100 Notable alumni of University of London
Updated: June 23, 2026 EliteDegrees
University of London is ranked #303 in the world and #30 in United Kingdom by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from University of London sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with University of London won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. D. H. Lawrence
1885-1930 (aged 45)
playwright
literary critic
writer
translator
painter
David Herbert Lawrence was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, literary critic, travel writer, essayist, and painter. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation and industrialisation, while championing sexuality, vitality and instinct. Four of his most famous novels – Sons and Lovers (1913), The Rainbow (1915), Women in Love (1920), and Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928) – were...
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2. Roger Penrose
1931-. (aged 95)
astronomer
university teacher
mathematician
philosopher
physicist
Sir Roger Penrose is an English mathematician, mathematical physicist, and philosopher of science. He is Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, an emeritus fellow of Wadham College, Oxford, and an honorary fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, and University College London. He shared the 1988 Wolf Prize in Physics with Stephen Hawking for the Penrose–Hawking...
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3. Lucy Punch
1977-. (aged 49)
film actor
actor
stage actor
Lucy Alice T. Punch is an English actress. She has appeared in the films Ella Enchanted (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Dinner for Schmucks, (both 2010) and Into the Woods (2014). She is also known for her roles as Amy in Bad Teacher (2011) and Amanda in the BBC sitcoms Motherland and its spin-off...
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4. Catherine Tate
1968-. (aged 58)
screenwriter
stage actor
writer
comedian
film actor
Catherine Tate is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show (2004–2007), as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and seven BAFTAs. Tate played Donna Noble in the 2006 Christmas special of the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, and reprised...
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5. David Irving
1938-. (aged 88)
opinion journalist
essayist
writer
journalist
biographer
David John Cawdell Irving is an English author who has written on the military and political history of the Second World War, especially Nazi Germany. He was found to be a Holocaust denier in a British court in 2000 as a result of a failed libel case.
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6. Peter Davison
1951-. (aged 75)
actor
television actor
film actor
stage actor
film director
Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett, known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor. He played Tristan Farnon in the 1978 BBC television adaptation of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small stories, and starred as the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who (1981–1984), at the time the youngest actor to play the role.
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7. Jennifer Saunders
1958-. (aged 68)
autobiographer
teacher
film actor
comedian
television actor
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedian, actress, singer, impressionist, satirist and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with her best friend and comedy partner, Dawn French. With French, Saunders co-wrote and starred in their eponymous sketch show,...
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8. Michael Collins
1964-. (aged 62)
ultramarathon runner
novelist
Michael Collins was an Irish revolutionary, soldier and politician who was a leading figure in the early-20th century struggle for Irish independence. During the War of Independence he was Director of Intelligence of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He served in the government of the self-declared Irish Republic as the Minister for Home Affairs and later as the Minister for...
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9. Thomas Hardy
1840-1928 (aged 88)
writer
poet
novelist
screenwriter
Thomas Hardy was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wordsworth. He was highly critical of much in Victorian society, especially on the declining status of rural people in Britain such as those from his...
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10. G. K. Chesterton
1874-1936 (aged 62)
writer
crime fiction writer
poet
literary critic
philosopher
Gilbert Keith Chesterton KC*SG was an English Christian apologist writer. Chesterton's wit, paradoxical style, and defence of tradition made him a dominant figure in early 20th-century literature.
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11. Jon Ossoff
1987-. (aged 39)
investigative journalist
film producer
chief executive officer
politician
Thomas Jonathan Ossoff is an American politician who has served as the senior United States senator from Georgia since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the youngest incumbent U.S. senator. Before his election to Congress, he was a documentary and investigative filmmaker.
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12. Boris Karloff
1887-1969 (aged 82)
film actor
actor
stage actor
William Henry Pratt, known professionally as Boris Karloff, was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film Frankenstein (1931), his 82nd film, established him as a horror icon, and he reprised the role for the sequels Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He also appeared as Imhotep in The Mummy (1932), and voiced...
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13. Jagadish Chandra Bose
1858-1937 (aged 79)
chemist
botanist
writer
university teacher
physicist
Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose was a Bengali polymath in British India with interests in biology, physics and writing science fiction. He was a pioneer in the investigation of radio microwave optics, made significant contributions to botany, and was a major force behind the expansion of experimental science on the Indian subcontinent. Bose is considered the father of Bengali science fiction....
