# List of New Trier High School alumni

This is a list of notable alumni from New Trier High School, a four-year high school in Winnetka, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, including alumni from the former New Trier East and New Trier West high schools:

## Business

* Bobbi Brown, make-up artist, entrepreneur, author, and founder of a line of cosmetics
* Douglas Conant, former chairman of Avon Products; former President and CEO of the Campbell Soup Company
* Chris Cox (2000), Chief Product Officer (CPO) of Facebook
* John Donahoe (1978), president and CEO of Nike (2020–2024), president and CEO of eBay (2008–2015), chairman of PayPal (2015–present), CEO of ServiceNow (2017–2019)
* Christie Hefner (1970), former CEO of Playboy Enterprises
* Charles F. Knight (1953), chairman emeritus of Emerson Electric Co.
* James McNerney (1967), president of GE Lighting (1995–97), president of GE Aircraft Engines (1997–2000), president and CEO of 3M (2000–05), CEO of Boeing (2005–15)

## Film, television, and theater

* Ann-Margret (1959), actress and entertainer
* Adam Baldwin (1980), actor
* Steve Barancik (1979), screenwriter
* Ralph Bellamy (1922), actor
* Beck Bennett (2003), Saturday Night Live cast member
* Carlos Bernard (1980), actor
* Mark Boone Junior (1973), actor
* Stephen Brooks, actor
* John Byrum (1965), film producer, director and screenwriter
* Liz Callaway (1978), musical theatre actress
* William Christopher, actor
* Lisa Darr (1981), actress
* Bruce Dern (1954), actor
* Christine Ebersole (1971), actress and singer
* James Eckhouse, actor
* Neal Edelstein (1987), film director and producer
* Dede Gardner (1986), film producer
* Charlton Heston (1941), actor and political activist
* Rock Hudson (1943), actor
* Scott Jaeck (1973), actor
* Jake Johnson (1996), actor, comedian, screenwriter
* Mike Kelley (1985), television writer and producer
* Virginia Madsen (1979), actress
* Lauren Marcus (attended; transferred to another school), actress
* Liesel Matthews (2002), actress and heiress
* Kim Milford (1968), actor
* Penelope Milford (1966), actress
* John R. Montgomery (1975), television producer
* Hugh O'Brian (did not graduate), actor
* David O'Brien (actor) (1953)
* Jeffrey Price, member of screenwriting team with Peter S. Seaman
* Maeve Quinlan (1982), actress, producer
* Kevin Quinn (2015), actor and singer-songwriter
* Betsy Randle (1968), actress
* Mark Romanek (1977), music video and film director, writer, and producer
* Charlotte Ross, (1986) actress
* Tom Rubnitz, video artist
* Mary Kate Schellhardt (1997), actress
* Rusty Schwimmer (1980), actress
* Jesse Solomon (2011), Reality TV, Podcaster, TV personality
* Michael Shannon, actor
* Les Shapiro, NBC, CBS, ESPN sportsw journalist, Denver
* Hal Sparks (1988), actor and comedian
* David Strassman (West), performer and ventriloquist
* Lili Taylor (1985), actress
* Nico Tortorella (2006), actor
* Paul Thomas (director) (born Phil Toubus) (1967), actor, director
* Jim True-Frost (aka Jim True) (1984), actor
* Rainn Wilson (1984), actor
* Terence H. Winkless, film and TV producer, director and writer
* Edward Zwick (1970), film and television director and producer

