List of University of Virginia people
This page is a partial list of notable alumni and faculty of the University of Virginia.
Rectors and members of the Board of Visitors
- Thomas Jefferson – 3rd President of the United States ; founder, Rector
- James Madison – 4th President of the United States ; Rector
- James Monroe – 5th President of the United States
- Joseph C. Cabell – Rector
- Chapman Johnson – Rector
- Andrew Stevenson – 15th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives ; Rector
- Thomas Jefferson Randolph – Rector
- T. L. Preston – Rector
- Alexander Rives – Rector
- B. Johnson Barbour – Rector
- R. G. H. Kean – Rector
- Alexander H. H. Stewart – Rector
- John L. Marye – Rector
- W. C. N. Randolph – Rector
- Armistead C. Gordon – Rector
- Charles P. Jones – Rector
- R. Tate Irvine – Rector
- John Stewart Bryan — Rector and board member
- C. Harding Walker – Rector
- Fredric W. Scott – Rector
- Robert Gray Williams – Rector
- Edward R. Stettinius Jr. – Rector
- Baron Foster Black – Rector
- Frank Talbott, Jr – Rector
- Albert Vickers Bryan – Rector
- Charles Rogers Fenwick – Rector
- Frank W. Rogers – Rector
- Joseph H. McConnell – Rector
- William L. Zimmer, III – Rector
- D. French Slaughter Jr. – Rector
- Frederick G. Pollard – Rector
- Joshua Darden Jr. – Rector
- Edward Elliott Elson – Rector
- Hovey S. Dabney – Rector
- John P. Ackerly, III – Rector
- Gordon F. Rainey Jr. – Rector
- Thomas F. Farrell, II – Rector
- H. Haywood Fralin – Rector
- John O. Wynne – Rector
- Helen Dragas – Rector
- George Keith Martin – Rector
- William H. Goodwin – Rector
- Frank M. "Rusty" Conner – Rector
Notable faculty
American Studies
Athletics
Classics
Economics
Education
English
Engineering
History
Law
Media Studies
Medicine
Philosophy
Physics
Politics
Psychology
Alumni
Space and land exploration
- Richard E. Byrd – polar explorer, first to fly over South Pole
- Patrick G. Forrester, Grad 1989 – NASA astronaut
- Karl G. Henize, Col 1947, Grad 1948 – astronomer; NASA astronaut
- Thomas Marshburn, Engr 1984 – NASA astronaut
- Leland Melvin, Engr 1991 – NASA astronaut
- Bill Nelson, Law 1968 – NASA astronaut; U.S. Senator, Florida
- Gregory Olsen, Grad 1971 – co-founder and Chairman of Sensors Unlimited, Inc.; third private citizen to make a self-funded trip to the International Space Station
- Kathryn C. Thornton, Grad 1977, Grad 1979 – NASA astronaut
- Jeff Wisoff, Col 1980 – NASA astronaut; engineering professor at Rice University
United States Supreme Court
- Howell Edmunds Jackson, Grad 1854 – Justice, United States Supreme Court; U.S. Senator of Tennessee
- James Clark McReynolds, Law 1884 – Justice, United States Supreme Court
- Stanley Forman Reed, Law 1908 – Justice, United States Supreme Court; United States Solicitor General
- Antonin Scalia – Professor of Law 1967–1971
Politics and diplomacy
- Yasushi Akashi, Grad 1956 – Chairman, International House of Japan; former Undersecretary of the United Nations
- George Allen, Col 1974, Law 1977 – Governor and U.S. Senator, Virginia
- William Antholis, Col 1986—Director of UVA's Miller Center; former Managing Director Brookings; former White House and State Department staff
- Hanan Ashrawi, Grad 1982 – Official Spokesperson of the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East Peace Process; peace activist
- Nathan L. Bachman, Law 1903 – U.S. Senator, Tennessee; Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court
- Alben W. Barkley, Law 1900 – 35th Vice-President of the United States; U.S. Senator, Kentucky
- Francois Barras, Grad 1976 – Swiss Ambassador to Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates
- Evan Bayh, Law 1981 – U.S. Senator and Governor, Indiana
- Andy Beshear, Law 2005 – Attorney General of Kentucky
- Rupert Blue, Col 1890 – Surgeon General of the United States
- Kit Bond, Law 1963 – U.S. Senator, Missouri
- Alan Stephenson Boyd, Law 1948 – first United States Secretary of Transportation
- Harry F. Byrd Jr., Law 1936 – U.S. Senator, Virginia
- James Laurence Cabell, Class 1833 – President of National Board of Health
- Millard F. Caldwell, Law 1924 – Governor, U.S. Congressman, and State Supreme Court Justice, Florida
- Mortimer Caplin, Law 1940 – Internal Revenue Service commissioner, law professor, tax attorney
- James W. Carroll, Col 1985 – Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
