Discover the notable alumni of University Of Illinois. The list includes people like Hugh Hefner, Larry Ellison, Roger Ebert, Jesse Jackson & Shel Silverstein. This list of notable alumni is loosely sorted by popularity and has people from different domains of life, such as scientists, media personalities, writers, intellectuals & academics and business people etc.

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 1 

Gene Hackman

(Best Known for His Role as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in the Film 'The French Connection’)

Birthdate: January 30, 1930

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: San Bernardino, California, United States

For someone who was voted by his acting school peers as 'The Least Likely To Succeed', Gene Hackman went on to have a remarkable acting career spanning around half a century with multiple prestigious awards. His notable films include Bonnie and Clyde, The French Connection, Unforgiven, Mississippi Burning and The Royal Tenenbaums. Apart from acting, Gene Hackman is also a novelist and has written six books.

Birthdate: September 25, 1930

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Died: May 10, 1999

Shel Silverstein was an American writer, playwright, songwriter, and cartoonist. Renowned for his children's books, songs, and cartoons, Silverstein's works have been translated into over 30 languages. The recipient of many prestigious awards, such as Grammy Awards, Shel Silverstein was posthumously inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.

 3 

Dick Butkus

(American Former Professional Football Player Who Played as Middle Linebacker)

Birthdate: December 9, 1942

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Height: 6'3" (190 cm)

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Birthdate: January 26, 1912

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Died: September 30, 1987

Herbert Sobel was an American military man who commanded Easy Company during World War II. Although he played a key role during the war, Sobel was despised by his soldiers due to his arrogance. In the 2001 war drama miniseries Band of Brothers, Herbert Sobel was portrayed by David Schwimmer.

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 5 

Dorothy Day

(American Social Activist, Journalist, and Anarchist)

Birthdate: November 8, 1897

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States

Died: November 29, 1980

Dorothy Day was an American social activist, journalist, and anarchist. She is best remembered for co-founding the Catholic Worker Movement along with French activist Peter Maurin. She also co-founded a newspaper called Catholic Worker and served as its editor between 1933 and 1980. In 2001, Dorothy Day was made an inductee of the National Women's Hall of Fame.

 6 

Dan Fogelberg

(Musician)

Birthdate: August 13, 1951

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Peoria, Illinois, USA

Died: December 16, 2007

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 7 

Deron Williams

(Basketball player)

Birthdate: June 26, 1984

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Parkersburg, West Virginia, United States

Height: 6'3" (190 cm)

 8 

Jack Welch

(Former Chairman & CEO of General Electric)

Birthdate: November 19, 1935

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Peabody, Massachusetts, U.S

Died: March 1, 2020

Height: 5'7" (170 cm)

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 9 

Ben Falcone

(Actor)

Birthdate: August 25, 1973

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Carbondale, Illinois, USA

Height: 5'6" (168 cm)

 10 

Dave Eggers

(American Writer Known for His Best Selling Memoir 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius')

Birthdate: March 12, 1970

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Dave Eggers is an American writer, publisher, and editor. He is credited with founding a non-profit publishing house named McSweeney's Publishing and a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization called ScholarMatch. Eggers is also credited with co-founding other non-profit organizations like 826 Valencia and Voice of Witness. His novels A Hologram for the King and The Circle have been adapted into movies.

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 11 

George Halas

(American football player)

Birthdate: February 2, 1895

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Died: October 31, 1983

Height: 6'0" (183 cm)

 12 

David Otunga

(Former Professional Wrestler Best Known for His Time with WWE)

Birthdate: April 7, 1980

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Elgin, Illinois, United States

Height: 6'1" (185 cm)

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Birthdate: November 8, 1923

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Jefferson City

Died: June 20, 2005

Nobel Prize-winning engineer Jack Kilby is best remembered for his contribution to the development of the integrated circuit. Born to an electrical engineer, he had his first brush with gadgets as an amateur radio operator. Initially a Texas Instruments employee, he later also taught at the Texas A&M University.

 14 

Suze Orman

(Author, Television Personality, Motivational Speaker)

Birthdate: June 5, 1951

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois

Height: 5'4" (163 cm)

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 15 

Curtis Granderson

(Baseball Player)

Birthdate: March 16, 1981

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Blue Island, Illinois, US

Height: 6'1" (185 cm)

 16 

Belal Muhammad

(Mixed martial art welterweight division)

Birthdate: July 9, 1988

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Height: 5'10" (178 cm)

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 17 

Steve Goodman

(Singer-songwriter)

Birthdate: July 25, 1948

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Died: September 20, 1984

 18 

Ed Boon

(Programmer, Engineer, Screenwriter, Computer scientist)

Birthdate: February 22, 1964

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Chicago

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 19 

Iris Chang

(Journalist)

Birthdate: March 28, 1968

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Princeton, New Jersey, United States

Died: November 9, 2004

Birthdate: November 30, 1924

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Chicago

Died: November 20, 1973

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 21 

César Pelli

(Architect, Entrepreneur)

Birthdate: October 12, 1926

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: San Miguel de Tucumán

 22 

Sheila Johnson

(American businesswoman)

Birthdate: January 25, 1949

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: McKeesport

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 23 

John Chancellor

(Journalist)

Birthdate: July 14, 1927

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Died: July 12, 1996

 24 

Tony Eason

(American football player)

Birthdate: October 8, 1959

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Blythe, California, United States

Height: 6'4" (193 cm)

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 25 

Carol Moseley Braun

(politician, diplomat, prosecutor, lawyer)

Birthdate: August 16, 1947

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

 26 

Ted Karras

(American football player)

Birthdate: March 15, 1993

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Height: 6'4" (193 cm)

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 27 

Whitney Mercilus

(American Football Player)

Birthdate: July 21, 1990

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Akron, Ohio, United States

Height: 6'4" (193 cm)

 28 

Paul Hunt

(Gymnastics clown)

Birthplace: Illinois, United States

Once a US national champion, gymnast Paul Hunt also made use of his sense of humor, often performing comic-relief routines, dressed in skirts, using pseudonyms such as Paulina and Pauletta. A talented coach, he was forced to shut down his gymnastics academy in Salt Lake City due to COVID-19.

