59 Notable alumni of Santa Monica College
Updated: June 15, 2026 EliteDegrees
Santa Monica College is ranked #3,364 in the world and #874 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 59 notable alumni from Santa Monica College sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Santa Monica College won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Robert L. Simpson
1915-2003 (aged 88)
missionary
Robert Leatham Simpson was a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1961 until his death.
2. T.J. Dedeaux-Norris
1979-. (aged 47)
visual artist
performing artist
Tameka Norris, also known as T.J. Dedeaux-Norris and Meka Jean, is an American visual and performing artist. Norris uses painting, sculpture, and performance art to create work about racial identity and the simultaneous visibility and invisibility of blackness through cultural appropriation in modern society. Her work critiques the presence of the Black body in the history of painting and fine...
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3. Vic Darensbourg
1970-. (aged 56)
baseball player
Victor Anthony Darensbourg is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He made his MLB debut with the Florida Marlins in 1998, and went on to play eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB).
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4. Chikezie
1985-. (aged 41)
singer
television actor
Chikezie Eze is an American singer and the tenth place finalist on the seventh season of the television series American Idol.
5. Tommy McCraw
1940-. (aged 86)
baseball player
Tommy Lee McCraw is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and outfielder for the Chicago White Sox (1963–70), Washington Senators (1971), Cleveland Indians (1972 and 1974–75) and California Angels (1973–74).
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6. Brian Kingman
1954-. (aged 72)
baseball player
Brian Paul Kingman is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher from 1979 to 1983 for the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants.
7. Rob Picciolo
1953-2018 (aged 65)
baseball player
Robert Michael Picciolo was an American professional baseball player and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB).
8. Thuc-Quyen Nguyen
1973-. (aged 53)
scientist
Thuc-Quyen Nguyen is Director and Professor at the Center for Polymers and Organic Solids, and a professor of the Chemistry & Biochemistry department at the University of California Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on organic electronic devices, using optical, electrical, and structural techniques to understand materials and devices such as photovoltaics, LEDs, photodiodes, and field-effect transistors.
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9. Bobbi Fiedler
1937-2019 (aged 82)
politician
Roberta Frances "Bobbi" Fiedler was an American politician who served three terms as a Republican U.S. Representative from California from 1981 to 1987.
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10. Yael Markovich
1984-. (aged 42)
model
beauty pageant contestant
Yael Markovich is an Israeli-American model and beauty pageant titleholder. Markovich is the only Miss Israel who represented her country in three worldwide beauty pageants.
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11. Lee Grosscup
1936-2020 (aged 84)
American football player
Clyde Lee Edward Grosscup was an American professional football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies and the Utah Redskins and was selected by the New York Giants in the first round of the 1959 NFL draft.
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12. Sean Whyte
1985-. (aged 41)
Canadian football player
Sean Whyte is a Canadian professional football placekicker for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He has also played as a punter in his career. He is a Grey Cup champion after winning with the Edmonton Eskimos in 2015. He is a four-time divisional all-star and two-time CFL All-Star while also winning the West Division's Most Outstanding...
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13. Dane Elkins
1999-. (aged 27)
racquetball player
Dane Elkins is a professional racquetball player. He holds 23 major national junior racquetball championships (12 world outdoor racquetball championships, 8 USA National Junior Indoor Championships (including 6 titles at Jr. Olympics), and 3 USA National High School Championships). He is also the 2017 National Paddleball Association-(NPA) Junior's 18-and-under National Champion.
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14. Rachel Fannan
1986-. (aged 40)
composer
singer-songwriter
singer
songwriter
Rachel Fannan is an American singer, songwriter, musician and poet from Los Angeles, California. She made her musical debut in 2008, with the release of a solo album entitled Deeper Lurking, under the moniker Birds Fled from Me. She is best known as the lead vocalist of the band Only You, and formerly as co-lead vocalist of San Francisco psych-rockers...
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15. Johnny Gray
1960-. (aged 66)
athletics competitor
John Lee Gray Jr. is a retired American world-class 800 meter runner from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s and the holder of the 600m world best. A four-time Olympian (1984-1996), in 1985 he set the US record of 1:42.60 at a meet in Koblenz. That time puts Gray as the nineteenth fastest performer of all time. He came seventh...
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16. Sarah Reich
1990-. (aged 36)
dancer
tap dancer
Sarah Reich is a tap dance instructor, choreographer and performer. She is best known as a featured artist for Postmodern Jukebox, touring the U.S. and Europe in 2015 and 2016. In addition to performing tap-percussion solos with numerous featured vocalists, her rendition of a Star Wars medley was featured in Slate and People magazines. She appears alongside vocalist Sara Niemietz...