## Journalism and letters

* Elizabeth Brackett (1959), television news correspondent
* Shams Charania (2012), NBA reporter, previously for Yahoo Sports The Vertical, currently for The Athletic and Stadium
* Ann Compton (1965), television news reporter and correspondent
* Chet Coppock (1966), radio sportscaster
* Brian D'Amato (1976), novelist and sculptor
* Alan Goldsher (1984), novelist and ghostwriter
* Walter Jacobson (1955), local television news personality
* Geoffrey A. Landis (1973), engineer and Hugo and Nebula Award-winning science fiction author
* Edward Lifson (1974) award-winning journalist, for National Public Radio and other outlets, and architecture writer
* John Lippman, television executive and the acting director of Voice of America
* Archibald MacLeish (did not graduate), writer and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner
* Nell Minow (1970), film critic and author in the field of corporate governance
* Stephen Moore (1978), economics writer, journalist and commentator
* Henry H. Neff (1991), author and illustrator
* Juliet Law Packer (1970), television writer
* Chris Plante, television reporter, host of eponymous radio show
* Dan Ponce (1995) WGN-TV/News/Anchor; Founder, "Straight No Chaser" a cappella music group.
* Ian Punnett (1978), radio personality and writer
* Sarah Ruhl (1992), playwright
* Thomas A. Stewart (1966), business journalist and editor
* John Stossel (1965), author, commentator and investigative journalist
* Penelope Trunk (1985), author, blogger, and entrepreneur
* Scott Turow (1966), lawyer and novelist
* Donovan Webster (1977), journalist, author, editor, and filmmaker

## Law

* Richard Clifton (1968), Senior United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
* Martha Minow (1972), former Dean of Harvard Law School
* Dean A. Pinkert (1974), trade lawyer; former member of the United States International Trade Commission

## Music

* David Charles Abell (1976), conductor
* Mike Bloomfield (did not graduate), rock and blues guitarist
* Jaimie Branch (2001), jazz trumpeter
* Andy Brick (1983), composer and conductor
* Ann Hampton Callaway (1976), singer and songwriter
* Marshall Chess, music executive and producer
* Kristine Flaherty (2003), rapper
* Katie Gavin (2011), lead singer of the band, MUNA
* Jeff Harnar (1977), cabaret singer
* Erwin Helfer (1954), boogie woogie and jazz innovator, performer, and educator
* Al Jourgensen (attended), musician
* Kate Liu (2012), pianist, 3rd prize winner of XVII International Chopin Piano Competition
* Louis The Child, musical duo composed of Robert Hauldren (2015) and Frederic Kennett (2016)
* Gary Novak, (1987) session drummer
* Sean O’Keefe (1998), record producer, mixer and engineer
* Liz Phair (1985), singer-songwriter
* Matthew Polenzani (1986), lyric tenor opera singer
* Dave Samuels (1966), jazz vibraphonist who played with Spyro Gyra and the Caribbean Jazz Project
* John Baker Saunders (1973), founding member and bassist for the grunge rock supergroup Mad Season
* William Susman (1978), composer of concert and film music
* Joe Trohman (2002), guitarist for the bands The Damned Things and Fall Out Boy
* Peter Van de Graaff (1979), musician, bass baritone and classical radio host on WFMT
* Matt Walker (1987), rock musician and former drummer for The Smashing Pumpkins
* Linda Waterfall, folk musician and singer-songwriter
* Aaron Weinstein (2003), jazz violinist
* Pete Wentz (attended), bassist for the bands Black Cards and Fall Out Boy
* The Ying Quartet, string quartet started by four siblings who are all alumni: David (1981), Tim (1983), Phillip (1986), and Janet (1988)
* Petey USA an American musician and social media personality who rose to prominence on TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Politics and government

* Judy Biggert (1955), U.S. Representative
* Bob Dold (1987), U.S. Representative
* Rahm Emanuel (West, 1977), U.S. Representative, White House Chief of Staff and Mayor of Chicago, United States Ambassador to Japan
* David H. Hoffman (1984), federal prosecutor and Chicago's inspector general
* Fred Karger (1968), political consultant and Republican gay rights advocate
* Mark Kirk (1977) U.S. Representative and Senator
* Thomas Miller (1966), U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina (1999–2001) and Greece (2001–04)
* Charles H. Percy (1937), U.S. Senator
* Michael S. Rogers (1977), U.S. Navy four-star admiral and former director of the National Security Agency
* Carol Ronen (1962), Illinois State Representative and State Senator
* Donald Rumsfeld (1950), U.S. Representative, White House Chief of Staff and U.S. Secretary of Defense
* Jack Ryan, former candidate for U.S. Senate in Illinois
* James D. Swan, Wisconsin State Senator
* Richard S. Williamson (1967), U.S. Ambassador and diplomat
* Edgard D. Kagan (1985), U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia
* Alaina Teplitz (1987), U.S. Ambassador to Nepal (2015-2018), U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka (2018-2021)