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14. Julian Sands
1958-2023 (aged 65)
theatrical director
film actor
stage actor
film director
television actor
Julian Richard Morley Sands was an English actor. He had his breakout role as George Emerson in A Room with a View (1985) and went on to appear in The Killing Fields (1984); Gothic (1986); Siesta (1987); Warlock (1989); Arachnophobia (1990); Naked Lunch (1991); Boxing Helena (1993); Leaving Las Vegas (1995); The Medallion (2003); Ocean's Thirteen (2007); and The Girl...
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15. James Purefoy
1964-. (aged 62)
television actor
stage actor
actor
film actor
James Brian Mark Purefoy is an English actor. He played Marcus Antonius in the HBO series Rome, Nick Jenkins in A Dance to the Music of Time, college professor turned serial killer Joe Carroll in the hit Fox thriller series The Following, Solomon Kane in the film of the same name, and Hap Collins in the Sundance series Hap and...
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16. Junichiro Koizumi
1942-. (aged 84)
diplomat
economist
politician
Junichiro Koizumi is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2009. He is the sixth-longest serving Prime Minister in Japanese history.
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17. Itō Hirobumi
1841-1909 (aged 68)
diplomat
politician
Prince Itō Hirobumi was a Japanese statesman who served as the first prime minister of Japan from 1885 to 1888. Itō held office again as prime minister three times between 1892 and 1901. He was also a member of the genrō, a group of senior statesmen who effectively dictated policy for the Empire of Japan during the Meiji era. A...
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18. Hugh Bonneville
1963-. (aged 63)
television actor
stage actor
actor
film actor
Hugh Richard Bonniwell Williams DL, known professionally as Hugh Bonneville, is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series Downton Abbey from 2010 to 2015. His performance on the show earned him a nomination at the Golden Globes and two consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations, as well as...
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19. Emma Thomas
1971-. (aged 55)
film producer
Dame Emma Thomas, Lady Nolan is a British film producer. She has produced all of the feature films directed by her husband Christopher Nolan, which have grossed more than $6 billion worldwide and are regarded as some of the greatest films of their respective decades.
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20. Karla Souza
1985-. (aged 41)
television actor
model
stage actor
film actor
Karla Susana Olivares Souza is a Mexican actress known for her roles as Laurel Castillo on the ABC legal drama series How to Get Away with Murder and Marina Hayworth on the ABC sitcom Home Economics. She won the International Emmy Award for Best Actress in 2023 for her role as Mariel Saenz in the television movie La Caída.
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21. Bob Hoskins
1942-2014 (aged 72)
character actor
stage actor
actor
comedian
television actor
Robert William Hoskins was an English actor and film director. Known for his intense but sensitive portrayals of "tough guy" characters, he began his career on stage before making his screen breakthrough playing Arthur Parker on the 1978 BBC Television serial Pennies from Heaven. He subsequently played acclaimed lead roles in the films The Long Good Friday (1980), Mona Lisa...
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22. Jennifer Ehle
1969-. (aged 57)
television actor
stage actor
actor
film actor
Jennifer Anne Ehle is an American and British actress. The daughter of writer John Ehle and English actress Rosemary Harris, Ehle started her career acting on stage in the United Kingdom, with the Edinburgh Festival, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the National Theatre. She earned a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play and a nomination for the Laurence...
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23. Asma al-Assad
1975-. (aged 51)
financial analyst
Asma Fawaz al-Assad is a British-born Syrian economist who served as the first lady of Syria from 2000 to 2024 as the wife of Bashar al-Assad. She became first lady when she married al-Assad on 13 December 2000, shortly after he became president.
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24. Ken Follett
1949-. (aged 77)
prose writer
novelist
writer
Kenneth Martin Follett is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 195 million copies of his works.
25. DJ Qualls
1978-. (aged 48)
film actor
actor
television actor
Donald Joseph Qualls is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as Citizen Z on the Syfy horror series Z Nation (2014–2018) and Ed McCarthy on the Amazon Prime Video series The Man in the High Castle (2015–2018).
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26. John Keats
1795-1821 (aged 26)
writer
judge-rapporteur
poet
physician
John Keats was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculosis at the age of 25. They were indifferently received in his lifetime, but his fame grew rapidly after his death. By the end...
