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 (2000), chief product officer (CPO) of Facebook
- John Donahoe (1978), president and CEO of Nike (2020âÂÂ2024), president and CEO of eBay (2008âÂÂ2015), chairman of PayPal (2015âÂÂpresent), CEO of ServiceNow (2017âÂÂ2019)
- Christie Hefner (1970), former CEO of Playboy Enterprises
- Charles F. Knight (1953), chairman of Emerson Electric Co.
- James McNerney (1967), president of GE Lighting (1995âÂÂ97), president of GE Aircraft Engines (1997âÂÂ2000), president and CEO of 3M (2000âÂÂ05), CEO of Boeing (2005âÂÂ15)
Film, television, and theater
- Ann-Margret (1959), actress and entertainer
- Adam Baldwin (1980), actor
- Steve Barancik (1979), screenwriter
- Ralph Bellamy (1922), actor
- Beck Bennett (2003), Saturday Night Live cast member
- Carlos Bernard (1980), actor
- Mark Boone Junior (1973), actor
- Stephen Brooks, actor
- John Byrum (1965), film producer, director and screenwriter
- Liz Callaway (1978), musical theatre actress
- William Christopher, actor
- Lisa Darr (1981), actress
- Bruce Dern (1954), actor
- Christine Ebersole (1971), actress and singer
- James Eckhouse, actor
- Neal Edelstein (1987), film director and producer
- Dede Gardner (1986), film producer
- Charlton Heston (1941), actor and political activist
- Rock Hudson (1943), actor
- Scott Jaeck (1973), actor
- Jake Johnson (1996), actor, comedian, screenwriter
- Mike Kelley (1985), television writer and producer
- Virginia Madsen (1979), actress
- Lauren Marcus (attended; transferred to another school), actress
- Liesel Matthews (2002), actress and heiress and member of the Pritzker family
- Kim Milford (1968), actor
- Penelope Milford (1966), actress
- John R. Montgomery (1975), television producer
- Hugh O'Brian (did not graduate), actor
- David O'Brien (1953), actor
- Jeffrey Price, member of screenwriting team with Peter S. Seaman
- Maeve Quinlan (1982), actress, producer
- Kevin Quinn (2015), actor and singer-songwriter
- Betsy Randle (1968), actress
- Mark Romanek (1977), music video and film director, writer, and producer
- Charlotte Ross (1986), actress
- Tom Rubnitz, video artist
- Mary Kate Schellhardt (1997), actress
- Rusty Schwimmer (1980), actress
- Michael Shannon, actor
- Les Shapiro, NBC, CBS, ESPN sportsw journalist, Denver
- Hal Sparks (1988), actor and comedian
- David Strassman (West), performer and ventriloquist
- Lili Taylor (1985), actress
- Paul Thomas (born Phil Toubus) (1967), actor, director
- Nico Tortorella (2006), actor
- Jim True-Frost (aka Jim True) (1984), actor
- Rainn Wilson (1984), actor
- Terence H. Winkless, film and TV producer, director and writer
- Edward Zwick (1970), film and television director and producer
Journalism and letters
- Elizabeth Brackett (1959), television news correspondent
- Shams Charania (2012), NBA reporter, previously for Yahoo Sports' The Vertical, since for The Athletic and Stadium
- Ann Compton (1965), television news reporter and correspondent
- Chet Coppock (1966), radio sportscaster
- Brian D'Amato (1976), novelist and sculptor
- Alan Goldsher (1984), novelist and ghostwriter
- Walter Jacobson (1955), local television news personality
- Geoffrey A. Landis (1973), engineer and Hugo and Nebula Award-winning science fiction author
- Edward Lifson (1974), journalist for National Public Radio and other outlets, and architecture writer
- John Lippman, television executive; acting director of Voice of America
- Archibald MacLeish (did not graduate), writer and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner
- Walter McDougall (1964), Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian
- Nell Minow (1970), film critic and author in the field of corporate governance
- Stephen Moore (1978), economics writer, journalist and commentator
- Henry H. Neff (1991), author and illustrator
- Juliet Law Packer (1970), television writer
- Chris Plante, television reporter, host of eponymous radio show
- Dan Ponce (1995), WGN-TV news anchor; founder of Straight No Chaser a cappella music group
- Ian Punnett (1978), radio personality and writer
- Sarah Ruhl (1992), playwright
- Thomas A. Stewart (1966), business journalist and editor
- John Stossel (1965), author, commentator and investigative journalist
- Penelope Trunk (1985), author, blogger, and entrepreneur
- Scott Turow (1966), lawyer and novelist
- Donovan Webster (1977), journalist, author, editor, and filmmaker
Law
Music
- David Charles Abell (1976), conductor
- Mike Bloomfield (did not graduate), rock and blues guitarist
- Jaimie Branch (2001), jazz trumpeter
- Andy Brick (1983), composer and conductor
- Ann Hampton Callaway (1976), singer and songwriter
- Marshall Chess, music executive and producer
- Kristine Flaherty (2003), rapper
- Katie Gavin (2011), lead singer of the band MUNA
- Jeff Harnar (1977), cabaret singer
- Erwin Helfer (1954), boogie woogie and jazz innovator, performer, and educator
- Al Jourgensen (attended), musician
- Kate Liu (2012), pianist, 3rd prize winner of XVII International Chopin Piano Competition
