Entrance to the City College of New York campus in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan. Photo: Heidi Besen / Shutterstock.com
For more than a century, New York City’s public colleges have opened doors for students from every borough and background. The City University of New York traces its roots to the Free Academy, founded in 1847, while the modern CUNY system was created in 1961. Across its colleges, generations of students have gone on to major careers in entertainment, science, journalism, literature, business, and public life.
This list uses one strict rule: every person below actually earned a degree from a CUNY school. Simply attending a CUNY college was not enough. That means some famous names with real CUNY connections do not appear here because they left before graduating. Here are 25 famous people you probably did not know graduated from CUNY schools.
1. Jerry Seinfeld – Queens College
Jerry Seinfeld graduated from Queens College in 1976 with a degree in communications and theater. Raised in Massapequa, he transferred to Queens College after beginning his college years at SUNY Oswego. Soon after graduating, Seinfeld began performing regularly in New York comedy clubs, setting in motion the stand-up and television career that eventually led to Seinfeld.
2. Colin Powell – City College of New York
Colin Powell graduated from the City College of New York in 1958 with a degree in geology. While at CCNY, he joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and the Pershing Rifles, beginning the military path that led to a 35-year Army career. Powell later served as National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and U.S. Secretary of State. CUNY alumni profile.
3. Paul Simon – Queens College
Paul Simon graduated from Queens College in 1963 with a BA in English. Raised in Queens, Simon had already begun performing with Art Garfunkel while still young, but he completed his college degree as his songwriting career developed. His work with Simon & Garfunkel and his later solo career made him one of the most recognized American songwriters of the modern era.
4. Jimmy Smits – Brooklyn College
Jimmy Smits graduated from Brooklyn College in 1980 before earning an MFA at Cornell University. He went on to build a major television and film career with roles in L.A. Law, NYPD Blue, The West Wing, and the Star Wars universe. His Brooklyn College training formed an important part of the foundation for a career that has stretched across stage, television, and film.
5. Ray Romano – Queensborough Community College
Ray Romano earned an associate degree from Queensborough Community College in 1981. The Queens-born comedian later became nationally known through stand-up and the long-running sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. Queensborough continues to identify Romano as one of its prominent graduates.
6. Shirley Chisholm – Brooklyn College
Shirley Chisholm graduated from Brooklyn College in 1946 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. She later worked in early-childhood education before entering public office. In 1968, Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress, and in 1972 she sought the Democratic presidential nomination. CUNY alumni profile.
7. Rhea Perlman – Hunter College
Rhea Perlman graduated from Hunter College in 1968 with a BA in theatre. She later became best known for playing Carla Tortelli on Cheers, a role that brought her four Emmy Awards. Her career has also included extensive work in film, television, and theater.
8. Jonas Salk – City College of New York
Jonas Salk graduated from the City College of New York in 1934 after studying chemistry. He later attended medical school at New York University and became the physician and researcher who developed the first successful polio vaccine. CCNY continues to honor Salk as one of the institution’s most significant scientific alumni.
9. Alan Dershowitz – Brooklyn College
Alan Dershowitz graduated from Brooklyn College in 1959 before attending Yale Law School. He later joined the Harvard Law School faculty and became widely known as a constitutional law scholar, author, and attorney. Brooklyn College records identify him as a member of the Class of 1959.
10. Audre Lorde – Hunter College
Audre Lorde graduated from Hunter College in 1959 after studying library science. She later earned a master’s degree in library science from Columbia University and became a major American poet, essayist, librarian, teacher, and activist. Lorde eventually returned to Hunter as a distinguished professor.
11. Eli Wallach – City College of New York
Eli Wallach earned a master’s degree in education from the City College of New York in 1938. He later became one of the most recognizable character actors of his generation, with major roles in Baby Doll, The Magnificent Seven, The Misfits, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. His career also included extensive Broadway work.
12. Don Lemon – Brooklyn College
Don Lemon graduated from Brooklyn College in 1996 with a degree in broadcast journalism. While completing his studies, he worked in television news in New York and later held reporting and anchoring positions around the country. He became nationally known through his years as a CNN anchor and television journalist.
