Famous Bennington College Alumni

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Updated July 23, 2019
Voting Rules
People on this list must have gone to Bennington College and be of some renown.

List of famous alumni from Bennington College, with photos when available. Prominent graduates from Bennington College include celebrities, politicians, business people, athletes and more. This list of distinguished Bennington College alumni is loosely ordered by relevance, so the most recognizable celebrities who attended Bennington College are at the top of the list. This directory is not just composed of graduates of this school, as some of the famous people on this list didn't necessarily earn a degree from Bennington College.

Alumni include Peter Dinklage, Alan Arkin and many more.

This list answers the questions โ€œWhich famous people went to Bennington College?โ€ and โ€œWhich celebrities are Bennington College alumni?โ€
  • Betty Ford

    Betty Ford

    Fashion Model, Actor, Women's rights activist
    Elizabeth Anne Ford (nรฉe Bloomer; April 8, 1918 โ€“ July 8, 2011) was the First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of President Gerald Ford. As First Lady, she was active in social policy and set a precedent as a politically active presidential spouse. Ford also served as the Second Lady of the United States from 1973 to 1974. Throughout her husband's term in office, she maintained high approval ratings despite opposition from some conservative Republicans who objected to her more moderate and liberal positions on social issues. Ford was noted for raising breast cancer awareness following her 1974 mastectomy. In addition, she was a passionate supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Pro-choice on abortion and a leader in the Women's Movement, she gained fame as one of the most candid first ladies in history, commenting on every hot-button issue of the time, including feminism, equal pay, the Equal Rights Amendment, sex, drugs, abortion, and gun control. She also raised awareness of addiction when in the 1970s, she announced her long-running battle with alcoholism and substance abuse, being the first First Lady to do so. Following her White House years, she continued to lobby for the ERA and remained active in the feminist movement. She was the founder, and served as the first chair of the board of directors, of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction. She was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal (co-presentation with her husband on October 21, 1998) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (presented 1991 by George H. W. Bush).
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  • Bret Easton Ellis

    Bret Easton Ellis

    Novelist, Film Producer, Screenwriter
    Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author, screenwriter, and short story writer. Ellis was first regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney. He is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique, as a writer, is the expression of extreme acts and opinions in an affectless style. His novels commonly share recurring characters. When Ellis was 21, his first novel, the controversial bestseller Less Than Zero (1985), was published by Simon & Schuster. His third novel, American Psycho (1991), was his most successful; upon release, the literary establishment widely condemned it as overly violent and misogynistic. Though many petitions to ban the book saw Ellis dropped by Simon & Schuster, the resounding controversy convinced Alfred A. Knopf to release it as a paperback later that year. Ellis's novels have become increasingly metafictional. Lunar Park (2005), a pseudo-memoir and ghost story, received positive reviews. Imperial Bedrooms (2010), marketed as a sequel to Less Than Zero, continues in this vein. Four of Ellis's works have been made into films. Less Than Zero was adapted in 1987 as a film of the same name, but the film bore little resemblance to the novel. Mary Harron's adaptation of American Psycho was released to generally positive reviews in 2000. Roger Avary's 2002 adaptation The Rules of Attraction made modest box office returns. 2008's The Informers, based on Ellis's collection of short stories, was critically panned. Ellis also wrote the screenplay for the critically derided 2013 film The Canyons.
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  • Carol Channing

    Carol Channing

    Comedian, Actor, Singer
    Carol Elaine Channing was a luminous figure in the world of American theater. Born on January 31, 1921, in Seattle, Washington, she discovered her love for performing at an early age. Her career spanned over seven decades, during which she became an acclaimed actress, singer, and comedienne. Channing's vivacious personality, combined with her characteristic raspy voice, made her a beloved figure on both stage and screen. Channing's remarkable career commenced on Broadway, where she quickly gained recognition for her comedic talent and unique stage presence. However, it was her role as Lorelei Lee in the musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes that propelled her to stardom in 1949. This success was eclipsed when she originated the iconic role of Dolly Gallagher Levi in the Broadway musical Hello, Dolly! in 1964. Her performance garnered her the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Channing would go on to reprise this role in numerous revivals, creating a lasting association with the character. Her skill was not confined to the stage alone; she also made a significant impact in film and television. In 1967, Channing received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Thoroughly Modern Millie. She appeared in a variety of television programs, ranging from game shows to animated series, displaying her incredible versatility. Carol Channing passed away in 2019, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most enduring and endearing figures in American entertainment history.
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  • Judith Butler

