Subjects
Destinations
Rankings
Sign In Register

100 Notable alumni of University of Wisconsin – Madison

Updated: June 23, 2026 EliteDegrees

University of Wisconsin – Madison is ranked #17 in the world and #13 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from University of Wisconsin – Madison 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 Wisconsin – Madison won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.

August Derleth

1. August Derleth

1909-1971 (aged 62)
biographer publisher editor short story writer writer
August William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. He was the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft. He made contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the cosmic horror genre and helped found Arkham House, a publishing company which did much to introduce hardcover prints of United Kingdom supernatural fiction works to the United States. Derleth...
+ show more
Jim Leonhard

2. Jim Leonhard

1982-. (aged 44)
American football player
James Andrew Leonhard is an American professional football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played professionally in the NFL as a safety for 10 seasons.
+ show more
Herb Kohl

3. Herb Kohl

1935-2023 (aged 88)
businessperson entrepreneur politician
Herbert Hiken Kohl was an American businessman, philanthropist, and Democratic politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served 24 years as a U.S. senator from Wisconsin, from 1989 to 2013, and earlier served as chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party.
+ show more
Clifford D. Simak

4. Clifford D. Simak

1904-1988 (aged 84)
novelist science fiction writer editor journalist screenwriter
Clifford Donald Simak was an American science fiction writer and journalist. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master, and the Horror Writers Association made him one of three inaugural winners of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. He is associated with the pastoral science...
+ show more
Robert M. La Follette

5. Robert M. La Follette

1855-1925 (aged 70)
lawyer writer politician
Robert Marion La Follette Sr., nicknamed "Fighting Bob," was an American lawyer and politician who represented Wisconsin in both houses of Congress and served as the 20th governor of Wisconsin from 1901 to 1906. A Republican for most of his life, he ran for president of the United States as the nominee of his own Progressive Party in the 1924...
+ show more
Steven Levitan

6. Steven Levitan

1962-. (aged 64)
screenwriter showrunner film director television producer
Steven E. Levitan is an American television producer, director, and screenwriter. He has created many television series such as Just Shoot Me!, Stark Raving Mad, Stacked, Back to You, Modern Family, and Reboot.
+ show more
Paul Chryst

7. Paul Chryst

1965-. (aged 61)
American football coach American football player
Paul Joseph Chryst is an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh from 2012 to 2014 and the University of Wisconsin—Madison from 2015 to 2022. Chryst had previously been the offensive coordinator at Wisconsin from 2005 through 2011. He also served in the same capacity at Oregon State University and was an...
+ show more
Ron Dayne

8. Ron Dayne

1978-. (aged 48)
American football player
Ronald Dayne is an American former football running back who played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1999. He also played professional football for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the New York Giants in the first round of the 2000 NFL draft. He also played for the Denver...
+ show more
John Searle

9. John Searle

1932-2025 (aged 93)
philosopher linguist university teacher artificial intelligence researcher
John R. Searle was an American philosopher widely noted for contributions to the philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and social philosophy. He began teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1959 and was Willis S. and Marion Slusser Professor Emeritus of the Philosophy of Mind and Language and Professor of the Graduate School until June 2019, when his...
+ show more
Devin Harris

10. Devin Harris

1983-. (aged 43)
basketball player
Devin Lamar Harris is an American sports analyst and former professional basketball player. He played for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets.
+ show more
Peter Straub

11. Peter Straub

1943-2022 (aged 79)
novelist writer science fiction writer author poet
Peter Francis Straub was an American novelist and poet. He had success with several horror and supernatural fiction novels, among them Julia (1975), Ghost Story (1979) and The Talisman (1984), the latter co-written with Stephen King. He explored the mystery genre with the Blue Rose trilogy, consisting of Koko (1988), Mystery (1990) and The Throat (1993). He fused the supernatural...
+ show more
Josh Stamberg

12. Josh Stamberg

1970-. (aged 56)
television actor film actor
Joshua Collins Stamberg is an American actor. He was regular cast member in the Lifetime comedy-drama series Drop Dead Diva from 2009 to 2012, and later had recurring roles on Parenthood, The Affair, and WandaVision.
+ show more
Stuart Gordon

