100 Notable alumni of Catholic University of America

Collin Patrick Green is a retired United States Navy vice admiral who last served as the deputy commander of the United States Special Operations Command from 2021 to 2024. He most recently served as Chief of Staff of the United States Special Operations Command. He graduated and was commissioned from the United States Naval Academy in 1986. Green also holds...

Margaret Virginia "Bibi" Osterwald was an American actress.

Charles Anthony "Chas" Richard is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the 11th commander of United States Strategic Command. He previously served as Commander Submarine Forces, Submarine Force Atlantic and Allied Submarine Command.

Ernest Thompson is an American writer, actor, and director. He won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for On Golden Pond, an adaptation of his own play of the same name.

John Joseph Krol was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1961 to 1988, having previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland (1953–1961), and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1967 by Pope Paul VI.

Joseph Andrew Unanue was an American businessman and president of Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic–owned food company in the United States.

David Lord Paterson is an American screenwriter, actor, stuntman and producer.

Elizabeth Hand is an American writer.

Richard George Renzi is an American politician who was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing Arizona's 1st congressional district from 2003 until 2009.

Patrick O'Connell is an American chef and proprietor of the Inn at Little Washington, a country inn and restaurant in the town of Washington, Virginia.

Justin Francis Rigali is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. After a diplomatic and academic career in Rome, he served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 1994 to 2003. He then served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from 2003 until his resignation in 2011, following a probe into the Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex abuse scandal. He was created a cardinal...

Anna Mae Violet Hays was an American military officer who served as the 13th chief of the United States Army Nurse Corps. She was the first woman in the United States Armed Forces to be promoted to a general officer rank; in 1970, she was promoted to brigadier general. Hays paved the way for equal treatment of women, countered occupational...

Joseph Weber was an American physicist. He gave the earliest public lecture on the principles behind the laser and the maser and developed the first gravitational wave detectors, known as Weber bars.

Marty Hurney is an American former professional football executive. He served as an administrator for the San Diego Chargers in the 1990s before working as the general manager of the Carolina Panthers throughout much of the 2000s and 2010s. Hurney was a sportswriter for Washington, D.C.–based newspapers in the 1980s and became a racehorse owner in 2025.

Chuba Wilberforce Okadigbo, was a Nigerian politician, philosopher, academic, writer and political scientist. He served as the 8th president of the Nigerian Senate from 1999 to 2000. Sometimes referred to as Oyi of Oyi in reference to his local government area (Oyi), he held numerous political positions in the Nigerian government and was known to have opposed the then-ruling Peoples...

Li Lili was a Chinese film actress and singer. Her films Playthings, The Great Road and Storm on the Border were blockbusters of the 1930s and 1940s. She was sometimes called "China's Mae West".

Thomas Berry, CP was a Catholic priest, cultural historian, and scholar of the world's religions, especially Asian traditions. Later, as he studied Earth history and evolution, he called himself a "geologian". He rejected the labels "theologian" as "ecotheologian" as too narrow and not descriptive of his religions arguments.

Colleen Constance Kollar-Kotelly is an American lawyer serving as a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and was previously presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

Terence James Cardinal Cooke was a senior-ranking American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of New York from 1968 until his death, quietly battling leukemia throughout his tenure. He was named a cardinal in 1969. Cooke previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 1965 to 1967.

Anthony Jean Tata is an American retired military officer, author and government official.

Joseph Lawrence Alioto was an American politician who served as the 36th mayor of San Francisco, California, from 1968 to 1976.

Angela Candace Santomero is an American television executive producer and co-creator of the Nickelodeon children's television programs Blue's Clues, its spin-off Blue's Room, and its reboot Blue's Clues & You!, as well as the PBS children's shows Super Why!, & Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, the Amazon series Creative Galaxy, Wishenpoof!, and the Netflix original series Charlie's Colorforms City. Santomero has won...