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 29 

Pierre Thomas

(American football player)

Birthdate: December 18, 1984

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Height: 5'11" (180 cm)

 30 

Nick Anderson

(Basketball player)

Birthdate: January 20, 1968

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

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 31 

Simeon Rice

(American football player)

Birthdate: February 24, 1974

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Height: 6'5" (196 cm)

 32 

Jeff Monson

(Russian Mixed Martial Artist)

Birthdate: January 18, 1971

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States

Height: 5'9" (175 cm)

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 33 

David Diehl

(American football player)

Birthdate: September 15, 1980

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Height: 6'6" (198 cm)

 34 

Brandon Lloyd

(American football player)

Birthdate: July 5, 1981

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, United States

Height: 6'0" (183 cm)

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Birthdate: April 27, 1896

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Burlington, Iowa, United States

Died: April 29, 1937

Wallace Carothers was an American inventor and chemist. He worked for DuPont where he was the leader of organic chemistry. Carothers, who played a major role at the DuPont Experimental Station, is credited with inventing nylon. Despite his success, Carothers was unhappy with his life and committed suicide at the age of 41; he was troubled by bouts of depression.

 36 

Tatyana McFadden

(American Paralympic Athlete)

Birthdate: April 21, 1989

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia

Height: 5'3" (160 cm)

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 37 

Kendrick Green

(American Football Player)

Birthdate: December 22, 1998

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Peoria, Illinois, United States

Height: 6'4" (193 cm)

 38 

George Crumb

(Composer)

Birthdate: October 24, 1929

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Charleston, West Virginia, United States

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 39 

Mark Van Doren

(Poet, Autobiographer, Literary critic, University teacher, Professor, Writer, Journalist)

Birthdate: June 13, 1894

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Vermilion County

Died: December 10, 1972

 40 

Nick Allegretti

(American football player)

Birthdate: April 21, 1996

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Frankfort, Illinois, United States

Height: 6'4" (193 cm)

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 41 

William F. Baker

(Structural engineer)

Birthdate: October 9, 1953

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Fulton, Missouri, United States

William F. Baker is an American structural engineer best known for working as an engineer in several important projects, including the famous Burj Khalifa in Dubai. In 2011, he was invited by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) to lead a project aimed at developing innovative structures for high-rise buildings. Baker has received several honors and awards throughout his career.

 42 

Donald Johanson

(Anthropologist, Archaeologist, Prehistorian, Paleoanthropologist, University teacher)

Birthdate: June 28, 1943

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Chicago

Donald Johanson is a paleoanthropologist. He collaborated with Yves Coppens and Maurice Taieb to discover the fossil of a female hominin australopithecine in the Afar Triangle region of Hadar, Ethiopia. This fossil was named “Lucy". As an academician, he established the Institute of Human Origins in Berkeley. He is the recipient of several awards and honors. 

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 43 

Hans Massaquoi

(Journalist, Writer)

Birthdate: January 19, 1926

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany

Died: January 19, 2013

 44 

Jihad Ward

(American football player)

Birthdate: May 11, 1994

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Height: 6'5" (196 cm)

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 45 

Ken Holtzman

(Baseball player)

Birthdate: November 3, 1945

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Height: 6'2" (188 cm)

 46 

Scott D. Altman

(Astronaut, Fighter pilot)

Birthdate: August 15, 1959

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Lincoln

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Birthdate: May 8, 1936

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Died: August 14, 2020

Height: 5'7" (170 cm)

 48 

Dorris Alexander Brown

(Novelist)

Birthdate: February 29, 1908

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Louisiana, United States

Died: December 12, 2002

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 49 

A. J. Jenkins

(American football player)

Birthdate: September 30, 1989

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Jacksonville, Florida, United States

Height: 6'1" (185 cm)

Birthdate: May 31, 1931

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Oak Park, Illinois, USA

Died: July 27, 2019

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The University of Illinois is one of the top-ranked educational institutions in the world where students from different parts of the world come to pursue their higher education. Media sources like ‘Times Higher Education’, ‘U.S News & World Report’ and ‘Academic Ranking Of World Ranking’ have often published lists of top universities around the world and this institution has often appeared on these lists. The campus of this university is unbelievably huge and sprawls over more than 4500 acres. More than 600 buildings are situated on University of Illinois’ vast campus. The University has also been praised by media and masses alike for producing several noteworthy students, who are making waves all over the world for their incredible accomplishments. The notable alumni association of the University of Illinois includes names like film critic Roger Ebert, entrepreneur Marc Andreessen, businessman Steve Chan as well as author and motivational speaker Suze Orman. Roger Ebert has been extremely popular within Hollywood circles and cinema lovers not just for his impressive reviews, but also his books. One of his works ‘A Memoir, Scorcese By Ebert’ has been a favorite among several aspiring filmmakers. Scroll below to find a list of well-known personalities who studied at the University of Illinois. The names on the list speak volumes about the kind of students this renowned university has been producing over the years. Probably this is why this university receives applications from all parts of the world.