List of Miss Porter's School alumnae

The following is a list of notable alumnae from Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

1850s

• Eliza Talcott – attended in the 1850s; founder of Kobe College^[1]

1870s

• Grace Hoadley Dodge (1873) – established Columbia University Teachers’ College^[2][3]
• Nellie Grant (1873) – daughter of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and First Lady Julia Grant^[4]
• Mary Knight Wood (1875) – American pianist, music educator and composer^[5]
• Julia Lathrop (1876) – the first woman ever to head a government agency in the United States

1880s

• Helen Gilman Noyes Brown (1881) – philanthropist^{[citation needed]}
• Edith Hamilton (1886) – Greek mythology scholar; sister of Alice Hamilton^[6]
• Alice Hamilton (1888) – first female faculty member of the Harvard Medical School; founder of the field of industrial medicine^[6]
• Theodate Pope Riddle (1888) – architect and philanthropist; architect and founder of Avon Old Farms School; architect of Westover School^{[citation needed]}

1890s

• Madeline McDowell Breckinridge (1890) – a leader of the women's suffrage movement, a leading Progressive reformer, and great-granddaughter of Henry Clay^[7]
• Ruth Hanna McCormick (1897) – member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois and the first woman to run for the U.S. Senate
• Princess Anastasia of Greece and Denmark (née Nonie May Stewart) – American-born wife of Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark, the son of King George I of Greece^{[citation needed]}

1910s

• Edith Roelker Curtis (1912) – author, historian, and diarist
• Dorothy Keeley Aldis (1914) – American children's author and poet
• Emily Hale (1916) – speech and drama teacher, and muse of T.S. Eliot^[8]

1920s

• Helen Coley Nauts (1925) – founder of the Cancer Research Institute^[9][10]

1930s

• Barbara Hutton (1930) – American socialite, dubbed "Poor Little Rich Girl"^[11]
• Gloria Vanderbilt – American artist, writer, actress, fashion designer, heiress, and socialite^[11]
• Edith Bouvier Beale (1935) – American socialite; cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; subject of the documentary film Grey Gardens^[11]
• Anne Cox Chambers (1938) – U.S. Ambassador to Belgium during the Carter administration^[12]
• Gene Tierney (1938) – Academy Award-nominated actress^[11][13]
• Brenda Frazier (1939) – American socialite^[11]

1940s

• Polly Allen Mellen (1942) – editor of Vogue magazine
• Dina Merrill (née Nedenia Hutton) (1943) – actress and American socialite
• Letitia Baldrige Hollensteiner (1943) – author and social secretary to Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy^[13][14]
• Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (1947) – former First Lady of the United States^[13][15]
• Patience Cleveland (1948) – American actress and published author^{[citation needed]}
• Lilly Pulitzer (née Lillian Lee McKim) (1949) – fashion designer and American socialite^[13]

1950s

• Lee Radziwill (née Bouvier) (1950) – public relations executive for Giorgio Armani, author, and younger sister of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis^[13]
• Elizabeth Cushman Titus Putnam (1951) – founding president of the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal^[16][17][18]
• Laura Rockefeller Chasin (1954) – American socialite
• Elise Ravenel Wood du Pont (1954) – former First Lady of Delaware and 1984 Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives^[19]
• Barbara Babcock (1955) – Emmy Award-winning actress for Hill Street Blues
• Pema Chödrön (formerly Deirdre Blomfield-Brown) (1955) – Buddhist nun and author; resident director of Gampo Abbey^[20]
• Edith Kunhardt Davis (1955) – children's author and illustrator, daughter of Dorothy Kunhardt^[21][22]
• Agnes Gund (1956) – President Emerita of the Museum of Modern Art and 1997 recipient of the National Medal of Arts^[23][24]

1960s

• Mimi Alford (1961) – former White House intern who wrote a book about her affair with John F. Kennedy^[25][26]
• Sheila Ford Hamp (1969) – owner of the Detroit Lions^{[citation needed]}

1970s

• Elizabeth May (1972) – the first elected Green Party Member of Parliament in Canada and leader of the Green Party of Canada
• Dorothy Bush Koch (1977) – philanthropist and member of the Bush political family
• Sarah Ludlow Blake (1978) – American writer^[27]

1980s

• Susannah Grant (1980) – director and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter for Erin Brockovich^[28]
• Ariane de Vogue (1984) – CNN reporter and commentator^[29]
• R. Erica Doyle (1985) – educator and poet^[30]
• Pippa Tubman Armerding (1986) – director of Africa Research Office, Harvard Business School^[31]
• Gregg Renfrew (1986) – entrepreneur and founder of Beautycounter^{[citation needed]}
• Lisette Bross (1989) – Chief Strategy Officer, Radar Pictures^[32]
• Mary Anne Amirthi Mohanraj (1989) – American writer and editor^{[citation needed]}

