The Most Famous Alumni of UCLA

Established in 1919, the University of California, Los Angeles, or more commonly known as UCLA, is rated the top public university and the 20th best university in the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges’ rankings for 2023. It’s one of the most in-demand schools — and for good reason. 

UCLA has produced many incredible stars through its prestigious School of Theater, Film, and Television and is also well known for its College of Dentistry, the David Geffen School of Medicine, and many other leading educational programs and departments. 

Apart from its exceptional academic offerings, UCLA’s location in the vibrant city of Los Angeles adds to its allure. It is surrounded by a thriving cultural scene, world-class entertainment, delicious food options, and a diverse range of attractions – all of which are easily accessible if you can find Los Angeles apartments for rent near the university. 

Whether you currently attend UCLA, hope to do so one day, or simply want to learn more about its famous alumni over the years, many individuals who’ve made a great impact on society attended UCLA.

Here’s our list of the most famous alumni of UCLA.

James Franco

James Franco is an American actor, writer, and director. Initially attending UCLA to complete an English major degree, but discovering an interest in acting, he soon dropped out to pursue acting on his own.

Franco did not abandon UCLA with his dropout; in 2006, he decided to enroll again for his MFA in Creative Writing while continuing his professional acting career. Franco is most widely known for his roles in “Spider-Man", "127 Hours", and "Pineapple Express", and has received critical acclaim as a director with "The Disaster Artist" and "As I Lay Dying".

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was an NBA star during the 60s who attended UCLA to study history. While at UCLA, he led the Bruins to three consecutive national titles while winning Most Outstanding Player honors three times during NCAA tournament play. Following graduation, he had an equally illustrious professional career, winning six NBA championships while setting numerous records, widely considered one of the greatest basketball players ever.

While he had retired from basketball, he remained impactful to society by writing books like "Black Cop’s Kid", "What Color Is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors", and "Brothers in Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion, WWII's Forgotten Heroes".

Taylor Wang

Taylor Wang is a Chinese-American astronaut from UCLA who graduated with a mechanical engineering degree in 1983. Subsequently, he joined NASA and became the first Chinese-American astronaut to fly in space when he flew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on an inaugural mission in 1992; for this achievement, he received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal.

Ralph Bunche

Ralph Bunche was an American political scientist and diplomat. Attending UCLA during the 1920s, he earned his undergraduate degree in international relations, as well as becoming one of the first African Americans to earn a doctoral degree in political science from an American university. Best known for his role as a mediator at the United Nations in helping negotiate a ceasefire during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War negotiations, Bunche received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950.

Mayim Bialik

Mayim Bialik is an American actress, neuroscientist, and author. She is best known for her role as Amy Farrah Fowler on "The Big Bang Theory". Bialik earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA in 2007 and has since been an outspoken proponent for STEM education; UCLA even invited her as a keynote speaker at its College of Letters and Sciences commencement ceremony in 2018. In addition to acting, Bialik has also written multiple books covering parenting to Judaism topics.

Susan Wojcicki

Susan Wojcicki is an American technology executive and was most recently the CEO of YouTube until 2023. After receiving an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, Wojcicki quickly rose through the ranks to become a highly regarded member of the tech world, taking part in founding Google AdSense as well. Additionally, Wojcicki has made charitable donations, including giving $5 million to the UCLA School of Engineering in 2018.

Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter who’s best known for his work on films such as "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now". Coppola attended UCLA in the 1950s and received his MFA in Film. He’s remained involved with UCLA, including as guest speaker for the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's annual commencement ceremony in 2015. Coppola has also been the recipient of several awards for his contributions to the film industry, including five Academy Awards.

Randy Newman

Randy Newman may not be one of the most instantly recognizable names, but you’ll undoubtedly be familiar with his work. This extremely talented musician wrote the “Toy Story” soundtrack, including the hit song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”, and has worked on music for many other great Disney movies, including “A Bug’s Life”, “Monsters Inc.”, and “The Princess and the Frog”. As a young man, Randy had almost finished his music degree at UCLA and only had one semester left, which he eventually completed in 2021. 

Randy would eventually win six Grammys, as well as Emmys, Oscars, and other awards. He’s not in a rock band, but as of 2013, has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

James Horner

The soundtrack of “Titanic” was undoubtedly one of the best parts of the movie and was written by UCLA alumnus James Horner. James wrote “My Heart Will Go On” along with Will Jennings, which won him his first Oscar.