- James Paul Clarke, Law 1878 – United States Senator and the 18th Governor of Arkansas
- John Cornyn, Law 1995 – U.S. Senator, Texas
- Ken Cuccinelli, Engr 1990 – Attorney General of Virginia
- Hugh S. Cumming, Med 1893 – Surgeon General of the United States
- Joseph T. Curry – member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1930–1944
- William H. Daingerfield, Col 1829 – 2nd Mayor of San Antonio; Ambassador
- Henry Winter Davis, Law 1841 – outspoken Radical Republican; U.S. Congressman, Maryland
- Collins Denny Jr., Law 1924 – pro-segregationist lawyer
- Mary DeRosa, Col 1981 – former Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs in the Obama Administration
- Hasjim Djalal, Law 1959 – Indonesian Ambassador to Germany, Canada, and the United Nations; Chairman and President of the International Seabed Authority, international law of the sea expert
- Joseph T. Doyle, Grad 1990 – Pennsylvania State Representative for the 163rd district
- William A. Eaton, Col 1978 – United States Ambassador to Panama, United States Assistant Secretary of State
- Paul Erickson, Law 1988 – political consultant
- William Meade Fishback, Law 1855 – 17th Governor of Arkansas and U.S. Senator-Elect, Arkansas
- Luis Fortuño, Law 1985 – Governor of Puerto Rico
- Thomas Watt Gregory, Law 1884 – Attorney General of the United States
- Michael E. Guest, Grad 1981 – U.S. Ambassador to Romania; first openly gay man to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate and serve as a U.S. Ambassador
- Barbara Halliday, Mayor of Hayward, California
- Hilary A. Herbert, Law 1855 – Secretary of the Navy
- Mark Herring, Col 1983, Grad 1986 – Attorney General of Virginia, Senator in the Senate of Virginia
- Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter, Col 1828 – Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and U.S. Senator, Virginia
- Eppa Hunton, Law 1843 – CSA Brigadier General; U.S. Congressman and U.S. Senator, Virginia
- Louis A. Johnson, Law 1913 – Second United States Secretary of Defense
- Brereton Jones, Comm 1961 – Governor of Kentucky
- Edward M. Kennedy, Law 1959 – U.S. Senator, Massachusetts
- John Neely Kennedy, Law 1977 – U.S. Senator, Louisiana, State Treasurer of Louisiana
- Robert F. Kennedy, Law 1951 – U.S. Senator, New York; 1968 U.S. Presidential candidate, U.S. Attorney General
- Angus King, Law 1969 – 72nd Governor of Maine, United States Senator from Maine
- William Preston Lane Jr., Law 1915 – Governor, Maryland
- Samuel Lawrason, Engineering 1872 – Louisiana State Senator who authored Lawrason Act of 1898 regarding municipal government
- J. Hamilton Lewis – U.S. Senator, Illinois and first Whip
- Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., Law 1988, Missouri Supreme Court Justice
- Sean Patrick Maloney, Col 1988, Law 1992 – U.S. Congressman, New York's 18th congressional district and former White House Office of the Staff Secretary
- Thurgood Marshall Jr., Col 1978, Law 1981 – former White House Cabinet Secretary
- Henry M. Mathews, Grad 1856 – Governor of West Virginia
- Samuel D. McEnery, Col 1857 – Governor and U.S. Senator for Louisiana
- Chuck McMains, Law 1973 – former Louisiana state representative and lobbyist
- Ana Montes, Col 1979 – convicted Cuban spy
- John S. Mosby – the "Gray Ghost", CSA guerilla fighter
- Robert Mueller, Law 1973 – Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Janet Napolitano, Law 1983 – President of the University of California System; former Governor of Arizona and Secretary of Homeland Security
- Bill Nelson, Law 1968 – U.S. Senator, Florida; NASA astronaut
- Kirstjen Nielsen, Law 1999 – Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security
- Michelle Nunn, Col 1989 – President of CARE USA; former US Senate candidate, Georgia
- Andy Oldham, Col 2001 – Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Longin Pastusiak, Grad 1959 – Marshall of the Senate, Poland
- Ken Paxton, Law 1991 – Attorney General of Texas
- H. Foster Pettit, B.A. and Law – member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, 1965–1970; mayor of Lexington, Kentucky, 1972–1978
- George W. Randolph, Law 1842 – Confederate States Secretary of War
- Pratt C. Remmel, Col 1937 – Mayor of Little Rock, 1951–1955
- Thomas Caute Reynolds, Law 1838 – 11th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri; Governor of Missouri
