Which SEC school has the most famous alumni? Certainly, the Texas Longhorns boast several celebrities that went to school in Austin. Owen Wilson, Wes Anderson, Glen Powell, Renée Zellweger, Robert Rodriguez, Michael Dell and Angie Harmon just to name a few. Of course, the most famous current UT celeb is “Minister of Culture” Matthew McConaughey.
With the huge institutions in the SEC, most schools have their own list of famous people that attended or graduated from there. We picked the most famous celebrity from each institution of higher learning and ranked the SEC members based on the fame of that list of 16 illustrious alumni.
Celebrity Alumni Rankings Criteria:
1. Brad Pitt, actor – Missouri Tigers
Everyone else on this list graduated from the schools they represent. But we’ll give Pitt a pass since he was TWO WEEKS from graduation before moving to Hollywood.
2. Matthew McConaughey, actor – Texas Longhorns
McConaughey’s big break came just a few months after graduating from Texas when he was tabbed to play David Wooderson in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused. He went on to win an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club.
3. Ryan Seacrest, TV host – Georgia Bulldogs
One of the most recognizable faces in America, the former American Idol presenter now hosts Wheel of Fortune.
4. John Grisham, author – Mississippi State Bulldogs
Grisham is one of the best selling and best known authors in the modern era and has several books made into movies, including The Firm starring Tom Cruise.
5. Ashley Judd, actress – Kentucky Wildcats
With a string of hits in the 1990s, including Heat and Double Jeopardy, Judd stepped out of the shadow of her famous singing mom and sister to have a solid career of her own.
6. Erin Andrews, sportscaster – Florida Gators
If you’ve watched the NFL over the past 20 years, you’ve seen Andrews. Starting at ESPN, the Gator grad is the main sideline reporter for Fox Sports.
7. Octavia Spencer, actress – Auburn Tigers
A celebrated character actress, Spencer has been nominated for three Academy Awards, winning one for The Help.
8. Lyle Lovett, musician – Texas A&M Aggies
Possibly most famous for being married to Julia Roberts at one point, Lovett has been a staple in the Texas music scene for decades.
9. Darius Rucker, musician – South Carolina Gamecocks
The Hootie and the Blowfish frontman, Rucker has gone on to have a solid career in country music.
10. Olivia Munn, actress – Oklahoma Sooners
Munn has been in an X-Men movie and famously dated Aaron Rogers. She’s now married to comedian John Mulaney.
11. Gerald McRaney, actor – Ole Miss Rebels
The star of long-running sit-com Major Dad, McRaney has been a solid character actor for decades.
12. James Carville, political pundit – LSU Tigers
Carville isn’t a politician, but he’s worked for dozens. Often credited for getting Bill Clinton elected president, the “Ragin’ Cajun” has been a stalwart on news debate shows for since 1992.
13. Skip Bayless, sportscaster – Vanderbilt Commodores
The former ESPN and Fox Sports One provocateur, Bayless has been a big player in the shift from highlights to debates TV sports networks over the past 15 years.
14. Rece Davis, sportscaster – Alabama Crimson Tide
He’s the host of ESPN’s College GameDay and one of the premier faces of the Disney owned network.
15. Logan Marshall-Green, actor – Tennessee Volunteers
Marshall-Green has been in dozens of television shows, but most known for his role in Prometheus.
16. Nic Pizzolatto, TV writer/producer – Arkansas Razorbacks
Pizzolatto is most known as the writer creator of HBO’s True Detective.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Ranking SEC schools by most famous living celebrity alumni
Reporting by Trey Luerssen, Longhorns Wire / Longhorns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