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27. Matthew Vaughn
1971-. (aged 55)
screenwriter
film director
producer
film producer
film actor
Sir Matthew Allard de Vere Drummond, also known as Sir Matthew Vaughn, is an English filmmaker. He has produced films including Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000), and directed Layer Cake (2004), Stardust (2007), Kick-Ass (2010), X-Men: First Class (2011), and Argylle (2024). Vaughn also co-created the Kingsman comic book series and resulting franchise, directing, producing...
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28. Jerome Flynn
1963-. (aged 63)
singer
director
television actor
actor
film actor
Jerome Patrick Flynn is an English actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Bronn in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones (2011–19). His other roles include Paddy Garvey of the King's Fusiliers in the ITV series Soldier Soldier (1991–95), Bennet Drake in the BBC mystery series Ripper Street (2012–16), Hector in the Black Mirror episode...
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29. Arthur C. Clarke
1917-2008 (aged 91)
physicist
writer
inventor
screenwriter
novelist
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke CBE FRAS was an English science fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host.
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30. Natsume Sōseki
1867-1916 (aged 49)
writer
poet
novelist
university teacher
Natsume Sōseki was a Japanese novelist, poet, and scholar. He is considered one of the greatest writers in modern Japanese history and is often called the first modern novelist of Japan. Sōseki's fiction explored themes of individualism, loneliness, and the conflict between traditional Japanese values and the rapid Westernization of the Meiji era. His major works include I Am a...
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31. Ben Hardy
1991-. (aged 35)
television actor
stage actor
actor
film actor
Ben Hardy is an English actor. A graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Hardy made his professional acting debut in 2012 and gained recognition for playing Peter Beale in the BBC soap opera EastEnders (2013–2015). He followed this up with his film debut as Archangel in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) and subsequently portrayed Queen drummer Roger Taylor...
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32. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
1967-. (aged 59)
screenwriter
film director
television actor
actor
film actor
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Simon Adebisi in Oz, Mr. Eko in Lost, Lock-Nah in The Mummy Returns, Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity, Heavy Duty in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Kurse in Thor: The Dark World, Killer Croc in Suicide Squad, Malko in the fifth season of the HBO...
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33. Eckhart Tolle
1948-. (aged 78)
writer
philosopher
Eckhart Tolle is a German spiritual teacher and self-help author. His books include The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment (1997), A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (2005) and the picture book Guardians of Being (2009).
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34. Sarojini Naidu
1879-1949 (aged 70)
politician
writer
freedom fighter
independence activist
poet
Sarojini Naidu was an Indian political activist and poet who served as the first Governor of United Provinces, after India's independence. She played an important role in the Indian independence movement against the British Raj. She was the first Indian woman to be president of the Indian National Congress and appointed governor of a state.
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35. Julie Christie
1940-. (aged 86)
film actor
voice actor
stage actor
Julie Frances Christie is a British actress. Christie's accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has appeared in six films ranked in the British Film Institute's BFI Top 100 British films of the 20th century, and in 1997, she received the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement.
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36. Hannah John-Kamen
1989-. (aged 37)
film actor
actor
stage actor
Hannah Dominique John-Kamen is an English actress. She is known for her television roles in Black Mirror (2011–2016), Killjoys (2015–2019), Brave New World (2020), and Netflix miniseries The Stranger (2020), and has portrayed Ava Starr / Ghost in the superhero films Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) and Thunderbolts* (2025). She has also starred in various films including SAS: Red Notice...
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37. Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum
1982-. (aged 44)
politician
merchant
businessperson
jockey
poet
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is an Emirati royal and politician who has been the Crown Prince of Dubai since 2008. He is the Minister of Defence of the UAE since 14 July 2024. He served as deputy ruler of Dubai from 2006 to 2008. He is popularly known as Fazza (Arabic: فزاع), the name under which...
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38. Rupert Everett
1959-. (aged 67)
novelist
film actor
stage actor
film director
television actor
Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country (1984) as a gay pupil at an English public school in the 1930s; the role earned him his first BAFTA Award nomination. He received a second BAFTA nomination and his first...
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39. Lisa Brennan-Jobs
1978-. (aged 48)
writer
journalist
essayist
opinion journalist
Lisa Nicole Brennan-Jobs is an American writer. She is the daughter of Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs and Chrisann Brennan.
40. Feroze Gandhi
1912-1960 (aged 48)
journalist
politician
Feroze Jehangir Gandhi was an Indian independence activist, politician and journalist. He served as a member of the provincial parliament between 1950 and 1952, and later a member of the Lok Sabha, the Lower house of Indian parliament. He published The National Herald and The Navjivan newspapers. His wife, Indira Gandhi (daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of...