1990s

• Katherine Collins Pope (1990) – president of television at Chernin Entertainment, formerly president of Universal Media Studios, and executive producer of such television series as New Girl, Touch, and Ben & Kate^[33][34]
• Kate Bennett (1993) -- CNN White House reporter assigned to Melania Trump^[35]
• Chrishaunda Lee (1994) – niece of Oprah Winfrey and hostess of PBS programming^[36]

2000s

• Mamie Gummer (2001) – actress; daughter of actress Meryl Streep
• Victoria de Lesseps – French-American artist

Fictional alumnae

• In the 2003 drama Mona Lisa Smile, Joan Brandwyn's student file reveals that she attended Miss Porter's School, though the film incorrectly locates it in Pennsylvania^{[37][better source needed]}
• In the 2000 drama The Skulls, Chloe is stated to have attended Miss Porter's School"The Skulls (2000) - IMDb". IMDb.
• In the series Gossip Girl, a guest character by the name of Shelby Wright goes to Miss Porter's
• In the series Mad Men, Sally Draper attended Miss Porter's^[38]

References

1. Ishii, Noriko Kawamura (March 2004). American Women Missionaries at Kobe College, 1873-1909. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-93620-4.
2. Roger L. Geiger (1 January 2000). History of Higher Education Annual 2000. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4128-2521-4. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
3. John F. Ohles (1978). Biographical Dictionary of American Educators. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 386–387. ISBN 978-0-313-04012-2.
4. Waxman, Olivia B. (July 4, 2012). "Nellie Grant | Happy Birthday to America—and her First Daughters | TIME.com". Time. Swampland.time.com. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
5. The Musician. 5. Vol. 22. Hatch Music Company. 1917. p. 396. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
6. Gorman, Kathleen (July 11, 1995). "Miss Porter's Graduate to Appear on Stamp". Hartford Courant. Hartford. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
7. "Madeline McDowell Breckinridge Papers, 1867, 1888–1923. – Kentucky Digital Library". Eris.uky.edu. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
8. Identifier: CA-MS-00344. "Emily Hale Papers". Smith College. Retrieved 10 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
9. Nagourney, Eric (January 9, 2001). "Helen C. Nauts, 93, Champion Of Her Father's Cancer Work". The New York Times.
10. . Cancerresearch.org. Archived from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
11. Peretz, Evgenia (2009-06-09). "The Code of Miss Porter's". Vanity Fair. No. July. ISSN 0733-8899. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
12. Heckert, Amanda. . Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
13. Glasberg, Eve (March 3, 2006). "A 'Village of Pretty Houses,' Where Women's Lives Were Reshaped". The New York Times.
14. Davis, Nancy; Barbara Donahue (1992). Miss Porter's School: A History. ISBN 0-9632985-1-8.
15. "Boarding School Graduates – The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS)". Boardingschools.com. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
16. "2012 Presidential Citizens Medal Recipients | The White House". whitehouse.gov. April 1, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2013 – via National Archives.
17. [1]^{[dead link]}
18. "Miss Porter's School Annual Report 2009-2010, page 9" (PDF). Retrieved April 23, 2013.
19. Bartlett, Kay (July 1, 1984), "Delaware's first lady becomes a candidate", The Milwaukee Journal, p. 3
20. . Gampo Abbey. Archived from the original on March 24, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
21. "Back in Print: 'Pat the Bunny' Author's Earliest Titles". Publishers Weekly. Aug 1, 2013.
22. "Bulletin" (PDF). Miss Porter's School. Winter 2012.
23. "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 12/22/10 | The White House". whitehouse.gov. December 22, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2013 – via National Archives.
24. Prato, Judy (October 18, 2003). "Miss Porter's School Honors Agnes Gund – Hartford Courant". Articles.courant.com. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
25. Maslin, Janet (February 9, 2012). "Sure, Mr. President, If You Really Want Me To". The New York Times. p. C4. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
26. Smith, Emily Esfahani (February 9, 2012). . Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
27. "Teacher Is Wed To Sarah Blake". The New York Times. August 5, 1984.
28. "Miss Porter's School ~ alumnae". Porters.org. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
29. "CNN Profiles - Ariane de Vogue – CNN Supreme Court Reporter - CNN". CNN. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
30. "R. Erica Doyle". Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2018-09-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
31. "Africa - – Global Initiative - Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
32. "Dispatch from Los Angeles, Part III | Classic Chicago Magazine". Classic Chicago Magazine. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
33. Goldman, Andrew (October 28, 2009). "Katherine Pope". ELLE Magazine.
34. "Katherine Pope". IMDb.
35. "CNN Profiles - Kate Bennett - White House Reporter - CNN". CNN. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
36. Kelley, Kitty (2010). Oprah: a biography (Large Print ed.). New York: Random House Large Print. p. 587.
37. "Mona Lisa Smile Goofs". IMDb.
38. Mad Men at IMDb