    Judith Butler

    Professor, Writer, Philosopher
    Judith Pamela Butler (born 1956) is an American philosopher and gender theorist whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminist, queer, and literary theory. In 1993, she began teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, where she has served, beginning in 1998, as the Maxine Elliot Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Program of Critical Theory. She is also the Hannah Arendt Chair at the European Graduate School.Butler is best known for her books Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990) and Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex (1993), in which she challenges conventional notions of gender and develops her theory of gender performativity. This theory has had a major influence on feminist and queer scholarship. Her works are often studied in film studies courses emphasizing gender studies and performativity in discourse. Butler has supported lesbian and gay rights movements and has spoken out on many contemporary political issues. In particular, she is a vocal critic of Zionism, Israeli politics, and its effect on the Israeliโ€“Palestinian conflict, emphasizing that Israel does not and should not be taken to represent all Jews or Jewish opinion.
  • Alwin Nikolais

    Alwin Nikolais

    Choreographer
    Alwin Nikolais (November 25, 1910 in Southington, Connecticut โ€“ May 8, 1993) was an American choreographer.
  • Peter Dinklage

    Peter Dinklage

    Actor, Voice acting
    Peter Dinklage, an American actor born in 1969 in Morristown, New Jersey, is known for his powerful performances that defy the stigmas often associated with his form of dwarfism, Achondroplasia. His journey into acting began at a young age, when he appeared in a fifth-grade production of The Velveteen Rabbit. He further honed his craft while studying drama at Bennington College in Vermont. Following graduation, Dinklage worked in a variety of day jobs while pursuing his acting career in off-Broadway productions. Dinklage's breakthrough performance came in 2003 with his role in the film The Station Agent. His portrayal of a man seeking solitude in an abandoned train station earned him critical acclaim and numerous award nominations. This led to a series of roles in films like Elf, Find Me Guilty, and Death at a Funeral. Despite the increasing recognition, Dinklage consistently refused roles that he felt stereotyped dwarfs, maintaining a strong commitment to integrity in his craft. However, it was his role as Tyrion Lannister in the television series Game of Thrones that solidified Dinklage's status as a global star. His portrayal of the witty, sharp-tongued, and deeply complex character won him four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe. Beyond his acting career, Dinklage is also an advocate for animal rights and a spokesperson for Cruelty Free International. Throughout his career, Peter Dinklage has proven to be not only a remarkable actor but also a figure of resilience and determination, breaking barriers and challenging stereotypes in Hollywood.
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  • Alan Arkin

    Alan Arkin

    Television director, Musician, Screenwriter
    Alan Arkin, a dynamic figure in the world of entertainment, emerged as a versatile actor with an expansive career across stage, film, and television. Born on March 26, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York, Arkin developed a passion for acting from a young age and pursued it relentlessly, leading to a life enriched with exceptional accomplishments. A graduate of Los Angeles City College, he began his professional career as a member of the folk music group, The Tarriers, before transitioning into acting, a move that would see him rise to prominence and carve out a niche for himself in Hollywood. Arkin's breakthrough came in 1966 with his role in The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming, a performance that earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. This was followed by several other noteworthy performances in movies like Wait Until Dark, Catch-22, and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, the latter of which led to another Academy Award nomination. His versatility was further showcased in a variety of roles, from comedic to dramatic, earning him critical acclaim and solidifying his status as a formidable actor. Over the course of his career, Arkin has been recognized with numerous awards, including a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role in Little Miss Sunshine in 2006. Beyond acting, Arkin has also directed and written various plays, demonstrating his multifaceted talent in the arts. His memoir, An Improvised Life, published in 2011, provides an intimate look into his personal life and his journey through the entertainment industry. Alan Arkin's impressive career, marked by continual evolution and profound impact, showcases his remarkable talent and enduring contribution to the field of entertainment.
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  • Jonathan Lethem