13. Bella Abzug – Hunter College
Bella Abzug graduated from Hunter College in 1942 with a degree in political science before earning a law degree from Columbia. She worked as an attorney and later served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 through 1977. CUNY alumni profile.
14. Judd Hirsch – City College of New York
Judd Hirsch graduated from the City College of New York in 1960 with a degree in physics before pursuing acting. He later became known for television series including Taxi and Dear John and for films including Ordinary People, Independence Day, and The Fabelmans. CCNY continues to identify Hirsch as a distinguished alumnus.
15. Lillias White – City College of New York
Lillias White graduated from the City College of New York in 1978. The Brooklyn-born actress and singer went on to a major Broadway career and won a Tony Award for her performance in The Life. Her other notable stage credits include Dreamgirls, Fela!, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Hadestown.
16. Iyanla Vanzant – Medgar Evers College and CUNY School of Law
Iyanla Vanzant graduated from Medgar Evers College in 1983 and later earned her law degree from the CUNY School of Law in 1988. She became widely known as an author, inspirational speaker, television personality, and host of Iyanla, Fix My Life. Her career has spanned books, television, public speaking, and personal-development work.
17. Andrew Grove – City College of New York
Andrew Grove graduated from the City College of New York in 1960 with a degree in chemical engineering. A Hungarian refugee who arrived in the United States in the 1950s, Grove later became one of the central figures in the rise of Intel, serving as the company’s president, CEO, and chairman. CCNY’s Grove School of Engineering was later named in his honor.
18. Rosalyn Yalow – Hunter College
Rosalyn Yalow graduated from Hunter College in 1941 and became one of the most important medical physicists of the 20th century. Her work on radioimmunoassay transformed the measurement of hormones and other substances in the blood. Yalow received the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
19. Gertrude Elion – Hunter College
Gertrude Elion graduated from Hunter College in 1937 and went on to a groundbreaking career in pharmacology. Working with George Hitchings, she helped develop treatments for leukemia, organ transplantation, gout, malaria, and viral infections. Elion shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
20. Arno Penzias – City College of New York
Arno Penzias graduated from the City College of New York in 1954 with a degree in physics. He later worked at Bell Laboratories, where he and Robert Wilson discovered cosmic microwave background radiation, providing major observational support for the Big Bang model of the universe. Penzias shared the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics.
21. Leon Lederman – City College of New York
Leon Lederman graduated from the City College of New York in 1943 and later earned a doctorate in physics from Columbia University. His experimental work in particle physics contributed to the discovery of the muon neutrino. Lederman shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics and later served as director of Fermilab.
22. John O’Keefe – City College of New York
John O’Keefe graduated from the City College of New York in 1963 with a BA in psychology. His later research on the hippocampus led to the discovery of place cells, neurons involved in spatial navigation. O’Keefe shared the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries concerning the brain’s positioning system.
23. Kenneth Arrow – City College of New York
Kenneth Arrow graduated from the City College of New York in 1940 with a bachelor’s degree in social science and a major in mathematics. He became one of the most influential economists of the 20th century, making major contributions to social choice theory, welfare economics, and information economics. Arrow shared the 1972 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
24. Stanley Cohen – Brooklyn College
Stanley Cohen graduated from Brooklyn College in 1943 and went on to a distinguished scientific career studying cell growth and development. His research helped identify epidermal growth factor and deepened scientific understanding of how cells communicate and grow. Cohen shared the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
25. Joy Behar – Queens College
Joy Behar graduated from Queens College in 1964 with a BA in sociology. Before entering entertainment, she worked as a teacher and later developed a career in stand-up comedy, television, and writing. Behar became widely known as a longtime co-host of The View.
For more on New York’s college connections, see 25 Famous People Who Went to College in New York City, 25 Famous People You Didn’t Know Went to College in Upstate New York, and 25 Famous People You Didn’t Know Went to College on Long Island.