- Chuck Robb, Law 1973 – Governor and U.S. Senator, Virginia
- Joseph Taylor Robinson, Law 1895 – Governor and United States Senate Majority Leader, Arkansas
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr., Law 1940 – U.S. Congressman, New York
- Chuck Rosenberg, Law 1990 – former United States Attorney, Eastern District of Virginia and Southern District of Texas; former Counsel to the FBI Director; former Chief of Staff to the US Deputy Attorney General; former Counselor to the US Attorney General
- Chip Roy, Commerce 1994 – U.S. Congressman, Texas's 21st congressional district
- Larry Sabato, Col 1974 – politics professor; Director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics; called the "Most Quoted College Professor in the Land" by the Wall Street Journal
- Mark Sanford, Darden 1988 – former Governor of South Carolina
- Thomas A. Saunders III, Darden 1967 – Chairman of The Heritage Foundation
- Eugene Scalia, Col 1985 – former Solicitor of the United States Department of Labor
- Thomas A. Scully, Col 1979 – former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
- James Alexander Seddon, Grad 1836 – 4th Confederate States Secretary of War
- Joseph D. Selby, Law 1975 – judge, state legislator in Cheyenne, Wyoming
- Faryar Shirzad, Law 1992 – advisor to United States President George W. Bush
- Marc Short, Darden 2004 – former White House Director of Legislative Affairs
- John William Snow, Grad 1965 – United States Secretary of the Treasury
- Javier Solana, Grad 1968 – Spanish former Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and previous European Union foreign policy chief
- William B. Spong Jr., Law 1947 – U.S. Senator, Virginia
- John C. Stennis, Law 1928 – U.S. Senator, Mississippi
- Edward Stettinius Jr., Col 1924 – United States Secretary of State
- Benjamin Franklin Stringfellow, Law 1835 – Missouri Attorney General and Border Ruffian
- Robert M. Switzer, Law – United States Representative
- Charles L. Terry Jr., Col 1922 – Governor, Delaware
- Lee Emmett Thomas, Law 1889 – Mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana and Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representative
- Robert Toombs, Law 1830 – U.S. Senator, Georgia
- John V. Tunney, Law 1959 – U.S. Congressman and U.S. Senator, California
- Thomas B. Turley, Law 1867 – U.S. Senator, Tennessee
- William M. Walton, Law 1851 – Attorney General of Texas
- John Warner, Law 1953 – U.S. Senator, Virginia
- Mac Warner, Law 1991 – Secretary of State of West Virginia
- Lowell P. Weicker Jr., Law 1957 – Governor, U.S. Congressman, and U.S. Senator, Connecticut
- Kevin Whitaker, Col 1979 – United States Ambassador to Colombia
- Sheldon Whitehouse, Law 1982 – Attorney General of Rhode Island, United States Senator from Rhode Island
- John C. White, English 1998 – Louisiana education superintendent since 2012
- John Sharp Williams, Law 1876 – Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives
- Wayne W. Williams, Law 1989 – Secretary of State of Colorado
- Woodrow Wilson – 28th President of the United States
- Walter Wyatt, Law 1917 – General Counsel, Federal Reserve System
- Yan Huiqing, Col 1900 – Premier and Prime Minister of the Republic of China; Chinese Ambassador to the United States; 1st Chinese Ambassador to the Soviet Union; Chinese Representative in the League of Nations
Business
- Lee Ainslie, Comm 1986 – founder and managing partner of Maverick Capital
- Eric C. Anderson, Engr 1996 – President and CEO, co-founder, Space Adventures
- David T. Beers, Col 1975 – Special Adviser to the Governor of the Bank of Canada, former head of sovereign credit ratings, Standard & Poor's
- Alfred Berkeley, Col 1966 – President, NASDAQ Stock Exchange
- Charles L. Brown, Engr 1943 - Chairman and CEO of AT&T Corporation, who agreed to the breakup of The Bell System
- John H. Bryan, Darden 1960 – CEO and Chairman of Sara Lee
- Algernon S. Buford, Law 1850 – President, Richmond and Danville Railroad
- W. Graham Claytor Jr., Col 1933 – President, Southern Railway and Amtrak; and U.S. Secretary of the Navy
- George David, Darden 1967 – Chairman and CEO, United Technologies Corporation
- William Stamps Farish III, Col 1962 – Chairman of the Board, Churchill Downs, U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom
- William A. Hawkins, Darden 1982 – CEO, Medtronic Corp.
