javascript is disabled, enable it otherwise the site will not work properly!

javascript est désactivé, activez-le sinon le site ne fonctionnera pas correctement !

List of Smith College people

The following is a list of individuals associated with Smith College through attending as a student, or serving as a member of the faculty or staff.

Notable alumnae

The Alumnae Association of Smith College considers all former students to be members, whether they graduated or not, and does not generally differentiate between graduates and non-graduates when identifying Smith alumnae.

Academia

Frances Dorothy Acomb, 1932, academic and historian
Susan Low Bloch, 1966, professor at Georgetown University Law Center, member of the American Law Institute
Laura Bornholdt, 1940, historian and dean at Sarah Lawrence College, University of Pennsylvania, and Wellesley College
LaWanda Cox, 1934, M.A., noted historian of slavery and reconstruction at Hunter College
Otelia Cromwell, 1900, first African-American woman to receive a Yale degree, educator
Diana L. Eck, 1967, professor of comparative religion and Indian studies and master of Lowell House at Harvard University
Mira Hinsdale Hall, 1883, founder of Miss Hall's School
Jean Harris, 1945, notable for work with female inmates after serving time herself
Margaret Hutchins, 1906, reference librarian and professor at Columbia University
Elisabeth Irwin, 1903, founder of Little Red School House
Sally Katzen, 1964, law scholar, civil servant
Catharine MacKinnon, 1968, feminist, scholar, lawyer, teacher and activist
Neda Maghbouleh, B.A. 2004, American-born Canadian sociologist, scholar, writer, author, and educator; the Canada Research Chair in Migration, Race, and Identity and associate professor of sociology at the University of Toronto Mississauga
Amy Richlin, 1970, professor in Department of Classics at UCLA
Denise Spellberg, 1980, scholar of Islamic history
Laura D'Andrea Tyson, 1969, professor at Haas School of Business of UC Berkeley, former and first female Director of National Economic Council, former Chair of Council of Economic Advisors, first female dean of London Business School

College presidents

Ada Comstock, 1897, third and first full-time President of Radcliffe College
Rhoda Dorsey, 1946, longest serving and first woman President of Goucher College
Mary Patterson McPherson, 1957, sixth President of Bryn Mawr College, former Vice President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Executive Officer of American Philosophical Society
Elizabeth Hoffman, 1968, 20th President of the University of Colorado System
Nancy A. Roseman, 28th President of Dickinson College
Victoria Murden McClure, 1985, President of Spalding University

Activism

Blanche Ames Ames, 1899, President of the Class of 1899, portraitist, women's rights activist, and inventor
Jennifer Chrisler, 1992, Executive Director of Family Equality Council
Alice T. Days, documentary filmmaker
Betty Friedan, 1942, author of The Feminine Mystique, co-founder and first President of National Organization for Women, renowned feminist
Yolanda King, 1976, activist and daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Susan Lindauer, 1985, journalist and antiwar activist
Kathleen Ridder, philanthropist, educator, writer, equality for women activist
Jean Gurney Fine Spahr (1861-1935), social reformer associated with the Rivington Street Settlement
Gloria Steinem, 1956, founder of Ms. magazine, founding editor of New York Magazine, noted feminist and political activist
Helen Rand Thayer (1863-1935), co-founder and president of the College Settlements Association
Mary van Kleeck 1904, social feminist
Gertrude Weil, 1901, activist of women's suffrage, labor reform and civil rights

