Spelman College has been ranked the number one HBCU in the country consecutively for the past 14 years according to U.S News and World Report ranking. This all-female private liberal arts college was the starting point for many accomplished women across several fields. Here is a list of some of Spelman’s most notable “Spelmanites.”

Alice Walker

Alice Walker is a woman of many talents. She is a novelist, poet, short story writer, and activist. She is best known for her Pulitzer Prize Award-winning novel, The Color Purple. Walker entered Spelman College in 1961. She earned a full scholarship from the state of Georgia for having the highest academic achievement in her class. There she met two of her professors who would become her mentors, Howard Zinn and Staughton Lynd. Walker was offered a scholarship from Sarah Lawrence College, she transferred to the university after Zinn was fired from Spelman She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1965.

In 1982, she published her best-known novel, The Color Purple. The novel shows the journey of a young Black woman navigating her way through racism and patriarchy within the Black community and became a bestseller. The novel was turned into a film in 1985, directed by Steve Spielberg, starring Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg. The Broadway musical adaptation of The Color Purple totaled more than 900 performances.

The Color Purple the movie musical will release in theaters on December 25, 2023.

Stacey Abrams

Stacey Abrams is the former Georgia House of Representatives who served from 2007-2017. As a member of the Democratic Party, Abrams founded Fair Fight Action, an organization designed to address voter suppression. But before she took the political world by storm, she was a Spelmanite. Abrams graduated manga cum laude with a degree in interdisciplinary studies in 1995. During her time at Spelman, she worked in the youth services department in the office of former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson. She attended the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs as a Harry S. Truman Scholar, she earned a Master’s of Public Affairs in 1998. She went on to Yale Law School and earned her Juris Doctor.

In 2002, she was appointed a deputy city attorney for the City of Atlanta. After representing Georgia in the House of Representatives for ten years, she ran for Governor of Georgia in 2018. Making her the first Black woman in the U.S. to be a major party’s nominee for governor. Unfortunately, she lost to Republican Brian Kemp who was later accused of voter suppression. She ran against Kemp in 2022 where she also lost.

Abrams has had her hand in several roles in federal politics.  She delivered the rebuttal to the State of the Union address in 2019, she was the first Black woman to do so. Abrams has since stepped back from running for office to focus on reducing voter suppression.

Keisha Knight- Pulliam

As one of the most beloved child actors in Hollywood, Keisha Knight-Pulliam made her way into the hearts of millions as Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show. Like many child stars, Pulliam started on Sesame Street. She joined the cast of The Cosby Show 1984, and her role as Ruby earned her an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Making her one of the youngest actresses to be nominated. She remained in this role until the show ended in 1992.

After the show ended Pulliam returned home to Virginia to finish high school. She entered Spelman in 1997, where she crossed the Eta Kappa chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. She graduated from Spelman in 2001 with a degree in sociology. Since graduating Pulliam has starred in numerous television shows and films including Fear Factor, Celebrity Big Brother, Madea Goes to Jail, and Beauty Shop alongside Queen Latifah. She is also widely known for her role as Miranda Lucas on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. She remained in that role from 2007- 2012 and reprised her role in 2020 for the show’s reboot. This role earned her four NAACP Image Awards.

Pulliam’s Lifetime film Hillsdale Adoption Scam was released earlier this year.

Shaun Robinson

Shaun Robinson is a journalist, television host, producer, television personality, and philanthropist. Robinson made a name for herself in the world of television as both a host and talent. Although the Emmy-nominated journalist graduated from Spelman College with a degree in English/ Mass communications. She returned to her hometown of Detroit after graduation to begin her career in journalism. Robinson is widely known for being the host of Access Hollywood for over 15 years. Shortly after leaving Access Hollywood, TLC approached Robinson about hosting the reunion of their series 90 Day Fiancé franchise.

Robinson has covered red carpets and hosted pre-shows for the Academy Awards, Golden, Emmy’s, and Grammy’s, in addition to the annual Tournament of Roses Parade. She won an Emmy Award for her coverage of A Grand Night in Harlem for the Black Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame.Aside from hosting, Robinson has made several cameos in films and television shows including Dr. Dolittle 2, Bruce Almighty, The Parkers, and The Proud Family.  In 2019, she joined the cast of the BET scripted series Games People Play.

Robinson created a nonprofit to help empower girls and young women The S.H.A.U. N Foundation for Girls “supports grassroots charities that are doing the work in five key areas of girls issues” (S)TEM, (H)EALTH, (A)RTS, (U)NITY, and (N)EIGHBORHOODS. Robinson and her foundation were recently featured on Hidden Heroes on CBS.

Adrienne-Joi Johnson

Adrienne-Joi Johnson better known as AJ Johnson is an actress, choreographer, fitness, and life coach. Before she graced the screen in some of our favorite cult classic films she attended Spelman College. Johnson graduated with honors in 1985. While at Spelman she joined the Eta Kappa chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.  She also served as Miss Maroon and White and was the first Miss Collegiate Black America. Over the years she has made appearances on several television shows and movies. She is especially known for her roles as Sharane in the 1990 comedy House Party and Juanita in the John Singleton coming-of-age film, Baby Boy.She has appeared on shows such as A Different World, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Siren, and films such as Inkwell, Sister Act, and Blacklisted.

In recent years, Johnson has been a devoted fitness and life coach. She gained a list of celebrity clients including Gabrielle Union, Lindsay Lohan, and Whoopi Goldberg. Johnson dedicated herself to her fitness journey after being passed over for a role in Scorpion alongside Dwayne Johnson.

“That was really the turning point for me to say, ‘OK, I’ve got to really get serious about what I want this brand to be,” she explained. “But you’re never going to tell me I don’t have the body, and I don’t have the [acting] chops. And that’s when I really dug in, and kind of side-stepped away from acting to build the brand.”

Her show Life Therapy with AJ Johnson aired on TV One in 2021.