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Which private school - STA, NCS, Sidwell, Holton etc. has the most famous/prominent grads?
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Anonymous
I love, love, love, Jeffrey Wright! He's currently on STA's governing board. |
Anonymous
| mmm - I am sorry but who is Jeffrey Wright? I realize my ignorance please don't blast me. |
Anonymous
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Sidwell: Obama's children, Nancy Reagan, Chelsea Clinton
St. Albans: JW Marriott (of Marriott Hotels), Al Gore, Neil Bush (brother of George W.), Gore Vidal, Edward Kennedy Jr., Brit Hume, Timothy Shriver, Luke Russert NCS: Susan Rice the US Ambassador to the United Nations went to Beauvoir/NCS, Queen Noor of Jordan, Al Gore's daughters |
Anonymous
No blasting here! He is really just emerging in popular films. I first noticed Jeffrey Wright when he gave a standout performance (in a film of standout performances) as a nurse in Angels in America on HBO. Since then I've seen him in Syriana and Cadillac Records. He has also been in Quantum of Solace. But really, check him out in Angels in America. |
Anonymous
| St. Albans definitely has the most, followed by Sidwell and NO I don't have children at either and I'm not an alum! |
Anonymous
He's a contemporary and classical theatre artist and tony award winner. Wright gave a brilliant performance as the lead in Basquiant. |
Anonymous
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I think it's silly to look at famous grads and possibly think the school had anything to do with it. The people listed above are famous for their parents for the most part - not for their own work.
It is however, most ironic, that the majority of the latest white collar criminals went to Harvard or Harvard Biz. |
Anonymous
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11:45 just listed the kids of famous people, not people who were famous in their own right. That's not what this thread is about.
OP, bottom line is that there is no school in DC that has multitudes of alums who are prominent in the arts (which is what OP was asking about) the way that some NY and LA private schools do. A handful of the early and very influential hardcore music guys went to GDS, and GDS might have the most prominent alumni in the arts overall, but there is not much relatively speaking. For a comparison, take a look at some of NY's Dalton School alumni and former students in the arts/media: Anderson Cooper, Jennifer Grey, Tracy Pollan, Chevy Chase (did not graduate), Mary Stuart Masterson, Claire Danes (did not graduate), Mark Feuerstein, John Hamburg (screenwriter/director, wrote Meet The Parents series and Zoolander among others), Jon Gordon (movie exec), Christian Slater (did not graduate), Tracee Ross (did not graduate), Steve Lemme, Barrett Foa, Alexis Glick, Jenny Lumet, etc. A couple of those listed had prominent parents as well of course (Cooper, Lumet, Ross), but they have made names for themselves in the arts on their own. |
Anonymous
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I would rather have a child who goes to a school where the alums end up following their own path and being very happy with the life they themselves created. They're not looking for fame - they are looking for much more.
Just because the media covers you, doesn't make you worthwhile or even important. The number of famous names doesn't matter for a school. However, a school that can report a trend such as "professional artists", "entrepreneurs", "writers", etc. is much more valuable. |
Anonymous
| I know grads around my age from St. Andrew's and Field that went on to be VERY successful in the arts. One in particular already has created multiple telivision shows and worked on many others. I didn't know of any from NCS, STA, Holton, GDS (I didn't hang out with or know of anyone from Sidwell). The "big 3" schools and some of the other top academic ones are NOT know for their arts programs or for guiding students in that direction. |
Anonymous
| Someone wrote about the NY schools -- that's what I was interested in |
Anonymous
| Interesting that Queen Noor went to NCS - I didn't know that. She sent her kids to Maret, though. |
Anonymous
| I know Queen Noor's sister. She went to Brearley in NYC. Her kids went to Maret too. |
Anonymous
| Didn't three guys from STA (1990s alums) create Motley Fool? |
Anonymous
I know brothers David & Tom(?) Gardner are the founders of Motley Fool and graduated from STA in the 80s. Perhaps a third friend who is also an alum co-founded it with them. |