- Bob Hugin, Darden 1985 – Chair of Celgene
- Laura K. Ipsen, Monsanto board member
- Mansoor Ijaz, Col 1983 – founder and Chairman, Crescent Investment Management Ltd
- Paul Tudor Jones, Col 1976 – President and founder, Tudor Investment Corporation and the Robin Hood Foundation, billionaire
- Stephen P. Joyce, Comm 1982 – former president and CEO of Choice Hotels as well as CEO of Dine Brands Global
- Randal J. Kirk, Law 1979 – founder, chairman, New River Pharmaceutical; billionaire
- Alan Lafley – CEO, Chairman of the Board, Procter & Gamble
- Tammy Murphy, Col 1987 – analyst, associate, and project lead at Goldman Sachs
- Alexander F. Mathews, M.A. 1856 – President and founder of Bank of Lewisburg and First National Bank of Ronceverte
- Halsey Minor, Col 1987 – co-founder and former CEO, CNET Inc.
- Nick Morgan – speaking coach and author
- Daniel Mudd, Col 1980 – CEO, Fannie Mae
- William Nelson Page – civil engineer, co-founder of the Virginian Railway
- Michelle Nunn, Col 1989 – CEO, Points of Light
- Charles T. Pepper, Med 1855 – the original "Dr. Pepper" according to the Dr Pepper Company
- Steven Reinemund, Darden 1978 – Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo Inc.
- Ed Romanoff, Entrepreneur and singer-songwriter
- Julio Mario Santo Domingo, Col 1948 – Colombian businessman, billionaire
- Sheridan Snyder, Col 1958 – entrepreneur and philanthropist
- Samuel Spencer, Engr 1868 – first President, Southern Railway
- Mark B. Templeton, Darden 1978 – President and CEO, Citrix Systems
- Jaffray Woodriff, Comm 1991 – CEO and co-founder of Quantitative Investment Management
- Robert R. Young – Chairman of the Board, C&O Railroad
Science and technology
- John Backus – inventor of first high-level programming language, FORTRAN, and recipient of the 1977 A.M. Turing Award
- Daniel Barringer, Grad 1888 – proved the existence of meteorites on Earth
- Jesse Beams, Grad 1926 – one of five primary physicists selected for the Manhattan Project, pioneer of ultracentrifuge
- S. Ward Casscells, Med 1939 – pioneering orthopedic surgeon, introduced arthroscopy of the knee joint into practice in the United States
- Edmund M. Clarke, Col 1967 – FORE Systems Professor of Computer Science Emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University and recipient of the 2007 A.M. Turing Award
- Francis Collins, Col 1970 – Director of the Human Genome Project
- Norman L. Crabill, MAE – engineer, inventor, author
- Heber Doust Curtis, Grad 1902 – astronomer who participated in the "Great Debate" with Harlow Shapley, 1920
- Wade Hampton Frost, Med 1903 – established epidemiology as a science; founding dean of Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
- Matthew P. Hardy, Ph.D. in Biology 1985 – reproductive biologist who has made fundamental contributions in Leydig cell differentiation and function
- J. Hartwell Harrison, Med 1932 – pioneer kidney transplant surgeon, member of Board of Visitors
- Steve Huffman, Engr 2005 – co-founder of Reddit
- Richard Lutz, Col 1971 – deep sea vent researcher, Director of the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
- Janet Akyüz Mattei, Grad 1972 – astronomer; Director, the American Association of Variable Star Observers
- Edward P. Ney, Ph.D 1946 and Faculty 1946–47 – astrophysicist; discovered heavy cosmic ray nuclei
- Haller Nutt -- developer of the Egypto-Mexican cotton hybrid
- Alexis Ohanian, Comm 2005 – co-founder of Reddit
- Charles Pollard Olivier, Grad 1911 – astronomer; founder, American Meteor Society
- Charlie Papazian, nuclear engineer; influential member of the American homebrewing movement
- Phil Plait, Grad 1994 – author of Bad Astronomy and Bad Astronomy blog
- Walter Reed, Med 1869 – discovered transmission of yellow fever
- Mendel Rosenblum, Col 1984 – co-founder of VMware
- Stuart Schreiber, Col 1977 – chemical biologist; founding member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT
- Nicole Shelton, M.A 1996, Ph.D. 1998 – Stuart Professor of Psychology at Princeton University
- Ann M. Valentine, BS 1993 – inorganic chemist
- Alexander N. Vyssotsky, Grad 1927 – astronomer; cataloged Milky Way M dwarf stars
- Beverly R. Wellford, Grad 1816 – sixth President of the American Medical Association
- Thomas W. Whitaker, MS 1929, PhD 1931 – botanist and horticulturist
- Ralph Elmer Wilson, Grad 1910 – astronomer; Wilson crater on the Moon was co-named after him