He studied at UCLA’s rival USC for his bachelor's degree and eventually obtained a Ph.D. from UCLA. Apart from “Titanic”, he has also worked on Star Trek films, the film “Alien”, as well as “Braveheart”, “Apollo 13”, and “Avatar”.

Carol Burnett

Best known for her variety show, “The Carol Burnett Show”, Carol started with nothing and made something of herself. When she first attended UCLA in 1951, her tuition was covered by an anonymous donor who gave her $50 (tuition was only $43 at the time). She started off studying journalism but switched to theater arts and English in her first year. Due to several lucky breaks, including another generous benefactor who helped her get to New York to kick-start her career, Burnett exploded onto the comedy scene, and, as they say, the rest is history.

Many famous people also attended UCLA but didn’t complete their degrees. Here are some of the most famous of them. 

Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major League Baseball, and he attended UCLA in the 1940s. While at UCLA, he was a star athlete, playing football, basketball, and baseball. Unfortunately, financial hardships forced Robinson to drop out of UCLA.

Robinson is most famous for breaking the color barrier in professional baseball, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 to 1956. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

Steve Martin

Steve Martin is an American comedian, actor, and writer who attended UCLA in the 1960s. He studied philosophy and theater arts and performed in local coffeehouses and clubs. He transferred in 1967 as a theater major but dropped out without obtaining a degree. Martin went on to become a successful comedian and actor, appearing in films such as "The Jerk," "Father of the Bride," and "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." He’s also an accomplished musician and playwright who produced plays such as “Bright Star”, “Meteor Shower”, and “The Underpants”.

Born in Ukraine, Mila Kunis is best known for her breakout role in the hit show “That '70s Show”. She also starred in the animated television series “Family Guy” as the voice of Meg. She has since gone on to star in many films, such as “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, “Ted”, and “Black Swan”. 

Mila didn’t love campus life and was only at UCLA for a short period before dropping out entirely. She has mentioned in interviews that she only attended two classes at UCLA before transferring to Loyola Marymount University, after which she stopped college altogether.

Helen Hunt

Known for her roles in “The Swiss Family Robinson” and “Mad About You”, Helen Hunt is now an Emmy award-winning actress and quite well known. Much like Mila Kunis, she only attended UCLA for one month before dropping out.

Best known as a famous basketball player, Russell Westbrook played 75 games for the UCLA basketball team. This is what eventually led to him becoming one of the most famous UCLA alumni. He was officially drafted in 2008 and dropped out of UCLA so he could play for the Seattle SuperSonics. This team was eventually renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder. He also represented Team USA in the 2012 Olympics. 

Westbrook could have pursued an entirely different path in life. In a 2015 episode of “In Depth with Graham Bensinger”, he shared with Bensinger that academia was his priority. 

“I was a great student in school. I mean, I didn’t rely on basketball, my parents always told me, ‘You need to get a good education.”

“I was thinking of going to Stanford just for academics out of high school. So, you know, that was my first option; basketball was just another way to get to college, so my parents wouldn’t have to pay for it.”

John Williams

John Williams started his college career at UCLA but was soon drafted into the Air Force. This didn’t stop his passion for music as he became involved with military bands during his time in the military. After completing military service, he continued his musical education at Juilliard School and soon found work in Hollywood composing film scores.

As the composer of, among others, the scores for “Star Wars”, “Jaws”, “E.T.”, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “Jurassic Park”, and Harry Potter, John has had 49 Academy Award nominations and is one of the most accomplished movie score composers of all time. He has also won five Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, and 22 Grammy Awards. 

Ready to follow in the footsteps of these alumni?

If you’re hoping to become a notable alumnus yourself, then you need to do a few things first. The most crucial step is to secure a spot as a student at UCLA, but once you’re accepted into this prestigious school, you’ll need to secure UCLA student housing. Tripalink can help you find affordable UCLA off-campus housing. Even if you’re a young professional, we can still assist with helping you in finding affordable apartments for rent near UCLA. 

Search Tripalink to see what properties are listed, or reach out to one of our leasing agents for help in finding the perfect accommodation for you.