13. Stuart Gordon

1947-2020 (aged 73)
actor writer director film producer producer
Stuart Alan Gordon was an American filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Gordon began directing films in 1985. Most of Gordon's cinematic output was in the horror genre, though he also ventured into science fiction and film noir.
+ show more
Eudora Welty

14. Eudora Welty

1909-2001 (aged 92)
photographer autobiographer novelist literary critic short story writer
Eudora Alice Welty was an American short-story writer, novelist, and photographer who wrote about the American South. Her novel The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of the South. She was the first living author to have her works published by the Library of America....
+ show more
André De Shields

15. André De Shields

1946-. (aged 80)
stage actor actor musical theatre actor singer film actor
André Robin De Shields is an American actor, singer, dancer, director, and choreographer. He has received numerous accolades including an Emmy Award, Grammy Award, and Tony Award.
+ show more
Russ Feingold

16. Russ Feingold

1953-. (aged 73)
lawyer visiting professor university teacher politician
Russell Dana Feingold is an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee in the 2016 election for the same U.S. Senate seat he had previously occupied. From 1983 to 1993, he was a Wisconsin state senator representing the 27th district.
+ show more
Eric Heiden

17. Eric Heiden

1958-. (aged 68)
orthopedic surgeon sport cyclist speed skater
Eric Arthur Heiden is an American physician and a former long track speed skater, road cyclist and track cyclist. At the 1980 Winter Olympics, Heiden was the most successful athlete, setting four Olympic records, one world record, and winning an unprecedented five individual gold medals–more than any other athlete, and in fact more than any nation except for the Soviet...
+ show more
John Gottman

18. John Gottman

1942-. (aged 84)
writer psychotherapist psychologist university teacher
John Mordechai Gottman is an American psychologist and professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Washington. His research focuses on divorce prediction and marital stability through relationship analyses. Gottman's work is centered on the field of relationship counseling: enhanced relationship functioning and mitigation of behaviors detrimental to human relationships. Gottman's work has also contributed to the development of important...
+ show more
Laurel Clark

19. Laurel Clark

1961-2003 (aged 42)
physician astronaut submariner military officer
Laurel Blair Clark was an American NASA astronaut, medical doctor, United States Navy captain, and Space Shuttle mission specialist. She died along with her six fellow crew members in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Clark was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
+ show more
Bud Selig

20. Bud Selig

1934-. (aged 92)
businessperson
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the commissioner emeritus of baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth commissioner of baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served as de facto acting commissioner beginning in 1992 in his capacity as chairman of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Executive Committee before being named the official...
+ show more
Cole Caufield

21. Cole Caufield

2001-. (aged 25)
ice hockey player
Cole Caufield is an American-Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a winger for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 15th overall, by the Canadiens in the 2019 NHL entry draft.
+ show more
Jason Crow

22. Jason Crow

1979-. (aged 47)
military personnel politician
Jason Crow is an American politician, lawyer, and former U.S. Army officer serving since 2019 as the United States representative for Colorado's 6th congressional district. Crow is the first member of the Democratic Party to represent the district, which includes most of the inner eastern and southern suburbs of Denver, including Aurora, Littleton, Centennial and a portion of Denver.
+ show more
Sidney Gottlieb

23. Sidney Gottlieb

1918-1999 (aged 81)
biochemist chemist
Sidney Gottlieb was an American chemist and spymaster who headed the Central Intelligence Agency's 1950s and 1960s assassination attempts and mind-control program, known as Project MKUltra.
+ show more
Joe Pavelski

24. Joe Pavelski

1984-. (aged 42)
ice hockey player
Joseph James Pavelski is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars.
+ show more
Jerry Zucker

25. Jerry Zucker

1950-. (aged 76)
screenwriter director film director film producer actor
Jerry Gordon Zucker is an American filmmaker. With his brother David and Jim Abrahams, he is part the filmmaking trio Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker.
William S. Harley

26. William S. Harley

1880-1943 (aged 63)
businessperson engineer
William Sylvester Harley was an American mechanical engineer and businessman. He was one of the four co-founders of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company.
Jim Abrahams