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41. John Stuart Mill
1806-1873 (aged 67)
botanical collector
clerk
writer
autobiographer
economist
John Stuart Mill was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to social theory, political theory, and political economy. Dubbed "the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century" by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, he conceived of liberty as justifying...
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42. Joseph Morgan
1981-. (aged 45)
television director
model
film editor
actor
television actor
Joseph Martin Morgan is an English actor. His accolades including one People's Choice Awards, TV Guide Awards alongside eight nominations for Teen Choice Awards. After studying at Gower College Swansea, he starred in the first series of the Sky One's Hex, portraying Troy and has appeared in supporting roles in films Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World...
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43. Kash Patel
1980-. (aged 46)
civil servant
lawyer
writer
Kashyap Pramod Patel is an American lawyer serving since 2025 as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Patel also served as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from February to April 2025.
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44. H. G. Wells
1866-1946 (aged 80)
journalist
writer
historian
science fiction writer
Idist
Herbert George Wells was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than forty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, history, popular science, satire, biography, and autobiography. Wells is most known today for his groundbreaking science fiction novels; he has sometimes been called the "father of science fiction", a...
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45. Kristin Scott Thomas
1960-. (aged 66)
actor
character actor
screenwriter
film actor
stage actor
Dame Kristin Ann Scott Thomas is a British actress. A five-time BAFTA Award and Olivier Award nominee, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and the Olivier Award for Best Actress in 2008 for the Royal Court revival of The Seagull. She was nominated for the Academy Award...
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46. Riz Ahmed
1982-. (aged 44)
film actor
activist
television actor
singer
actor
Rizwan Ahmed is a British actor and rapper. He has received several awards, including an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and two British Academy Film Awards. In 2017, he was named by Time as one of the most influential people in the world.
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47. Lee Kuan Yew
1923-2015 (aged 92)
politician
lawyer
autobiographer
statesperson
philosopher
Lee Kuan Yew GCMG CH SPMJ DK, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean statesman and barrister who was the first prime minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. A founding father of the modern Singaporean state, his authoritarian political leadership transformed post-independence Singapore into a highly developed country and one of the four Asian Tigers.
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48. Gael García Bernal
1978-. (aged 48)
screenwriter
film director
television actor
actor
film actor
Gael García Bernal is a Mexican actor and filmmaker. He is known for his performances in the films Amores perros (2000), Y tu mamá también (2001), Bad Education (2004), The Motorcycle Diaries (2004), Babel (2006), Coco (2017), Old (2021), Cassandro (2023) and Magellan (2025). On television, he portrayed music conductor Rodrigo De Souza in the series Mozart in the Jungle...
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49. Tarō Asō
1940-. (aged 86)
economist
entrepreneur
diplomat
politician
Tarō Asō is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2008 to 2009. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), he also served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance from 2012 to 2021. He was the longest-serving Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in Japanese history, having previously served as Minister for...
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50. Donald J. Harris
1938-. (aged 88)
university teacher
economist
academic
Donald Jasper Harris, OM is a Jamaican-American economist and emeritus professor at Stanford University, known for applying post-Keynesian ideas to development economics. He was a scholar granted tenure in the Stanford Department of Economics, and he is the father of Kamala Harris, the 49th vice president of the United States and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, and of Maya Harris, a...
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51. Laurence Olivier
1907-1989 (aged 82)
dramaturge
theatrical director
television actor
character actor
film director
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave and Ralph Richardson made up a quartet of male actors who dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. He also worked in films throughout his career, playing more than fifty cinema roles. Late in his career he had considerable success...
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52. Annie Lennox
1954-. (aged 72)
singer
music video director
singer-songwriter
HIV/AIDS activist
songwriter
Ann Lennox OBE is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart went on to achieve international success in the 1980s as Eurythmics. When she appeared in the 1983 music video for "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"...
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53. Rufus Sewell
1967-. (aged 59)
stage actor
television actor
voice actor
translator
film actor
Rufus Frederik Sewell is a British actor.
54. Kathleen Turner
1954-. (aged 72)
theatrical director
film producer
film actor
stage actor
television actor
Mary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. Known for her distinctive deep husky voice, she is the recipient of two Golden Globes, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy, and two Tony Awards.
