist · b. 1965

American writer

American chemist

Maupe Ogun

journalist

Nigerian journalist

Neel Mukherjee

novelist · b. 1970

Indian writer

Amir Muhammad

director · b. 1972

Malaysian film director

Thomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde

politician · b. 1960

British Conservative Party politician (born 1960)

South African novelist and short-story writer

Adam Foulds

novelist · b. 1974

British writer

Malagasy biologist

Robert Fulton

military officer · b. 1948

Governor of Gibraltar

Donald Kaberuka

economist · b. 1951

Rwandan economist

British writer

South Sudanese politician

Árni Þórarinsson

writer · b. 1950

Icelandic writer

Irish writer

Lynne Frostick

geographer · b. 1949

Chartered British geographer and geologist

English children's writer (1953-)

Raoul Schrott

literary scholar · b. 1964

Austrian poet, writer, literary critic, translator, and broadcaster

British historian

Benjamin D. Santer

researcher · b. 1955

American climate researcher

Tim Bentinck, 12th Earl of Portland

television actor · b. 1953

English actor and writer

Malaysian writer (1971–)

British Welsh writer

actress

Tolu Ogunlesi

journalist · b. 1982

Nigerian journalist, photographer and writer

Emma Healey

bookbinder · b. 1985

English writer

Dario Palermo

composer · b. 1970

Italian composer

Murat Karayalçın

diplomat · b. 1943

Turkish statesperson (born 1943)

Princess Anna, Princess Manuel of Bavaria

journalist · b. 1978

German journalist

Sinknesh Ejigu

chemist · b. 1956

Ethiopian politician

Iain Dale

opinion journalist · b. 1962

British political blogger (born 1962)

Steve Lightfoot

television producer

American television producer and writer

Daphrosa Gahakwa

minister

Rwandan politician

Vicki Pepperdine

comedian · b. 1961

British actress

Eduardo Marturet

music arranger · b. 1953

Venezuelan conductor and composer

British fiction writer

Greek writer

Jessica Draskau-Petersson

marathon runner · b. 1977

Danish distance runner

Razia Iqbal

journalist · b. 1962

BBC newsreader

Gareth Malone

music journalist · b. 1975

English choirmaster and broadcaster

British actress, dancer

Ola Abu Alghaib

disability rights activist

Palestinian disability rights activist

Joe Dunthorne

poet · b. 1982

Welsh novelist, poet and journalist

British biologist

Nan Achnas

film director · b. 1963

Indonesian Film Director

Barbadian-British historian and writer

British writer

Rosalind Scott, Baroness Scott of Needham Market

politician · b. 1957

British Baron (born 1957)

British Labour politician and MEP (born 1955)

Erica Wagner

literary critic · b. 1967

American author and critic

British historian

American and British writer

Hazara writer

English rugby union footballer (1947–2010)

British writer

Manuel de Araújo

economist · b. 1970

Mozambican politician

British historian and writer

Eduardo Costantini

philanthropist · b. 1946

Argentine businessman

British biologist specialising in botany

Adrian Ramsay

politician · b. 1982

English politician

Michael Heaver

politician · b. 1989

British politician (born 1989)

Steve Oram

television actor · b. 1973

British actor, comedian, and filmmaker

British Irish writer

British politician (born 1943)

Bruneian politician

British writer (1953-2017)

British film director and screenwriter

Christie Watson

nurse · b. 1976

British author

British sci-fi and children's author

British rower

British linguist

British writer

environmentalist (1946-2005)

Ng Yi-Sheng

poet · b. 1980

Singaporean writer (1980-)

Michael Hüther

university teacher · b. 1962

German economist

Mario Luis Fuentes Alcalá

economist · b. 1956

economist and politician

James Barber

biochemist · 1940–2020

British biochemist (1940-2020)

Glenn Patterson

writer · b. 1961

writer

Greg James

radio program designer · b. 1985

British radio and television presenter

Timothy Osborn

scientist

climatologist

Rachael Maskell

politician · b. 1972

British politician

British actress

Natasha Pulley

novelist · b. 1988

British teacher and author (1988-)

British screenwriter

Hernán Lara Zavala

literary scholar · 1946–2025

Mexican writer

Suchart Thadathamrongvej

economist · b. 1952

Thai politician

British philosopher

Steve Blame

presenter · b. 1959

American journalist

Gino Costa

security advisor · b. 1956

Peruvian lawyer and politician

politician of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Minister of State, Minister of the Budget in the government

Carlos Nuno Castel-Branco

opinion journalist · b. 1960

Mozambican political scientist, economist, university teacher, writer and human rights activist

Andrew Bolton

curator · b. 1966

British art museum curator

Arjun Karki

diplomat · b. 1963

Nepali diplomat

Canadian writer

climate scientist

British design historian

British television producer

Professor of Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter

Terry Edwards

saxophonist · b. 1960

British multi-instrumentalist

Ousman Jammeh

diplomat · b. 1953

Gambian politician

Larissa Lai

literary scholar · b. 1967

US-born Canadian academic and author (1967- )

Margaret Stohl

comics writer · b. 1967

American author

Adam Shareef

politician

Maldivian politician

Marianne Majerus

photographer · b. 1956

photographer

English television presenter and anchor who works for NBC and NBC Sports

Tanzanian politician

Turkish historian (born 1951)

British linguist (1939-2021)

Zoya Phan

human rights defender · b. 1980

Burmese activist (* 1980)

British historian and scholar of child abuse scandals (1950–2011)

English newsreader, journalist, television producer and presenter

British actor

Gunaajav Batjargal

diplomat · b. 1966

Mongolian diplomat

British businessman

Mexican politician

Aditya Tiwari

LGBTQ rights activist · b. 1998

Indian poet and LGBT+ rights activist

Güven Sak

economist · b. 1961

Turkish economist (born 1961)

novelist, academic and musician from Wales

Mexican writer

English poet and writer

Alexander Gordon Smith

publisher · b. 1979

British fiction writer

British philosopher and professor

James Chapman

media scholar · b. 1968

British historian

Doc Brown

musician · b. 1977

British comedian, actor, screenwriter, voiceover artist and former rapper

Canadian children's author

Australian academic

British writer

Adam Tomkins

jurist · b. 1969

British legal scholar and politician (born 1969)

Alissandra Cummins

museologist · b. 1958

Barbadian UNESCO official

British writer (1948-2018)

Sabine Süsstrunk

university teacher · b. 1962

computer scientist and professor

English poet and art critic

British journalist

Stephen Lambert

television producer · b. 1959

British media executive

Zeb Soanes

journalist · b. 1976

British broadcaster

William J. Sutherland

ecologist · b. 1956

conservation biologist

American economist and academic

British academic

Sasha Saidin

singer · b. 1976

Malaysian singer

Bhutanese politician

British writer

Murad Qureshi

journalist · b. 1965

British politician

Owen Sheers

novelist · b. 1974

Poet and novelist

Peter Lamarque

philosopher · b. 1948

philosopher

Iraqi microbiologist

Rolph Payet

civil servant · b. 1968

Seychellois politician

Ibrahim H. Umar

academic · d. 2023

Nigerian scientist

Kathy Page

novelist · b. 1958

Canadian writer (born 1958)

journalist and academic from Canada

translator

Annabel Abbs

novelist · b. 1964

British writer

professor of physical chemistry

British academic

British writer