27. Jim Abrahams

1944-2024 (aged 80)
actor screenwriter writer film screenwriter film director
James Steven Abrahams was an American film director and writer. With David and Jerry Zucker, he was best known as a member of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker.
+ show more
Michael Finley

28. Michael Finley

1973-. (aged 53)
basketball player
Michael Howard Finley is an American former professional basketball player who is an interim general manager and vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 15 seasons in the NBA, predominantly with the Mavericks, but also for the Phoenix Suns (who drafted him in 1995), the San Antonio Spurs, and the...
+ show more
Uta Hagen

29. Uta Hagen

1919-2004 (aged 85)
stage actor teacher television actor actor film actor
Uta Thyra Hagen was a German and American actress and theatre practitioner. She originated the role of Martha in the 1962 Broadway premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, who called her "a profoundly truthful actress." Because Hagen was on the Hollywood blacklist, in part because of her association with Paul Robeson, her film opportunities dwindled and...
+ show more
Bill Kazmaier

30. Bill Kazmaier

1953-. (aged 73)
strongman powerlifter professional wrestler
William Kazmaier is an American former powerlifter, strongman and professional wrestler. During his career, he set 40 world records across both powerlifting and strongman, and won two International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Championships and three World's Strongest Man titles.
+ show more
Stephen E. Ambrose

31. Stephen E. Ambrose

1936-2002 (aged 66)
essayist university teacher writer historian biographer
Stephen Edward Ambrose was an American historian, academic, and author, most noted for his books on World War II and his biographies of U.S. presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He was a longtime professor of history at the University of New Orleans and the author of many bestselling volumes of American popular history.
+ show more
Marshall Rosenberg

32. Marshall Rosenberg

1934-2015 (aged 81)
academic psychologist non-fiction writer
Marshall Bertram Rosenberg was an American psychologist, mediator, author and teacher. Starting in the early 1960s, he developed nonviolent communication, a process for supporting partnership and resolving conflict within people, relationships, and society. He worked worldwide as a peacemaker, and in 1984 founded the Center for Nonviolent Communication, an international nonprofit organization for which he served as Director of Educational...
+ show more
Dany Heatley

33. Dany Heatley

1981-. (aged 45)
ice hockey player
Daniel James Heatley is a German-born Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Originally drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers second overall in the 2000 NHL entry draft, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the National Hockey League (NHL) rookie of the year in 2002. However, Heatley's time with the Thrashers was derailed when he was at the wheel in a...
+ show more
Jim Jordan

34. Jim Jordan

1964-. (aged 62)
lawyer politician
James Daniel Jordan is an American politician who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for Ohio's 4th congressional district since 2007. Currently in his 10th term in the House, Jordan is a member of the Republican Party.
+ show more
Frank Olson

35. Frank Olson

1910-1953 (aged 43)
biologist chemist microbiologist
Frank Rudolph Emmanuel Olson was an American bacteriologist, biological warfare scientist, and an employee of the United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories (USBWL) who worked at Camp Detrick (now Fort Detrick) in Maryland. At a meeting in rural Maryland, he was covertly dosed with LSD by his colleague Sidney Gottlieb (head of the CIA's MKUltra program) and, nine days later,...
+ show more
C. Wright Mills

36. C. Wright Mills

1916-1962 (aged 46)
university teacher sociologist
Charles Wright Mills was an American sociologist, and a professor of sociology at Columbia University from 1946 until his death in 1962. Mills published widely in both popular and intellectual journals, and is remembered for several books, such as The Power Elite, White Collar: The American Middle Classes, and The Sociological Imagination. Mills was concerned with the responsibilities of intellectuals...
+ show more
Linda Thomas-Greenfield

37. Linda Thomas-Greenfield

1952-. (aged 74)
diplomat
Linda Thomas-Greenfield is an American diplomat who served as the 31st United States ambassador to the United Nations under President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2025. She served as the U.S. 18th assistant secretary of state for African affairs from 2013 to 2017. Thomas-Greenfield then worked in the private sector as a senior vice president at business strategy firm Albright...
+ show more
David Zucker

