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, Chief Product Officer of Facebook
- John Donahoe, president and CEO of Nike, president and CEO of eBay, chairman of PayPal, CEO of ServiceNow
- Christie Hefner, former CEO of Playboy Enterprises
- Charles F. Knight, chairman emeritus of Emerson Electric Co.
- James McNerney, president of GE Lighting, president of GE Aircraft Engines, president and CEO of 3M, CEO of Boeing
Film, television, and theater
- Ann-Margret, actress and entertainer
- Adam Baldwin, actor
- Steve Barancik, screenwriter
- Ralph Bellamy, actor
- Beck Bennett, Saturday Night Live cast member
- Carlos Bernard, actor
- Mark Boone Junior, actor
- Stephen Brooks, actor
- John Byrum, film producer, director and screenwriter
- Liz Callaway, musical theatre actress
- William Christopher, actor
- Lisa Darr, actress
- Bruce Dern, actor
- Christine Ebersole, actress and singer
- James Eckhouse, actor
- Neal Edelstein, film director and producer
- Dede Gardner, film producer
- Charlton Heston, actor and political activist
- Rock Hudson, actor
- Scott Jaeck, actor
- Jake Johnson, actor, comedian, screenwriter
- Mike Kelley, television writer and producer
- Virginia Madsen, actress
- Lauren Marcus, actress
- Liesel Matthews, actress and heiress and member of the Pritzker family
- Kim Milford, actor
- Penelope Milford, actress
- John R. Montgomery, television producer
- Hugh O'Brian, actor
- David O'Brien (actor)
- Jeffrey Price, member of screenwriting team with Peter S. Seaman
- Maeve Quinlan, actress, producer
- Kevin Quinn, actor and singer-songwriter
- Betsy Randle, actress
- Mark Romanek, music video and film director, writer, and producer
- Charlotte Ross, actress
- Tom Rubnitz, video artist
- Mary Kate Schellhardt, actress
- Rusty Schwimmer, actress
- Jesse Solomon, Reality TV, Podcaster, TV personality
- Michael Shannon, actor
- Les Shapiro, NBC, CBS, ESPN sportsw journalist, Denver
- Hal Sparks, actor and comedian
- David Strassman, performer and ventriloquist
- Lili Taylor, actress
- Nico Tortorella, actor
- Paul Thomas (director), actor, director
- Jim True-Frost, actor
- Rainn Wilson, actor
- Terence H. Winkless, film and TV producer, director and writer
- Edward Zwick, film and television director and producer
Journalism and letters
- Elizabeth Brackett, television news correspondent
- Shams Charania, NBA reporter, previously for Yahoo Sports The Vertical, since for The Athletic and Stadium
- Ann Compton, television news reporter and correspondent
- Chet Coppock, radio sportscaster
- Brian D'Amato, novelist and sculptor
- Alan Goldsher, novelist and ghostwriter
- Walter Jacobson, local television news personality
- Geoffrey A. Landis, engineer and Hugo and Nebula Award-winning science fiction author
- Edward Lifson 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, writer and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner
- Walter McDougall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian
- Nell Minow, film critic and author in the field of corporate governance
- Stephen Moore, economics writer, journalist and commentator
- Henry H. Neff, author and illustrator
- Juliet Law Packer, television writer
- Chris Plante, television reporter, host of eponymous radio show
- Dan Ponce WGN-TV/News/Anchor; Founder, "Straight No Chaser" a cappella music group.