Arts

Desiree Akhavan, filmmaker and actress, Appropriate Behavior and The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Tia Blake, 1989, singer-songwriter and writer
Gina Knee Brook, artist
Miriam Davenport, 1937, painter and sculptor who played a central role in helping European Jews escape the Holocaust
Eleanor de Laittre, artist
Maya Deren, U.S. avant-garde filmmaker and film theorist of the 1940s and 1950s
Alison Frantz, archeological photographer and academic
Merrill Garbus, 2001, founder, lead singer and instrumentalist for Tune-Yards
Thelma Golden, 1985, Board of Obama Foundation and Chief Curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem
Shelley Hack, 1969, actress and model
Sarah P. Harkness, 1937, architect
Cynthia Harris, actress
Susan Hiller (class of 1961): conceptual artist
Rose Jang, pop opera singer, PR ambassador for Korean Tourism Office and UNESCO of Korea
Mimi Kennedy, 1970, actress
Diana Kleiner, 1969, art historian
Carolyn Kuan, conductor, pianist, music director for Hartford Symphony Orchestra
May Lillie, 1886, Wild West show performer and equestrian
MJ Long, joint architect of the British Library
Kathleen Marshall, 1985, three-time Tony Award-winning choreographer
Deborah Nehmad, 1974, attorney and artist
Cornelia Oberlander, 1944, landscape architect
Toks Olagundoye, actress, ABC TV sitcom The Neighbors
Judith Raskin, 1949, Metropolitan Opera Soprano
Romita Ray, 1992, art historian
Pauline Gibling Schindler, 1915, Los Angeles arts figure
Sandy Skoglund, 1968, artist
Mary Otis Stevens, 1949, architect
Patricia Wettig, 2001, actress and playwright, Brothers & Sisters
Inez Harrington Whitfield, 1889, Arkansas-based botanical illustrator
Stoner Winslett, 1980, artistic director, Richmond Ballet
Alice Morgan Wright, sculptor, suffragist, advocate of animal rights

Authors

Natalie Babbitt, 1954, Newbery Medal Honor-winning author of Knee-Knock Rise and Tuck Everlasting
Joanna Barnes, 1956, actress and author
Mildred Grosberg Bellin, 1928, cookbook author
Dorothy Hamilton Brush, 1917, author; birth control and women's rights advocate
Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, 1929, author of Cheaper by the Dozen
Ann Downer, 1982, writer
Margaret Edson, 1983, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Wit
Edith Granger, author of Index of Poetry
Laurie Ann Guerrero, writer and Texas poet laureate
Svava Jakobsdóttir, Icelandic author, politician and women's rights activist
Piper Kerman (class of 1992), author of Orange is the New Black
Megan Dowd Lambert, 1996, children's book author
Tosca Lee, 1992, best-selling author of Demon: A Memoir and Havah: The Story of Eve
Madeleine L'Engle, 1941, Newbery Medal Honor-winning author of A Wrinkle in Time
Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 1928, author of Gift from the Sea, pioneering aviator, spouse of Charles Lindbergh
Pearl London, poet and teacher
Sarah MacLean, 2000, bestselling author of young adult and romance novels
Annie Russell Marble, 1886, 1895, author and essayist
Ann Matthews Martin, 1977, Newbery Medal Honor-winning author of The Baby-Sitters Club
Olive Beaupré Miller (née Olive Kennon Beaupré), 1904, author, publisher and editor of children's literature
Margaret Mitchell, 1922, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gone with the Wind (1937); left Smith shortly after her mother's death
Erin Morgenstern, 2000, author of The Night Circus
Ruth Ozeki, 1980, Japanese-American novelist and filmmaker
Sylvia Plath, 1955, poet, novelist, and author of The Bell Jar and Ariel
Halina Poświatowska, 1961, Polish poet and writer; one of the most important figures in modern Polish literature
Olive Higgins Prouty, 1904, author of Now, Voyager and Stella Dallas
Anna Chapin Ray, 1885, prolific author of juvenile and adult literature
Cynthia Propper Seton, 1948, novelist, nominated for the National Book Award
Martha Southgate, 1982, award-winning author
J. Courtney Sullivan, 2003, novelist and former writer for The New York Times
Dorothy Hayden Truscott, international champion bridge player and author
Yoshiko Uchida, 1944, Japanese-American writer
Cynthia Irving Voigt, 1963, Newbury Medal-winning author
J.R. Ward, bestselling author of romance novels
Diane Wolkstein, children's author and folklorist
Hanya Yanagihara, author of A Little Life
Jane Yolen, 1963, author and editor of almost 300 books