    Jonathan Lethem

    Novelist, Author, Essayist
    Jonathan Allen Lethem (; born February 19, 1964) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. His first novel, Gun, with Occasional Music, a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was published in 1994. In 1999, Lethem published Motherless Brooklyn, a National Book Critics Circle Award-winning novel that achieved mainstream success. In 2003, he published The Fortress of Solitude, which became a New York Times Best Seller. In 2005, he received a MacArthur Fellowship.
  • Holland Taylor

    Holland Taylor

    Actor, Voice acting, Playwright
    Holland Virginia Taylor (born January 14, 1943) is an American actress and playwright. She won the 1999 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Judge Roberta Kittleson on the ABC drama The Practice (1998โ€“2003). She is also known for her role as Evelyn Harper on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men (2003โ€“2015). Taylor's other notable television roles include the sitcoms Bosom Buddies (1980โ€“1982) and The Powers That Be (1992โ€“1993). Her film appearances include One Fine Day (1996), George of the Jungle (1997), The Truman Show (1998), and Legally Blonde (2001). She also wrote and starred in the solo play Ann, based on the life and work of Ann Richards, for which she was nominated for the 2013 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
  • Andrea Dworkin

    Andrea Dworkin

    Novelist, Writer
  • Barbara Deming
    Barbara Deming (July 23, 1917 โ€“ August 2, 1984) was an American feminist and advocate of nonviolent social change.
  • Paula Jean Welden
    Paula Jean Welden (October 19, 1928 โ€“ disappeared December 1, 1946) was an American college student who disappeared while walking on Vermont's Long Trail hiking route. The local sheriffs were criticized for their poor investigation, and this led to the creation of the Vermont State Police. Weldon's fate remains uncertain, and was one of several other unexplained disappearances in the same area and time.
  • Chris Barron

    Chris Barron

    Guitarist, Musician, Singer
    Chris Barron is a singer and a member of the musical group Spin Doctors.
  • Nathalie Handal

    Nathalie Handal

    Poet, Writer, Playwright
    Nathalie Handal (Arabic: ู†ุชุงู„ูŠ ุญู†ุธู„โ€Ž) (born 29 July 1969) is an award-winning French-American poet and writer born to a Palestinian family from Bethlehem.
  • Melissa Rosenberg

    Melissa Rosenberg

    Television producer, Film Producer, Screenwriter
    Melissa Anne Rosenberg (born August 28, 1962) is an American screenwriter. She has worked in both film and television and has won a Peabody Award. She has also been nominated for two Emmy Awards, and two Writers Guild of America Awards. Since joining the Writers Guild of America, she has been involved in its board of directors and was a strike captain during the 2007โ€“2008 Writers Guild of America strike. She supports female screenwriters through the WGA Diversity Committee and co-founded the League of Hollywood Women Writers. She worked on several television series between 1993 and 2003 before joining The O.C.'s writing staff, eventually leaving the show to write the 2006 film Step Up. From 2006 to 2009, she served as the head writer of the Showtime series Dexter, rising to executive producer by the time that she departed at the end of the fourth season. She wrote her second produced screenplay, the 2008 film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's novel Twilight in 2007, and then adapted the novel's three sequels, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. Rosenberg is also widely known as the creator of Netflix original series Jessica Jones.
  • Justin Theroux