Jeffrey Scott Chiesa is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from June 6 to October 30, 2013. As a member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 59th Attorney General of New Jersey from January 10, 2012, until June 6, 2013.

James Alexander Radomski, known professionally as James Rado, was an American actor, playwright, director, and composer, best known as the co-author, along with Gerome Ragni, of the 1967 musical Hair. He and Ragni won for Best Musical Theater Album at the 11th Annual Grammy Awards and were nominated for the 1969 Tony Award for Best Musical.

Edward Martino Crowley was an American playwright best known for his 1968 play The Boys in the Band.

Eric Pierpoint is an American actor and writer. He is perhaps best known for his role as George Francisco on Fox Network's Alien Nation. He has also notably appeared on each of the first four Star Trek television spin-offs.

Emil Joseph Kapaun was an American Catholic priest and United States Army captain who served as a chaplain during World War II and the Korean War.

Charles Joseph Chaput, OFMCap is an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from 2011 to 2020. He previously served as Archbishop of Denver (1997–2011) and Bishop of Rapid City (1988–1997). He was the first Archbishop of Philadelphia in 100 years who was not named a cardinal. Chaput is a professed Capuchin Franciscan, a member of the Prairie...

Francis Patrick Duffy was a Canadian American soldier, Catholic priest and military chaplain.

Daniel J. O'Donnell is an American politician from the state of New York. A Democrat, he was the first openly gay man elected to the New York State Assembly in 2002. During his tenure as an Assembly Member, O'Donnell represented the 69th district in Manhattan, which comprises the neighborhoods of Manhattan Valley, Morningside Heights, and portions of the Upper West...

Raymond Edward Brown PSS was an American Sulpician priest and prominent biblical scholar. He was a specialist on the hypothetical Johannine community, which he speculated contributed to the authorship of the Gospel of John, and he also wrote studies on the birth and death of Jesus.

Joseph Edward Strickland is an American bishop of the Catholic Church who served as bishop of Tyler in Texas from 2012 until his removal by Pope Francis in 2023.

Roger Michael Mahony KGCHS is an American Catholic retired prelate who served as archbishop of Los Angeles in California from 1985 to 2011. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Fresno in California from 1975 to 1980 and bishop of the Diocese of Stockton in California from 1980 to 1985.

Rosanna Scotto is an American news anchor. She is the co-host of Good Day New York, on Fox 5 NY WNYW in New York City. She formerly hosted with Greg Kelly. Previously, she anchored the 5 and 10 pm news with Ernie Anastos, and the Fox 5 Live 11 am news. She has been the lead female news anchor since...

Edward Walter Gillespie is an American politician, strategist, and lobbyist who served as the sixty-first chair of the Republican National Committee from 2003 to 2005 and was counselor to the president from 2007 to 2009 during the presidency of George W. Bush. In 2012, Gillespie was a senior member of the Mitt Romney presidential campaign.

Thomas Edward Donilon is an American lawyer, business executive, and former government official who served as the 22nd National Security Advisor in the Obama administration from 2010 to 2013. Donilon also worked in the Carter and Clinton administrations. He is now Chairman of the BlackRock Investment Institute, the firm's global think tank.

Robert Alan Sirico is an American Catholic priest and the founder of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is a political, religious, and cultural commentator. He is also the retired pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Grand Rapids.

Walter Clement Pipp Sr. was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman, Pipp played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, and Cincinnati Reds between 1913 and 1928.

Timothy Perry Shriver is an American disability rights activist, film producer, and former educator who has been Chairman of Special Olympics since 1996 and is the founder of UNITE. He is a member of the prominent Shriver and Kennedy families, as the third child of Eunice Kennedy Shriver (who founded the Special Olympics), and Sargent Shriver, who helped found the...

Alfred Gough is an American screenwriter, producer, writer, director, showrunner and creator. He is the developer of The WB/The CW's Superman-prequel television series Smallville. Alongside longtime writing/producing partner Miles Millar, Gough co-created other television programs like AMC's 2015 wuxia-influenced dystopian television series Into the Badlands, MTV's 2016 epic fantasy television series The Shannara Chronicles (based on The Sword of Shannara...