- Carl A. Wirtanen, Grad 1939 – astronomer; discovered a number of asteroids and comets
- William Wulf, Grad 1966 – designer of BLISS programming language, President of the National Academy of Engineering
- Hugh H. Young, Col 1889, Med 1891 – inventor, author, pioneering surgeon
Writers and academics
- Louis Auchincloss, Law 1941 – novelist, lawyer
- David Baldacci, Law 1986 – novelist
- Donald J. Boudreaux, Law 1992 – economist, professor
- Paul Bowles – novelist, travel writer, composer
- Charles Augustus Briggs, Col 1860 – Hebrew scholar and theologian
- C.E. Byrd, attended 1882–1883 – educator
- Erskine Caldwell, attended 1923–1926 – novelist, author of Tobacco Road
- John T. Casteen III, Col 1965, Grad 1970 – President of the University of Virginia
- John R. Conniff, New Orleans and Baton Rouge educator; president of Louisiana Tech University, 1926–1928; attended University of Louisiana c. 1895
- Philip F. Deaver, Grad 1978, writer and poet
- Heather Derr-Smith, Col 1995 – poet
- Tyler Drumheller, Col 1974 – pre-Iraq war European CIA station chief; author of On the Brink
- Claudia Emerson, Col 1979 – 2006 Pulitzer Prize winner for poetry
- Linda Fairstein, Law 1972 – prosecutor of sex crimes in Manhattan and best-selling author of crime novels
- Jerry Falwell Jr., Law 1987 – Chancellor and President, Liberty University
- Richard Foerster, A&S 1972 – poet
- Joanne B. Freeman – historian
- William Fuller, Ph.D. 1983, poet; senior vice president and chief fiduciary officer of Northern Trust Corporation
- Elizabeth Garrett, Law 1988 – President of Cornell University; former provost of the University of Southern California
- Emily Giffin, Law 1997 – chick lit author
- Julien Green, Col 1922 – a major figure of French literature of the 20th century
- Roger Harold Hull, Law 1974 – President of Beloit College and Union College
- Thomas M. Humphrey – economist
- Edward P. Jones, Grad 1981 – author, winner of 2004 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, MacArthur Fellow
- Jack Temple Kirby – historian of the Southern United States, awarded the Bancroft Prize for his 2006 book Mockingbird Song: Ecological Landscapes of the South
- Gloria Cordes Larson, Law 1976 – President of Bentley University
- Helen Matthews Lewis, Master's of Sociology 1949 – sociologist, historian, and activist
- Edgar Odell Lovett, Grad 1895 – mathematician, astronomer, first and longest-tenured President of Rice University
- M. Elizabeth Magill, Law 1995 – Dean of Stanford Law School
- J. Hillis Miller Sr., Grad 1928 – fourth President of the University of Florida
- Robert Miskimon – novelist, journalist, poet
- Blake Morant, Col 1975, Law 1978 – Dean of Wake Forest University School of Law
- Arthur D. Morse, print and television journalist, and author of While Six Million Died: A Chronicle of American Apathy
- David Nolan, Col 1967 – author and historian
- Breece D'J Pancake – short-story writer
- Marvin Banks Perry Jr., 1940 – President of Goucher College and Agnes Scott College
- Edgar Allan Poe – poet, author of "The Raven"
- Harrison Randolph, Grad 1892 – thirteenth President of the College of Charleston
- W. Taylor Reveley, III, Law 1968 – President, The College of William and Mary; former dean and professor of law at William & Mary Law School
- William Craig Rice, Col 1975 – president of Shimer College
- Paul Craig Roberts, economist and political pundit; Undersecretary of the Treasury
- Richard Rorty, Longtime professor of Humanities among the most widely discussed and controversial contemporary philosophers author of Achieving our Country
- Alex Sanders, Law 1990 – nineteenth President of the College of Charleston
- Will Shortz, Law – editor of The New York Times crossword puzzle
- Brooks D. Simpson, Col 1979 – historian
- Valerie Smith, Grad 1978 – President, Swarthmore College; former Dean of the College, Princeton University
- Jens Söring – honor student, autobiographer and writer of social issues, convicted murderer without parole
- Richard B. Spencer, Col 2001 – White nationalist, founder of AlternativeRight.com, President and Director of the National Policy Institute
- William Force Stead, Col 1905 – diplomat and poet
- Darcey Steinke, MFA – author
- Henry S. Taylor, Col 1965 – Pulitzer Prize winner for poetry
- William G. Thomas III PhD – history professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 2016 Guggenheim Fellow.
