Below, we take a look at some of the most notable Michigan State alumni. He worked in leadership roles at Packard, Pontiac and Chevrolet but might be best known for the 1980s sports car that bears his name. Ford fought in the Pacific during World War II and then embarked on a political career in the late 1940s. An Old-Fashioned Kitchen Gets a Sleek, 2023 Warner Bros. The 72 year old Detroit native is known for her roles in many horror movies. 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 University of Michigan. Blair's longstanding career began with her comedic roles in pop culture classics in the early 2000s. Here are the most famous alumni from U of M ahead their bowl game against Florida State on December 30, 2016. Her big break arrived in the late 1990s with a primary role on the TV show Ally McBeal. Since then, she has appeared in dozens of movies, including blockbusters such as Kill Bill, Charlies Angels and Chicago., (AP Photo / Ann Arbor News, Robert Chase). Former University of Michigan and NFL linebacker LaMarr Woodley was born Nov. 3, 1984 in Saginaw. He served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1973 before becoming vice president. This former NFL wide receiver, who won a Super Bowl with the Packers in 1996, helped take the Spartan football team to the 1988 Rose Bowl (which they won). Celebrities who attended the Ann Arbor school include James Earl Jones, Glee star Darren Criss, Arthur Miller, Lucy Liu and a little popstar called Madonna. Jeter did take classes at UM in the fall of 1992 after playing in the minors. (Ryan also represented Team USA in the 2010 and 2014 winter olympics.). More famous alumni from the College Wires Network: Ala / Ark / Aub / Fla / LSU / Tenn / TX A&M / UGA // Iowa / Mich /Mich St. / Neb / Ohio St. / Penn St. / Rut / Wisc // Okla / Texas // ND // Colo / Ore / USC // Clem / UNC /. Sunny Hostin's Son Gabriel Joins Her at White House Holiday Party See the Photos! MSU ties: Its pretty amazing that a 3-star recruit has been able to become one of the highest paid players in the NFL, but thats been the story for Kirk Cousins, who has seemed to overcome the odds since first coming to MSU in 2007. Born in New York City, the 54 year old is a writer, lawyer and controversial political commentator. Known for paintings of Native American life and the American Southwest, here is a look at Couse's "Indian Warrior Making Arrows at His Fire," an oil painting circa 1910. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The 64 year old Detroit native and retired neurosurgeon graduated from Yale, but attended the University of Michigan in 1977. Please check your email for a confirmation. McCoy, who rose to the rank of colonel in the Army Air Corps and Army Air Forces, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame. "when we say hot girl summer we talking bout degrees " she captioned the shots of her first day at the University of Southern California, which earned her cheers from celeb fans including Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington and Ava DuVernay. Slaughter became huge in National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), American Wrestling Association (AWA), and the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE). It was during his time at MSU where his impressive 6'7'', 335-pound frame earned the nickname "The Hotel.". Norman earned her degree from the University of Michigan in 1968. Known for his role in the film "The Wedding Singer," actor Matthew Glave was born Aug. 19, 1963 in Saginaw. The list includes people like Draymond Green, Tee Grizzley, Tyler Oakley, Hailie Jade & Richard Ford. The 40 year old Blissfield, Michigan native is an actor, writer, and comedian, best known for his work on "Saturday Night Live." This was a really good hire by U-M! Formerly an aide and chief counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barnes later, Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( SHEM-bek-lr; April 1, 1929 November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. CLICK HERE to see the most famous Eastern Michigan University Alumni. She added, "Missing forever," presumably referring to her late daughter Gianna and husband Kobe Bryant, who died in a tragic helicopter crash in January 2020. "War eagle" she captioned the post, a reference to the school's "battle cry. Jeff attended Central Michigan University, but became involved in acting and Dax Randall Shepard was born in 1975 in Milford, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, to Laura (LaBo), who worked at GM, and Dave Robert Shepard, Sr., a car salesman. It was only on the suggestion of the coach, Darryl Rodgers, that Gibson play a season of collegiate baseball. He flew aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. DeLorean earned his masters degree in business administration from U-M and enjoyed a long career as an executive in the automotive industry. All rights reserved (About Us). He has been married to Michelle Dilgard since June 18, 2011. He is an actor and composer, known for Osmosis Jones (2001), 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001) and Sweet Home Alabama (2002). Just a few years after graduating from U-M with a bachelors degree in computer engineering, Larry Page would begin to transform how many of us use computers in our daily life. He died on January 5, Towering 7' 2" tall actor who cornered the market on playing giants, intimidating henchmen, bayou swamp monsters and steel toothed villains! Most people know Darren Criss from his role as Blaine on the hit TV show. Famously, Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell is a Michigan State student in the film and wears an MSU jacket to start the movie. Shannon is also known for founding