38. David Zucker

1947-. (aged 79)
screenwriter film director film screenwriter film producer actor
David Samuel Zucker is an American filmmaker. Associated mostly with parody comedies, Zucker is recognized for collaborating with Jim Abrahams and his brother Jerry as part of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, with whom he wrote and directed the 1980 film Airplane! and created The Naked Gun franchise. As a solo filmmaker, Zucker has also directed Scary Movie 3 (2003) and...
+ show more
Jeffrey Sprecher

39. Jeffrey Sprecher

1955-. (aged 71)
businessperson
Jeffrey Craig Sprecher is an American businessman, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, and chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.
+ show more
Errol Morris

40. Errol Morris

1948-. (aged 78)
producer actor director non-fiction writer film producer
Errol Mark Morris is an American film director known for documentaries that interrogate the epistemology of their subjects, and the invention of the Interrotron. In 2003, his The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. His film The Thin Blue Line placed fifth on a Sight &...
+ show more
Sam Dekker

41. Sam Dekker

1994-. (aged 32)
basketball player
Samuel Thomas Dekker is an American professional basketball player who last played for Joventut Badalona of the Spanish Liga ACB. Dekker played college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers. After finishing college on a championship game run in the 2015 NCAA Tournament, Dekker was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 18th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft.
+ show more
John Vincent Atanasoff

42. John Vincent Atanasoff

1903-1995 (aged 92)
university teacher mathematician engineer inventor physicist
John Vincent Atanasoff OCM was an American physicist and inventor credited with inventing the first electronic digital computer. Atanasoff invented the first electronic digital computer in the 1930s at Iowa State College (now known as Iowa State University). Challenges to his claim were resolved in 1973 when the Honeywell v. Sperry Rand lawsuit ruled that Atanasoff was the inventor of...
+ show more
Tom Laughlin

43. Tom Laughlin

1931-2013 (aged 82)
television actor film director actor writer film producer
Thomas Robert Laughlin Jr. was an American actor, filmmaker, educator, activist, and perennial candidate. He was best known as the star and director of the Billy Jack tetralogy of action drama films, produced between 1969 and 1977. His unique promotion of the 1974's The Trial of Billy Jack (TV trailers during national news and an "opening day" nationwide release) was...
+ show more
Tony Evers

44. Tony Evers

1951-. (aged 75)
head teacher politician school teacher
Anthony Steven Evers is an American politician and educator serving since 2019 as the 46th governor of Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2009 to 2019 as Wisconsin's 26th superintendent of public instruction.
+ show more
Milton H. Erickson

45. Milton H. Erickson

1901-1980 (aged 79)
hypnotherapist psychotherapist writer hypnotist psychiatrist
Milton Hyland Erickson was an American psychiatrist and psychologist specializing in medical hypnosis and family therapy. He was the founding president of the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis. He is noted for his approach to the unconscious mind as creative and solution-generating. He is also noted for influencing brief therapy, strategic family therapy, family systems therapy, solution focused brief therapy,...
+ show more
Butch Vig

46. Butch Vig

1955-. (aged 71)
composer songwriter record producer musician
Bryan David "Butch" Vig is an American musician, record producer, and songwriter who is the drummer and co-producer of the rock band Garbage. Vig produced several alternative rock acts of the 1990s, including Nirvana, the Smashing Pumpkins, L7, and Sonic Youth. Notable albums he produced include Nirvana's diamond-selling album Nevermind (1991), L7's Bricks are Heavy (1992), and the Smashing Pumpkins'...
+ show more
Mel Tucker

47. Mel Tucker

1972-. (aged 54)
American football coach American football player
Melvin Gene Tucker II is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at Michigan State University from 2020 to 2023.
Dale Chihuly

48. Dale Chihuly

1941-. (aged 85)
photographer glassblower installation artist sculptor university teacher
Dale Chihuly is an American glass artist. He is well known in the field of blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture".
Melvin Gordon

49. Melvin Gordon

1993-. (aged 33)
athletics competitor American football player
Melvin Gordon III is an American former professional football running back. He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers, earning unanimous All-American honors and winning the Doak Walker Award as the top college running back in 2014. He was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft with the 15th overall pick.
+ show more
Joe Thomas

50. Joe Thomas

1991-. (aged 35)
American football player
Joseph Hayden Thomas is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 11 seasons with the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin, earned unanimous All-American honors, and was recognized as the top college interior lineman.
+ show more
Lorraine Hansberry