- Ian Punnett, radio personality and writer
- Sarah Ruhl, playwright
- Thomas A. Stewart, business journalist and editor
- John Stossel, author, commentator and investigative journalist
- Penelope Trunk, author, blogger, and entrepreneur
- Scott Turow, lawyer and novelist
- Jack Vita, sports reporter for The Baltimore Sun, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and MLB.com
- Donovan Webster, journalist, author, editor, and filmmaker
Law
- Richard Clifton, Senior United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Martha Minow, former Dean of Harvard Law School
- Dean A. Pinkert, trade lawyer; former member of the United States International Trade Commission
Music
- David Charles Abell, conductor
- Mike Bloomfield, rock and blues guitarist
- Jaimie Branch, jazz trumpeter
- Andy Brick, composer and conductor
- Ann Hampton Callaway, singer and songwriter
- Marshall Chess, music executive and producer
- Kristine Flaherty, rapper
- Katie Gavin, lead singer of the band, MUNA
- Jeff Harnar, cabaret singer
- Erwin Helfer, boogie woogie and jazz innovator, performer, and educator
- Al Jourgensen, musician
- Kate Liu, pianist, 3rd prize winner of XVII International Chopin Piano Competition
- Louis The Child, musical duo composed of Robert Hauldren and Frederic Kennett
- Gary Novak, session drummer
- Sean O’Keefe, record producer, mixer and engineer
- Liz Phair, singer-songwriter
- Matthew Polenzani, lyric tenor opera singer
- Dave Samuels, jazz vibraphonist who played with Spyro Gyra and the Caribbean Jazz Project
- John Baker Saunders, founding member and bassist for the grunge rock supergroup Mad Season
- William Susman, composer of concert and film music
- Joe Trohman, guitarist for the bands The Damned Things and Fall Out Boy
- Peter Van de Graaff, musician, bass baritone and classical radio host on WFMT
- Matt Walker, rock musician and former drummer for The Smashing Pumpkins
- Linda Waterfall, folk musician and singer-songwriter
- Aaron Weinstein, jazz violinist
- Pete Wentz, bassist for the bands Black Cards and Fall Out Boy
- The Ying Quartet, string quartet started by four siblings who are all alumni: David, Tim, Phillip, and Janet
- 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, U.S. Representative
- Bob Dold, U.S. Representative
- Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Representative, White House Chief of Staff and Mayor of Chicago, United States Ambassador to Japan
- David H. Hoffman, federal prosecutor and Chicago's inspector general
- Fred Karger, political consultant and Republican gay rights advocate
- Mark Kirk U.S. Representative and Senator
- Thomas Miller, U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece
- Charles H. Percy, U.S. Senator
- Michael S. Rogers, U.S. Navy four-star admiral and former director of the National Security Agency
- Carol Ronen, Illinois State Representative and State Senator
- Donald Rumsfeld, 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, U.S. Ambassador and diplomat
- Edgard D. Kagan, U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia
- Alaina Teplitz, U.S. Ambassador to Nepal, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka
Science and technology
- Bruce Alberts, biochemist, president of the National Academy of Sciences and editor in chief of the journal Science
- Lise Eliot, professor of neuroscience and author
- Ellen Fetter, computer scientist
- Todd Golub, cancer researcher, director of the cancer program at the Broad Institute
- Mary-Claire King, geneticist
- Geoffrey A. Landis, aerospace engineer and author
- Michael Peskin, physicist
- Martin Rocek, physicist
- Rafael Sorkin, physicist
- Jack Steinberger, co-recipient of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Kenneth S. Suslick, chemist
- Clifford Tabin, 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, basketball player for Michigan
- Ross Baumgarten, baseball pitcher
- Ben Braun, men's collegiate basketball coach, University of California, Rice
- Pete Burnside, baseball pitcher
- John Castino, baseball infielder
- Peter Chatain, rower, 2024 Olympics bronze medalist
- Al Culver, NFL offensive tackle
- Rick Hahn, MLB general manager of the Chicago White Sox
- Mike Huff, baseball outfielder
- Dave Jauss, baseball coach and scout
- Robert Jeangerard, basketball player, 1956 Olympics gold medalist
- Matt Kaskey, offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers
- Chuck Lindstrom, baseball catcher and coach
- Matt Lottich, basketball player for Stanford
- Clay Matthews, NFL linebacker
- Chuck Mercein, NFL running back
- Phoebe Mills, athlete, gymnastics bronze medalist in 1988 Summer Olympics
- John Moore, NHL player
- Mike Pyle, NFL center
- Jack Riley, Olympic wrestler and NFL offensive tackle
- Fred Schmidt, swimmer
- Thomas E. Thompson, college basketball coach for the University of Illinois
- Charlie Tilson, MLB outfielder for Chicago White Sox
- Emma Vlasic, ice hockey forward
- Alex Vlasic, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman
- Tommy Wingels, NHL player
Visual arts
- Ivan Albright, painter associated with magic realism
- Stieg Hedlund, game development leader, designer, artist, and writer
- Dewitt Jones, photographer and film producer known for his association with the National Geographic Society
- Nancy Spero, feminist artist
- Paul O. Zelinsky, children's picture book illustrator and writer
- Ryan Zoghlin, artist and photographer
Others
- Liz Crokin, columnist and conspiracy theorist
- Laurie Dann, perpetrator of a school shooting in Winnetka
- Ari Emanuel, talent agent and founder of the Endeavor Agency
- Anna Halprin, 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, real name Alex Whybrow, professional wrestler and manager
- Charlie Trotter, chef, restaurateur and author
- Brad Will, anarchist, activist, and documentary filmmaker who was killed in Mexico