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17. Torry Castellano
1979-. (aged 47)
musician
Torrance Heather Castellano is an American attorney and the former drummer of The Donnas. She announced her retirement from drumming in July 2010.
18. Dustin O'Halloran
1971-. (aged 55)
composer
pianist
film score composer
musician
Dustin O'Halloran is an American composer and pianist. Aside from releasing music as a recording artist, O'Halloran is a film and TV composer, as well as one half of ambient act A Winged Victory for the Sullen.
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19. Walter Cunningham
1932-2023 (aged 91)
military officer
aircraft pilot
physicist
fighter pilot
scientist
Ronnie Walter Cunningham was an American astronaut, fighter pilot, physicist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and author of the 1977 book The All-American Boys. NASA's third civilian astronaut (after Neil Armstrong and Elliot See), he was a lunar module pilot on the Apollo 7 mission in 1968.
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20. Sandy Johnson
1954-. (aged 72)
actor
television actor
cinematographer
film actor
model
Sandy Johnson is an American model and actress. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for the June 1974 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Mario Casilli. (A cropped image from this centerfold was used as a top-sheet graphic for the Burton Love 52 snowboard in 2008.)
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21. Jeffrey Weissman
1958-. (aged 68)
television actor
stage actor
actor
film actor
Jeffrey Weissman is an American actor. He has appeared in dozens of motion pictures and TV shows, most notably as George McFly in Back to the Future Part II and III and as Teddy Conway in Pale Rider. He has guest starred spots on Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Max Headroom, Dallas, The Man Show, and with Dick Van Dyke on...
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22. Lynn Hill
1961-. (aged 65)
rock climber
Carolynn Marie Hill is an American rock climber. Widely regarded as one of the leading competition climbers, traditional climbers (and particularly big wall climbers), sport climbers, and boulderers in the world during the late 1980s and early 1990s, she is famous for making the first free ascent of the difficult sheer rock face of The Nose on El Capitan in...
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23. Gary Collins
1938-2012 (aged 74)
television actor
television presenter
actor
film actor
Gary Ennis Collins was an American actor and television host. Throughout his career, he won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1984 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1985.
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24. Sandra Knight
1939-. (aged 87)
film actor
actor
television actor
Sandra D. Knight is an American retired actress.
25. Isaiah Mustafa
1974-. (aged 52)
television actor
actor
film actor
American football player
Isaiah Amir Mustafa is an American actor and former American football wide receiver. Mustafa is widely known as the main character in a series of Old Spice television commercials, "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like". He is also known for portraying Luke Garroway on Freeform's fantasy series Shadowhunters, adult Mike Hanlon in It Chapter Two, and Detective John Sampson...
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26. Russell Wong
1963-. (aged 63)
actor
television actor
film actor
karateka
voice actor
Russell Wong is an American actor. Born in New York, Wong attended Santa Monica City College while training to become a dancer. With the desire of becoming an actor, he moved to Hong Kong in 1983, where he learned Cantonese and martial arts, leading to his first film role in The Musical Singer (1985), directed by Dennis Yu. His first...
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27. Rob Bourdon
1979-. (aged 47)
drummer
composer
musician
Robert Gregory Bourdon is an American musician, best known as a co-founding member and the former drummer of the rock band Linkin Park. He remained in the band until their hiatus in 2017; when the band members began working together out of the public eye in 2019, he declined to rejoin the band and was succeeded by Colin Brittain.
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28. Sue Lyon
1946-2019 (aged 73)
model
television actor
child actor
actor
film actor
Suellyn Lyon was an American actress who is most famous today for playing the title role in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 film adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita, for which she was awarded a Golden Globe.
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29. Teena Marie
1956-2010 (aged 54)
singer
record producer
guitarist
singer-songwriter
songwriter
Mary Christine Brockert, known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie and later acquired the nickname Lady T, given to her by her collaborator and friend Rick James.
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30. Miguel Bernardeau
1996-. (aged 30)
actor
television actor
Miguel Ángel Bernardeau Duato is a Spanish actor.
31. Kennedy
1972-. (aged 54)
political pundit
video jockey
actor
presenter
television personality
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery, referred to mononymously as Kennedy, is an American libertarian political commentator, radio personality, author, and former MTV VJ. She is a commentator on Fox News Channel, a primary guest host of Fox's Outnumbered and The Five, host of the podcast Kennedy Saves The World on Fox News Radio and a columnist for The Daily Mail. Kennedy was...