digital circuit design theory. Its always great to see these famous Spartans show their love for the green and white on social media. Detroit native David Alan Grier earned a speech communications degree at Michigan before attending grad school at Yale and embarking on a Broadway acting career. He is now the owner of the Detroit Pistons basketball team. ), Ripa and Consuelos are officially empty nesters. Gospel singer Jessica Reedy was born July 12, 1988 in Saginaw. This list of notable alumni is The 53 year old businessman is the president and CEO of Activision Blizzard known for "Call of Duty," "World of Warcraft" and more. The 58 year old Battle Creek native is currently in his second term as Governor of Michigan. There are plenty of celebrities that are famously from Detroit, from every Motown star to Eminem and Photo courtesy of the University of Notre Dame. He wrote his first play there called "No Villain." He lived with his family in Tustin, California, from first grade to high school graduation. Attorney and union leader James P. Hoffa is the only son of the legendary Jimmy Hoffa. Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Spotify. Grier would go on to appear in movies such as Boomerang and Jumanji. He also is an acclaimed stand-up comedian. He is an actor and composer, known for Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), Body Heat (1981) and Armageddon (1998). This former MLB pitcher started out playing collegiate baseball for the Spartans. He was previously married to Vivian M. Angstadt. Stars like Jerry Seinfeld, Barack and Michelle Obama, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson are also sending kids to college this year. Flint native former Toronto Raptors NBA player Morris Peterson played alongside Mateen Cleaves during his collegiate career, helping take the Spartans to the 2000 national championship. Nicknamed "Z-Bo", the 2-time NBA All-Star played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans before being drafted in the 2001 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. His parents divorced when he was four. Never miss a game this season with our downloadable 2022 Michigan Wolverines football schedule for your smartphone. (Naples Daily News photo / USA TODAY Network). https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/lists/university-of-michigan-famous-alumni/, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Caan is most known for his role in 1972's The Godfather, where he played Santino "Sonny" Corleone a role that earned Caan the nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards as well as the Golden Globes. Criss graduated from the University of Michigan in 2009. 4. He set a career interception record while playing at Purdue and then went on to get picked by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2004 NFL draft. He became known for The Ren & Stimpy Show, Futurama, Doug, Space Jam and several commercials featuring the Hal Smith was born on August 24, 1916 in Petoskey, Michigan, USA. He was raised in Yorkville, Illinois. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). TV personality and Spartan alumnus Suzanne Sena's broadcast career has ranged from beinga primetime anchor for Fox Newstorubbing elbowswith celebs as host for E! Miller died in 2005. Day 3: #SIFF Filmmaker huddle with Actor Matthew Glave of "Funny Story" - a touching, funny story of forgiveness & getting past regrets. Looking at the most famous Michigan State alumni James Caan (Actor) GRiZ (Musician) Sam Raimi (Director) Earvin 'Magic' Johnson (Basketball) Kirk Gibson She died on June 15, 2010 in Lancaster, California, USA. Martin played professionally for 15 seasons, spending much of the time with the New Jersey Nets and the Denver Nuggets. The Massachusetts native and longtime journalist graduated from the University of Michigan in 1939. MSU ties: Graduated from MSU before getting his law degree from Wayne State. Upton always knew she wanted to be a model. Known for: NFL Hall of Famer, previously held the NFL all-time points record, now stands at No. Richter attended the Bob Seger was born on May 6, 1945 in Dearborn, Michigan, USA. She is a director and actress, known for The Proposal (2009), Step Up (2006) and Hairspray (2007). The book, James Hynes (born August 23, 1955) is an American novelist. Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Brown and Dartmouth have produced some of the most successful writers, actors and directors in the entertainment industry. He was a mathematics prodigy, but, Clarence Leonard "Kelly" Johnson (February 27, 1910 December 21, 1990) was an American aeronautical and systems engineer. Vanessa Bryant shared a selfie she took with Natalia, 18, and daughters Bianka, 4, and Capri, 2, dropping off her eldest at college decked out in school merch, and big smiles, of course. WebGotham / Contributor/Jason Merritt/Getty Images. He graduated from high school in 1961 before it was moving to Arizona. Her uncle is Michigan congressman Fred Upton. He played linebacker and long snapper. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1985. in economics from U-M in 1935. The most famous person from each of Michigan's 83 counties, The second most famous native from every Michigan county, These famous people were all born in Grand Rapids. In addition to various roles with Google and its parent company, Alphabet, Page was an early investor in Tesla Motors. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Professional basketball player Major: History Advertisement 2. He attended Michigan State for one year, and eventually received a degree in theater from Temple University. The 44 year old Southfield, Michigan native and actress graduated from the University of Michigan in 1994.