Alumnae
Famous alumnae of Mount Holyoke College include:
- Emily Dickinson, who dropped out of the college in 1849 because
her religious ideologies differed from those of the college's founder
- Suzan-Lori Parks playwright; Pulitzer Prize winner, Topdog/Underdog
- Frances Perkins (Class of 1902) who was the first woman Cabinet
member as Secretary for Labor
- Dr. Virginia Apgar (Class of 1929) who developed the Apgar score
for newborns
- Ella Grasso (Class of 1940), Governor of Connecticut who was the first
female Governor elected in her own right in United States history
- Wendy Wasserstein (Class of 1971) playwright; Pulitzer Prize winner, The Heidi Chronicles
- Elaine Chao (Class of 1975), Labor Secretary
- Barbara Cassani (Class
of 1982), the American busineswoman who is spearheading London's Olympic effort for 2012
Faculty
Distinguished faculty at Mount Holyoke include:
- W. Anthony Lake, former National Security Advisor
- Cabinet member Cyrus Vance
- Joseph Brodsky, Russian poet and Nobel Laureate.
Fictional alumnae
In the movie
Dirty Dancing, Jennifer Grey's character "Baby" spent her last summer dancing before going off to Mount Holyoke
College.
The lead character of the film, "Black Widow," was also a Mount Holyoke alumna.