Business

Shelly Lazarus (class of 1968), former CEO and chairman of Ogilvy & Mather
Enid Mark, 1954, founder of the ELM Press
Christine McCarthy, 1977, CFO of The Walt Disney Company
Marilyn Carlson Nelson, former chairman and CEO of the Carlson Companies, former chair of the National Women's Business Council
Phebe Novakovic, Chairman and CEO of General Dynamics
Durreen Shahnaz (class of 1989), founder of Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), the world's first social stock exchange

Diplomats and government officials

Barbara Pierce Bush, 1947, 43rd First Lady of the United States (did not graduate, left college in 1945 to marry George H. W. Bush)
Leecia Eve, 1986, Deputy Secretary for Economic Development in the Executive Chamber of New York Governor, Senior Policy Adviser to U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton during her 2008 primary campaign for President
Judith Fergin, 1973, former United States Ambassador to East Timor
Louka Katseli, Greek Minister of Economy, Competitiveness and Shipping
Maria Lopez, 1975, Cuban-American former judge and former television jurist
Anne Clark Martindell, former United States Ambassador to New Zealand
Helen Milliken, 1945, longest-serving First Lady of Michigan
Emily W. Murphy, 1995, Administrator of the General Services Administration
Stephanie Neely, Treasurer of City of Chicago
Farah Pandith, 1990, Special Representative to Muslim Communities for U.S. Department of State
Thelma Parkinson, 1920, politician, candidate for 1930 special election for the United States Senate, member of the New Jersey State Board of Tax Appeals, member (and later president) of the New Jersey Civil Service Commission, 1954–1970
Nancy Reagan, 1943, 42nd First Lady of the United States
Sherry Rehman, former Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
Mary Scranton, 1940, former First Lady of Pennsylvania (1963–1967)
Julianna Smoot, Deputy Campaign Manager, Obama for America, former White House Social Secretary
Adrianne Todman, 1991, acting U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Senators, congresspersons, and other politicians

Barbara Adams, General Counsel of Pennsylvania
Tammy Baldwin, 1984, first openly gay U.S. Senator, former U.S. House of Representative of Wisconsin's 2nd District
Becca Balint, 1990, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Deborah Bergamini, 1993, Member of the Italian Parliament
Leanna Brown, 1956, first Republican woman elected to the New Jersey Senate
Emily Couric, 1969, late Virginia State Senator and sister of television journalist Katie Couric
Mattie Daughtry, 2009, Democratic Assistant Majority Leader of the Maine Senate representing the 24th District
Jane Lakes Harman, 1966, President of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, U.S. House of Representative of California's 36th District
Maureen Ogden, 1950, seven-term member of the New Jersey General Assembly
Niki Tsongas, 1968, U.S. House of Representative of Massachusetts's 5th District

Journalism and media

Desiree Akhavan, 2007, Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning filmmaker
Marylin Bender, 1944, first female business editor of The New York Times
Julia Child, 1934, Primetime Emmy Award and Peabody Award-winning host of The French Chef, renowned chef, and author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Patience Cleveland, 1952, film and television actress
Stephanie Cutter, co-host of CNN's Crossfire, Chief Spokesperson for the Obama-Biden Transition Project, Senior Advisor for President Obama's Presidential Campaign
Margaret Petherbridge Farrar, 1919, journalist and first crossword puzzle editor for the New York Times
Shirley Fleming, music critic and editor
Anne Froelick, blacklisted screenwriter
Meg Greenfield, 1952, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, editorial writer for the Washington Post and Newsweek
Sara Haines, 2000, co-host of The View, ABC News correspondent
Sarah Hampson, 1979, Canadian journalist and columnist for The Globe and Mail
Doan Hoang, 1994, award-winning Vietnamese-American film producer, screenwriter, and director
Ruth Sulzberger Holmberg, 1943, newspaper publisher
Molly Ivins, 1966, populist newspaper columnist, political commentator, humorist and bestselling author
Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, 1986, author of Random Family, freelance journalist
Nina Munk, 1988, journalist, author, and contributing editor at Vanity Fair
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, 2002, Pakistan's first Oscar winner, Academy Award and Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker for Saving Face and journalist
Kate O'Brian, President of Al Jazeera America
Helaine Olen, journalist and author
Danielle Pletka
Sally Quinn, 1963, author and journalist for The Washington Post
Julia Scott, 2002, NPR and The New York Times
Anne Mollegen Smith (née Anne Rush Mollegen), 1961, first woman editor-in-chief of Redbook
Lynne M. Thomas, 1996, Hugo Award-winning science fiction editor and curator
Cynthia Wade, Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker for Freeheld
Erin Cressida Wilson, screenwriter

