Discover the notable alumni of Ohio University. The list includes people like Paul Newman, Matt Lauer, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Jonathan Edwards & Nancy Cartwright. This list of notable alumni is loosely sorted by popularity and has people from different domains of life, such as media personalities, film & theater personalities, miscellaneous, artists & painters and sportspersons etc.

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 1 

Paul Newman

(One of the Most Influential Actors of 20th-Century)

Birthdate: January 26, 1925

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Shaker Heights, Ohio, United States

Died: September 26, 2008

One of the most celebrated actors of the 1960s and 1970s, Paul Newman was a multi-faceted man. Apart from winning acting accolades, such as the Academy Award, he had also won many championships as a driver as part of the Sports Car Club of America. Also known for his philanthropy and political activism, Newman founded many nonprofit organizations.

 2 

Ed O’Neill

(Actor & Comedian Best Known for His Portrayal of 'Al Bundy' in the Fox Network Sitcom ‘Married...With Children’)

Birthdate: April 12, 1946

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Youngstown, Ohio, United States

Footballer-turned-actor Ed O'Neill is best known for his Golden Globe-nominated role of Al Bundy in Married... with Children and his Emmy-nominated portrayal of Jay Pritchett in Modern Family. He was seen in the Wayne's World films and did voice-work in Finding Dory. He has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

 3 

Nancy Cartwright

(Actress)

Birthdate: October 25, 1957

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Dayton, Ohio, United States

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 4 

Piper Perabo

(Best Known for Her Film ‘Coyote Ugly’ and TV Series ‘Covert Affairs’)

Birthdate: October 31, 1976

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Dallas, Texas, United States

Piper Perabo is an American actress who garnered wide acclaim for her portrayal of Violet Sanford in the musical comedy-drama film Coyote Ugly. Since then, Perabo has been an important actress in both film and TV industry. Also known for her political activism, Perabo was arrested twice for participating in protests. She also advocates for women empowerment and LGBT rights.

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 5 

Arsenio Hall

(Comedian)

Birthdate: February 12, 1956

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Height: 5'11" (180 cm)

Birthdate: April 1, 1995

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Westlake, Ohio, United States

A social media personality, Logan Paul shot to fame by posting stunts, comedy sketches and public pranks videos on You Tube and Vine. Later, he became the face of various advertisement campaigns and also ventured into acting in films and television. Logan Paul has been involved in several controversies too.

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 7 

Mike Schmidt

(Baseball player)

Birthdate: September 27, 1949

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Dayton

 8 

Vanessa Bell Calloway

(Actress)

Birthdate: March 20, 1957

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio, USA

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 9 

Patti Harrison

(Known for her supporting role as Ruthie in the television series Shrill)

Birthdate: October 31, 1990

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Orient, Ohio, United States

Height: 5'6" (168 cm)

 10 

Bob Huggins

(Basketball coach)

Birthdate: September 21, 1953

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Morgantown, West Virginia, United States

Height: 6'3" (190 cm)

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 11 

Allie LaForce

(Beauty pageant contestant, Journalist)

Birthdate: December 11, 1988

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Vermilion

Height: 5'8" (173 cm)

 12 

Matt Lauer

(Former American Television News Personality, Best Known for His Work With NBC News)

Birthdate: December 30, 1957

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: New York, New York, United States

Matt Lauer is a former TV news anchor who co-hosted the opening ceremonies of many Olympic Games. After a flourishing career at NBC News, Matt Lauer was forced to retire after a colleague accused him of engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior. His personal life too was affected because of sexual harassment allegations made against him.

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 13 

Mark Dantonio

(American football coach)

Birthdate: March 9, 1956

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: El Paso, Texas, United States

 14 

Jason Preston

(Basketball player)

Birthdate: August 10, 1999

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Orlando, Florida, United States

Height: 6'4" (193 cm)

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 15 

Erma Bombeck

(Humorist)

Birthdate: February 21, 1927

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Bellbrook, Ohio, United States

Died: April 22, 1996

Birthdate: October 5, 1703

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: East Windsor, Connecticut, United States

Died: March 22, 1758

Jonathan Edwards was an American philosopher, revivalist preacher, and Congregationalist Protestant theologian. Considered one of America's most prominent and influential philosophical theologians, Jonathan Edwards played a major role in shaping the Evangelical Revival of the 1730s and 1740s. His theological work is credited with paving the way for a new school of theology called the New England theology.

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 17 

Thom Brennaman

(Sports commentator)

Birthdate: September 12, 1963

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Chapel Hill

Birthdate: 1952 AD

Birthplace: Chidambaram,Tamilnadu India

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan is a British-American structural biologist whose research on the function of the ribosome earned him the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry which he shared with Ada Yonath and Thomas A. Steitz. From 2015 to 2020, he served as the president of the Royal Society.

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 19 

Bob Bradley

(American Soccer Coach)

Birthdate: March 3, 1958

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Montclair, New Jersey, United States

Apart from being the first American manager of a Premier League club, Bob Bradley now serves as the head coach of the MLS team Los Angeles FC. He is the father of Toronto FC soccer player Michael Bradley. The Princeton graduate had also worked with Procter & Gamble before stepping into sports.

 20 

Jenny Holzer

(Artist, Painter, Sculptor)

Birthdate: July 29, 1950

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Gallipolis

Jenny Holzer is an American artist best known for her association with neo-conceptual art. Her work focuses on conveying ideas and messages in public spaces with the help of large-scale installations, illuminated electronic displays, projections on buildings, and advertising billboards. Over the course of her career, Holzer has received several awards like the Golden Lion at the 1990 Venice Biennale.

