15 Famous Alumni From Columbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago is a great school to go to for so many reasons! Here are just a few famous alumni from Columbia College Chicago that you’ll probably be able to recognize:
1. David Cromer
David Cromer is an American theatre director and stage actor. He has received recognition for his work Off-Broadway and in Chicago. Cromer won the Lucille Nortel Award and Obie Award for his direction of Our Town, along with his nominations for the Drama Desk Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for his direction of The Adding Machine. He studied theatre at CCC.
2. Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk is is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He’s best known for his role in Breaking Bad (Saul Goodman) and the spin-off Better Call Saul. He has worked as a writer for television shows Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Get a Life, The Ben Stiller Show and The Dennis Miller Show. He transferred from Souther Illinois University to Columbia College Chicago to get his last three credits to complete his broadcasting degree.
3. Chester Home
Chester Home graduated from CCC’s Musical Theatre BA in 1995. He is best known for The Jackie Wilson Story, Seaweed in Hairspray (Broadway), Tark in Tarzan (Original Broadway), and Jimmy Early in Dreamgirls (National Tour). He’s worked with legends such as Phil Collins (Tarzan), Marc Shaiman (Hairspray and Catch Me If You Can) and Henry Krueger (Dreamgirls).
4. Brant Daugherty
Brant Daugherty is an American actor, best known for his recurring role as Noel Kahn on Pretty Little Liars. He was a contestant in season 17 of Dancing with the Stars where he finished in seventh place. He received a degree from CCC in 2008.
5. Erica Hubbard
Erica Hubbard is an American actress best known for her roles as Kiana Anderson in 2006’s Akeelah and the Bee, Cassandra “Cassie” Sutton on the ABC Family series Lincoln Heights and Kita Whitmore on Let’s Stay Together on the BET network. She is also the voice of Abbey for the TV series The Replacements. She attended CCC where she majored in Broadcast Journalism and minored in Theater. Hubbard earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in just three years.
6. Kid Sister
Kid Sister is an American rapper based in Chicago, Illinois, known for her single “Pro Nails”, which features Kanye West. She has a degree in film from CCC and worked on two independent feature films during her studies: a 9/11 drama, The Guys (2002) starring Sigourney Weaver and Anthony LaPaglia; and Best Thief in the World (2003) starring Mary-Louise Parker and Audra McDonald.
7. Pat Sajak
Pat Sajak is an American television personality, former weatherman, and talk show host. He’s best known as the host of the American television game show Wheel of Fortune. He graduated from CCC in 1968.
8. Gelding Yan
Gelding Yan is a popular Chinese writer, author of several novels, short stories and screenplays. Much of her work has been adapted for film. She holds a bachelor’s degree in literature from Wuhan University, and a Master’s in Fine Arts in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago.
9. Matt Akiba
Matt Akiba is an American musician, singer and songwriter known for his role as the co-lead vocalist and guitarist of the bands Alkaline Trio and Blink-182. Akiba studied design at CCC but left in 1996 to form Alkaline Trio with drummer Glenn Porter and bassist Rob Doran.
10. Aidy Bryant
Aidy Bryant is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for being a cast member of Saturday Night Live since Season 38. She graduated from CCC with a B.A. participating in their comedy studies program.
11. Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Monaghan is an American actress known for her roles in The Source Code, Gone Baby Gone, Due Date, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. She studied Journalism at CCC, where she started modeling. Modeling shortly led to her successful acting career.
12. Scott Adist
Scott Adist is an American comedian, actor, and writer who joined The Second City’s MainStage cast after graduating from CCC in ’94. He is best known for his role, Pete Hornberger on NBC’s 30 Rock as well as the voice of Baymax in Disney’s Big Hero 6.
13. Mauro Fiore
Mauro Fiore is an Italian American Cinematographer who received his B.A. from CCC in ’87. He is most notable for his work in the 2009 film Avatar for which he won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography at the 82nd Academy Awards.
14. Genndy Tartakovsky
Genndy Tartakovsky is a Russian American animator, director, storyboard artist, producer, and screenwriter. Tartakovsky studied Film at CCC. He is best known for creating the Cartoon Network animated television series Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Hotel Transylvania, and Star Wars: Clone Wars.
15. Andy Richter
Andy Richter is best known for his role as the sidekick of Conan O’Brien on each of the host’s programs: Late Night and The Tonight Show on NBC, and Conan on TBS. He is also known for his voice work as Mort in the Madagascar films and for starring in the sitcoms Quintuplets, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, and Andy Barker, P.I. He graduated in 1988 as a film major at CCC.
