Notable Alumnae
This is a list of notable alumnae which includes graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of Spelman College.
- This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.
See also Category: Spelman College alumni
| Name | Class year | Notability | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tina McElroy Ansa | 1971 | author, Baby of the Family, Ugly Ways, The Hand I Fan With, and You Know Better | |
| Blanche Armwood | 1906 | Educator, activist; the first African-American woman in the state of Florida to graduate from an accredited law school; Armwood High School in Tampa, FL is named in her honor | |
| Angela M. Banks | 1992 | Professor of Law William & Mary Law School, noted immigration law expert | |
| Mary Barksdale | 1942 | Past President, Jack and Jill (organization) | |
| J. Veronica Biggins | 1968 | Director, AirTran Airways; former Managing Partner of Diversity and Sr. Partner, Heidrick & Struggles and former Director of Presidential Personnel, at the White House for President Bill Clinton | |
| Traci Lynn Blackwell | 1990 | Vice President of Current Programming, the CW Television Network | |
| Janet Bragg | 1931 | Aviation pioneer; first African-American female to obtain a commercial pilot license | |
| Aurelia Brazeal | 1965 | United States Ambassador to Ethiopia and Kenya | |
| Rosalind G. Brewer | 1984 | Executive Vice President, Walmart Stores, Inc. and President Walmart Stores South, USA; Board of Directors, Lockheed Martin | |
| Linda Goode Bryant | 1981 | Documentary filmmaker, Flag Wars; Peabody Award winner and 2004 Guggenheim Fellow | |
| Selena Sloan Butler | 1888 | founder first black Parent-Teacher organization, the National Congress for Colored Parents & Teachers; co-founder the National Parent-Teacher Association | |
| Pearl Cleage | 1971 | novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and journalist | |
| Betty Davis | meteorologist, formerly of The Weather Channel | ||
| Cassi Davis | 1988 | actress House of Payne | 0 |
| Renita Barge Clark, M.D. | 1988 | Notable physician in Detroit, MI; Founder and President, Cotillion Society of Detroit | |
| Kimberly B. Davis | 1981 | President, JP Morgan Chase Foundation | |
| Ruth A. Davis | 1966 | 24th Director General of the United States Foreign Service; Director, Foreign Service Institute and two-time recipient of the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service | |
| Phire Dawson | 2008 | "Barker's Beauty" on The Price is Right | |
| Jerri DeVard | 1979 | Chief marketing officer, Nokia and former Chief Marketing Officer at Citigroup | |
| Dazon Dixon Diallo | Founder/CEO SisterLove, Inc. | ||
| Mattiwilda Dobbs | 1937 | opera singer; she served on the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Opera and the National Endowment for the Arts | |
| Marian Wright Edelman | 1960 | the founder of the Children's Defense Fund; MacArthur Fellow; Heinz Award; Presidential Medal of Freedom | |
| Mary McKinney Edmonds | 1953 | Vice Provost and Dean of Student Affairs Emeritus at Stanford University | |
| Christine King Farris | 1948 | public speaker and educator who teaches at Spelman College, she is the eldest and only living sibling of the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. | |
| Virginia Davis Floyd | 1973 | Vice President of PROMETRA International and Executive Director of PROMETRA USA | |
| Mary A. Gordon | 1986 | Vice President of Manufacturing U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company; former V.P. of Manufacturing, Philip Morris | |
| Sheryl Riley Gripper | 1972 | four-time Emmy Award winner and founder of the Black Women Film Network | |
| Tia Fuller | 1998 | saxophonist, composer, and educator | |
| Evelynn M. Hammonds | 1976 | Dean of Harvard College, Professor of the History of Science and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University | |
| Marcelite J. Harris | 1964 | first African-American female to obtain the rank of General in the United States Air Force | |
| Celeste Watkins-Hayes | 1996 | Professor of Sociology, Northwestern University, Vice Chair and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of African American Studies | |
| Varnette Honeywood | 1972 | creator of the Little Bill character | |
| Alexine Clement Jackson | 1956 | Chair, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and former National President of the YWCA | |
| Yvonne R. Jackson | 1970 | former Chief human resources officer at three Fortune 500 companies: Pfizer, Inc., Compaq Computer Corporation, and Burger King Corporation | |
| Adrienne-Joi Johnson | 1988 | actress Baby Boy | |
| Clara Stanton Jones | 1934 | First African American President of the American Library Association | |
| Tayari Jones | 1991 | author of Leaving Atlanta and The Untelling | |
| Alberta Williams King | (high school) | mother of Martin Luther King, Jr. | |
| Bernice King | 1986 | President, SCLC, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. | |
| Audrey F. Manley | 1955 | president emerita of Spelman College and former Acting Surgeon General of the United States | |
| Kathleen McGee-Anderson | 1972 | television producer and playwright (Soul Food, Lincoln Heights, Touched by an Angel, Any Day Now) | |
| Tanya Walton Pratt | 1981 | Judge, United States District Court appointed by Barack Obama | |
| Rubye Robinson | 1963 | Civil Rights activist, Executive Secretary of SNCC | |
| Beverly Guy-Sheftall | author, feminist scholar, founder of Women's Research and Resource Center at Spelman College | ||
| Deborah Prothrow-Stith | 1975 | first female Commissioner of Public Health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Professor at Harvard School of Public Health | |
| Keshia Knight Pulliam | 2001 | Actress The Cosby Show, House of Payne | |
| Tanika Ray | 1994 | Actress & television personality | |
| Bernice Johnson Reagon | 1970 | founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock; MacArthur Fellow; Professor Emeritus American University Curator Emeritus, Smithsonian Institute National Museum American History; National Humanities Medal; Heinz Award | |
| LaTanya Richardson | 1971 | Actress (The Fighting Temptations) and wife of actor Samuel L. Jackson | |
| Esther Rolle | c.1942 | Actress, Good Times | |
| Shaun Robinson | 1984 | Co-anchor, Access Hollywood; former host, TV One Access | |
| Noliwe Rooks | 1987 | Professor, Princeton University; author, Hair Raising | |
| Dovey Johnson Roundtree | 1937 | Trial attorney, military veteran and civil rights pioneer; landmark case: Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company | |
| Eva Rutland | 1937 | Author, When We Were Colored: A Mother's Story; Winner of the 2000 Golden Pen Lifetime Achievement Award, and author of more than 20 Romance novels | |
| Brenda V. Smith | 1980 | law professor, American University; appointed by Nancy Pelosi to the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission | |
| Sharmell Sullivan | 1990 | Miss Black America 1991, "TNA Knockout", and wife of professional wrestler Booker T | |
| Sue Bailey Thurman | 1920 | founder and first chairperson, National Council of Negro Women's National Library | |
| Danica Tisdale | 2001 | Miss Georgia 2004 (first African-American to hold the title) | |
| Alice Walker | c.1965 | Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, The Color Purple | |
| Rolonda Watts | 1980 | journalist, actor, writer, former talk show host | |
| Elynor A. Williams | 1966 | Vice President of Public Responsibility at Sara Lee Corporation; named among the Top 50 Black Executives by Ebony Magazine | |
| Ella Gaines Yates | 1949 | first African American director of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System |
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—Unknown. King John and the Abbot of Canterbury (l. 2–4)