51. Lorraine Hansberry

1930-1965 (aged 35)
screenwriter theatrical director writer playwright activist
Lorraine Vivian Hansberry was an American playwright and writer. She was the first Black American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. Her best-known work, the play A Raisin in the Sun, highlights the lives of Black Americans in Chicago living under racial segregation. The title of the play was taken from the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes:...
+ show more
Frank Kaminsky

52. Frank Kaminsky

1993-. (aged 33)
basketball player
Francis Stanley Kaminsky III is an American professional basketball player for Alvark Tokyo of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers.
+ show more
John Bardeen

53. John Bardeen

1908-1991 (aged 83)
inventor physicist electrical engineer university teacher
John Bardeen was an American condensed matter physicist. He is the only person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice: first in 1956 with William Shockley and Walter Brattain for their invention of the transistor; and again in 1972 with Leon Cooper and Robert Schrieffer for their microscopic theory of superconductivity, known as the BCS theory.
+ show more
Mitzi Shore

54. Mitzi Shore

1930-2018 (aged 88)
businessperson
Mitzi Shore was an American comedy club owner. Her husband, Sammy Shore, co-founded The Comedy Store in 1972 and she became its owner two years later. Through the club, she had a huge influence on the careers of up-and-coming comedians for many decades.
+ show more
Rose Lavelle

55. Rose Lavelle

1995-. (aged 31)
association football player
Rosemary Kathleen Lavelle is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team.
+ show more
Marc Webb

56. Marc Webb

1974-. (aged 52)
screenwriter television director film director motorcycle racer television producer
Marc Preston Webb is an American filmmaker and music video director. He made his feature film directorial debut in 2009 with the romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer. He then directed The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), which later were dubbed the "Webb-Verse" by Marvel Studios in 2021. He also directed the 2017 dramas Gifted and...
+ show more
Fredric March

57. Fredric March

1897-1975 (aged 78)
stage actor television actor character actor actor film actor
Fredric March was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated stars of the 1930s and 1940s. As a performer he was known for his versatility. He received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, two Tony Awards, two Volpi Cups, the Silver Bear, as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and three Emmy...
+ show more
Lynn Margulis

58. Lynn Margulis

1938-2011 (aged 73)
biologist university teacher ecologist microbiologist botanist
Lynn Margulis was an American evolutionary biologist, who was the primary modern proponent for the significance of symbiosis in evolution. In particular, Margulis transformed and fundamentally framed biologists' understanding of the evolution of the Eukaryotes, organisms with nuclei in their cells. She proposed that they came into being by symbiotic mergers of bacteria. Margulis was the co-developer of the Gaia...
+ show more
Chris Chelios

59. Chris Chelios

1962-. (aged 64)
ice hockey player restaurateur
Christos Konstantinos Chelios is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was a three-time Stanley Cup champion: one with the Montreal Canadiens and two with the Detroit Red Wings.
+ show more
Phil Hellmuth

60. Phil Hellmuth

1964-. (aged 62)
poker player author
Phillip Jerome Hellmuth Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won a record seventeen World Series of Poker bracelets, the majority in no-limit hold'em. He is the winner of the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the Main Event of the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), and he is a 2007...
+ show more
Tammy Baldwin

61. Tammy Baldwin

1962-. (aged 64)
lawyer politician
Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2013 as the junior United States senator from Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party, she has also served as the secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus since 2017. Baldwin has been the dean of the United States congressional delegation from Wisconsin since 2023, when Representative Ron Kind...
+ show more
Tom Wopat

62. Tom Wopat

1951-. (aged 75)
television actor singer actor comedian
Thomas Steven Wopat is an American actor and singer. He first achieved fame as Lucas K. "Luke" Duke on the long-running television action/comedy series The Dukes of Hazzard. Since then, Wopat has worked regularly, most often on the stage in musicals and in supporting television and movie roles. He was a semi-regular recurring character on the 1990s comedy series Cybill,...
+ show more
Saul Bellow

63. Saul Bellow

1915-2005 (aged 90)
essayist university teacher novelist writer author
Saul Bellow was a Canadian-American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only writer to win the National Book Award for Fiction three times, and he received the National Book Foundation's lifetime Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 1990.
+ show more
Lawrence Wong

