Famous BU Creators & Influencers

Notable: Signed $125M exclusive deal with SiriusXM in 2024. Most successful female podcaster ever. Previously had $60M Spotify deal. Interned at Dirty Water Media in Boston.

Notable: WTF podcast has over 600 million downloads. Famous Obama garage interview in 2015. Star of Netflix's GLOW. Stand-up specials on Netflix.

Notable: Spittin' Chiclets is Barstool's #1 podcast. Played 11 NHL seasons. 2006 Stanley Cup runner-up with Edmonton. BU Hockey alum.

Notable: First social media star to have a Madame Tussauds wax statue. Pioneer of YouTube entertainment. Retired from YouTube in 2020.

Notable: New York Times bestselling author of "The Dogist" (2015), "The Dogist Puppies" (2017), and "This Dog Will Change Your Life" (2025).

Notable: Viral sensation for wholesome, unscripted kid interviews. Known for the catchphrase "What's something that's been stressing you out lately?"

Notable: Forbes 30 Under 30 in Media (2017). Over 200 million total views. Published author and video essayist.

Notable: Internal medicine resident at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. Ghanaian American advocating for health equity.

Notable: Featured in Bostonia Magazine as one of BU's most successful digital creators.

Notable: Published cookbook author. Featured on major food networks. Advocates for sustainable, plant-based cooking. Indian-American culinary influencer.

Notable: Radio Hall of Fame inductee. Pioneered shock jock format. Author of bestselling memoirs. America's Got Talent judge.

Notable: Former ESPN star. New York Times bestselling author. Created 30 for 30 documentary series. Built The Ringer into media empire.

Notable: Miss Universe 2012. Fashion entrepreneur. Dating NFL player Christian McCaffrey.

Notable: Founded HARO (acquired by Vocus). NYT called him "a rock star who knows everything about social media." Clients include NASA, Disney, American Express. ADHD advocate with "Faster Than Normal" podcast.

Notable: Built Evernote to $1B+ valuation. General Partner at General Catalyst. Founded 3 successful companies. Left BU to start companies, returned in 2019 to finish his degree. BU Advisory Board member.

Notable: Webby Awards judge (IADAS member). Harvard Business School Venture Competition judge. BU Spark! mentor. Top-ranked Founder Institute mentor. Worked with Ford, IBM, Mercedes-Benz, Starwood.

Notable: Grew Bucket List Boston to 212K+ followers. Featured in Boston Magazine. Brand partnerships with major Boston businesses. The ultimate BU-to-Boston-influencer pipeline.

Notable: Created Real Housewives franchise. Executive producer at Bravo. Emmy Award winner. New York Times bestselling author. Hosts CNN New Year's Eve with Anderson Cooper.

Notable: Viral election night coverage. NBC's national political correspondent. Now also covers NFL and Kentucky Derby analytics. "Kornacki Khakis" became a phenomenon.

Notable: Emmy Award winner. Covered major international stories. One of the longest-tenured 60 Minutes correspondents. Known for hard-hitting investigative pieces.

Notable: Former NPR Here & Now co-host. Previously hosted Marketplace Morning Report. Edward R. Murrow Award winner. Peabody Award winner.

Notable: Youngest woman ever elected to Congress (age 29). 25M+ combined social media following. Known for Instagram Lives explaining policy. TIME 100 Most Influential People.

Notable: #1 New York Times bestseller. Book translated to 65+ languages. Over 15 million copies sold. His blog gets 2M+ monthly readers.

Notable: Academy Award winner (Still Alice). 5x Oscar nominee. Emmy winner. TIME 100 Most Influential. One of the most celebrated actresses of her generation.

Notable: Academy Award winner (My Cousin Vinny). 3x Oscar nominee. Plays Aunt May in Marvel's Spider-Man franchise. Tony Award nominee.

Notable: Academy Award winner (The Accidental Tourist). Founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. Archer who nearly made the 2000 Olympic team.

Notable: 3x Emmy Award winner. Won for OITNB and Mrs. America. Tony Award winner. First actor to win Emmy in both comedy and drama for same role.

Notable: Emmy Award winner (The Shield). Golden Globe winner. Played The Thing in Fantastic Four. Created his own rock band.

Notable: Grey's Anatomy series regular (12+ seasons). 24 fan favorite. Executive producer. Studied at BU and in Paris.

Notable: Lost main cast (2004-2010). Star in Korea and USA. SAG Award winner with Lost ensemble. One of the first Asian-American leads on network TV.

Notable: Led Bones for 12 seasons (2005-2017). Animal rights activist. Producer. Sister of actress/singer Zooey Deschanel.

Notable: Emmy winner. 7x Emmy nominee for Seinfeld. Tony Award winner. One of TV's most beloved comedic actors. Left BU to pursue Broadway.

Notable: Academy Award winner for Network (1977). 3x Oscar nominee. Golden Globe winner. AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars. Defined the sophisticated femme fatale of the 1970s.

Notable: Academy Award winner for Moonstruck (1988). Golden Globe winner. Cousin of presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. Founded the Whole Theatre Company.

Notable: 4x Emmy Award winner. Oscar nominee. 18x Emmy nominee (record for Black actress). Golden Globe winner. One of the most decorated actresses in television history.

Notable: Tony Award winner (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee). Fantastic Beasts main cast. The Walking Dead fan favorite. Comic book writer.

Notable: Academy Award nominee for Best Supporting Actress (The Whale, 2023). Golden Globe nominee. Critics' Choice Award winner. Starred in Wes Anderson's Asteroid City. Born in Vietnam, came to US as refugee.

Notable: Led Once Upon a Time for 7 seasons. Voiced Judy Hopps in Zootopia ($1B+ box office). Big Love HBO series. Walk the Line. Why Women Kill.