Allison Hayes was an American film and television actress and model.

Brian McGuire Cashman is an American baseball executive for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has served as the general manager and senior vice president of the Yankees since 1998. During Cashman's tenure as general manager, he inherited a core that was built by Gene Michael and Bob Watson, and the Yankees have won seven American...

Seán Patrick O'Malley OFM Cap is an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Boston from 2003 to 2024 and president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors from 2014 to 2025. He is also a founding member of the Council of Cardinals, formed by Pope Francis in 2013. A member of the Order of Friars Minor...

Maureen Brigid Dowd is an American columnist for The New York Times and an author.

Susan Florence Anspach was an American stage, film and television actress who had roles in films during the 1970s and 1980s such as Five Easy Pieces (1970), Play It Again, Sam (1972), Blume in Love (1973), Montenegro (1981), Blue Monkey (1987), and Blood Red (1989).

Laurence George Luckinbill is an American actor, playwright and director. He has worked in film, television and theatre, doing triple duty in the theatre by writing, directing and starring in stage productions. He is known for penning and starring in one-man shows based upon the lives of U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt, author Ernest Hemingway, and American defense attorney Clarence Darrow;...

Linda Mae Miller is an American film, stage, and television actress. The daughter of actor and comedian Jackie Gleason and the mother of actor Jason Patric, Miller began working professionally as a child, later appearing on Broadway in a production of Black Picture Show (1975), for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a...

Patricia Ann Carroll was an American actress and comedian. She is best known for providing the voice of Ursula in The Little Mermaid. She made guest appearances in many popular television series including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Laverne & Shirley, and ER; she also had a regular role on The Danny Thomas Show as Bunny Halper. Carroll was an...

Martin Joseph O'Malley is an American politician who served as the 17th commissioner of the Social Security Administration from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 61st governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015 and the 48th mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007.

Terence Richard McAuliffe is an American businessman and politician who served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 reelection campaign, co-chairman of the 1997 Presidential Inaugural Committee, chairman of the 2000 Democratic National Convention, chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2001 to...

John M. Slattery Jr. is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Roger Sterling in the AMC drama series Mad Men (2007–15), for which he was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, along with winning two Critics' Choice Television Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Lisa Ann Walter is an American actress, comedian, and television producer, best known for her roles as Chessy the housekeeper in the romantic comedy film The Parent Trap (1998) and Melissa Schemmenti on the ABC mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary (2021–present), for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

Susan Abigail Sarandon is an American actor. With a career spanning over five decades, she has received accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for seven Emmy Awards and ten Golden Globe Awards.

John Carroll Lynch is an American character actor and film director. He first gained notice for his role as Norm Gunderson in Fargo (1996). He is also known for his television work on the ABC sitcom The Drew Carey Show (1997–2004) as the title character's cross-dressing brother, Steve Carey, as well as on four seasons of American Horror Story (2014–2019),...

Jonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and four Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. Films in which Voight has appeared have grossed more than $5.2...

Mauricio Claver-Carone is an American lawyer, investor, diplomat and lobbyist. He was an official in the Treasury Department, National Security Council and State Department, in both Donald Trump Administrations. He was nominated and elected as the first American President of the Inter-American Development Bank, a position he held from October 2020 until September 26, 2022.

Jesse Brown was an American politician and Marine Corps veteran who served as the second United States secretary of veterans affairs under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997.

Thomas Richard Harkin is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Iowa's 5th congressional district from 1975 to 1985. He is the longest-serving senator to spend the entire tenure as a state's junior senator.

Nancy Dickerson was an American radio and television journalist and researcher for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Famous as a celebrity and socialite (whereby she was sometimes called Nancy Dickerson Whitehead later in life) as well as her journalism, she later became an independent producer of documentaries.