64. Lawrence Wong

1972-. (aged 54)
chief executive officer politician
Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai is a Singaporean politician who has served as the fourth prime minister of Singapore since 2024 and the minister of finance since 2021. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been a member of Parliament (MP) for the Limbang division of Marsiling–Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency (GRC) since 2015. He had previously...
+ show more
Amy Landecker

65. Amy Landecker

1969-. (aged 57)
stage actor film director television actor actor film actor
Amy Lauren Landecker is an American actress. She is known for her role as Sarah Pfefferman on the Amazon comedy-drama series Transparent (2014–2019), as well as her supporting roles in the films Dan in Real Life (2007), A Serious Man (2009), All Is Bright (2013), Project Almanac (2015), and Beatriz at Dinner (2017), and the TV series Your Honor (2020–2023).
+ show more
Lynne Cheney

66. Lynne Cheney

1941-. (aged 85)
novelist politician non-fiction writer
Lynne Ann Cheney is an American author, scholar, former talk show host, and the widow of Dick Cheney, the 46th vice president of the United States. She served as the second lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 when her husband was vice president.
+ show more
Steve Miller

67. Steve Miller

1943-. (aged 83)
songwriter singer-songwriter guitarist singer
Steven Haworth Miller is an American musician. He is the founder and only remaining original member of the Steve Miller Band, which he founded in 1966, and is the principal songwriter, lead singer, harmonicist, keyboardist, and one of the guitarists. He began his career in blues and blues rock and evolved to a more pop-oriented arena rock sound during the...
+ show more
Edward Witten

68. Edward Witten

1951-. (aged 75)
university teacher physicist theoretical physicist string theorist mathematician
Edward Witten is an American theoretical physicist known for his contributions to string theory, topological quantum field theory, and various areas of mathematics. He is a professor emeritus in the school of natural sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Witten is a researcher in string theory, quantum gravity, supersymmetric quantum field theories, and other areas of mathematical...
+ show more
Don Ameche

69. Don Ameche

1908-1993 (aged 85)
stage actor film director television actor actor film actor
Don Ameche was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, repertory theatre, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which led to the offer of a movie contract from 20th Century Fox in 1935.
+ show more
Joyce Carol Oates

70. Joyce Carol Oates

1938-. (aged 88)
diarist professor writer essayist autobiographer
Joyce Carol Oates is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novels Black Water (1992), What I Lived For (1994), and Blonde (2000), and her short story collection Lovely, Dark, Deep: Stories (2014) were each...
+ show more
Greta Van Susteren

71. Greta Van Susteren

1954-. (aged 72)
television presenter lawyer journalist
Greta Conway Van Susteren is an American journalist, lawyer, and television news anchor for Newsmax TV. She was previously on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. She hosted Fox News's On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren for 14 years (2002–2016) before departing for MSNBC, where she hosted For the Record with Greta for roughly six months in 2017. On June...
+ show more
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

72. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

1938-. (aged 88)
writer economist entrepreneur politician
Ellen Eugenia Johnson Sirleaf is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa.
+ show more
Iris Apfel

73. Iris Apfel

1921-2024 (aged 103)
model businessperson entrepreneur interior designer designer
Iris Apfel was an American businesswoman, interior designer, and fashion designer, known for her flamboyant style, outspoken personality and oversized eyeglasses. In business with her husband, Carl, from 1950 to 1992, Apfel had a career in textiles, including a contract with the White House that spanned nine presidencies. In retirement, she drew acclaim for a 2005 show at the Costume...
+ show more
bell hooks

74. bell hooks

1952-2021 (aged 69)
university teacher philosopher writer
Gloria Jean Watkins, better known by her pen name bell hooks (stylized in lowercase), was an American author, theorist, educator, and social critic who was a Distinguished Professor in Residence at Berea College. She was best known for her writings on race, feminism, and social class. Her work explored the intersections of race, capitalism, and gender, and what she described...
+ show more
Anders Holm

75. Anders Holm

1981-. (aged 45)
voice actor showrunner actor comedian television actor
Anders Holm is an American comedian and actor. He is one of the stars and creators of the Comedy Central show Workaholics and starred in the short-lived NBC series Champions. He, along with fellow Workaholics creators Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, and Kyle Newacheck, formed the sketch group Mail Order Comedy.
+ show more
John Muir