Law

Cynthia Bashant, 1982, judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
Christine Beshar, 1953, partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Joan B. Gottschall, 1969, judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Carolyn Dineen King, 1959, first female and former judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Dorothy Miner, 1958, chief counsel of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
Jane Richards Roth, 1956, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Stephanie Kulp Seymour, 1962, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Philanthropy

Eunice Blake Bohanon, 1925, children's book editor
Sarina Prabasi, Chief Executive Officer of WaterAid America
Mary Josephine Rogers, 1905, founder of Maryknoll Sisters
Wendy Schmidt, 1977, President of Schmidt Family Foundation

Pulitzer Prize winners

Margaret Edson, 1983, 1999 Drama for Wit
Meg Greenfield, 1978 Editorial Writing
Margaret Mitchell, 1922, 1937 Novel for Gone with the Wind
Amy Ellis Nutt, 1977, 2011 Feature Writing
Sylvia Plath, 1955, 1982 Poetry for The Collected Poems (awarded posthumously)

Sciences

Sara Bache-Wiig, 1918, botanist and mycologist
Harriet Boyd-Hawes, 1892, pioneering archaeologist, nurse and relief worker
Dorcas Brigham, 1918, botanist and horticulturist
Judy Clapp, 1951, computer scientist
Diane G. Cook, 1965, Parkinson's disease patient advocate and researcher
Mary Foster, biochemist
Susan Goldin-Meadow, 1971, developmental psychologist
Betty Hay (1927-2007), cell and developmental biology, M.D. degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, first woman to head a department (Anatomy & Cellular Biology) at Harvard Medical School
Carolyn Kaelin, 1983, breast cancer surgeon
Helena Chmura Kraemer, biostatistician
Ng'endo Mwangi (Florence), 1961, Kenya's first woman physician
Erin K. O'Shea, sixth President of Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Martha Austin Phelps (1870-1933), chemist
Margaret Robinson, biologist
Caroline Thomas Rumbold (1877–1949), botanist
Florence R. Sabin, 1893, first woman to hold full professorship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, be elected to National Academy of Sciences, and head a department at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research
Julia Warner Snow (1863–1927), biologist
Jane Stafford, 1920, chemist
Jane C. Wright, 1942, pioneering oncologist and surgeon

Other notables

Frances Carpenter, 1912, daughter of photographer Frank Carpenter
Eunice Carter, 1921, first female African-American assistant district attorney for the state of New York, pivotal in the prosecution of Mob Boss Charles "Lucky" Luciano
Penny Chenery, 1943, sportswoman, bred and raced Secretariat, the 1973 winner of the Triple Crown
Julie Nixon Eisenhower, 1970, second daughter of 37th U.S. President Richard Nixon
Jean Harris, spent time in prison for killing her boyfriend of 14 years, Herman Tarnower, who was the author of The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet
Jeannie Cho Lee, first ethnic Asian Master of Wine
Ann Axtell Morris, archaeologist, artist, and author who largely worked in the U.S. southwest and Mexico
Tori Murden, 1985, first woman to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by rowboat
Tei Ninomiya, 1910, first Asian graduate of Smith College
Charlotte Samuels, swimmer, youngest person to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming
Cathy Schoen, economist at the New York Academy of Medicine, served on U.S. President Jimmy Carter's health insurance task force
Kory Stamper, 1996, lexicographer and associate editor for the Merriam-Webster dictionary
Sarah Thomas, 1970, research librarian
Shirley Zussman, 1934, sex therapist