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32. Cam Gigandet
1982-. (aged 44)
film actor
actor
television actor
Cameron Joslin Gigandet is an American actor whose credits include a recurring role on The O.C. and appearances in feature films Twilight, Pandorum, Never Back Down, Burlesque, Easy A, Priest, and The Magnificent Seven. He also starred in the CBS legal drama series Reckless. From 2016 to 2018, Gigandet starred in the Audience Network drama series Ice.
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33. Mahira Khan
1984-. (aged 42)
actor
video jockey
model
Mahira Hafeez Khan is a Pakistani actress known for her work in films and television. One of the highest-paid actresses in Pakistan, she has received several accolades, including seven Lux Style Awards and eight Hum Awards.
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34. Kel Mitchell
1978-. (aged 48)
dancer
musician
television actor
voice actor
stand-up comedian
Kel Johari Rice Mitchell is an American actor, comedian, rapper, singer, and TV host. He was an original cast member of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That for its first five seasons (1994–1999), where he was often paired with Kenan Thompson. His role as Ed in the All That sketch was reprised for the 1997 teen comedy film loosely...
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35. Kenan Thompson
1978-. (aged 48)
musician
film producer
film actor
comedian
television actor
Kenan Thompson is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live since 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the show's history. He was also the first regular cast member born after the show's premiere in 1975. Outside of SNL, Thompson starred on NBC's sitcom Kenan from...
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36. Laila Ali
1977-. (aged 49)
television personality
boxer
Laila Amaria Ali is an American television personality and retired professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007. During her career, from which she retired undefeated, she held the WBC, WIBA, IWBF and IBA female super middleweight titles, and the IWBF light heavyweight title. Ali is widely regarded by many within the sport as one of the greatest female professional...
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37. Frank Welker
1946-. (aged 80)
voice actor
Franklin Wendell Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific voice actors in history. With his films earning a total worldwide box-office gross of $17.4 billion, he is also the fourth-highest-grossing...
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38. Dax Shepard
1975-. (aged 51)
voice actor
film editor
actor
television actor
film actor
Dax Randall Shepard is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Since 2018, he has hosted Armchair Expert, a podcast in which he interviews celebrities, journalists, and academics about their lives.
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39. Phil Hartman
1948-1998 (aged 50)
film actor
comedian
stage actor
television actor
voice actor
Philip Edward Hartman was a Canadian and American comedian, actor, screenwriter and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, and his family moved to the United States when he was ten years old. After graduating from California State University, Northridge, with a degree in graphic arts, he designed album covers for bands including Poco and America. In 1975, Hartman...
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40. Dustin Hoffman
1937-. (aged 89)
director
film producer
film actor
film director
television presenter
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. Among his numerous accolades are two Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as a nomination for...
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41. Tessa Thompson
1983-. (aged 43)
actor
television actor
composer
film actor
stage actor
Tessa Lynne Thompson is an American actress. Known for her roles in both blockbusters and independent dramas, her accolades include nominations for two BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
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42. Hilary Swank
1974-. (aged 52)
television actor
film producer
actor
film actor
Hilary Ann Swank is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series Camp Wilder and made her film debut with a minor role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). Swank came to international recognition for her performances as Brandon Teena in Kimberly Peirce's Boys Don't Cry (1999) and as...
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43. Sean Penn
1960-. (aged 66)
film director
film producer
actor
film actor
screenwriter
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and nominations for three British Academy Film Awards, an Emmy Award, and a Grammy Award. He received the Honorary César in 2015 and the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in 2022.
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44. James Dean
1931-1955 (aged 24)
stage actor
racing automobile driver
television actor
actor
film actor
James Byron Dean was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, and his impact on cinema and popular culture was profound, although his career lasted only five years. He appeared in just three major films: Rebel Without a Cause (1955), in which he portrayed a disillusioned and rebellious teenager, East of...
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45. Muhammad Ali
1942-2016 (aged 74)
boxer
Muhammad Ali was an American professional boxer and activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "the Greatest", he is often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. He held the Ring magazine heavyweight title from 1964 to 1970, was the undisputed champion from 1974 to 1978, and was the WBA and Ring heavyweight champion from...