76. John Muir

1838-1914 (aged 76)
philosopher writer autobiographer botanical collector essayist
John Muir, also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States.
+ show more
Boz Scaggs

77. Boz Scaggs

1944-. (aged 82)
composer singer-songwriter guitarist singer
William Royce "Boz" Scaggs is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was a bandmate of Steve Miller in the Ardells in the early 1960s and a member of the Steve Miller Band from 1967 to 1968.
+ show more
Gena Rowlands

78. Gena Rowlands

1930-2024 (aged 94)
television actor stage actor actor film actor
Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands was an American actress, whose career in film, stage, and television spanned nearly seven decades. She was a four-time Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe winner, and she was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
+ show more
Michael Mann

79. Michael Mann

1943-. (aged 83)
film director writer producer film screenwriter film producer
Michael Kenneth Mann is an American film director, screenwriter, author and producer. Best known for his stylized crime dramas, he has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as earned nominations for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a BAFTA Award. His most acclaimed works include the films Thief (1981), Manhunter (1986), The Last of the Mohicans (1992),...
+ show more
Jane Kaczmarek

80. Jane Kaczmarek

1955-. (aged 71)
stage actor television actor voice actor actor film actor
Jane Frances Kaczmarek is an American actress. Her role as Lois on the Fox sitcom Malcolm in the Middle (2000–2006) earned her three Golden Globe nominations and seven Primetime Emmy nominations. She also appeared as Linda Bauer in Equal Justice (1990–1991), Judge Trudy Kessler in Raising the Bar (2008–2009), Ann in Falling in Love (1984), Emily in The Heavenly Kid...
+ show more
Agnes Moorehead

81. Agnes Moorehead

1900-1974 (aged 74)
actor television actor film actor voice actor stage actor
Agnes Robertson Moorehead was an American actress. In a career spanning five decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television. Moorehead was the recipient of such accolades as a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for four Academy Awards.
+ show more
Mike Webster

82. Mike Webster

1952-2002 (aged 50)
American football player
Michael Lewis Webster was an American professional football center in the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 to 1990 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, class of 1997. Nicknamed "Iron Mike", Webster anchored the Steelers' offensive line during much of their run of four Super Bowl victories...
+ show more
J. J. Watt

83. J. J. Watt

1989-. (aged 37)
television actor American football player
Justin James Watt is an American former professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Houston Texans. He played college football for the Central Michigan Chippewas and Wisconsin Badgers and was selected by the Texans in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft.
+ show more
Abraham Maslow

84. Abraham Maslow

1908-1970 (aged 62)
university teacher psychologist
Abraham Harold Maslow was an American psychologist who created Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization.
+ show more
Virgil Abloh

85. Virgil Abloh

1980-2021 (aged 41)
civil engineer designer composer record producer disc jockey
Virgil Abloh was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. A trained architect, Abloh founded his own line of luxury streetwear clothing under the moniker Pyrex Vision in 2012, which he transformed into the Milan based fashion label Off-White in 2013. Abloh was appointed artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collection beginning in 2018 and was given increased creative responsibilities across...
+ show more
Jim Lovell

86. Jim Lovell

1928-2025 (aged 97)
naval officer test pilot screenwriter naval aviator astronaut
James Arthur Lovell Jr. was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he, along with Frank Borman and William Anders, became one of the first three astronauts to fly to and orbit the Moon. He then commanded the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970 which, after a critical...
+ show more
Charles Lindbergh

87. Charles Lindbergh

1902-1974 (aged 72)
aircraft pilot aviation writer air force officer fighter pilot diarist
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris, a distance of 3,600 miles (5,800 km), flying alone for over 33 hours. His aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis, was built to compete for the $25,000 Orteig Prize for the first flight between...
+ show more
Seann William Scott

88. Seann William Scott

1976-. (aged 50)
television actor voice actor film producer actor film actor
Seann William Scott is an American actor. In film, Scott is best known for his breakout role as Steve Stifler in the American Pie film series (1999–2012). He also starred in a lead role as Doug Glatt in Goon (2011) and its sequel, Goon: Last of the Enforcers (2017). His other notable lead film credits include Dude, Where's My Car?...
+ show more
Joan Cusack