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 21 

Robert Christopher Riley

(Actor)

Birthdate: October 11, 1980

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, USA

Height: 6'1" (185 cm)

 22 

Gary Trent

(Basketball player)

Birthdate: September 22, 1974

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio, United States

Height: 6'8" (203 cm)

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 23 

Jonathan Freeman

(Actor)

Birthdate: February 5, 1950

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio, United States

 24 

Bob Brenly

(Baseball player)

Birthdate: February 25, 1954

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Coshocton, Ohio, United States

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 25 

Nathan Rourke

(Canadian Professional Football Quarterback)

Birthdate: May 24, 1998

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Height: 6'1" (185 cm)

 26 

Marie Tharp

(US Geologist and Oceanographer Known for Her Pioneering Work on 'Oceanographic Cartography')

Birthdate: July 30, 1920

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States

Died: August 23, 2006

US geologist and oceanographer Marie Tharp is remembered for her pioneering work on oceanographic cartography. She contributed to the development of the first scientific map of the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. She was associated with the Columbia University’s Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory and was one of the first women to work for it.

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 27 

Joe Eszterhas

(Screenwriter, Writer, Journalist)

Birthdate: November 23, 1944

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Csákánydoroszló

 28 

Tarell Basham

(American football player)

Birthdate: March 18, 1994

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Rocky Mount, Virginia, United States

Height: 6'4" (193 cm)

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 29 

Jim Dine

(American Artist Whose œUvre Extends Over Sixty Years)

Birthdate: June 16, 1935

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Jim Dine is an American artist who focuses on painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, and sculpting. Throughout his career, Dine has been linked with many art movements, including Neo-Dada, Pop Art, and Abstract Expressionism. Over the years, Jim Dine’s work has been displayed in various museums like the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

 30 

Rick Charls

(Former American High Diver Who Held the World Record for the Highest Dive of 172 Feet)

Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

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 31 

Thomas F. Duffy

(American Actor)

Birthdate: November 9, 1955

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey, United States

 32 

Clarence Page

(Journalist)

Birthdate: June 2, 1947

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Dayton, Ohio, United States

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 33 

Edward James Roye

(Politician)

Birthdate: February 3, 1815

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Newark, Ohio, United States

Died: February 11, 1872

 34 

Chuck Swirsky

(Basketball player, Radio personality)

Birthdate: January 30, 1954

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Norfolk

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 35 

Jeff Boals

(Basketball coach, Basketball player)

Birthdate: September 5, 1972

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Magnolia, Ohio, United States

 36 

Edward Lachman

(Cinematographer, Film director)

Birthdate: March 31, 1948

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Morristown

Cinematographer and director Edward Lachman is best known for his Academy Award-nominated movies Carol and Far from Heaven. Lachman has also worked on hits such as Erin Brockovich and Desperately Seeking Susan. The son of a movie distributor, he was educated at Harvard and later studied painting at Ohio University.

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 37 

Hans-Ulrich Wehler

(Historian)

Birthdate: September 11, 1931

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Freudenberg, Germany

Died: July 5, 2014

 38 

Tim Mickelson

(American Rower and Olympic Medalist)

Birthdate: November 12, 1948

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Deerfield, Wisconsin, United States

Died: August 30, 2017

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 39 

Nick Kellogg

(Basketball player)

Birthdate: December 11, 1991

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Westerville, Ohio, United States

Height: 6'3" (190 cm)

 40 

Bernard Muir

(Basketball player)

Birthdate: July 22, 1968

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Gainesville, Florida, United States

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 41 

Chuck Stewart

(Photographer)

Birthdate: May 21, 1927

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Texas, United States

Died: January 20, 2017

 42 

Yang Xiaobo

(Chinese Structural Engineer and Former Mayor of Huangshi (2009 - 2014))

Birthdate: 1963

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Tianmen, China

Died: January 28, 2020

Yang Xiaobo had been the mayor of Huangshi and was a qualified structural engineer. He also boasted of an MBA from the U.S. The Chinese Communist Party member, who had also been the president of the Central South Architectural Design Institute, died of COVID-19-induced pneumonia in Wuhan in 2020.

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 43 

Stefana Defining Fitness

(TikTok Star Who Posts Health and Fitness Content)

Birthdate: December 27, 1998

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Iasi, Romania

 44 

George Shiras Jr.

(Jurist)

Birthdate: January 26, 1832

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Died: August 2, 1924

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 45 

William Starling Sullivant

(Botanist)

Birthdate: January 15, 1803

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio, United States

Died: April 30, 1873

 46 

Nujoom Al-Ghanem

(Poet)

Birthdate: October 24, 1962

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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Situated in Athens, Ohio is one of America’s oldest universities, Ohio University. Since its commencement of classes began in 1809, the university has grown and branched out in order to be one of the finest universities of the United States. With an overall enrollment of over 40,000, the university practices an enrollment process with selective admission wherein the international student enrollment of over 1700 is also present. The campus extends over a beautiful property lined with trees, and buildings that have been designated as a National Historic Landmark. Ohio University offers various undergraduate and graduate programs in the fields of Arts & Science, Business, Communication, Education, Engineering and Medicine. The university has been rewarded with many honorable titles over the years by World Report, BusinessWeek, Forbes and Princeton Review for its academic excellence. Both, The Chronicle of Higher Education and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs have deemed Ohio University as a top producer of U.S. Fulbright Scholars, in the past. The university is well-known for producing various personalities who have achieved and contributed immensely in their respective areas of expertise. Roderick J. McDavis, Matt Lauer and Nancy Cartwright are some notable individuals who started their journey to success from Ohio University. Here is a list of some more famous personalities who top the list as Ohio University alumni.