- Louis the Child, musical duo composed of Robert Hauldren (2015) and Frederic Kennett (2016)
- Gary Novak (1987), session drummer
- Sean O'Keefe (1998), record producer, mixer and engineer
- Petey USA, musician and social media personality
- Liz Phair (1985), singer-songwriter
- Matthew Polenzani (1986), lyric tenor opera singer
- Dave Samuels (1966), jazz vibraphonist who played with Spyro Gyra and the Caribbean Jazz Project
- John Baker Saunders (1973), founding member and bassist for the grunge rock supergroup Mad Season
- William Susman (1978), composer of concert and film music
- Joe Trohman (2002), guitarist for the bands The Damned Things and Fall Out Boy
- Peter Van de Graaff (1979), musician, bass baritone and classical radio host on WFMT
- Matt Walker (1987), rock musician and former drummer for The Smashing Pumpkins
- Linda Waterfall, folk musician and singer-songwriter
- Aaron Weinstein (2003), jazz violinist
- Pete Wentz (attended), bassist for the bands Black Cards and Fall Out Boy
- The Ying Quartet, string quartet started by four siblings who are all alumni: David (1981), Tim (1983), Phillip (1986), and Janet (1988)
Politics and government
- Judy Biggert (1955), U.S. representative
- Bob Dold (1987), U.S. representative
- Rahm Emanuel (West, 1977), U.S. representative, White House chief of staff and mayor of Chicago, U.S. ambassador to Japan
- David H. Hoffman (1984), federal prosecutor and Chicago's inspector general
- Edgard D. Kagan (1985), U.S. ambassador to Malaysia
- Fred Karger (1968), political consultant and Republican gay rights advocate
- Mark Kirk (1977), U.S. representative and senator
- Thomas Miller (1966), U.S. ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina (1999âÂÂ2001) and Greece (2001âÂÂ04)
- Charles H. Percy (1937), U.S. Senator
- Michael S. Rogers (1977), U.S. Navy four-star admiral and former director of the National Security Agency
- Carol Ronen (1962), Illinois state representative and state senator
- Donald Rumsfeld (1950), 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
- Alaina Teplitz (1987), U.S. ambassador to Nepal (2015âÂÂ2018), U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka (2018âÂÂ2021)
- Richard S. Williamson (1967), U.S. ambassador and diplomat
Science and technology
- Bruce Alberts (1956), biochemist, president of the National Academy of Sciences and editor in chief of the journal Science
- Lise Eliot (1980), professor of neuroscience and author
- Ellen Fetter (1957), computer scientist
- Todd Golub (1981), cancer researcher, director of the cancer program at the Broad Institute
- Mary-Claire King (1963), geneticist
- Geoffrey A. Landis, aerospace engineer and author
- Michael Peskin (West, 1969), physicist
- Martin Rocek (1971), physicist
- Rafael Sorkin (valedictorian 1963), physicist
- Jack Steinberger (1938), co-recipient of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics (he donated his Nobel medal to the New Trier science department)
- Kenneth S. Suslick (1970), chemist
- Clifford Tabin (1972), 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 (1989), basketball player for Michigan
- Ross Baumgarten (1973), baseball pitcher
- Ben Braun (1971), men's collegiate basketball coach, University of California (1996âÂÂ2008), Rice (2008âÂÂ14)
- Pete Burnside (1948), baseball pitcher
- John Castino (1973), baseball infielder
- Peter Chatain, rower, 2024 Olympics bronze medalist
- Al Culver, NFL offensive tackle
- Rick Hahn (1989), MLB general manager of the Chicago White Sox (2012-23)
- Mike Huff (1981), baseball outfielder
- Dave Jauss, baseball coach and scout
- Robert Jeangerard, basketball player, 1956 Olympics gold medalist
- Matt Kaskey (2015), offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers
- Chuck Lindstrom, baseball catcher and coach
- Matt Lottich (2000), basketball player for Stanford
- Clay Matthews (1974), NFL linebacker (1978âÂÂ93)
- Chuck Mercein (1961), NFL running back
- Phoebe Mills, athlete, gymnastics bronze medalist in 1988 Summer Olympics
- John Moore (2009), NHL player
- Mike Pyle (1957), NFL center
- Jack Riley (1933), Olympic wrestler and NFL offensive tackle
- Fred Schmidt (c.1961), swimmer
- Thomas E. Thompson (1904), college basketball coach for the University of Illinois (1910âÂÂ1912)
- Charlie Tilson (2011), MLB outfielder for Chicago White Sox
- Emma Vlasic (2015), ice hockey forward
- Alex Vlasic (did not graduate), Chicago Blackhawks defenseman
- Tommy Wingels (2006), NHL player
Visual arts
Others
- Liz Crokin (1997), columnist and conspiracy theorist
- Laurie Dann (1975), perpetrator of a school shooting in Winnetka
- Ari Emanuel, talent agent and founder of the Endeavor Agency
- Anna Halprin (Ann Schuman) (1938), 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 (1999), real name Alex Whybrow, professional wrestler and manager
- Charlie Trotter (1977), chef, restaurateur and author
- Brad Will (1988), anarchist, activist, and documentary filmmaker who was killed in Mexico
References