20 Celebrities Who Went to BYU

Brigham Young University is a well-known university, especially among Mormons. It is well known for e its academic programs, as well as its athletics. BYU is also known for the celebrities who have attended the school. Here are 20 famous people who studied at BYU.

20. Stan L. Albrecht (Fifteenth president of Utah State University)

Stan L. Albrecht is an American sociologist who served as the fifteenth president of Utah State University. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He received his B.S. from Brigham Young University in 1966. Stan Albrecht and his wife, Jeanie, have six children and 21 grandchildren. He is the author of over 200 publications, including nineteen books.

19. David A. Bednar (Fourteenth President of BYU-Idaho)

David A. Bednar was born in Berkeley, California, and raised in Farmington, Utah. He married Susan Kae Robinson in the Provo Utah Temple in 1975. They have three children and six grandchildren. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from BYU in 1976 and later an MBA from Harvard Business School. He also has an honorary doctorate from BYU-Idaho. Bednar was a bishop of the Farmington Utah West Stake at age 29. He later served as a stake president in the Boston, Massachusetts.

18. Jeremy Coon (Producer of the film Napoleon Dynamite)

Jeremy Coon is an American film producer known for producing the cult classic Napoleon Dynamite. He attended Brigham Young University, where he studied film. After graduation, he worked as an assistant editor on America’s Funniest Home Videos. He later co-founded the film production company Blue State Digital, which produced Napoleon Dynamite. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $46 million on a budget of $400,000.

17. C. Jay Cox (Director and screenwriter)

C. Jay Cox is a screenwriter and director known for his work on the films Sweet Home Alabama, Latter Days, and Country Strong. He also wrote and directed the 2016 film Welcome to Happiness. Cox was born in Provo, Utah, and grew up in Sandy, Utah. He attended BYU, where he earned a B.A. in English. After graduation, Cox moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film. He worked as a production assistant on the television show Married… with Children before landing his first writing gig on Ellen’s sitcom. Cox has been married to his wife, Heather, since 2002. They have three children together.

16. Richard Dutcher (Film director, producer, and actor)

Dutcher is known for his Mormon-themed movies, including God’s Army and Brigham City. He has also directed and produced the LDS-themed TV series The Prophet’s Game. Richard Dutcher was born in St. George, Utah, and is the youngest of six children. He grew up in a Mormon family and spent two years as a missionary in Argentina. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University, majoring in film studies.

15. Mireille Enos (American actress and Emmy Award Winner)

Mireille Enos is best known for her starring role as Sarah Linden in the AMC crime drama The Killing. She has also starred in such films as World War Z, If I Stay, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Enos has been nominated for a Tony Award for her role in the play Whorl Inside a Loop. Enos attended Brigham Young University, where she studied English. She later transferred to the University of Washington, where she received her degree.

14. Johnny Whitaker (Actor)

Johnny Whitaker is an actor who is best known for his roles in the television series Family and Lassie. He also appeared in the television movie Roots. Whitaker attended BYU in 1986 and received a degree in English. He currently resides in California and is married with three children. Over the years, he has continued to act in various television shows and movies. If you’re a fan of classic television, you’ve probably seen Whitaker in at least one show.

13. Ezra Taft Benson (Dwight D. Eisenhower U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1953-1961))

Ezra Taft Benson was an American politician and farmer who served as the 15th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 1953 to 1961 during the Eisenhower administration. Before that, he was the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 1953 to 1961. Benson was born on a farm in Whitney, Idaho, and later attended Brigham Young University, where he earned a degree in agriculture. After graduation, he served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Britain. Upon his return to the United States, Benson began a career in farming and ranching. He eventually entered politics, serving in the Idaho Legislature and as a delegate to the 1944 Republican National Convention.

12. Norman H. Bangerter (Thirteenth Governor of Utah (1985-1993))

Norman H. Bangerter was the thirteenth governor of Utah, serving from 1985 to 1993. He was a member of the Republican Party. He attended BYU, where he earned a B.A. in 1955. After serving in the U.S. Army, he returned to Utah and started a construction company. He later served in the Utah State Senate. In 1984, he was elected governor of Utah, and he served two terms. According to Wikipedia, after leaving office, he returned to his construction company. He died in 2015 at the age of 82.

11. Olene S. Walker (Fifteenth Governor of Utah (2003-2005))

Before she became the first woman to be elected lieutenant governor of Utah in 1996 and the state’s fifteenth governor in 2003, Olene S. Walker served as a state senator for eight years. She was born in Panguitch, Utah, and grew up on a ranch near Hatch, Utah. After attending public schools in Garfield County, she received her B.S. in business from BYU in 1953. During her time at BYU, Walker was a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority member. After graduation, she married Myron Sonderegger, with whom she had four children. The couple later divorced, and Walker married Jim Walker in 1992.