Notable: RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars runner-up. UNHhhh and I Like to Watch with Trixie Mattel. Netflix special. One of the most popular queens from Drag Race.

Notable: Star Trek: Picard main cast (all 3 seasons). Law & Order: SVU recurring. Blindspot regular. Daughter of actor Hugh Hurd.

Notable: All 5 films Oscar-nominated: The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, The Deer Hunter. Regarded as one of the greatest actors ever. Partner was Meryl Streep.

Notable: Grimm main cast (6 seasons). The Hate U Give. Worked with Denzel Washington in Fences. NAACP Image Award winner. Broadway performer.

Notable: Directed Uncut Gems ($50M box office) with brother Benny. Good Time premiered at Cannes. A24 collaborator. Defined modern NYC indie cinema.

Notable: Co-directed Uncut Gems, Good Time. Acted in Oppenheimer (played Edward Teller). Both Safdie brothers attended BU film school together.

Notable: Produced all X-Men films ($5.5B+ worldwide). Produced Deadpool ($780M). Free Willy producer. One of the most powerful women in Hollywood. Married to director Richard Donner.

Notable: Produced How to Train Your Dragon franchise ($1.6B+). Co-produced Toy Story. DreamWorks Animation president. Shaped modern animated filmmaking.

Notable: Academy Award winner for Big Hero 6 (2015). Produced Tangled ($591M). Disney Animation producer for 25+ years. Helped revive Disney Animation in the 2010s.

Notable: Gangnam Style was first video to hit 1 billion YouTube views. 5 billion+ views. Spent college tuition on music equipment. Founded P Nation label with artists like Jessi.

Notable: The B-52's sold 20M+ albums. "Love Shack" topped charts worldwide. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame eligible. Collaborated with R.E.M., Iggy Pop.

Notable: Steely Dan founding member. The Doobie Brothers guitarist for 7 years. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. Also works as a defense consultant for the Pentagon.

Notable: Over 85 million books sold. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret became a 2023 film. TIME 100 Most Influential People. National Book Foundation Medal. Champion of free speech.

Notable: Killers of the Flower Moon - Oscar-nominated film ($200M+ box office). The Lost City of Z. The Wager. New Yorker staff writer. Multiple New York Times bestsellers.

Notable: The O'Reilly Factor #1 rated cable news show for 16 years. Bestselling author (Killing Lincoln series). Emmy Award winner. 13M+ books sold.

Notable: Broke Anita Hill story. 7x Peabody Award winner. Covered every Supreme Court nomination since 1970s. One of the most influential legal journalists ever.

Notable: WABC-TV anchor in NYC #1 market. Emmy Award winner. Korean American broadcasting pioneer. Previously at ABC News, MSNBC.

Notable: Multiple Emmy Award winner. Known for investigative deep-dives. Regular on Anderson Cooper 360. Covered major breaking news events globally.

Notable: CNN prime-time anchor. Former CBS This Morning Saturday co-anchor. Former Today show news anchor. One of the most recognizable faces in morning news.

Notable: CNN senior medical correspondent since 1991. Emmy Award winner. Columbia Journalism School alumna. Covered every major health crisis from AIDS to COVID.

Notable: Pulitzer Prize winner (2003 Spotlight investigation). NPR host. Boston Globe Spotlight team. Her work inspired the Oscar-winning film Spotlight.

Notable: Star Trek: Enterprise main cast (2001-2005). Played Hoshi Sato, first Asian-American female lead in Trek. Also starred in Crash, Jurassic World: Dominion, Bosch. Born in Seoul, South Korea.

Notable: IDG Capital founding partner. Created "Win in China" - China's first business reality show. Helped fund Baidu, Tencent early. Named one of China's most influential investors. BU's most successful Chinese-born alumnus.

Notable: CEO of IFC (World Bank Group). Goldman Sachs partner. Led $50B+ in emerging market investments. One of the highest-ranking Chinese-born executives in global finance. Board member at multiple Fortune 500 companies.

Notable: Forbes 30 Under 30 (Finance). Founded multiple startups. Early employee at several unicorns. Advocate for women in finance. Active angel investor.

Notable: Played Xerxes in 300. Starred in Westworld (HBO). Love Actually (the silent romance). Lost. Brazil's most internationally successful actor. Studied at BU before acting career took off.

Notable: Emmy-nominated for Heroes. Golden Globe nominee. Worked at ILM on Star Wars prequels. Time's 100 Most Influential People. Hawaii Five-0 (2010-2017). Born in Tokyo, Japan.

Notable: Machines (2016) - Sundance Special Jury Prize, BAFTA nomination. Cannes Film Festival official selection. Captures working-class India. One of India's most celebrated young documentary filmmakers.

Notable: Critically acclaimed albums. Collaborated with Yoko Ono, David Byrne. NPR Tiny Desk Concert. Music explores immigrant identity. Born in Sudan, raised in Ohio.

Notable: FIA President (since 2021). 14-time Middle East Rally Champion. First Arab to lead global motorsport. UAE sports icon. Instrumental in bringing F1 to Abu Dhabi.

Notable: F1 driver (2010-2011). Second Indian in F1. Sky Sports F1 expert. 24 Hours of Le Mans driver. Commentator and racing analyst.

Notable: The Bold Type main cast (2017-2021). Advocates for diversity in media. Born in Australia to Ethiopian father. I Hate My Teenage Daughter. Chasing Life.

Notable: Underground hip-hop legend. Collaborated with Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch. Born in Cape Town, South Africa. Her album "Everything's Fine" critically acclaimed. Podcast host.

Notable: Westworld (HBO). Chernobyl (HBO). Zero Dark Thirty. One of Sweden's top actors. Born in Lebanon, raised in Sweden. Breakthrough in Swedish crime films.