## Science and technology

* Bruce Alberts (1956), biochemist, president of the National Academy of Sciences and editor in chief of the journal Science
* Lise Eliot (1980), professor of neuroscience and author
* Ellen Fetter (1957), computer scientist
* Todd Golub (1981), cancer researcher, director of the cancer program at the Broad Institute
* Mary-Claire King (1963), geneticist
* Geoffrey A. Landis, aerospace engineer and author
* Michael Peskin (West, 1969), physicist
* Martin Rocek (1971), physicist
* Rafael Sorkin (valedictorian 1963), physicist
* Jack Steinberger (1938), co-recipient of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics (he donated his Nobel medal to the New Trier science department)
* Kenneth S. Suslick (1970), chemist
* Clifford Tabin (1972), geneticist, chairman of the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society

## Sports

* Trish Andrew (1989), basketball player for Michigan
* Ross Baumgarten (1973), baseball pitcher
* Ben Braun (1971), men's collegiate basketball coach, University of California (1996–2008), Rice (2008–14)
* Pete Burnside (1948), baseball pitcher
* John Castino (1973), baseball infielder
* Al Culver, NFL offensive tackle
* Rick Hahn (1989), MLB general manager of the Chicago White Sox (2012-23)
* Mike Huff (1981), baseball outfielder
* Dave Jauss, baseball coach and scout
* Robert Jeangerard, basketball player, 1956 Olympics gold medalist
* Matt Kaskey (2015), offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers
* Chuck Lindstrom, baseball catcher and coach
* Matt Lottich (2000), basketball player for Stanford
* Clay Matthews (1974), NFL linebacker (1978–93)
* Chuck Mercein (1961), NFL running back
* Phoebe Mills, athlete, gymnastics bronze medalist in 1988 Summer Olympics
* John Moore (2009), NHL player
* Mike Pyle (1957), NFL center
* Jack Riley (1933), Olympic wrestler and NFL offensive tackle
* Fred Schmidt, swimmer
* Charlie Tilson (2011), MLB outfielder for Chicago White Sox
* Emma Vlasic (2015), ice hockey forward
* Alex Vlasic (did not graduate), Chicago Blackhawks defenseman
* Tommy Wingels (2006), NHL player

## Visual arts

* Ivan Albright, painter associated with magic realism
* Stieg Hedlund (1983), game development leader, designer, artist, and writer
* Dewitt Jones, photographer and film producer known for his association with the National Geographic Society
* Nancy Spero (1944), feminist artist
* Paul O. Zelinsky (1970), children's picture book illustrator and writer
* Ryan Zoghlin (1985), artist and photographer

## Others

* Liz Crokin, columnist and conspiracy theorist
* Laurie Dann (1975), perpetrator of a school shooting in Winnetka
* Ari Emanuel, talent agent and founder of the Endeavor Agency
* Anna Halprin (Ann Schuman) (1938), modern dancer
* Sharon Percy Rockefeller, former First Lady of West Virginia and the chief executive officer of WETA-TV
* Benjamin Nathaniel Smith, white supremacist spree killer
* Larry Sweeney (1999), real name Alex Whybrow, professional wrestler and manager
* Charlie Trotter (1977), chef, restaurateur and author
* Brad Will (1988), anarchist, activist, and documentary filmmaker who was killed in Mexico
* Ann-Margret
* Adam Baldwin
* Judy Biggert
* Marshall Chess
* Christine Ebersole
* Rahm Emanuel
* Christie Hefner
* Charlton Heston
* Mark Kirk
* Virginia Madsen
* Liz Phair
* Donald Rumsfeld
* Hal Sparks
* Jack Steinberger
* Scott Turow
* Rainn Wilson