Famous alumni from the University of Michigan include the first American to peform a space walk, the "father" of the iPod, the founders of Sun Microsystems and Google, the father of information theory, and the voice of Darth Vader.

Arts and entertainment

• Dean Bakopoulos, novelist, "Please Don't Come Back From the Moon"
• Selma Blair, actress, known for Cruel Intentions and Legally Blonde
• George Crumb, composer, completed his doctorate in music there in 1959
• Joe Dassin, French singer
• David Alan Grier, actor
• Dan Glickman, President and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.
• Cathy Guisewite, author, creator of Cathy comic strip
• Robert Hayden, poet
• James Earl Jones, actor, the voice of "Darth Vader" in the blockbuster Star Wars , winner of two Tony Awards
• Lawrence Kasdan studied creative writing and won four Hopwood Awards. Best known for his work on the Star Wars films, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and on Raiders of the Lost Ark.
• Jane Kenyon, poet
• Christine Lahti, actress, winner of the Academy Award, an Emmy, and two Golden Globe awards.
• Lucy Liu, actress, best known for work in Ally McBeal and for the movie versions of Charlie's Angels .
• Madonna, singer and actress; attended only briefly; did not graduate.
• Strother Martin, actor, member of the diving team.
• Arthur Miller, playwright, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning author of Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, and erstwhile husband of Marilyn Monroe.
• Iggy Pop, rock star; did not graduate.
• Gilda Radner, actress and comedian, best known for her work on Saturday Night Live.
• Allen Seager, author, "Amos Berry" and "A Frieze of Girls"
• William Shawn, New Yorker editor from 1952-1987 (did not graduate)
• Betty Smith, author of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"
• Chris Van Allsburg, author and illustrator, best known for Jumanji and The Polar Express. Both books were made into films, with Jumanji starring Robin Williams, and Express starring Tom Hanks

Astronauts

• Karl G. Henize, astronaut.
• James Irwin, astronaut.
• Jack Lousma, astronaut.
• James McDivitt, astronaut.
• Edward White, astronaut; first American to walk in space.
• Alfred Worden, astronaut

Business

• Louis Borders, co-founded Borders, with brother Tom.
• Thomas Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza.
• Charles Walgreen, founder of Walgreens drugstores.
• Sam Zell, Real Estate
• Preston R. Tisch, Entertainment
• Sam Wyly, Electronics
• Sanford Robertson, Finance
• Stephen M. Ross, Real Estate
• David and Fred Alger, Finance
• J. Ira Harris, Finance
• William Davidson, Finance & Entertainment

Computers, engineering, and technology

• Tony Fadell, "father" of the Apple iPod.
• Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, founder of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works.
• Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems.
• Thomas and John Knoll, Co-Creators of Adobe Photoshop.
• Larry Page, co-founder of Google Inc.
• Claude E. Shannon, "father of digital circuit design theory" and "father of information theory".

Journalism

• Richard Berke, New York Times political reporter
• Ann Coulter, conservative author and attorney, graduated from University of Michigan Law School in 1988.
• Sanjay Gupta, CNN anchor, reporter and senior medical correspondent.
• Daniel Okrent, public editor, New York Times
• Marvin Olasky, conservative pundit
• Carole Simpson, ABC News correspondent.
• Mike Wallace, TV journalist, longtime host of 60 Minutes.
• Robin Wright, Washington Post

Law, government, and public policy

• Nancy Kassebaum Baker, former U.S. senator from Kansas.
• Mary Frances Berry, J.D./Ph.D., United States Civil Rights Commission
• Clarence Darrow, Leopold and Loeb lawyer, defense attorney for John T. Scopes
• Thomas Dewey, politician and presidential candidate.
• Gerald R. Ford, 38th U.S. president, studied economics and political science. He played center on two national-championship American football teams and was the team's most valuable player in 1934. He received his B. A. degree in 1935.
• Harold Ford Jr., JD’96, is a congressman representing Tennessee’s 9th District.
• Richard A. "Dick" Gephardt, Former United States House Minority Leader, graduate of UM Law School.
• Pete Hoekstra, MBA, is a congressman representing Michigan's 2nd District and Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
• Frank Murphy, '14, U.S. Attorney General under Franklin Roosevelt and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court

Science

• Isabella Lugoski Karle, 1941, MS 1942, PhD 1944, HSCD 1976, is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. She was a member of the Manhattan Project.
• Emil John Konopinski, 1933, MA 1934, PhD 1936, patented a device that made the first hydrogen bomb with Dr. Edward Teller. He was a member of the Manhattan Project.
• William Mayo, co-founder of the Mayo Clinic.
• Antonia Novello, 1974, first female US surgeon general
• John Clark Sheehan, MS 1938, PhD 1941, was a chemist who pioneered the first synthetic penicillin breakthrough in 1957.
• Samuel C. C. Ting, BS 1959, PhD 1962, physicist, awarded Nobel Prize in 1976 for discovering the J/psi particle.

Sports

• Jim Abbott, one-armed baseball player
• Tom Brady, football player and 2-time Super Bowl MVP
• Thomas Dolan, 1996 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Sydney) Summer Olympics gold medalist and former world record holder in swimming.
• Rich Eisen, ESPN broadcaster
• Danny Fife,former Major League Baseball player
• Tom Harmon, football player and 1940 Heisman Trophy winner
• Desmond Howard, football player and 1991 Heisman Trophy winner. Super Bowl XXXI MVP.
• Derek Jeter, New York Yankees shortstop (did not graduate)
• Barry Larkin, former Cincinatti Reds baseball player, 1995 National League MVP
• Al Montoya, hockey goalie sensation (currently a student)
• Branch Rickey, former president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers who integrated Major League Baseball by signing Jackie Robinson.
• Welday Walker,former MLB player in 1884.
• Charles Woodson, football player and 1997 Heisman Trophy winner

Newsmakers

• Robert C. Atkins, '51, promoter of the Atkins Diet, a nutrition fad.
• Tom Hayden, author of Port Huron Statement, member of Chicago Seven
• Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber), earned a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Michigan in 1967.
• Jack Kevorkian received a medical degree with a specialty in pathology in 1952
• Michael Newdow, JD’88, made headlines by challenging the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance
• Raoul Wallenberg, rescuer of Jews in World War II. Class of '35, Architecture