Yale Film

1. Angela Bassett

Captivating, gifted, and sensational, Angela Bassett's presence has been felt in theaters and on stages and television screens throughout the world. Angela Evelyn Bassett was born on August 16, 1958 in New York City, to Betty Jane (Gilbert), a social worker, and Daniel Benjamin Bassett, a ...

BA 1980; African American Studies; MFA 1983.

2. Jennifer Beals

Actress | Flashdance

Jennifer Beals is an internationally renowned actress who has over 90 credits to her name, including critically acclaimed feature films and some of the highest rated television series to date. Beals is currently executive producing and returning as a lead cast member in the revival of her hit ...

BA 1987

3. Henry Bean

Writer | The Believer

Henry Bean was born on August 3, 1945 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for The Believer (2001), Basic Instinct 2 (2006) and Deep Cover (1992).

4. Jordana Brewster

Actress | Fast & Furious 7

Raven-haired beauty Jordana Brewster was born on April 26, 1980 in Panama City, Panama. Her mother, Maria João Leal de Sousa, is a Brazilian-born model who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1978. Her father, Alden Brewster, is an American-born investment banker, who has English, ...

5. Rob Campbell

Actor | The Crucible

Rob Campbell is known for The Crucible (1996), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) and Unforgiven (1992). He has been married to Ana Reeder since November 30, 2013. They have one child.

MFA 1990

6. Bruce Cohen

Producer | American Beauty

Bruce Cohen was born in Falls Church, Virginia, USA. He is known for American Beauty (1999), Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and Milk (2008).

7. Michael Cimino

Director | The Deer Hunter

Michael Cimino studied architecture and dramatic arts; later he filmed advertisements and documentaries and also wrote scripts until the actor, producer and director Clint Eastwood gave him the opportunity to direct the thriller Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974). But his biggest success was The Deer...

BA 1961; MA 1963;

8. Jennifer Connelly

Actress | A Beautiful Mind

Jennifer Connelly was born in the Catskill Mountains, New York, to Ilene (Schuman), a dealer of antiques, and Gerard Connelly, a clothing manufacturer. Her father had Irish and Norwegian ancestry, and her mother was from a Jewish immigrant family. Jennifer grew up in Brooklyn Heights, just across ...

BA 1992

9. Whitfield Cook

Writer | Strangers on a Train

Whitfield Cook was born on April 9, 1909 in Madison, New Jersey, USA. He was a writer, known for Strangers on a Train (1951), Stage Fright (1950) and High Barbaree (1947). He died on November 12, 2003 in New London, Connecticut, USA.

10. Robert Curtis Brown

Actor | The Handmaid's Tale

Robert Curtis Brown has forged a career playing unique, diverse and interesting characters. This talented, Yale-trained actor has an intriguing, accessible screen presence and a depth of feeling and humor. The complexity that Robert brings to his characters may have its origins in his upbringing in...

BA 1979

11. Claire Danes

Actress | My So-Called Life

New Yorker Claire Catherine Danes was born in Manhattan, the daughter of Carla (Hall), a day-care provider and artist, and Christopher Danes, a computer consultant and photographer. She has an older brother, Asa. Her paternal grandfather, Gibson Andrew Danes, was a Dean of the Yale School of Art ...

BA 2002

12. Noah Emmerich

Actor | Super 8

Noah Emmerich was born and raised in New York City, to Constance, a concert pianist, and André Emmerich, an art dealer and gallery owner. He attended Yale University, where he sang with the a capella group the Yale Spizzwinks. He attended NYU Film School where he wrote and directed an award winning...

BA 1992

13. Jodie Foster

Actress | The Silence of the Lambs

Jodie Foster started her career at the age of two. For four years she made commercials and finally gave her debut as an actress in the TV series Mayberry R.F.D. (1968). In 1975 Jodie was offered the role of prostitute Iris Steensma in the movie Taxi Driver (1976). This role, for which she received ...

BA in literature, magna cum laude.

14. Paul Giamatti

Actor | Sideways

Paul Giamatti is an American actor who has worked steadily and prominently for over thirty years, and is best known for leading roles in the films American Splendor (2003), Sideways (2004), and Barney's Version (2010) (for which he won a Golden Globe), and supporting roles in the films Cinderella ...

BA 1989, MFA 1994

15. Alex Gibney

Producer | Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

Alex Gibney was born on October 23, 1953 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005), Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) and Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (2015). He has been married to Anne Gibney since ...

16. David Alan Grier

Actor | Joe Pickett

David Alan Grier was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Aretas Ruth (Dudley), a schoolteacher, and William Henry Grier, a psychiatrist and writer. He trained in Shakespeare at Yale University, where he received an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.

Grier began his professional career on Broadway as ...

