Indiana University Notable Alumni

Regarded as one of the greatest women's tennis players of all time, Venus Williams is credited with introducing never seen before power and athleticism to women's tennis along with her sister Serena. She is also credited with changing the long-standing practice of paying male tennis players more than their female counterparts as she won the fight for equal prize money.

Designer Halston began his career designing hats for American milliner Lilly Daché. He is primarily remembered for pioneering cashmere, or Ultrasued, in the mid-1970s. Known for his party-loving personality, he popularized the halter dress for women. He was also known for his homosexual relationship with Victor Hugo.

Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Kline initially studied the piano and even wished to major in music, before he switched to acting. Known for his stellar performances in films such as A Fish Called Wanda, Silverado, and French Kiss. He has also voiced characters in movies such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

James Watson is a geneticist, molecular biologist, and zoologist. He is credited with co-authoring the academic paper that propounded the double helix structure of nucleic acids such as DNA for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962. In 1977, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1997, he was awarded the National Medal of Science.

Professional basketball player Victor Oladipo currently plays for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He started playing basketball in high school and went to Indiana University Bloomington, where he played for the Indiana Hoosiers. He began his professional playing career in 2013 and has been going strong since then. He is also a singer.

Jamie Hyneman is an American television host and special effects expert. He achieved popularity as the co-host of the popular TV series MythBusters. He is also credited with inventing an unmanned firefighting robotic vehicle called Sentry. Jamie Hyneman also co-designed Wavecam, an aerial cable robotic camera system used in entertainment and sports events.

The 44th vice president of the US, Dan Quayle officially visited 47 countries, establishing strong international ties with most countries, during his vice presidency. In 1999, he joined a private-equity firm named Cerberus Capital Management and continues to play an important role as the chairman of its Global Investments division.

The daughter of swimmer Sybil Smith and football player John Stephens, Sloane Stephens was first introduced to tennis by her mother at age 9. The 2017 US Open champion has 6 singles titles in her kitty. Through the Sloane Stephens Foundation, she supports the needs of disadvantaged tennis players.

Jean Shepherd was a writer, storyteller, humorist, and radio and TV personality. In a long and productive career that spanned nearly five decades, he gave live performances, wrote scripts and stories, hosted radio shows, and even worked in a few films. He was posthumously inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. He was known to be a private person.

René Girard was a French philosopher of social science, literary critic, and historian. Over the years, Girard's work has had an influence on disciplines like philosophy, anthropology, psychology, mythology, theology, economics, sociology, and cultural studies among other important disciplines. In 2006, René Girard was honored by the University of Tübingen with the prestigious Dr. Leopold Lucas Prize.

Remembered as the first president of the Leland Stanford Junior University, now known as Stanford University, David Starr Jordan was a reputed ichthyologist. An anti-war activist, too, who opposed America’s participation in World War I, he spent his later years as the chief director of the World Peace Foundation.