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55. David Rockefeller
1915-2017 (aged 102)
entrepreneur
art collector
banker
writer
commissioned armed forces officers
David Rockefeller was an American economist and investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the Rockefeller family from 2004 until his death in 2017. Rockefeller was the fifth son and youngest child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and a grandson of John D....
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56. Gary Lineker
1960-. (aged 66)
broadcaster
sports commentator
journalist
association football player
Gary Winston Lineker is an English sports broadcaster and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of England's greatest players, Lineker is the only player to have been the top goalscorer in England with three clubs: Leicester City, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur. He also played for Barcelona...
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57. Tsai Ing-wen
1956-. (aged 70)
jurist
lawyer
university teacher
politician
Tsai Ing-wen is a Taiwanese politician and legal scholar who served as the seventh president of the Republic of China from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), she intermittently served as chair of the DPP from 2008 to 2012, 2014 to 2018, and 2020 to 2022. She was the first woman to hold the presidency...
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58. Martin Freeman
1971-. (aged 55)
stage actor
television actor
voice actor
actor
film actor
Martin John Christopher Freeman is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won two Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most notable roles are that of Tim Canterbury in the mockumentary series The Office (2001–2003), Dr. John Watson in the British crime drama series...
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59. Ricky Gervais
1961-. (aged 65)
musician
television presenter
television actor
television producer
film director
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms The Office (2001–2003), Extras (2005–2007), and Life's Too Short (2011–2013) with Stephen Merchant. He also created, wrote, and starred in Derek (2012–2014) and After Life (2019–2022). Gervais was also executive producer of and had cameos in the...
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60. John Deacon
1951-. (aged 75)
songwriter
bassist
guitarist
musician
John Richard Deacon is an English retired musician who was the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits "You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bites the Dust" and "I Want to Break Free"; and co-wrote "Under Pressure", "Friends Will Be Friends" and "One Vision".
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61. Alexander Graham Bell
1847-1922 (aged 75)
professor
businessperson
electrical engineer
engineer
inventor
Alexander Graham Bell was a Scottish-born Canadian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1885.
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62. Vanessa Redgrave
1937-. (aged 89)
screenwriter
stage actor
film director
film actor
Dame Vanessa Redgrave is an English actress and political activist. In a career spanning over six decades, her accolades include an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, Volpi Cup and an Olivier Award, making her one of the few performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. She has also received various honorary awards, including the BAFTA...
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63. Jason Isaacs
1963-. (aged 63)
stage actor
television actor
voice actor
television producer
film actor
Jason Isaacs is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of D.J. in Event Horizon (1997), Ronald Quincy in Armageddon (1998), Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot (2000), Michael D. Steele in Black Hawk Down (2001), Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series (2002–2011), Captain Hook in Peter Pan (2003), Captain Waggoner in Fury (2014), Georgy...
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64. Joe Alwyn
1991-. (aged 35)
film actor
actor
songwriter
Joseph Matthew Alwyn is an English actor. Alwyn made his feature film debut as the titular character in Ang Lee's 2016 war drama Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk and has since played roles in films such as The Favourite (2018), Boy Erased (2018), Mary Queen of Scots (2018), Harriet (2019), Catherine Called Birdy (2022), and The Brutalist (2024), as well...
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65. Jared Harris
1961-. (aged 65)
stage actor
film director
television actor
actor
film actor
Jared Francis Harris is a British actor. The son of actor Richard Harris, he went on to study drama at Duke University and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He has received various accolades including a British Academy Television Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two Primetime...
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66. 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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67. David Attenborough
1926-. (aged 100)
film producer
film actor
naturalist
television actor
television producer
Sir David Frederick Attenborough is a British broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. First becoming prominent as host of Zoo Quest in 1954, his filmography as a writer, presenter and narrator has spanned eight decades; it includes the nine nature documentary series forming The Life Collection, Natural World, Wildlife on One, the Planet Earth franchise, The Blue Planet and Blue...
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68. Rabindranath Tagore
1861-1941 (aged 80)
essayist
freedom fighter
playwright
composer
writer
Rabindranath Thakur FRAS, also known by his pseudonym Bhanusimha (Sun Lion) was a Bengali polymath (poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter) of the Bengal Renaissance period. In 1913, Tagore became the first Asian to win a Nobel Prize in any category, and also the first lyricist and non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. A significant...