17. Kathryn Hahn

Actress | Afternoon Delight

Kathryn Marie Hahn is an American actress and comedian. She became a worldwide phenomenon when she starred as Agatha Harkness in the Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries WandaVision (2021) for which she received critical acclaim and a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding ...

18. Michael Herz

Producer | The Toxic Avenger

Michael Herz was born on May 9, 1949 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and director, known for The Toxic Avenger (1984), Troma's War (1988) and Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1990). He is married to Maris Herz. They have one child.

19. George Hickenlooper

Director | Dogtown

George Hickenlooper graduated from Yale University in 1986. He was born on May 25, 1963 in St. Louis, Missouri and raised there, Boston, and San Francisco. His interest in film began in childhood and stemmed from his great-uncle's (Leopold Stokowski) involvement in the movie Fantasia (1940). ...

BA 1985

20. George Roy Hill

Director | The Sting

George Roy Hill was never able to 'hit it off' with the critics despite the fact that 2 of his films - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), and The Sting (1973) - had remained among the top 10 box office hits by 1976. His work was frequently derided as 'impersonal' or lacking in stylistic ...

21. Elia Kazan

Director | On the Waterfront

Known for his creative stage direction, Elia Kazan was born Elias Kazantzoglou on September 7, 1909 in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey). Noted for drawing out the best dramatic performances from his actors, he directed 21 actors to Oscar nominations, resulting in nine wins. He ...

22. Zoe Kazan

Actress | Ruby Sparks

Zoe Swicord Kazan was born in Los Angeles, California, to screenwriters Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord. She is the granddaughter of director Elia Kazan. She is of Greek (from her paternal grandfather), English, and German descent.

Kazan received her BA in Theater from Yale University. In the fall ...

23. Phil LaMarr

Actor | Pulp Fiction

A Los Angeles native, Phil is a graduate of Harvard-Westlake School, Yale University and The Groundlings Theater and is perhaps best known as one of the original cast members of Mad TV (1995) and as Marvin in Pulp Fiction (1994).

In addition to numerous appearances on stages across the country, in ...

BA 1989

24. Adam Leipzig

Producer | The Way Back

Adam Leipzig is the Founder and CEO of MediaU and Credential Media Ventures, which solves problems and dramatically reducing friction-points for learners, higher-education institutions, and workforce employers, by providing accelerated online education to open doors of access for content creation, ...

BA 1979 in literature

25. Lloyd Kaufman

Producer | The Toxic Avenger

Stanley Lloyd Kaufman never really wanted to make movies, he wanted to work in Broadway musicals. During his years in Yale he was introduced to "B" pictures and the works of Roger Corman. Lloyd later got the opportunity to executive-produce a short movie made by a fellow student. The film, called "...

BA 1968

26. Thomas Lennon

Producer | Frontline

Thomas Lennon's work in documentary film has earned him an Academy Award and four Academy nominations. But more often his good fortune has come in pairs: two national Emmys, two duPont-Columbia awards, two George Foster Peabody awards, and two films that premiered at Sundance.

In 2017, Lennon ...

Ba 1973

27. Ron Livingston

Actor | The Conjuring

Ronald Joseph Livingston was born on June 5, 1967 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Linda (Rinas), a Lutheran pastor, and Kurt Livingston, an aerospace engineer. He has three siblings, Nick, John Livingston, also an actor, and Jennifer Livingston, a TV news personality at CBS/WKBT in La Crosse, Wisconsin. ...

BA 1989

28. Frances McDormand

Actress | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Frances Louise McDormand was born on June 23, 1957, in Gibson City, Illinois. She was adopted by Canadian-born parents Noreen Eloise (Nickleson), a nurse from Ontario, and Rev. Vernon Weir McDormand, a Disciples of Christ minister from Nova Scotia, who raised her in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. She ...

MFA 1982

29. Bill Moseley

Actor | The Devil's Rejects

William Lambert Moseley (born November 11, 1951) is an American film actor and musician who has starred in a number of cult classic horror films, including House of 1000 Corpses (2003), Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) and The Devil's Rejects (2005). His first big role was in The Texas Chainsaw ...

30. Paul Newman

Actor | The Hustler

Screen legend, superstar, and the man with the most famous blue eyes in movie history, Paul Leonard Newman was born on January 26, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, the second son of Arthur Sigmund Newman (died 1950) and Theresa Fetsko (died 1982). His elder brother was Arthur S. Newman Jr., named for ...

Drama 1954

31. Alessandro Nivola

Actor | The Many Saints of Newark

Alessandro Nivola was born on June 28, 1972 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Many Saints of Newark (2021), American Hustle (2013) and Disobedience (2017). He has been married to Emily Mortimer since January 3, 2003. They have two children.

BA 1994

32. Edward Norton

Actor | Fight Club

American actor, filmmaker and activist Edward Harrison Norton was born on August 18, 1969, in Boston, Massachusetts, and was raised in Columbia, Maryland.