    Justin Theroux

    Film Producer, Screenwriter, Actor
    Justin Theroux, a multi-talented personality in Hollywood, has garnered a notable reputation for his compelling contribution to the global entertainment industry. Born on August 10, 1971, in Washington D.C., he embarked on his journey towards fame and recognition with an unyielding passion for acting. He boasts an intricate educational background, having attended Bennington College in Vermont where he majored in visual arts and drama. Theroux's career took off in the late 1990s, showcasing his versatility across an array of roles on both the small and big screens. His first significant role was in the TV series Central Park West in 1995, which paved the way for numerous other opportunities. Theroux's talent truly shone through his unforgettable performance in David Lynch's surreal mystery film, Mulholland Drive, in 2001. Additionally, his portrayal of Kevin Garvey in the critically acclaimed HBO series The Leftovers further solidified his standing as a versatile actor. However, Theroux is not only limited to his accolades as an actor. He forayed into screenwriting with films like Tropic Thunder, Iron Man 2, and Zoolander 2, demonstrating his creative prowess behind the scenes. Regardless of his successful career in Hollywood, Theroux has also made headlines for his personal life. In 2012, he got engaged to Jennifer Aniston, a renowned actress and former co-star. Their high-profile marriage in 2015 attracted considerable media attention worldwide. Despite their separation in 2017, Theroux remains a prominent figure in the public eye, continuing to inspire with his multifaceted talent and distinctive style.
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  • Tim Daly

    Tim Daly

    Television director, Television producer, Film Producer
    James Timothy Daly (born March 1, 1956) is an American actor and producer. He is known for his role as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom Wings and his voice role as Clark Kent/Superman in Superman: The Animated Series, as well as his recurring role as the drug-addicted screenwriter J.T. Dolan on The Sopranos (for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award). He starred as Pete Wilder on Private Practice from 2007 to 2012. Since 2014, he has portrayed Henry McCord, husband of the titular character, on the CBS drama Madam Secretary.
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  • Michael Pollan

    Michael Pollan

    Journalist, Author, Science writer
    Michael Aaron Pollan (; born February 6, 1955) is an American author, journalist, activist, and the Lewis K. Chan Arts Lecturer and Professor of Practice of Non-Fiction at Harvard University. Pollan is also professor of journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
  • Helen Frankenthaler

    Helen Frankenthaler

    Painter, Artist
    Helen Frankenthaler (December 12, 1928 โ€“ December 27, 2011) was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over six decades (early 1950s until 2011), she spanned several generations of abstract painters while continuing to produce vital and ever-changing new work. Frankenthaler began exhibiting her large-scale abstract expressionist paintings in contemporary museums and galleries in the early 1950s. She was included in the 1964 Post-Painterly Abstraction exhibition curated by Clement Greenberg that introduced a newer generation of abstract painting that came to be known as Color Field. Born in Manhattan, she was influenced by Greenberg, Hans Hofmann, and Jackson Pollock's paintings. Her work has been the subject of several retrospective exhibitions, including a 1989 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and been exhibited worldwide since the 1950s. In 2001, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. Frankenthaler had a home and studio in Darien, Connecticut.
  • Donna Tartt

    Donna Tartt

    Novelist, Writer
    Donna Tartt (born December 23, 1963) is an American writer, the author of the novels The Secret History (1992), The Little Friend (2002), and The Goldfinch (2013). Tartt won the WH Smith Literary Award for The Little Friend in 2003 and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Goldfinch in 2014. She was included in Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People" list, compiled in 2014.
  • Anne Ramsey
    Angelina Ramsey (nรฉe Mobley; March 27, 1929 โ€“ August 11, 1988) was an American stage, television, and film actress. She portrayed Mama Fratelli in The Goonies (1985) and Mrs. Lift, mother of Danny DeVito's protagonist, in Throw Momma from the Train (1987). The latter film saw Ramsey nominated for a Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
  • Laura Furman