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69. Virginia Woolf
1882-1941 (aged 59)
novelist
writer
autobiographer
publisher
author
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device.
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70. Judi Dench
1934-. (aged 92)
theatrical director
autobiographer
film actor
stage actor
film director
Dame Judith Olivia Dench is a retired English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actresses, she is noted for her versatile roles on stage and screen. Dench has garnered various accolades throughout a career that spans seven decades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, six British Academy Film Awards...
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71. Natasha Richardson
1963-2009 (aged 46)
film actor
film producer
stage actor
Natasha Jane Richardson was an English actress. A member of the Redgrave family, Richardson was a daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and a granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. She was married to Liam Neeson.
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72. Alfred Hitchcock
1899-1980 (aged 81)
film editor
television producer
cinematographer
television director
producer
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films, many of which are still widely watched and studied today. Known as the "Master of Suspense", Hitchcock became as well known as...
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73. Brian May
1947-. (aged 79)
record producer
YouTuber
lyricist
astrophysicist
television presenter
Sir Brian Harold May is an English musician, animal welfare activist, and astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen, which he co-founded with singer Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor. His guitar work and songwriting contributions helped Queen become one of the most successful acts in music history.
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74. George Soros
1930-. (aged 96)
writer
entrepreneur
business magnate
philosopher
investor
George Soros is a Hungarian-American investor and philanthropist. As of May 2025, he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundations, of which $15 billion has already been distributed, representing 64% of his original fortune. In 2020, Forbes called Soros the "most generous giver" in terms of percentage of net...
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75. Andrew Garfield
1983-. (aged 43)
actor
television actor
model
film actor
stage actor
Andrew Russell Garfield is an English and American actor. He is known for his work in a variety of genres, from superhero to musicals in independent films. His accolades include a Tony Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Time magazine named him...
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76. Mick Jagger
1943-. (aged 83)
composer
singer-songwriter
actor
guitarist
film producer
Sir Michael Philip Jagger is an English musician, songwriter, and film producer. He is the lead singer and one of the founder members of the Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; their songwriting partnership is one of the most successful in rock music history. His career has spanned more than six...
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77. Robert F. Kennedy Jr
1954-. (aged 72)
anti-vaccine activist
university teacher
biographer
jurist
radio personality
Robert Francis Kennedy Jr., also known by his initials RFK Jr., is an American politician, environmental lawyer, author, conspiracy theorist, and anti-vaccine activist serving as the 26th United States secretary of health and human services since 2025. A member of the prominent Kennedy family, he is a son of Senator and U.S. attorney general Robert F. Kennedy and a nephew...
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78. Kit Harington
1986-. (aged 40)
film actor
television actor
stage actor
Christopher Catesby Harington, known professionally as Kit Harington, is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Jon Snow in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination and two nominations for Primetime Emmy Awards and Critics' Choice Television Awards.
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79. Chris Martin
1977-. (aged 49)
singer
Christopher Anthony John Martin is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay.
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80. B. R. Ambedkar
1891-1956 (aged 65)
professor
scholar
jurist
freedom fighter
newspaper editor
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on the debates of the Constituent Assembly of India and the first draft of Sir Benegal Narsing Rau. Ambedkar served as Law and Justice minister in the first cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru. He later renounced Hinduism...
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81. Mahatma Gandhi
1869-1948 (aged 79)
journalist
humanitarian
barrister
civil rights advocate
philosopher
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political thinker who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule. He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā (from Sanskrit, meaning great-souled, or venerable), first applied to him in South Africa in 1914, is used worldwide.
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82. Elton John
1947-. (aged 79)
composer
pianist
film actor
HIV/AIDS activist
keyboardist
Sir Elton Hercules John is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting effect on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with the lyricist Bernie Taupin is one of the most successful in history. John was the 19th EGOT winner in history. He has sold over 300 million records worldwide, making him...
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83. Christopher Nolan
1970-. (aged 56)
film editor
cinematographer
producer
camera operator
film screenwriter
Sir Christopher Edward Nolan is a British and American filmmaker. A significant auteur of his generation, he has been a major Hollywood figure in the 21st century. Nolan's films have earned over $6 billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing film director. His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two British Academy Film Awards. Nolan was appointed...
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84. Carrie Fisher
1956-2016 (aged 60)
spokesperson
playwright
voice actor
novelist
script doctor
Carrie Frances Fisher was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the original Star Wars films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017)—a posthumous release that was dedicated to her—and The Rise of Skywalker (2019), the latter using unreleased footage from The Force Awakens. Her other film credits include Shampoo...