- Dennis Unkovic, Col 1970 – international business advisor; author of six books; partner at Meyer, Unkovic & Scott
- Richard E. Wagner, 1966 – economist
Media
- Robert Aldrich – film director, writer, and producer of The Dirty Dozen
- Krystal Ball, Col 2003 – anchor on MSNBC's The Cycle
- Fred Barnes, Col 1965 – editor, The Weekly Standard
- John Brenkus, Col 1993 – host, ESPN's Sports Science
- Margaret Brennan, Col 2002 – Bloomberg TV anchor, In Business with Margaret Brennan
- Bruce Brandfon, Col 1969 – Chief Media Officer, Duration Media
- Coran Capshaw, Col 1983 – founder, Red Light Management; manager of the Dave Matthews Band, Faith Hill, and Alicia Keys
- Whitney Casey, Educ 1997 – correspondent for CNN; anchor of CNN Headline News
- Katie Couric, Col 1979 – anchor of CBS Evening News; former host of NBC's The Today Show
- Virginius Dabney, Col 1921 – editor of Richmond Times Dispatch, author, Pulitzer Prize winner
- Lane DeGregory, Col 1989, Grad 1995 – Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist
- Deidre Downs – Miss America 2005
- Kimberly Dozier, 1993 – reporter for CBS News
- Thomas Frank, Col 1987 – founder and editor, The Baffler
- Bob Gazzale, Col 1987 – President, American Film Institute
- Richard Glatzer, Grad 1975 – film director, producer, writer, Still Alice, The Fluffer, and Quinceañera
- David M. Granger, Grad 1981 – Editor-In-Chief, Esquire
- Rea S. Hederman Jr., Darden 1968 – publisher, New York Review of Books
- Bernard Holland – former chief music critic for The New York Times
- Anushay Hossain – columnist
- Brit Hume, Col 1965 – managing editor, Fox News
- Laura Ingraham, Law 1991 – conservative talk show host
- Mark Johnson, Col 1971 – film producer, Rain Man, Good Morning, Vietnam, and The Chronicles of Narnia; Academy Award recipient
- Robert Llewellyn, photographer, Engineering 1964–1968
- Rich Lowry, Col 1990 – Editor-In-Chief, National Review
- Jessica Lynch, Col 2000 – Miss New York 2003
- Tyler Mathisen, Col 1976 – co-anchor, Power Lunch; Vice President for Strategic Editorial Initiatives, CNBC
- George P. Rodrigue III, Col 1978 – Editor, The Plain Dealer, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner
- Mahsa Saeidi-Azcuy, Col – The Apprentice
- Andrew Scheinman, Law 1973 – TV producer, Seinfeld; Emmy Award recipient
- Tom Shadyac, Col 1981 – director, , Patch Adams, Bruce Almighty
- Leigh-Taylor Smith, Col 2007 – Miss New York 2009
- Melissa Stark, Col 1995 – reporter, ESPN and ABC's Monday Night Football
- Ron Suskind, Col 1981 – Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, author
- Michael Vitez, Col 1979 – staff writer, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Pulitzer Prize winner
- Paul Junger Witt, Col 1963 – film producer, Dead Poets Society, Three Kings and Insomnia; TV producer, The Golden Girls, The Partridge Family, Soap, Benson, and Blossom''; Emmy Award recipient
- Vern Yip, Col 1990 – interior designer, HGTV home improvement personality
Actors, musicians, and artists
- Will Anderson, lead singer of the pop-rock band Parachute
- David Berman, Col – lead singer of indie-rock band Silver Jews
- Edward Brophy, Col – actor
- Tom Cora, Col – avant-garde cellist and composer
- Sarah Drew, Col 2002 – actress, Grey's Anatomy
- Tina Fey, Col 1992 – creator, writer, producer and actress, 30 Rock; former head writer, actress, Saturday Night Live
- Schuyler Fisk, Col 2004 – singer/songwriter
- Jason George, Col 1994 – actor
- Brennan Gilmore, Col 2001 – bluegrass musician; former U.S. diplomat; political activist
- Ann Hould-Ward, Grad 1978 – Broadway costume designer, Tony Award recipient
- Jen Lilley, Col 2007 – actress, General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, The Artist
- Rod MacDonald, Col 1970 – singer/songwriter
- Stephen Malkmus, Col 1988 – lead singer of indie-rock band Pavement
- Benjamin McKenzie, Col 2001 – actor, Fox's The O.C.
