21st-century American educators

Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president. Obama previously served as a U.S. senator representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004.

lawyer and former First Lady of the United States (2009-2017)

American actor (born 1948)

American educator and First Lady of the United States from 2021 to 2025

Timothy James Walz is an American politician, former educator, and Army National Guard veteran serving since 2019 as the 41st governor of Minnesota. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2019, representing Minnesota's 1st congressional district, and was the Democratic nominee for vice president in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

American playwright (1928–2016)

American author (born 1938)

American writer, educator, artist, and activist (1934–2017)

Scottish-American philosopher (1929–2025)

Astronaut, Hydrogeologist, science teacher

American pornographic actress

American jazz bassist and singer (born 1984)

American politician and educator (born 1952)

Second Lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021

Iranian philosopher, theologian and Islamic scholar (born 1933)

Turkish-American surgeon, TV host, and government official (born 1960)

American actress and choreographer

Governor of Alaska since 2018

astronaut

American educator and politician (born 1975)

American scholar of queer theory (1950-2009)

American former actor (born 1972)

American explorer

American neurosurgeon, medical reporter and writer

American filmmaker (1939-2019)

American educational YouTuber and podcaster

Governor of Wisconsin since 2019

theologian, philosopher, penman, university teacher (1937-)

American jazz pianist and composer

American research psychologist

American philosopher

American actor, director and acting teacher (1934-2012)

American biographer and historian (born 1943)

American politician and educator (born 1976)

American dance instructor and choreographer (born 1965)

United States Representative from Connecticut

American academic

American professional wrestler

American opera singer

Iranian-American academic and author (born 1960)

James Dell Talarico is an American politician, Presbyterian seminarian, and former educator who has served since 2018 as a member of the Texas House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, Talarico is its nominee in the 2026 U.S. Senate election in Texas.

American writer

American academic and writer

American politician and educator

religious studies scholar (1919-2016)

American professor of philosophy

Ghazala Firdous Hashmi is an American politician serving as the 43rd lieutenant governor of Virginia since 2026. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as a Virginia state senator for the 15th district from 2020 to 2026. She is the first Asian-American and Muslim elected to statewide office in Virginia, along with being the first Muslim woman to win statewide office anywhere in the United States.

American broadcast journalist

American politician (born 1969)

Mayor of Chicago since 2023

mechanical engineer (1929-2019)

American meteorologist

American psychologist (1928–2006)

American psychologist

American singer, actor and director

American social worker and mother of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

American professor of science, technology, and society

American artist, writer, filmmaker (born 1959)

American political activist

American historian