His mother, Lydia Robinson "Robin" (Rouse), was a foundation executive and teacher of English, and a daughter of famed real estate developer ...

BA 1991

33. Lupita Nyong'o

Actress | 12 Years a Slave

Lupita Amondi Nyong'o was born March 1, 1983 in Mexico City, Mexico, to Kenyan parents, Dorothy Ogada Buyu and Peter Anyang' Nyong'o. Her father, a senator, was then a visiting lecturer in political science. She was raised in Kenya. At age 16, her parents sent her back to Mexico for seven months to...

MFA 2012

34. Bronson Pinchot

Actor | True Romance

When Bronson Pinchot began auditioning for Broadway roles, he refused to do accents. Years later, his ability to do accents is what gave him his first break in film and led to television success as Balki Bartokomous, the odd cousin from a Mediterranean island who comes to live with Mark Linn-Baker ...

BA 1981

35. Vincent Price

Actor | The Abominable Dr. Phibes

Actor, raconteur, art collector and connoisseur of haute cuisine are just some of the attributes associated with Vincent Price. He was born Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. in St. Louis, Missouri, to Marguerite Cobb "Daisy" (Wilcox) and Vincent Leonard Price, who was President of the National Candy ...

BA 1933; history and English majors

36. Ira Sachs

Director | Keep the Lights On

Ira Sachs was born on November 21, 1965 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Keep the Lights On (2012), Passages (2023) and Little Men (2016).

BA 1987

37. Liev Schreiber

Actor | Spotlight

Liev (pronounced Lee-ev) Schreiber was born in San Francisco. His mother, Heather (Milgram), is a painter, and his father, Tell Schreiber (Tell Carroll Schreiber III), is a theatrical actor who had a small role in The Keeper (1976). His mother is from a working-class Jewish family from Poland and ...

38. Robert Simonds

Producer | Adrift

Founded STX Entertainment in 2014 as its Chairman and CEO.Former independent film producer responsible for 30+ major studio titles across multiple genres.Generated over $6 billion in worldwide box office revenue, with one of the best ROI of any major studio producer.Featured in Hollywood Reporter's...

39. Gene Siskel

Self | Siskel & Ebert & the Movies

Gene Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He partnered with fellow critic Roger Ebert to present a series of television shows which centered on film reviews. Their partnership lasted from 1975 to Siskel's death in 1999. Siskel became famous for his heated ...

BA 1967

40. Todd Solondz

Director | Welcome to the Dollhouse

Todd Solondz was born in Newark, New Jersey. One of his earliest jobs in the film industry was when, as a young man, he worked as a messenger for the Writers' Guild of America. During this time, he wrote several screenplays.

Solondz's first color film with sync sound was the short "Schatt's Last ...

BA 1981

41. Oliver Stone

Director | JFK

Oliver Stone has become known as a master of controversial subjects and a legendary film maker. His films are filled with a variety of film angles and styles, he pushes his actors to give Oscar-worthy performances, and despite his failures, has always returned to success.

William Oliver Stone was ...

Class of 1968

42. Meryl Streep

Actress | Out of Africa

Considered by many critics to be the greatest living actress, Meryl Streep has been nominated for the Academy Award an astonishing 21 times, and has won it three times. Meryl was born Mary Louise Streep in 1949 in Summit, New Jersey, to Mary Wolf (Wilkinson), a commercial artist, and Harry William ...

MFA

43. Ted Tally

Writer | The Silence of the Lambs

Ted Tally was born on April 9, 1952. He is a writer and actor, known for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), All the Pretty Horses (2000) and Mission to Mars (2000).

BA

44. John Turturro

Actor | Fading Gigolo

Highly talented, lightly built American actor who always looks unsettled and jumpy has become a favourite of cult/arthouse film aficionados with his compelling performances in a broad range of cinematic vehicles.

Turturro was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian-American parents, Katherine (...

MFA 1983

45. Sam Waterston

Actor | The Killing Fields

Sam Waterston was born on November 15, 1940 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Killing Fields (1984), The Great Gatsby (1974) and Law & Order (1990). He has been married to Lynn Louisa Woodruff since January 26, 1976. They have three children. He was ...

BA 1961

46. Sigourney Weaver

Actress | Alien Resurrection

Sigourney Weaver has created a host of memorable characters, both dramatic and comic, ranging from Ripley in Alien to Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist to Gwen/Tawny in Galaxy Quest and most recently, 14-year-old Kiri in Avatar: The Way of Water. With a career spanning over 50 years, Weaver has ...

MFA

47. Jennifer Westfeldt

Actress | Kissing Jessica Stein

Jennifer is an American actress and filmmaker, who is perhaps best known for writing and starring in the indie hits, Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) and Friends with Kids (2011).

A graduate from Yale University, Jennifer started her career as a New York-based theater actor, starring in over 25 ...