University Of Warwick Notable Alumni

Known for co-writing The Office, British comedian Stephen Merchant was born to a nurse mother and a plumber father. He began his career with the radio and then stepped into stand-up comedy. Over the years, he has used his 6’7” frame to the best in his performances.

Australian author and feminist Germaine Greer made headlines with her first book, The Female Eunuch, which focused on female sexuality. Greer’s career boasts of a PhD in literature, and she has also taught at the University of Warwick and other institutes. She was later named an Australian National Living Treasure.

Angus Imrie, son of actor couple Celia Imrie and Benjamin Whitrow, gained recognition as Josh Archer in the BBC Radio 4 series The Archers and played Merlin in the film The Kid Who Would Be King. A talented stage actor, too, he has also appeared in productions of Shakespeare’s plays.

Turing Award-winning Israeli cryptographer Adi Shamir is one of the co-inventors of RSA encryption. He also owns patents to more than a dozen more inventions. He has been associated with the University of Warwick and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has also taught at the Weizmann Institute.

British-American economist and Harvard professor Oliver Hart was born to a medical researcher father and a gynecologist mother. The Cambridge and Princeton alumnus later won a Nobel Prize with Bengt Holmström for their research on contract theory. He has also taught at MIT and LSE.

Born to Jamaican immigrants in the UK, Constance Briscoe had an inspiring rags-to-riches story of growing up in an abusive household and then financing her education to become one of the first Black female judicial officers in the UK. She, however, was later jailed for lying to the police.

Pascal Lamy is a French political consultant. He served as the director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for eight years from 2005 to 2013. He has also served as the European Commissioner for Trade. He is a businessman as well and is a board member in several non-profit organizations.  He is a member of the French Socialist Party. 

Known for her 2003 feature film, Jeremy Hardy vs. the Israeli Army, Leila Sansour, is more than an acclaimed film director. Raised in Bethlehem as a Palestinian Roman Catholic, she is the founder of a NGO called Open Bethlehem, striving to protect her city's heritage. She documented the effect of the newly-built wall through her latest film, also called Open Bethlehem.

Gwendoline Konie was a Zambian diplomat, politician, and poet. She is best remembered for her service as the Zambian ambassador to the United Nations, Scandinavia, and Germany. Gwendoline Konie is also credited with forming her own political party called the Social Democratic Party, which she founded in 2000 to focus on issues faced by women and children.