    Laura Furman

    Editor, Novelist, Writer
    Laura J. Furman (born 1945) is an American author best known for her role as series editor for the [O. Henry Prize Stories]. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Mirabella, Ploughshares, Southwest Review, Yale Review, and elsewhere'. Furman was born in New York City and attended Hunter College High School and Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont. In 1978, she moved to Houston, Texas. After living in Houston, Galveston, Dallas, and Lockhart she settled in Austin with her husband, Joel Warren Barna, and their son. She has written four collections of stories The Glass House, Watch Time Fly, Drinking with the Cook, The Mother Who Stayed, two novels The Shadow Line and Tuxedo Park, and a memoir Ordinary Paradise. She taught for twenty-eight years at the University of Texas at Austin, where she was Susan Taylor McDaniel Regents Professor of Creative Writing. While at UT, she founded the literary magazine American Short Fiction, which was twice a finalist for the National Magazine Award. Furmanโ€™s most recent book of fiction, The Mother Who Stayed: Stories, was published in February 2011
  • Sally Mann

    Sally Mann

    Artist, Photographer
    Sally Mann HonFRPS (born May 1, 1951) is an American photographer, widely known for her large-format, black-and-white photographsโ€”at first of her young children, then later of landscapes suggesting decay and death.
  • John Billingsley
    John Billingsley (, born May 20, 1960) is an American actor known for his role as Doctor Phlox on the television series Star Trek: Enterprise.
  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes is an American attorney serving as partner in the Ropes & Gray health care practice and advocate based in Boston. He was Director of Policy for the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute, and Associate Commissioner for Medical and Legal Policy for the New York City Department of Health under the mayoralty of David Dinkins. He worked on the National Health Care Reform Task Force in the Clinton Administration. His work includes focus on the fields of research compliance, the ethics of clinical trials, and medical privacy. He is past President of the New York State Bar Association's Health Law Section.
  • Hildegard Peplau

    Hildegard Peplau

    Nurse, Psychoanalyst
    Hildegard E. Peplau (September 1, 1909 โ€“ March 17, 1999) was an American nurse and the first published nursing theorist since Florence Nightingale. She created the middle-range nursing theory of interpersonal relations, which helped to revolutionize the scholarly work of nurses. As a primary contributor to mental health law reform, she led the way towards humane treatment of patients with behavior and personality disorders.
  • Rider Strong

    Rider Strong

    Film Producer, Screenwriter, Actor
    Rider King Strong (born December 11, 1979), is an American actor, director, voice actor, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Shawn Hunter on the 1990s sitcom Boy Meets World and its 2010s sequel Girl Meets World. He is also known for his role in the 2002 horror film Cabin Fever and as the voice of Tom Lucitor in Star vs. the Forces of Evil.
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  • Alley Mills
    Allison "Alley" Mills (born May 9, 1951), also known as Alley Bean, is an American actress best known for her role as Norma Arnold, the mother in the coming-of-age series The Wonder Years, and her current role as Pamela Douglas, the sister of the late Forrester matriarch Stephanie Forrester (Susan Flannery), on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.
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  • Jovita Moore

    Jovita Moore

    Journalist, Newsreader
    Jovita Moore is an American news presenter and reporter. She presents the daily newscast of WSB-TV in Atlanta, Georgia, from 5:00 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 11:00 p.m to 11:30 p.m.. She also makes news reports during the week. Before moving to Atlanta, Moore worked as weekend anchor/reporter at WMC-TV in Memphis, Tennessee. She began her career as a reporter at KFSM-TV in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in 1990. She joined WSB-TV in 1998. She has been anchor for the weekend evening news, but moved to daily news stories in March, 2005. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in literature, from Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont, and earned a Master's Degree in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Moore is a past member of the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists. She is an active member of the Junior League of Atlanta and a former member of the Board of Directors of the YWCA of greater Atlanta. She donates her time speaking to school groups, hosting events for the community, and mentoring students. Moore also runs a non-profit youth organization called Live to Prosper.
  • Kiran Desai

    Kiran Desai

    Novelist, Author, Writer
    Kiran Desai (born 3 September 1971) is an Indian author. Her novel The Inheritance of Loss won the 2006 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award.In January 2015, The Economic Times, India's leading business publication, listed her as one of 20 "most influential" global Indian women.