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46. Ryan Seacrest
1974-. (aged 52)
voice actor
actor
television actor
television producer
film producer
Ryan John Seacrest is an American television host and producer. Seacrest is the host of Wheel of Fortune, having hosted since replacing long-time host Pat Sajak in September 2024. Seacrest co-hosted and served as executive producer of Live with Kelly and Ryan, and has hosted other media including American Idol, American Top 40, and On Air with Ryan Seacrest. He...
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47. Ken Mora
1960-. (aged 66)
screenwriter
film director
film producer
animator
Kenneth Oscar Mora is an American graphic novel publisher, screenplay writer, director, producer, and voice actor. In film, he is best known for creating the animated shorts entitled Magnum Farce: (2009, 2011) and the mixed-media Your Face Global Jam (2017). In publishing, Mora is creator/producer of the serialized Comic Book and subsequent Graphic Novel biography of Caravaggio Caravaggio: A Light...
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48. Rodney McCray
1963-. (aged 63)
baseball player
Rodney Earl McCray is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'7" small forward, he spent 10 seasons (1983–93) in the National Basketball Association (NBA), tallying 9,014 career points and 5,087 career rebounds.
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49. Eric Braeden
1941-. (aged 85)
television actor
film producer
actor
film actor
Eric Braeden is a German-American film and television actor, known for his roles as Victor Newman (from 1980) on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, as Hans Dietrich in the 1960s TV series The Rat Patrol, Dr. Charles Forbin in 1970's Colossus: The Forbin Project, as Dr. Otto Hasslein in 1971's Escape from the Planet of the...
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50. Paul Thomas Anderson
1970-. (aged 56)
film screenwriter
film producer
film director
cinematographer
director
Paul Thomas Anderson, also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. Often described as one of the preeminent filmmakers of his generation, his accolades include two Golden Globe Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Critics Choice Awards, and nominations for fourteen Academy Awards, and a Grammy. He is the only person to have won Best Director at the Cannes...
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51. Chad Johnson
1986-. (aged 40)
ice hockey player
Chad Ochocinco Johnson, known from 2008 to 2012 as Chad Ochocinco, is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Santa Monica Corsairs and the Oregon State Beavers, and played for the Cincinnati Bengals and the New England Patriots during his tenure...
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52. Penn Badgley
1986-. (aged 40)
television director
child actor
film actor
television actor
singer
Penn Dayton Badgley is an American actor and producer. He is known for his roles as Dan Humphrey in The CW teen drama series Gossip Girl (2007–2012) and Joe Goldberg in the Netflix psychological thriller series You (2018–2025).
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53. Ilan Mitchell-Smith
1969-. (aged 57)
television actor
actor
ballet dancer
Ilan Mitchell-Smith is an American academic and former actor, best known as a co-star of the film Weird Science (1985) and Andy McCalister in Superboy.
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54. Steve Smith Sr
1979-. (aged 47)
American football player
Stevonne Latrall Smith Sr., better known as Steve Smith, is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He played college football for the Utah Utes and was selected by the Panthers in the third round of the 2001 NFL draft. Smith spent 13 seasons...
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55. Kim Gordon
1953-. (aged 73)
guitarist
art critic
exhibition curator
visual artist
songwriter
Kim Althea Gordon is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist of alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Born in Rochester, New York, she was raised in Los Angeles, California, where her father was a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. After graduating from Los Angeles's Otis College of Art and Design,...
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56. Monica Lewinsky
1973-. (aged 53)
social psychologist
businessperson
entrepreneur
designer
psychologist
Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American activist. She became internationally known in the late 1990s after U.S. president Bill Clinton admitted to having had an affair with her during her days as a White House intern between 1995 and 1997. The affair and its repercussions (which included Clinton's impeachment) became known as the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal.
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57. Daniele Bolelli
1974-. (aged 52)
university teacher
podcaster
philosopher
Daniele Bolelli is an Italian writer, university lecturer, martial artist, and podcaster based in Southern California. He is the author of several books on philosophy, and martial arts, including On the Warrior's Path. Known for his writing since the 1990s in Italy and the early 2000s in the United States, Bolelli rose to greater public prominence in the 2010s, beginning...
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58. Arnold Schwarzenegger
1947-. (aged 79)
entrepreneur
television director
film actor
bodybuilder
film director
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. He served as the 38th governor of California from 2003 to 2011.
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59. Inonge Wina
1941-. (aged 85)
minister
sociologist
politician
Inonge Mutukwa Wina is a Zambian politician who served as the 13th Vice President from 2015 to 2021. She was the first woman to hold the position, which made her the highest ranking woman in the history of the Zambian government.
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