89. Joan Cusack

1962-. (aged 64)
television actor comedian voice actor actor film actor
Joan Mary Cusack is an American actress. An acclaimed character actress known for her distinctive voice and offbeat comedic timing, her portrayals of neurotic, endearing characters have earned her numerous accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards and five Primetime Emmy Awards, winning once in 2015.
+ show more
Carrie Coon

90. Carrie Coon

1981-. (aged 45)
television actor stage actor actor film actor
Carrie Alexandra Coon is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women on stage and screen, she has received a Critics' Choice Television Award, as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and a Tony Award.
+ show more
Frank Lloyd Wright

91. Frank Lloyd Wright

1867-1959 (aged 92)
architect writer designer urban planner printseller
Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements of the twentieth century, influencing architects worldwide through his works and mentoring hundreds of apprentices in his Taliesin Fellowship. Wright believed in designing in harmony with...
+ show more
Russell Wilson

92. Russell Wilson

1988-. (aged 38)
baseball player American football player
Russell Carrington Wilson is an American professional football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He has primarily played for the Seattle Seahawks. With the Seahawks, Wilson was named to the Pro Bowl nine times and helped Seattle win their first Super Bowl championship in Super Bowl XLVIII. He is regarded as one of the...
+ show more
Jack Kilby

93. Jack Kilby

1923-2005 (aged 82)
photographer physicist university teacher engineer inventor
Jack St. Clair Kilby was an American electronics engineer who took part, along with Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor, in the realization of the first integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments in 1958. For this invention, Kilby shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics.
+ show more
Joseph McCarthy

94. Joseph McCarthy

1908-1957 (aged 49)
military officer farmer judge lawyer politician
Joseph Raymond McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. senator from Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visible public face of a period in the United States in which Cold War tensions fueled fears of widespread communist subversion. He alleged that numerous communists and Soviet spies and...
+ show more
Dick Cheney

95. Dick Cheney

1941-2025 (aged 84)
autobiographer businessperson entrepreneur vice president merchant
Richard Bruce Cheney was an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is widely considered to be the most powerful vice president in United States history. A member of the Republican Party, Cheney previously served as White House chief of staff for...
+ show more
James White

96. James White

1962-. (aged 64)
theologian
James White was a Canadian geographer. White studied geology at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. In 1883, he became the Geographer and Chief Draftsman for the Geological Survey of Canada. White and a team of 20 cartographers produced the first edition of the Atlas of Canada in 1906.
+ show more
M. S. Swaminathan

97. M. S. Swaminathan

1925-2023 (aged 98)
geneticist administrator agronomist politician
Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan was an Indian geneticist and plant breeder, administrator and humanitarian. Swaminathan was a global leader of the green revolution. He has been called the main architect of the green revolution in India for his leadership and role in introducing and further developing high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice.
+ show more
Har Gobind Khorana

98. Har Gobind Khorana

1922-2011 (aged 89)
university teacher geneticist biologist
Har Gobind Khorana was an Indian-American biochemist. While on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for research that showed the order of nucleotides in nucleic acids, which carry the genetic code of the cell and control the cell's synthesis of proteins....
+ show more
Virginia Apgar

99. Virginia Apgar

1909-1974 (aged 65)
anesthesiologist pediatrician university teacher
Virginia Apgar was an American physician, obstetrical anesthesiologist and medical researcher, best known as the inventor of the Apgar score, a way to quickly assess the health of a newborn child immediately after birth in order to combat infant mortality. In 1952, she developed the 10-point Apgar score to assist physicians and nurses in assessing the status of newborns. Given...
+ show more
Sergio Fajardo

100. Sergio Fajardo

1956-. (aged 70)
university teacher politician environmentalist journalist mathematician
Sergio Fajardo Valderrama is a Colombian politician and mathematician. He first entered politics in 2003 when he was elected Mayor of Medellín, the second largest city in Colombia and the capital of Antioquia. He was the mayor of Medellín from 2003 to 2007 and was recognized for transforming the city from a violent and impoverished place to a model of...
+ show more