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85. George Eliot
1819-1880 (aged 61)
journalist
philosopher
writer
translator
poet
Mary Ann Evans, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels: Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1862–1863), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), Middlemarch (1871–1872) and Daniel Deronda (1876). Like Charles Dickens and...
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86. Christopher Eccleston
1964-. (aged 62)
actor
television actor
character actor
film actor
stage actor
Christopher Eccleston is an English actor. He is known for his work in various social realist television dramas, as well as for playing the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who (2005).
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87. Edward Jenner
1749-1823 (aged 74)
naturalist
physician
biologist
Edward Jenner was an English physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The terms vaccine and vaccination are derived from Variolae vaccinae ('pustules of the cow'), the term devised by Jenner to denote cowpox. He used it in 1798 in the title of his Inquiry into the Variolae vaccinae...
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88. Alexander Fleming
1881-1955 (aged 74)
pharmacologist
surgeon
bacteriologist
inventor
physician
Sir Alexander Fleming was a Scottish physician and microbiologist. He shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Howard Florey and Ernst Chain "for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases". This was the first antibiotic substance discovered. His discovery in 1928 of what was later named benzylpenicillin (or penicillin G) from the...
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89. Vincent Price
1911-1993 (aged 82)
writer
autobiographer
art historian
actor
film actor
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. was an American actor, known to film audiences for his work in the horror genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures and one for television.
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90. Zygmunt Bauman
1925-2017 (aged 92)
opinion journalist
university teacher
writer
philosopher
sociologist
Zygmunt Bauman was a Polish–British sociologist and philosopher. He was driven out of the Polish People's Republic during the 1968 Polish political crisis and forced to give up his Polish citizenship. He emigrated to Israel; three years later, he moved to the United Kingdom. He resided in England from 1971, where he studied at the London School of Economics and...
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91. Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway
1973-. (aged 53)
heir apparent
Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway is the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne. He is the only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja.
92. Michael Stuhlbarg
1968-. (aged 58)
film actor
television actor
stage actor
Michael Stuhlbarg is an American actor. Known for his character roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including a Drama Desk Award, an Obie Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for two Tony Awards, two Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award.
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93. Graham Norton
1963-. (aged 63)
memoirist
radio personality
film actor
comedian
columnist
Graham William Walker, known professionally as Graham Norton, is an Irish comedian, broadcaster, actor, and writer. He is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for the comedy chat show The Graham Norton Show (2007–present). He has received the British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance three times for the chat show So Graham Norton (1998–2002). He has been noted...
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94. Ursula von der Leyen
1958-. (aged 68)
physician
equestrian
politician
Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen is a German politician and physician who has served as President of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding positions in Angela Merkel's cabinet, most recently as Federal Minister for Defence. She is a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its affiliated...
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95. Annalena Baerbock
1980-. (aged 46)
jurist
politician
Annalena Charlotte Alma Baerbock is a German diplomat and politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens party. She served as Germany's minister for foreign affairs from 2021 to 2025. She has served as President of the United Nations General Assembly during its 80th session since 9 September 2025.
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96. William Somerset Maugham
1874-1965 (aged 91)
army scout
writer
prose writer
playwright
literary critic
William Somerset Maugham CH was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories.
97. Pierre Trudeau
1919-2000 (aged 81)
lawyer
writer
jurist
law professor
teacher
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau was a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and again from 1980 to 1984. Between his non-consecutive terms as prime minister, he served as the leader of the Official Opposition from 1979 to 1980.
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98. Margrethe II of Denmark
1940-. (aged 86)
monarch
painter
textile artist
screenwriter
Margrethe II is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly 52 years, she is the second-longest-reigning Danish monarch after Christian IV.
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99. Desmond Tutu
1931-2021 (aged 90)
political activist
non-fiction writer
archbishop
Anglican priest
human rights defender
Desmond Mpilo Tutu was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996, in both cases being the first Black African to hold the position. Theologically, he sought to fuse ideas from...
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100. Nelson Mandela
1918-2013 (aged 95)
autobiographer
lawyer
screenwriter
political activist
political prisoner
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid activist and statesman who was the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first Black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His administration focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by fostering racial reconciliation, a national peace accord and...
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