10. Mike Crapo (Senator Idaho (1999-present))

Crapo has served as the United States Senator from Idaho since 1999. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served as the Deputy Majority Whip from 2003 to 2007. He started his political career in 1984 when he was elected to the Idaho State Senate. He has been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And according to his Wikipedia profile, he served a full-time mission in the Germany Frankfurt Mission and later attended BYU, earning a degree in political science.

9. Kyrsten Sinema (Senator from Arizona (2019-present)

Kyrsten Sinema is an American politician and the first openly bisexual member of the United States Congress. She has served as the U.S. Representative for Arizona’s 9th congressional district since 2013 and as Senator from Arizona since 2019. Before her election to Congress, she was a social worker and attorney. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Sinema was born in Tucson, Arizona, and grew up in the affluent Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley. She is the middle child of three, with an older brother and younger sister. Her father, Bjorn Sinema, is a retired Air Force pilot and now works as an airline captain. Her mother, Cynthia, is a homemaker. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in communications in 1995. She then earned a Juris Doctor from Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in 1999.

8. Marian Bergeson (Former state senator (R) from California)

Marian Bergeson was born in Long Beach, California. She attended Occidental College for a year before transferring to Brigham Young University (BYU), where she received a B.A. in English in 1949. After graduation, she taught English and drama at various high schools in Los Angeles. In 1960, she earned an M.A. in education from Pepperdine University. Bergeson served in the California State Assembly from 1979 to 1982 and in the State Senate from 1983 to 1992. While in the legislature, she authored nearly 200 bills signed into law, including the nation’s first mandatory recycling law. In 1992, she was a candidate for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor of California.

7. Rory Reid (J.D. (Clark) Clark County Commission (Former Chairman), Nevada)

Rory Reid is an American politician, attorney, and businessman. According to Wikipedia, he was the chairman of the Clark County Commission in Nevada from 2011 to 2015, and he was a member of the commission from 2007 to 2011. He is the son of former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Reid graduated from Brigham Young University in 1988 with a B.A. in English. He received his J.D. from the University of Southern California in 1991. Reid was elected to the Clark County Commission in 2006 and re-elected in 2010. He served as the chairman of the commission from 2011 to 2015. He did not seek re-election in 2014.

6. Joe Dana (Anchor for NBC affiliate KPNX in Phoenix)

Joe Dana is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and the main evening news anchor for NBC affiliate KPNX in Phoenix. Before his current role, Dana was a reporter and weekend evening news anchor for WFLA in Tampa, Florida. He worked as a general assignment reporter for WBZ-TV in Boston and as a sports anchor/reporter for WPRI-TV in Providence, Rhode Island. Dana is a graduate of Brigham Young University, where he earned a B.A. in broadcast journalism.

5. Kelsey Nixon (Television chef)

Kelsey Nixon is known for her work as a television chef. She has been a host and judge on various cooking shows, such as Cake Wars and Cupcake Wars. Nixon attended Brigham Young University, where she studied communications. She is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2010, Nixon married Kyle Wesler, with whom she has two children. She started her cooking show, Kelsey’s Essentials, in 2016.

4. G. Richard Bevan (J.D. (Clark) Chief Justice, Idaho – Supreme Court)

Bevan was born in Boise, Idaho, and raised in an LDS family. He is the son of Gene R. Bevan and Carol Holbrook (Wright) Bevan. He is the middle child of five siblings, having two older sisters and two younger brothers. According to Wikipedia, Bevan attended Boise Junior College (now Boise State University) for one year before serving as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Argentina from 1976 to 1978. Bevan returned to the United States and transferred to Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1984. He then attended BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School, graduating with his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1987.

3. Dallin H. Oaks (Former Justice, Utah Supreme Court)

Dallin Harris Oaks was born in 1932 in Provo, Utah. He attended Brigham Young University (BYU) and then served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in the British Isles. After returning from his mission, he completed his B.A. in Economics in 1954. He then attended law school at the University of Chicago, earning his J.D. in 1957. Oaks served as a justice on the Utah Supreme Court from 1980 to 1984. He was also a professor of law at BYU from 1971 to 1980. He is currently a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, one of the highest governing bodies in the LDS Church.

2. David Sam (U.S. District Judge – District of Utah)

David Sam is a U.S. District Judge for the District of Utah, appointed in 1991 by President George H. W. Bush. He is also a former Utah State Senator, serving from 1975 to 1980. Over the years, Sam has served on various boards and commissions, including the Utah State Board of Education, the State Board of Regents, and the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee. He started his law firm, Sam & Associates, P.C., in 1981 and practiced law until his appointment to the bench.

1. James Dashner (Author of The Maze Runner)

James Dashner is the author of the young adult dystopian science fiction series “The Maze Runner,” which consists of “The Maze Runner (2009)”, “The Scorch Trials (2010)”, “The Death Cure (2011)”, and “The Kill Order (2012)”. According to his Wikipedia biography, he also wrote the dystopian science fiction novel The Eye of Minds (2013), the first book in “The Mortality Doctrine” series.

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