Mitchell Joseph Landrieu is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 61st mayor of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 51st lieutenant governor of Louisiana from 2004 to 2010.

James Francis Stafford is an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as major penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary from 2003 to 2009.

Michael Douglas Griffin is an American physicist and aerospace engineer who served as the under secretary of defense for research and engineering from 2018 to 2020. He previously served as deputy of technology for the Strategic Defense Initiative, and as administrator of NASA from April 13, 2005, to January 20, 2009. As NASA administrator, Griffin oversaw such areas as private...

William Edward Lori is an American Catholic prelate who has served as archbishop of Baltimore in Maryland since 2012.

Thomas L. Saaty was a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught in the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. He is the inventor, architect, and primary theoretician of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a decision-making framework used for large-scale, multiparty, multi-criteria decision analysis, and of the Analytic Network Process (ANP), its generalization to decisions...

Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the ABC game show Who Do You Trust?, appearing from 1958 to 1962. McMahon then made his famous thirty-year mark as Carson's sidekick and announcer on NBC's The Tonight Show...

Kathleen Charlotte McInerney, known professionally as Veronica Taylor, is an American voice actress known for her dubbing work in English-language adaptations of Japanese anime, in particular for voicing Ash Ketchum and his mother Delia in the Pokémon anime for its first eight seasons. Other voices she has done include Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun from Slayers, Sailor Pluto from Sailor Moon...

John Heard Jr. was an American actor. Heard made his debut appearance in film with the ensemble Between the Lines (1977). He appeared in a number of successful films, including Heart Beat (1980), Cutter's Way (1981), Cat People (1982), Beaches (1988), and Deceived (1991). He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1999 for his recurring role as Vin Makazian...

Robert Patrick Casey Jr. is an American lawyer and politician who served from 2007 to 2025 as a United States senator from Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Brian James Williams OC is a retired Canadian sportscaster who is best known for his coverage of the Olympic Games.

Blase Joseph Cupich is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Chicago since 2014. He was made a cardinal in 2016.

Michael Bidwill is an American businessman and attorney who is the principal owner, chairman, and president of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). After practicing law for six years as a federal prosecutor, he joined the Arizona Cardinals organization in 1996 as vice president and general counsel.

Daniel John Gilvezan is an American actor, known for playing Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the 1981 animated series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends and Bumblebee in the original 1984-1987 The Transformers series.

Kathleen Courtney Hochul is an American politician and lawyer who has served since 2021 as the 57th governor of New York. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor.

John Irwin McGiver was an American character actor who made more than a hundred appearances in television and motion pictures over a two-decade span from 1955 to 1975.

Theodore Edgar McCarrick was an American Catholic bishop and cardinal who was Archbishop of Newark from 1986 to 2000 and Archbishop of Washington from 2001 to 2006. In 2019, McCarrick was dismissed and laicized by Pope Francis after being convicted of sexual misconduct in a canonical trial.

Frances Hussey Sternhagen was an American actress. She was known as a character actress who appeared on- and off-Broadway, in movies, and on television for over six decades. Sternhagen received numerous accolades, including two Tony Awards, a Drama Desk Award, and a Saturn Award, as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards.

Webster Griffin Tarpley is an American writer, political activist, and conspiracy theorist. A one-time follower of Lyndon LaRouche, Tarpley is known for his role in the 9/11 truth movement, believing 9/11 was a false flag operation.

Kathleen Maura Rice is an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States representative for New York's 4th congressional district from 2015 to 2023. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before serving in Congress, Rice served as the Nassau County district attorney, and, before that, she served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office...

Siobhan Fallon Hogan is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her collaborations with director Lars von Trier, she has appeared in three of his features to date: Dancer in the Dark (2000), Dogville (2003), and The House That Jack Built (2018). Her other film credits include Forrest Gump (1994), Men in Black (1997), The Negotiator (1998), Holes...

Samuel Louis Nestico was an American jazz composer and arranger. Nestico is best known for his arrangements for the Count Basie orchestra.