- Georgia O'Keeffe – painter
- Teddy Sears, Col 1999 – actor, Masters of Sex
- Skipp Sudduth, Grad 1983 – actor
- Boyd Tinsley, violinist, mandolinist, backup vocals for Dave Matthews Band
- Sean Patrick Thomas, Col 1993 – actor
- Stan Winston, Col 1968 – special effects expert, four-time Academy Award recipient
- Dylan Walsh, Col 1986 – actor, Nip/Tuck
- Sasheer Zamata, Col 2008 – actor, Saturday Night Live
Athletics
- Val Ackerman, Col 1981 – founder and former president of WNBA, and current commissioner of the Big East Conference
- Jeff Agoos, Swiss-born American soccer defender
- Bruce Arena – coached the Virginia Cavaliers to 5 NCAA men's soccer championships; head coach of US national men's soccer team; professional soccer coach
- Cory Alexander – former NBA player, 29th pick in the 1995 NBA Draft
- Darion Atkins – basketball player for Hapoel Holon of the Israeli Ligat HaAl
- Ronde Barber, Comm 1996 – cornerback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Tiki Barber, Comm 1997 – former running back, New York Giants; current sportscaster
- Morgan Brian 2014 – member of the US Women's National Soccer Team
- Malcolm Brogdon 2016 – guard, Milwaukee Bucks; #15 jersey retired by UVA
- Heather Burge – former WNBA player
- Heidi Burge, Col 1993 – former WNBA player
- Chris Canty – former NFL defensive end
- Rick Carlisle, Col 1984 – former NBA player; current head coach, Dallas Mavericks
- John Choma – retired NFL offensive linemen, San Francisco 49ers
- Casey Crawford – former NFL tight end
- Mike Cubbage – former MLB third baseman and manager
- Virginius Dabney – running back
- Chris Dey, Col 1989 – President, New York Islanders
- Somdev Devvarman, Col 2008 – tennis professional with a career high ranking of 62 in the world
- Bill Dudley, Educ 1942 – NFL Hall of Fame player
- Jeffrey Eggleston, 2007 – long-distance runner
- Carlton Elliott – defensive end, Green Bay Packers
- Alecko Eskandarian, Col – MLS #1 overall draft pick, player with D.C. United and U.S. national team
- Paul Ereng, Col 1993 – gold medalist in 800 meters at 1988 Summer Olympics
- D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Col 2006 – offensive tackle, New York Jets
- Mustapha Farrakhan Jr. – guard for the Bakersfield Jam
- Tim Finchem, Law 1973 – Commissioner of the PGA Tour
- Conor Gill, Col 2002 – won the Major League Lacrosse Rookie of the Year Award in 2002; named MLL MVP in 2004
- Robert Kent Gooch – quarterback
- Jim Grobe, 1975, 1978 – current head coach of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team
- Al Groh, Comm 1967 – former head coach of New York Jets, former head coach of Virginia football team
- Margaret Groos – winner of the and 1988 U.S. Olympic team member; former world indoor record holder for 5,000 meters.