Paula Vogel is an American playwright. She is known for her provocative explorations of complex social and political issues. Much of her work delves into themes of psychological trauma, abuse, and the complexities of human relationships. She has received the Pulitzer Prize as well as nominations for two Tony Awards. In 2013 she was inducted into the American Theater Hall...

Jason Miller was an American playwright and actor. He won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play for his play That Championship Season, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Father Damien Karras in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist, a role he reprised in The Exorcist...

Julie Nixon Eisenhower is an American author who is the younger daughter of former U.S. president Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat Nixon. Her husband, David, is the grandson of former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie Eisenhower.

Christopher Sarandon is an American actor. He is well known for playing Jerry Dandrige in Fright Night (1985), Prince Humperdinck in The Princess Bride (1987), Detective Mike Norris in Child's Play (1988), and Jack Skellington's speaking voice in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Leon Shermer...

Soong Chu-yu, also known by his English name James Soong, is a Taiwanese political scientist and politician who is the founder and chairman of the People First Party. Soong was the first and only elected governor of Taiwan Province from 1994 and 1998, after which he became a perennial candidate in Taiwanese politics.

Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle is a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church, and has been the Pro-Prefect for the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches of the Dicastery for Evangelization (formerly Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples) since December 8, 2019. He previously served as the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2020, and earlier on as...

James Edward McGreevey is an American politician who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004 amidst a sex scandal. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first openly gay person to serve as a state governor in the nation's history.

Józef Mirosław Życiński was a Polish philosopher, publicist, the Roman Catholic metropolitan archbishop of the Archdiocese of Lublin and a professor of the Pontifical Academy of Theology in Rome, Pontifical University of John Paul II in Cracow and Catholic University of Lublin.

Daniel Nicholas DiNardo is an American Catholic retired prelate who served as Archbishop of Galveston-Houston from 2006 to 2025. He previously served as Coadjutor and later Bishop of Sioux City from 1997 to 2004.

Theodore Martin Hesburgh, CSC was an American Catholic priest and academic who was a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross. He was president of the University of Notre Dame for 35 years from 1952 to 1987 and served in numerous appointed positions in the US government, including as chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights.

Raymond Leo Burke is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 2014 to 2023. He previously served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 2004 to 2008 and Bishop of La Crosse from 1995 to 2004. From 2008 to 2014, he was the prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of...

Donald William Wuerl is an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Washington from 2006 to 2018. He previously served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle (1986 to 1987) and Bishop of Pittsburgh (1988 to 2006). Pope Benedict XVI made him a cardinal in 2010.

Timothy Michael Dolan is an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of New York from 2009 to 2025. Dolan served as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) from 2010 to 2013. Dolan was rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome from 1994 to 2001, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis from...

Fulton John Sheen was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1966 to 1969. He was known for his preaching, especially on television and radio.

Liubomyr Huzar MSU was the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the first elected in independent Ukraine. He was also a cardinal of the Catholic Church. After the transfer of the see of Lviv to Kyiv in 2005, he was the Ukrainian Catholic Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Galicia. In February 2011 he became Major Archeparch Emeritus after he...

Francis Eugene George OMI was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Chicago from 1997 to 2014. He previously served as Bishop of Yakima and Archbishop of Portland in Oregon. A member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, George was created a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 1998. He served as president of the United...

Katherine Zappone is an American-Irish independent politician who served as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs from May 2016 to June 2020. She was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-West constituency from 2016 to 2020. She previously served as a Senator from 2011 to 2016, after being nominated by the Taoiseach.

Brendan Carr is an Irish Labour politician and former member of Dublin City Council. He served as the Lord Mayor of Dublin from 2016 to 2017.

Robert Emmet Patrick Barron is an American theologian who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Winona–Rochester since 2022. He served as rector at Mundelein Seminary from 2012 to 2015 and as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 2015 to 2022. He has published on theology and spirituality, and is the founder of Word on Fire.