- Kyle Guy, NBA player for Sacramento Kings
- Brandon Guyer – outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays
- Darryl Hammond, Col 1988 – Arena Football League career tackles leader
- John Harkes – former soccer player and captain of U.S. national team
- Joe Harris 2014 – guard, Brooklyn Nets
- DeAndre Hunter, NBA player for the Atlanta Hawks
- Adam Haseley – baseball player in the Philadelphia Phillies organization
- Ty Jerome, NBA player for the Phoenix Suns
- Mike Jones – professional wrestler; wrestles under the names Virgil, Vincent, and Curly Moe
- Thomas Jones – running back, Kansas City Chiefs
- Henry Jordan – retired NFL defensive lineman, Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Melanie Kok – silver medalist in rowing at 2008 Summer Olympics
- Joe Koshansky – first baseman for the San Francisco Giants farm system
- Bowie Kuhn – Law 1950, former Commissioner of Major League Baseball
- Jeff Lamp – former NBA player
- Noel LaMontagne – retired NFL offensive lineman, Cleveland Browns
- Sylven Landesberg, American-Israeli basketball shooting guard
- Chris Long, defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles
- Javier López – relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants
- John Loyd – tackle
- Wali Lundy – running back, Houston Texans
- Buck Mayer – running back
- Tom McKnight, Com 1976 – Champions Tour golfer
- Tony Meola, Col 1989 – Major League Soccer and World Cup goalkeeper
- Heath Miller, Col 2004 – tight end, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Eugene Monroe, Col 2008 – offensive Tackle, Jacksonville Jaguars
- Shawn Moore, former NFL and CFL player, former All-American at UVA
- Herman Moore, Col 1991 – NFL former record-holder for catches in a season
- Ed Moses, Educ 2004 – Olympic gold medalist in swimming
- Ben Olsen – international soccer player; former player and current coach of D.C. United
- John Phillips – NFL tight end
- Shamek Pietucha, Col 1999 – Olympic swimmer
- Chris Rotelli, 2003 – professional lacrosse player
- John Beverly Pollard – quarterback
- Claudio Reyna – international soccer player; former captain of U.S. national team
- LaRoy Reynolds – middle linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons
- Mark Reynolds – third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals
- Eppa Rixey, Col 1912 – Hall of Fame baseball pitcher
- Ralph Sampson, Col 1983 – NBA #1 overall draft pick, All-Star center with Houston Rockets and member of the Hall of Fame
- Becky Sauerbrunn, defender for the Utah Royals and US women’s national team
- Matt Schaub, Col 2003 – quarterback, Houston Texans
- Michael Schwimer, 2008 – relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies
- Mike Scott – NBA player for the Atlanta Hawks
- Don Shula – head coach of the Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins; career wins leader among NFL coaches; defensive backs coach for the 1958 Virginia Cavaliers football team
- Chris Slade, Col 1993 – defensive end / linebacker NFL All Pro New England Patriots
- Michael Slive, Law 1965 – outgoing commissioner of the Southeastern Conference
- Devin Smith, professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv
- Emily Sonnett, Col 2015 — defender for the Portland Thorns and US women’s national team
- Dawn Staley, Col 1992 – Olympic gold medalist, carried U.S. flag at opening ceremonies of 2004 Summer Olympics
- Chris Taylor – shortstop / outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Bradley Walker – former referee
- DeMya Walker, Col 1999 – WNBA player
- Lesley Welch Lehane – winner of the NCAA and TAC National Championships in cross-country, 1982
- George Welsh – former head football coach
- Ralph C. Wilson Jr. – founding owner of the Buffalo Bills, namesake of Ralph Wilson Stadium
- Monica Wright, Col 2010 – WNBA player, currently UVa's all-time career leader in points for women
- Ryan Zimmerman, Col 2005 – third baseman for the Washington Nationals
Military
- :es:Fernando Bolivar|Fernando Bolivar – Venezuelan military, nephew of General Simon Bolivar
- Gen. Robert Magnus, USMC, Col 1969 – Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps
- VADM John Morgan, USN, Col 1972 – former Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information, Plans and Strategy
- Lt. Gen. Charles Pede, USA, Col 1984, Law 1987 - Judge Advocate General of the United States Army
Religion
- Lloyd Rutherford Craighill – second Bishop of Anking, China
- Carl P. Daw Jr. – Executive Director of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada
- Collins Denny – Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South
- David Ellenson – professor, President Emeritus and Chancellor of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
- James Addison Ingle – first Bishop of the Missionary District of Hankow, China
- J. William Jones – Confederate chaplain, campus minister, Christian author
Environmentalism
- Michael P. Branch – ecocritic, writer, activist
- Gary L. Francione, M.A. and J.D. – legal theorist, law professor, and animal rights/vegan activist
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Law 1982 – Chairman, Waterkeeper Alliance; co-host of Ring of Fire; Chief Prosecuting Attorney, Riverkeeper
- William A. Welch – engineer and environmentalist who had a major impact on the state and national park systems of the United States
Fictional
- Joey Berglund, character in Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
- Biff Loman, character in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
- Clarice Starling, protagonist of the novels The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal by Thomas Harris, and the film adaptations The Silence of the Lambs, portrayed by Jodie Foster, and Hannibal, portrayed by Julianne Moore
- Gina Toscano, portrayed by Jorja Fox, on The West Wing